President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday that would cease the federal government’s purchase of gas-powered passenger vehicles by 2035 in an effort to cut the carbon footprint of the nation’s largest employer, Reuters reports.
The directive is also a push for infrastructure for electric vehicles, which will get a major boost from the Biden infrastructure program. The federal government operates 650,000 vehicles, purchasing an average of 50,000 vehicles annually. Biden’s order also states that all new vehicles purchased after 2027 be emissions-free. Currently, only 0.5% of the federal fleet are electric vehicles.
The order noted the U.S. government is “the single largest land owner, energy consumer and employer in the nation” and can transform “how we build, buy and manage electricity, vehicles, buildings and other operations to be clean and sustainable.”