U.S. President Joe Biden has announced a sweeping ban on offshore oil and gas drilling along most of the country’s coastline, a significant move made just weeks before the inauguration of Donald Trump.
The newly implemented ban, which aims to curb drilling activity and protect coastal ecosystems, covers the entire Atlantic coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and stretches along the Pacific coast off California, Oregon, and Washington. Additionally, the ban includes a section of the Bering Sea off Alaska.
This decision is part of Biden’s final climate policy actions before leaving office, marking one of his administration’s significant environmental initiatives aimed at reducing the impact of fossil fuel extraction on the U.S. coastline.
In a statement, President Biden explained, “My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs. It is not worth the risks.”
This new move comes amid a broader policy shift towards renewable energy and conservation under Biden’s administration, which has been in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s pro-fossil fuel agenda.
Trump, during his campaign, pledged to “unleash” domestic fossil fuel production to reduce gas prices, even as the U.S. already faces record-high extraction rates. Trump has vowed to undo many of Biden’s environmental protections once he takes office later this month. However, Biden’s new offshore drilling ban is indefinite and may prove difficult for the incoming administration to reverse.
The ban is implemented under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, a law that grants the President authority to withdraw areas from mineral leasing and drilling. However, the law does not allow presidents to overturn previous bans, according to a 2019 court ruling.
Trump had previously used the same law to block offshore drilling rights sales in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, off Florida’s coast, until 2032. Biden’s latest decision extends protections to this same region, with no expiration date.
As Biden’s administration comes to a close, his efforts to mitigate climate change and protect U.S. coastlines stand in sharp contrast to the policies expected to be pursued by Trump, whose energy platform focuses on increasing fossil fuel production and exploration.
