Biden to sign executive order that aims to advance environmental justice
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will sign an executive order Friday to expand his administration’s environmental justice goals, such as: B. Bringing clean air and water to communities across the country.
“For far too long, communities across our country have faced persistent environmental injustice from toxic pollution, underinvestment in infrastructure and critical services, and other disproportionate environmental damage that often stems from a legacy of racial discrimination, including redlining,” the White House said, explaining the Executive “Those communities that have environmental justice concerns face even greater burdens because of climate change.”
Biden is scheduled to deliver remarks on the executive action in the White House Rose Garden on Friday afternoon. The President wants to ensure that Americans, regardless of race or background, income or location, benefit from “clean air and water, a reduced risk of asthma, cancer and other health burdens, and greater access to safe green spaces and affordable housing, as well clean transportation,” the White House said.
The ordinance will establish the Office of Environmental Justice at the White House to coordinate administration efforts to implement the new guidelines.
Biden’s action will also require authorities to notify nearby communities of releases of toxic substances from federal facilities and direct authorities to liaise with U.S. communities, including those in tribal areas.
Federal agencies will also be tasked with conducting new assessments of their environmental justice efforts, the White House said, which will be released through a new scorecard to measure the government’s progress on the issue.
A White House official said Biden plans to highlight in his speech on Friday how his environmental justice and climate agenda “stands in stark contrast to the dangerous vision speaker [Kevin] McCarthy and his extreme faction have stood up for our planet, our economy and public health.”
The official said that the recently passed House Republican energy measure, aimed at reversing almost the entire climate change agenda, “would be a climate and health disaster that President Biden will not allow under his watch.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., called this bill “dead on arrival.”
As part of the administration’s push, Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Florida on Friday to announce new investments to build coastal resilience to the effects of climate change and extreme storms, the official said.
