Earth Day, 2021

Proclamation 10186 of April 22, 2021

Earth Day, 2021

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

On April 22, 1970, millions of Americans rallied
together to protect the right of all of us to live free
from environmental hazard and harm. On that first Earth
Day, they gathered all across America--on college
campuses, in public parks, and State capitals--
galvanized by a vision of a healthier, more prosperous
Nation where all people could thrive. Their untiring
spirit sparked a national movement for environmental
protection that endures today in the bedrock laws that
protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and
treasured wild places and wildlife.

Earth Day was primarily conceived and brought to life
by a dedicated public servant: the late Senator Gaylord
Nelson of Wisconsin. Senator Nelson and his wife,
Carrie Lee--who herself passed away just last month--
were both dear friends who changed my life; it was
Senator Nelson who helped persuade me to remain in the
Senate after losing my first wife and daughter in a car
accident in 1972. Senator Nelson changed the world,
too, by building a legacy of environmental protection
through Earth Day and all of the progress that has come
in its wake--not because it was popular, but because it
was the right thing to do for our children and
grandchildren.

Over half a century later, that legacy lives on in the
chorus of courageous young people across the world who
are rising up to demand action on climate change. They
recognize the enormous economic opportunity to build a
brighter, more prosperous future, and the dire
economic, societal, and national security consequences
of failing to act. Our youth remind us that a better
world is within our grasp. Today, I say to young people
fighting for a brighter future: We hear you. We see
you. We will not let you down.

In recent years, climate change has upended the lives
of millions of Americans. Record cold weather knocked
out the electric grid in Texas this winter, killing at
least 111 people and disrupting the lives and
livelihoods of millions more. Wildfires tore through
more than 5 million acres across the American West--an
area roughly the size of the entire State of New Jersey
burned to the ground. Last year, back-to-back
hurricanes and powerful tropical storms battered the
Gulf and East Coasts in the worst Atlantic hurricane
season in recorded history. Record floods, hurricane-
speed windstorms, and severe droughts devastated
families and communities across the Midwest. People
have lost homes and irreplaceable memories of their
loved ones, small businesses built from years of
tireless labor and sacrifice, farmland meant to be
passed on to the next generation, and so much more.

At the same time, Black, Latino, Indigenous, and other
communities of color continue to be hit hardest by the
impacts of climate change. They bear the highest burden
of pollution, face higher rates of heart and lung
disease, are least likely to have safe drinking water
in their homes, and suffer increased risk of death from
COVID-19. These communities have also frequently been
shut out of government decisions that directly bear on
their interests. We have an obligation to correct these
historic wrongs and to build a future where all people
have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink,
healthy communities in which they can live, work, and
learn, and a meaningful voice in their future.

That is why my Administration is advancing the most
ambitious climate agenda in our Nation's history. Our
clean energy plan will create millions of good-paying
union jobs, ensure our economic competitiveness, and
improve the health and security of communities across
America. By making those investments and putting
millions of Americans to work, the United States will
be able to cut our greenhouse gas emissions in half by
2030.

Our success in confronting the climate crisis will not
be ours alone. It will be shaped, bolstered, and
ultimately won by a united pledge from global leaders
to set the world on a path to a clean energy future.
Today, on the fifth anniversary of the United States
ratifying the Paris Agreement, we have brought nations
from across the world together to meet the moment and
raise our climate ambitions.

More than 50 years ago, a generation rallied to
confront the environmental crises they faced. They took
action in hopes that those in power would listen.
Today, a new generation is sounding the alarm louder
than ever, demanding that world leaders act. It is in
all our interests to rise to that challenge and let our
legacy be one of action.

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,
2021, as Earth Day. I encourage all Americans to engage
in programs and activities that will promote an
understanding of environmental protection, the urgency
of climate change, and the need to create a healthier,
safer, more equitable future for all people.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-second day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
fifth.