Biden bans new offshore oil and gas drilling in most US coastal waters

President Biden is taking executive action to protect more than 625 million acres of the U.S. ocean from offshore drilling, the White House announced Monday morning.

The decision to ban new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters covers the entire East Coast, eastern Gulf of Mexico, Pacific off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California , as well as other parts of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska. where future oil and natural gas leasing could not take place.

“My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses and beachgoers have long known: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and that there is no need to respond to our nation's energy needs,” Biden said in a statement. .

“As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country and we transition to a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these coasts for our children and grandchildren,” he said. he declared.

The move is a last-minute effort to block possible action by the new Trump administration to expand offshore drilling.

A Trump spokesperson called the Biden administration's decision “shameful.”

“This is a shameful decision aimed at political revenge against the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline said. Leavitt. “Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will break through, baby, break through.”

Trump himself has a complicated history when it comes to offshore drilling. He signed a memorandum in 2020 ordering the Secretary of the Interior to ban drilling in waters off the coast of Florida and off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina until 2032. This was after he initially decided to significantly expand offshore drilling, before withdrawing in the face of widespread opposition. in Florida and other coastal states.

Trump has pledged to establish what he calls American “energy dominance” around the world, as he seeks to boost U.S. oil and gas drilling and move away from Mr. .Biden on climate change.

Environmental advocates praised Mr. Biden's action, saying new oil and gas drilling must be sharply curtailed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. The year 2024 was the hottest in history.

“It’s an epic victory on the ocean!” said Joseph Gordon, campaign director of the environmental group Oceana.

Gordon thanked Mr. Biden “for listening to the voices of coastal communities” who oppose drilling and “for contributing to the bipartisan tradition of protecting our coasts.”

Mr. Biden's actions build on the legacy of Democratic and Republican presidents to protect coastal waters from offshore drilling, Gordon said, adding that America's coasts are home to tens of millions of Americans and support billions of dollars of economic activity that depend on a clean environment. , abundant wildlife and thriving fisheries.

In balancing the multiple uses of America's oceans, Biden said it was clear that the areas he was removing from fossil fuel use had “relatively minimal potential” that did not warrant possible environmental risks, public health and economic issues that would result from new leasing and drilling.

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

A five-year drilling plan approved in 2023 includes proposals for offshore sales in 2025, 2027 and 2029. The three lease sales are the minimum number the Democratic administration could legally propose if it wants to continue expanding offshore wind development.

Under a 2022 climate law, the government must offer at least 60 million acres of offshore oil and gas leases in any one-year period before it can offer offshore wind leases.

Mr. Biden, whose decision to approve the massive Willow oil project in Alaska drew sharp condemnation from environmental groups, has previously restricted offshore drilling in other parts of Alaska and the ocean Arctic.

Sara Cook contributed to this report.

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