President Joe Biden is making a sweeping move to ban all future oil and natural gas leasing with the aim to protect the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and Northern Bering Sea from offshore drilling.

Biden is taking action to protect the entire U.S. East coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California, and additional portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska from future oil and natural gas leasing.

In protecting more than 625 million acres of the U.S. ocean from offshore drilling, Biden has determined that the environmental and economic risks and harms that would result from drilling in these areas outweigh their limited fossil fuel resource potential.

“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,” Biden said in a statement. “It is not worth the risks.”

According to the White House fact sheet, this move blocks drilling in more than 625 million acres of the U.S. Ocean.

The fact sheet adds that Biden took those actions under “Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act” and adds that his actions “have no expiration date, and prohibit all future oil and natural gas leasing” in the areas withdrawn.

“With today’s withdrawals, President Biden has now conserved more than 670 million acres of U.S. lands, waters, and ocean-more than any president in history.”

In the White House fact sheet it is stated that nearly 400 municipalities and over 2,300 elected local, state, Tribal, and federal officials across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts have formally opposed the expansion of offshore drilling in these areas in view of its severe environmental, health, and economic threats.

“Nearly every Governor along the East and West Coasts, Republicans and Democrats alike, has expressed concerns about expanded oil and gas drilling off their coastlines.”

The move would guard against future oil spills, the White House says, and against adding more planet-warming pollution from fossil fuels to the atmosphere.

“With these withdrawals, President Biden is protecting coastal communities, marine ecosystems, and local economies, including fishing, recreation, and tourism, from oil spills and other impacts of offshore drilling,” the White House announcement said.

As Biden’s presidency draws to a close, the oil industry lashed out against the action announced on Monday, mentioning that the ban will severely hurt the industry’s long-term ability to survive.

But Biden noted in his statement that protecting coastlines from offshore drilling has bipartisan support.

“From California to Florida, Republican and Democratic Governors, Members of Congress, and coastal communities alike have worked and called for greater protection of our ocean and coastlines from harms that offshore oil and natural gas drilling can bring,” Biden said.

Biden argued in his statement that preserving the environment and the coastlines will help local economies flourish.