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A federal court has blocked a decision by the Joe Biden administration authorizing 33 million hectares of oil concessions in the Gulf of Mexico.

On Thursday, a federal judge ruled on the side of environmental groups in revoking more than 33 million hectares of oil and gas concessions in the Gulf of Mexico, approved by the administration of Joe Biden in what had been the largest sale of its kind in the history of the United States.

The ruling, issued by the District of Columbia court, found that the administration had failed to adequately consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions from drilling activities in the Gulf of Mexico. "It's huge," said Brettny Hardy, a lawyer for Earthjustice, an environmental group that participated in the lawsuit, in the New York Times. “It requires the administration to review its project by really taking into account the climate costs before offering these leases for sale, and that is really significant. Once these leases are issued, development is potentially locked in for decades to come, and it will harm our global climate. »

President Joe Biden has promised to focus his presidency on tackling the climate crisis, but after a year of hard work, many activists are unhappy with his approach. “There is no way the United States can meet its climate obligations and goals by continuing this type of fossil fuel development business as usual,” said Earthjustice's Drew Caputo. at Rolling Stone last September. Twenty-five percent of the United States' climate footprint comes from carbon emissions from oil, gas, and coal extracted from federal lands and waters. It's a big part of America's climate footprint, and it's the part over which the President of the United States has the most responsibility and control. »

Thursday's ruling, which finds the administration is failing to consider climate impact in its dealings, is an embarrassment to a president who intended to build his governance with that in mind. As a candidate, Biden had pledged to end drilling on public lands and, shortly after taking office, signed an executive order suspending the granting of new leases. That executive order, however, was blocked by a federal judge in Louisiana after more than a dozen Republican prosecutors filed suit.

Scott Lauermann, spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute, said in a statement that the decision was “disappointing,” adding that “offshore energy development plays a critical role in strengthening the economy. and the energy security of our country. »

William Vaillancourt

Translated by the editorial staff