Among the most fast-tracked areas in the effort to take a critical stance on climate change today are offshore drilling bans. While different countries are paying close attention to ocean health, as well as the pressing need to cut down fossil fuel use, such bans serve as a breakthrough toward renewable energy.
Offshore drilling is a long-debated activity, highly contested because of the clear environmental risks it poses. The disastrous oil spill from Deepwater Horizon in 2010 made clear just how damaging this practice can be: oil spills, toxic contamination and destruction of marine life pose harm to ecosystems, local communities and the economy of the coasts, impacts which could take decades. Many consider the ban on offshore drilling an essential step for our protection of the planet and ways of life.
In the U.S., for example, the Biden administration moved to block new offshore drilling leases in parts of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, signaling a turn in policy away from fossil fuel extraction and toward environmental protection. France and Costa Rica have gone further, passing legislation banning drilling outright in their waters — a sign of a growing international consensus that we must rid ourselves of our addiction to fossil fuels.
In any case, the only method to decrease carbon emissions — one of the major drivers of climatic change — involves moving away from offshore drilling. Fortunately, do already have cleaner options at our fingertips. To that end, wind, solar and geothermal can substitute, while several European countries are even investigating the use of offshore wind farms, a very promising way for the ocean’s power to create jobs and also lower carbon footprints.
That said, offshore drilling bans are not without their pitfalls. Some worry that such a ban could result in higher energy costs or harm communities reliant on the oil and gas industry for jobs and economic stability. Others fear the ban on offshore drilling would make countries more dependent on foreign oil imports or expand onshore drilling.
These concerns notwithstanding, bans on offshore drilling are gaining momentum. Protecting oceans and reducing dependency on fossil fuels hold the key to a healthier, sustainable future.
