Biden Implements Key Coastal Protection Ahead of Trump Transition

On Monday, US President Joe Biden banned offshore drilling in vast coastal waters. This comes just weeks before Donald Trump takes office and promises to make a lot more fossil fuels.The ban covers the entire Atlantic coast and the eastern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington and a part of the Bering Sea off Alaska.A statement from the White House says the order safeguarded more than 625 million acres of water.

By AFP | January 6, 2025

A group of people clean up the beach in Huntington Beach, California, USA, on November 14, 2024. They can see a distant oil rig. — Reuters

On Monday, US President Joe Biden banned offshore drilling in vast coastal waters. This comes just weeks before Donald Trump takes office and promises to make a lot more fossil fuels.The ban covers the entire Atlantic coast and the eastern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington and a part of the Bering Sea off Alaska.The White House said that the declaration preserved more than 625 million acres (253 million hectares) of water.

”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,” Biden tweeted.

”In balancing the many uses and benefits of America’s ocean, it is clear to me that the relatively minimal fossil fuel potential in the areas I am withdrawing do not justify the environmental, public health, and economic risks that would come from new leasing and drilling,” he said.There is no end date for the ban as of now, and it might be difficult for Trump to get rid of it.The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953 gives the federal government control over using ocean resources. Biden is acting under this law.The law, on the other hand, doesn’t allow leaders to lift a drilling ban without first going through Congress.

During his campaign, Trump promised to “unleash” domestic fossil fuel production to lower gas prices. This was said even though the country was already extracting fossil fuels at record-high rates.As late as last week, US news outlets said that Biden would issue such a ban. Trump’s new press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, called the move “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.”A statement from the White House says the order safeguarded more than 625 million acres of water.By AFP | January 6, 2025

A group of people clean up the beach in Huntington Beach, California, USA, on November 14, 2024. They can see a distant oil rig. — ReutersOn Monday, US President Joe Biden banned offshore drilling in vast coastal waters. This comes just weeks before Donald Trump takes office and promises to make a lot more fossil fuels.The ban covers the entire Atlantic coast and the eastern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington and a part of the Bering Sea off Alaska.The White House said that the declaration preserved more than 625 million acres (253 million hectares) of water.“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,” Biden tweeted.

“In balancing the many uses and benefits of America’s ocean, it is clear to me that the relatively minimal fossil fuel potential in the areas I am withdrawing do not justify the environmental, public health, and economic risks that would come from new leasing and drilling,” he said.Trump might find it hard to legally and politically remove the ban, which has no end date. Biden is acting under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, which gives the federal government control over ocean resources.The law, on the other hand, doesn’t allow leaders to lift a drilling ban without first going through Congress.During his campaign, Trump promised to “unleash” domestic fossil fuel production to lower gas prices. This was said even though the country was already extracting fossil fuels at record-high rates.

As late as last week, US news outlets said that Biden would issue such a ban. Trump’s new press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, called the move “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.”On the other hand, environmental NGOs were happy with the result.Joseph Gordon, Oceana’s director of climate and energy, said, “This is an epic ocean victory!”“Our treasured coastal communities are now safeguarded for future generations,” he told us.“With today’s withdrawals, President Biden has now conserved more than 670 million acres of US lands, waters, and ocean — more than any president in history,” the White House stated.

It’s the latest in a string of last-minute steps the Biden government has taken on climate change before Trump retakes office.In mid-December, the government left office and set a very high new climate goal as part of the historic Paris Agreement. The US promised to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 61 to 66 percent below 2005 levels by 2035, putting the country on track to reach net zero by 2050.