Biden bans offshore drilling in large part of the US

US President Joe Biden announced a ban on offshore oil and gas drilling on the US coast, weeks before Donald Trump took office.

The ban announced by Biden includes the entire Atlantic coast and the eastern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Pacific coast from California, Oregon and Washington and part of the Bering Sea around Alaska.

It is the latest in a series of last-minute climate policy actions by the Biden administration before Trump returns to the White House.

During his campaign, Trump promised to “freeze” domestic oil production in order to lower gas costs, despite the fact that the US has already seen higher emissions.

Biden said in a statement: “My decision shows what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for a long time: that dredging these beaches will cause irreparable damage to the places we love and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs.”

“It’s not worth the risks.”

Trump has promised to reverse Biden’s policies on conservation and climate change when he takes office later this month. However, the new ban has no expiration date and may be difficult for Republicans to reverse.

Biden is taking this step under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, which allows presidents to withdraw lands from mineral leases and mining.

The law, however, does not give them the legal authority to overturn the previous ban, according to a 2019 court ruling.

Trump himself used legislation to ban the sale of offshore drilling rights in the eastern Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida until 2032. Biden’s decision would protect the same area without an expiration date.

The embankment covers more than 625 million hectares (253 million acres) of water.

After it was reported last week that Biden would lift the ban, incoming Trump press secretary Caroline Leavitt called the move “a disgraceful decision”.

He said it was “designed to take political revenge against the American people who gave President Trump the authority to increase drilling and lower the price of gas”.

However, environmental groups have welcomed this decision.

Joseph Gordon, of the conservation organization Oceana, said: “This is an incredible victory for the ocean.

“Our precious coastal communities are now protected for future generations.”