(Edited by He Hualan).
On December 15, the U.S. Department of the Interior finally signed Biden's 2024-2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Plan (the "Five-Year Plan"). In the final plan, three oil and gas lease sales activities will take place in the Gulf of Mexico in 2025, 2027 and 2029.
In 2018, Trump proposed a "five-year plan" to open almost all U.S. waters for offshore oil drilling. He proposed 47 offshore drilling lease projects. In 2022, Biden** cut the program to 11 leases, and finally decided to cut it to three in September this year.
Although the plan is the fewest five-year plan for lease sales in history, it is still consistent with Biden**'s "domestic climate and environmental justice" pledge and limiting global warming to 15 global actions are inconsistent. The plan also runs counter to Biden's campaign promises, in which he said he would stop developing new offshore drilling.
In September, as soon as the draft plan was released, 75,000 people marched in New York City to demand that Biden declare a climate emergency and stop supporting any new fossil fuel extraction projects.
Most of Biden's Senate members have close ties to several U.S. oil industry companies and groups such as the National Marine Industry Association. Biden is also currently facing pressure from the fossil fuel industry, Republican lawmakers and right-wing Democrats to increase domestic oil production in response to the increase in oil production due to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Biden, who used bold climate commitments to garner voter support to be elected in 2020, is now seeking re-election next year and could face Republican ex-** Donald Trump again. The fossil fuel industry is one of Trump's main allies. The plan is also to get the fossil fuel industry to join Biden's camp.
The Washington Post noted that in July, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management "netted $22 million by providing about 130,000 acres of oil drilling land in seven states." According to a recent report by Oceana, the three newly approved leases will add to more than 2,000 leases already held by the oil industry. In total, there are more than 11 million acres of ocean, 75% of which are currently unused.
Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food and Water Watch, said, "The program is about short-term political success, but at the expense of communities in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, exposing them to toxic pollution and climate catastrophe." ”
If Biden wants to be recognized by young voters, he must do more to benefit the environment. Said Michele Weindling, political director of youth leadership.
Oil