Drilling on public lands generates billions of dollars in revenue and contributes to about a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Despite a campaign vow to stop drilling, Biden has approved more drilling permits on public lands per month than the Trump administration did during Donald Trump’s first three years in office.
Early in his presidency, Biden signed an executive order directing the Interior secretary to halt new leases and begin a thorough review of existing permits for fossil fuel development. But 13 GOP state attorneys general sued and a federal judge in Louisiana blocked the order.