Zahir Nelson

On January 6th, two weeks before the 47th President Trump will return to office for the second time, President Joe Biden announced that he would “ban new offshore oil and gas drilling along most of the U.S. coastline.” The order protects 625 million acres of ocean along America’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts, the Gulf of Mexico, and Alaska’s Bering Sea. This move is seen as Biden’s effort to solidify his climate legacy before leaving office.

Using a provision of the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, Biden exercised his authority to withdraw unleased landsfrom offshore drilling indefinitely.

This decision builds on the actions of former President Barack Obama, who protected 119 million acres under the same law in 2016. With this latest announcement, Biden has safeguarded a total of 670 million acres of ocean, more than any other president in U.S. history. Environmental groups have hailed this as a monumental step in the fight against climate change.

Biden’s decision also underscores lessons from past disasters, such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which released 134 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The president argued that further drilling would pose unnecessary risks. “Drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage,” he said. “Now is the time to protect these areas for our children and grandchildren as we transition to a clean energy economy.”

Despite the praise from environmentalists, the announcement faces significant political challenges. The incoming Trump administration has already signaled its intention to prioritize fossil fuel production. President elect Trump’s nominee for Energy Secretary, Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright, is a vocal critic of climate policies and has questioned the reality of the climate crisis. Overturning Biden’s decision would likely require congressional action, making it a key battleground in future energy policy debates.