The moratorium is intended to allow time for officials to review the impact of oil and gas drilling on the environment and climate. Environmental groups hailed the expected moratorium as the kind of bold, urgent action needed to slow climate change. Oil industry groups slammed the move, saying Biden had already eliminated thousands of oil and gas jobs by killing the Keystone XL oil pipeline on his first day in office. The drilling moratorium is among several climate-related actions Biden will announce Wednesday. The pause in drilling is limited to federal lands and does not affect drilling on private lands, which is largely regulated by states.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 26, 2021 17:14 UTC