President Joe Biden is set to order fresh action to combat climate change — with plans for blocking new oil leasing on federal land, prioritizing science in government decision-making and bringing world leaders together to address the threat. The policy plans and directives, some of which are expected as soon as Wednesday, were described by people familiar with the plans.
A moratorium on the sale of new drilling rights on federal lands and waters will allow the government to review whether — and how — that energy development should take place. At the same time, Biden will embrace a goal of protecting at least 30% of U.S. land and ocean by 2030, according to two people familiar with the matter.
A similar “30 by ‘30” conservation plan has been endorsed by Biden’s Interior secretary nominee, Representative Deb Haaland, as well as many prominent conservatives who say that kind of broad land protection can help fight climate change and save species from extinction.
The administration is also preparing an executive order to marshal the federal government’s purchasing power by requiring that federal agencies — including the U.S. Postal Service — buy clean vehicles and renewable power, according to three people familiar with the matter, though the timing of that announcement wasn’t clear. Biden hinted at the plans Monday during remarks detailing White House plans to boost federal spending on U.S. products.
“The federal government also owns an enormous fleet of vehicles, which we’re going to replace with clean electric vehicles made right here in America, by American workers,” Biden said, adding the move would create millions of jobs. “Together this will be the largest mobilization of public investment in procurement, infrastructure, and R and D, since World War II.”
Biden is also expected to host world leaders in a climate summit on Earth Day, according to three people familiar with the matter, a sign of the new president’s commitment to not just rejoin the Paris carbon-cutting accord but also strengthen it. The U.S.-hosted meeting on April 22 could be virtual, one of the people said, similar to a United Nations climate summit in December.