President Biden Issues Major Executive Order Addressing Climate Change and Environment

Written by Chloe Marie 

On January 20, 2021, his first day in office, President Joseph Biden issued an Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.  

As the title indicates, President Biden seeks to put science and environmental justice at the forefront of national climate action. In order to do so, President Biden wrote that “the Federal Government must be guided by the best science and be protected by processes that ensure the integrity of Federal decision-making.” Consequently, and in this endeavor, the Executive Order focuses on six priority actions, each of which are addressed within individual sections of the Executive Order. 

Immediate Review of Prior Agency Actions  

The Executive Order calls for immediate action from all executive departments and heads of agencies to review “all existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and any other similar agency actions … promulgated, issued, or adopted between January 20, 2017, and January 20, 2021,” that are not in line with the new administration’s objectives with regard to the fight against climate change.  

The Executive Order specifies that the heads of agencies must determine whether to suspend, revise, or rescind prior agency actions and further directs the relevant agencies to initiate a notice-and-comment rulemaking for a multitude of rules with set deadlines, which include the following:  

• Increasing Consistency and Transparency in Considering Benefits and Costs in the Clean Air Act Rulemaking Process (85 FR 84130) and Strengthening Transparency in Pivotal Science Underlying Significant Regulatory Actions and Influential Scientific Information (86 FR 469), which is to be reviewed “as soon as possible”; 

• Energy Conservation Program for Appliance Standards: Procedures for Use in New or Revised Energy Conservation Standards and Test Procedures for Consumer Products and Commercial/Industrial Equipment (85 FR 8626) and Energy Conservation Program for Appliance Standards: Procedures for Evaluating Statutory Factors for Use in New or Revised Energy Conservation Standards (85 FR 50937), with major revisions to be proposed by March 2021 and any additional revisions to be proposed by June 2021; 

• The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule Part One: One National Program (84 FR 51310), which is to be reviewed by April 2021; 

• Final Determination Regarding Energy Efficiency Improvements in the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) (84 FR 67435) and Final Determination Regarding Energy Efficiency Improvements in ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2016: Energy Standard for Buildings, Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings (83 FR 8463), which is to be reviewed by May 2021; 

• The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks (85 FR 24174), which is to be reviewed by July 2021;  

• National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units—Reconsideration of Supplemental Finding and Residual Risk and Technology Review (85 FR 31286), which is to be reviewed by August 2021; and  

• Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources Reconsideration (85 FR 57398), which is to be reviewed by September 2021. 

Thirty days following the date of the Executive Order, the relevant agencies are required to present the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with a “preliminary list” of all actions pertaining to the above rules that were to be completed by December 31, 2021. An updated list of all actions that were to be completed by December 31, 2025, must then be submitted to the Director of OMB, ninety days following the date of the Order.  

The Executive Order specifies that each list submitted to the Director of OMB must be sent to the National Climate Advisor and must include a list of additional actions being considered that would not require an OMB review.  

In addition, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is instructed to consider whether to take action on comprehensive standards of performance for methane and VOC emission from existing oil and natural gas sources by September 2021 as well as to propose a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) for the states of California, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas by January 2022. 

National Monuments

The Executive Order directs the Secretary of the Interior along with the relevant agencies to review the boundaries and conditions of the Bears Ears National Monument, the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and the Northeast Canyon and Seamounts Marine National Monument that were modified and reduced in size under the Trump administration through proclamations. As stated in the Executive Order, the review is to determine whether the monument boundaries and conditions must be restored as they existed prior to January 20, 2017. The Secretary of the Interior has a maximum of 60 days starting from the date of this order to deliver its findings and recommendations to President Biden.  

Arctic Refuge 

The Secretary of the Interior is requested to put in place a temporary moratorium on all federal oil and gas leasing activities under the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In addition, the Interior Secretary is instructed to conduct a comprehensive analysis and report of the potential environmental impacts of the oil and gas leasing program.  

Under the Executive Order, President Biden is also looking to reestablish prior policies adopted through Executive Orders by former President Obama, which limited offshore oil and gas development in certain areas in Arctic water and the Bearing sea. These policies were revoked under the Trump administration.  

Climate Pollution 

The Executive Order creates an Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases, which will be co-chaired by the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Director of OMB, and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. As stated in the order, the mission of the working group is to assess “the full costs of greenhouse gas emissions as accurately as possible,” which includes the “social cost of carbon” (SCC), “social cost of nitrous oxide” (SCN), and “social cost of methane” (SCM).  

The Working Group has 30 days to develop and publish interim SCC, SCN, and SCM for monetary valuation of the social costs of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from current policies and regulations. Final SCC, SCN, and SCM are expected to be published in or before January 2022.  

The Working Group is required to provide recommendations to President Biden on areas of decision-making, budgeting, and procurement by September 1, 2021. Recommendations about a review process of the SCC, SCN, and SCM as well as calculation methodologies must also be submitted to the President on or before June 1, 2022. 

Keystone XL Pipeline  

The Executive Order cancels a Presidential Permit granted by former President Trump to TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P., which allowed the construction and operation of the Keystone XL Pipeline. In addition to stating that “[t]he Keystone XL pipeline disserves the U.S. national interest,” President Biden wrote that “[l]eaving the Keystone XL pipeline permit in place would not be consistent with my Administration’s economic and climate imperatives.” 

Additional Revocation 

The Executive Order expressly provides for revocation in their entirety of multiple executive orders listed below: 

• Executive Order 13766 (Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals for High Priority Infrastructure Projects) issued on Jan. 24, 2017; 
• Executive Order 13778 (Restoring the Rule of Law, Federalism, and Economic Growth by Reviewing the “Waters of the United States” Rule) issued on Feb. 28, 2017; 
• Executive Order 13783 (Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth) issued on Mar. 28, 2017; 
• Executive Order 13792 (Review of Designations Under the Antiquities Act) issued on Apr. 26, 2017; 
• Executive Order 13795 (Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy) issued on Apr. 28, 2017; 

• Executive Order 13807 (Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure Projects) issued on Aug. 15, 2017, but with the option of replacing it; 
• Executive Order 13868 (Promoting Energy Infrastructure and Economic Growth) issued on Apr. 10, 2019; 
• Executive Order 13920 (Securing the United States Bulk-Power System) issued on May 1, 2020 for a period of 90 days and with the option of replacing it; 
• Executive Order 13927 (Accelerating the Nation’s Economic Recovery from the COVID-19 Emergency by Expediting Infrastructure Investments and Other Activities) issued on Jun. 4, 2020. 

The Executive Order partially revokes Executive Order 13834 (Efficient Federal Operations) issued on May 17, 2018, with sections 6, 7 and 11 remaining effective.  

Additionally, other orders and guidance documents are to be rescinded, including: 

• Presidential Memorandum (Promoting Domestic Manufacturing and Job Creation Policies and Procedures Relating to Implementation of Air Quality Standards) issued on Apr. 12, 2018; 

• Presidential Memorandum (Promoting the Reliable Supply and Delivery of Water in the West) issued on Oct. 19, 2018; 
• Presidential Memorandum (Developing and Delivering More Water Supplies in California) issued on Feb. 19, 2020; 
• “Draft National Environmental Policy Act Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions” (84 FR 30097) prepared and issued by the Council on Environmental Quality on Jun. 26, 2019. The Executive Order also instructs the Council to review, revise and update the “Final Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Effects of Climate Change in National Environmental Policy Act Reviews,” (81 FR 51866) issued on Aug. 5, 2016.

 

The Center for Agricultural and Shale Law is a partner of the National Agricultural Law Center (NALC) at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, which serves as the nation’s leading source of agricultural and food law research and information. This material is provided as part of that partnership and is based upon work supported by the National Agricultural Library, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.