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U.S. President Joe Biden has introduced a ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling along significant stretches of America’s coastline, just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
The ban encompasses the entire Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington, and parts of the Bering Sea off Alaska. This marks another significant climate policy action by the Biden administration, made in the final weeks of his term.
During his campaign, Trump vowed to “unleash” U.S. fossil fuel production, aiming to reduce gas prices despite the U.S. already reaching record levels of energy extraction.
In a statement, Biden explained: “My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for a long time: drilling along these coasts could cause irreparable harm to cherished places and is unnecessary for meeting our country’s energy demands. It is not worth the risks.”
Trump, who has promised to reverse Biden’s environmental policies upon his return to office, faces challenges in undoing this move. The new ban, which has no expiration date, could be difficult to reverse, particularly since it is enacted under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, which grants presidents the authority to remove areas from mineral leasing and drilling.
However, the law does not permit presidents to cancel existing leases or undo previous bans. In 2020, Trump used the same law to protect Florida’s waters, a move that was seen as politically motivated, as it was set to expire in 2032. Biden’s new ban provides permanent protection to the same region.
The ban affects over 625 million acres (253 million hectares) of U.S. waters.
Following reports of Biden’s decision, Trump’s incoming press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, criticized the ban, calling it “a disgraceful decision” that she claimed was politically motivated. She added that the move was an attempt to punish Americans who voted for Trump, who had pledged to increase drilling and reduce gas prices.
On the other hand, environmental organizations applauded the policy. Joseph Gordon from Oceana described it as “an epic ocean victory” and emphasized that it would safeguard the country’s coastal communities for future generations.
Meanwhile, oil and gas industry representatives expressed concerns, arguing that the ban would undermine U.S. energy security. Mike Sommers, President of the American Petroleum Institute, called for Congress to reverse the decision, criticizing it as a politically motivated attack on American energy policies.
During his first term, Trump attempted to overturn former President Barack Obama’s protections of 125 million acres (50.6 million hectares) of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, but a 2019 court ruling blocked his efforts.
Trump is expected to challenge Biden’s latest move, with a final legal decision potentially reaching the Supreme Court, which currently has a majority of Republican-appointed justices.
Environmentalists and Democrats have long urged Biden to enact this ban, citing concerns that new drilling would undermine U.S. efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. The International Energy Agency has warned that global oil and gas demand must decrease by 5% annually to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, which is essential to mitigate the most severe consequences of climate change.
