Biden energy secretary doubles down on electrifying US military's vehicle fleet by 2030: 'We can get there'
Last April, Biden said his administration is working to make 'every vehicle' in the U.S. military 'climate-friendly'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Wednesday that she supports efforts from the Biden administration to require the U.S. military to implement an all-electric vehicle fleet by 2030, telling lawmakers that she believes "we can get there."
Granholm's remarks came during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing following questions from Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who asked the Biden administration official whether she supports the military's adoption of an "EV fleet by 2030."
"I do, and I think we can get there, as well," Granholm said. "I do think that reducing our reliance on the volatility of globally traded fossil fuels where we know that global events like the war in Ukraine can jack up prices for people back home… does not contribute to energy security."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I think energy security is achieved when we have homegrown, clean energy that is abundant like you see in Iowa," Granholm added. "We think we can be a leader globally in how we have become energy independent."
BIDEN SAYS US SPENDING BILLIONS TO MAKE MILITARY VEHICLES 'CLIMATE FRIENDLY'
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Wednesday during a Senate Armed Services committee hearing that she supports Biden administration efforts to require the U.S. military to implement an all-electric vehicle fleet by the year 2030. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
A fleet of electric vehicles for the military — which Ernst referred to as an "expensive, unreliable product" — will reportedly cost billions of dollars.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Granholm's comments come amid a push from those at the top to put forth green energy solutions during a time of uncertainty and foreign conflict, such as Russia's war with Ukraine and the ongoing tension between China and Taiwan.
Earlier this month, President Biden signed an executive order "further embedding environmental justice into the work of federal agencies to achieve real, measurable progress that communities can count on."
Titled "Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All," Biden's order, according to the White House, makes it "clear that the pursuit of environmental justice is a duty of all executive branch agencies and should be incorporated into their missions."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Biden administration also announced the same day the order was signed that it had published the first-ever "Environmental Justice Scorecard," which was described by the White House as "the first government-wide assessment of federal agencies’ efforts to advance environmental justice."
US ARMY GOES GREEN, ANNOUNCING NEW CLIMATE STRATEGY
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and White House national climate adviser Ali Zaidi test drive a Chevy Bolt EUV all electric vehicle during a visit to the Washington Auto Show in Washington on Jan. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
The administration's efforts are already being carried out by the Department of Defense, according to the agency's online scorecard. The scorecard revealed the agency has "at least 640 staff that work on environmental justice, either in a full- or part-time capacity."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Additionally, Biden announced in February a new set of standards that were said by the White House to be "aimed at creating a convenient, reliable and Made-in-America electric vehicle (EV) charging network so that the great American road trip can be electrified."
While delivering Earth Day remarks from Seward Park in Seattle, Washington, Biden said last April his administration is working to make "every vehicle" in the United States military "climate-friendly."
"One of the things I found out as President of the United States, I get to spend a lot of that money," Biden said at the time. "We’re going to start the process where every vehicle in the United States military, every vehicle, is going to be climate-friendly — every vehicle — I mean it."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He added: "We’re spending billions of dollars to do it."
U.S. Army soldiers sit inside a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle during military drills of Polish and NATO soldiers near the Vistula Spit canal, near Krynica Morska, northern Poland on April 17, 2023. (WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
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Last February, the Army unveiled a plan to tackle issues surrounding climate change, including the establishment of an electric vehicle fleet, as well as the reduction of the branch's greenhouse gas emissions.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The plan, titled "Climate Strategy," calls for the service to cut its emissions by 50% by 2030 from 2005 levels and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Additionally, the strategy aims to establish an "all-electric light-duty non-tactical vehicle fleet by 2027" and an "all-electric non-tactical vehicle fleet by 2035."
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this article.