200 Lawyers 15 Offices 500 Cases

Earthjustice goes to court for our planet.
We’re here because the earth needs a good lawyer.

President Biden Has 2 Years Left to Lead on Climate. Here Are the Steps He Must Take Now.

This page was published a year ago. Find the latest on Earthjustice’s work.

Halfway through his first term, President Biden has taken important steps to invest in a clean energy future and restore U.S. climate leadership. But to meet his climate and environmental justice commitments, the Biden administration must act faster and more boldly than it has in the past two years to transition away from fossil fuels towards a zero-emissions, 100% clean energy future.

Even with divided control of Congress, Biden has significant authority to make climate progress in the next two years. Under his leadership, the executive branch can adopt rules, policies, and protections that catalyze climate solutions and aggressively rein in fossil pollution.

And you can help! The government is legally obligated to consider public comments in its decision making about which policies to enact. Follow the links below to join us in calling on the Biden administration to:

  • End fossil fuel extraction on public lands and waters. Nearly 25% of the U.S.’s carbon emissions come from fossil fuels pumped or mined from public lands and waters leased to private corporations.
  • Reject false climate solutions like carbon capture and dirty hydrogen. We must not invest taxpayer money in technologies that threaten to extend the life of fossil fuels and perpetuate the harms of pollution in overburdened communities.
  • Ensure frontline communities are prioritized for climate investments and have a say in projects that impact their health and well-being. Polluting industries continue to poison the air, water, and land of communities of color and those of low income while facing little, if any, consequences.
  • Enact strong standards for the oil and gas industry to cut toxic and greenhouse gas pollution. Reducing methane pollution from the oil and gas industry is the single fastest and most cost-effective way to slow the rate of warming today.
  • Strengthen clean air protections. From smog and particulate matter to toxic pollution from power plants, EPA must set stronger standards to protect our health and the climate.
  • Appoint a new FERC commissioner. We need a full-strength Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to implement critical reforms and accelerate transmission infrastructure to bring clean energy to every American home.
  • Build a sustainable clean energy supply chain. The clean energy transition cannot be built on dirty mining. We must meet the demand for critical minerals—minerals necessary for clean energy technology—by recycling, reusing, and extending the life of materials and products we already have.
  • Clean up our transportation system by reducing emissions from heavy duty trucks and cars. Transportation is the largest source of climate pollution in the U.S., accounting for nearly 30% of greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Reduce energy demand from energy-intensive industries like fossil-fueled cryptocurrency mining. Unregulated crypto mining threatens our ability to reduce our dependence on climate-warming fossil fuels.
  • Stop the petrochemical buildout that threatens to extend a lifeline to fossil fuels. Our tax dollars should not be used to support Big Oil’s pivot to toxic chemicals.
  • Reject new oil and gas export infrastructure. Increasing fossil fuel exports will only lock in decades of pollution that harms communities, our health, and our planet.
President Joe Biden speaks at the UNFCCC COP27 climate conference on November 11, 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
President Joe Biden speaks at the UNFCCC COP27 climate conference on November 11, 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. (Sean Gallup / Getty Images)