Carolyn Morrisroe, carolyn.morrisroe@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, President Biden announced an executive order to greatly reduce the federal government’s climate pollution. This order serves as a critical first step to cutting pollution from the government’s own vehicles, buildings, electricity usage, and construction materials while supporting family-sustaining manufacturing jobs.
Clean Transportation: The executive order instructs government agencies to develop strategies to fully electrify their vehicle fleets, with a target of buying only zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) for light-duty cars and trucks by 2027 and for all vehicle types by 2035.
Clean Electricity Procurement and Buildings: The executive order sets a requirement of 100% carbon pollution-free electricity, including wind and solar, to power all government operations by 2030. It also requires the modernization of all federal buildings by ensuring that new building construction and major building retrofits increase efficiency, electrify systems, and strengthen sustainability. The EO also implements the first-ever Federal Building Performance Standard.
Clean Manufacturing: The executive order makes a significant move toward Buy Clean policies that would reduce industrial pollution. The order will boost emissions transparency in government purchasing, which would enable prioritization of low-emissions construction materials. Industry emits more than 1.5 gigatons of climate pollution every year, in addition to highly toxic air pollution that causes diseases like cancer and respiratory illnesses in primarily Black and Latinx communities near the fencelines of industrial plants.
In Response, the Sierra Club Released the Following Statements:
“We applaud President Biden’s move to leverage the federal government’s massive purchasing power to drive demand for clean manufacturing, electric vehicles, clean buildings, and 100% clean electricity.
“To support environmental justice, good clean energy jobs, and a livable climate, the United States government must swiftly slash pollution from its own construction materials, vehicle fleets, electricity usage, and buildings, and spur cuts to industrial pollution throughout the supply chain. This executive order is a crucial step down that path.
“Today’s launch of a new federal Buy Clean initiative — backed by major unions and environmental groups — will help ensure that our tax dollars curb toxic pollution, promote climate stability, and support clean manufacturing jobs by requiring companies to disclose their emissions when selling steel, concrete, and other construction materials to the government for infrastructure projects.”
— Ben Beachy, Director, Living Economy Program
“As we accelerate the country’s transition toward electric transportation powered by renewable energy, the federal government must lead the charge. We applaud the Biden administration for this major commitment to support the transition to electric cars and trucks.
“Government fleet vehicles make up half a million cars and trucks across the country. Getting to 100% electric will help the U.S. curtail pollution from its top-emitting sector, improve air quality, and create positive ripple effects by driving down the cost of electric vehicles.”
— Katherine García, Acting Director, Clean Transportation for All Campaign
“Transitioning to fossil fuel-free, efficient, and healthy buildings is not only an essential component of any economy-wide decarbonization strategy, but also an opportunity to improve people’s everyday lives, create family-sustaining jobs, and improve indoor and outdoor environmental quality. Implementing this executive order will put our country on a path for a better, more efficient future for all.”
— Jonathan Levenshus, Director of Federal Campaigns, Beyond Coal Campaign
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.