However, even interim actions are attracting challenges from some state attorneys general, hinting at battles to come. Much of their work to date has focused on reversing the most harmful actions of the prior administration so that they can move forward with new initiatives. For the most part, they haven’t yet released new regulatory proposals and are still evaluating how to move forward on some of the most contentious topics, such as oil and gas development on federal lands. Perls and Vizcarra: From a legal perspective, it’s likely too soon to identify missteps. We’re also seeing them leverage every governance tool available, including regulation, but also investing heavily in expert agency personnel, revising and reissuing internal agency policy and guidance, pursuing ambitious international diplomacy, and making full use of the federal government’s spending power. The work they put into developing lists of priority rules for review, litigation that would need to be addressed, and task forces and advisory bodies that would be needed to develop their new policies have paid dividends in how quickly they have been able to start implementing their agenda. The transition team was well-prepared, developing a game plan for what the president and individual agencies needed to do right away. Perls and Vizcarra: The Biden-Harris team set an ambitious but also very well-planned climate agenda right off the bat and came in ready to take immediate action. Furthermore, these commitments are being backed up by personnel decisions at every level of government to ensure these priorities won’t fall by the wayside. Never before have we seen such a holistic approach to the environment. The new administration has paired its whole of government focus on climate change with a focus on environmental justice, labor rights, and racial equity concerns. Biden has tasked agencies not strictly focused on environmental issues with contributing to climate solutions and developing the infrastructure and workforce needed to implement them. commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and is marshalling the full capacity of the federal government, not just EPA, to achieve them. It has set ambitious new goals, including most recently promising to nearly double the U.S. Hannah Perls and Hana Vizcarra: The administration’s environmental and climate agenda is truly historic. Harvard Law Today: What do you think of the Biden administration’s announced agenda? The two environmental law experts will soon release a full report on the administration’s progress to date. As part of a series examining the first 100 days of the Biden presidency, Harvard Law Today asked Hannah Perls ’20 and Hana Veselka Vizcarra of the Harvard Law School Environmental and Energy Law Program to assess the new administration’s efforts to address climate change.
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