Utility Dive highlighted President Biden’s initial executive orders, quoting AEE’s Leah Rubin Shen. Read excerpts below and the full story here. 

President Joe Biden on Wednesday marked his first day in office by taking steps to rejoin the Paris climate accord, along with signing a flurry of executive orders.

One executive order Biden signed is intended to "restor[e] science" and tackle the climate crisis by reviewing several agency actions taken under former President Donald Trump, including on energy efficiency, coal ash, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), fuel efficiency standards, and more. He also signed an order intended to review industry influence on the regulatory process… 

Biden ran his campaign in part on bringing the U.S. electric grid to 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035, and decarbonizing the entire economy by mid-century. Though policy observers say that goal may be difficult to mandate, even with a majority Democratic Senate and House, Biden's first day in office was marked by immediate action on climate and clean energy that will likely mark a very different executive branch than that of his predecessor.

"I think the signal he is trying to send is to say America is back in the game," said Leah Rubin Shen, a director at Advanced Energy Economy, which advocates for clean energy business interests. "One of the things that [Biden's] been saying all along ... is the extent to which advanced energy is a huge job creator, and that investments in these programs ... really is going to help us with economic recovery..."

Rejoining the Paris accord will mean the U.S. re-commits to reduce economy-wide emissions 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025, including through power sector emissions reductions and tightened fuel economy standards...

Read the full story here.