Washington – President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed a series of executive actions aimed at combating of Climate ChangeBased on the unilateral action, the president took up his first day in office and intensified the federal government’s focus on the issue, which was second in the government of former President Donald Trump.
Together with Vice President Kamala Harris, Special Presidential Climate Envoy John Kerry and National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy, Biden said his actions “will overwhelm our government’s ambitious plan to address the existential threat of climate change. “.
“It is about reaching the moment to deal with this maximum threat that we now face, climate change, with a greater sense of urgency,” he said in statements at the White House. “In my opinion, we have already waited too long to deal with this climate crisis and we cannot wait any longer. We see it with our own eyes, we feel it, we know it in our bones.”
The president said the nation “desperately” needs a unified response to the climate crisis and emphasized that the United States must be the leader in the global response.
“It’s time to act,” he said.
In a trio of directives, Biden instructed the Interior Secretary to freeze new oil and gas leases on public land and offshore waters “whenever possible”, and to review existing lease and permit practices related to the development of fossil fuel on federal land. and water. Biden emphasized, as he did during the presidential campaign, that his government is not going to ban hydraulic fracturing.
The president’s executive order sets the goal of conserving at least 30% of land and water by 2030 and starts the process for the United States to develop an emissions reduction target and a climate finance plan.
Mr. Biden established the climate as a key element of foreign policy and national security, instructing the director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, to prepare a “National Intelligence Estimate” on the security implications of climate change. In raising the climate in US foreign policy, Biden’s special presidential climate envoy, Kerry, will serve on the National Security Council.
Through his executive actions, the president formally created the White House Office for Domestic Climate Policy and established the National Climate Task Force, made up of employees from 21 federal agencies and departments. Before taking over the government’s reins, Biden chose McCarthy, a former administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, as the national climate consultant, and she will lead the Office of Domestic Climate Policy.
Biden also signed a presidential memorandum protecting government scientists from political interference.
“It is a government-wide approach to put climate change at the center of our internal, national and foreign security policy,” said the president of his actions. “It is promoting conservation, revitalizing communities and cities and on farms, and ensuring environmental justice. Our plans are ambitious, but we are America. We are bold ”.
Biden’s latest series of guidelines focused on dealing with the climate crisis came a week after he signed an order returning to the Paris climate agreement, which was negotiated by the government of former President Barack Obama. On his first day in office, the president also effectively closed the Keystone XL pipeline.
The president spent his first week in office launching a series of requests focused on the coronavirus crisis, manufacturing, immigration and racial equality. Biden said the climate affects a number of items on his agenda, including increasing jobs in the U.S., ensuring the health of American families and protecting the security of the country.