President Joe Biden is set to sign an executive order in the Rose Garden that will direct all federal government agencies to incorporate “environmental justice” into their missions.
The White House announced that environmental justice leaders, climate advocates, and community leaders have been invited to join the president at the signing ceremony.
The executive order aims to reaffirm the administration’s commitment to combating climate change and addressing disproportionate environmental harms, including those resulting from a “legacy of racial discrimination, including redlining.”
The executive order will instruct agencies to address gaps in science and data to better understand and prevent the cumulative impacts of pollution on people’s health.
It will also establish a new Office of Environmental Justice within the White House to coordinate environmental justice efforts across the federal government.
Furthermore, the order will require agencies to notify nearby communities in the event of a release of toxic substances from a federal facility.
According to the White House, the executive order recognizes “racism as a fundamental driver of environmental injustice.”
Federal agencies will be directed to consider and prevent disproportionate environmental and health impacts on poor and minority communities.
The order also mandates that agencies consult with historically excluded communities and actively facilitate meaningful public participation and just treatment in agency decision-making processes.
The newly created White House Office of Environmental Justice will be headed by a Federal Chief Environmental Justice Officer, responsible for coordinating environmental justice policy across the entire federal government.
Additionally, the executive order amends language used in a Clinton-era environmental order that called on the government to address “disproportionately high and adverse” effects of their actions.
The word “high” will be removed to eliminate the “potential misunderstanding that agencies should only be considering large disproportionate effects.”
The White House juxtaposed Biden’s planned action with policies supported by House Republicans and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), accusing “extreme MAGA Republicans” of being in the pocket of Big Oil.
Republicans have introduced H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, a wide-ranging bill that pushes back against Biden’s climate agenda.
This legislation covers topics from Biden’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline to restrictions on oil and gas development and proposed bans on gas stoves.
The Lower Energy Costs Act, which has received bipartisan support in the House, would repeal taxes and regulations on oil and gas production and facilitate the development of fossil fuel energy. However, President Biden has stated that he would veto the bill.
Speaker McCarthy criticized the Biden administration for “kneecapping American energy production” with “misguided policies” that increase costs for Americans.
In response, a White House official said, “Speaker McCarthy and his extreme caucus’ proposals, including H.R. 1, would be a climate and health disaster that President Biden won’t allow on his watch.”
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