Joe Biden puts obstacles in the way of oil extraction …

United States President Joe Biden has signed an ambitious executive order suspending new oil drilling on federal lands “to the extent possible.” The initiative, which responds to the new administration’s plans to tackle the climate crisis, aims to review the licensing practices in the energy sector and already existing “fossil fuel” concessions in federal territories.

In addition, The United States has pledged to protect 30% of federal lands and waters by 2030 to halt biodiversity loss, and proposes broader public investment in green infrastructure, including two trillion dollars for clean energy projects. As a result of these measures, the government seeks to bet on the creation of new and better jobs and will try to conserve and improve natural spaces. Oil and natural gas sectors, strongly affected by the recession caused by the pandemic, oppose these measures knowing that they are directly damaging their business.

The White House assured that Biden’s actions meet his goal of “taking aggressive action to tackle climate change”, including the reintegration into the Paris Agreement announced upon assumption of the presidency. The White House also announced that On April 22, in celebration of Earth Day, Biden will host a World Environment Summit, thus underlining the United States’ return to the international effort to reduce carbon emissions.

“It’s a future full of hope and opportunity. It is about being able to face this maximum threat which now accompanies us, facing us, climate change, with a greater sense of urgency. In my opinion, we have already waited too long to face this climate crisis. We can’t wait any longer, ”Biden said when presenting the White House’s new measures.

Democratic president pledged million new auto industry jobs which will be generated by the federal government by transferring its entire fleet to electric vehicles. “We can do it, we have to do it and we will do it”Biden said as the executive decrees approached with an emphasis on “jobs, fairness and scientific integrity.”

In the same spirit Gina McCarthy, one of Biden’s top climate advisers, said the president’s effort “will boost the economy with well-paying jobs.” McCarthy insisted that the measurements “They will benefit jobs, our health and lead us into the future that we want to pass on to our children”.

For its part John Kerry, The United States Climate Envoy, said: “The stakes of climate change could not be higher. 2021 will be the year to catch up for the last four years.”. Asked how the United States will work side-by-side with China (the two countries are the main emitters of greenhouse gases), Kerry said the United States will have to “compartmentalize and move the negotiations forward” on the climate despite “serious differences in some important issues.”

According to a 2018 government report, nearly a quarter of the United States’ carbon dioxide emissions come from the production of electricity on public lands. With these measures, Biden is approaching his campaign commitments to phase out fossil fuels and achieve zero carbon in the energy sector by 2035 and in the economy as a whole by 2050, an ambitious measure aimed at curbing global climate change.

But the measures planned by the government have provoked outrage from part of the fossil fuel industry. “Restricting development on federal lands and waters is nothing more than an ‘import more oil’ policy”, said Mike Sommers, President and CEO of American Petroleum Institute.

“The demand for energy will continue to increase, 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,” he said. -he adds. The energy industry and the southern and western states of the country are expected to, whose economies are heavily dependent on royalties produced by this sector, to oppose the measure in court.

International summit

The White House also announced the call at an international summit of leaders April 22, during which the United States will try to clarify the new administration’s change of course on the environment. “The accelerating melting of glaciers and ice (sea ice), the sinking of permafrost (the permanently frozen layer of soil) and rising temperatures show the importance of placing the climate as an essential element of our foreign policy, ”said Sherri Goodman, who was former President Barack Obama’s Assistant Under Secretary for Environmental Security.

David Waskow, World Resources Institute, said the summit will be “an opportunity for the United States to return to the negotiating table with other countries to advance the agenda and speed up the passage before COP26 “, the UN climate meeting to be held in Glasgow later this year. The United States should also increase its environmental ambitions, for example forecasting a 50% reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 from 2005 levels.

Biden will present a $ 2 billion climate plan to Congress next month, seeking to permanently install “green” measures in the US economy. Faced with these plans, the reluctance of some Republicans will undoubtedly appear, even if an agreement between the two parties could be effective.