President Joe Biden released an executive order to permanently restrict offshore oil and gas extraction in some areas of the Atlantic and Pacific seas. This would make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the next trump government to reverse the decision. 

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New leasing of oil and gas across 625 million acres of US ocean will be banned by Biden's unilateral move. All of the east coast, part of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska, the coastlines of Washington, Oregon, and California, and the Eastern Gulf of Mexico will be off-limits to oil company leases for new drilling. 

'It is not worth the risks'

Biden said, "My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation's energy needs." He added, "It is not worth the risks." 

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The president is using his extensive power under the outer continental shelf lands act of 1953, which allows him to exclude federal seas from potential future lease and production of oil and gas. To undo Biden's decision, president-elect Trump would need to persuade congress to amend the legislation, as it does not explicitly grant presidents the power to do so. This would imply that federal waterways would once again be subject to development. 

Donald Trump, however has vowed to reverse this decision on his inaugral day itself. All eyes are on January 20, a day which will probably reshape the global geopolitical and trade trends.