At COP29, Biden-⁠Harris Administration Highlights Actions to Cut U.S. Government Emissions, Lead on Federal Sustainability Press Releases

Releases first comprehensive measurement of the Federal government's Scope 3 footprint

Baku, Azerbaijan-Today, at the 2024 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, also known as COP29, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that the Federal Government is on a pathway to reduce the U.S. government's "Scope 3" supply chain emissions by 30% by 2030. Today's announcement reflectsthe Administration's commitment to leading by example by taking climate action that supports America's clean energy economy and its workers, saves taxpayer dollars through reduced energy costs, and catalyzes action of partners in the private and public sectors.

The Biden-Harris Administration also released the first comprehensive measurement of the federal government's Scope 3 footprint, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of federal emissions, and a new federal supplier climate scorecard that shows which of the top 200 federal suppliers are demonstrating leadership by disclosing emissions, setting science-based targets, assessing climate risk, and publishing a climate transition plan. Forty of federal government's largest suppliers - or 20% of those tracked on the scorecard - have taken all four of these actions.

"As the single largest purchaser in the world, President Biden has shown how the federal government can lead by example to reduce harmful emissions and catalyze climate action across our thousands of suppliers," said Brenda Mallory, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). "These partnerships will continue to cut pollution, save taxpayer money, and boost the resilience of vulnerable supply chains for decades to come."

At the COP29 U.S. Center event, CEQ Chair Mallory announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind alliance to reduce Scope 3 emissions from governments worldwide. By joining the Government Scope 3 Alliance, the governments of Canada, the United States, and the states of California, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Washington have committed to set a Scope 3 emissions reduction target for their government operations and report on their progress.

The U.S. Government's Scope 3 footprint includes emissions resulting from the goods and services that the government purchases to support its operations as well as business travel and employee commuting. Reducing federal Scope 3 emissions by 30% will cut the equivalent of 40 million metric tons of CO2 emissions (MTCO2e) annually-the equivalent of taking nearly 10 million gas-powered cars off the road for a year.

At over 135 million MTCO2e, the Federal Government's Scope 3 emissions are more than twice as large as the emissions from operating the 300,000 buildings and 600,000 vehicles combined (i.e., the Federal government's Scope 1 and 2 emissions). The Scope 3 Data Dashboard details emissions by each federal agency, category, and industry (e.g., professional services, transportation equipment manufacturing).

Federal agencies, businesses and others can use the Scope 3 dashboard and webpage to track and compare Scope 3 emissions, identify opportunities to cut pollution, and strengthen the resilience of vulnerable Federal supply chains, which will improve efficiency, reduce climate risk, and save taxpayer money. The Administration has also launched a webpage featuring Federal tools, resources, and information on Inflation Reduction Act incentives that suppliers and other organizations can leverage to accelerate their transition to clean energy, improve efficiency, and cut emissions.

In his first year in office, President Biden issued Executive Order 14057 on Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability and an accompanying Federal Sustainability Plan, which directed the Federal Government to lead by example by achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, including a 65 percent emissions reduction by 2030. To accomplish this, Federal agencies are purchasing low-carbon construction materials under Buy Clean, electrifying and increasing the efficiency of 300,000 federal buildings, transitioning the federal fleet of 600,000 vehicles to zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs), and moving to power all federal operations with 100 percent carbon-free electricity (CFE), with support from the President's Investing in America agenda.

The Biden-Harris Administration's landmark Federal Buy Clean Initiative is helping to reduce the U.S. Government's Scope 3 emissions. Under Buy Clean, Federal agencies are deploying more than $4 billion, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, to purchase low-carbon, made-in-America construction materials for federal buildings and infrastructure projects. While reducing the federal Scope 3 footprint, Buy Clean uses the U.S. Government's unrivaled purchasing power to catalyze increased demand for clean American manufacturing.

At the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, the federal fleet included fewer than 2,000 ZEVs and the federal buildings portfolio had few net-zero emissions buildings. Since then, the federal government has:

• Ordered nearly 82,000 zero-emission vehicles and installed more than 10,500 charging ports, with an additional 52,535 charging ports in progress;
• Signed agreements with utilities to provide all federal facilities in 19 U.S. states with 100% carbon pollution-free energy (CFE) by 2030; and
• Put more than 2,000 federal buildings on the path to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030 using funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, which is the largest climate investment in history.

These durable climate actions, part of President Biden's Investing in America agenda, are supporting the country's clean energy manufacturing and deployment boom which has attracted hundreds of billions of dollars in private sector investment, created hundreds of thousands of new clean energy jobs, and lowered energy costs for families while delivering cleaner air and water for communities across the country.

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