The Biden Administration is set to require all major federal contractors to follow the Paris Climate Accords and reduce energy emissions by 2025.
According to The Washington Post, the United States has purchased $630 billion in goods and services in the past fiscal year, making it the world's largest consumer nation. The federal government alone has 300,000 buildings and 600,000 vehicles, though Biden has also recently pushed to green the White House by shifting to electric vehicles.
Biden's proposed rule would require federal contractors to publicize their greenhouse gas emissions, as well as their impact on climate change. Under the policy, emissions from 85 percent of the federal supply chain would be curtailed, as Shalanda Young, Office of Management and Budget Director, explained in a statement.
“As the world’s largest purchaser of goods and services, the Federal government has a critical opportunity to leverage its spending power to help reduce climate risks and safeguard taxpayer dollars,” she said. “This new proposed rule is an important step forward that will help us achieve our ambitious climate goals, promote efficiency, and increase the resilience of federal supply chains.”
As global climate conditions worsen, the policy is meant to take strain off of electric grids and encourage a shift to solar energy. Federal contractors receiving between $7.5 million and $50 million will be required to publicly disclose their emissions.
As the annual UN climate change conference (COP27) is underway in Egypt, Biden is scheduled to highlight the rule when he speaks at the summit on Friday, before moving into discussions with the National Economic Council.
“On week one, President Biden charged us to make the Federal government climate-ready and resilient,” Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory said via The Post. “Requiring major Federal suppliers to disclose emissions and risks strengthens our supply chain and brings us closer to reaching our net-zero emissions goals.”
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