President Biden has signed an executive order establishing an Office of Environmental Justice within the White House. Biden unveiled his plan at a ceremony in the Rose Garden Friday.

President Joe Biden: “Environmental justice will be the mission of the entire government, woven directly into how we work with state, local, tribal and territorial governments. This is an order that directs the federal agencies to address gaps in science and technology. For example, there’s a lot we still don’t know about the quality of people’s wastewater or the air they’re breathing.”

Environmental groups welcomed the announcement but cautioned that Biden remains a major supporter of fossil fuels, having approved drilling projects on federal land faster than Trump did during his first two years in office. The Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement, “If the president wants to distinguish himself from oily Republicans, let’s see him reverse the Willow project, stop approving massive Gulf drilling and gas exports, and phase down public lands drilling.”