Executive Order Launches Climate Reregulation

On January 20, 2021, President Biden an executive order titled “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.”

Section 1 of the Executive Order provides that it is the Biden Administration's policy to "listen to the science; to improve public health and protect our environment; to ensure access to clean air and water; to limit exposure to dangerous chemicals and pesticides; to hold polluters accountable, including those who disproportionately harm communities of color and low-income communities; to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; to bolster resilience to the impacts of climate change; to restore and expand our national treasures and monuments; and to prioritize both environmental justice and the creation of the well-paying union jobs necessary to deliver on these goals."

The administration also issued a list of actions that relevant agency heads should consider suspending, revising, or rescinding to further the policy priorities articulated in Section 1. The list includes the outgoing administration's rollback of the clean car standards, actions to weaken energy efficiency standards, and the decision to permit logging in the Tongass National Forest, among many others that are included in the Climate Deregulation Tracker.