U.S. President Joe Biden will announce a second round of executive orders focused on combating climate change early next week as he rushes to reverse Trump-era environmental rollbacks, according to a memo seen by Reuters.
The announcements, to be unveiled Jan. 27, include an “omnibus” climate change order that kicks off a “series of regulatory actions to combat climate change domestically and elevates climate change as a national security priority,” according to the memo, which did not provide details.
They include a directive to all federal agencies to rely on science in their rule makings, an order re-establishing the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science, and the announcement of a U.S.-hosted climate leaders’ summit on Earth Day, April 22.
White House spokesman Vedant Patel did not comment on the memo but said the administration would have more information to share on Biden’s planned executive orders in the coming days.
The orders would follow a raft of climate-related executive actions that Biden signed shortly after his inauguration on Wednesday, including rejoining the Paris climate agreement, canceling the presidential permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, and halting oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
The efforts are the first steps in what Biden has promised will be an aggressive overall climate strategy aimed at bringing the U.S. economy to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Biden plans to roll out executive orders on his major policy plans, from immigration to economic recovery, sequentially on so-called “themed days” scheduled for this and next week, according to the memo.
Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Ted Hesson; Editing by Bernadette Baum
