President Biden Takes Action to Rejoin Paris Climate Accord, Review Environmental Rollbacks

U.S. President Joe Biden issued a series of executive actions on Jan. 20 reflecting his energy agenda that prioritizes clean energy and climate action. Biden took action to recommit the U.S. to the Paris Climate Agreement and issued an executive order revoking a key permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline and temporarily halting oil and gas leasing in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The executive order titled “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis” directs federal agencies to review Trump-era regulations including methane emission rules, fuel economy standards, and building energy efficiency regulations.

The new administration’s priorities are in stark contrast with former President Donald Trump’s record of supporting the coal industry and rolling back environmental regulations. Biden’s clean energy plan, which envisions economy-wide net-zero emissions by 2050, includes a $2 trillion investment over four years to deploy the resources to set the nation on a course to meet the ambitious climate progress.

The former Trump administration completed or initiated rollbacks of more than 100 environmental rules. Among the major rollbacks, the prior administration weakened the 2012 fuel economy and emissions standards, including revoking California’s authority to pursue its own standard and ZEV mandate, eased methane rules for the oil and gas sector, and withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate accord.

The historic climate pact, signed in December 2015 by nearly every country in the world, commits the world leaders to keep the average global temperature below 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels and try to limit that increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Rejoining the accord commits the U.S. to reduce economy-wide emissions 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.

The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the U.S. oil and gas industry, commended Biden’s goal of leadership in addressing climate change, saying it supports the ambitions of the Paris Agreement, including global action to cut emissions. However, the group expressed opposition to revoking the Keystone XL pipeline, calling it a “misguided move” that will impede economic recovery, undermine energy security and strain relations with one of the country’s greatest allies. The Keystone XL project, which would carry crude oil from Canada to Nebraska, has faced opposition from environmentalists for nearly a decade. Trump has long expressed support for the project, expediting the project with an executive order to authorize the cross-border segment and a presidential permit for its construction.

The Solar Energy Industries Association hailed the move, saying it backed the Paris agreement when it was signed in 2016 and continues to support the accord and other global efforts to combat climate change.