Joseph R. Biden has been our president for a few weeks now, and I wanted to summarize a few of his environment-related actions so far.
On day one, President Biden signed a number of executive orders, including one to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord. We will officially rejoin the agreement 30 days from January 20, reaffirming our commitment to limit global warming to below two degrees Celsius. Environmental activists hope that the United States will emerge as a bold leader and push other countries to adopt stricter policies to combat climate change.
Biden also revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, putting an end to the project which would have spanned 1,700 miles and carried approximately 830,000 barrels of oil daily from Alberta, Canada to the gulf coast of Texas. The pipeline was originally proposed in 2008, with the Obama Administration vetoing the project in November 2015. The Trump administration advanced the project days into the presidential term in January 2017.
The hotly contested pipeline has been tossed between Democratic and Republican administrations, and unfortunately the battle is not over yet. Legal battles are likely to follow and the Biden Administration must still revoke additional permits, including the Bureau of Land Management’s right-of-way permit.
Indigenous groups have called for President Biden to revoke permits for other pipelines. These would include the Dakota Access Pipeline, which runs from North Dakota to Illinois, and the Line 3 Pipeline, which would pass through Canada, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Minnesota.
The President terminated the construction of the border wall and cut off funding for the project. Unfortunately, damage has already been done, with ecological reserves destroyed, migratory paths cut off, and threats to tribal lands. These impacts exist in addition, of course, to the hostile and inhumane purpose behind the wall’s construction to begin with.
Most recently, on January 27, Biden passed an executive order pausing new oil and gas leasing on US lands/waters and elevating climate change to a national security issue and foreign policy priority. On the same day, he re-established the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and issued a memorandum directing agencies to base their decisions on science and evidence, a welcome change from the previous administration.
President Biden has also chosen climate experts to serve on his Cabinet, many of whom are awaiting confirmation by the Senate. Among these are Representative Deb Haaland of New Mexico who will serve as the first Native American head of the Interior Department.
In addition, Michigan’s former governor Jennifer Granholm has been nominated for energy secretary, and environmental justice advocate Cecilia Martinez will join Biden’s White House team. Finally, Michael Regan, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, has been nominated as Administrator of the EPA.
With a Majority-Democratic House of Representatives and evenly split Senate, in addition to these executive orders and cabinet appointments, things are looking up for progressive climate legislation.
Looking forward, it is important to stay vigilant and put pressure on the new administration to take more positive actions on climate change and sustainability. Former President Trump weakened or rolled back more than 100 environmental protection regulations during his term, which President Biden has promised to reinstate.
Some key issues to pay attention to include:
Reinstatement of federal land protections around national monuments in Utah
Strengthening of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
Strengthening of the Endangered Species Act
Restored protections for wetlands under the Clean Water Act
Strengthening of greenhouse gas standards for vehicles
Strengthening of energy efficiency standards for household appliances
On the campaign trail, President Biden proposed a $2 trillion climate plan. In response, we all have to voice our support for this type of action and push for more change in the coming years.
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