Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP / Getty Images
For: Sierra Club
Friday, September 20
Biden executive order will reduce emissions and create sustainable jobs
Washington, DC – President Biden today issued a Executive Order to achieve a large reduction in climate pollution from the federal government.
This order serves as a crucial first step in reducing pollution from federal government vehicles, buildings, electricity use, and construction materials, while fostering the creation of good manufacturing jobs.
Clean Transportation: The executive order instructs government agencies to develop strategies to fully electrify their vehicle fleet, with the aim of acquiring only Zero emission cars and trucks for 2027 and all vehicle types for 2035.
Contracting of Clean Electricity and Buildings: The order establishes a requirement for the acquisition of electricity 100% clean, including solar and wind, to power all government operations for 2030. It also requires the modernization of all federal buildings ensuring that all new construction and retrofits of existing buildings increase efficiency, electrify systems, and enhance sustainability. The initiative also implements the First Federal Building Results Standard.
Clean Manufacturing: The order progresses significantly towards policies that will reduce industrial pollution, promoting transparency in the reporting of emissions in government procurement, which will allow prioritizing construction materials low emissions. The industry emits more than 1.5 gigatons of climate pollution per year, in addition to highly toxic pollution that causes diseases such as cancer and respiratory diseases mainly in Latino and black communities near industrial centers .
In response, Ben Beachy, Program Director for Sustainable Economy of the Sierra Club, issued the following statement:
“We applaud President Biden’s decision to use the enormous purchasing power of the federal government to create demand for clean manufacturing, electric vehicles, clean buildings and electricity a 100% clean.
“To promote environmental justice, good clean energy jobs and a livable climate, the United States government must profoundly reduce pollution from its own building materials, its fleet of electric vehicles, its use of electricity and its buildings, and reduce industrial pollution from its supply chain. supplies. This executive order is a crucial step toward these goals. ”