Biden Sets in Motion Plan to Ban New Oil and Gas Leases on Federal Land

President Biden on Wednesday will issue a suite of executive orders that will effectively launch his agenda to combat climate change, The New York Times reports.

The orders will explore a potential ban on new oil and gas leasing on federal land, direct the government to conserve 30 percent of all federal land and water by 2030, create a task force to assemble a governmentwide action plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and issue a memorandum elevating climate change to a national security priority.

Tim Profeta, director of the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University, told The New York Times, that the orders represent an important first step.

“The Biden administration can do quite a bit to start to put the country on the right trajectory with its own authorities,” Profeta said.