U.S. President Joe Biden has implemented new protections limiting offshore oil and gas drilling operations across broad swaths of the U.S. coast, preserving 635 million acres of ocean from future oil or gas leasing.
“My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for a long time: Drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs,” Biden said in a statement. “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.”
The new protections cover the entire U.S. East coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific coast of the continental U.S., and portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska.
“President Biden made the most of a historic opportunity to build on the legacy of former Democratic and Republican presidents who protected our coasts from new offshore drilling,” Oceana Campaign Director Joseph Gordon said in a statement. “Protecting new areas from disastrous oil spills is not only good for our oceans but also those who rely on clean and healthy coasts. Our coastlines are home to millions of Americans and support billions of dollars of economic activity that depend on a healthy coast, abundant wildlife, and thriving fisheries. New coastal protections build on a bipartisan tradition, including President Trump’s previous withdrawals in the Southeastern United States in 2020. Presidents of both parties understand that part of what makes America great are our treasured coastal communities, and we must safeguard our coasts for future generations.”
Incoming President-elect Donald Trump has already vowed to revoke Biden’s drilling ban.
"Banning offshore drilling will not stand. I will reverse it immediately," Trump said in a 7 January press conference, according to Reuters.
Still, some lawmakers are hopeful that Biden’s actions will make it more difficult for the incoming Trump administration to approve new offshore gas and oil leases.
“I’m hopeful that this action will put up a roadblock that will prevent the Trump administration from selling out the Atlantic to the top-bidding polluter,” U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) said in a statement. “I’ve been on the front lines of helping [Rhode Island] recover after oil spills, and I’m keenly aware of just how damaging offshore accidents can be.”
While Biden’s announcement will prevent offshore gas and oil drilling for now, commercial fishers have been less enthused with the president’s push for offshore wind energy development, which will affect many of NOAA Fisheries’ long-running fisheries surveys and fishers warn will industrialize prime fishing grounds.
Under his administration, Biden set an ambitious goal of generating 30 gigawatts of offshore wind in the U.S. by 2030. In September, the government announced the 10th approval of a commercial-scale offshore wind project. In October, the administration sold the first four offshore wind energy leases in the Gulf of Maine. Biden’s government also adjusted the boundaries of Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary to enable future offshore wind energy development off the coast of California.
State governments and federal lawmakers have considered different solutions to compensate fishers for the loss of fishing opportunities due to new wind installations. In November, a coalition of East Coast states selected two firms to manage a compensation fund that will provide financial relief to commercial fishers who suffer economic loss due to offshore wind energy development.
The protections against drilling are the latest salvo in Biden’s America the Beautiful Initiative – an effort to conserve 30 percent of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030.
“From day one, I have delivered on the most ambitious climate and conservation agenda in our country’s history,” Biden said. “Over the last four years, I have conserved more than 670 million acres of America’s lands and waters, more than any other president in history. Our country’s remarkable conservation and restoration progress has been locally led by Tribes, farmers and ranchers, fishermen, small businesses, and outdoor recreation enthusiasts across the country.”
Over the course of his administration, Biden has established or expanded 10 national monuments and created six national wildlife refuges. In September 2024, Biden established the first Tribal-led national marine sanctuary: Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.
The marine monuments and protections haven’t been very welcome in the U.S. commercial fishing sector, with fishers arguing that science-based regulations do a better job at protecting vulnerable fish populations than the blanket area protections created by sanctuaries and monuments. In November, seafood groups sent a joint letter asking Biden not to create or expand any marine monuments in his final days as president.
