US President Joe Biden is set to ban new offshore oil and gas development across 625 million acres (250 million hectares) of U.S. coastal territory.

The ban rules out the sale of drilling rights in stretches of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

The move is considered mostly symbolic, as it will not impact areas where oil and gas development is currently underway, and mainly covers zones where drillers have no important prospects, including in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Donald Trump has vowed to revoke the ban “immediately” when he takes office, but he may find it difficult to reverse under US law.

Photo: Jan-Rune Smenes Reite

Announcing the new drilling ban, 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.

“It is not worth the risks.”

In a radio interview, Trump branded the ban “ridiculous”.

“I’ll unban it immediately,” he said. “I have the right to unban it immediately.”

Trump has previously said he will reverse Biden’s conservation and climate change policies.

For the new drilling ban, Biden is taking the action under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, which allows US presidents to withdraw areas from mineral leasing and drilling.

The law does not grant presidents the legal authority to overturn prior bans, according to a 2019 court ruling. It means a reversal would likely require an act of Congress, which is now controlled by Trump’s Republicans.

Joseph Gordon, from conservation organisation Oceana, said: “This is an epic ocean victory.

“Our treasured coastal communities are now safeguarded for future generations.”