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EO 13990Executive OrderBiden · D

Executive Order 13990

Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science To Tackle the Climate Crisis

Energy & EnvironmentEnergy & EnvironmentEconomy & LaborEconomy & LaborDemocracy & GovernanceDemocracy & GovernanceFederal WorkforceFederal Workforce

In simple terms

This executive order establishes climate action and environmental justice as core federal priorities, directing agencies to review and reverse Trump-era environmental rollbacks from 2017-2021. It revokes the Keystone XL pipeline permit, restores Arctic drilling protections, initiates national monument boundary reviews, creates an Interagency Working Group to establish social costs of greenhouse gases, and suspends or revokes numerous prior executive orders on energy infrastructure and environmental regulation.

Federal Register Open PDF 86 FR 7037

Record & deadlines

  1. Signed

    Signed by the President

  2. FR published

    Published in the Federal Register · 86 FR 7037

    Federal Register PDF

  3. Working Group recommendations on updating process and methodology revisions

  4. Final SCC, SCN, SCM published; Federal Implementation Plan for 5 states proposed

  5. Oil/gas methane emission standards for existing operations proposed

  6. Working Group recommendations on SCC/SCN/SCM application

  7. Coal/oil utility air pollutant reconsideration proposed

  8. SAFE Vehicles Rule for MY 2021-2026 reconsideration proposed

  9. Remaining appliance/building efficiency revisions proposed

  10. IECC and ASHRAE building efficiency determinations reconsidered

  11. SAFE Vehicles Rule Part One reconsideration proposed

  12. Updated OMB list due (actions completing by Dec 31, 2025)

  13. National monument review report to President

  14. Interim SCC, SCN, SCM published; preliminary OMB list due

Key directives

  • Immediately review all agency actions from Jan 20, 2017-Jan 20, 2021 inconsistent with environmental/climate policy
  • Consider suspending, revising, or rescinding identified agency actions
  • Publish proposed rules for 4 categories of specific regulations by specified dates
  • Submit preliminary OMB list (actions completing by Dec 31, 2021) within 30 days
  • Submit updated OMB list (actions completing by Dec 31, 2025) within 90 days
  • EPA to propose methane standards for existing oil/gas operations by September 2021
  • EPA to propose Federal Implementation Plan for CA, CT, NY, PA, TX by January 2022
  • Review Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Northeast Canyons/Seamounts monuments; report within 60 days
  • Place temporary moratorium on Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain leasing program
  • Reinstate Executive Order 13754 and December 20, 2016 memorandum on Arctic offshore withdrawals
  • Revoke Keystone XL pipeline permit
  • Revoke 7 executive orders and 3 presidential memoranda; partially revoke EO 13834

Who is ordered

Prior policyRollback

  • revokeExecutive Order 13766 of January 24, 2017 (Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals For High Priority Infrastructure Projects)
  • revokeExecutive Order 13778 of February 28, 2017 (Restoring the Rule of Law, Federalism, and Economic Growth by Reviewing the 'Waters of the United States' Rule)
  • revokeExecutive Order 13783 of March 28, 2017 (Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth)
  • revokeExecutive Order 13792 of April 26, 2017 (Review of Designations Under the Antiquities Act)
  • revokeExecutive Order 13795 of April 28, 2017 (Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy)
  • revokeExecutive Order 13868 of April 10, 2019 (Promoting Energy Infrastructure and Economic Growth)
  • revokeExecutive Order 13927 of June 4, 2020 (Accelerating the Nation's Economic Recovery from the COVID-19 Emergency by Expediting Infrastructure Investments and Other Activities)
  • revokeExecutive Order 13834 of May 17, 2018 (Efficient Federal Operations), except for sections 6, 7, and 11
  • revokeExecutive Order 13807 of August 15, 2017 (Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure Projects)
  • otherExecutive Order 13920 of May 1, 2020 (Securing the United States Bulk-Power System) for 90 days
  • revokePresidential Memorandum of April 12, 2018 (Promoting Domestic Manufacturing and Job Creation Policies and Procedures Relating to Implementation of Air Quality Standards)
  • revokePresidential Memorandum of October 19, 2018 (Promoting the Reliable Supply and Delivery of Water in the West)
  • revokePresidential Memorandum of February 19, 2020 (Developing and Delivering More Water Supplies in California)
  • rescindCouncil on Environmental Quality draft guidance entitled, 'Draft National Environmental Policy Act Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions,' 84 FR 30097 (June 26, 2019)
  • reinstateExecutive Order 13754 of December 9, 2016 (Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience) in original form
  • reinstatePresidential Memorandum of December 20, 2016 (Withdrawal of Certain Portions of the United States Arctic Outer Continental Shelf From Mineral Leasing) in original form
  • revokePresidential permit to TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. for Keystone XL pipeline, granted March 29, 2019
  • otherCoastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, established by Record of Decision signed August 17, 2020

Related orders

What to expect

Immediate

  • Revocation of Keystone XL pipeline permit
  • Temporary moratorium on Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil/gas leasing activities
  • Reinstatement of Obama-era Arctic offshore drilling withdrawals
  • Suspension of Executive Order 13920 (bulk-power system) for 90 days
  • Revocation of 7 executive orders and 3 presidential memoranda
  • Agency heads to immediately review regulations from Jan 20, 2017-Jan 20, 2021

Near term (90d)

  • Interim social cost of carbon/methane/nitrous oxide due within 30 days (Feb 19, 2021)
  • Preliminary OMB list of actions due by Dec 31, 2021 due within 30 days (Feb 19, 2021)
  • National monument review report due within 60 days (Mar 21, 2021)
  • Updated OMB list of actions due by Dec 31, 2025 due within 90 days (Apr 20, 2021)
  • Major appliance/building efficiency revisions proposed by March 2021
  • Remaining appliance/building efficiency revisions proposed by June 2021
  • SAFE Vehicles Rule Part One reconsideration by April 2021
  • IECC and ASHRAE building efficiency determinations by May 2021
  • SAFE Vehicles Rule for MY 2021-2026 reconsideration by July 2021

Long term

  • Coal/oil utility air pollutant reconsideration by August 2021
  • Oil/gas methane emission standards for existing operations by September 2021
  • Working Group recommendations on SCC/SCN/SCM application by September 1, 2021
  • Final social cost values by January 2022
  • Federal Implementation Plan for 5 states by January 2022
  • Working Group recommendations on updating methodology by June 1, 2022

Risks & tensions

  • Legal challenges likely to Keystone XL revocation, Arctic moratorium, and monument restorations based on prior administration's regulatory justifications
  • Oil/gas industry and some states may resist methane regulations and Arctic withdrawal reinstatements
  • Tight timelines for rulemaking (some within months) may strain agency analytical capacity and invite procedural challenges
  • 'As appropriate and consistent with applicable law' qualifiers throughout create implementation uncertainty—agencies retain discretion
  • Social cost of carbon methodology choices carry trillion-dollar implications for regulatory cost-benefit analyses; politically contested
  • Environmental justice emphasis may conflict with expedited timelines for technical rulemaking
  • Suspension of EO 13920 (bulk-power system) for 90 days with potential replacement creates brief cybersecurity uncertainty window
Executive Order 13990: Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science To Tackle the Climate Crisis · Executive Orders