President Joe Biden has announced a move to safeguard 625 million acres of offshore areas from future oil and gas drilling.
The White House revealed the decision on Monday, a step that could complicate the incoming Donald Trump administration’s plans for fossil fuel expansion.
Biden is leveraging the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), which grants presidents the authority to permanently withdraw sections of the Outer Continental Shelf from oil and gas leasing. The protected regions include areas of the East and West coasts of the United States, the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, and Alaska’s North Bering Sea.
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Trump may need Congressional approval to reverse Biden’s move
The act, however, does not provide a mechanism for a subsequent president to revoke such protections, meaning Trump may need congressional approval to reverse Biden’s decision.
“Drilling in the areas I’m seeking to protect could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs,” Biden said.
“It is not worth the risks. As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country and we are transitioning to a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these coasts for our children and grandchildren.”
“From California to Florida, Republican and Democratic Governors, Members of Congress, and coastal communities alike have worked and called for greater protection of our ocean and coastlines from harms that offshore oil and natural gas drilling can bring,” he added.
Leavitt and Sommers call for reversal of ‘politically motivated’ energy decision
Incoming press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the decision “a disgraceful” act of political retaliation. “This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices,” Leavitt posted on X (formerly Twitter). “Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill.”
Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, argued, “Congress and the incoming administration should fully leverage the nation’s vast offshore resources as a critical source of affordable energy, government revenue, and stability around the world.”
“We urge policymakers to use every tool at their disposal to reverse this politically motivated decision and restore a pro-American energy approach to federal leasing.”
