Trump’s Transition Team Prepares for Climate Agreement Exit and Energy Expansion

Donald Trump’s transition team is reportedly preparing to set forth a series of executive orders and proclamations focused on U.S. energy production and environmental policy. Key actions include withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord and expanding opportunities for oil, gas, and mining on public lands in the western United States.

According to reports, Trump’s transition team on energy and the environment includes former Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Andrew Wheeler. During his first term, Trump exited the Paris climate agreement, citing concerns that the accord’s voluntary Pollution targets imposed stricter standards on the U.S. than other nations. President Biden rejoined the agreement early in his term, but Trump, who frequently criticized the agreement on the campaign trail, has pledged to re-withdraw upon taking office.

The president-elect’s team is also reportedly prepared to alter the protected boundaries of Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. Trump significantly reduced the monuments’ protected land area during his previous term after they were expanded by the Obama administration. He argued that the expansion amounted to “a massive federal land grab” and that reducing their size restored power to the states. President Biden reversed this move in 2021, expanding the protected boundaries once again.

Trump has further committed to ending the current permit restrictions on new natural gas export facilities, along with waivers allowing certain states to impose stricter Pollution controls than those set federally. His campaign promises also include a 50% reduction in energy and electricity costs within his first year by intensifying domestic fossil fuel production.

Additional executive actions being considered involve ending federal Support for “Environmental justice” initiatives, a Biden administration effort aimed at protecting low-income communities disproportionately impacted by Pollution and Climate change. Trump’s team has also reportedly suggested relocating the EPA and its workforce outside Washington, D.C., as well as appointing an “energy czar” to streamline initiatives promoting traditional energy sources.

On his first day in office, Trump pledged to initiate policies supporting the growth of the U.S. energy industry, vowing to promote “Drill, baby, drill.”

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