President
Joe Biden will impose a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing on federal lands
and waters on Wednesday, The Washington Post reported, quoting three people
familiar with the matter.

The move,
which was one of Biden’s boldest campaign pledges to counter climate change, is
expected to be met with stiff resistance from the fossil fuel industry.

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New
documents have been prepared by the White House that will put new oil and gas
auctions on federal lands and waters with the new administration reviewing those
programs, the sources said. Existing leases will remain unaffected by the move
and drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and on public land in the West will continue.
 

The administration
is also considering to impose a moratorium on federal coal leasing, although
the sources said that officials are expected to rule against that move.

Biden is
slated to announce measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase federal
decision-making’s dependence on science. Among other environment-friendly policies
are protecting 30% federal land and water by the end of the decade and treating
climate change as a national security priority.

During his
campaign, Biden promised to ban “new oil and gas permitting on public lands and
waters”, although, he did not specify exactly what the ban will entail.

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Almost a
quarter of the United States’ carbon output comes from fossil fuel leasing on
federal and tribal lands, generating billions in tax revenue for the
federal, state, local and tribal governments. According to the Interior
Department’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue, drilling activities generated
$11.7 billion in tax revenue in 2020.

The move
will allow the new administration to determine if taxpayers are being adequately
compensated for the minerals extracted from their lands, environmentalists say.

“By pausing
the broken leasing system and halting the giveaways to oil and gas executives,
President Biden has an opportunity to meaningfully fix the leasing system for
the first time in nearly four decades with solutions that work for the public
and which incorporate ambitious conservation, taxpayer fairness, and climate
goals,” Jenny Rowland-Shea, a senior policy analyst for public land at the think-tank
Center for American Progress wrote in an email, reported the Washington Post.

“We can
make sure our public lands and coasts are preserved, accessible and beneficial
to everyone, not abused by oil and gas corporations.”

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However,
oil and gas groups, like the American Petroleum Institute (API), argue that staying
new leases will deprive the federal state, local governments of revenue. The
industry issued criticism for the Interior Department last week after it said
that new leases or permits issued over the next 60 days will have to be
approved by a top-ranking Biden appointee.

API
president Mike Sommers said that the move will weaken the American domestic
energy producers and benefit those abroad.

“Restricting
development on federal lands and waters is nothing more than an ‘import more
oil’ policy,” Sommers said, adding, “Energy demand will continue to rise,
especially as the economy recovers, and we can choose to produce that energy
here in the United States or rely on foreign countries hostile to American
interests.”

According
to API, around 22% of American oil production and 12% natural gas production
takes place on federal lands and waters.