The five-year plan is apparently about the Gulf of Mexico and the waters off Alaska – the US actually wants to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade.
According to media reports, the government of US President Joe Biden is not ruling out new oil and gas drilling off the US coast.
A plan presented by the Interior Ministry provides for possible drilling mainly in the Gulf of Mexico – but also off the coast of Alaska, as US media reported unanimously. The Interior Ministry’s five-year plan is required by law. It involves the development of new oil and gas fields off the coast of the United States.
However, the ministry’s proposals also include the possibility of dispensing with new so-called offshore drilling. It also proposes possible auctions of drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Alaska. The plan exempts public waters on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts from drilling.
Home Secretary Deb Haaland has stressed that the plan is not final, the Washington Post reported. The plan narrows down the areas eligible for oil and gas leases compared to the 2018 plan proposed under ex-President Donald Trump, the newspaper said.
By the end of the decade, the United States actually wants to at least halve its greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2005 levels. It was only on Thursday that the US Supreme Court had given Biden’s climate policy a severe blow and significantly restricted the powers of the environmental agency. At the same time, Biden is under pressure because of high energy prices in the country.
