>> yeah, one other thing that i think people need to understand, as we all know, rna viruses mutate all the time. that's what they do. that's their business. and there are very few, but they do happen. that is that you get one that has a functional relevancy tool. the way we've seen with graded transmissibility. possibility of greater virulence. but also importantly for us what i mentioned in my opening comments is what is the relationship between the mutant and the induction of antibodies by the vaccines that we do. so, supplementing what dr. walensky said, that together with the cdc's expansion in getting more realtime sequence gee nomic surveillance, the nih will be collaborating with the cdc in looking at what the functional characteristics of these are. for example, we will be

monitoring in realtime the effect of antibodies that we induce with the current vaccines and future vaccines, as to what impact they have on the ability to neutralize these mutants. and as we see them getting further and further through more a more vulnerable part, that's when we trigger the kinds of things that i mentioned in my opening remark. namely, making a version of the same vaccine that in fact would be directed specifically against the relevant mutant. all of that is going on in realtime, really, as we speak. >> okay. i think we're going to wrap it up here. i want to thank everybody for joining. as you can see, lots of information on the disease front coming from the cdc, science, with dr. fauci and the

operations from andy slavitt. we will be -- plan on doing these in a regular basis. the next one will be on friday. i thank you for your patience and all of your great questions. appreciate it. hello, everybody. welcome "inside politics" i'm john king in washington. you've been listening to the first major briefing by the new biden administration's covid task force. dr. walensky and dr. fauci, and the first time they talk about, a., how to inviting the coronavirus. b., a loll of emphasis on the president's new promise to accelerate the rollout. both the production, the rollout delivery to states and administering, shots in arms. let's talk to our expert, our

chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta, phil mattingly. and laura barron-lopez. >> dr. sanjay, let me start with you, we got used to the former president of the united states winging it, actually, i'll use that term. but president biden leaving to the experts here. a lot of emphasis on can they meet the metrics to speed up, not only the production but delivery of the vaccine. >> yeah, i mean that was sort of the biggest question that came out of this. a lot of briefing was sort of catching people up with the science of what's going on here. vaccines, how safe are they. we here it's up to 6 in a 1 million of these adverse events. dr. fauci talking about the variants, saying there's pretty good evidence that the vaccines work well against the defense.

there's a cushion as he described it. and the equity lens in terms of the vaccine rollout. but the issue you raised, john, it's still how is the vaccine rollout going to prove. we hear it's 10 million doses for the next three weeks. states can count on that. how did that happen, exactly, from not being able to say how many vaccines we got. how did we get to that. i'm not sure we got a good answer for that, andy slavitt said more moderna doses have been released. released from where? a stockpile? inventory? that's unclear. what it reflects is a confidence that they're going to have this supply going forward and that's important because i don't think states have been able to count on that and have good administering plans once the vaccines got to states. one thing i'll point out quickly, the covid relief bill came up and there's a lot of things in there about testing and ppe. jeff zients made the point to

get the 100 million doses in 100 days, that is not dependent on the covid relief bill but just about everything else is. testing in schools, ppe, all of those other things. >> let me stay with you, number one, they were talking about, on the vaccine, theys sellerly said they didn't inherent much of a plan. and they didn't have backups. the other thing, jeff zients was talking about this, dr. fauci, he was essentially saying it's pitiful that the united states is 43rd in the world in terms of g-nome tracking. with the variants from the south africa and uk, why was that discussion important? >> well, this is a critical point because right now, we know that these viruses spread all the time. the more they spread, the more they mutate. that's why speed of the vaccination is as important as

the amount of vaccination. most of the vaccinations are inconsequential, but if you take the vaccine and escape immunity, it's called, you want to know that very quickly so you can start to plan. you can start to create new vaccines or new antibodies or whatever. we just need to know that. we do 0.5% of sequencing in the country. it's a low amount. as a result, we may suddenly have outbreaks of these variants. and the outbreak becomes harder to contain because it happen happens without us getting any advance notice. this is important because we know the mutations are going to occur. >> and sunlen kym, it's why aren't you essentially using the defense production act, the power of the president to order

things in the manufacturing center, or general motors withford producing ventilators. jeff zients said everything is on the table about using presidential authority to speed up vaccine manufacturing. the question was asked in the context of merck just said our vaccine candidate hasn't proven well in science. so we're stopping. the question is would you order merck to produce a pfizer vaccine or somebody else's vaccine, use that, and no commitment. you heard him say everything was on the table? >> that's right. the biden administration came in knowing that controlling the pandemic was the top priority. and they will be judged on how well they contained the pandemic and just limit the deaths and make sure the united states can get out of this. you do see how they're expanding all of their resources they have to control the pandemic. whether it's scoring all of

these executive authorities that the president has. and leaning on congress to pass the entirety of that $1.9 trillion covid relief mpackage which the administration has made clear it's just one of multiple that they believe congress needs to pass this year. the problem is, often with change of heart, is with congress itself. despite the pressure from the biden administration. despite the quiet talks with key bipartisan groups of senators there is still a lot of resistance among republicans to that $1.9 trillion price tag with other provisions in the measure. there were republicans urging the biden administration to be more targeted. more small. and actually for all others, that democrats are ready to act on their own to go big with the white house on that covid package relief. so that is really the theme of the biden white house right now. and also, you know, just expectation setting. the president has said several times it is going to get much

worse before it gets better. that is a key difference than the rosy talk you heard from president trump. >> it is a key difference. but phil mattingly, you also see a little tension, i'm not sure that's the right word on this call, in the sense is that president biden said he believes most adult americans can be vaccinated by the spring -- first, he hoped the spring. then fall. essentially said it up by fall, that we should be back to a sense of normalcy. not full normalcy. but by fall. that's the sense which they'll be judged. in the sense, do kids go back to school by fall. do we see fans in the stands? you get a feeling is that an estimation or clear. listen to andy slavitt who says joe biden says vaccines are coming as quickly as possible, andy slavitt says well -- >> we're taking action to

increase the capacity. even so, it will be months before everyone who wants a vaccine will be able to get one. >> again, the president said on monday. i think it will be this spring. i think we'll be able do that this spring. >> since monday, you saw everybody speaking publicly from the white house to gently walking that back saying the president is an eternity optimist and wants this to turn out well. sanjay has talked about this 100 million shots in arms in 100 days, is in terms what the administration inherited. they are setting goals that are achievable at this point in time but i also think there's a recognition that there are things that can occur over the course of the next several months that can ramp up where they could end up. but i think that's what you're hearing the president refer to. obviously, a single dose vaccine that looks promising at this point in time. andy slavitt made clear that is not being factored into the

projections. there are elements that i think lend the president to where he is right now. but the reality on the ground, at least on the present time is what you're hearing from your advisers. that is there's a huge problem with distributions. s there a mass demand. and sanjay pointed out, nobody knows where the administration is right now. but they think they need to limit expectations here or at least try to be reasonable with expectations just in case. >> to that point, to date, 47 million vaccines distributed to the states. 10 million is the commitment as we talked at the top for the next two or three weeks. and then a couple million in case of hiccup. but to phil's point this is based on pfizer and moderna. what we have on the table right now. the vaccines in the pipeline. how big of a game-changer would it be if johnson & johnson presents its evidence within a

next week or so that its vaccine is ready to roll? >> i think that would be very signature. and i've spoken to some of the chief scientists that have been working on this vaccine. we know a lot about this vaccine if it comes to fruition. they're going to unblind the data and look at this in the next few days. so we should get a real indication of how well this vaccine works. and the reason that data is coming now, this marks the two-month safety data that the administration asked for. 100 million doses, a one-shot deal. that obviously could add a lot to it. johnson & johnson is a big company. when you talk to them about their manufacturing capacity, you're talking in the billions, not even in the hundreds of millions in terms of doses they could create. maybe a billion doses in 2021. not all of it for the united states. 100 million of it for the united states. if it works and the data looks good, they should be able to come through with these numbers. >> that will be another big test

in the week ahead. laura bar roane lopez, we'll watch as they lay out the metrics. it's the new administration, they will be held accountable even if they inherit a bad plan. they must deliver. you hear with the style huge changes, number one, a focus on equity. you heard one of the doctors saying we need better data, are the vaccines reaching african-american communities and other communities in need which traditionally, let's be honest, get the short end of the stick. also at one point, one reporter quoted the maryland governor larry hogan yesterday who said thank you, he appreciates the new hope from the the biden administration but said it's not enough. we need more. in the final days about the trump administration with the vaccine rollout they kept criticizing the states. andy slavitt said we hear you, governor, we could not agree more. we know you need more. and we're going to help. a different approach. >> both of those are different,

john. in that the biden administration is not trying to take this combative approach with the governors and the states. trying to say we're here, we're listening to you and we'll tell you what's realistic and what's not. on the issue of racial equity, one thing that officials have made clear since biden took office, not unlike the prior administration and other democratic administration they say they're using a racial equity lens in everything they do, be it covid, infrastructure, everything. that's something that the people who came from the obama administration didn't even see that in the obama administration. so, we're seeing that again today when they're talking about the coronavirus. because as you said, black and brown communities, they are less likely to get the vaccine. they've been less likely to get vaccines in the past when talking about the h1n1 vaccine. and part of that has to do with historical mistreatment of those communities and why there's a

lack of trust there. >> lack of trust in historical perspective. an interesting briefing today. they say another one friday. this is fascinating to watch as we go forward. dr. sanjay gupta, phil mattingly. dr. sanjay will be back and several doctors join sanjay and anderson cooper, coronavirus, facts and fears, tonight. don't miss that. more big changes in the biden white house. a climate change being laid out. a giant expansion of federal conservation efforts.

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who says it will be part of every decision, to military planning, to american diplomacy around the world. let's take a look at some big changes we know are coming. number one, trump versus biden. an about face. president biden has already said united states is rejoining paris accord. 2019, president trump granted a permit for the keystone xl pipeline. president biden said, no, we're stopping that project. new biden initiatives being discussed at the briefing, this one is ambitious. in the next decade, biden administration wants to get to 30% conservation of u.s. land and water. much more conservation efforts across the country. one of the actions will be stopping oil and gas leases on federal land. already objections from the oil industry on that. this is the big change, the administration says whether it's the pentagon, u.s. diplomats overseas, climate change will be elevated into any conversation.

about purchasing, diplomacy abroad, military installations, that's a huge shift there. this is another case where the american people, quite frankly, are way ahead of their government. 72% of americans in the yale research say global warming is happen. 72% say it's happening, 60% of american adults would like their president to do more about the crisis. let's have a conversation with kathryn heyhill, she's director of the climate center at texas universe. cnn's phil mattingly is with us as well. i want to get to the specific changes today but as a climate scientist, someone who has tried to move the country and citizens on this issue. how much of a difference does it make just of the fact from the president on down, you now have an administration that says this is a crisis, not a hoax? >> i think it's absolute lit critical. make no mistake there have been

cities like washington, d.c., there have been states like microsoft, nonprofits and tribal nations and universities all taking action. but to finally have the federal government as a full partner will be a much needed shot of energy. >> phil, to this point, again, so many change happening in niece early days you get dizzy. you're just at the white house from a stint on capitol hill. back at the white house. the president is doing some things through executive action. if he wants more, he's going to need cooperation in the congress. what's the majority there? >> limited, with kamala harris breaking the tie and one of those 50 is joe manchin. obviously, he's protective of his home state. he's protective of his constituents. i think that underscores the importance of this administration on actions what they're doing today. obviously, it's sweeping, obviously, it brings to the forefront across the agencies. why that matters, the federal government is a bit of an aircraft carrier and to get it

turned around particularly in such a sharp divergent way in the infrastructure, putting the emphasis across all departments matters. raisings it a national security issue matters. and as important as the pentagon has done since 2016. but there's the reality of the politics here. and the reality is they don't have the votes, whether they think they can break the filibuster. they don't have the votes on capitol hill to move swiping action at this point in time. so what the president is doing with the wipe of pen matters because that might be all he can do in the sbraud scope. >> to that point, kathryn, you mentioned actions happening, state and local level. corporate level, other players around the world have been moving but for four years, the federal government of the united states hit the pause button and some may even say reversed the progress that had been made. so when you have the president today talking about new oil or gas leases. actions to protect 30% of federal lands and water by 2030.

elevating the climate crisis must be a clear part of any conversation across the government. re-establishing a council on advisers. memorandum on scientist integrity. a date for a leader, global summit on the issue. is there any one thing here all at once from a climate perspective that are necessary? >> it's that whole set of actions that really matters. because we have to prepare for the impacts that we can no longer avoid that will affect every single one of us, whether democrat, republican, independent or anywhere in the political spectrum. we need to increase our efficiency through efficiency alone, we can hut carbon emission information the use about to 50%, it's estimated. and we node to about early rate the clean energy. not only because it's clean but because it suppliesyies for rea people. there's more jobs in the carbon industry than the oil and gas.

and just with joe biden's plans to clean up the lands with oil and gas. the cleanup could create over 1 million jobs, the pipeline creates 35 permanent jobs that would be in canada. >> kathryn right there, phil, is touching on one of the conversations that happened. both in the pipeline decision and the decision to halt any new leases on land saying the biden administration is anti-job, and throwing jobs. and she's saying it's the flip side and more on this approach. in terms of the politics in d.c., the midterm elections coming up that's one of the reasons action in congress is hard to come by. >> this has been the issue with climate, right? whether it's green jobs, how do you shift the paradigm to where you cannot just talk about how the jobs market will increase if you take these actions, but actually show proof of it happening.

this is the balance that you try and strike. you saw the biden administration try to strike it. and the trump administration saying that the paris climate accord was going to wreck american jobs. how do you take that talking point away? if you read what the biden administration is doing, they're taking the focus to actually create jobs in the marketplace. the other thing which i think is very important, at least from their perspective. is the equity issue. laura barron-lopez mentioned it. 40% of funds are going to disadvantaged communities, that matters as well. but if you're talking about slim majority, you've got numbers in pennsylvania or texas or numbers like joe manchin in west virginia, it is a very difficult issue on capitol hill to be able to push forward in a sweeping manner to the degree like alexandria ocasio-cortez's sunrise movement that those folks want them to push. >> so, katherine, one of the

reasons i love your work, you're out in conservative work in texas. you're an evangelical, as you say, your husband is a pastor in a christian church. you talk about the misinformation that christians have been getting including those who, say, supported president trump who listened to hoax for four years. how do you think having a new administration that now puts this at top priority across government. again, whether it's procurement at the department of transportation to pentagon decisions to american diplomats around the world, how does that change the conversation out there in america where there are skeptics and opponents of what the president wants to do? >> well, 7% of people across the country are what the yale program and climate communication calls dismissive. they will continue to dismiss each and every effort by anyone to motivation climate action but as you yourself said, 72% of people already say this is real. 40% thinks it affects them. less than 35% of people across

the whole country ever even have a conversation about it. and here's the connection, if we don't ever talk about it, why would we understand why it matters to us here and now, not just the polar bears and our great grandchildren, but here today. and if we don't understand why it matters why would we do anything to fix it? so, i think there's going to be a lot more positive construction about constructive, creative practical solutions today. than there would have been four years ago. and i think that's going to help move a lot of people in the middle who say, okay, it might be real. but what are we supposed to do about it that makes sense. >> fascinating. one of the many fascinating things to watch in the new administration. grateful for your expertise. phil mattingly as well. agency we go to break, more change, the vice president kamala harris holding the ceremonial swearing in of america's new secretary of state, anthony blinken. >> i anthony blinken. >> i anthony blinken. >> do solemnly swear. >> do solemnly swear.

>> that i will support and defend. >> the constitution of united states. >> the constitution of united states. >> aens all againmys foreign. >> that i will bear true faith and allegiance. >> that i will bear true faith and allegiance. >> i state this without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. >> that i will well and faithfully discharge. >> that i will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which i'm about to enter. >> so he me god. >> so help me god. >> congratulations, mr. blinken. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you, all. me lots of money. this game's boring. only pay for what you need. liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty.

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flushing; or fever. these are not all the possible side effects. problems can occur at the same time and some more often when opdivo is used with yervoy. tell your doctor about all medical conditions including immune or nervous system problems, we want to take you straight to the white house with press secretary jen psaki beginning a brief on climate change. >> president biden is continuing to follow through on his key promise to take swift and bold action that addresses the climate crisis, building on his day one actions of rejoining the paris agreement and strengthening our clean air and water pollutions. and holding accountable. today he will take action, and building infrastructure and delivering environmental justice. i'm thrilled today as part of our effort to bring policy experts into the briefing room. we're joined by two very special guests who are going to talk to

you all about today's executive orders and take a few questions as well. i will always play the role of bad cop when i have to go. national climate adviser gina mccarthy and special enjoy for climate and my former boss, john kerry. and a big day for boston. >> it's a big day for boston every day. thank you, everybody. today, president biden will build on actions he took on day one, and he'll take more steps to fulfill a commitment he made to tackle the climate crisis while creating good paying union jobs and achieving environmental justice. in his campaign, he and vice president harris put forward the most ambitious climate vision that any presidential ticket had ever embraced. and he spent more time

campaigning on climate than we have ever seen. the president has consistently identified one four enter related existential climate crises gripping the nation all at once. he's not waiting to take action. getting us started on his first day in office because science is telling us that we don't have a moment to lose to fight against all four of these crises. in a way that recognizes their sbir sectionality. he's always committed the u.s. -- i'm sorry, he's already committed the u.s. to re-enter the paris climate agreement. and he committed us as well to start undoing the result on our environment that has occurred over the past four years. and he is now taking additional action to really target the challenge of climate change. so, today for me is a very good day. just one week into his

administration, president biden is continuing to move us forward, at the breadth and the pace that climate science demands. today's executive order starts by saying it is the policy of this administration that climate considerations shall be an essential element of u.s. foreign policy and national security. that's where the big guy comes in. it gives my colleague john kerry the first ever international climate enjoy, the authority to really drive forward a process that will restore american leadership on climate throughout the world. and you will see and hear more about that from secretary kerry. but here at home, we have to do our part. or we will not be able to make the kind of worldwide change that climate change demands. so this executive order establishing a white house office of domestic climate policy. and it directs everyone who

works for the president to use every tool available at our disposal to solve the climate crisis. because we're going to take a whole of government approach. we're going to power our economy with clean energy. we're going to do that in a way that will produce millions of american jobs that are going to be good paying. that are going to be jobs that have the opportunity for workers to join a union. because as president biden has often told us, when he thinks of climate change, his first shot is about jobs. and it should be. and people in this country need a job. and this is about making that happen. in the most creative and significant way that the federal government can move forward. and we're going to make sure that nobody is left behind. and i'm not just talking about communities in terms of environmental justice, but workers as well. this order takes historic

strides to address environmental injustice. it creates both a white house interagency task force to address environmental justice. as well as an advisory council. it directs the department of health and human services to create an office of climate change and health equity. because after all, climate change is the most significant public health challenge of our time. and it tasks the department of justice with establishing an office of climate justice. because we know that communities who are being hurt, and we know we have to start enforcing the standards today and ensuring that they are part of the solution. and in places that we can invest. in fact, it commits 40% of our investment in clean energy to its disadvantaged communities. so they can benefit from the new jobs that are available and see that better future. president biden's order

establishes a working group on coal and power communities. we have to make sure in this transition, every agency in government is using every tool at their disposal to drive resources to those communities. and it fulfills long-standing commitments to leverage and vast resources to contribute to our clean energy future. it places a pause and review on new oil and gas leases on federal public lands and waters consistent with a promise president biden has repeatedly made and has been very clear in the face of efforts to distort his promise. and it sets a goal of doubling offshore wind production by 2030. in addition, he plans to sign a presidential memorandum that aims to restore scientific integrity across the federal government and earn back the public's trust. making a commitment to base

solutions on the best available science and data. so, today is a very big day for science and for our efforts to power our economy with good paying union jobs. thank you very much. good afternoon, everybody. it's great to be here. let me say, first of all, what a pleasure it is to be here with gina. i'm a big fan of gina. gina and i worked very, very closely together during the campaign when we sat down to to bring the bernie sanders folks together around the biden climate plan. and she is the perfect person to be tackling the domestic side of this equation, which is complicated. and nobody knows the details better than she does. and nobody is going to be more

effective at corralling everybody to move in the same direction. it's also an enormous pleasure for me to be here with jen psaki. she mentioned -- nobody was her boss, but i had the privilege of working with her. and she, seven years ago, we gathered in the state department briefing room, she's traded up, obviously. but she has not given away any of her fundamental principles and commitment to telling you all the truth, telling the american people the truth and doing so with great candor and transparency. and i'm very happy to be here with her. the stakes -- the stakes on climate change just simply couldn't be any higher than they are right now. it is existential. we use that word too easily, we throw it away. but we have a big agenda in front of us on a global basis.

and president biden is deeply committed, totally seized by this issue, as you can tell by the executive order and by the other initiative of getting back into paris immediately. that's why he rejoined the paris agreement so quickly, because he knows it is urgent. he also knows that paris alone is not enough. not when almost 90% of all of the planet's emissions, global emissions, come from outside of u.s. borders. we could go to zero tomorrow and the problem isn't solved. so that's why today, one week into the job, president biden will sign this additional executive set of orders to help move us down the road ensuring that ambitious climate action is global in scope and scale, as well as national here at home. today, in the order that he will sign, that gina has described to

you, he makes climate central to foreign policy planning, to diplomacy. and to national security preparedness. it creates new platforms to coordinate plan of action across the federal agencies and departments sorely needed. and most importantly, it commissions a national intelligence estimate on the security implications of climate change to give all of us an even deeper understanding of the challenge. this is the first time a president has ever done that. and our 17 intelligence agencies are going to come together and assess exactly what the danger and damage and potential risks are. the order directs the state department to prepare a transmittal package seeking senate advice and consent on the amend on the montreal protocol. an amendment that by itself, if ratified and fully enforced

globally would hold the temperature 0.5 of an entire degree, not insignificant. and it sets forth a process for us to set forth a new ambitious paris target as well as as a u.s. finance plan. both of which are essential for us being able to bring countries of the world together and meet this moment when we go to glasgow or the follow-on agreement to paris. that's the only way for the world to succeed together, my friends. again, this is an issue where failure literally is not an option. as he committed to doing on the campaign trail, the president is announcing that he will host a leaders summit on climate change, less than three months from now. on april 22nd, earth day, which will include a leader-level reconvening of the major economies forum. we'll have specifics to lay out

over time. but the convening of this -- of this summit, is essential to ensuring that the -- that 2021 is going to be the year that really makes up for the lost time of the last four years. and that the u.n. climate conference cop 26 which it's called which the uk makes sure it's an incredible success. the road to glasgow will be marked not just by promises, but by progress, at a pace we can all be proud of. and gina is going to be putting her efforts into making concern that is true. the world will measure us by what we can do here at home. so with these executive actions today, we believe we're steps further down that journey. thank you. >> all right. let's start with nancy. >> thank you so much. secretary kerry, a question for you and then for administrator

mccarthy. you talked about the fact that it won't really matter what we do very much if the world doesn't do the same thing. but the u.s. has had a fairly rocky relationship with china recently. how do you plan to try to bring both china and india to the table on this? >> before i answer that, let me just say that the issue of making a difference, i.e., what we do at home, what i'm saying is, you can't solve a problem alone. but our doing things makes an enormous difference. where gina succeeds in pulling together is essential to our ability to have credibility in the world. now, with respect to china, obviously, we have serious differences with china. on some very, very important issues. and i am as mindful of that as anybody, having served as secretary of state and in the senate. the issues of theft of

intellectual property and access to market, south china sea, you run the list, we all know them. those issues will never be treated for anything that has to do with climate. that's not going to happen. but climate is a critical stand alone issue that we have to deal on in the sense that china is 30% of the emissions in the world. we're about 15% of the emissions in the world. you add the eu to that, you've got three entities that are more than 55% or so. so it's urgent that we find a way to compartmentalize, to move forward, and we'll wait and see. but president biden is very, very clear about the need to address the other issues with china. and i know some people have been concerned. nothing is going to be siphoned off into one area from another. >> and a question for either of you on coal. your executive order talks about

oil and gas on federal lands, but it doesn't really say much about coal. what is this administration's policy when it comes to coal? >> well, in terms of the oil and gas decision it was to make sure that we take a little pause and review the entire strategy of how we're looking at public lands. so it will include looking at what will new leases ought to be approved and sold. it's looking at our ability, also, to look at coal in that mix. so the program review is going to look at how we manage public lands consistent with climate. but also consistent with the marriage between climate and really growing jobs of the future. so, it will be in the mix to be looked at, but it is not at this point included. it was not part of the commitments on the campaign. but we're going to take a close look at all of it. and can i just add on your comment about china. which i'm not going to speak to the international dynamic, but i am going to say that part of the challenge that we face here is a

challenge that president biden has already started to address with his buy america pledge. we have to start, not just shifting to clean energy, but it has to be manufactured in the united states of america. you know, not in other countries. and there is going to be a large discussion about how we make sure that a lot of the investment is about building up our manufacturing base again. that's great jobs. that's often hopefully union jobs. but it is also a wonderful opportunity for us to recoup the benefits of that manufacturing. and lower the cost of clean energy. part of the way we're going to get there is by making sure the federal government buys american. and that the federal government looks at its procurement across every agency, so that the breadth of what we spend is spent designed to advance job growth in the united states. to advance health benefits for environmental justice

communities. and to begin to tackle the very challenged -- the existential challenge of climate change. >> jeff mason. >> jeff mason at reuters. question for both of you. can you give us a sense of when you expect to have the so-called ndc, or the u.s. target for providing greenhouse emissions as part of the paris accord? and can you also give us a sense of how ambitious you plan to make that number, will it be 40%, 50%, higher than that? >> united in this. >> yeah, i'm the dude who's supposed to deliver this in a timely way and who sets the timing. so that basically, we want to make sure that the ndc is something that can be announced before the summit on earth day. so, we're going to be out of the gate working with the agencies to see what kind of reductions and mitigation opportunities there are. and also, again, to look at our public lands to make sure that

we can continue to store carbon in our soil. to work with agriculture and others. to look at how we better manage our forests so we're not seeing the devastating forest fires that we've been having before. so all across the federal government, every agency, and you'll see many of them, specifically tasked in this executive order, will participate in the task force that we're going to have to actually develop the most aggressive ndc that we can to deliver the kind of boost that secretary kerry is looking for. to be able to ensure that our international efforts are robust and sufficient to address the challenge internationally. >> i think the follow-up for that, for secretary kerry, how do you assert to our international partners that the u.s. will stick to whatever you propose after having seen the trump administration take the u.s. out of the paris accord?

>> well, that's precisely why we're going to stick by it. i think our word is strong. i've been on the phone for the last few days, talking to our allies in europe, elsewhere around the world, and they are welcoming us back. they know that this administration already had a significant part of what has been brought us -- that will bring us to glasgow, which was the paris agreement. the obama/biden administration had great credibility on this issue. and having president biden be the person now who is driving this forward is seeenormously meaningful to the people there. they also know i was deeply involved in the negotiations in paris. and now asked by the president, by president biden, to make sure we do the same at glasgow, if not more. so, i had no one question our credibility at this point in time. someone probably will. and the answer will be that i

think we can achieve things in the course of the next four years that will move the marketplace, the private sector, global finance, innovation and research, that, in fact, no -- no one, no political person in the future will be able to undo what the planet is going to be organizing over the next months and years. this is the start of something new. i don't know if you read larry fink's letter at blackrock the other day, yesterday. but there's a new awareness among major asset managers, commerce banks and others about the need to be putting resources into this endeavor, because it is -- it is major investment demand. so, i think the proof will be in what we do, neither gina nor i are going to start, you know, throwing around a lot of big promises. but you heard what she just said

and we will work very closely. because we're going to try to bring to the table to help inform her and folks she's working with what we're picking up abroad. and what people are doing abroad. and the steps they're taking. and how we now have to measure ourselves against them. and they will measure themselves against us. we are well aware of that. >> i just want to call attention to the fact that cities and states have really picked up the initiative to move forward on clean energy. because the solutions are cheap. the solutions compete effectively against fossil fuels. we are talking about solutions that we're not asking anybody to sacrifice, but act through their advantage. and if you look at the record over the past four years, while the prior administration might have wanted clean energy to head in a different direction, it's gone faster and farther than anyone ever expected. and the idea that we could, with this new work that we're doing together, send signals to the

marketplace through our purchasing at the federal level. and are we looking at different ways of having on the ground change, we can build that demand. we actually grow significantly millions of clean energy jobs. and all of a sudden, the question won't be whether the private sector is going to buy into it. the private sector is going to drive it. so, this is going to be a signal setter. the way the federal government ought to set, on what our values are. what we think the future needs to be. and that's -- it's -- this is a value-laden effort that president biden has undertaken. with full knowledge that is going to benefit jobs. is going to benefit our health. and is going to lead to that future we want to hand to our children. >> two in the back. then we'll come back in the front. >> mr. secretary, if you would, there certainly are oil and gas

industry workers who are watching people right now who will hear the message, that's the takeaway to them is that they're seeing an end to their livelihoods. what do you say to them, particularly, those people who president trump struck a chord with on the campaign trail, when he promised to save their jobs? what is your message to them right now? and also to the oil industry executives who are listening today are you putting them on notice today? >> well, we didn't come here to put anybody on notice except to the seriousness of president biden's attempt to what needs to be done to deal with this crisis. and it is a crisis. with respect to those workers, no two people are more, in this room, more concerned about it and the president of the united states has expressed in every comment he's made about climate, the need to grow the new jobs that pay better, that are cleaner. i mean, you look at their

consequences of black lung for a miner, and measure that the fastest growing job before covid was solar-powered technician. the same people can do those jobs but the choice of doing the solar powered one is a better joyc job, and similarly, the second fastest growing job is wind turbine technician. this is happening, 70% of all electricity that's come online in the united states in the last few years came from renewables, not -- you know, coal plants have been closing over the last 20 years. so what president biden wants to do is make sure those folks have better choices. that they have alternatives. they can be the people who go to work to make the solar panels. they were making them here at home. that is going to be a particular focus of the build back better

agenda. and i think that, unfortunately, workers have been fed a false narrative, no surprise, right, for the last few years. they've been fed the notion that somehow dealing with climate is coming at their expense. no it's not. what's happening to them is happening because other market forces are already taking place. and what the fiancees, the big banks, the asset managers, private ventures, asset capitals are discovering there's a lot of money to be made in these jobs in these sectors. so whether it's green hydrogen, that's going to come. whether it's geothermal heat, whatever it's going to be, those are jobs. the same worker who works in south carolina today putting together a bmw which happens to be made there, and is currently

an internal combustion can put together a car. quality of live will be better when gina has put her team together that produces choices for us that are healthier. less cancer. cleaner air. the greatest -- the greatest cost to america, the greatest cause of-mile-an-hour being hospitalized every summer in the united states, we spent $55 million a year on it is environmental induced asthma. that will change, as we begin to rein in what we used to call pollution in this country, because it is pollution. and i think that workers are going to see that with the efforts of the biden administration, they're going to have much better set of choices and, frankly, it will create more jobs than stuck where we were. >> can i just add by pointing out a couple of things in the executive order that i want you to just call to your attention.

we talked about the civilian conservation corps. that is an opportunity to put younger people into work and vitally important efforts. but if you look at this, it also has set up a task force that is looking at these co-communities, communities that are really reliant on their local energy and utility. and it talks about how do we revitalize those economies. and it talks about how we can put people to work, using the skills they currently have, where they are. to start looking at those old abandoned oil and gas wells. that are spewing out methane. or all of the coal mines that haven't been properly closed that are doing the same. that has great impact on climate, but also will keep an opportunity for those individual workers to have work in their own communities. we're not going to ask people to go from the middle of ohio, or

pennsylvania and ship out to the coast to have solar jobs. you know, solar jobs will be everywhere. but we need to put people to work in their own communities. that's where their home is. that's where their vision is. so we're createtively looking f those opportunities for investment so we can get people understanding that we are not trying to take away jobs. remember, when we say climate change, eventually, people are going to think jobs just blike president biden when he hears the words climate change. we'll do everything we can to recognize that revitalization is necessary in these communities to find creative ways to put them to work. and then we're going to do as secretary kerry says and start investing in new technologies and new manufacturing. and that includes the large manufacturing like cement and steel. that's work that we should be doing here. that's work that inevita