BIDEN CONSIDERS BAN ON NEW OIL, GAS DRILLING LEASES ON FEDERAL LAND

WASHINGTON» President Joe Biden on Wednesday will direct federal agencies to determine how expansive a ban on new oil and gas drilling leases on federal land should be, part of a suite of executive orders that will effectively launch his agenda to combat climate change, two people with knowledge of the president’s plans said Monday.

An eventual ban on new drilling leases would fulfill a campaign promise that infuriated the oil industry and became a central theme in Pennsylvania, where the natural gas extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has become big business.

The move is the most prominent of several that Biden with announce Wednesday, the two people said. The president also will direct the government to conserve 30% of all federal land and water by 2030, create a task force to assemble a government-wide action plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and issue a memorandum elevating climate change to a national security priority. Biden will also create new commissions and positions within focused on environmental justice and environmentally friendly job creation, such as helping displaced coal communities.

The likelihood that Congress can pass vast parts of Biden’s $2 trillion climate change agenda is only slightly greater now that Democrats hold a slim majority in a 50-50 Senate. There is little hope of passing a carbon tax or other mechanism to put a price on greenhouse gas pollution, which would push corporations to emit less.