Senior White House officials said that President Biden and his administration are planning a series of executive actions to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help keep the planet from warming.
New regulations on emissions from vehicle tailpipes, power plants and oil and gas wells will be put in place by Mr. Biden.
Mr. Biden is trying to make up for the compromises his party made on climate measures to pass the Inflation Reduction Act. Democrats had to scale back some of their loftiest ambitions, including by agreeing to fossil fuel and drilling provisions, as concessions to Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, a holdout from a conservative state.
Gina McCarthy said that the new legislation and action from states could help Mr. Biden meet his promise to cut greenhouse gas emissions by half by the end of the decade.
She said the climate bill was a start.
She said that the president recognizes that he has presidential authority and responsibilities under the law. He is going to keep using those.
When the climate bill appeared to be stalling in the Senate, Mr. Biden promised an aggressive set of executive actions. Even though the bill has been revived and passed, several administration officials say he hasn't ruled out taking some of the actions that were taken before.
Less than two months ago, the Supreme Court limited the EPA's ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants. The court's liberal justices in dissent said that the majority had stripped from the E.P.A. the power to respond to the most pressing environmental challenge.
The agency may still require emission controls at power plants despite the ruling curtailing the agency's ability to regulate the energy sector. The court ruled against requiring utilities to switch from coal to wind or solar power.
The E.P.A. is working on a new rule for coal-fired power plants as well as gas plants that will conform with the Supreme Court's mandate.
The E.P.A. still has the authority to regulate emissions. She said that new regulations on soot and other traditional air pollutants will help cut carbon emissions.
The Biden administration has been accused of overstepping its authority on climate change by conservative attorneys general.
Republicans and fossil fuel industry advocates are bracing for new regulations that they say will further restrict investment in coal, gas and oil.
The president of the Institute for Energy Research said that it was no surprise that the White House was giving them what they wanted. He said that American families will pay higher energy bills.
Environmental groups criticized the new law as insufficient for the scope of the challenge and rebuked Democrats for agreeing to concessions on fossil fuel projects.
The new law includes incentives for electric utilities to increase their reliance on low-emission energy sources such as solar and nuclear, for consumers to buy electric vehicles, and for businesses to invest in energy efficiency. They were the result of a last-minute deal between Mr. Manchin and Senator Schumer.
According to energy experts, the law will help bring down 40 percent of U.S. emissions from 2005 levels.
Administration officials think they can fill the gap.
The Clean Air Act of 1970 gives Mr. Biden the power to issue regulations through federal agencies. The rules can be easily undone by a new administration.
More than 100 environmental regulations were rolled back by President Donald J. Trump.
The power plant rules are one of the things Ms. McCarthy listed.
Methane, a potent greenhouse gas that can warm the atmosphere 80 times faster than carbon dioxide in the short term, has been regulated by the E.P.A. The final rule is expected later this year. There is a possibility of a regulation to curb tailpipe emissions next year.
She said that those measures and others at the state level would continue to put pressure on the coal sector.
Some of the country's first policies to fight global warming were developed by Ms. McCarthy when she was the E.P.A. clean air chief.
The new law is expected to help companies comply with new regulations by giving them tax incentives. She said that it will lead to emissions dropping beyond analysts' estimates.
She believes that the private sector will make money on this.
Climate activists want Mr. Biden to keep pushing.
Varshini Prakash is the executive director of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate activist group.
She said activists still hope to see Mr. Biden declare a national climate emergency in order to get federal funding for clean energy. The White House considered using it before.
When the legislation appeared to be dead, Mr. Biden said that climate change was an "immense threat to our nation and to the world". It's an emergency. There is an emergency.
A spokesman for the White House said on Friday that no actions were off the table. They wouldn't say if they were going to declare a climate emergency.
The environmental activists want Mr. Biden to stop new fossil fuel projects, but he isn't allowed to do that. The new law mandates oil and gas lease sales on federal lands and waters, as well as requiring the Interior Department to continue to hold auctions for fossil fuel leases if it approves new wind or solar projects on federal lands.
Democratic leaders promised Mr. Manchin a vote on a permitting reform bill that could speed up the development of large-scale wind and solar projects.
Ms. McCarthy said that Mr. Biden wants to limit fossil fuels.
She said that they would keep moving forward on this.
If countries want to keep the average global temperature from rising 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, they need to stop new oil, gas and coal development immediately.
The planet has warmed by more than one degree.
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