The White House orders its officials to prioritize use of electric vehicles over combustion vehicles

Joe Biden's government is moving forward with its progressive policies on climate change. This week, he published guidance requiring White House officials to prioritize the use of electric vehicles over combustion vehicles.

"President Biden’s Federal Sustainability Plan aims to reach net-zero emissions from overall Federal operations by 2050, including a 65 percent emissions reduction by 2030. Through new Federal employee travel guidelines issued today, the Biden-Harris Administration is advancing this goal by directing Federal agencies to prioritize the use of sustainable transportation for official and local travel, both domestically and internationally," said the White House in a statement published on its official website.

In that sense, the guide explains that workers should prioritize "electric vehicle use when traveling: Federal employees will rent an EV on official travel when the cost of the EV is less than or equal to the most affordable comparable vehicle available. Employees will also opt for cost-competitive EV options, where available, when using taxis and ride share platforms."

'It will reduce pollution,' says the White House

The Biden-Harris administration maintained that the intention of the measure is to "save taxpayer money and reduce pollution that jeopardizes people’s health and fuels the climate crisis."

Likewise, the Democratic government indicated that officials should expand rail travel, saying that "federal employees will use rail for trips less than 250 miles when cost-effective and available, instead of taking an airplane or vehicle."

"To support swift and successful whole-of-government implementation, Federal agencies are being directed through an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum and U.S. General Services Administration Travel Bulletin to take a comprehensive series of steps to ensure sustainable travel options are easily accessible to employees when booking travel arrangements. Agencies will have 120 days from today’s announcement to report to OMB and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) on the plans and actions they have taken to carry out the policy and goals of the OMB Memorandum," the White House statement detailed.

Additionally, the Biden administration acknowledged that the measure is part of President Biden's goal to have 50% of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030.