WASHINGTON – President Biden is planning on Wednesday to halt the new oil and gas lease on federal territory, people familiar with the matter said, establishing a confrontation with the oil industry over the future of US energy.
The Biden government drafted an order to impose the moratorium while carrying out a review of the federal oil and gas leasing program, people said, in what is potentially a first step towards its campaign promise to end future leases. The request is expected to be included in a package of government measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing land conservation.
As a candidate, Biden said he would pressure the country to “transition the oil industry” because of its pollution, and he acted more quickly and broadly to do so than many expected.
In addition to the moratorium on oil and gas leasing, Biden must set a goal to protect 30% of federal land and water by 2030, people said. The president also plans to reinstate a White House scientific advisory board, established during the Obama administration. The New York Times and The Washington Post previously reported on Biden’s plans.
Government officials discussed holding a climate change summit, possibly on Earth Day, April 22, one person said, but officials have not yet finalized those plans. Biden pledged during his campaign to convene a summit of leaders from around the world to discuss climate change early in his government.
President Biden, here with Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday, considered climate change to be one of the four crises he hopes to face during his government.
Photograph:
Drew Angerer / Getty images
Share prices for American oil companies fell last week. Mr. Biden used his early days in office to cancel a license for the Keystone XL pipeline, try to prevent drillers from accessing the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and initiate a review of more than 100 environmental policies, many of which are efforts by Trump to facilitate regulations for oil companies.
The move is already suffering strong resistance from the oil industry at a time when other business sectors have taken a more opportunistic approach to dealing with the new president. Oil industry leaders see Biden’s movements as a confrontation, an attempt to control his ability to grow and plan to combat it through various legal challenges and wide lobbying among Congressional allies.
World leaders welcomed President Biden’s initiative to return to the Paris climate deal. As the president reverses many of his predecessor’s climate policies, here’s what it means for the global race to reach ambitious emissions targets. Photo: Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images
The Biden government said its decision on the Keystone XL pipeline was discussed last week during a call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in which Mr Biden “acknowledged Prime Minister Trudeau’s disappointment in the decision to terminate the license for the Keystone XL pipeline, “according to a reading released by the White House.
Biden faced criticism from former President Donald Trump during the campaign because of his plans to halt the new hydraulic fracturing on federal lands, including in major battlefield states like Pennsylvania. Trump accused his rival of banning all hydraulic fracturing, which allows oil and gas to be extracted from shale rock. Mr. Biden countered that most fracking takes place on state or private land, so his proposal would have a limited impact in practice.
The president classified climate change as one of the four crises he hopes to face during his government, along with the pandemic, the economy and racial inequality. The president chose former Secretary of State John Kerry and former Obama Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy to focus on issues of international and domestic climate change, respectively. Mr. Kerry is the President’s special envoy for climate change and Ms. McCarthy is leading the newly formed White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy.
Write to Timothy Puko at [email protected], Ken Thomas at [email protected] and Andrew Restuccia at [email protected]
Copyright © 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8