The Biden Administration this month filed to overturn a lower court decision that halts offshore fracking in California federal waters, including the Santa Barbara Channel.
The court decision came after several environmental organizations filed a series of lawsuits, which ruled that the federal government’s allowance of offshore drilling violated several environmental regulations, including the Endangered Species Act and Coastal Zone Management Act.
Last year, the Biden administration announced its goals to reduce 50 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Attorney Kristen Monssell for the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the organizations involved in the lawsuits, said Biden’s recent efforts to challenge this offshore drilling ban are a major reversal of the administration’s climate plans.
“It’s incredibly disappointing to see the Biden Administration doing the oil industry’s bidding by defending fracking off the California coast,” said Monsell.
A 2021 analysis by research organization Oceana found that a permanent offshore drilling ban for federal waters could prevent over 19 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions, nearly three times the total annual emissions in the US.
During his 2020 campaign, President Biden vowed that “there will (would) be no offshore drilling” under his presidency.
However, President Biden’s recent push for offshore drilling in California contradicts his promises to ban offshore drilling altogether. Meanwhile, many Republican lawmakers defend oil and gas fracking for the energy, tax revenue, jobs, and other economic benefits it can provide.
Though President Biden has not banned offshore drilling, a 2022 Wall Street Journal analysis found that the Biden administration has leased fewer acres of federal land for oil and gas drilling than any other administration in its early stages, dating back to the end of World War Two.
Despite its record-low oil and gas leasing numbers, the administration continues to push for offshore drilling in California’s oceans, some of the most biologically productive waters on Earth.
“We’re confident that this effort to overturn it will be rejected,” said Monsell, “Offshore fracking shouldn’t be allowed at all, let alone without the careful comprehensive analysis of its numerous environmental effects.”
This comes as California aims to transition away from fossil fuels and reach carbon neutrality by 2045.
