US President Joe Biden, who will leave office in a few weeks, will ban new gas and oil exploration in marine areas along large parts of the US coast. The White House announced this on Monday. It is a decision that, according to several news agencies - including Reuters and AFP - could be difficult for the incoming president, Donald Trump, to reverse.
The Republican, who will be sworn in as president on January 20, has otherwise promised to increase US energy production in the country.
The ban that Biden will issue will cover 253 million hectares of marine area and includes federal waters off the east and west coasts, the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico and parts of the Bering Sea north of Alaska.
- My decision reflects what communities, businesses and beachgoers along the coasts have long known: that drilling off these coasts can do irreparable damage to places close to us, Biden said in a statement.
He further said that such drilling is "unnecessary" to meet America's energy needs.
- It is not worth the risks, says he.
Trump has signaled a markedly different course from Biden when it comes to US goals for nature conservation and climate change.
jel /ritzau/Reuters
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