By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The White House will launch a task force Tuesday to encourage the use of materials that have lower lifecycle emissions in order to accelerate U.S. government purchase of greener products.

After President Joe Biden stated in December that his government buys more than $650 million of goods each year, the move is to lower its greenhouse gas emissions by 65% before 2030. This would put the government on track to net zero emission by 2050.

A White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy official said that the Council on Environmental Quality has created the multi-agency “Buy Clean Task Force”, which will help to “create markets” for low-carbon materials.

The report will suggest ways to increase federal purchasing of clean building materials. It also can identify pollutants and materials such as concrete and steel that should be prioritized for federal government purchase considerations.

C02 from global construction is significant. According to the International Energy Agency, cement production accounted for 7 percent of the global CO2 emissions in 2019.

On Tuesday, the General Services Administration will send information requests to government landlords. These will be focused on concrete, asphalt, and national low-carbon standards that it creates for Land Port of Entry projects.

Additionally, the Transportation Department will announce new initiatives to encourage low-carbon materials use in federal projects.

In his December executive order https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/12/08/executive-order-on-catalyzing-clean-energy-industries-and-jobs-through-federal-sustainability, Biden said the government, as the nation’s “single largest land owner, energy consumer and employer,” can transform “how we build, buy and manage electricity, vehicles, buildings and other operations to be clean and sustainable.”

In 2035, he also plans to eliminate government purchase of gasoline-powered vehicles. Federal government plans to use electricity exclusively from clean and non-polluting sources by 2030.

The White House requested that the U.S. The White House urged the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), this month, to reconsider its plan to purchase a multibillion dollar fleet of mostly gasoline-powered delivery cars.

According to the agency, it doesn’t plan on buying significantly more EVs without funding from the government.