Presidential Document2024-08911
Earth Day, 2024
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
April 24, 2024
Signed
April 19, 2024
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 80 (Wednesday, April 24, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 24, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 31073-31075]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08911]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 80 / Wednesday, April 24, 2024 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 31073]]
Proclamation 10732 of April 19, 2024
Earth Day, 2024
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
More than 50 years ago today, some 20 million Americans
came together across the country to demand that we
prioritize our planet's well-being. They came from
every walk of life and political background, and were
united around a common vision: to protect the Earth and
our natural treasures for future generations. Their
actions that day ignited an environmental movement and
proved that nothing is beyond our capacity if we do it
together. Today, we carry on their legacy by building a
greener, more sustainable planet and, with it, a
healthier, more prosperous Nation.
This work has never been more urgent. Climate change is
the existential crisis of our time; no one can deny its
impacts and staggering costs anymore. We have seen
historic floods from Vermont to Kentucky to California.
Droughts and hurricanes are growing more frequent and
intense. Wildfires are destroying entire communities
and spreading harmful smoky haze for thousands of miles
while temperatures keep reaching record highs. Season
after season, I have met with families who have lost
everything to major storms, wildfires, and other
climate disasters, and I have stood with the brave
first responders and firefighters who sacrifice so much
to protect their neighbors. Deforestation, nature loss,
toxic chemicals, and plastic pollution also continue to
threaten our air, lands, and waters, endangering our
health, other species, and ecosystems. Our actions
matter, and together we can protect our planet and our
futures.
I am proud that my Administration has made the biggest
investment ever to fight climate change. Through the
Inflation Reduction Act, we are building a clean energy
economy that creates good-paying jobs and investing in
research and development here at home. We are building
a cleaner, more resilient power grid; expanding solar,
wind, nuclear, and geothermal power; and upgrading the
transmission system to bring clean electricity to more
communities. We are saving families hundreds of dollars
per year on their electric bills by providing tax
credits to invest in efficient electric heat pumps. We
are providing thousands of dollars in tax credits to
people who buy new or used electric cars. Additionally,
we are supporting farmers and ranchers in the adoption
of climate-smart practices like cover crops and
rotational grazing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Meanwhile, our American Rescue Plan has also helped
States and cities become more energy efficient and
resilient to extreme weather, including helping people
weatherize their homes, restoring wetlands to protect
against storm surges and flooding, and opening cooling
centers where people can stay safe from extreme heat.
We have also made America's biggest investment in
infrastructure in generations. As a result, we are
expanding our transit and rail systems to reduce
traffic and emissions, and we are building a national
network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations.
When I think about climate change, I think about jobs--
the good-paying union jobs that our legislation is
creating nationwide in this clean energy revolution.
Our historic investments across the clean energy
economy are creating good jobs, apprenticeships, and
training opportunities for thousands of workers--from
manufacturers and electricians to construction workers
[[Page 31074]]
and linemen. American workers are installing solar
panels, servicing wind turbines, capping old oil wells,
manufacturing electric vehicles, and more. We are
making sure coal and power plant communities, which
have powered our economy for decades, have access to
these jobs--we will not leave them behind. At the same
time, we launched the American Climate Corps, which
will put more than 20,000 young Americans to work
restoring our lands and waters, deploying clean energy
technologies, and helping communities prepare for and
rebuild from extreme weather.
We are also bringing clean air, clean water, and clean
energy to those who have historically been left behind.
Through our Justice40 Initiative, we set a historic
goal to direct 40 percent of the overall benefits of
Federal clean energy, clean transit, and other
investments that fight climate change to communities
that are overburdened by pollution and disadvantaged by
underinvestment. We set the strongest-ever pollution
standards for cars and trucks, which will reduce carbon
emissions by more than 7 billion tons while also
slashing emissions of other pollutants. We are also
tackling pollution from fossil fuel power plants, which
have denied many Americans the clean air and water they
deserve. We are replacing every lead pipe in America so
that everyone can turn on their faucet and drink clean
water. We are working to clean up toxic waste sites and
partnering with communities to get dangerous ``forever
chemicals'' out of their water supplies.
Today, I am on track to conserve more lands and waters
than any President in history--getting us closer to my
Administration's historic goal of conserving at least
30 percent of our Nation's lands and waters by 2030. It
is a part of our ``America the Beautiful'' Initiative
that supports locally led conservation, protection, and
restoration through partnerships with Tribal Nations,
local communities, and private landowners. So far, I
have protected over 41 million acres of our Nation's
lands and waters--from establishing national monuments
like Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni on the outskirts of the
Grand Canyon and Camp Hale high in the Colorado
Rockies, to strengthening protections for treasures
like the Tongass National Forest and Bristol Bay in
Alaska. These majestic places unite and inspire us and
should be preserved for the ages. To restore and
protect the health of our ocean, my Administration is
advancing America's first-ever Ocean Climate Action
Plan, accelerating offshore wind energy development,
and working to designate new national marine
sanctuaries in California and the Pacific Remote
Islands.
Climate change is a global issue. Certainly no one
nation can tackle the climate crisis alone; we have to
work together. On my first day in office, I immediately
rejoined the Paris Climate Accord, reclaiming American
leadership in this critical work. We have rallied the
international community to tackle vital climate
challenges, including collaborating with over 150
nations to commit to slashing methane emissions and
over 140 nations to commit to halting and reversing
forest loss by 2030 as we find new ways to boost
resilience, strengthen our economies, and sustain our
planet. Last year, the United States galvanized other
countries to agree for the first time to transition
away from the fossil fuels that jeopardize the health
of our people and planet. Through our Women in the
Sustainable Economy Initiative, we are working to
ensure that women around the world have access to good-
paying jobs in sectors such as clean energy, fisheries,
recycling, forest management, and environmental
conservation, that are critical to our future. By
pledging a historic $3 billion to the Green Climate
Fund to help reduce emissions and boost climate
resilience in developing countries, we are catalyzing
further global action.
Last fall, we released the Fifth National Climate
Assessment, our Government's preeminent report on the
impacts, risks, and responses to climate change
nationwide and a go-to resource on emerging climate
solutions. Together--climate activists and business
leaders; farmers, manufacturers, union workers, and
Indigenous communities; courageous young people; and
anyone concerned about the future we leave for our
kids--we can make
[[Page 31075]]
the changes needed to protect our planet. America has
emerged from every crisis we have ever faced stronger
than when we went in. We can do that now for the world.
On Earth Day, I urge everyone to do their part in that
fight.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 22,
2024, as Earth Day. Today, I encourage all Americans to
reflect on the need to protect our precious planet; to
heed the call to combat our climate and biodiversity
crises while growing the economy; and to keep working
for a healthier, safer, more equitable future for all.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
nineteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
eighth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2024-08911
Filed 4-23-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 24, 2024.
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