Apple supports a clean energy standard proposed by the Biden government that aims to eliminate greenhouse gases from power plants by 2035, said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president for environment, politics and social initiatives.
Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan met with Jackson at company headquarters Tuesday to discuss the proposed standard, Jackson told CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa.
“Apple has emerged as a vocal advocate of a clean energy standard, 100% clean power by 2035. We’d love to see that, ”said Jackson. “It would make everyone’s job easier if you could simply get clean energy the way you get all your energy needs today.”
The Clean Energy Standard – which aims to isolate the US electrical grid from fossil fuels – was originally part of Biden’s American Jobs Plan, but was removed from the version passed by the Senate earlier this month. However, it could still be part of a $ 3.5 trillion budget resolution that is being debated.
Apple has made sustainability a big part of its corporate brand, citing environmental concerns as the reason it stopped adding wall chargers to new iPhones. In 2018, Apple announced that its corporate and retail facilities around the world are running on clean energy. Last year, the company also said it is working with suppliers to use clean energy to make its phones and devices. Apple wants to be climate neutral by 2030.
“We are really proud of the fact that I believe we were the first company to advocate the clean energy standard that is part of this infrastructure bill,” said Jackson. She had previously announced Apple’s support for the clean energy standard at a conference in May.
A clean energy standard would mandate that some of US electricity be generated using renewable energy, forcing producers to move away from fossil fuels over time.
But the law has yet to be passed by the House of Representatives and signed by the President before it becomes law, and negotiations are ongoing. The White House has also said the infrastructure bill is only the first step, and other climate-related programs could end up in the $ 3.5 trillion budget proposal.
Jackson added that she expected to discuss the SEC’s mandatory disclosures on carbon emissions.
“We’re probably going to talk about the SEC disclosure and Apple’s belief that companies must be required to be transparent about their carbon footprint and actions, not to talk about it, if you don’t report it, you can’t change it,” said Jackson, who was previously an EPA administrator under former President Barack Obama.
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