We urge your issuance of the following Executive Order to enact your “Day One” commitment, with no state exceptions, to ban new federal oil and gas leasing and permitting on public lands and waters:
EXECUTIVE ORDER BANNING NEW FEDERAL FOSSIL FUEL LEASING AND PERMITTING ON PUBLIC LANDS AND WATERS
Global emissions must be reduced by half over the next decade to limit warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Accordingly, it is in the national interest for the United States, based on our cumulative emissions and respective capabilities, to lead the way by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 70 percent by 2030 and to near zero by 2040.
Because fossil fuels are responsible for 75 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions and over 90 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, it is the policy of the Biden administration to immediately cease the expansion of fossil fuel development and implement a managed decline of fossil fuel extraction on public lands and waters.
December 2020
