Environmental policy of the Joe Biden administration

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The environmental policy of the Joe Biden administration includes a series of laws, regulations, and programs introduced by United States President Joe Biden since he took office in January 2021. Many of the actions taken by the Biden administration reversed the policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump. Biden's climate change policy focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, similar to the efforts taken by the Obama administration.[1][2] Biden promised to end and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030.[3] The main climate target of the Biden administration is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the United States to net zero by 2050. A climate team was created to lead the effort.[4][5]

On his first day in office, Biden began to make policy changes to protect the environment. He began revising and strengthening the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and ordered a number of executive orders aimed at reviewing or undoing the environmental policies of the former administration, including removal of some wildlife protections,[6] the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline,[7] and drilling for oil and gas on federal lands.[8] In the same day he rejoined the Paris Agreement.[9][10] Biden supported climate justice[11][12][13] and sustainable transport.[14][15] The Biden administration delivered a tax plan to congress aiming to replace fossil fuel subsidies, with incentives for green energy.[16] Its proposed budget includes a 30% increase in funding for clean energy, including in rural communities.[17] Biden has ordered the amount of energy produced from offshore wind turbines to be doubled by 2030.[18][19] In April 2021, Biden hosted a virtual climate summit with 40 world leaders.[20] In November 2021, he advanced measures to reduce global warming with other world leaders at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). After four years of absence under the former president, the U.S. sought to regain its credibility.[21][22] In November 2021 Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,[23] a major pillar of his environmental policy.[24] By July 2022, the Biden administration had created 54 environmental policies and proposed 43 more.[25] In August 2022, Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which includes the largest federal climate change investment in American history.[26][27]

The Inflation Reduction Act alone can create $3 trillion in climate investments in the 2022-2032 period and $11 trillion in overall infrastructure investments by 2050.[28] According to some estimates, with the Inflation Reduction Act and other federal and state measures, the United States' pledge in the Paris Agreement, 50%-52% greenhouse gas emissions reductions from 2005 by the year 2030, can be "within reach".[29][30] Some environmental organizations, including Sierra Club, Sunrise Movement, Earthjustice, and more claim that President Biden took 322 actions to protect the environment, more than any other president in history.[31]

  1. ^ Ritter, Bill (January 13, 2021). "Biden plans to fight climate change in a way no U.S. president has done before". The Conversation.
  2. ^ "Biden returns to Obama-era greenhouse gas calculation". The Hill. February 26, 2021.
  3. ^ "Hoyer introduces $9B bill bolstering Biden's deforestation vow at COP26". The Hill. November 3, 2021.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Weaver was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Friedman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Goldfuss, Christy; Gout, Elise; Hardin, Sally (February 11, 2021). "How the Biden Administration Can Modernize Environmental Review". Center for American Progress. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  10. ^ "The Biden Administration Environmental Agenda So Far". The National Law Review. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  11. ^ Rice, Doyle; Voyles Pulver, Dinah (December 7, 2023). "Biden Administration announces first-ever Ocean Justice Strategy. What's that?". USA Today. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  12. ^ OCEAN JUSTICE STRATEGY (PDF). OCEAN POLICY COMMITTEE. December 2023. p. 23. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  13. ^ "Environmental Justice". The White House. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  14. ^ Mukhtar, Mehr (February 9, 2024). "Three years in, what can Biden still accomplish for transportation?". Transportation For America. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  15. ^ Denny, Emily (February 3, 2021). "What Does Pete Buttigieg's Transportation Secretary Role Mean for the Climate?". Ecowatch. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  16. ^ Gardner, Timothy (April 7, 2021). "Biden tax plan replaces U.S. fossil fuel subsidies with clean energy incentives". Reuters. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  17. ^ "Biden proposes more than $2B for clean energy infrastructure, $14B+ increase in climate spending". Utility Dive. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  18. ^ McGrath, Matt (January 28, 2021). "Biden signs 'existential' executive orders on climate and environment". BBC. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  19. ^ Murphy, Ryan (January 27, 2021). "Pres. Biden Signs Executive Order to Double OSW by 2030". Business Network for Offshore Wind. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  20. ^ Mahtani, Melissa; Wagner, Meg; Macaya, Mellisa (April 22, 2021). "These are the 40 world leaders that the US invited to today's summit". CNN. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  21. ^ "Biden apologizes for Trump's pulling the U.S. out of Paris climate accord". au.news.yahoo.com. November 2021. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  22. ^ "Biden to unveil pledge to slash global methane emissions by 30%". The Guardian. November 2, 2021. Archived from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  23. ^ Pettypiece, Shannon (November 15, 2021). "Biden signs infrastructure bill marking victory in hard-fought legislative battle". NBC News. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  24. ^ A GUIDEBOOK TO THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW FOR STATE, LOCAL, TRIBAL, AND TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENTS, AND OTHER PARTNERS (PDF). The White House. May 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  25. ^ Eilperin, Juliet; Dennis, Brady; Muyskens, John (July 21, 2022). "Tracking Biden's environmental actions". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference CNN_20220816 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ "CBO Scores IRA with $238 Billion of Deficit Reduction". Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. September 7, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  28. ^ "The US is poised for an energy revolution". Goldman Sachs. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rhodium was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ MAHAJAN, MEGAN; ASHMOORE, OLIVIA; RISSMAN, JEFFREY; ORVIS, ROBBIE; GOPAL, ANAND (August 2022). MODELING THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT USING THE ENERGY POLICY SIMULATOR (PDF). Energy innovation. p. 1. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  31. ^ Cite error: The named reference analysis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).