Climate wire | President-elect Donald Trump’s attack on the Biden administration’s climate change agenda begins in three days.
It is still unclear how many will survive the first attack. However, President Trump has made it clear that a purge is imminent.
Trump could sign 50 to 100 executive orders on his first day in office, with many more in the coming weeks, said Stephen Moore, Trump’s senior economic adviser during his campaign. He said there is a possibility. He said his first goal is to rescind executive orders focused on climate change that President Joe Biden signed just days into his term.
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“A lot of what Biden has done is through executive orders on energy, so I expect a lot of it will be energy-focused,” Moore said. “So we’ll see a lot of companies lift things like EV mandates, some environmental regulations will be eased, and some funding for green energy programs will be lifted.”
Trump’s transition team did not respond to requests for comment.
An executive order can be as much a political message as an actual policy. Biden used a flurry of early executive orders to pivot the White House around tackling climate change, making revitalizing the clean energy industry and reducing carbon emissions his top priorities in office. It was made clear that it was one.
Although executive orders cannot change laws or regulations, President Trump is likely to try to do so anyway, said a senior climate change adviser in the Biden White House who drafted climate-related executive orders. said David Hayes, who was involved in its creation. He said some of Trump’s first executive orders overstepped legal authority and could quickly become mired in court.
“The president does not have the authority, under his mandate and authorized by Congress, to essentially ignore the legally mandated processes that typically accompany major changes in the direction of government agencies,” Hayes said.
Some of the upcoming executive orders will be legislative priorities for the Republican-controlled Congress. Particularly because Republicans have only a slim advantage in the House, some members may not survive in the various battleground states that make up President Trump’s new coalition.
One early point of tension is President Trump’s desire to repeal the entire anti-inflation law, a move opposed by oil companies and at least 18 House Republicans.
On his first day on the campaign trail, Trump vowed to be a “dictator” when it comes to oil and gas production. The executive order, which he will begin issuing next week, is the first step in that process, but is still largely “symbolic,” said Frank Maisano, senior principal at Bracewell College.
“Each of these environmental and energy executive orders will be symbolic in nature and agenda-setting,” Maisano said. “All of the details, details and processes need to be undertaken to implement them.” Ta.
Here are some of the orders expected to begin rolling out within hours of President Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
Eliminate White House climate change advisor
Russell Vought, President Trump’s pick to return as director of the Office of Management and Budget, was the architect of Project 2025, a 900-page conservative policy blueprint developed by the Heritage Foundation. Over the past four years, he has drafted hundreds of executive orders that Trump could issue on his first day in office.
One would eliminate the role of White House climate change advisor. Mr. Vought also proposes abolishing the White House Domestic Policy Council.
Instead, Vought’s plan, outlined in Project 2025, is to create a senior aide who will report directly to incoming Chief of Staff Susie Wiles to “lead the fight for sound energy and environmental policy at home and abroad.” Become.
He will focus on reducing climate and environmental regulations to help increase domestic oil and gas production with as few restrictions as possible. Their focus is to ensure that the White House helps meet the needs of the fossil fuel industry, by coordinating the efforts of the Council on Environmental Quality, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Security Council, and the National Economic Council. That’s going to happen. and the Domestic Policy Council.
Begins reversal of EPA power plant rules
Early executive orders could also signal when and how the new administration plans to undo key elements of Mr. Biden’s climate change regulatory regime, such as new EPA pollution limits on power plants.
Last year, Biden’s EPA finalized tough new standards for coal-fired power plants and new gas-fired power plants. The industry continues to challenge the rules. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard oral arguments in the case in December but has not yet issued a ruling.
President Trump’s early directives highlight how quickly the Trump administration will repeal and replace these standards, which rely on carbon capture and storage technologies that the fossil fuel industry says are not ready for prime time. may provide clues as to what is going on.
Methane regulation revision or rollback
The executive order could also signal changes to EPA rules to curb heat-trapping methane leaking from new and existing oil and gas facilities. The EPA released a standard last year that some industry groups support, but still wants to adjust. Another target is a related Department of the Interior action that tightens restrictions on burning gas on federal land.
The oil industry is generally not enthusiastic about Congress-mandated fees on excess methane that go into effect in March, based on last year’s emissions. In its recent “Roadmap” for Trump’s second term, the American Petroleum Institute said the EPA’s rate plans “misunderstand Congress’s intent and do more than increase the cost of producing American oil and gas.” “I have done very little.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced a bill Tuesday to repeal the levy. President Trump may strengthen those efforts by mentioning them in an executive order.
The EPA under the Trump administration is also likely to revise Biden-era tweaks to greenhouse gas reporting rules for oil and gas.
Eligible electric vehicles
President Trump vowed to end the electric vehicle “mandate” on his first day in office, and while there is no actual mandate, the EPA’s latest vehicle regulations aimed at promoting the use of electric vehicles will be targeted. There is a possibility that the government will issue an executive order indicating its intention to do so. cars and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
He also could violate California’s longstanding authority under the Clean Air Act to create its own regulations for car and truck emissions. California’s Advanced Clean Cars II plan, which has been adopted by 11 other states and the District of Columbia, would phase out most gasoline-powered vehicles by the mid-2030s.
“Energy was on the ballot in the last election,” American Petroleum Institute President Mike Somers told reporters on a conference call this week. “And I think the EV policy and the policies that the Biden administration is pushing have been totally rejected by American voters.”
Trump tried to address both of these priorities during his first term, but his efforts largely stalled. Since then, EVs have grown from a niche market to accounting for about 10% of new car sales. Although growth rates have slowed, automakers sold a record number of electric vehicle models in 2024.
Attempt to lower fuel efficiency standards
Republicans and the oil industry are fiercely opposed to the Department of Transportation’s decision to increase mileage requirements for cars and trucks, known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards.
President Trump tried to repeal the Obama administration’s cafe standards during his first term, and advocates are calling for the Biden administration’s standards, finalized in June, to do the same.
The rule would raise the overall vehicle average from about 47 miles per gallon in 2026 to 50.4 miles per gallon in 2031. Stephen Bradbury, President Trump’s nominee for deputy secretary of transportation, wrote that the standard is “pure fantasy” and is intended to promote electric vehicles.
The executive order could signal the beginning of an effort to roll back those rules.
Lifting suspension of new LNG export licenses
President Trump has long promised to immediately lift a moratorium on new LNG export licenses put in place by the Biden administration to conduct an economic and climate assessment. An analysis released last month found that “free” shipments of fuel would raise domestic prices.
President Trump is facing increasing pressure from industry executives to act. Questions over the role of U.S. natural gas exports to both China and U.S. allies figured prominently in confirmation hearings for several Cabinet nominees this week.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said he expects the Trump administration to work on lifting the moratorium on the first day.
“Frankly, this is another example of the Biden administration’s policies, which frankly appear to be very anti-energy,” he said at an event hosted by the American Petroleum Institute this week. “Making America more of a resource supplier makes the world safer and less dangerous, not just for America’s needs, but for our allies around the world.”
The United States has become the world’s largest LNG exporter under the Biden administration.
Withdrawing from the Paris Climate Change Agreement
President Trump is expected to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord for the second time.
The United States would then be among the few countries not party to the 2015 agreement. An announcement to leave Paris could be included as part of an executive order on day one. The Trump administration will then have to notify the United Nations in writing of its intention to withdraw, which will take one year to formally notify the United Nations.
The first U.S. withdrawal from the deal took months for President Trump to announce due to resistance from some aides and Cabinet members. But this time, the president has not thought through the value of preserving the deal, and none of his advisers or Cabinet nominees appear to have urged him to reconsider.
“Everyone supports leaving,” said Myron Ebel, who led President Trump’s EPA transition team in 2017 and was a supporter of leaving Paris. He argued that President Trump should submit it for Senate approval as a treaty, but that is unlikely, which would make the withdrawal more durable.
Legal experts and former officials say the U.S. negotiated the agreement in a way that would allow the president to enter into an executive agreement without requiring the advice or consent of the Senate, but given Republican opposition, this could not happen. states that it is difficult.
Withdrawing would mean the US would abandon all commitments it had made under the deal, including pledges to provide climate change aid to developing countries and the Biden administration’s latest pledge to cut emissions by up to 66% by 2035. means.
Limiting the development of wind power
President Trump slammed wind energy projects during a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago resort earlier this month, saying, “We’re going to have a policy where we don’t build wind turbines.”
These comments reinforced the perception that the next president will take steps to limit wind development, particularly projects built offshore in federal waters. But exactly what form that executive order will take remains a source of considerable speculation.
Many observers expect President Trump to halt new land and ocean leases for wind development and suspend reviews of projects currently under permit review. However, many projects in the permitting or leasing stage are likely to take several years to begin construction, reducing the practical impact of such an order.
The bigger question is whether President Trump will move forward with projects that have already been approved by the federal government and, in some cases, construction has already begun.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R.N.J.) told The Associated Press about an executive order suspending offshore wind projects along the East Coast for six months so the Interior Department can review permits issued to projects. He said he spoke with President Trump a month ago. .
Many onshore wind projects are built on private or federal land, so there is less risk, but President Trump could delay development on federal land.
Jean Chemnick, Mike Lee, Sara Schonhardt, and Benjamin Storrow contributed.
Reprinted from E&E News Published with permission of POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News provides news that matters to energy and environment professionals.