Biden signs executive order to make federal government carbon neutral by 2050

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

US president Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order to leverage the administration's buying power to make the government carbon neutral by 2050.

The order aims for a 65 per cent reduction in planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The order shows how the federal government will “leverage its scale and procurement power to lead by example in tackling the climate crisis", the White House said.

Under the executive order, government buildings would use 100 per cent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2030 and transform the government's fleet of 600,000 vehicles into electric cars by 2035.

However, the new order allows exceptions for military and space vehicles.

It mandates 300,000 federal buildings to cut 50 per cent emissions by 2032 and become carbon-free by 2045.

"The United States government will lead by example to provide a strong foundation for American businesses to compete and win globally in the clean energy economy while creating well-paying, union jobs at home," the White House said in a statement.

The order noted that the Us government is "the single largest landowner, energy consumer and employer in the nation" and can transform "how we build, buy and manage electricity, vehicles, buildings and other operations to be clean and sustainable."

The federal government has about $650bn in annual purchasing power for goods and services, the White House said.

In January, Mr Biden vowed to replace the government's fleet of cars with electric models. Later in August, he launched a plan to make half of all new US vehicles electric in 2030.

As of 2020, only 0.5 per cent of the government’s fleet were reportedly electric.

During the Cop26 climate summit in October, the president said: "we will demonstrate to the world the United States is not only back at the table but hopefully leading by the power of our example."

Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Transport Campaign at the Centre for Biological Diversity, told Reuters: "Waiting 14 years to do it is an awfully long time when we have some electric vehicles already and companies are trying to decide now whether to make just promises or actually make electric vehicles".