When President-elect Donald Trump takes office in 2024, he is likely to reverse several of his predecessor Joe Biden’s green energy programs and initiatives.
During the campaign, Trump promised to end the Biden administration’s “war on energy” and “disastrous” energy policies.
“They annihilated your steel mills, decimated your coal jobs, assaulted your oil and gas jobs and sold off your manufacturing jobs to China and other foreign nations all over the world,” Trump claimed in reference to the present administration.
Trump appointed North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to lead his newly formed National Energy Council, and former Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), two pro-energy appointments who are expected to criticize key Biden programs. Here are five ways Trump might reverse many of them quickly:
- The Paris Climate Agreement.
The Paris Agreement, adopted during the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, is a legally binding pact signed by nearly 195 nations dedicated to worldwide climate cooperation.
Trump officially withdrew from the deal in 2020, but Biden reaffirmed the United States’ participation in the climate agreement upon taking office in 2021.
In June, the Trump team told Politico that if re-elected, the president-elect would support withdrawing the United States from the treaty for the second time.
- Electric vehicle mandate
In March, the EPA issued a final rule under the Clean Air Act to establish new pollution limits that will require up to two-thirds of new vehicles sold to be electric by 2032.
The new rules would apply to “light-duty vehicle manufacturers, independent commercial importers, alternative fuel converters, and medium-duty vehicle manufacturers and converters,” according to the EPA’s final rule.
House Republicans have taken steps to oppose the requirement, enacting the Congressional Review Act (CRA) in September to prevent the “out-of-touch regulation” from becoming law.
- EV Tax Credit
Biden is presently granting a tax credit of up to $7,500 to encourage the purchase of environmentally friendly vehicles.
However, individuals familiar with the situation told Reuters that Trump intends to eliminate the tax credit as part of his overhaul of Biden’s climate plan.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, one of Trump’s staunchest supporters, stated in July that he favors eliminating the credit. “Take away the subsidies,” Musk said on X, claiming that “it will only help Tesla.”
Companies with strong financials, such as Tesla, may win if the playing field for electric vehicles narrows, while smaller companies that rely on the tax credit for consumer affordability may suffer, according to analysts.
- Federal Coal Leases
Biden’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has authorized a change to the Resource Management Plan (RMP) that effectively prohibits new federal coal leases in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, the country’s largest coal-producing region, by 2041.
This region generates over 40% of the nation’s coal. However, the Bureau of Land Management will allow existing coal leases to be developed.
Following the decision, Trump’s transition team reiterated the president-elect’s campaign vow to support American-made energy.
“Families have suffered as a result of the past four years’ war on American energy, which triggered the worst inflation crisis in a generation.” “Voters re-elected President Trump by a large margin, giving him a mandate to carry out the promises he made on the campaign trail, including lowering energy costs for consumers,” said Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance Transition spokeswoman, in a statement to Fox News Digital.
- Waste Emissions Charge.
Biden’s EPA just declared that it will try to “incentivize” the oil and gas industry to cut methane emissions by imposing a Waste Emissions Charge, as permitted by the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Biden administration’s new rule will charge certain oil and gas operations $900 per metric ton of “wasteful” emissions in CY 2024, $1,200 in CY 2025, and $1,500 in CY 2026.
Trump-supporting oil lobbying groups and House members lambasted the fee, with the American Petroleum Institute issuing a policy road plan for the incoming Trump administration to counter the EPA’s final regulation.
“Energy was on the ballot” in the 2024 elections, American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers told Fox News Digital in a statement following Trump’s November triumph.
Sommers stated that by voting Trump, people “sent a clear signal that they want choices, not mandates, and an all-of-the-above approach that harnesses our nation’s resources and builds on the successes of his first term.”
