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About Commodity Insights
08 Dec 2021 | 23:31 UTC
Highlights
At least 10 GW of 'new American clean electricity'
Government fleet vehicles central to mandate
President Joe Biden released an executive order Dec. 8 that calls on the federal government to produce net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, aligning with Biden's target to decarbonize the broader economy by midcentury.
The directive involves five "pillars" for eliminating emissions, including a goal for the government to be powered by 100% carbon dioxide-free electricity by 2030. If fulfilled, the order could drive substantial emissions cuts, with the federal government the largest landowner and energy consumer in the US.
"By transforming how the federal government builds, buys, and manages its assets and operations, the federal government will support the growth of America's clean energy and clean technology industries, while accelerating America's progress toward achieving a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035," the White House said in a fact sheet.
The Dec. 8 order requires all federal vehicle purchases to be zero-emission cars by 2035, with a goal for all light-duty vehicle purchases to be emissions-free by 2027. Biden also ordered all federal procurement to produce net-zero emissions by 2050, including through a "Buy Clean" policy to promote reliance on lower-emissions construction materials.
In addition, the government's buildings portfolio must be carbon-free by 2045, including a 50% emissions reduction by 2032. Overall federal operations would produce net-zero emissions by 2050, with a 65% emissions cut by 2030.
"Extreme weather events, exacerbated by climate change, cost our nation $99 billion in economic damages last year — a record we are poised to break this year," Biden said in a sustainability plan that the White House released alongside the order. "The time is now to take bold action to make our entire nation more resilient and sustainable.
The Biden administration said it will work with utilities, project developers, and financiers to reach the government's 2030 carbon-free power goal.
At least half that power must come from locally sourced "24/7 carbon pollution-free electricity," which the order said must "match actual electricity consumption on an hourly basis and [be] produced within the same regional grid where the energy is consumed."
The mandate would generate at least 10 GW of "new American clean electricity production by 2030," supporting Biden's goal to decarbonize the US power sector by 2035, the sustainability plan said.
Calls for "around the clock" clean power supply have grown in recent years, particularly from large corporate energy buyers. Google LLC, Adobe Inc., and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. are among the companies that have urged the US government to procure clean energy on a 24/7 basis.
As part of the order, each federal agency must reduce its scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions, including by setting targets for fiscal year 2030. Agencies must also develop or revise policies to promote climate-resilient investment that helps the government adapt to climate change.
Environmental justice was another key component of the plan. The order directed agencies to incorporate environmental justice considerations into their sustainability and climate adaption plans and find ways to support the Biden administration's goal to direct 40% of federal climate investments to disadvantaged communities that have been disproportionately affected by pollution.
The head of the White House Office of Management and Budget will coordinate with the chair of the Council on Environmental Quality to assist agencies with compliance, including issuing implementation guidance within 120 days of the Dec. 8 order.
Agencies, however, may be exempted from certain activities required under the order if doing so in the interest of national security or other considerations.
Environmental groups applauded the new executive order but said further action from Congress is necessary to satisfy Biden's ambitions, including enactment of a roughly $2 trillion climate and social spending package under consideration in the Senate.
"It is imperative that Congress passes the Build Back Better Act this year and federal appropriations bills before the continuing resolution expires in February, to ensure that the federal government has the additional funding necessary to deliver on this ambitious plan," Sara Fontes, a government affairs advocate for the League of Conservation Voters, said in a statement.
GOP lawmakers blasted Biden's order, saying it would hurt fossil fuel-producing states.
"This is not build back better — it's another backbreaking move to build bigger bureaucracy," said Senator John Barrasso, Republican-Wyoming, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. "We should protect our environment through innovation, not Biden's enormous bureaucracies and punishing regulations."