Biden’s latest legislation

Biden bans offshore oil and gas drilling days before Trump takes office

On January 6, 2025, U.S. President Biden modified a policy, preventing all offshore oil and gas drilling along 625 million acres of ocean. Prior to this legislation, certain areas of the coastal U.S. have already been protected by law from offshore drilling, such as the Gulf of Florida, which would have expired in 2032. Now, the new law bans drilling from nearly 100 percent of U.S. waters, including the entirety of both the East and West Coasts, only excluding the Gulf of Mexico, which stretches from Alabama to Texas.

Olivia Haill – Argosy Illustrator

Additionally, this policy aids the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Act, allowing for withdrawal from existing offshore drilling operations. In anticipation of Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025, this legislation was designed so that presidents do not have explicit authority to appeal it. Therefore, Trump will have to take this issue to Congress before it can be reversed. As expected, Trump was furious with Biden’s work and claims that he will “have it revoked on day one.” However, this is unlikely due to the Republican Party only having a slim majority in Congress. In Trump’s first term, he failed to appeal a law issued by Obama to protect Arctic and Atlantic waters from oil drilling. The federal court ultimately ruled that Trump’s attempt to reverse the legislation was unlawful. Although history may not necessarily repeat itself, this is an indication that Trump’s goal to revoke Biden’s work “day one” is not possible and will take a number of court hearings and the decision is up to Congress. 

With less than a week of Biden’s time in the White House remaining, this ban is an excellent and strategic last move as president. The banning of offshore drilling has the potential to greatly reduce North America’s net carbon emissions. In 2022, offshore oil and gas operations contributed to 5.1 billion tons of carbon emissions and 15 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions around the world. The U.S. has the most offshore oil rigs compared to any other country, so Biden’s ban will noticeably reduce the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, so long as this legislation is not reversed by Trump. In Biden’s words, “My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beach-goers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs.”

President-elect Trump is not the only stakeholder in opposition to Biden’s ban. In fact, the oil and gas industries are grieving the loss of economic activity. The chairman of the Independent Petroleum Association of America Offshore Committee proclaimed Biden’s actions in banning offshore drilling as “catastrophic” and a “major attack” on the oil and natural gas industries. Although perceptions of the legislation are mixed, scientific evidence demonstrates a correlation between reducing oil and gas operations and lower net carbon emissions. 



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