Biden calls for oil and gas leasing reform to address climate change

The Department of the Interior released a report Friday on the United States’ “federal oil and gas leasing and permitting practices.” According to the department, “the report identifies significant reforms that should be made to ensure the programs provide a fair return to taxpayers, discourage speculation, hold operators responsible for remediation, and more fully include communities and Tribal, state, and local governments in decision-making.” Those reforms include:

• Adjusting royalty and bonding rates
• Prioritizing leasing in areas with known resource potential
• Avoiding leasing that conflicts with recreation, wildlife habitat, conservation, and historical and cultural resources

The oil and gas leasing reform report is the result of a review ordered in Executive Order 14008, which President Joe Biden signed in his early days in office. President Biden had put a moratorium on federal oil and gas lease sales, citing worries about climate change. The moratorium drew sharp criticism from congressional Republicans and the oil industry, while environmentalists and Democrats said Biden should make the leasing pause permanent.

“Our nation faces a profound climate crisis that is impacting every American,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a news release. “The Interior Department has an obligation to responsibly manage our public lands and waters – providing a fair return to the taxpayer and mitigating worsening climate impacts – while staying steadfast in the pursuit of environmental justice.”

Last week, the Biden administration conducted a lease sale on federal oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Mexico after attorneys general from Republican-led states successfully sued in federal court to lift the moratorium. Energy companies including Shell, BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil offered a combined $192 million for offshore drilling rights in the Gulf. The leases will take years to develop, meaning oil companies could keep producing crude long past 2030. That’s the deadline Biden has set to lower greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% compared with 2005 levels.

Friday’s report comes as Biden is attempting to bring down oil prices that have risen due to inflation. Last week, Biden ordered the release of 50 million barrels of oil from America’s strategic reserve. Oil prices further fell Friday amid worries of another slowdown in the global economy due to a COVID-19 variant emerging.