It may be the dead of winter, but when we think of our beaches, none of us want to picture them covered in oil. 

That’s true for people who live along the water and those who live hundreds of miles from any ocean. Regardless of generation, we can all picture what an oil-covered coastline looks like. For some, it’s the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, Calif. For others, it’s the Deepwater Horizon oil spill by BP in the Gulf of Mexico.

No matter what disaster comes to mind, we can all agree on one thing: We must protect our waters and coastal communities. President Biden not only agrees but he also just took decisive action to prevent future disasters.

This week, in the waning days of his administration, Biden announced he would use his authority under Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to permanently withdraw 625 million acres from oil and gas leasing and exploration off U.S. coasts. The protected waters include the entire eastern Atlantic coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific coast of California, Oregon and Washington and portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska.

This move is the latest chapter in Biden’s historic climate legacy. It safeguards coastal communities and economies, marine wildlife and ecosystems from the threats posed by offshore drilling. It will also protect the health of those living closest to the pollution and other negative effects of offshore drilling. Additionally, it will bolster the clean energy transition, ending reliance on fossil fuels, strengthening the economy with family-sustaining jobs and making air and water cleaner and safer.

The action marks a major stride in the Biden administration’s America the Beautiful initiative to conserve, restore and protect 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030, often called “30 by 30.” It’s one more achievement for an administration that has shown remarkable dedication to conservation with the creation and expansion of national monuments, protections for millions of acres in the Arctic and priority shifts at key agencies like the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.

The move also should resonate with Americans across the political spectrum. Strong bipartisan majorities oppose offshore drilling. Sixty percent of Americans opposed efforts by the Trump administration to lift offshore drilling bans. In the 17 states along the coasts that would have been impacted, 64% opposed lifting the ban. Coastal communities, business groups and governors of both parties oppose offshore drilling. Presidents of both parties – including every president in the 21st century – have used Section 12(a) authority to remove portions of the U.S. coastline from oil and gas drilling. Bipartisan support for offshore drilling bans has also been seen in Congress.

Despite propaganda from Big Oil and Gas, this is a major win for all Americans, especially for communities that depend on coastal waters for their livelihoods and local economies. It’s also a win for every American as the climate crisis increasingly impacts us all. Gas prices won’t rise as a result; the cost of gasoline is determined by global oil prices and consumer demand, not changes to federal leasing policy. There’s no evidence that expanded leasing and domestic production in federal waters would lower heating bills.

This is also a win for endangered marine mammals, fisheries and ecosystems along most U.S. coastlines. No matter what narrative corporate polluters push, there’s no safe way to desecrate our waters to extract fossil fuels.

That’s why we must continue pushing to protect the central and western Gulf of Mexico, where oil and gas drilling is already deeply entrenched. Communities, species and ecosystems in this region continue to face the environmental and health hazards of widespread fossil fuel development. Another spill catastrophe in this area could lead to devastating public health, economic and extinction-level impacts.

As we transition to a clean energy economy, we can look forward to a day when all U.S. waters and coasts are protected from the harms of offshore drilling. When that day comes, this move by Biden will be seen as a pivotal step.

The writer is the executive director of the Sierra Club and a professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania.