Donald Trump, set to take office as President of the United States on January 20, has announced that he will lift President Joe Biden’s recently imposed ban on offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters. Trump stated that on his first day in office, he would immediately reverse Biden’s decision, which was made as a last-minute effort to prevent potential expansion of drilling permits under a Trump administration.
Biden’s ban, announced in the final weeks of his presidency, uses powers granted by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to protect 2.5 million square kilometers of coastline along the U.S. East and West coasts, the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, and parts of the northern Bering Sea off Alaska from oil and gas exploitation.
“My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts can cause irreversible damage and that this drilling is insufficient to meet the nation’s energy needs,” Biden said in a statement.
Environmental advocates praised Biden’s decision, arguing that new oil and gas discoveries must be sharply restricted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming, especially considering 2024 was the hottest year on record.
In response, Trump declared that once he is inaugurated on January 20, Biden’s ban would be “changed on the first day” and promised, “I will lift it immediately.” He argued that the U.S. has an abundance of oil and gas resources that should be utilized, describing them as “our greatest economic wealth.”
Trump has previously pledged to establish “energy dominance” for the U.S. globally and has sought to promote domestic oil and gas drilling, distancing himself from Biden’s climate change focus.
