Biden plan likely to allow more offshore drilling, despite his climate vow
The proposal, aimed in part to win over Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), falls short of Biden’s campaign pledge to end fossil fuel leasing for good. Coming just a day after the Supreme Court dealt a blow to the administration’s plans to address climate change, the plan also moves the country further from its pledge to slash planet-warming pollution in half by 2030 compared with 2005 levels.
The Biden administration released a proposed plan on Friday for where the federal government intends to hold offshore oil and gas lease sales in federal waters for the next five years. The plan would mainly limit drilling to the Gulf of Mexico, with one proposed lease sale in waters off Alaska.
The Interior Department's five-year offshore leasing plan is required by law. But it comes at a time when the Biden administration is caught between conflicting goals: its own commitments to slash planet-warming emissions from fossil fuels, and intense political pressure over high gas prices.
Interior is proposing a range of options; from no new drilling to 10 lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico -- where the vast majority of offshore drilling already occurs -- as well as one proposed sale in Alaska's Cook Inlet. However, Interior recently canceled an approved Cook Inlet sale due to lack of interest from the oil and gas industry.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/01/politics/biden-offshore-drilling-plan-climate/index.html
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