The Biden Administration is aiming to slash the federal government's carbon emissions and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 by spending billions to buy electric vehicles and upgrade existing federal buildings.
President Joe Biden stops to talk to reporters before he leaves the White House. The photo was taken by Chip Somodevilla.
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The executive order signed by Biden aims to cut the federal government's carbon emissions in half by the end of the decade and to become carbon neutral by the year 2050.
The White House says that the government will replace 600,000 vehicles with electric models and will change how it buys electricity over the next two and a half decades.
The federal government plans to stop buying gas-powered passenger vehicles by the year 2027 and only buy zero-emission vehicles by the year 2035.
The buildings owned or leased by the federal government will no longer contribute carbon emissions by 2045 according to Biden.
Biden directed federal operations to run on carbon-free electricity and develop 10 gigawatts of new clean electricity production by the year 2030.
The Buy Clean policy directs the government to use lower-emissions construction materials.
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The executive order came after the United States pledged at the United Nations COP26 climate summit to reach net-zero emissions nationwide by the year 2050. The White House said that Biden signed a bipartisan infrastructure bill into law last month that included $50 billion for climate resilience and $65 billion for clean energy investments. The Senate is being pushed to pass the Biden Administration's plan to combat climate change. The U.S. pledged to cut methane emissions by 30% and stop and reverse deforestation by the year 2030.
Experts told the Washington Post that the push could have a domino effect. The government could send a signal to private sector companies by changing the kinds of goods it consumes, according to a Duke University professor.
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The chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee said that putting the weight of the federal government behind reducing emissions is the right thing to do. Carter said that states should follow the government's lead and implement their own emissions reductions plans.
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The plan faces some logistical challenges, like installing electric vehicle charging stations across the country, and getting thousands of vehicles despite the global computer chip shortage. The executive order could easily be undone by future administrations.
Biden wants the federal government to be carbon neutral by the year 2050.
New roads, electric school buses and more are included in the infrastructure bill.
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