Within weeks, President Trump has seriously damaged the government's ability to combat climate change and overturned American environmental policies any moves that could have lasting impact on America and the planet.
With a large number of actions that have pushed the limits of presidential power, Trump has repeatedly pushed the fossil fuel industry by repeatedly regulating the federal government's climate efforts and limiting pollution.
He has abandoned efforts to reduce global warming, despite the fact that scientists have reached record levels of heat that is said to be driven primarily by the burning of fossil fuels. Every corner of the world is experiencing the effects of these rising temperatures in the form of deadly hurricanes, floods, wildfires, droughts and species extinction.
In such a short time, to achieve a wholesale overhaul of such a country's climate policy, the Trump administration has destroyed federal subsidies, fired workers on a massive scale, and attacked long-standing environmental regulations.
While every new president has its own agenda, the speed and scale of Trump's efforts to eradicate climate policy are unprecedented. “This isn't the sort of imposing tennis match that's the administration's usual switchover,” said Abigail Dillen, president of Earth Justice at the Environmental Law Firm. “This is full of fight clubs.”
The Trump administration's moves were simultaneously unfolding across vast governments, affecting federal, state and local agencies, and struck government-funded projects across Africa, Antarctica and around the world. On inauguration day, Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Agreement and became the only country to leave.
Trump has frozen funds allocated by Congress for clean energy projects, and is particularly aiming to be wind energy, the country's largest renewable source. He has halted approvals for wind farms in public and federal waters and threatened to block projects on private land.
He fired thousands of federal workers, dismantled programs aimed at supporting polluted communities, and rubbed references to climate change from many federal websites.
He launched a multifaceted attack with regulations designed to curb pollution, quickly sweeping several rules to the side, avoiding the usually lengthy rulemaking process. At the same time, Trump has declared an energy emergency, empowering him to quickly track the construction of oil and gas projects, spurring supply and fossil fuel demand.
“We want to train, train, train and do everything we wanted,” Trump said hours after being sworn in his second term.
The United States has produced more oil than any other country in its history and is also the world's largest exporter of natural gas. The fossil fuel industry has donated more than $75 million to Trump's presidential campaign, and Trump has pledged to weaken environmental regulations in ways that cut costs and increase margins.
The president repeatedly laughed at climate change, criticised the regulations, saying more drilling would cut energy bills.
In some cases, administration actions have downplayed the law, institutions ignore court orders, freeze funds in legally binding contracts, and reinterpret regulations for purpose. In doing so, Trump broke many barriers built by officials during the Biden administration, whom he believed would slow or block him.
Congressional administrations and Republicans plan to use legislative operations by 2035 to quickly erase California's authority to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles in the state. But it would be much faster than trying to overturn California's ban through a standard process that requires months of public notice and comment.
Until last month, the US was expected to record significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade. But changes in the Trump administration pave the way for pollution that warms more planets, potentially slowing advances in cleaner technologies such as wind and solar energy.
“To empower America's great comeback, President Trump is unleashing American energy and eliminating new green fraud,” said White House spokesman Taylor Rogers. “The Energy and Environmental Protection Agency is working together to implement President Trump's first day enforcement action and to rescind Biden's radical climate policy, which curtails the US economy and abundant natural resources.”
Trump supporters are pleased with the boldness and scale of his attacks on climate and environmental regulations.
“They're doing everything I thought they would do, and they're doing other things I dreamed they might do,” said Myron Ebel, a conservative activist who led the EPA transition team during Trump's first term.
Much of Trump's moves could have lasting impacts on the country's ability to face climate change.
It may be difficult to restore the thousands of federal jobs currently excluded. Clean energy projects that relied on federal funds may not progress without the expected investment. A sudden halt in scientific research can create gaps in data collection that cannot be filled. And stripped environmental regulations may be difficult to revive.
Some of the administration's actions already face legal challenges.
Two federal judges have ordered the Trump administration to re-flow money after Trump ordered federal agencies to suspend billions of dollars in climate and energy grants approved by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the Bipartisan Inflation Act of 2021.
In early February, one judge, one of Rhode Island Federal Court judges John J. McConnell Jr., said the White House was ignoring his order by withholding funds. Some funds have begun to move, but many remain stagnant.
John Podesta, a senior climate advisor to the Biden administration, called much of the Trump administration's actions illegal. “We follow the law and they break the law,” Podesta said. “It remains to be seen whether they will be allowed to escape with that.”
Over the past few weeks, Trump has fired thousands of employees at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Interior, the Department of Energy, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the government's premiere of climate science. On Thursday, a federal judge said the orders that led to mass shootings were illegal.
Also, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin recommends that EPA administrator Lee Zeldin certify human health and welfare in 2009 at risk, according to three people familiar with the decision in a move that could have a widespread impact on government efforts to regulate industries. It would eliminate legal basis for government climate laws, such as limiting pollution from vehicles and power plants.
“We're talking about revoking 50 years of environmental regulations, accelerating the extinction crisis and putting American health at risk,” said Vengerty, executive director of the Sierra Club. “There's a lot of shocking news every day. People struggle to handle it all.”
Trump's goal of electric vehicles has lost much of the federal support he gained during the Biden administration.
Despite Elon Musk's central role in the Trump administration's cost-cutting efforts, Trump has directed Congress to eliminate federal subsidies for EVs, including tax credits for consumers that could undermine the sales of electric vehicle companies Tesla.
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy has signed an order to loosen fuel economy standards set by the Biden administration, designed to encourage carmakers to sell electric vehicles. And the administration moved to freeze the $5 billion that Congress approved for the construction of a national network of electric vehicle charging stations.
The administration is also trying to stop even states and cities from enacting their own climate policies.
Duffy recently denounced what was called a “mismanagement” on California's high-speed rail project and published a survey on how the state is spending $3.1 billion in federal grants.
The Department of Transportation then moved to revoke approval of New York City's crowd pricing program. This is a plan designed to cut traffic, raise funds for public transport and funds for curb emissions.
“The old paradigm is going to make all the efforts of the administration coming in and dismantling the policies of the old administration and then replacing them on their own,” Dillen said. “This is a very different strategy. You may not even bother replacing your policy because you don't care about complying with the law.”
Attempts to slow down the inflation reduction laws have already slowed the project. Jay Turner, a professor at Wellesley College who tracks investments related to the law, has found that at least $7.6 billion worth of major projects have been slowed over the past month as funds from the law are being held back and renewable energy companies are being tailored to a new reality.
“You've seen some real pullbacks,” he said. “The industry's established players are currently reassessing the market, reassessing how much capacity is currently needed, and we also see new entrants who suddenly can't see a path to making the project come to fruition.”
Much of the damage to the country's environmental regulatory devices can last long.
The EPA said it is seeking to win around $20 billion awarded to eight organizations under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to help lower greenhouse gas emissions in low-income communities. Federal prosecutors resigned after rejecting the Trump administration's request to freeze money, saying there is no sufficient evidence to do so.
The Energy Division has begun releasing grants for battery plant and electrical grid upgrades, but other projects are on hold. For example, a $500 million program to upgrade hydroelectric dams across the country remains frozen, with businesses wondering whether they will either stop construction or be refunded for work already underway.
On Wednesday, Trump said he believes EPA manager Zeldin will cut around 65% of his over 17,000 jobs. Mr. Zeldin later said, E.Pa. It can cut at least 65% of your budget and reduce your workforce.
The effective dissolution of the US International Development Agency led to the immediate termination of long-term projects in developing countries aimed at helping vulnerable countries adapt to the hotter planets.
And there may still be more drastic actions.
“There's a big change to come,” Turner said. “What we saw today was fast, but it's like the beginning of a much broader effort to dismantle the Biden administration's policies.”
