US President Joe Biden on Monday banned offshore drilling in a key stretch of coastal waters, weeks before Donald Trump took office with a pledge to expand fossil fuel production.
The ban covers the entire Atlantic coast and eastern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Pacific coast off California, Oregon and Washington, and part of the Bering Sea off Alaska.
The announcement protected more than 625 million acre-feet (253 million hectares) of water, the White House said in a statement.
“As the climate crisis threatens communities across the country and we transition to a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these beaches for our children and grandchildren,” Biden said in a statement. Go.”
“In balancing the many uses and benefits of America’s oceans, it is clear to me that the relatively low fossil fuel capacity of the areas I am ceding does not justify the environmental, public health, and economic risks that would be incurred. New ones will arise from leasing and drilling,” he added.
The ban has no deadline and could be legally — and politically — difficult for Trump to reverse.
Biden is taking action under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, which gives the federal government the power to exploit offshore resources.
However, the law does not expressly provide for the president to unilaterally withdraw the drilling ban without going through Congress.
During his campaign, Trump promised to “liberate” domestic fossil fuel production to lower gas prices, despite the country already seeing record high extraction rates.
After US media reported late last week that Biden would issue such a ban, Trump’s incoming press secretary, Carolyn Levitt, called the move “a shameful decision to take political revenge against the American people.” was designed to give President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices.”
On the other hand, environmental NGOs have welcomed this decision.
“It’s an epic sea victory!” Oceania’s climate and energy director Joseph Gordon said.
“Our precious coastal communities are now protected for future generations,” he said.
“With today’s return, President Biden has now protected more than 670 million acres of American land, water and oceans — more than any president in history,” the White House said.
The move is the latest in a series of last-minute climate policy moves by the Biden administration ahead of Trump’s return to the White House.
In mid-December, the outgoing administration released a new set of climate goals under the landmark Paris Agreement, requiring the United States to cut economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels by 2035. to reduce to 61-66 percent, on track to achieve net zero. By 2050