Tell Biden: Protect Offshore Lands from Oil Drilling

With Donald Trump about to take office, the threat of more offshore drilling looms large. In 2018, the first Trump Administration proposed a plan that would have opened nearly all United States coastal waters to oil and gas leasing. While that plan was stopped, it showed just how vulnerable these areas are to exploitation and how quickly climate progress can be pushed aside. President Biden must do everything in his power to stop Trump from opening more of our coasts to oil and gas drilling when he takes office in January.

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) sent the White House a letter last week asking that President Biden act boldly to expand offshore drilling protections before Trump is sworn in.

Federal law gives President Biden broad authority to protect unleased offshore lands from drilling. Past presidents, including President Obama, have used this authority to withdraw large swathes of ocean territory from fossil fuel development. The Biden Administration has  already made use of this power in 2023 to protect the Beaufort Sea. However, these withdrawals remain at risk of reversal unless made permanent.

The law is on President Biden’s side if he acts. In 2017, when President Trump attempted to reverse President Obama's withdrawals in the Arctic and Atlantic, the courts ruled that the law does not grant authority to revoke prior protections. This means that any permanent withdrawals the Biden Administration puts into place before January are likely to withstand legal challenges, ensuring the enduring protection of our coastal waters and helping to slow climate change.

The consequences of offshore drilling are devastating. Oil spills have caused some of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history, wreaking havoc on marine ecosystems, killing wildlife, and polluting coastal communities. These risks are too great to ignore, especially when the U.S. has the resources and technology to invest in renewable energy alternatives.

Moreover, expanding fossil fuel extraction directly contradicts our nation's climate goals. Continued drilling in our coastal waters would lock in decades of carbon emissions, making it nearly impossible to meet our commitments under the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C. In addition, the fossil fuel industry’s unchecked drilling activity leaves behind a trail of abandoned wells and decaying infrastructure, putting our coastlines at further risk.

Protecting our coastal waters is not just a climate imperative—it’s also widely supported by the American public. According to a 2024 Ipsos survey, nearly two-thirds of registered voters favor banning offshore drilling. More than 390 municipalities along the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts have formally opposed offshore drilling expansions. Please sign the petition to call on President Biden to permanently protect unleased offshore lands from oil and gas drilling.