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Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee Addresses President Biden's Executive Orders on Climate Change Policy
A House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing last week explored possible actions Congress could take following the Biden Administration's Executive Orders on Climate Change Policy in the effort to change the energy supply system of the United States. The House Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee's remote hearing on Tuesday, February 9, at 12 p.m. (EST) was titled "Back in Action: Restoring Federal Climate Leadership."
President Biden's Executive Order 14008, "Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad," issued on January 27, established the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy, a National Climate Task Force, and a Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.
Witnesses during the hearing highlighted the importance of President Biden's quick action on climate policy, as well as the role that Congress and the Subcommittee will have to play in order to ensure additional legislative action takes place to support the goals of new climate change policy. Chairman Frank Pallone acknowledged Republican concerns that no one be left behind as we work to ensure that workers and our communities benefit from a clean energy economy.
Among the witnesses at the hearing was Christy Goldfuss, Senior Vice President of Energy and Environment Policy for the Center of American Progress, who highlighted how President Biden's executive orders stress the importance of relying on scientific evidence and expert advice to guide the development of climate policy. In addition to the executive orders, Goldfuss noted that Congress will need to explore a full clean electricity standard if we want to decarbonize the energy sector by 2035.
The Subcommittee also highlighted a key component of President Biden's Executive Orders, which is pursuing environmental justice along with economic revitalization. Chairman Pallone emphasized that communities of color and low-income communities across the United States have borne the largest burden of environmental injustice without equitable opportunity to participate in the regulatory process. Pallone stated that he hopes the Committee will play a major role in enacting legal protections for environmental justice for affected communities and to advance legislation to revitalize infrastructure in the United States.
A recording of the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on "Back in Action: Restoring Federal Climate Leadership" is available here.
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