In an Executive Order on “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad” issued today, President Biden directed a series of actions 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.”
Among other things, the Executive Order establishes a 21-member interagency National Climate Task Force chaired by Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, which is tasked with supporting the organization and deployment of a government-wide approach to combat the climate crisis, including by facilitating planning and implementation of key actions including ocean, water, land, and biodiversity conservation.
The Executive Order further directs the Interior Secretary to, in consultation with federal entities, submit recommendations to the Task Force by April 27 on steps that should be taken by the federal government — working with key stakeholders including state, local, tribal, and territorial governments agricultural and forest landowners, and fishermen — to conserve at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030 (30×30). The recommendations will include proposed guidelines for determining whether lands and waters qualify for conservation and establish mechanisms to measure progress.
Additionally, the Secretaries of Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce (through NOAA) and the Council on Environmental Quality Chair are directed to solicit input from key stakeholders in identifying strategies to encourage broad participation in the 30×30 initiative. The Secretary of Commerce is specifically directed to begin efforts by March 28 to collect input from stakeholders including fishermen, regional ocean councils, fishery management councils, and scientists 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.”
While the Executive Order directs the Interior Secretary to review siting and permitting processes to identify measures that can be taken to double offshore wind production by 2030 while ensuring protection for waters and biodiversity, among other things it also orders the Interior Secretary to pause new oil and gas leasing in federal waters to the extent consistent with existing law until the completion of a comprehensive review and reconsideration of federal permitting and leasing practices, including potential climate and other impacts. As to the oil and gas review, the Secretary is directed to consider whether to adjust royalties or take other action to “account for corresponding climate costs.”
The Executive Order also says that it will be a priority of the United States to advocate for enhanced climate ambition and integration of climate considerations through a variety of international fora that address areas including the ocean, shipping, the Arctic, and sustainable development.
As to the 30×30 conservation initiative, an Interior Department fact sheet notes that DOI will conduct “broad engagement” to “identify strategies that reflect the priorities of all communities.” It further highlights that in working toward the conservation goal, the administration will support local, state, private, and tribally led nature conservation and restoration efforts that are underway, and that DOI will determine how to best measure and assess progress, properly account for how communities are conserving their lands and waters, and consider ways to achieve more equitable access to nature. DOI also highlighted that 12% of lands are permanently protected while ~23% of the U.S. ocean is currently “strongly protected, with the vast majority of ocean protections found in the western Pacific Ocean.”
Regarding the pause on new oil and gas leasing, the fact sheet highlights that the “targeted pause” does not impact existing operations or permits for valid, existing leases, which it says “are continuing to be reviewed and approved.” Among other things it further adds that the pause will provide an opportunity to review the federal leasing program “to ensure that it serves the public interest and to restore balance on America’s public lands and waters to benefit current and future generations,” and notes the introduction of bills in Congress in recent years to reform the “outdated program.”
