Wednesday, January 27 is the Biden administration's first "Climate Day." We expect the President to issue a bevy of Executive Orders (EO) that will set the tone for his ambitious climate agenda over the next four years. In contrast to the EO from Biden's first day in office, which focused on undoing actions of the previous administration, the actions on Climate Day likely will be more prospective. The President's domestic climate advisor, Gina McCarthy, told the U.S. Conference of Mayors Saturday, "We've already sent signals on the things that we don't like that we're going to roll back, but this week you're going to see us move forward with what's the vision of the future."
Climate is one of the biggest priorities in the Biden administration, and the EO will emphasize environmental protection based on science. Though specifics have been kept under wraps, we expect the Climate Day rollout to ink several campaign promises as well as set into motion future initiatives. This likely will include a moratorium on new federal oil and gas leases, a withdrawal from financing international fossil fuel projects, and a new initiative to preserve 30 percent of all federal lands and waters by 2030. We expect the administration will establish a Climate Council, reestablish the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and issue an Order emphasizing science-based rulemaking. We also anticipate the administration will announce a Climate Summit for April, at which point the United States may outline key elements of its forthcoming Nationally Determined Contribution for the Paris Agreement. (Last week the Biden administration ordered a return to the Paris Agreement). Finally, the Administration is set to declare climate change a national security priority, with many watching closely to see if Biden goes one step further to declare climate a national emergency.
We will track Climate Day developments closely, so stay tuned for updates and analysis in the coming days.
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