Biden marks Earth Day with order protecting ancient US forests

US president's ambitions for environmental protection have been stalled by lack of support in Congress

Everglades National Park, Florida, the largest wetlands in the US, will receive a federal investment of $1. 1billion to protect the region against the effects of climate change, the White House said in January. AFP

A turkey vulture in Everglades National Park. Global warming is threatening a subtropical wilderness that is home to more than 2,000 species of animals and plants. AFP

A motorcyclist navigates the Linn Cove Viaduct at Grandfather Mountain along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. AP

Bar Harbor Maine Near Acadia National Park. Getty Images

California's Yosemite National Park is one of the oldest and most-photographed national parks in the US. Getty Images

Yosemite National Park in California. Getty Images / AFP

The El Portal Fire in 2014 charred more than 1,214 hectares of California's Yosemite National Park. EPA

Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park in California. Photo: National Geographic / Jimmy Chin

Wildfires burning in the US in 2018 spoilt plans for countless outdoor adventures. AP

Yosemite Valley with the Merced River in the foreground. Getty Images

The eye-boggling rock formations of Zion National Park in Utah. Alamy Stock Photo

Dry Tortugas National Park lies off Florida's Key West. Photo: Wikimedia / Lindsey C Straub

Delicate Arch is a popular photo op at Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. AP

Long's Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park, seen from Boulder, Colorado. Reuters

US President Joe Biden on Friday commemorated Earth Day by signing an executive order to boost protections for America's ancient forests, which are seen as key buffers in the fight against climate change.

The order will help to conserve old-growth forest which "do so much to protect us", Mr Biden said in remarks at Seward Park in Seattle, Washington.

Mr Biden has campaigned heavily for environmental protections and US leadership in the response to global warming, but has regularly run up against lack of support in Congress.

His executive order, signed in the heavily wooded Washington state, will recognise the importance of America's old-growth forests in regulating climate change — but also their vulnerability in an era of ever more intense wildfires.

"Scientists estimate that the protection and restoration of our natural lands and waters can provide more than 1/3 of the solution to climate change," Mr Biden said.

The president recounted times he had viewed wildfires in Oregon, Idaho and California when he viewed the states last year.

"It's absolutely devastating," he said.

The order will require officials overseeing federal lands to inventory mature forests within a year and to identify threats to the trees including wildfires and climate change.

Forests absorb carbon dioxide equivalent to more than 10 per cent of annual greenhouse gasses in the US, the White House said in a statement ahead of the announcement and that old-growth forests serve as "critical carbon sinks".

Mr Biden added: "You know, our forests, our planet's lungs."

The president said he would also start the process of making every US military vehicle climate-friendly.

President Joe Biden is taking steps to restore national forests that have been devastated by wildfires, drought and blight, using an Earth Day visit to Seattle to sign an executive order protecting some of the nation's largest and oldest trees. AP

Throughout his presidency, Mr Biden has set ambitious environmental goals and he quickly reversed his Republican predecessor Donald Trump's move to pull the US from the Paris climate accords.

Climate change was one of the most pertinent issues Mr Biden campaigned on, but a highly divisive Congress and in-party fighting has stalled any meaningful legislation he had hoped to pass. Instead the president has had to turn to executive orders - which do not require congressional authorisation.

On Tuesday, the Biden administration said it was restoring safeguards weakened by Mr Trump, including a requirement for assessing climate impacts from infrastructure projects.

This will play a key role in the wave of public works set to unroll across the country under the White House's successfully passed $1 trillion infrastructure spending bill.

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Agencies contributed to this report