The daily business briefing: December 9, 2021

Biden calls for the government to be carbon neutral by 2050, the Senate passes resolution against Biden vaccine mandate, and more

Biden driving an electric Ford F-150 Lightning in May
Biden driving an electric Ford F-150 Lightning in May
(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)

1. Biden calls for making federal government carbon neutral by 2050

President Biden signed an executive order Wednesday calling for making the United States government carbon neutral by 2050. The Biden administration said it planned to pursue the goal by spending billions to replace its 600,000 cars and trucks with an all-electric fleet, buy power to support cleaner energy, and make more efficient federal buildings. Biden's order aims to use the government's buying power to slash its carbon emissions by 65 percent by 2030. The government would stop buying gas-powered vehicles by 2035, and make most buildings owned or leased by the federal government carbon neutral a decade later. Left-leaning groups said Biden wasn't going far enough, while conservatives like Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said his plan would hurt states with big fossil-fuel reserves.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.