Earth Day, 2024, 31073-31075 [2024-08911]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 24, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 31073-31075]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08911]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 80 / Wednesday, April 24, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 31073]]


                Proclamation 10732 of April 19, 2024

                
Earth Day, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                More than 50 years ago today, some 20 million Americans 
                came together across the country to demand that we 
                prioritize our planet's well-being. They came from 
                every walk of life and political background, and were 
                united around a common vision: to protect the Earth and 
                our natural treasures for future generations. Their 
                actions that day ignited an environmental movement and 
                proved that nothing is beyond our capacity if we do it 
                together. Today, we carry on their legacy by building a 
                greener, more sustainable planet and, with it, a 
                healthier, more prosperous Nation.

                This work has never been more urgent. Climate change is 
                the existential crisis of our time; no one can deny its 
                impacts and staggering costs anymore. We have seen 
                historic floods from Vermont to Kentucky to California. 
                Droughts and hurricanes are growing more frequent and 
                intense. Wildfires are destroying entire communities 
                and spreading harmful smoky haze for thousands of miles 
                while temperatures keep reaching record highs. Season 
                after season, I have met with families who have lost 
                everything to major storms, wildfires, and other 
                climate disasters, and I have stood with the brave 
                first responders and firefighters who sacrifice so much 
                to protect their neighbors. Deforestation, nature loss, 
                toxic chemicals, and plastic pollution also continue to 
                threaten our air, lands, and waters, endangering our 
                health, other species, and ecosystems. Our actions 
                matter, and together we can protect our planet and our 
                futures.

                I am proud that my Administration has made the biggest 
                investment ever to fight climate change. Through the 
                Inflation Reduction Act, we are building a clean energy 
                economy that creates good-paying jobs and investing in 
                research and development here at home. We are building 
                a cleaner, more resilient power grid; expanding solar, 
                wind, nuclear, and geothermal power; and upgrading the 
                transmission system to bring clean electricity to more 
                communities. We are saving families hundreds of dollars 
                per year on their electric bills by providing tax 
                credits to invest in efficient electric heat pumps. We 
                are providing thousands of dollars in tax credits to 
                people who buy new or used electric cars. Additionally, 
                we are supporting farmers and ranchers in the adoption 
                of climate-smart practices like cover crops and 
                rotational grazing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 
                Meanwhile, our American Rescue Plan has also helped 
                States and cities become more energy efficient and 
                resilient to extreme weather, including helping people 
                weatherize their homes, restoring wetlands to protect 
                against storm surges and flooding, and opening cooling 
                centers where people can stay safe from extreme heat. 
                We have also made America's biggest investment in 
                infrastructure in generations. As a result, we are 
                expanding our transit and rail systems to reduce 
                traffic and emissions, and we are building a national 
                network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations.

                When I think about climate change, I think about jobs--
                the good-paying union jobs that our legislation is 
                creating nationwide in this clean energy revolution. 
                Our historic investments across the clean energy 
                economy are creating good jobs, apprenticeships, and 
                training opportunities for thousands of workers--from 
                manufacturers and electricians to construction workers

[[Page 31074]]

                and linemen. American workers are installing solar 
                panels, servicing wind turbines, capping old oil wells, 
                manufacturing electric vehicles, and more. We are 
                making sure coal and power plant communities, which 
                have powered our economy for decades, have access to 
                these jobs--we will not leave them behind. At the same 
                time, we launched the American Climate Corps, which 
                will put more than 20,000 young Americans to work 
                restoring our lands and waters, deploying clean energy 
                technologies, and helping communities prepare for and 
                rebuild from extreme weather.

                We are also bringing clean air, clean water, and clean 
                energy to those who have historically been left behind. 
                Through our Justice40 Initiative, we set a historic 
                goal to direct 40 percent of the overall benefits of 
                Federal clean energy, clean transit, and other 
                investments that fight climate change to communities 
                that are overburdened by pollution and disadvantaged by 
                underinvestment. We set the strongest-ever pollution 
                standards for cars and trucks, which will reduce carbon 
                emissions by more than 7 billion tons while also 
                slashing emissions of other pollutants. We are also 
                tackling pollution from fossil fuel power plants, which 
                have denied many Americans the clean air and water they 
                deserve. We are replacing every lead pipe in America so 
                that everyone can turn on their faucet and drink clean 
                water. We are working to clean up toxic waste sites and 
                partnering with communities to get dangerous ``forever 
                chemicals'' out of their water supplies.

                Today, I am on track to conserve more lands and waters 
                than any President in history--getting us closer to my 
                Administration's historic goal of conserving at least 
                30 percent of our Nation's lands and waters by 2030. It 
                is a part of our ``America the Beautiful'' Initiative 
                that supports locally led conservation, protection, and 
                restoration through partnerships with Tribal Nations, 
                local communities, and private landowners. So far, I 
                have protected over 41 million acres of our Nation's 
                lands and waters--from establishing national monuments 
                like Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni on the outskirts of the 
                Grand Canyon and Camp Hale high in the Colorado 
                Rockies, to strengthening protections for treasures 
                like the Tongass National Forest and Bristol Bay in 
                Alaska. These majestic places unite and inspire us and 
                should be preserved for the ages. To restore and 
                protect the health of our ocean, my Administration is 
                advancing America's first-ever Ocean Climate Action 
                Plan, accelerating offshore wind energy development, 
                and working to designate new national marine 
                sanctuaries in California and the Pacific Remote 
                Islands.

                Climate change is a global issue. Certainly no one 
                nation can tackle the climate crisis alone; we have to 
                work together. On my first day in office, I immediately 
                rejoined the Paris Climate Accord, reclaiming American 
                leadership in this critical work. We have rallied the 
                international community to tackle vital climate 
                challenges, including collaborating with over 150 
                nations to commit to slashing methane emissions and 
                over 140 nations to commit to halting and reversing 
                forest loss by 2030 as we find new ways to boost 
                resilience, strengthen our economies, and sustain our 
                planet. Last year, the United States galvanized other 
                countries to agree for the first time to transition 
                away from the fossil fuels that jeopardize the health 
                of our people and planet. Through our Women in the 
                Sustainable Economy Initiative, we are working to 
                ensure that women around the world have access to good-
                paying jobs in sectors such as clean energy, fisheries, 
                recycling, forest management, and environmental 
                conservation, that are critical to our future. By 
                pledging a historic $3 billion to the Green Climate 
                Fund to help reduce emissions and boost climate 
                resilience in developing countries, we are catalyzing 
                further global action.

                Last fall, we released the Fifth National Climate 
                Assessment, our Government's preeminent report on the 
                impacts, risks, and responses to climate change 
                nationwide and a go-to resource on emerging climate 
                solutions. Together--climate activists and business 
                leaders; farmers, manufacturers, union workers, and 
                Indigenous communities; courageous young people; and 
                anyone concerned about the future we leave for our 
                kids--we can make

[[Page 31075]]

                the changes needed to protect our planet. America has 
                emerged from every crisis we have ever faced stronger 
                than when we went in. We can do that now for the world. 
                On Earth Day, I urge everyone to do their part in that 
                fight.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 22, 
                2024, as Earth Day. Today, I encourage all Americans to 
                reflect on the need to protect our precious planet; to 
                heed the call to combat our climate and biodiversity 
                crises while growing the economy; and to keep working 
                for a healthier, safer, more equitable future for all.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                nineteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                eighth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2024-08911
Filed 4-23-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P