President Biden entered the White House waging war on America’s fossil fuel energy industry, and critics say he’s going out the same way.
In his final days, he’s issuing edicts designed to restrict investments in domestic energy, including a ban on oil and gas drilling projects in most U.S. coastal waters.
Citing the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Act, Biden claimed the move was necessary to protect 625 million acres of coastal areas for future generations. He suggested the move was made to help American communities threatened by “the climate crisis” and to support the transition to a clean energy economy.
“Drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs. It is not worth the risks,” Biden said in a statement.
However, President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to reverse Biden’s actions.
“It’s ridiculous. I’ll un-ban it immediately,” Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt. “What’s he doing?”
Biden critics see his latest actions as part of an attempt to limit the growth of the U.S. energy industry, going back to his first day in office when he killed the Keystone XL pipeline. Since then, he’s ordered a pause on all new U.S. LNG exports, and his administration approved a Clean Air Act waiver for California, requiring all new passenger cars, small trucks and SUVs to have zero emissions by 2035.
U.S. energy advocates say banning proposed new LNG terminals in places like Louisiana and Pennsylvania will kill thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic opportunity. They will keep U.S. resources that could be used to push back against Russian aggression off the global market.
Environmentalists hailed the Biden move, pressing him to do more.
“Biden must reject pending (LNG) export projects,” wrote Aru Shiney-Ajay of the Sunrise Movement. The group held a sit-in with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in 2018 over climate change legislation.
“This is an epic ocean victory!” crowed Oceana campaign director Joseph Gordon. “Our treasured coastal communities are now safeguarded for future generations.”
Critics said Biden is following a 2020 campaign promise to change the American energy industry.
“The same man who said he would ‘end fossil fuel’ in 2019 is attempting to do just that, and hamstring President-elect Trump on the way out,” said Craig Stevens of the GAIN Coalition.
Pennsylvania Manufactures’ Association President & CEO David Taylor called the president’s order on continental drilling a “betrayal of the American people.
“I guess President Biden wants to lock in place the inflation that has hurt so many American families, because the number one way to fight inflation is by maximizing domestic energy production,” Taylor told DVJournal.
It could also undermine America’s and Pennsylvania’s energy security.
The United States is the world’s most significant exporter of natural gas and is tied for second with Russia on crude oil exports. It’s also the globe’s top oil producer.
A large portion of the LNG comes from Pennsylvania. Statistics from the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) rank the Keystone State as the nation’s second-largest gas-producing state, behind Texas. Pennsylvania is also the second-largest energy exporter in the U.S.
European countries pivoted to U.S.-produced LNG after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Last year, the EIA reported that LNG exports to Europe remain at record-high levels.
“The U.S. has an abundance of natural resources at our disposal and banning the extraction of these efficient and reliable fuels jeopardizes our nation’s energy security,” Stevens said.
More important, American oil and gas producers adhere to regulations not in place in other countries.
“Energy produced in America under strict environmental standards can be used here at home or exported to allies abroad, which is better for the climate, global security and our economy,” said Christopher Guith, a senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Energy Institute.
Taylor encouraged Americans to not be so single-minded on oil and gas drilling.
“Petroleum has multiple purposes, not just as a fuel, but also as a lubricant [and] an input for petrochemical manufacturing,” he said.
It’s not unusual for presidents to use the Outer Continental Shelf Act to withdraw unleased offshore areas from future drilling. What made Biden’s move unique was his attempt to ban future leases. While Trump vowed to go to court to revoke Biden’s move, it may ultimately be up to Congress to overturn the action.
