Biden bans offshore oil and gas drilling in most US waters

President Joe Biden is moving to ban new offshore oil and gas drilling in most US coastal waters, a last-minute effort to block possible moves by the incoming Trump administration to expand offshore drilling.

Biden, whose term ends in two weeks, has said he is using powers under the federal Outer Continental Shelf Act to protect marine areas along the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and parts of Alaska’s northern Bering Sea from future oil and natural resources. gas leasing.

“My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses and beachgoers have known for a long time: drilling on these beaches can cause irreversible damage to the places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs,” Biden said in a statement Monday.

Biden’s orders would not affect large areas of the Gulf of Mexico, where most US offshore drilling takes place, but it would protect coastlines along California, Florida and other states from future drilling.

Biden’s actions, which protect about 253 million acres of federal water, could prove difficult for President-elect Donald Trump, who would require Congress to repeal the act. The 72-year-old law cited by Biden allows the president to exclude parts of the outer continental shelf from mineral leasing, including leasing for drilling for oil and gas, if the areas are deemed too vulnerable for drilling.

Trump himself has a complicated history with offshore drilling. He signed a memorandum in 2020 ordering the interior secretary to ban drilling in waters off the coast of Florida as well as off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina by 2032.

Early in his presidency, Trump moved to greatly expand offshore drilling before backing off amid widespread protests in Florida and other coastal states.

On Monday, Trump announced that Biden’s drilling ban would be “reversed on day one” after the Jan. 20 inauguration.

“I’m going to repeal it immediately,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “I have the right to cancel it.”

He said the United States “has oil and gas at a level that no one else has, and we’re going to take advantage of that. It’s really our greatest economic asset.”

Trump has vowed to build what he calls America’s “energy dominance” around the world as he seeks to boost U.S. oil and gas drilling and move away from Biden’s focus on climate change.

Environmental advocates applauded Biden’s move and said new oil and gas drilling should be sharply limited to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. 2024 was the hottest year on record.

Biden’s actions build on a legacy of Democratic and Republican presidents to protect coastal waters from offshore drilling, Gordon said, adding that the U.S. coastline is home to tens of millions of Americans and supports billions of dollars in economic activity that depends on a clean environment, abundance. wildlife and thriving fisheries.

In balancing the multiple uses of America’s oceans, Biden said it is clear that areas phased out of fossil fuel use show “relatively minimal potential” that does not justify the possible environmental, public health and economic risks from new leases and drilling.

The National Oceanic Industries Association, which represents offshore drillers, called Biden’s decision “a strategic mistake driven by political motives, not science or a voter mandate.”

“This move directly undermines American energy consumers and jeopardizes the broad benefits associated with a thriving domestic energy sector,” said Eric Milito, the group’s president.

Even if there is no immediate interest in drilling in some offshore areas, he said, it is “critical for the federal government to maintain the flexibility to adapt” to unforeseen global events such as Russia’s intervention in Ukraine.

Biden has proposed the sale of three oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico, but none in Alaska, as he tries to navigate between energy companies seeking more oil and gas production and environmental activists who want him to stop new offshore drilling. the fight against climate change.

Whose decision is Biden? It approved the giant Willow oil project in Alaska has drawn sharp criticism from environmental groups, having previously restricted offshore drilling in other areas of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.

Sandra Bundy, president of the Florida-based Atlantic Coast Conservation Business Alliance, said she was “excited and grateful” for Biden’s actions, which she said would protect the East Coast for future generations.