Biden Takes Decisive Action on Justice, Paris Agreement and Keystone XL

WASHINGTON — Hours before taking office, Joe Biden launched his presidency today with a sweeping call to action on climate change and racial justice,  issuing executive orders to rejoin the 2015 Paris climate agreement and reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

Mitchell Bernard, president of NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), made the following statement:

"President Biden hit the ground running on the strongest White House climate plan ever, with executive action to rejoin the landmark Paris climate agreement, reject the dirty tar sands pipeline, and direct every agency in the government to center racial justice and equity—in the policies they advance and the work they do.

“This is swift and decisive action. It makes the United States once more part of the global climate solution—not the problem. It makes clear that the country is moving away from dirty fossil fuels and toward cleaner, smarter ways to power our future. It puts environmental justice where it belongs—at the heart of the progress we need to make. And it sets the stage for the comprehensive action we need to confront the climate crisis now, while there’s still time to act.”

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NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.​