Presidential DocumentExecutive Order 140082021-02177
Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad
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Published
February 1, 2021
Signed
January 27, 2021
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 19 (Monday, February 1, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 7619-7633]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02177]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 19 / Monday, February 1, 2021 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 7619]]
Executive Order 14008 of January 27, 2021
Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad
The United States and the world face a profound climate
crisis. We have a narrow moment to pursue action at
home and abroad in order to avoid the most catastrophic
impacts of that crisis and to seize the opportunity
that tackling climate change presents. Domestic action
must go hand in hand with United States international
leadership, aimed at significantly enhancing global
action. Together, we must listen to science and meet
the moment.
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
PART I--PUTTING THE CLIMATE CRISIS AT THE CENTER OF
UNITED STATES FOREIGN POLICY AND NATIONAL SECURITY
Section 101. Policy. United States international
engagement to address climate change--which has become
a climate crisis--is more necessary and urgent than
ever. The scientific community has made clear that the
scale and speed of necessary action is greater than
previously believed. There is little time left to avoid
setting the world on a dangerous, potentially
catastrophic, climate trajectory. Responding to the
climate crisis will require both significant short-term
global reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and net-
zero global emissions by mid-century or before.
It is the policy of my Administration that climate
considerations shall be an essential element of United
States foreign policy and national security. The United
States will work with other countries and partners,
both bilaterally and multilaterally, to put the world
on a sustainable climate pathway. The United States
will also move quickly to build resilience, both at
home and abroad, against the impacts of climate change
that are already manifest and will continue to
intensify according to current trajectories.
Sec. 102. Purpose. This order builds on and reaffirms
actions my Administration has already taken to place
the climate crisis at the forefront of this Nation's
foreign policy and national security planning,
including submitting the United States instrument of
acceptance to rejoin the Paris Agreement. In
implementing--and building upon--the Paris Agreement's
three overarching objectives (a safe global
temperature, increased climate resilience, and
financial flows aligned with a pathway toward low
greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient
development), the United States will exercise its
leadership to promote a significant increase in global
climate ambition to meet the climate challenge. In this
regard:
(a) I will host an early Leaders' Climate Summit
aimed at raising climate ambition and making a positive
contribution to the 26th United Nations Climate Change
Conference of the Parties (COP26) and beyond.
(b) The United States will reconvene the Major
Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, beginning with
the Leaders' Climate Summit. In cooperation with the
members of that Forum, as well as with other partners
as appropriate, the United States will pursue green
recovery efforts, initiatives to advance the clean
energy transition, sectoral decarbonization, and
alignment of financial flows with the objectives of the
Paris Agreement, including with respect to coal
financing, nature-based solutions, and solutions to
other climate-related challenges.
[[Page 7620]]
(c) I have created a new Presidentially appointed
position, the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate,
to elevate the issue of climate change and underscore
the commitment my Administration will make toward
addressing it.
(d) Recognizing that climate change affects a wide
range of subjects, it will be a United States priority
to press for enhanced climate ambition and integration
of climate considerations across a wide range of
international fora, including the Group of Seven (G7),
the Group of Twenty (G20), and fora that address clean
energy, aviation, shipping, the Arctic, the ocean,
sustainable development, migration, and other relevant
topics. The Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and
others, as appropriate, are encouraged to promote
innovative approaches, including international multi-
stakeholder initiatives. In addition, my Administration
will work in partnership with States, localities,
Tribes, territories, and other United States
stakeholders to advance United States climate
diplomacy.
(e) The United States will immediately begin the
process of developing its nationally determined
contribution under the Paris Agreement. The process
will include analysis and input from relevant executive
departments and agencies (agencies), as well as
appropriate outreach to domestic stakeholders. The
United States will aim to submit its nationally
determined contribution in advance of the Leaders'
Climate Summit.
(f) The United States will also immediately begin
to develop a climate finance plan, making strategic use
of multilateral and bilateral channels and
institutions, to assist developing countries in
implementing ambitious emissions reduction measures,
protecting critical ecosystems, building resilience
against the impacts of climate change, and promoting
the flow of capital toward climate-aligned investments
and away from high-carbon investments. The Secretary of
State and the Secretary of the Treasury, in
coordination with the Special Presidential Envoy for
Climate, shall lead a process to develop this plan,
with the participation of the Administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development
(USAID), the Chief Executive Officer of the United
States International Development Finance Corporation
(DFC), the Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium
Challenge Corporation, the Director of the United
States Trade and Development Agency, the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget, and the head of
any other agency providing foreign assistance and
development financing, as appropriate. The Secretary of
State and the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit
the plan to the President, through the Assistant to the
President for National Security Affairs and the
Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, within
90 days of the date of this order.
(g) The Secretary of the Treasury shall:
(i) ensure that the United States is present and engaged in relevant
international fora and institutions that are working on the management of
climate-related financial risks;
(ii) develop a strategy for how the voice and vote of the United States can
be used in international financial institutions, including the World Bank
Group and the International Monetary Fund, to promote financing programs,
economic stimulus packages, and debt relief initiatives that are aligned
with and support the goals of the Paris Agreement; and
(iii) develop, in collaboration with the Secretary of State, the
Administrator of USAID, and the Chief Executive Officer of the DFC, a plan
for promoting the protection of the Amazon rainforest and other critical
ecosystems that serve as global carbon sinks, including through market-
based mechanisms.
(h) The Secretary of State, the Secretary of the
Treasury, and the Secretary of Energy shall work
together and with the Export-Import Bank of the United
States, the Chief Executive Officer of the DFC, and the
heads of other agencies and partners, as appropriate,
to identify steps through which the United States can
promote ending international financing of carbon-
[[Page 7621]]
intensive fossil fuel-based energy while simultaneously
advancing sustainable development and a green recovery,
in consultation with the Assistant to the President for
National Security Affairs.
(i) The Secretary of Energy, in cooperation with the Secretary of State and
the heads of other agencies, as appropriate, shall identify steps through
which the United States can intensify international collaborations to drive
innovation and deployment of clean energy technologies, which are critical
for climate protection.
(j) The Secretary of State shall prepare, within 60 days of the date of
this order, a transmittal package seeking the Senate's advice and consent
to ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on
Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, regarding the phasedown of the
production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons.
Sec. 103. Prioritizing Climate in Foreign Policy and
National Security. To ensure that climate change
considerations are central to United States foreign
policy and national security:
(a) Agencies that engage in extensive international
work shall develop, in coordination with the Special
Presidential Envoy for Climate, and submit to the
President, through the Assistant to the President for
National Security Affairs, within 90 days of the date
of this order, strategies and implementation plans for
integrating climate considerations into their
international work, as appropriate and consistent with
applicable law. These strategies and plans should
include an assessment of:
(i) climate impacts relevant to broad agency strategies in particular
countries or regions;
(ii) climate impacts on their agency-managed infrastructure abroad (e.g.,
embassies, military installations), without prejudice to existing
requirements regarding assessment of such infrastructure;
(iii) how the agency intends to manage such impacts or incorporate risk
mitigation into its installation master plans; and
(iv) how the agency's international work, including partner engagement, can
contribute to addressing the climate crisis.
(b) The Director of National Intelligence shall
prepare, within 120 days of the date of this order, a
National Intelligence Estimate on the national and
economic security impacts of climate change.
(c) The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with
the Secretary of Commerce, through the Administrator of
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,
the Director of National Intelligence, the Director of
the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the
Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, and the heads of other agencies as
appropriate, shall develop and submit to the President,
within 120 days of the date of this order, an analysis
of the security implications of climate change (Climate
Risk Analysis) that can be incorporated into modeling,
simulation, war-gaming, and other analyses.
(d) The Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall consider the security
implications of climate change, including any relevant
information from the Climate Risk Analysis described in
subsection (c) of this section, in developing the
National Defense Strategy, Defense Planning Guidance,
Chairman's Risk Assessment, and other relevant
strategy, planning, and programming documents and
processes. Starting in January 2022, the Secretary of
Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
shall provide an annual update, through the National
Security Council, on the progress made in incorporating
the security implications of climate change into these
documents and processes.
(e) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
consider the implications of climate change in the
Arctic, along our Nation's borders, and to National
[[Page 7622]]
Critical Functions, including any relevant information
from the Climate Risk Analysis described in subsection
(c) of this section, in developing relevant strategy,
planning, and programming documents and processes.
Starting in January 2022, the Secretary of Homeland
Security shall provide an annual update, through the
National Security Council, on the progress made in
incorporating the homeland security implications of
climate change into these documents and processes.
Sec. 104. Reinstatement. The Presidential Memorandum of
September 21, 2016 (Climate Change and National
Security), is hereby reinstated.
PART II--TAKING A GOVERNMENT-WIDE APPROACH TO THE
CLIMATE CRISIS
Sec. 201. Policy. Even as our Nation emerges from
profound public health and economic crises borne of a
pandemic, we face a climate crisis that threatens our
people and communities, public health and economy, and,
starkly, our ability to live on planet Earth. Despite
the peril that is already evident, there is promise in
the solutions--opportunities to create well-paying
union jobs to build a modern and sustainable
infrastructure, deliver an equitable, clean energy
future, and put the United States on a path to achieve
net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by no later than
2050.
We must listen to science--and act. We must strengthen
our clean air and water protections. We must hold
polluters accountable for their actions. We must
deliver environmental justice in communities all across
America. The Federal Government must drive assessment,
disclosure, and mitigation of climate pollution and
climate-related risks in every sector of our economy,
marshaling the creativity, courage, and capital
necessary to make our Nation resilient in the face of
this threat. Together, we must combat the climate
crisis with bold, progressive action that combines the
full capacity of the Federal Government with efforts
from every corner of our Nation, every level of
government, and every sector of our economy.
It is the policy of my Administration to organize and
deploy the full capacity of its agencies to combat the
climate crisis to implement a Government-wide approach
that reduces climate pollution in every sector of the
economy; increases resilience to the impacts of climate
change; protects public health; conserves our lands,
waters, and biodiversity; delivers environmental
justice; and spurs well-paying union jobs and economic
growth, especially through innovation,
commercialization, and deployment of clean energy
technologies and infrastructure. Successfully meeting
these challenges will require the Federal Government to
pursue such a coordinated approach from planning to
implementation, coupled with substantive engagement by
stakeholders, including State, local, and Tribal
governments.
Sec. 202. White House Office of Domestic Climate
Policy. There is hereby established the White House
Office of Domestic Climate Policy (Climate Policy
Office) within the Executive Office of the President,
which shall coordinate the policy-making process with
respect to domestic climate-policy issues; coordinate
domestic climate-policy advice to the President; ensure
that domestic climate-policy decisions and programs are
consistent with the President's stated goals and that
those goals are being effectively pursued; and monitor
implementation of the President's domestic climate-
policy agenda. The Climate Policy Office shall have a
staff headed by the Assistant to the President and
National Climate Advisor (National Climate Advisor) and
shall include the Deputy Assistant to the President and
Deputy National Climate Advisor. The Climate Policy
Office shall have such staff and other assistance as
may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this
order, subject to the availability of appropriations,
and may work with established or ad hoc committees or
interagency groups. All agencies shall cooperate with
the Climate Policy Office and provide such information,
support, and assistance to the Climate Policy Office as
it may request, as appropriate and consistent with
applicable law.
[[Page 7623]]
Sec. 203. National Climate Task Force. There is hereby
established a National Climate Task Force (Task Force).
The Task Force shall be chaired by the National Climate
Advisor.
(a) Membership. The Task Force shall consist of the
following additional members:
(i) the Secretary of the Treasury;
(ii) the Secretary of Defense;
(iii) the Attorney General;
(iv) the Secretary of the Interior;
(v) the Secretary of Agriculture;
(vi) the Secretary of Commerce;
(vii) the Secretary of Labor;
(viii) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(ix) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
(x) the Secretary of Transportation;
(xi) the Secretary of Energy;
(xii) the Secretary of Homeland Security;
(xiii) the Administrator of General Services;
(xiv) the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality;
(xv) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;
(xvi) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
(xvii) the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy;
(xviii) the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy;
(xix) the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs;
(xx) the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and
Counterterrorism; and
(xxi) the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.
(b) Mission and Work. The Task Force shall
facilitate the organization and deployment of a
Government-wide approach to combat the climate crisis.
This Task Force shall facilitate planning and
implementation of key Federal actions to reduce climate
pollution; increase resilience to the impacts of
climate change; protect public health; conserve our
lands, waters, oceans, and biodiversity; deliver
environmental justice; and spur well-paying union jobs
and economic growth. As necessary and appropriate,
members of the Task Force will engage on these matters
with State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments;
workers and communities; and leaders across the various
sectors of our economy.
(c) Prioritizing Actions. To the extent permitted
by law, Task Force members shall prioritize action on
climate change in their policy-making and budget
processes, in their contracting and procurement, and in
their engagement with State, local, Tribal, and
territorial governments; workers and communities; and
leaders across all the sectors of our economy.
USE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S BUYING POWER AND REAL
PROPERTY AND ASSET MANAGEMENT
Sec. 204. Policy. It is the policy of my Administration
to lead the Nation's effort to combat the climate
crisis by example--specifically, by aligning the
management of Federal procurement and real property,
public lands and waters, and financial programs to
support robust climate action. By providing an
immediate, clear, and stable source of product demand,
increased transparency and data, and robust standards
for the market, my Administration will help to catalyze
private sector investment into, and
[[Page 7624]]
accelerate the advancement of America's industrial
capacity to supply, domestic clean energy, buildings,
vehicles, and other necessary products and materials.
Sec. 205. Federal Clean Electricity and Vehicle
Procurement Strategy. (a) The Chair of the Council on
Environmental Quality, the Administrator of General
Services, and the Director of the Office and Management
and Budget, in coordination with the Secretary of
Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of
Energy, and the heads of other relevant agencies, shall
assist the National Climate Advisor, through the Task
Force established in section 203 of this order, in
developing a comprehensive plan to create good jobs and
stimulate clean energy industries by revitalizing the
Federal Government's sustainability efforts.
(b) The plan shall aim to use, as appropriate and
consistent with applicable law, all available
procurement authorities to achieve or facilitate:
(i) a carbon pollution-free electricity sector no later than 2035; and
(ii) clean and zero-emission vehicles for Federal, State, local, and Tribal
government fleets, including vehicles of the United States Postal Service.
(c) If necessary, the plan shall recommend any
additional legislation needed to accomplish these
objectives.
(d) The plan shall also aim to ensure that the
United States retains the union jobs integral to and
involved in running and maintaining clean and zero-
emission fleets, while spurring the creation of union
jobs in the manufacture of those new vehicles. The plan
shall be submitted to the Task Force within 90 days of
the date of this order.
Sec. 206. Procurement Standards. Consistent with the
Executive Order of January 25, 2021, entitled,
``Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All
of America's Workers,'' agencies shall adhere to the
requirements of the Made in America Laws in making
clean energy, energy efficiency, and clean energy
procurement decisions. Agencies shall, consistent with
applicable law, apply and enforce the Davis-Bacon Act
and prevailing wage and benefit requirements. The
Secretary of Labor shall take steps to update
prevailing wage requirements. The Chair of the Council
on Environmental Quality shall consider additional
administrative steps and guidance to assist the Federal
Acquisition Regulatory Council in developing regulatory
amendments to promote increased contractor attention on
reduced carbon emission and Federal sustainability.
Sec. 207. Renewable Energy on Public Lands and in
Offshore Waters. The Secretary of the Interior shall
review siting and permitting processes on public lands
and in offshore waters to identify to the Task Force
steps that can be taken, consistent with applicable
law, to increase renewable energy production on those
lands and in those waters, with the goal of doubling
offshore wind by 2030 while ensuring robust protection
for our lands, waters, and biodiversity and creating
good jobs. In conducting this review, the Secretary of
the Interior shall consult, as appropriate, with the
heads of relevant agencies, including the Secretary of
Defense, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of
Commerce, through the Administrator of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Secretary
of Energy, the Chair of the Council on Environmental
Quality, State and Tribal authorities, project
developers, and other interested parties. The Secretary
of the Interior shall engage with Tribal authorities
regarding the development and management of renewable
and conventional energy resources on Tribal lands.
Sec. 208. Oil and Natural Gas Development on Public
Lands and in Offshore Waters. To the extent consistent
with applicable law, the Secretary of the Interior
shall pause new oil and natural gas leases on public
lands or in offshore waters pending completion of a
comprehensive review and reconsideration of Federal oil
and gas permitting and leasing practices in light of
the Secretary of the Interior's broad stewardship
responsibilities over the public lands and in offshore
waters, including potential climate and
[[Page 7625]]
other impacts associated with oil and gas activities on
public lands or in offshore waters. The Secretary of
the Interior shall complete that review in consultation
with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of
Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, and the Secretary of Energy. In
conducting this analysis, and to the extent consistent
with applicable law, the Secretary of the Interior
shall consider whether to adjust royalties associated
with coal, oil, and gas resources extracted from public
lands and offshore waters, or take other appropriate
action, to account for corresponding climate costs.
Sec. 209. Fossil Fuel Subsidies. The heads of agencies
shall identify for the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget and the National Climate Advisor
any fossil fuel subsidies provided by their respective
agencies, and then take steps to ensure that, to the
extent consistent with applicable law, Federal funding
is not directly subsidizing fossil fuels. The Director
of the Office of Management and Budget shall seek, in
coordination with the heads of agencies and the
National Climate Advisor, to eliminate fossil fuel
subsidies from the budget request for Fiscal Year 2022
and thereafter.
Sec. 210. Clean Energy in Financial Management. The
heads of agencies shall identify opportunities for
Federal funding to spur innovation, commercialization,
and deployment of clean energy technologies and
infrastructure for the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget and the National Climate Advisor,
and then take steps to ensure that, to the extent
consistent with applicable law, Federal funding is used
to spur innovation, commercialization, and deployment
of clean energy technologies and infrastructure. The
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in
coordination with agency heads and the National Climate
Advisor, shall seek to prioritize such investments in
the President's budget request for Fiscal Year 2022 and
thereafter.
Sec. 211. Climate Action Plans and Data and Information
Products to Improve Adaptation and Increase Resilience.
(a) The head of each agency shall submit a draft action
plan to the Task Force and the Federal Chief
Sustainability Officer within 120 days of the date of
this order that describes steps the agency can take
with regard to its facilities and operations to bolster
adaptation and increase resilience to the impacts of
climate change. Action plans should, among other
things, describe the agency's climate vulnerabilities
and describe the agency's plan to use the power of
procurement to increase the energy and water efficiency
of United States Government installations, buildings,
and facilities and ensure they are climate-ready.
Agencies shall consider the feasibility of using the
purchasing power of the Federal Government to drive
innovation, and shall seek to increase the Federal
Government's resilience against supply chain
disruptions. Such disruptions put the Nation's
manufacturing sector at risk, as well as consumer
access to critical goods and services. Agencies shall
make their action plans public, and post them on the
agency website, to the extent consistent with
applicable law.
(b) Within 30 days of an agency's submission of an
action plan, the Federal Chief Sustainability Officer,
in coordination with the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget, shall review the plan to assess
its consistency with the policy set forth in section
204 of this order and the priorities issued by the
Office of Management and Budget.
(c) After submitting an initial action plan, the
head of each agency shall submit to the Task Force and
Federal Chief Sustainability Officer progress reports
annually on the status of implementation efforts.
Agencies shall make progress reports public and post
them on the agency website, to the extent consistent
with applicable law. The heads of agencies shall assign
their respective agency Chief Sustainability Officer
the authority to perform duties relating to
implementation of this order within the agency, to the
extent consistent with applicable law.
(d) To assist agencies and State, local, Tribal,
and territorial governments, communities, and
businesses in preparing for and adapting to the impacts
of climate change, the Secretary of Commerce, through
the Administrator
[[Page 7626]]
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
the Secretary of Homeland Security, through the
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, and the Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy, in coordination with the heads of
other agencies, as appropriate, shall provide to the
Task Force a report on ways to expand and improve
climate forecast capabilities and information products
for the public. In addition, the Secretary of the
Interior and the Deputy Director for Management of the
Office of Management and Budget, in their capacities as
the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Federal Geographic Data
Committee, shall assess and provide to the Task Force a
report on the potential development of a consolidated
Federal geographic mapping service that can facilitate
public access to climate-related information that will
assist Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments in
climate planning and resilience activities.
EMPOWERING WORKERS THROUGH REBUILDING OUR
INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY
Sec. 212. Policy. This Nation needs millions of
construction, manufacturing, engineering, and skilled-
trades workers to build a new American infrastructure
and clean energy economy. These jobs will create
opportunities for young people and for older workers
shifting to new professions, and for people from all
backgrounds and communities. Such jobs will bring
opportunity to communities too often left behind--
places that have suffered as a result of economic
shifts and places that have suffered the most from
persistent pollution, including low-income rural and
urban communities, communities of color, and Native
communities.
Sec. 213. Sustainable Infrastructure. (a) The Chair of
the Council on Environmental Quality and the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget shall take
steps, consistent with applicable law, to ensure that
Federal infrastructure investment reduces climate
pollution, and to require that Federal permitting
decisions consider the effects of greenhouse gas
emissions and climate change. In addition, they shall
review, and report to the National Climate Advisor on,
siting and permitting processes, including those in
progress under the auspices of the Federal Permitting
Improvement Steering Council, and identify steps that
can be taken, consistent with applicable law, to
accelerate the deployment of clean energy and
transmission projects in an environmentally stable
manner.
(b) Agency heads conducting infrastructure reviews
shall, as appropriate, consult from an early stage with
State, local, and Tribal officials involved in
permitting or authorizing proposed infrastructure
projects to develop efficient timelines for decision-
making that are appropriate given the complexities of
proposed projects.
EMPOWERING WORKERS BY ADVANCING CONSERVATION,
AGRICULTURE, AND REFORESTATION
Sec. 214. Policy. It is the policy of my Administration
to put a new generation of Americans to work conserving
our public lands and waters. The Federal Government
must protect America's natural treasures, increase
reforestation, improve access to recreation, and
increase resilience to wildfires and storms, while
creating well-paying union jobs for more Americans,
including more opportunities for women and people of
color in occupations where they are underrepresented.
America's farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners have
an important role to play in combating the climate
crisis and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, by
sequestering carbon in soils, grasses, trees, and other
vegetation and sourcing sustainable bioproducts and
fuels. Coastal communities have an essential role to
play in mitigating climate change and strengthening
resilience by protecting and restoring coastal
ecosystems, such as wetlands, seagrasses, coral and
oyster reefs, and mangrove and kelp forests, to protect
vulnerable coastlines, sequester carbon, and support
biodiversity and fisheries.
Sec. 215. Civilian Climate Corps. In furtherance of the
policy set forth in section 214 of this order, the
Secretary of the Interior, in collaboration with the
Secretary of Agriculture and the heads of other
relevant agencies,
[[Page 7627]]
shall submit a strategy to the Task Force within 90
days of the date of this order for creating a Civilian
Climate Corps Initiative, within existing
appropriations, to mobilize the next generation of
conservation and resilience workers and maximize the
creation of accessible training opportunities and good
jobs. The initiative shall aim to conserve and restore
public lands and waters, bolster community resilience,
increase reforestation, increase carbon sequestration
in the agricultural sector, protect biodiversity,
improve access to recreation, and address the changing
climate.
Sec. 216. Conserving Our Nation's Lands and Waters. (a)
The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the
Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce,
the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, and
the heads of other relevant agencies, shall submit a
report to the Task Force within 90 days of the date of
this order recommending steps that the United States
should take, working with State, local, Tribal, and
territorial governments, agricultural and forest
landowners, fishermen, and other key stakeholders, to
achieve the goal of conserving at least 30 percent of
our lands and waters by 2030.
(i) The Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the
Secretary of Commerce, through the Administrator of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, and the Chair of the Council on
Environmental Quality shall, as appropriate, solicit input from State,
local, Tribal, and territorial officials, agricultural and forest
landowners, fishermen, and other key stakeholders in identifying strategies
that will encourage broad participation in the goal of conserving 30
percent of our lands and waters by 2030.
(ii) The report shall propose guidelines for determining whether lands and
waters qualify for conservation, and it also shall establish mechanisms to
measure progress toward the 30-percent goal. The Secretary of the Interior
shall subsequently submit annual reports to the Task Force to monitor
progress.
(b) The Secretary of Agriculture shall:
(i) initiate efforts in the first 60 days from the date of this order to
collect input from Tribes, farmers, ranchers, forest owners, conservation
groups, firefighters, and other stakeholders on how to best use Department
of Agriculture programs, funding and financing capacities, and other
authorities, and how to encourage the voluntary adoption of climate-smart
agricultural and forestry practices that decrease wildfire risk fueled by
climate change and result in additional, measurable, and verifiable carbon
reductions and sequestration and that source sustainable bioproducts and
fuels; and
(ii) submit to the Task Force within 90 days of the date of this order a
report making recommendations for an agricultural and forestry climate
strategy.
(c) The Secretary of Commerce, through the
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, shall initiate efforts in the first 60
days from the date of this order to collect input from
fishermen, regional ocean councils, fishery management
councils, scientists, and other stakeholders on how to
make fisheries and protected resources more resilient
to climate change, including changes in management and
conservation measures, and improvements in science,
monitoring, and cooperative research.
EMPOWERING WORKERS THROUGH REVITALIZING ENERGY
COMMUNITIES
Sec. 217. Policy. It is the policy of my Administration
to improve air and water quality and to create well-
paying union jobs and more opportunities for women and
people of color in hard-hit communities, including
rural communities, while reducing methane emissions,
oil and brine leaks, and other environmental harms from
tens of thousands of former mining and well sites.
Mining and power plant workers drove the industrial
revolution and the economic growth that followed, and
have been essential to the growth of the United States.
As the Nation shifts to a clean energy economy,
[[Page 7628]]
Federal leadership is essential to foster economic
revitalization of and investment in these communities,
ensure the creation of good jobs that provide a choice
to join a union, and secure the benefits that have been
earned by workers.
Such work should include projects that reduce emissions
of toxic substances and greenhouse gases from existing
and abandoned infrastructure and that prevent
environmental damage that harms communities and poses a
risk to public health and safety. Plugging leaks in oil
and gas wells and reclaiming abandoned mine land can
create well-paying union jobs in coal, oil, and gas
communities while restoring natural assets,
revitalizing recreation economies, and curbing methane
emissions. In addition, such work should include
efforts to turn properties idled in these communities,
such as brownfields, into new hubs for the growth of
our economy. Federal agencies should therefore
coordinate investments and other efforts to assist
coal, oil and gas, and power plant communities, and
achieve substantial reductions of methane emissions
from the oil and gas sector as quickly as possible.
Sec. 218. Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power
Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization. There is
hereby established an Interagency Working Group on Coal
and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization
(Interagency Working Group). The National Climate
Advisor and the Assistant to the President for Economic
Policy shall serve as Co-Chairs of the Interagency
Working Group.
(a) Membership. The Interagency Working Group shall
consist of the following additional members:
(i) the Secretary of the Treasury;
(ii) the Secretary of the Interior;
(iii) the Secretary of Agriculture;
(iv) the Secretary of Commerce;
(v) the Secretary of Labor;
(vi) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(vii) the Secretary of Transportation;
(viii) the Secretary of Energy;
(ix) the Secretary of Education;
(x) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;
(xi) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
(xii) the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Director of
the Domestic Policy Council; and
(xiii) the Federal Co-Chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission.
(b) Mission and Work.
(i) The Interagency Working Group shall coordinate the identification and
delivery of Federal resources to revitalize the economies of coal, oil and
gas, and power plant communities; develop strategies to implement the
policy set forth in section 217 of this order and for economic and social
recovery; assess opportunities to ensure benefits and protections for coal
and power plant workers; and submit reports to the National Climate Advisor
and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy on a regular basis
on the progress of the revitalization effort.
(ii) As part of this effort, within 60 days of the date of this order, the
Interagency Working Group shall submit a report to the President describing
all mechanisms, consistent with applicable law, to prioritize grantmaking,
Federal loan programs, technical assistance, financing, procurement, or
other existing programs to support and revitalize the economies of coal and
power plant communities, and providing recommendations for action
consistent with the goals of the Interagency Working Group.
[[Page 7629]]
(c) Consultation. Consistent with the objectives
set out in this order and in accordance with applicable
law, the Interagency Working Group shall seek the views
of State, local, and Tribal officials; unions;
environmental justice organizations; community groups;
and other persons it identifies who may have
perspectives on the mission of the Interagency Working
Group.
(d) Administration. The Interagency Working Group
shall be housed within the Department of Energy. The
Chairs shall convene regular meetings of the
Interagency Working Group, determine its agenda, and
direct its work. The Secretary of Energy, in
consultation with the Chairs, shall designate an
Executive Director of the Interagency Working Group,
who shall coordinate the work of the Interagency
Working Group and head any staff assigned to the
Interagency Working Group.
(e) Officers. To facilitate the work of the
Interagency Working Group, the head of each agency
listed in subsection (a) of this section shall assign a
designated official within the agency the authority to
represent the agency on the Interagency Working Group
and perform such other duties relating to the
implementation of this order within the agency as the
head of the agency deems appropriate.
SECURING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND SPURRING ECONOMIC
OPPORTUNITY
Sec. 219. Policy. To secure an equitable economic
future, the United States must ensure that
environmental and economic justice are key
considerations in how we govern. That means investing
and building a clean energy economy that creates well-
paying union jobs, turning disadvantaged communities--
historically marginalized and overburdened--into
healthy, thriving communities, and undertaking robust
actions to mitigate climate change while preparing for
the impacts of climate change across rural, urban, and
Tribal areas. Agencies shall make achieving
environmental justice part of their missions by
developing programs, policies, and activities to
address the disproportionately high and adverse human
health, environmental, climate-related and other
cumulative impacts on disadvantaged communities, as
well as the accompanying economic challenges of such
impacts. It is therefore the policy of my
Administration to secure environmental justice and spur
economic opportunity for disadvantaged communities that
have been historically marginalized and overburdened by
pollution and underinvestment in housing,
transportation, water and wastewater infrastructure,
and health care.
Sec. 220. White House Environmental Justice Interagency
Council. (a) Section 1-102 of Executive Order 12898 of
February 11, 1994 (Federal Actions To Address
Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-
Income Populations), is hereby amended to read as
follows:
``(a) There is hereby created within the Executive
Office of the President a White House Environmental
Justice Interagency Council (Interagency Council). The
Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality shall
serve as Chair of the Interagency Council.
``(b) Membership. The Interagency Council shall
consist of the following additional members:
(i) the Secretary of Defense;
(ii) the Attorney General;
(iii) the Secretary of the Interior;
(iv) the Secretary of Agriculture;
(v) the Secretary of Commerce;
(vi) the Secretary of Labor;
(vii) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(viii) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
[[Page 7630]]
(ix) the Secretary of Transportation;
(x) the Secretary of Energy;
(xi) the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers;
(xii) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;
(xiii) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
(xiv) the Executive Director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering
Council;
(xv) the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy;
(xvi) the National Climate Advisor;
(xvii) the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy; and
(xviii) the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.
``(c) At the direction of the Chair, the
Interagency Council may establish subgroups consisting
exclusively of Interagency Council members or their
designees under this section, as appropriate.
``(d) Mission and Work. The Interagency Council
shall develop a strategy to address current and
historic environmental injustice by consulting with the
White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and
with local environmental justice leaders. The
Interagency Council shall also develop clear
performance metrics to ensure accountability, and
publish an annual public performance scorecard on its
implementation.
``(e) Administration. The Office of Administration
within the Executive Office of the President shall
provide funding and administrative support for the
Interagency Council, to the extent permitted by law and
within existing appropriations. To the extent permitted
by law, including the Economy Act (31 U.S.C. 1535), and
subject to the availability of appropriations, the
Department of Labor, the Department of Transportation,
and the Environmental Protection Agency shall provide
administrative support as necessary.
``(f) Meetings and Staff. The Chair shall convene
regular meetings of the Council, determine its agenda,
and direct its work. The Chair shall designate an
Executive Director of the Council, who shall coordinate
the work of the Interagency Council and head any staff
assigned to the Council.
``(g) Officers. To facilitate the work of the
Interagency Council, the head of each agency listed in
subsection (b) shall assign a designated official
within the agency to be an Environmental Justice
Officer, with the authority to represent the agency on
the Interagency Council and perform such other duties
relating to the implementation of this order within the
agency as the head of the agency deems appropriate.''
(b) The Interagency Council shall, within 120 days
of the date of this order, submit to the President,
through the National Climate Advisor, a set of
recommendations for further updating Executive Order
12898.
Sec. 221. White House Environmental Justice Advisory
Council. There is hereby established, within the
Environmental Protection Agency, the White House
Environmental Justice Advisory Council (Advisory
Council), which shall advise the Interagency Council
and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality.
(a) Membership. Members shall be appointed by the
President, shall be drawn from across the political
spectrum, and may include those with knowledge about or
experience in environmental justice, climate change,
disaster preparedness, racial inequity, or any other
area determined by the President to be of value to the
Advisory Council.
(b) Mission and Work. The Advisory Council shall be
solely advisory. It shall provide recommendations to
the White House Environmental Justice Interagency
Council established in section 220 of this order on how
to increase the Federal Government's efforts to address
current and historic environmental injustice, including
recommendations for updating Executive Order 12898.
[[Page 7631]]
(c) Administration. The Environmental Protection
Agency shall provide funding and administrative support
for the Advisory Council to the extent permitted by law
and within existing appropriations. Members of the
Advisory Council shall serve without either
compensation or reimbursement of expenses.
(d) Federal Advisory Committee Act. Insofar as the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C.
App.), may apply to the Advisory Council, any functions
of the President under the Act, except for those in
section 6 of the Act, shall be performed by the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in
accordance with the guidelines that have been issued by
the Administrator of General Services.
Sec. 222. Agency Responsibilities. In furtherance of
the policy set forth in section 219:
(a) The Chair of the Council on Environmental
Quality shall, within 6 months of the date of this
order, create a geospatial Climate and Economic Justice
Screening Tool and shall annually publish interactive
maps highlighting disadvantaged communities.
(b) The Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency shall, within existing appropriations
and consistent with applicable law:
(i) strengthen enforcement of environmental violations with
disproportionate impact on underserved communities through the Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance; and
(ii) create a community notification program to monitor and provide real-
time data to the public on current environmental pollution, including
emissions, criteria pollutants, and toxins, in frontline and fenceline
communities--places with the most significant exposure to such pollution.
(c) The Attorney General shall, within existing
appropriations and consistent with applicable law:
(i) consider renaming the Environment and Natural Resources Division the
Environmental Justice and Natural Resources Division;
(ii) direct that division to coordinate with the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, through the Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance, as well as with other client agencies as appropriate,
to develop a comprehensive environmental justice enforcement strategy,
which shall seek to provide timely remedies for systemic environmental
violations and contaminations, and injury to natural resources; and
(iii) ensure comprehensive attention to environmental justice throughout
the Department of Justice, including by considering creating an Office of
Environmental Justice within the Department to coordinate environmental
justice activities among Department of Justice components and United States
Attorneys' Offices nationwide.
(d) The Secretary of Health and Human Services
shall, consistent with applicable law and within
existing appropriations:
(i) establish an Office of Climate Change and Health Equity to address the
impact of climate change on the health of the American people; and
(ii) establish an Interagency Working Group to Decrease Risk of Climate
Change to Children, the Elderly, People with Disabilities, and the
Vulnerable as well as a biennial Health Care System Readiness Advisory
Council, both of which shall report their progress and findings regularly
to the Task Force.
(e) The Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy shall, in consultation with the
National Climate Advisor, within existing
appropriations, and within 100 days of the date of this
order, publish a report identifying the climate
strategies and technologies that will result in the
most air and water quality improvements, which shall be
made public to the maximum extent possible and
published on the Office's website.
Sec. 223. Justice40 Initiative. (a) Within 120 days of
the date of this order, the Chair of the Council on
Environmental Quality, the Director of the
[[Page 7632]]
Office of Management and Budget, and the National
Climate Advisor, in consultation with the Advisory
Council, shall jointly publish recommendations on how
certain Federal investments might be made toward a goal
that 40 percent of the overall benefits flow to
disadvantaged communities. The recommendations shall
focus on investments in the areas of clean energy and
energy efficiency; clean transit; affordable and
sustainable housing; training and workforce
development; the remediation and reduction of legacy
pollution; and the development of critical clean water
infrastructure. The recommendations shall reflect
existing authorities the agencies may possess for
achieving the 40-percent goal as well as
recommendations on any legislation needed to achieve
the 40-percent goal.
(b) In developing the recommendations, the Chair of
the Council on Environmental Quality, the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget, and the National
Climate Advisor shall consult with affected
disadvantaged communities.
(c) Within 60 days of the recommendations described
in subsection (a) of this section, agency heads shall
identify applicable program investment funds based on
the recommendations and consider interim investment
guidance to relevant program staff, as appropriate and
consistent with applicable law.
(d) By February 2022, the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget, in coordination with the Chair
of the Council on Environmental Quality, the
Administrator of the United States Digital Service, and
other relevant agency heads, shall, to the extent
consistent with applicable law, publish on a public
website an annual Environmental Justice Scorecard
detailing agency environmental justice performance
measures.
PART III--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget,
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
[[Page 7633]]
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 27, 2021.
[FR Doc. 2021-02177
Filed 1-29-21; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 1, 2021.
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