Sustainability Promise of the Biden-Harris Administration

By Tom Carter, Senior Associate

After four years of antagonism towards environmental concerns and science-based policy making, the Trump presidency is over. The United States can once again join the rest of the world in in its  optimism in  that climate change, clean energy technology, and other sustainably-driven solutions can drive forward real change. 

With  the support of the U.S. federal government and in a renewed spirit of global cooperation, we have a sense of hope that this is possible. Before their election, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris announced an ambitious environmental agenda, and some of those promises have been initiated through bold executive actions in the initial days of their administration. The prospects of more significant legislation are improved with Democratic control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress. 

Another important development is the composition of the Presidential Cabinet and the top-down incorporation of climate change, environmental justice, energy efficiency, and similar priorities into the objectives of every federal department and agency. 

The Biden-Harris campaign platform included the promise to treat climate change as an existential threat to the environment, the economy, human health, and national security. Their proposed Clean Energy Revolution would:

• Seek to attain a 100% clean energy U.S. economy with net-zero emissions by 2050

• Build stronger, more resilient, and more efficient buildings and infrastructure for transportation, water, and energy

• Cooperate with and set an example for the world while addressing climate change, starting by recommitting to the Paris Agreement 

• Stand up for environmental justice so that poor communities are not disparately subjected to the impacts of climate change and other environmental risks

• Help transition workers from dirty industries to sustainable jobs

In his first few days in the White House, President Biden signed executive orders in several key areas that represent first steps to meet those campaign promises. The specific actions included: 

• Tackling the climate crisis at home and abroad

• Focusing on climate change in U.S. foreign policy and national security considerations

• Rejoining the Paris Agreement

• Taking a whole-government approach to the climate crisis

• Establishing the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy and the National Climate Task Force

• Leveraging the footprint and buying power of the federal government to lead by example

• Pausing and reassessing new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or offshore waters and reviewing all existing leasing and permitting practices

• Eliminating all fossil fuel subsidies covered by executive-branch discretion 

• Identifying new opportunities to spur innovation, commercialization, and deployment of clean energy technologies and infrastructure

• Rebuilding infrastructure for a sustainable economy

• Advancing conservation, agriculture, and reforestation

• Establishing an Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization

• Securing environmental justice and spurring economic opportunity 

• Ensuring scientific integrity and evidence-based policymaking

What does this mean for business?

As with all executive orders, the direct impact of these actions are limited to the workings of the executive branch of the U.S. federal government. But this branch is the largest employer in the country and, since it includes the military, is also the largest purchaser. So this direct impact, while sometimes not as great as that of legislation, is still significant. Moreover, the indirect impact can be immense, in that tax policies and government purchases can incentivize the creation and development of markets from sustainable technologies, products, processes, and services. 

It remains to be seen how these actions will impact policy and daily life in the United States and beyond. And it is too early to tell how willing Congress will be to pass legislation that can further the climate and energy objectives of the Biden-Harris Administration. But so far, the initial steps show promise towards moving us all further down the road towards the critical destination of a more sustainable world.

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