[co-author: Gabriel Harrison ]

Last Friday as the United States celebrated Earth Day, President Biden released a proclamation and signed a new executive order to strengthen domestic and international forest protection commitments. The order requires federal agencies to develop 2030 targets for reforestation and to compile a U.S. National Nature Assessment. Also of note, the White House Council on Environmental Quality published a final rule as part of its effort to restore provisions, including climate change-related provisions, of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), implementing regulations that were changed by the Trump administration. Additionally, significant announcements came from multiple federal agencies, including:

• The Environmental Protection Agency announcing a $542 million investment to reduce pollution and plastic in waterways and ocean.

• The U.S. Agency for International Development announcing a new Climate Strategy to guide agency efforts to address climate change between 2022-2030.
• The U.S. Department of Interior announcing a roadmap for continued renewable energy deployment on public lands.
• The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration announcing the launch of the new $6.4 billion Carbon Reduction Program.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture announcing nearly $800 million in critical infrastructure to address climate change in rural America.

For a comprehensive list of last week’s climate-related federal agency news and this week’s congressional hearings and events, please read Akin Gump’s Climate Policy Update.