PRESIDENT BIDEN ANNOUNCES BOLD ACTIONS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 20, 2022
PRESS CONTACT: [email protected]

PRESIDENT BIDEN ANNOUNCES BOLD ACTIONS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, President Biden announced bold new actions to defend our climate, help communities suffering from extreme weather, lower costs for families, and create good-paying jobs by fast-tracking our clean energy future. Today’s announcement builds on prior actions taken by President Biden to invest in clean energy, tackle dangerous pollution, and right the historic wrongs of environmental injustice. As the climate crisis continues to cause harm to communities across the country, President Biden is taking decisive action to protect our environment, create jobs, prevent climate-related disasters, and save lives.

“President Biden understands the seriousness of the climate crisis. If Congress refuses to act with urgency, the Biden-Harris Administration will,” said Building Back Together Executive Director Danielle Melfi. “Today’s announcements are further proof that this president has prioritized tackling climate change since day one. His work to address the climate crisis is just getting started, and he remains committed to doing everything in his power to prevent climate disasters, lower energy costs for families, create jobs, and secure America’s clean energy future.”

President Biden made it clear that if Congress will not act swiftly to address climate change, he will take executive action to address this crisis, including through today’s announcements:

  • Today, the president laid out plans to protect communities from climate disasters, lower cooling costs for those suffering from heat waves, and expand offshore wind energy to further lower energy costs.
  • Today’s announcements include a commitment from FEMA to deliver $2.3 billion to increase community resilience to heat waves, drought, wildfires, flood, hurricanes, and other climate-related disasters – funding boosted by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law President Biden signed last year.
  • President Biden also announced new efforts through the LIHEAP program to provide more affordable air conditioning to families and expand community cooling centers to help families suffering from heat waves. 
    • The Biden-Harris Administration invested a record $8 billion in LIHEAP thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
  • President Biden also announced his administration is proposing the first-ever offshore wind areas in the Gulf of Mexico – an effort that has the potential to power over three million homes and lower energy costs for families.

President Biden’s announcements today build on prior actions to address climate change:

  • On his first day in office, President Biden announced the U.S. would rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and reestablish our role as a leader in the global fight against climate change. 
  • During his first week in office, President Biden signed an executive order directing all arms of the federal government to join the fight against climate change, centering the needs of American workers and environmental justice in his administration’s work to address this crisis. 
  • The Biden-Harris Administration is implementing historic programs to tackle pollution and reduce emissions – including enforcing new, ambitious federal standards for tailpipe pollution from cars and light trucks. 
  • President Biden’s administration has also made historic investments to increase offshore wind power, creating good-paying jobs and powering millions of homes and businesses with clean energy. 

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law President Biden signed last year is delivering historic climate investments nationwide:

  • Rebuilding roads and bridges in a way that makes them resilient to climate-driven extreme weather.
  • Ensuring millions of Americans have access to clean, reliable drinking water and eliminating lead pipes.
  • Improving transit options and passenger rail to help Americans get to work and reduce climate pollution.
  • Building a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations.
  • Helping families weatherize their homes so they can save money on energy bills while tackling climate change. 
  • Upgrading the nation’s electric grid to make it more reliable and enable the delivery of more clean energy to homes and businesses across the country. 
  • Cleaning up polluted Superfund and brownfield sites and dealing with abandoned mines and oil and gas wells. 
  • Investing billions in research and development to usher in the next generation of clean energy technologies. 

Environmental justice has been at the forefront of each of these administration climate programs:

  • President Biden mandated that 40% of the benefits of federal climate investments go to disadvantaged communities across the country to right the historic wrongs of environmental injustice. 
  • This includes efforts to address legacy pollution and reunite communities – disproportionately communities of color – divided by highways and other transportation infrastructure.

Today’s announcement represents yet another historic investment by President Biden in America’s future and the health of our communities. He remains committed to fighting for climate action using all tools at his disposal.