Today, National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy convened the second National Climate Task Force to discuss the Biden-Harris Administration's whole-of-government approach to tackling the climate crisis, creating good-paying, union jobs, and prioritizing environmental justice.
During the virtual meeting, Cabinet leaders and senior Administration officials discussed their respective plans to integrate addressing climate change throughout their agencies to put the United States in a position of strength to lead the world in a clean energy revolution that creates American jobs with the chance to join a union and builds back an inclusive, equitable economy. Participants, including the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, also looked ahead to the Earth Day Leaders Summit on April 22 and opportunities for each agency to reduce emissions while supporting good-paying, union jobs, improve health in our communities, and ensure America leads the industries that will power the future.
Following the task force meeting, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service announced it will invest more than $218 million to leverage the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to fund projects that will help drive rural economic recovery and job creation, support the voluntary stewardship efforts of private landowners, and better conserve America's public lands. The Administration's investments through the LWCF are helping expand access to the outdoors for all communities, including in areas that have disproportionately less access to nature, and bolstering the nation's natural defenses against climate change.
Additionally, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to restoring scientific integrity, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is taking the first step to relaunch its climate change website to provide the public with information on emissions data, climate change impacts, scientific reports, and more.
As outlined by President Biden's January 27 executive order on tackling the climate, the Task Force is chaired by the National Climate Advisor and includes Cabinet-level leaders from 21 federal agencies and senior White House officials to mobilize the Biden-Harris Administration's implementation of a whole-of-government approach.
Task Force membership is comprised of the following government officials:
- National Climate Advisor (Chair)
- Secretary of the Treasury
- Secretary of Defense
- Attorney General
- Secretary of the Interior
- Secretary of Agriculture
- Secretary of Commerce
- Secretary of Education
- Secretary of Labor
- Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- Secretary of Transportation
- Secretary of Energy
- Secretary of Homeland Security
- Administrator of General Services
- Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality
- Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
- Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Director of the Office of Management and Budget
- Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
- Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy
- Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
- Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
- Assistant to the President for Economic Policy
