The Interior Ministry took swift action to fulfill President Biden’s campaign promise to block oil and gas drilling on public land, freezing such leases for the next 60 days.
An order signed by Acting Secretary Scott de la Vega on Wednesday is preventing the department from going ahead with new leasing or drilling permits. It also blocks all new major mining actions.
Biden’s climate plan calls for “banning new oil and gas permits on public lands and waters,” a pledge made by every Democratic candidate in the primary after the idea was first proposed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren Budowsky: Democracy Won, Trump Lost, President Biden Inaugurated Top Senate Democrat Backs Biden’s Waiver Pentagon-Nominated Consumer Bureau Director Resigns After Biden’s Inauguration MORE (D-Mass.).
The 60-day timeline pauses a number of other actions at the Home Office, including any promotions for department personnel or transfers of public land back to the United States.
Biden has Rep. Deb Haaland
Deb Haaland OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Biden recommends the US again to the Paris climate agreement | Biden Ignores Keystone XL Permit, Stops Leasing Arctic Refuge | Secretary of the Interior withdraws wilderness protection order before leaving office Record number of women to serve in Biden’s cabinet Secretary of the interior withdraws wilderness protection order before leaving office MORE (DN.M.) to head the Interior Department, and her signature would be required to institute a permanent moratorium on new oil drilling on public land.
Biden’s climate plan calls for moving the US towards carbon neutrality by 2050, an effort that requires a reduction in fossil fuel use.
“I would move from the oil industry, yes,” Biden said in an October debate with the former President Trump
Donald Trump Clinton, Bush and Obama reflect on the peaceful transfer of power on Biden’s Inauguration Day The Arizona Republican Party brothers say he is “at least partially to blame” for the violence in the Capitol..
“It’s a big statement because the oil industry is polluting considerably. … It should be replaced over time with renewable energy. “