US President Joe Biden speaks during the fourth virtual leader-level meeting of the Major Economies Forum (MEF) on Energy and Climate in the South Court Auditorium next to the White House in Washington, DC, on April 20, 2023. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Images
President Joe Biden on Friday will sign an executive order directing federal agencies to invest in disadvantaged communities disproportionately affected by pollution and climate change, the White House said.
The order will create a new Office of Environmental Justice in the White House to coordinate all environmental justice efforts across the federal government and require agencies to notify nearby communities if toxic substances are released from a federal facility.
The president, who is preparing to announce his reelection bid next week, will make the announcement during a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden. He is also expected to condemn Republicans over “safeguarding handouts for Big Oil companies” and “fighting to make it easier for oil and gas companies to pollute the air we breathe,” a White House official said.
Biden is expected to argue that his administration’s historic environmental justice and climate agenda contrasts with “the dangerous vision Speaker McCarthy and his extreme caucus have for our planet, our economy, and public health,” the official said.
Republican lawmakers have urged weaker regulation of oil production in order to lower energy prices. And earlier this week, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy proposed lifting the debt limit for one year and scaling back federal spending, including repealing electric vehicle and other clean energy tax incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Early in his presidency, Biden pledged that addressing environmental justice would be a core component of his climate agenda and signed an executive order that launched the Justice40 Initiative, which requires agencies to deliver at…
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