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President Biden’s bold move to ban offshore drilling in federal waters has sparked a fierce reaction from President-elect Donald Trump, who previously pledged to undo the move.
The past few days have been a field day for climate action enthusiasts thanks to Biden’s new environmental policy. For the longest time, climate activists and anybody in their right mind have pushed for the US to take action towards its net-zero goal.
On the 6th of January, a mixed wave of delight and dismay spread nationwide when President Joe Biden announced a ban on offshore drilling. His action effectively puts a bow on his environmental agenda, intending to make any climate policy reversals difficult for the next administration.
Biden’s move – a signed executive order – aims to ban the drilling of oil in 625 million acres of US coastal waters. This includes the East Coast, West Coast, some parts of the Gulf Coast, and many other sites around the nation’s waters. For scale, the Gulf of Mexico is only almost half the size of the area covered in the executive order with 384 million acres.
This huge feat is primarily aimed at protecting the environment and safeguarding coastal communities. According to the White House’s official press statement, 40% of Americans who live in coastal areas rely on the ocean’s purity. From the Exxon Valdez to the Deepwater Horizon oil spills, offshore drilling has severely impacted the livelihoods of those living along the coasts.
Additionally, many Alaskan tribes have relied on ocean resources for their food sovereignty and traditional practices. Hence, the ban does serve the best interests of the American people, who are greatly affected by the oil and gas industry.
#BREAKING: Today, President Biden protected the United States’ coasts, communities, and wildlife by safeguarding the East Coast, West Coast, and eastern Gulf of Mexico from offshore drilling. Thank you @POTUS!
Read more 👉 https://t.co/l8bbKwFFoF #ProtectOurCoast pic.twitter.com/oaSlUCUuN1
— Oceana (@oceana) January 6, 2025
Nevertheless, we’ll give you one guess at a certain influential someone who wasn’t thrilled by this initiative. If you twigged Donald Trump, you are absolutely right.
Throughout his electoral campaign, he made his intentions to support and boost the oil and gas industry very clear. Not only does the President-elect want to expand the production of fossil fuels by reauthorizing pipeline and drilling projects, but he has also pledged to roll back many existing regulations.
In response to the ban, Trump lamented the decision as ‘ridiculous’. He pledged to ‘unban it immediately’, stating that he had the ‘right’ to do so. This ambition to reverse Biden’s environmental policies comes as no surprise, though. Why? Because a tenet of Biden’s tenure was clean energy investment and diverting away from fossil fuels – a complete contrast compared to Trump’s agenda.
From methane emission regulations to the Inflation Reduction Act, Trump’s rationale for the reversal is to promote energy independence while reducing regulatory burdens on fossil fuel development. In the long-term, he sees this as a door for economic growth from increased job creation in the energy sectors, which to be fair, is a drawback of Biden’s ban.
The real question lies in how easy, logistically speaking, it will be for Trump to roll back on the offshore drilling ban. It’s based on the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act which allows the president to protect federal waters from offshore drilling.
However, the law does not provide a solid ground that states that the president can undo previously established bans. So, if Trump wants to unban offshore drilling, it is very likely that Congress needs to get involved, rather than simply signing an executive order.
Currently, the Congress is led by a slim Republican majority. Yes, many of them have made their disdain for the ban crystal clear, but those who are rooted in coastal states, have voiced their opposition to drilling near their shores. Hence, this differing dynamic between the Democrats and Republicans may further complicate any efforts to pass legislation to reinstate offshore drilling.
One cannot forget the opposition that comes with the public, either. Trump may not gravitate towards public sentiment always, but their voice is strong enough to impact lawmakers and create caution about what policies to back publicly.
This approach also runs the risk of impeachment if deemed to be out of keeping with democratic measures. This, FYI, would be a third impeachment and set an unsavory US presidency record.
Biden’s mic drop move two weeks before the end of his term has set an interesting stage for when Trump takes the Oval Office. While Biden’s successor could green light a reversal with all the tools at his disposal, the path in doing so wouldn’t be straightforward by any means.
We’ll see if talk of climate change being a ‘hoax’ persists throughout his next four years, and whether or not the US public concurs.
