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WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 20: President Donald Trump signs a series of executive orders at the White House on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Jabin Botsford | The Washington Post | Getty Images
President Donald Trump has launched a massive offensive on energy in his first hours in office, issuing a series of executive orders to increase fossil fuel production and undo US climate change commitments.
It is not yet clear what impact Trump’s first actions will have on the energy industry. General directors of the company Exxon and Chevron said oil and gas production levels are based on market conditions and are unlikely to change significantly in response to Trump’s desire to “drill, baby, drill.” The US has been the world’s largest producer of oil and gas for many years. And some of Trump’s orders are likely to be challenged in court.
Still, the president made a clear policy statement that the U.S. is rejecting the Biden administration’s focus on combating climate change by transitioning to cleaner energy sources.
Instead, Trump is prioritizing fossil fuel projects to “establish the United States as the world’s energy leader for a long time to come.” Here are the main actions Trump has taken on energy.
Trump said a emergency situation in the countryarguing that the U.S. faces “volatilely insufficient and intermittent energy supplies and an increasingly unreliable grid” that threatens national security.
Demand for electricity is expected to grow in the coming years due to AI-enabled data centers and expanding domestic manufacturing. The largest U.S. grid operator, PJM Interconnection, is warning it could face power shortages as coal-fired plants retire faster than new capacity comes online.
Trump directed federal agencies to identify and use any legal emergency powers available to them to promote the extraction, transportation, processing and production of domestic energy sources. He also ordered agencies to use all available emergency authorities to fast-track new energy infrastructure projects.
Trump ordered the US to start withdrawing from Paris Climate Agreement. The landmark international treaty seeks to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Under the terms of the agreement, a country can withdraw from the agreement one year after notifying its intention to withdraw. But Trump’s executive order says the U.S. will consider it going into effect once the U.N. secretary general receives written notification.
Trump also abandoned the Biden administration’s ambitious goals for half of new car sales to be electric vehicles, for the electric grid to be free of carbon pollution and for the economy to have net zero emissions.
Trump issued an order to recall Biden ban on oil and gas production in most US coastal waters. It’s unclear whether Trump actually has the authority to do so, and the order is likely to face litigation. A federal court overturned a similar order by Trump during his first term that sought to overturn President Barack Obama’s decision to protect Arctic and Atlantic waters.
On Monday, Trump also issued an order to maximize production natural resources of Alaska. The order prioritizes the development of liquefied natural gas projects and directs the federal government to expedite permitting and leasing of energy projects in the state.
The president lifted the Biden administration’s pause on new LNG export facilities. Trump ordered the Energy Secretary to begin reviewing new LNG projects as soon as possible.
Trump has ordered all federal agencies to immediately suspend payments under the framework Law on reducing inflationthe Biden-era climate law, which provided financial support for clean energy.
The President specifically ordered to stop financing electric charging stations. He also ordered his administration to consider ending subsidies and other policies that favor electric vehicles.
Trump targeted wind energy in a separate order. The president has temporarily suspended new or extended leases for offshore and onshore wind power projects. It also halted the leasing of wind energy projects on the outer continental shelf.