Biden administration unveils plan to spur carbon cuts in heavy industries

The Biden administration unveiled new plans Tuesday morning aimed at cutting emissions from heavy industries with new funding in the bipartisan infrastructure law and executive powers.

Why it matters: Climate solutions for electricity and transportation probably get more attention. But the path to deeply decarbonizing the U.S. economy also goes through industries like chemicals, metals and cement that often lack tools available at commercial scale.

Driving the news: The list of new efforts includes ...

• Energy Department requests for information on how to use $9.5 billion for development and deployment of clean hydrogen.
• Launch of a White House-led Buy Clean Task Force aimed at leveraging the government's huge purchasing needs to support cleaner forms of steel, cement and other construction materials.
• Formal guidance, from the White House Council on Environmental Quality, on the deployment carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies.

What they're saying: "Without new policy, the [industrial] sector is on track to become the highest emitting sector of the U.S. economy within this decade," a senior administration official told reporters Monday.