Executive Order Establishes Climate as National Priority | Article

The plain truth is that there is a lot to like in the executive order signed Wednesday by President Biden to tackle the climate crisis at home and abroad. It represents a level of seriousness and urgency that has, frankly, been absent for the past four years. Climate change has been a top priority of the new Administration, starting with a return to the Paris Agreement on day one—which we heralded as a step in the right direction.

Wednesday’s executive order (and accompanying press conference) provided more detail about what a return of U.S. leadership in international climate change negotiations will look like. Between now and Earth Day (April 22), the day of the “Leaders’ Climate Summit” called for by the Administration, the executive order puts the federal government on a fast track aimed at “raising climate ambition and making a positive contribution to the 26^th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) and beyond.” In addition, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry will play a key coordinating role across the entire spectrum of national security and diplomatic activities to ensure that addressing this “existential threat” is a top goal of U.S. foreign policy.

In domestic affairs, National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy will help muster and mobilize a government-wide effort to bring federal resources to bear on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change. This will be a monster effort, and the federal government has an opportunity to lead by example by investing in clean energy technologies for the many buildings and vehicles it manages. Of special interest to EESI are the directives to agencies to draft climate action plans, remove sources of fossil fuel subsidies from the upcoming budget request for fiscal year 2022, and support conservation corps. These are policy recommendations we have explored in our report, A Resilient Future for Coastal Communities; our five-part Workforce Wednesday briefing series; and our fact sheet about the societal costs of tax breaks and subsidies for coal, oil, and natural gas. We will also soon release a fact sheet on how conservation corps can pair climate action with economic opportunity (you can sign up for our white papers here).

The language of the executive order makes it clear that the Biden-Harris Administration understands that climate change will become less and less abstract as we experience its impacts more and more. Climate change impacts will be felt most acutely by frontline communities as well as by areas that have depended on fossil fuel production for economic growth. We have a responsibility to ensure that our transition to a decarbonized, clean energy economy is just and equitable and a reliable source of new, sustainable jobs. The new White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council will provide a formal setting for agency leaders to work in partnership with community leaders and advocates to “address current and historic environmental injustice.” The executive order also establishes an Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization, which will bring together resources from across the federal government to “support and revitalize the economies of coal and power plant communities.” (Be sure to see our recent fact sheet, How Coal Country Can Adapt to the Energy Transition, for more on this pressing topic.)

This ambitious executive order will require a lot of work by a lot of people in Washington, D.C., as well as across all states and territories and in countless communities and neighborhoods to fully realize. Our reaction to the return of the United States to the Paris Agreement applies more generally here—but times 1,000: “Now comes the hard part: setting ambitious climate commitments, implementing new policies, and making sure we meet our goals....This is an ‘all hands on deck’ moment.” EESI’s mission is to advance science-based solutions for climate change, energy, and environmental challenges in order to achieve our vision of a sustainable, resilient, and equitable world. We look forward to working with the Biden-Harris administration and Congress to do just that.

Author: Daniel Bresette