Just one day in and US President Joe Biden rejoins the Paris Agreement and imposes a moratorium on oil leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). A strong beginning, signalling the complete US support in the fight against climate change.
Biden’s plans are literally to start mending Trump’s 4 years of environmental destruction and pro-industry at any cost mentality.
In a time when each year is vital for keeping temperatures below the 1.5°C increase, Biden’s executive orders signal a presidency that will listen to its people and advocate for sounder climate policy.
In an executive order on his first day Biden told agencies to review and address Trump-era policies “that were harmful to public health, damaging to the environment, unsupported by the best available science or otherwise not in the national interest.” We LOVE this
What Trump-era policies is Biden reviewing?
- POTUS Biden notified the UN yesterday that the US will rejoin the Paris Agreement, with re-entry to take effect in a month’s time.
- The review of automobile standards and appliance efficiency standards
- Repeal concessions allowing roads to be built through Alaska’s Tongass National Forest
- Halt seismic oil suveys in the Gulf of Mexico
- Bringing back Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument to its original size (from 220,000 acres back to 1.4 million acres)
- Halting the Keystone XL oil pipeline
- Returning the Environmental Protection Agency to a respectable level that supports the environment, rather than Trump’s destructive agenda.
Unfortunately for Biden he has a long way to go if he wants the US to truly enforce laws that would align it with the Paris Agreement. However, his first days foreshadow a Presidential term dedicated to the fight against climate change, a refreshing and hopeful stance for the future of our planet.
Did you know that 2020 was the hottest year on record, read more