Proposed Rule2021-22266
Federal Acquisition Regulation: Minimizing the Risk of Climate Change in Federal Acquisitions
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
October 15, 2021
Issuing agencies
Defense DepartmentGeneral Services AdministrationNational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Abstract
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council is considering amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to ensure that major Federal agency procurements minimize the risk of climate change. DoD, GSA, and NASA are seeking public input on a potential FAR amendment.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 197 (Friday, October 15, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 197 (Friday, October 15, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57404-57406]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22266]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
48 CFR Chapter 1
[FAR Case 2021-016, Docket No. FAR-2021-016, Sequence No. 1]
RIN 9000-AO33
Federal Acquisition Regulation: Minimizing the Risk of Climate
Change in Federal Acquisitions
AGENCY: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.
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[[Page 57405]]
SUMMARY: The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council is considering
amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to ensure that major
Federal agency procurements minimize the risk of climate change. DoD,
GSA, and NASA are seeking public input on a potential FAR amendment.
DATES: Interested parties should submit written comments to the
Regulatory Secretariat Division at the address shown below on or before
December 14, 2021 to be considered in the formation of the proposed
rule.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments in response to FAR Case 2021-016 to the
Federal eRulemaking portal at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> by searching
for ``FAR Case 2021-016''. Select the link ``Comment Now'' that
corresponds with ``FAR Case 2021-016''. Follow the instructions
provided on the ``Comment Now'' screen. Please include your name,
company name (if any), and ``FAR Case 2021-016'' on your attached
document. If your comment cannot be submitted using <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, call or email the points of contact in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate
instructions.
Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite ``FAR Case 2021-
016'' in all correspondence related to this case. Comments received
generally will be posted without change to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>,
including any personal and/or business confidential information
provided. To confirm receipt of your comment(s), please check <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, approximately two to three days after submission
to verify posting.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jennifer Hawes, Procurement
Analyst, at 202-969-7386 or by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#046e616a6a6d6261762a6c65736177446377652a636b72"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b2d8d7dcdcdbd4d7c09cdad3c5d7c1f2d5c1d39cd5ddc4">[email protected]</span></a>, for
clarification of content. For information pertaining to status or
publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat Division at
202-501-4755 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4e091d0f1c2b291d2b2d0e293d2f60292138"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c98e9a889bacae9aacaa89aebaa8e7aea6bf">[email protected]</span></a>. Please cite FAR Case 2021-016.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On May 20, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order (E.O.)
14030, Climate-Related Financial Risk (May 25, 2021, 86 FR 27967). The
E.O. recognizes that the intensifying impacts of climate change present
a set of growing risks to financial assets, companies, communities, and
workers. The Federal Government itself is exposed to these same risks.
The failure to appropriately and adequately account for these risks
threatens the financial and operational effectiveness of the Federal
Government and its ability to meet the needs of its citizens.
The E.O. states that the Federal Government should lead by example
by appropriately prioritizing Federal investments and conducting
prudent fiscal management. One critical lever is ensuring that the
Federal Government manages climate-related financial risk within its
own procurement activity, while also leveraging its scale as the
Nation's largest spender to speed the adoption of key assessment,
disclosure, and mitigation measures across the private sector. To that
end, section 5(b)(ii) of the E.O. directed the Federal Acquisition
Regulatory Council, in consultation with the Chair of the Council on
Environmental Quality and the heads of other agencies as appropriate,
to consider amending the FAR to ensure that major Federal agency
procurements minimize the risk of climate change, including requiring
the social cost of greenhouse gas emissions to be considered in
procurement decisions and, where appropriate and feasible, giving
preference to bids and proposals from suppliers with a lower social
cost of greenhouse gas emissions.
As stated in section 5(a) of E.O. 13990, Protecting Public Health
and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis,
the ``social cost'' is an estimate of the monetized damages associated
with incremental increases in greenhouse gas emissions (January 25,
2021, 86 FR 7037). Interim estimates on the social cost of carbon,
methane, and nitrous oxide under E.O. 13990 were published in February
2021 and are available at <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/TechnicalSupportDocument_SocialCostofCarbonMethaneNitrousOxide.pdf">https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/TechnicalSupportDocument_SocialCostofCarbonMethaneNitrousOxide.pdf</a>.
Recommendations from the Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost
of Greenhouse Gases established under E.O. 13990 on considering the
social cost of carbon, methane, and nitrous oxide in procurement will
also be considered in development of a proposed rule under this FAR
case.
Current FAR coverage of greenhouse gas emissions is primarily in
subpart 23.8 and the associated clauses in part 52, with definitions at
2.101 and 23.001. FAR Case 2021-015, Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas
Emissions and Climate-Related Financial Risk, implements section
5(b)(i) of the E.O.; that paragraph requires consideration of a FAR
amendment to require major Federal suppliers to publicly disclose
greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risk and to set
science-based reduction targets.
II. Request for Public Comment
DoD, GSA, and NASA welcome general input from the public on a
potential amendment to the FAR to accomplish the stated objectives.
Respondents are encouraged to offer their feedback on the following
questions:
(a) How can greenhouse gas emissions, including the social cost of
greenhouse gases, best be qualitatively and quantitatively considered
in Federal procurement decisions, both domestic and overseas? How might
this vary across different sectors?
(b) What are usable and respected methodologies for measuring the
greenhouse gases emissions over the lifecycle of the products procured
or leased, or of the services performed?
(c) How can procurement and program officials of major Federal
agency procurements better incorporate and mitigate climate-related
financial risk? How else might the Federal Government consider and
minimize climate-related financial risks through procurement decisions,
both domestic and overseas?
(d) How would (or how does) your organization provide greenhouse
gas emission data for proposals and/or contract performance?
(e) How might the Federal Government best standardize greenhouse
gas emission reporting methods? How might the Government verify
greenhouse gas emissions reporting?
(f) How might the Federal Government give preference to bids and
proposals from suppliers, both domestic and overseas, to achieve
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions or reduce the social cost of
greenhouse gas emissions most effectively?
[[Page 57406]]
(g) How might the Government consider commitments by suppliers to
reduce or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions?
(h) What impact would consideration of the social cost of
greenhouse gases in procurement decisions have on small businesses,
including small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned small businesses,
service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and Historically
Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small businesses? How should the
FAR Council best align this objective with efforts to ensure
opportunity for small businesses?
William F. Clark,
Director, Office of Government-wide Acquisition Policy, Office of
Acquisition Policy, Office of Government-wide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2021-22266 Filed 10-14-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P
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