In addition to announcing his bid for reelection in 2024 today, President Biden has signed an executive order establishing an Office of Environmental Justice within the White House. Biden unveiled his plan at a ceremony in the Rose Garden Friday just ahead of Earth Day.
Environmental groups welcomed the announcement but cautioned Biden remains a major supporter of fossil fuels, having approved drilling projects on federal land faster than Trump did during his first two years in office.
this entire executive order is really exciting. I’m really excited about what it means for our tribes and moving us from an era of consultation to an era of consent. I’m excited about what this means for strengthening our regulatory processes, which have impacts on the projects that you mentioned, the harmful projects that we’re seeing approved. Hopefully, with this order, we’ll see the regulatory process mean more justice for our communities.
As far as the office, you know, we’re excited that that is happening. It’s never — that’s never been done before, and it signals to us that environmental justice is not just a program or not just a proclamation. There’s going to be real people working on this, day in, day out, in the White House, making sure that there’s accountability, making sure that there’s transparency, and making sure that there’s real teeth to this executive order.
As far as the announcement around the reelection bid, I just — I feel excited to motivate the people I work with, because, really, we know what’s at stake. And I
— source democracynow.org | Apr 25, 2023