This story was originally Appears on Vox and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
During his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump used the sharp catchphrase for his energy policy: “Drill, baby, drill.”
The statement symbolizes where President Trump plans to focus his efforts in his second term. President Trump has promised America’s “energy dominance” and everything from “new pipelines” to “new refineries” to expand fossil fuel production.
This approach marks a clear shift from the Biden administration, where the U.S. has focused more on oil and gas production than attempting to transition to clean energy sources. In addition to calling for more fossil fuel production, President Trump has downplayed subsidies for clean energy investments and called for “eliminating” funds earmarked for subsidies in the Inflation Control Act. His position ignores the role that fossil fuel burning has played in climate change and could do great damage to U.S. efforts to address the issue.
Several of his nominations are indicative of these goals. He chose oil industry executive Chris Wright, an evangelist for hydraulic fracturing, to be Secretary of Energy. During the campaign, he nominated North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who had ties to Trump and oil executives, to lead the Interior Department and be his “energy czar.” He also selected former Congressman Lee Zeldin, who has emphasized efforts to deregulate, to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
However, there are limits to what the government can control. President Trump may take notable steps to increase fossil fuel production, but the actual increase in oil and gas extraction will depend largely on economic conditions in the private sector and industry.
Still, President Trump has important policy tools he can use to promote fossil fuel production, although he faces some constraints. Wright, Burgum and Zeldin also signaled they are ready to implement the president-elect’s vision, including changes to drilling on public lands and faster permitting for oil and gas projects.
“President Trump and his energy team, Mr. Burgum, Mr. Wright and Mr. Zeldin, can go to great lengths to make expansion of production attractive and relatively easy,” said Professor of Environmental Policy at the University of Michigan. Barry Raab told Vox.
How can President Trump increase fossil fuel production?
President Trump has two important tools available to him to increase fossil fuel production. One is that more public lands and waters can be opened up for exploration, development, and mining. Second, it can ease the regulatory processes that govern fossil fuel initiatives.
President Trump could further expand oil and gas leases on public lands
As president, Mr. Trump will oversee the Department of the Interior, which includes the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, both of which manage large portions of the nation’s public lands and waters. He will also oversee the Agriculture Department, which includes the Forest Service, another agency that oversees some public lands.
The Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and Forest Service are the three main organizations that issue oil and gas leases in public spaces. These leases effectively allow fossil fuel companies to lease parcels of public land from the federal government and extract resources from these areas. Once land is designated as available for lease, the lease is typically auctioned to the highest bidder.
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