The President of the United States, Joe Biden, signed this Wednesday (8) a series of executive orders to make the federal government neutral in carbon emissions, in another step forward in his environmental agenda.
The plan sets out two important deadlines. By 2030, the government must operate only on non-polluting electricity and, by 2035, it must stop buying gasoline-powered vehicles to acquire a fleet that does not emit greenhouse gases. The Democrat also set 2032 for emissions from government buildings to halve.
Thus, Biden wants to transform the 300,000 buildings and 600,000 official vehicles, in addition to using the US$ 650 billion budget for purchases of goods and services, to achieve the federal government’s goal of neutralizing its carbon footprint by 2050.
Since taking office in January, the president intended to use his management as a model and incentive for green energy markets. Earlier this year, it presented a climate package with several initiatives, such as suspending new gas and oil exploration in land and public waters, reviewing existing exploration contracts and neutralizing carbon emissions by 2050.
Back then, it had promised to use the federal government’s purchasing power to acquire a vast fleet of zero-carbon vehicles. The plan, however, depended on congressional approval. Some of the measures were included in the infrastructure package, which has already been approved, and in the social and environmental package, which still needs to pass the Senate.
The first, for example, foresees US$ 7.5 billion to expand the network for charging electric vehicles and another US$ 5 billion for the purchase of electric and hybrid school buses. The second establishes US$ 555 billion to combat climate change, such as incentives for less polluting energy sources and funds for reforestation.
With the executive orders this Wednesday, Biden thus sets a deadline for the promised transition, but the text also has a caveat: implementation depends on the availability of funds, an important point, since electric vehicles tend to have a higher price and costs to most almost always depend on congressional approval.
For an expert interviewed by the New York Times, if implemented, the measures could give an important boost to the clean energy market. “It’s a similar strategy to what China has been doing quite successfully, leveraging the government’s purchasing power to create demands that the market can meet,” explained Joshua Freed, vice president for Climate and Energy at Third Way, a group of Democratic poll.
“The federal government, in many areas, is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, buyers,” he added, noting that federal spending on concrete, for example, is $5 billion. Freed also said that setting standards for more sustainable products, as well as clean energy and zero-emission vehicles, would have a big influence on the private sector.
.
