Readout of the October National Climate Task Force Meeting
Task Force Discussed Implementing the Historic Environmental and Clean Energy Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, upcoming COP27 Meeting, Environmental Justice
Yesterday, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation John Podesta and National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi convened a meeting of the National Climate Task Force to discuss implementing President Biden’s historic Inflation Reduction Act and how it will lower energy costs for American families, promote energy security, create good-paying jobs, advance environmental justice, and position the U.S. to meet the President’s ambitious climate goals.
The Task Force received a briefing from Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen on the ongoing work to provide guidance for taxpayers on Inflation Reduction Act provisions that benefit consumers and support the deployment of clean energy technologies. The Task Force also received a briefing from Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry on the upcoming COP27 conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, as well as a briefing from Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory on how the Administration is advancing the President’s commitment to environmental justice and delivering on the President’s Justice40 commitment.
The Inflation Reduction Act is the most aggressive action on climate in American history, and together with bold actions from across the Task Force agencies and investments from the President’s other legislative accomplishments, including the American Rescue Plan, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the United States is leading the world once again on the international stage. The Task Force reaffirmed that climate change disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color, and members committed to prioritize programs in the Inflation Reduction Act alongside other executive actions that address legacy pollution, and ensure that all Americans can benefit from the job creation opportunities and lower costs associated with clean energy.
As outlined by President Biden’s January 27 Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad and amended in the President’s recent Executive Order on the Implementation of the Energy and Infrastructure Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the Task Force includes Cabinet-level leaders from more than 25 federal agencies to mobilize the Biden-Harris Administration’s implementation of a whole-of-government approach.
Task Force membership is comprised of the following government officials:
- Senior Advisor for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation (Chair)
- National Climate Advisor (Vice-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
- CEO of AmeriCorps
- Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality
- Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
- Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Administrator of the Small Business 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
- White House Infrastructure Coordinator
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