President Trump is moving to restructure the country’s energy future to prevent any shift away from fossil fuels. He is testing the limits of presidential power to do so.
The orders Trump signed Monday will make it easier and cheaper for companies to produce oil and gas and for the government to stop clean energy projects that have been approved.
While some actions fall within its jurisdiction, others may violate federal law or conflict with judicial decisions. Among others, Mr. Trump Raised the possibility of the opposite EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases, which was Confirmed by the Supreme CourtHe proposed defunding electric vehicle charging stations already authorized by Congress.
“Congress has approved historic investments in infrastructure and climate, and now President Trump is trying to illegally withhold that money from American businesses, communities and workers,” New Jersey Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone said.
These movements also underscore the underlying tension. Mr. Trump declared that the United States faces an energy emergency, but it wants to Blocking thousands of megawatts of planned wind energy projects Which can supply energy to homes and businesses. He talks about boosting American manufacturing but plans to withdraw help from the electric car industry, which has invested billions of dollars in new factories across the United States.
The phrase “energy emergency” is a pretext for initiatives hostile to the energy transition that is already underway, to halt the progress that has been made in the production of solar energy, wind energy, electric vehicles, batteries and renewable energy. Robert N. said: Stavins, director of the Environmental Economics Program at Harvard University:
Experts said that by any economic measure, the United States is not facing an energy emergency. America is the largest producer of oil and natural gas in the world, and the price of oil, which amounts to about $76 per barrel, is approximately equivalent to the average cost over the past twenty years, after adjusting for inflation. The cost of gasoline, which is about $3.13 per gallon, has fallen about 3 percent over the past 12 months.
But Dr Stavins added: “If there is indeed an energy emergency, the right thing to do is to increase supplies of all forms of energy, and try to use energy conservation initiatives” – such as stricter efficiency standards for vehicles and household appliances such as dishwashers and stoves – To reduce demand. Instead, Trump’s executive orders aim to relax those requirements so that appliances use more energy and cars burn more gasoline.
The oil and gas industry donated More than $75 million to Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign, and Mr. Trump in turn promised to tear up ecosystems to cut their costs and increase their margins. He pledged to give them unrestricted access to American lands and waters. At a fundraising dinner in the spring, Trump told oil and gas executives that they should donate $1 billion to his campaign, and said they would get back more than that through lower taxes, lower costs, and increased profits.
“There is a growing sense of confidence that the costs of doing business are not going to go up,” said Steve Pruitt, CEO of Elevation Resources LLC, an oil and gas producer in West Texas.
Although some executives are concerned about increased drilling It could lead to an oil glut This can lead to lower prices and profits, and most do not want to be restricted in terms of where they can explore and mine. Many do not want to see wind, solar and electric cars boom in a way that would reduce demand for fossil fuels.
“This is a new day for American energy, and we applaud President Trump for moving quickly to chart a new course where American oil and natural gas are embraced, not restricted,” said Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, an industry institute. Trade group.
While former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. made combating climate change a priority and worked to steer the United States away from fossil fuels, the burning of which warms the planet, Mr. Trump is determined to make a sharp turn.
Its definition of energy is almost entirely limited to fossil fuels, although it excludes hydroelectricity, geothermal energy, and nuclear energy. One executive order said so The phrase “energy resources” It is defined as “crude oil, natural gas, leased condensate, natural gas liquids, refined petroleum products, uranium, coal, biofuels, geothermal heat, kinetic action of flowing water, and biominerals.”
No mention was made of solar panels, wind turbines or battery storage, three of the fastest-growing sources of electric power in the United States.
Chris Wright, the fracking executive who was chosen by Mr. Trump to lead the Energy Department, summed up the position of many Republicans. When he said in 2023“There is no climate crisis, and we are not in the middle of an energy transition either.”
Under pressure from Democrats at his Senate confirmation hearing last week, Mr. Wright made clear he believed climate change was “a global challenge we need to solve.” He told lawmakers that he supports all forms of energy, including renewable sources, but that fossil fuels will continue to dominate energy systems for some time.
However, experts point out that worldwide renewable energy and electric vehicles are increasingly playing an essential role in the global economy.
In the United States last year, solar panels and wind turbines Produced more electricity of coal-fired power stations in the country for the first time ever. in china, Sales of new electric cars have surpassed sales of new gasoline-powered cars. In California, nearly 25% of new cars sold are now electric.
Stephen A. said: “The transformation has already begun,” says Cohen, director of Columbia University’s master’s degree program in sustainability management. “We’re seeing more than just the beginnings, lots and lots of movement in the renewable energy direction around the world.”
Dr. Cohen said that the new Trump administration’s efforts to stop this phenomenon “are a symbolic policy.” That might slow it down over Mr. Trump’s four years in office, he added, “but in the long run, it’s not going to stop it.”
However, renewable energy companies have expressed concern about short-term disruptions and sought to present themselves as the answer to Trump’s call to lower energy costs.
“Freezing investment in the technologies we need to power our grid and vehicles threatens our ability to reduce costs, create energy abundance, and win the race for global energy dominance,” said Heather O’Neill, president of Advanced Energy United, a leading energy company. A trade group whose members include wind, solar and battery companies.
The president ordered that federal agencies stop spending money Congress approved when it passed the bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which together pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into clean energy and electric vehicles. The order appears aimed at preventing the government from distributing funds to manufacturers of electric cars, wind turbines, solar panels and other clean energy sources, even if grants or loans have already been approved and binding contracts have been signed.
“Ultimately, the federal government made a legal agreement with these beneficiaries,” said Zylan Hoover, who managed implementation of the EPA’s EPA programs under the Biden administration. “The executive order does not give the agency magical power to ignore properly enforced laws and regulations.”
Another executive order Raises possibility Canceling or amending offshore wind energy leases after companies have already received them. Before terminating or modifying existing wind energy leases, the Trump administration will review existing permits to see if there are any environmental reasons to revoke them.
Mr. Trump’s order “explicitly states that the administration may terminate or modify existing wind energy leases, and we believe there may be sufficient authority to do so,” said Timothy Fox, managing director at ClearView Energy Partners, a consulting firm.
But experts said other directives were vulnerable to legal challenges.
For example, by declaring a national energy emergency, Mr. Trump is claiming the authority to override environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act in order to speed up approvals for drilling, mining, pipelines, or other oil, gas, or coal facilities.
The law defines an emergency as an imminent threat to life and property, said Patrick Parenteau, professor emeritus of environmental law at Vermont Law School.
“These emergency provisions are for disasters like what’s happening in Palisades,” Mr. Parenteau said, referring to the fires raging in Los Angeles. “It’s not for ’cause I want to dig, baby, dig,’” he said.
The success of Trump’s actions could depend on the federal courts, where hundreds of Trump-appointed judges could hear cases.
“Litigation is guaranteed,” said Judy Freeman, director of the Environmental and Energy Law Program at Harvard Law School. A former White House official during the Obama era. But she added that the Trump administration “may say, ‘We’re willing to roll the dice.'”
Mr. Trump also directed federal agencies to eliminate the “social cost of carbon,” a little-known but powerful metric the government uses to defend the cost of environmental regulations. It points to the economic damage caused by drought, floods, fires and other events exacerbated by climate change.
The Biden administration has calculated the cost at $190 per ton of carbon dioxide It used this figure to defend the cost to industry of reducing carbon dioxide from exhaust stacks and smokestacks. The executive order signed by President Trump on Monday said the account was “characterized by logical deficiencies, a weak basis in empirical science, politicking, and an absence of a legislative basis.”
Richard ReevesHe, who helped determine the cost under the Biden administration, said the executive order doesn’t make sense. “Literally, nothing in this paragraph makes any sense at all,” he said, adding that the calculations were based on work William NordhausEconomist Which developed The concept of the social cost of carbon.
“How can you describe reliance on the work of a Nobel Prize winner as having a weak foundation in experimental science?” Mr. Reeves said.
Abigail Dehlen, president of the environmental group Earthjustice, called Trump’s executive orders “far from reality” for a president who wants the United States to dominate the future.
“Maybe the biggest race in the future will be who will control clean energy,” Ms. Dehlen said. “Even if you want to see more drilling, if you’re in the majority of Americans, you also want to see clean energy moving forward.”
Rebecca F. Eliot Contributed to reports.
