President Trump’s first week in office was included A flurry of executive orders With implications for Earth’s climate and atmosphere.
While former President Joe Biden made climate change a hallmark of his administration and some of his policies remain, at least for now, Trump is quick to debunk it.
Experts say Trump’s moves to withdraw from global climate action, boost domestic oil and gas production and remove incentives for electric vehicles are worrisome as the planet continues to warm. 2024 was Earth’s hottest year on recordand climate scientists say rising temperatures are contributing to extreme weather affecting millions.
“These orders will make our wind stronger, make people sicker, make energy more expensive, and make our communities less prepared for extreme weather.” Think tank Urban Ocean Lab.
Pump jacks work in the foreground as the Buckeye Wind Energy wind farm rises in the distance, near Hayes, Mine, September 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
Here are some of Trump’s notable actions that affect climate and environmental issues in his first week in office.
Pulling the US out of the Paris Agreement
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that directs the United States Withdraw from the Paris climate agreement once again The goal of global cooperation on climate change.
The agreement requires participating countries to come up with nationally agreed contributions in an effort to limit emissions of greenhouse gases that are warming the planet. Trump’s move means the federal government will not try to meet emissions reduction targets, nor any financial commitments from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
“Walking away from the Paris Agreement will not protect Americans from climate impacts, but it will give China and the EU a competitive edge in the booming clean energy economy and create fewer opportunities for American workers. ” CEO of the World Resources Institute.
Doubling oil and gas to declare a “national energy emergency.”
Trump declared Energy emergency by Executive order Amid the promise of “Drill, Baby, Drill” earlier this week.
The order calls for an expansion of oil and gas that includes federal uses of eminent domain and the Defense Production Act, which allows the government to use private land and resources to produce goods deemed national needs. Gets
Experts dispute his description of “inadequate energy supply” as part of the basis for the order.
“The reality is that the United States is well supplied with energy in all its forms,” said Gary Dark, senior director of the Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University. Darke said he believes the move is actually more targeted at lowering prices at the pump.
“It’s important to note that the United States is now the largest producer of oil of any nation in history. And we got to that point under the Biden administration, not because of the policies of the Biden administration, but because of the policies that It has been going on for four decades.
allowing for faster energy; Strong words for the Endangered Species Act and Arctic protections
A part of the order declaring energy emergency states that The Endangered Species Act cannot impede energy development.
The Endangered Species Act has been a barrier to fossil fuel development in the U.S. for decades, and weakening it would accelerate the decline and possible extinction of many endangered species, including whales and sea turtles. Group Oceana.
Trump Areas were also opened In antiquity Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to make holes. Biden had both before limited And Approved Drilling in other parts of the Arctic is part of a long process marred by litigation and complicated by political battles.
“I’ll start by saying that recently there have been attempts to lease oil wells and no one has bid,” Dark said. “I really don’t think the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge is an interesting place to explore for oil and gas.”
But he expressed concern about biodiversity conservation, something other scientists and environmental groups have highlighted.
“The Arctic is a very fragile system,” said Peter Schlosser, vice president and vice provost for Global Futures at Arizona State. Schlosser added that drilling there disturbs land and sea, and the lower temperatures make it more difficult to clean up potential contamination or oil spills.
A sign is shown at an electric vehicle charging station in London, Ohio on March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel, File)
Repeal Biden’s goals on electric vehicles
Trump Promised to finish What he falsely calls Biden’s “electric vehicle mandate.”
What this means in practice is that the order would nullify the non-binding goal set by Biden EVs make up half of new cars sold By 2030. He would likely repeal the 7,500 tax credit for new EV purchases approved by Congress as part of Biden. The landmark 2022 climate lawthe Inflation Reduction Act.
All of this is potentially frustrating for automakers, which have to make long-term decisions, said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at auto-buying research firm Edmonds. As the rest of the world moves toward electric cars, automakers must decide how to steer the industry in a global direction with a lack of federal support.
“We think the long-term end goal here is going to be electricity. It’s just the timeline that seems uncertain right now.
End a push for environmental justice
When governments evaluate new facilities that emit pollutants, officials no longer consider a concept known as environmental justice, or whether the new pollution will increase emissions that affect poor and minority communities. But tend to get heavier.
These moves clear up what Rina Payan, chief program officer of the nonprofit Outside Justice, calls “the rolling back of decades of progress in combating environmental discrimination.”
This means a greater burden for the state and local groups to fight to protect these communities. Trump’s decision to end support will hurt, but many of these organizations are used to operating without federal help—they have done so for years, according to Peggy Shepard, of the WE Act for Environmental Justice. According to the co-founder and executive director.
“The grief of these losses, and the fact that we’re here a week earlier, if you will, is the grief of both these losses,” said Jed Begay, an indigenous rights and climate organizer.
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Associated Press reporters Seth Borenstein, Patrick Whittle, Jennifer McDermott, Michael Fillis, Alexa St. John and Matthew Daley contributed to this report.
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Follow Melina Walling on X @melinawalling And Bluesky @melinawalling.bsky.social.
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