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President Biden announced an 11th-hour executive action on Monday that bans new drilling and more oil and natural gas development in more than 625 million acres of US coastal and inshore waters.
Biden, whose term expires in two weeks, said he is using the authority to protect offshore areas along the east and west coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and parts of the northern Bering Sea. Alaska’s future oil and natural gas lease. He invoked the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 1953 viz President-elect Trump may be limited in its ability to revoke the action. Congress may have to step in to give Trump the authority to redevelop federal waters.
“My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these shores could cause irreversible damage to the places we love and is unnecessary to meet energy needs of our nation,” Biden said in a statement. “It’s not worth the risks. 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 shores for our children and grandchildren “.
The move drew swift condemnation from Trump’s incoming White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt.
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President Biden speaks at a reception for new Democratic members of Congress in the State Dining Room at the White House, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
“This is a shameful decision designed to take political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we’re going to drill, baby, we’re going to drill” , Leavitt wrote to X.
Biden patted himself on the back for what he described as a legacy move in the fight against climate change.
“From day one, I have delivered the most ambitious conservation and climate agenda in our nation’s history. And over the past four years, I have conserved more than 670 million acres of America’s lands and waters, more than any other president in history,” Biden said. “Our nation’s remarkable conservation and restoration progress has been led locally by tribes, farmers and ranchers, fishermen, small businesses, and outdoor recreation enthusiasts across the country. Together, our ‘America the Beautiful’ put America on track to meet my ambitious goal of conserving at least 30 percent of our nation’s lands and waters by 2030.”
Former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds on Oct. 14, 2024, in Oaks, Pa., as South Dakota moderator, Kristi Noem. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
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“We don’t have to choose between protecting the environment and growing our economy, or between keeping our oceans healthy, our coasts resilient and the food they produce safe, and keeping energy prices low,” the statement added. . “These are wrong decisions. Protecting America’s coasts and ocean is the right thing to do and will help communities and the economy thrive for generations to come.”
Ron Neal, the chairman of the Independent Petroleum Association of America’s Offshore Committee, also slammed Biden’s latest offshore drilling ban as “major and catastrophic.”
“While it may not directly affect currently active production areas on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and adjacent coastal areas, it represents a significant blow to the oil and natural gas industry. This should be seen as the ” nose of the elephant under the tent. .’ The ban severely limits the potential for exploration and development in new areas, thereby blocking the long-term survival of the industry,” Neal, also president of Houston Energy LP and CEO of HEQ Deepwater, said in a statement. “This move is a first step toward more extensive restrictions across our industry in all U.S. basins, including onshore. If the activists come for something, they will come for everything.The policy is catastrophic for the development of new areas for oil and natural resources. gas, however, environmentalists will eventually seek to shut down offshore wind farms for much of the same reasons that President Biden and his allies continue to push anti-energy policies that hurt Americans.
Offshore oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico. (Ron Buskirk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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Trump, during his 2024 campaign, promised to deliver American “energy domain” on the world stage as he sought to bolster US oil and gas drilling as well as distance Biden’s prioritization of climate change initiatives.
