Joe Biden set to unveil a 'historic' climate change plan
is set to announce on Wednesday a radical proposal for tackling , which will emphasize the fact that marginalized communities and ethnic minorities frequently bear the brunt of global warming. Biden, who rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement on the first day of his presidency, will direct agencies across the federal government to invest in minority communities hardest-hit by pollution, reported on Tuesday. Two sources told the paper that the president will sign an executive order establishing a interagency council on environmental justice. He will create an office of health and climate equity at the Health and Human Services Department, and form a separate environmental justice office at the Justice Department. Biden and his team believe that it is time to right the historic wrongs of having marginalized communities forced to accept debris that wealthier communities fight against: power plants, landfills, trash incinerators, shipping ports, uranium mines and factories. Biden on Wednesday will also announce a block on any new federal oil and gas leasing. He will pledge to protect 30 per cent of the nation's public lands and waters by the end of the decade, and direct federal agencies to consider the impact on climate change when looking at a range of issues, including procurement, regulations and legal settlements. 'Our urgent reduction of emissions is compelled by public conscience and by common sense,' said John Kerry, the former secretary of state who is now Biden's climate envoy. Speaking at a UN forum this week, he said: 'President Biden knows that we have to mobilize in unprecedented ways to meet a challenge that is fast accelerating, and he knows we have limited time to get it under control.' Kerry also set the stage for Wednesday's expected announcement, saying: 'Every agency is now a part of our climate team.' Biden's move to emphasize how climate change affects different communities in different ways was praised by academics in the field. Cathleen Kelly, a fellow who focuses on energy and environment at the Center for American Progress, told the paper Biden was making 'a historic commitment.' 'The executive order will help to lay out a clear path to implementing President Biden's climate and justice commitments,' Kelly said. 'It will get the gears turning in each agency across the federal government. With Biden in the White House and the current leaders we have in Congress, this year represents an unprecedented opportunity to have executive and legislative action.' Robert Bullard, a professor at Texas Southern University, said Wednesday's moves sent a strong signal. 'When you have the most powerful legal department in the country saying that environmental justice is a basic right, I think that is a signal being sent across the country to say that this is real at the highest level,' he said. The new administration is working to bring skeptical Americans on side. Gina McCarthy, climate coordinator, this week assured local officials from across the country that the administration would work to convince average Americans they will benefit from a transition to clean energy. 'People have been in pain long enough. We are not going to ask for sacrifice,' she said. 'And if we fail to win the heart of middle America, we will lose.' The oil and gas industry already begun attacking Biden's plans, including his decisions - made on his first day in office - to rescind the controversial Keystone pipeline. 'The first few days are giving us an indication of what the next four years could look like, and that's elicited some real concern, within the industry and broadly, outside the industry,' said Frank Macchiarola, senior vice president of policy, economics and regulatory affairs at the American Petroleum Institute. 'We're going to communicate how impactful such a policy would be, to both the administration and on Capitol Hill.' The top three House Republicans, joined by 17 others, sent a letter to Biden on Tuesday warning him against suspending federal oil and gas auctions. Taking such a step 'would be as extreme as it is radical, and it would only further divide the country. It would put Americans with good-paying jobs in the energy industry out of work. And, it would seem to conflict directly with federal law.'