Executive Order 14008 (86 FR 7619)

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Presidential Documents

Executive Order 14008 of January 27, 2021

Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad
The United States and the world face a profound climate crisis. We have
a narrow moment to pursue action at home and abroad in order to avoid
the most catastrophic impacts of that crisis and to seize the opportunity
that tackling climate change presents. Domestic action must go hand in
hand with United States international leadership, aimed at significantly
enhancing global action. Together, we must listen to science and meet the
moment.
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the
laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
PART I—PUTTING THE CLIMATE CRISIS AT THE CENTER OF UNITED
STATES FOREIGN POLICY AND NATIONAL SECURITY
Section 101. Policy. United States international engagement to address climate
change—which has become a climate crisis—is more necessary and urgent
than ever. The scientific community has made clear that the scale and
speed of necessary action is greater than previously believed. There is little
time left to avoid setting the world on a dangerous, potentially catastrophic,
climate trajectory. Responding to the climate crisis will require both significant short-term global reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and net-zero
global emissions by mid-century or before.
It is the policy of my Administration that climate considerations shall be
an essential element of United States foreign policy and national security.
The United States will work with other countries and partners, both bilaterally and multilaterally, to put the world on a sustainable climate pathway.
The United States will also move quickly to build resilience, both at home
and abroad, against the impacts of climate change that are already manifest
and will continue to intensify according to current trajectories.
Sec. 102. Purpose. This order builds on and reaffirms actions my Administration has already taken to place the climate crisis at the forefront of this
Nation’s foreign policy and national security planning, including submitting
the United States instrument of acceptance to rejoin the Paris Agreement.
In implementing—and building upon—the Paris Agreement’s three overarching objectives (a safe global temperature, increased climate resilience,
and financial flows aligned with a pathway toward low greenhouse gas
emissions and climate-resilient development), the United States will exercise
its leadership to promote a significant increase in global climate ambition
to meet the climate challenge. In this regard:
(a) I will host an early Leaders’ Climate Summit aimed at raising climate
ambition and making a positive contribution to the 26th United Nations
Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) and beyond.
(b) The United States will reconvene the Major Economies Forum on
Energy and Climate, beginning with the Leaders’ Climate Summit. In cooperation with the members of that Forum, as well as with other partners as
appropriate, the United States will pursue green recovery efforts, initiatives
to advance the clean energy transition, sectoral decarbonization, and alignment of financial flows with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, including
with respect to coal financing, nature-based solutions, and solutions to other
climate-related challenges.

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(c) I have created a new Presidentially appointed position, the Special
Presidential Envoy for Climate, to elevate the issue of climate change and
underscore the commitment my Administration will make toward addressing
it.
(d) Recognizing that climate change affects a wide range of subjects, it
will be a United States priority to press for enhanced climate ambition
and integration of climate considerations across a wide range of international
fora, including the Group of Seven (G7), the Group of Twenty (G20), and
fora that address clean energy, aviation, shipping, the Arctic, the ocean,
sustainable development, migration, and other relevant topics. The Special
Presidential Envoy for Climate and others, as appropriate, are encouraged
to promote innovative approaches, including international multi-stakeholder
initiatives. In addition, my Administration will work in partnership with
States, localities, Tribes, territories, and other United States stakeholders
to advance United States climate diplomacy.
(e) The United States will immediately begin the process of developing
its nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement. The process will include analysis and input from relevant executive departments
and agencies (agencies), as well as appropriate outreach to domestic stakeholders. The United States will aim to submit its nationally determined
contribution in advance of the Leaders’ Climate Summit.
(f) The United States will also immediately begin to develop a climate
finance plan, making strategic use of multilateral and bilateral channels
and institutions, to assist developing countries in implementing ambitious
emissions reduction measures, protecting critical ecosystems, building resilience against the impacts of climate change, and promoting the flow of
capital toward climate-aligned investments and away from high-carbon investments. The Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury, in
coordination with the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, shall lead
a process to develop this plan, with the participation of the Administrator
of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the
Chief Executive Officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium
Challenge Corporation, the Director of the United States Trade and Development Agency, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and
the head of any other agency providing foreign assistance and development
financing, as appropriate. The Secretary of State and the Secretary of the
Treasury shall submit the plan to the President, through the Assistant to
the President for National Security Affairs and the Assistant to the President
for Economic Policy, within 90 days of the date of this order.
(g) The Secretary of the Treasury shall:
(i) ensure that the United States is present and engaged in relevant international fora and institutions that are working on the management of
climate-related financial risks;
(ii) develop a strategy for how the voice and vote of the United States
can be used in international financial institutions, including the World
Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, to promote financing
programs, economic stimulus packages, and debt relief initiatives that
are aligned with and support the goals of the Paris Agreement; and
(iii) develop, in collaboration with the Secretary of State, the Administrator
of USAID, and the Chief Executive Officer of the DFC, a plan for promoting
the protection of the Amazon rainforest and other critical ecosystems
that serve as global carbon sinks, including through market-based mechanisms.
(h) The Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary
of Energy shall work together and with the Export-Import Bank of the
United States, the Chief Executive Officer of the DFC, and the heads of
other agencies and partners, as appropriate, to identify steps through which
the United States can promote ending international financing of carbon-

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intensive fossil fuel-based energy while simultaneously advancing sustainable
development and a green recovery, in consultation with the Assistant to
the President for National Security Affairs.
(i) The Secretary of Energy, in cooperation with the Secretary of State
and the heads of other agencies, as appropriate, shall identify steps through
which the United States can intensify international collaborations to drive
innovation and deployment of clean energy technologies, which are critical
for climate protection.
(j) The Secretary of State shall prepare, within 60 days of the date of
this order, a transmittal package seeking the Senate’s advice and consent
to ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, regarding the phasedown of the
production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons.
Sec. 103. Prioritizing Climate in Foreign Policy and National Security. To
ensure that climate change considerations are central to United States foreign
policy and national security:
(a) Agencies that engage in extensive international work shall develop,
in coordination with the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, and submit
to the President, through the Assistant to the President for National Security
Affairs, within 90 days of the date of this order, strategies and implementation
plans for integrating climate considerations into their international work,
as appropriate and consistent with applicable law. These strategies and
plans should include an assessment of:
(i) climate impacts relevant to broad agency strategies in particular countries or regions;
(ii) climate impacts on their agency-managed infrastructure abroad (e.g.,
embassies, military installations), without prejudice to existing requirements regarding assessment of such infrastructure;
(iii) how the agency intends to manage such impacts or incorporate risk
mitigation into its installation master plans; and
(iv) how the agency’s international work, including partner engagement,
can contribute to addressing the climate crisis.
(b) The Director of National Intelligence shall prepare, within 120 days
of the date of this order, a National Intelligence Estimate on the national
and economic security impacts of climate change.
(c) The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Director of National Intelligence, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology
Policy, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the heads of other agencies as appropriate, shall develop and
submit to the President, within 120 days of the date of this order, an
analysis of the security implications of climate change (Climate Risk Analysis)
that can be incorporated into modeling, simulation, war-gaming, and other
analyses.
(d) The Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff shall consider the security implications of climate change, including
any relevant information from the Climate Risk Analysis described in subsection (c) of this section, in developing the National Defense Strategy,
Defense Planning Guidance, Chairman’s Risk Assessment, and other relevant
strategy, planning, and programming documents and processes. Starting in
January 2022, the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff shall provide an annual update, through the National Security Council, on the progress made in incorporating the security implications of climate
change into these documents and processes.
(e) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall consider the implications
of climate change in the Arctic, along our Nation’s borders, and to National

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Critical Functions, including any relevant information from the Climate Risk
Analysis described in subsection (c) of this section, in developing relevant
strategy, planning, and programming documents and processes. Starting in
January 2022, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide an annual
update, through the National Security Council, on the progress made in
incorporating the homeland security implications of climate change into
these documents and processes.
Sec. 104. Reinstatement. The Presidential Memorandum of September 21,
2016 (Climate Change and National Security), is hereby reinstated.
PART II—TAKING A GOVERNMENT-WIDE APPROACH TO THE CLIMATE
CRISIS
Sec. 201. Policy. Even as our Nation emerges from profound public health
and economic crises borne of a pandemic, we face a climate crisis that
threatens our people and communities, public health and economy, and,
starkly, our ability to live on planet Earth. Despite the peril that is already
evident, there is promise in the solutions—opportunities to create wellpaying union jobs to build a modern and sustainable infrastructure, deliver
an equitable, clean energy future, and put the United States on a path
to achieve net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by no later than 2050.
We must listen to science—and act. We must strengthen our clean air
and water protections. We must hold polluters accountable for their actions.
We must deliver environmental justice in communities all across America.
The Federal Government must drive assessment, disclosure, and mitigation
of climate pollution and climate-related risks in every sector of our economy,
marshaling the creativity, courage, and capital necessary to make our Nation
resilient in the face of this threat. Together, we must combat the climate
crisis with bold, progressive action that combines the full capacity of the
Federal Government with efforts from every corner of our Nation, every
level of government, and every sector of our economy.
It is the policy of my Administration to organize and deploy the full capacity
of its agencies to combat the climate crisis to implement a Governmentwide approach that reduces climate pollution in every sector of the economy;
increases resilience to the impacts of climate change; protects public health;
conserves our lands, waters, and biodiversity; delivers environmental justice;
and spurs well-paying union jobs and economic growth, especially through
innovation, commercialization, and deployment of clean energy technologies
and infrastructure. Successfully meeting these challenges will require the
Federal Government to pursue such a coordinated approach from planning
to implementation, coupled with substantive engagement by stakeholders,
including State, local, and Tribal governments.
Sec. 202. White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy. There is hereby
established the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy (Climate
Policy Office) within the Executive Office of the President, which shall
coordinate the policy-making process with respect to domestic climate-policy
issues; coordinate domestic climate-policy advice to the President; ensure
that domestic climate-policy decisions and programs are consistent with
the President’s stated goals and that those goals are being effectively pursued;
and monitor implementation of the President’s domestic climate-policy agenda. The Climate Policy Office shall have a staff headed by the Assistant
to the President and National Climate Advisor (National Climate Advisor)
and shall include the Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National
Climate Advisor. The Climate Policy Office shall have such staff and other
assistance as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this order,
subject to the availability of appropriations, and may work with established
or ad hoc committees or interagency groups. All agencies shall cooperate
with the Climate Policy Office and provide such information, support, and
assistance to the Climate Policy Office as it may request, as appropriate
and consistent with applicable law.

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Sec. 203. National Climate Task Force. There is hereby established a National
Climate Task Force (Task Force). The Task Force shall be chaired by the
National Climate Advisor.
(a) Membership. The Task Force shall consist of the following additional
members:
(i) the Secretary of the Treasury;
(ii) the Secretary of Defense;
(iii) the Attorney General;
(iv) the Secretary of the Interior;
(v) the Secretary of Agriculture;
(vi) the Secretary of Commerce;
(vii) the Secretary of Labor;
(viii) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(ix) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
(x) the Secretary of Transportation;
(xi) the Secretary of Energy;
(xii) the Secretary of Homeland Security;
(xiii) the Administrator of General Services;
(xiv) the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality;
(xv) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;
(xvi) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
(xvii) the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy;
(xviii) the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy;
(xix) the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs;
(xx) the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism; and
(xxi) the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.
(b) Mission and Work. The Task Force shall facilitate the organization
and deployment of a Government-wide approach to combat the climate
crisis. This Task Force shall facilitate planning and implementation of key
Federal actions to reduce climate pollution; increase resilience to the impacts
of climate change; protect public health; conserve our lands, waters, oceans,
and biodiversity; deliver environmental justice; and spur well-paying union
jobs and economic growth. As necessary and appropriate, members of the
Task Force will engage on these matters with State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments; workers and communities; and leaders across the various
sectors of our economy.
(c) Prioritizing Actions. To the extent permitted by law, Task Force members shall prioritize action on climate change in their policy-making and
budget processes, in their contracting and procurement, and in their engagement with State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments; workers and
communities; and leaders across all the sectors of our economy.
USE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S BUYING POWER AND REAL
PROPERTY AND ASSET MANAGEMENT
Sec. 204. Policy. It is the policy of my Administration to lead the Nation’s
effort to combat the climate crisis by example—specifically, by aligning
the management of Federal procurement and real property, public lands
and waters, and financial programs to support robust climate action. By
providing an immediate, clear, and stable source of product demand, increased transparency and data, and robust standards for the market, my
Administration will help to catalyze private sector investment into, and

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accelerate the advancement of America’s industrial capacity to supply, domestic clean energy, buildings, vehicles, and other necessary products and
materials.
Sec. 205. Federal Clean Electricity and Vehicle Procurement Strategy. (a)
The Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, the Administrator of
General Services, and the Director of the Office and Management and Budget,
in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor,
the Secretary of Energy, and the heads of other relevant agencies, shall
assist the National Climate Advisor, through the Task Force established
in section 203 of this order, in developing a comprehensive plan to create
good jobs and stimulate clean energy industries by revitalizing the Federal
Government’s sustainability efforts.
(b) The plan shall aim to use, as appropriate and consistent with applicable
law, all available procurement authorities to achieve or facilitate:
(i) a carbon pollution-free electricity sector no later than 2035; and
(ii) clean and zero-emission vehicles for Federal, State, local, and Tribal
government fleets, including vehicles of the United States Postal Service.
(c) If necessary, the plan shall recommend any additional legislation needed
to accomplish these objectives.
(d) The plan shall also aim to ensure that the United States retains the
union jobs integral to and involved in running and maintaining clean and
zero-emission fleets, while spurring the creation of union jobs in the manufacture of those new vehicles. The plan shall be submitted to the Task Force
within 90 days of the date of this order.
Sec. 206. Procurement Standards. Consistent with the Executive Order of
January 25, 2021, entitled, ‘‘Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America
by All of America’s Workers,’’ agencies shall adhere to the requirements
of the Made in America Laws in making clean energy, energy efficiency,
and clean energy procurement decisions. Agencies shall, consistent with
applicable law, apply and enforce the Davis-Bacon Act and prevailing wage
and benefit requirements. The Secretary of Labor shall take steps to update
prevailing wage requirements. The Chair of the Council on Environmental
Quality shall consider additional administrative steps and guidance to assist
the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council in developing regulatory amendments to promote increased contractor attention on reduced carbon emission
and Federal sustainability.
Sec. 207. Renewable Energy on Public Lands and in Offshore Waters. The
Secretary of the Interior shall review siting and permitting processes on
public lands and in offshore waters to identify to the Task Force steps
that can be taken, consistent with applicable law, to increase renewable
energy production on those lands and in those waters, with the goal of
doubling offshore wind by 2030 while ensuring robust protection for our
lands, waters, and biodiversity and creating good jobs. In conducting this
review, the Secretary of the Interior shall consult, as appropriate, with
the heads of relevant agencies, including the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, through the Administrator
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Secretary of
Energy, the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, State and Tribal
authorities, project developers, and other interested parties. The Secretary
of the Interior shall engage with Tribal authorities regarding the development
and management of renewable and conventional energy resources on Tribal
lands.
Sec. 208. Oil and Natural Gas Development on Public Lands and in Offshore
Waters. To the extent consistent with applicable law, the Secretary of the
Interior shall pause new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or
in offshore waters pending completion of a comprehensive review and reconsideration of Federal oil and gas permitting and leasing practices in light
of the Secretary of the Interior’s broad stewardship responsibilities over
the public lands and in offshore waters, including potential climate and

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other impacts associated with oil and gas activities on public lands or
in offshore waters. The Secretary of the Interior shall complete that review
in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce,
through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the
Secretary of Energy. In conducting this analysis, and to the extent consistent
with applicable law, the Secretary of the Interior shall consider whether
to adjust royalties associated with coal, oil, and gas resources extracted
from public lands and offshore waters, or take other appropriate action,
to account for corresponding climate costs.
Sec. 209. Fossil Fuel Subsidies. The heads of agencies shall identify for
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the National
Climate Advisor any fossil fuel subsidies provided by their respective agencies, and then take steps to ensure that, to the extent consistent with applicable law, Federal funding is not directly subsidizing fossil fuels. The Director
of the Office of Management and Budget shall seek, in coordination with
the heads of agencies and the National Climate Advisor, to eliminate fossil
fuel subsidies from the budget request for Fiscal Year 2022 and thereafter.
Sec. 210. Clean Energy in Financial Management. The heads of agencies
shall identify opportunities for Federal funding to spur innovation, commercialization, and deployment of clean energy technologies and infrastructure
for the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the National
Climate Advisor, and then take steps to ensure that, to the extent consistent
with applicable law, Federal funding is used to spur innovation, commercialization, and deployment of clean energy technologies and infrastructure.
The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in coordination
with agency heads and the National Climate Advisor, shall seek to prioritize
such investments in the President’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2022
and thereafter.
Sec. 211. Climate Action Plans and Data and Information Products to Improve
Adaptation and Increase Resilience. (a) The head of each agency shall submit
a draft action plan to the Task Force and the Federal Chief Sustainability
Officer within 120 days of the date of this order that describes steps the
agency can take with regard to its facilities and operations to bolster adaptation and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change. Action plans
should, among other things, describe the agency’s climate vulnerabilities
and describe the agency’s plan to use the power of procurement to increase
the energy and water efficiency of United States Government installations,
buildings, and facilities and ensure they are climate-ready. Agencies shall
consider the feasibility of using the purchasing power of the Federal Government to drive innovation, and shall seek to increase the Federal Government’s
resilience against supply chain disruptions. Such disruptions put the Nation’s
manufacturing sector at risk, as well as consumer access to critical goods
and services. Agencies shall make their action plans public, and post them
on the agency website, to the extent consistent with applicable law.
(b) Within 30 days of an agency’s submission of an action plan, the
Federal Chief Sustainability Officer, in coordination with the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget, shall review the plan to assess its
consistency with the policy set forth in section 204 of this order and the
priorities issued by the Office of Management and Budget.
(c) After submitting an initial action plan, the head of each agency shall
submit to the Task Force and Federal Chief Sustainability Officer progress
reports annually on the status of implementation efforts. Agencies shall
make progress reports public and post them on the agency website, to
the extent consistent with applicable law. The heads of agencies shall assign
their respective agency Chief Sustainability Officer the authority to perform
duties relating to implementation of this order within the agency, to the
extent consistent with applicable law.
(d) To assist agencies and State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments,
communities, and businesses in preparing for and adapting to the impacts
of climate change, the Secretary of Commerce, through the Administrator

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of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Secretary of
Homeland Security, through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, in coordination with the heads of other agencies, as appropriate, shall provide to the Task Force a report on ways to expand and
improve climate forecast capabilities and information products for the public.
In addition, the Secretary of the Interior and the Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget, in their capacities as the
Chair and Vice-Chair of the Federal Geographic Data Committee, shall assess
and provide to the Task Force a report on the potential development of
a consolidated Federal geographic mapping service that can facilitate public
access to climate-related information that will assist Federal, State, local,
and Tribal governments in climate planning and resilience activities.
EMPOWERING WORKERS THROUGH REBUILDING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY
Sec. 212. Policy. This Nation needs millions of construction, manufacturing,
engineering, and skilled-trades workers to build a new American infrastructure and clean energy economy. These jobs will create opportunities for
young people and for older workers shifting to new professions, and for
people from all backgrounds and communities. Such jobs will bring opportunity to communities too often left behind—places that have suffered as
a result of economic shifts and places that have suffered the most from
persistent pollution, including low-income rural and urban communities,
communities of color, and Native communities.
Sec. 213. Sustainable Infrastructure. (a) The Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
shall take steps, consistent with applicable law, to ensure that Federal infrastructure investment reduces climate pollution, and to require that Federal
permitting decisions consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and
climate change. In addition, they shall review, and report to the National
Climate Advisor on, siting and permitting processes, including those in
progress under the auspices of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering
Council, and identify steps that can be taken, consistent with applicable
law, to accelerate the deployment of clean energy and transmission projects
in an environmentally stable manner.
(b) Agency heads conducting infrastructure reviews shall, as appropriate,
consult from an early stage with State, local, and Tribal officials involved
in permitting or authorizing proposed infrastructure projects to develop efficient timelines for decision-making that are appropriate given the complexities of proposed projects.
EMPOWERING WORKERS BY ADVANCING CONSERVATION, AGRICULTURE, AND REFORESTATION
Sec. 214. Policy. It is the policy of my Administration to put a new generation
of Americans to work conserving our public lands and waters. The Federal
Government must protect America’s natural treasures, increase reforestation,
improve access to recreation, and increase resilience to wildfires and storms,
while creating well-paying union jobs for more Americans, including more
opportunities for women and people of color in occupations where they
are underrepresented. America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners
have an important role to play in combating the climate crisis and reducing
greenhouse gas emissions, by sequestering carbon in soils, grasses, trees,
and other vegetation and sourcing sustainable bioproducts and fuels. Coastal
communities have an essential role to play in mitigating climate change
and strengthening resilience by protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems,
such as wetlands, seagrasses, coral and oyster reefs, and mangrove and
kelp forests, to protect vulnerable coastlines, sequester carbon, and support
biodiversity and fisheries.
Sec. 215. Civilian Climate Corps. In furtherance of the policy set forth
in section 214 of this order, the Secretary of the Interior, in collaboration
with the Secretary of Agriculture and the heads of other relevant agencies,

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shall submit a strategy to the Task Force within 90 days of the date of
this order for creating a Civilian Climate Corps Initiative, within existing
appropriations, to mobilize the next generation of conservation and resilience
workers and maximize the creation of accessible training opportunities and
good jobs. The initiative shall aim to conserve and restore public lands
and waters, bolster community resilience, increase reforestation, increase
carbon sequestration in the agricultural sector, protect biodiversity, improve
access to recreation, and address the changing climate.
Sec. 216. Conserving Our Nation’s Lands and Waters. (a) The Secretary
of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary
of Commerce, the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, and the
heads of other relevant agencies, shall submit a report to the Task Force
within 90 days of the date of this order recommending steps that the United
States should take, working with State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments, agricultural and forest landowners, fishermen, and other key stakeholders, to achieve the goal of conserving at least 30 percent of our lands
and waters by 2030.
(i) The Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary
of Commerce, through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality shall, as appropriate, solicit input from State, local, Tribal,
and territorial officials, agricultural and forest landowners, fishermen, and
other key stakeholders in identifying strategies that will encourage broad
participation in the goal of conserving 30 percent of our lands and waters
by 2030.
(ii) The report shall propose guidelines for determining whether lands
and waters qualify for conservation, and it also shall establish mechanisms
to measure progress toward the 30-percent goal. The Secretary of the
Interior shall subsequently submit annual reports to the Task Force to
monitor progress.
(b) The Secretary of Agriculture shall:
(i) initiate efforts in the first 60 days from the date of this order to
collect input from Tribes, farmers, ranchers, forest owners, conservation
groups, firefighters, and other stakeholders on how to best use Department
of Agriculture programs, funding and financing capacities, and other authorities, and how to encourage the voluntary adoption of climate-smart
agricultural and forestry practices that decrease wildfire risk fueled by
climate change and result in additional, measurable, and verifiable carbon
reductions and sequestration and that source sustainable bioproducts and
fuels; and
(ii) submit to the Task Force within 90 days of the date of this order
a report making recommendations for an agricultural and forestry climate
strategy.
(c) The Secretary of Commerce, through the Administrator of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall initiate efforts in the first
60 days from the date of this order to collect input from fishermen, regional
ocean councils, fishery management councils, scientists, and other stakeholders on how to make fisheries and protected resources more resilient
to climate change, including changes in management and conservation measures, and improvements in science, monitoring, and cooperative research.
EMPOWERING WORKERS THROUGH REVITALIZING ENERGY COMMUNITIES
Sec. 217. Policy. It is the policy of my Administration to improve air and
water quality and to create well-paying union jobs and more opportunities
for women and people of color in hard-hit communities, including rural
communities, while reducing methane emissions, oil and brine leaks, and
other environmental harms from tens of thousands of former mining and
well sites. Mining and power plant workers drove the industrial revolution
and the economic growth that followed, and have been essential to the
growth of the United States. As the Nation shifts to a clean energy economy,

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Federal leadership is essential to foster economic revitalization of and investment in these communities, ensure the creation of good jobs that provide
a choice to join a union, and secure the benefits that have been earned
by workers.
Such work should include projects that reduce emissions of toxic substances
and greenhouse gases from existing and abandoned infrastructure and that
prevent environmental damage that harms communities and poses a risk
to public health and safety. Plugging leaks in oil and gas wells and reclaiming
abandoned mine land can create well-paying union jobs in coal, oil, and
gas communities while restoring natural assets, revitalizing recreation economies, and curbing methane emissions. In addition, such work should include
efforts to turn properties idled in these communities, such as brownfields,
into new hubs for the growth of our economy. Federal agencies should
therefore coordinate investments and other efforts to assist coal, oil and
gas, and power plant communities, and achieve substantial reductions of
methane emissions from the oil and gas sector as quickly as possible.
Sec. 218. Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities
and Economic Revitalization. There is hereby established an Interagency
Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization (Interagency Working Group). The National Climate Advisor and
the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy shall serve as Co-Chairs
of the Interagency Working Group.
(a) Membership. The Interagency Working Group shall consist of the following additional members:
(i) the Secretary of the Treasury;
(ii) the Secretary of the Interior;
(iii) the Secretary of Agriculture;
(iv) the Secretary of Commerce;
(v) the Secretary of Labor;
(vi) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(vii) the Secretary of Transportation;
(viii) the Secretary of Energy;
(ix) the Secretary of Education;
(x) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;
(xi) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
(xii) the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Director of
the Domestic Policy Council; and
(xiii) the Federal Co-Chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission.
(b) Mission and Work.
(i) The Interagency Working Group shall coordinate the identification and
delivery of Federal resources to revitalize the economies of coal, oil and
gas, and power plant communities; develop strategies to implement the
policy set forth in section 217 of this order and for economic and social
recovery; assess opportunities to ensure benefits and protections for coal
and power plant workers; and submit reports to the National Climate
Advisor and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy on a
regular basis on the progress of the revitalization effort.
(ii) As part of this effort, within 60 days of the date of this order, the
Interagency Working Group shall submit a report to the President describing all mechanisms, consistent with applicable law, to prioritize
grantmaking, Federal loan programs, technical assistance, financing, procurement, or other existing programs to support and revitalize the economies of coal and power plant communities, and providing recommendations for action consistent with the goals of the Interagency Working
Group.

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(c) Consultation. Consistent with the objectives set out in this order and
in accordance with applicable law, the Interagency Working Group shall
seek the views of State, local, and Tribal officials; unions; environmental
justice organizations; community groups; and other persons it identifies
who may have perspectives on the mission of the Interagency Working
Group.
(d) Administration. The Interagency Working Group shall be housed within
the Department of Energy. The Chairs shall convene regular meetings of
the Interagency Working Group, determine its agenda, and direct its work.
The Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Chairs, shall designate
an Executive Director of the Interagency Working Group, who shall coordinate
the work of the Interagency Working Group and head any staff assigned
to the Interagency Working Group.
(e) Officers. To facilitate the work of the Interagency Working Group,
the head of each agency listed in subsection (a) of this section shall assign
a designated official within the agency the authority to represent the agency
on the Interagency Working Group and perform such other duties relating
to the implementation of this order within the agency as the head of the
agency deems appropriate.
SECURING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND SPURRING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
Sec. 219. Policy. To secure an equitable economic future, the United States
must ensure that environmental and economic justice are key considerations
in how we govern. That means investing and building a clean energy economy that creates well-paying union jobs, turning disadvantaged communities—historically marginalized and overburdened—into healthy, thriving
communities, and undertaking robust actions to mitigate climate change
while preparing for the impacts of climate change across rural, urban, and
Tribal areas. Agencies shall make achieving environmental justice part of
their missions by developing programs, policies, and activities to address
the disproportionately high and adverse human health, environmental, climate-related and other cumulative impacts on disadvantaged communities,
as well as the accompanying economic challenges of such impacts. It is
therefore the policy of my Administration to secure environmental justice
and spur economic opportunity for disadvantaged communities that have
been historically marginalized and overburdened by pollution and underinvestment in housing, transportation, water and wastewater infrastructure,
and health care.
Sec. 220. White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council. (a) Section
1–102 of Executive Order 12898 of February 11, 1994 (Federal Actions
To Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income
Populations), is hereby amended to read as follows:
‘‘(a) There is hereby created within the Executive Office of the President
a White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council (Interagency Council). The Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality shall serve as
Chair of the Interagency Council.
‘‘(b) Membership. The Interagency Council shall consist of the following
additional members:
(i) the Secretary of Defense;
(ii) the Attorney General;
(iii) the Secretary of the Interior;
(iv) the Secretary of Agriculture;
(v) the Secretary of Commerce;
(vi) the Secretary of Labor;
(vii) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(viii) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;

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(ix) the Secretary of Transportation;
(x) the Secretary of Energy;
(xi) the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers;
(xii) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;
(xiii) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
(xiv) the Executive Director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering
Council;
(xv) the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy;
(xvi) the National Climate Advisor;
(xvii) the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy; and
(xviii) the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.
‘‘(c) At the direction of the Chair, the Interagency Council may establish
subgroups consisting exclusively of Interagency Council members or their
designees under this section, as appropriate.
‘‘(d) Mission and Work. The Interagency Council shall develop a strategy
to address current and historic environmental injustice by consulting with
the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and with local
environmental justice leaders. The Interagency Council shall also develop
clear performance metrics to ensure accountability, and publish an annual
public performance scorecard on its implementation.
‘‘(e) Administration. The Office of Administration within the Executive
Office of the President shall provide funding and administrative support
for the Interagency Council, to the extent permitted by law and within
existing appropriations. To the extent permitted by law, including the Economy Act (31 U.S.C. 1535), and subject to the availability of appropriations,
the Department of Labor, the Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency shall provide administrative support as necessary.
‘‘(f) Meetings and Staff. The Chair shall convene regular meetings of the
Council, determine its agenda, and direct its work. The Chair shall designate
an Executive Director of the Council, who shall coordinate the work of
the Interagency Council and head any staff assigned to the Council.
‘‘(g) Officers. To facilitate the work of the Interagency Council, the head
of each agency listed in subsection (b) shall assign a designated official
within the agency to be an Environmental Justice Officer, with the authority
to represent the agency on the Interagency Council and perform such other
duties relating to the implementation of this order within the agency as
the head of the agency deems appropriate.’’
(b) The Interagency Council shall, within 120 days of the date of this
order, submit to the President, through the National Climate Advisor, a
set of recommendations for further updating Executive Order 12898.
Sec. 221. White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. There is
hereby established, within the Environmental Protection Agency, the White
House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (Advisory Council), which
shall advise the Interagency Council and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality.
(a) Membership. Members shall be appointed by the President, shall be
drawn from across the political spectrum, and may include those with
knowledge about or experience in environmental justice, climate change,
disaster preparedness, racial inequity, or any other area determined by the
President to be of value to the Advisory Council.
(b) Mission and Work. The Advisory Council shall be solely advisory.
It shall provide recommendations to the White House Environmental Justice
Interagency Council established in section 220 of this order on how to
increase the Federal Government’s efforts to address current and historic
environmental injustice, including recommendations for updating Executive
Order 12898.

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(c) Administration. The Environmental Protection Agency shall provide
funding and administrative support for the Advisory Council to the extent
permitted by law and within existing appropriations. Members of the Advisory Council shall serve without either compensation or reimbursement
of expenses.
(d) Federal Advisory Committee Act. Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), may apply to the Advisory Council,
any functions of the President under the Act, except for those in section
6 of the Act, shall be performed by the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency in accordance with the guidelines that have been issued
by the Administrator of General Services.
Sec. 222. Agency Responsibilities. In furtherance of the policy set forth
in section 219:
(a) The Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality shall, within 6
months of the date of this order, create a geospatial Climate and Economic
Justice Screening Tool and shall annually publish interactive maps highlighting disadvantaged communities.
(b) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall, within
existing appropriations and consistent with applicable law:
(i) strengthen enforcement of environmental violations with disproportionate impact on underserved communities through the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance; and
(ii) create a community notification program to monitor and provide realtime data to the public on current environmental pollution, including
emissions, criteria pollutants, and toxins, in frontline and fenceline communities—places with the most significant exposure to such pollution.
(c) The Attorney General shall, within existing appropriations and consistent with applicable law:
(i) consider renaming the Environment and Natural Resources Division
the Environmental Justice and Natural Resources Division;
(ii) direct that division to coordinate with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, through the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, as well as with other client agencies as appropriate,
to develop a comprehensive environmental justice enforcement strategy,
which shall seek to provide timely remedies for systemic environmental
violations and contaminations, and injury to natural resources; and
(iii) ensure comprehensive attention to environmental justice throughout
the Department of Justice, including by considering creating an Office
of Environmental Justice within the Department to coordinate environmental justice activities among Department of Justice components and
United States Attorneys’ Offices nationwide.
(d) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, consistent with
applicable law and within existing appropriations:
(i) establish an Office of Climate Change and Health Equity to address
the impact of climate change on the health of the American people;
and
(ii) establish an Interagency Working Group to Decrease Risk of Climate
Change to Children, the Elderly, People with Disabilities, and the Vulnerable as well as a biennial Health Care System Readiness Advisory Council,
both of which shall report their progress and findings regularly to the
Task Force.
(e) The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall,
in consultation with the National Climate Advisor, within existing appropriations, and within 100 days of the date of this order, publish a report
identifying the climate strategies and technologies that will result in the
most air and water quality improvements, which shall be made public
to the maximum extent possible and published on the Office’s website.
Sec. 223. Justice40 Initiative. (a) Within 120 days of the date of this order,
the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, the Director of the

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Office of Management and Budget, and the National Climate Advisor, in
consultation with the Advisory Council, shall jointly publish recommendations on how certain Federal investments might be made toward a goal
that 40 percent of the overall benefits flow to disadvantaged communities.
The recommendations shall focus on investments in the areas of clean
energy and energy efficiency; clean transit; affordable and sustainable housing; training and workforce development; the remediation and reduction
of legacy pollution; and the development of critical clean water infrastructure.
The recommendations shall reflect existing authorities the agencies may
possess for achieving the 40-percent goal as well as recommendations on
any legislation needed to achieve the 40-percent goal.
(b) In developing the recommendations, the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget,
and the National Climate Advisor shall consult with affected disadvantaged
communities.
(c) Within 60 days of the recommendations described in subsection (a)
of this section, agency heads shall identify applicable program investment
funds based on the recommendations and consider interim investment guidance to relevant program staff, as appropriate and consistent with applicable
law.
(d) By February 2022, the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget, in coordination with the Chair of the Council on Environmental
Quality, the Administrator of the United States Digital Service, and other
relevant agency heads, shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law,
publish on a public website an annual Environmental Justice Scorecard
detailing agency environmental justice performance measures.
PART III—GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed
to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency
or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget,
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and
subject to the availability of appropriations.

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(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit,
substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party
against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers,
employees, or agents, or any other person.

THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 27, 2021.
[FR Doc. 2021–02177
Filed 1–29–21; 8:45 am]

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