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Eight Key Executive Actions to Propel Trump’s Energy Agenda


Following his inauguration on January 20, President Trump enacted 46 executive actions, many of which combined more than 200 executive orders, directives, and policy guidelines geared towards initiating a comprehensive “whole-of-government” transformation within the administration.

Among these, at least eight directly address energy policy, with four actions repealing over 200 regulations and executive orders established by the Biden administration. This encompasses regulations adopted in the last 60 days as well as initiatives birthed from two “New Green Deal” bills enacted in 2021 and 2022.

Two of these actions target specific matters in Alaska and California, while another enacts a temporary halt on offshore wind development leasing. One directive calls for significant expansions in offshore oil and gas leasing.

One of Trump’s prominent campaign phrases was “Drill, baby, drill.”

As anticipated, the simplest of the eight actions related to energy and the environment is Trump’s executive order that withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Accords of 2015, a promise he reiterated during his 2024 campaign after initially executing it in 2017.

Trump’s executive order removes the U.S. from this agreement and includes withdrawal from any other commitments made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It also nullifies the U.S. International Climate Finance Plan that has previously allocated billions of taxpayer dollars.
In his “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential” executive order, Trump instructs federal officials to “speed up the permitting and leasing of energy and natural resource initiatives,” focus on “the development of Alaska’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) potential,” and promote fossil fuel development in both the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve and the 19.6-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

This sweeping action revokes “all regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and similar agency actions … issued or adopted between January 20, 2021, and January 20, 2025,” effectively nullifying several actions taken during Biden’s term regarding Alaska.

During Trump’s initial term, Congress mandated the Department of Interior (DOI) to permit oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for the first time. The DOI was tasked to hold two annual lease auctions within Section 1002, a 1.5-million-acre coastal plain believed to potentially contain up to 11.8 billion barrels of oil.

However, in January, the administration auctioned only 400,000 acres, attracting no bidders because “new severe restrictions” implemented in November 2024 rendered “any development economically and practically impossible,” argued Alaska in a January 5 lawsuit against the DOI.
Interpreted broadly, these policy directives could enable Trump’s administration to contest the Biden administration’s withdrawal of 13 million acres from oil and gas leasing in the National Petroleum Reserve, a part of the March 2024 decision approving ConocoPhillips’ $8 billion Alaska Willow Project.
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The Kaktovik Lagoon and the Brooks Range mountains of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Kaktovik, Alaska, on Oct. 15, 2024. Lindsey Wasson, File/AP Photo

Another executive order is focused specifically on California. Trump’s “Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California” executive order revives his first-term proposal to redirect water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to Central Valley farms and Southern California urban regions.
The state of California and numerous advocacy groups challenged the order in a federal court ruling that deemed it an overreach of federal and executive power, posing a threat to protected wildlife, including the delta smelt, a small fish species.

“Currently, this vast water supply flows ineffectively into the Pacific Ocean,” reads the executive order. “The recent catastrophic wildfires in Southern California highlight the need for the state to have a dependable water supply and effective vegetation management strategies to provide the water desperately required there, reinforcing the need for prompt reimplementation of this plan.”

The withdrawals from the Paris Climate Accord, Alaska oil and gas initiatives, and Southern California water executive actions are relatively straightforward with narrow objectives.

In contrast, numerous actions out of the 46 issued on January 20 are multi-dimensional. Five of those actions nullify many of the Biden administration’s initiatives and implement extensive Trump-era directives across a wide range of energy-related policies and regulations.

‘Unleashing American Energy’

The “Unleashing American Energy” executive order, totaling 3,456 words, expresses the administration’s goal “to establish the U.S. as the leading producer and processor of non-fuel minerals, including rare earth minerals … to safeguard the United States’ economic and national security” and encompasses executive orders, actions, directives, and policy guidance.

Many provisions in this order either enact or initiate the encoding of initiatives that Trump frequently mentioned during campaign rallies and included in his Policy47 agenda.

One provision commits to “eliminating the electric vehicle (EV) mandate” introduced by the Department of Transportation’s fuel-efficiency guidelines that would increase average fuel economy to 50 miles per gallon by 2031.

Trump’s order specifies that this action will ensure “a fair regulatory environment for consumer options in vehicles” and calls for the removal of “unjust subsidies and misguided government-imposed market distortions that favor EVs over alternative technologies and effectively compel their purchase.”

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Vehicles on the 101 freeway during a morning commute in Los Angeles on Sept. 23, 2024. Trump’s energy order mandates the Environmental Protection Agency to “take measures” to roll back tailpipe pollution limits for cars, SUVs, and trucks established in March 2024.Mario Tama/Getty Images

The order also mandates a rollback of energy efficiency standards for appliances and terminates efforts aimed at limiting consumer choice that the Biden administration pushed through regarding the energy-efficient home improvement credit for appliances that meet new EPA standards.

Trump’s directive stipulates that the White House must ensure “the American people’s freedom to choose from a variety of products and appliances, including but not limited to lightbulbs, dishwashers, washing machines, gas stoves, water heaters, toilets, and showerheads, and to encourage market competition and innovation within the appliance and manufacturing sectors.”

The executive order includes provisions launching an “immediate review of actions that may hinder the development of domestic energy resources” along with a section for revoking or revising 12 executive orders issued by Biden, such as the establishment of a Climate Change Support Office and an executive order pivotal to implementing the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Another order within this package aims to expedite permitting and simplify compliance related to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The order mandates that agency heads devise a plan within 30 days that includes rescinding any regulations and rules that the Biden administration added to NEPA’s purview through the IRA.

Additionally, the order empowers the directors of the National Economic Council and the Office of Legislative Affairs to collaboratively prepare recommendations to Congress that “facilitate the permitting and construction of interstate energy transportation and other critical energy infrastructure, including, but not limited to, pipelines … and provide greater certainty in the Federal permitting process, including streamlining the judicial review of NEPA applications.”

Another provision targets recently established federal greenhouse gas and methane emission regulations by discarding all studies and analyses that justified them, including any by The Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases, which the order also aims to dismantle.

The order titled “Prioritizing Accuracy in Environmental Analyses” specifically proposes to eliminate “social cost of carbon” calculations, arguing that they are plagued by logical flaws and lack empirical scientific foundation, politicization, and lack of legislative basis, placing the U.S. economy at a disadvantage.

The order requires agencies to provide “estimates to evaluate the value of changes in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from agency actions.”

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A customer examines washers and dryers on display at a Lowe’s Home Improvement store in Miami on June 27, 2022. Trump’s energy order emphasizes the need to “safeguard the American people’s freedom to choose various products and appliances.”Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In April 2024, the EPA under the Biden administration finalized stringent new greenhouse gas emission standards that considerably increase costs for coal-fired power plants and those engaged in newly constructed gas generation, a move likely to render some power plants financially unfeasible.

This EPA regulation has faced challenges, and a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is anticipated soon. Trump could issue an executive order instructing agencies not to enforce the regulation pending the court’s decision, although legislative action would be necessary to reject the greenhouse gas rule.

On November 12, 2024, the EPA finalized a new methane emissions rule imposing a first-ever “waste emissions charge” on oil and gas producers, enabled by IRA provisions under the Clean Air Act.

According to the IRA, companies emitting more than 25,000 metric tons of methane annually will incur fees of $900 per metric ton in 2024, $1,200 in 2025, and $1,500 starting in 2026.

Though repealing the methane emission fee necessitates congressional action, the emissions fee may be abolished through budget reconciliation under the Congressional Review Act. A Trump executive action could direct agencies not to gather the data that emitters must submit for compliance verification while navigating legislative and judicial proceedings.

Another provision under Trump’s orders includes “Terminating the Green New Deal.” This directive mandates that “all agencies must immediately pause the allocation of funds appropriated through” the extensive IRA and the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which, along with the 2022 CHIPS & Science Act, form the cornerstones of Biden’s “New Green Deal.”

This provision specifically notes the “defunding” of IRA and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocations regarding “electric vehicle charging stations made available via the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program.”

Among various nullifications, this provision rescinds Biden’s executive order 14082, which could pave the way for the White House and Congress to tighten tax incentives, reclaim loans and grants, and revise incomplete rules under the Congressional Review Act to dismantle the IRA.
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AES Indiana Petersburg Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant, operates in Petersburg, Ind., on Oct. 25, 2023. The EPA under the Biden administration in April 2024 finalized strict new greenhouse gas emission standards raising costs for coal-fired power plants.Joshua A. Bickel/AP Photo

Trump and Republican congressional leaders are committed to dismantling the IRA, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the CHIPS act. The IRA alone authorizes a decade of sustained tax credits, low-interest loans, and grant initiatives that could total over $1 trillion according to some estimates.

Additionally, within the “Unleashing American Energy” executive order lies a directive to lift the pause previously imposed on LNG exports. This particular provision orders the energy secretary to “resume review of applications for approvals of liquefied natural gas export projects as quickly as possible,” effectively reversing the Biden administration’s halt on new permit evaluations from January 2024.

The order asserts that it serves the public interest when the review criteria incorporate “the economic and employment impacts on the United States and the implications for the security of allies and partners resulting from granting the [export] application.”

Another provision titled “Restoring America’s Mineral Dominance” echoes a previous Trump order from 2020 by advocating for a “whole-of-government” approach to identify actions imposing undue burdens on domestic mining and processing of non-fuel minerals and to make revisions or rescind those actions.

Offshore Wind Moratorium

Another energy-centric executive order enacted by Trump on January 20 imposes a moratorium on all “energy leasing in all areas within the Offshore Continental Shelf (OCS)” concerning wind energy nationwide.

This moratorium remains until “numerous alleged legal shortcomings” impacting the federal government’s wind leasing rules related to both onshore and offshore projects have been rectified.

The order states, “This withdrawal does not pertain to leasing for other purposes, including but not limited to oil, gas, minerals, and environmental conservation.” An additionally separate executive action package calls for expanding the quantity and locations for leasing opportunities.

Trump often expresses a disdain for wind turbines and, despite his earlier administration’s support for offshore wind projects, shows intent to halt proposals for wind energy development in federal waters beyond the already approved 11 projects. These projects are expected to yield over 19 gigawatts of energy—sufficient to supply more than 6 million homes.

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Wind turbines span the horizon at the Spearville Wind Farm near Spearville, Kan., on Sept. 29, 2024. Trump’s energy order suspends all energy leasing in the Offshore Continental Shelf.Charlie Riedel, File/AP Photo

Included in the executive order package is a directive retracting the Bureau of Land Management’s June Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) approval of the proposed Lava Ridge wind project until the DOI undertakes a “new, comprehensive analysis of the various interests involved … and the potential environmental effects” of the project.
Magic Valley Energy’s proposed 4,500-acre project, featuring 241 turbines standing 660 feet tall, would generate sufficient power for 500,000 homes but has faced robust opposition from a vast majority of residents across the adjacent seven counties.

National Energy Emergency Declaration

Trump’s executive order declaring a “national energy emergency” primarily addresses infrastructure necessities required to enhance fuel and electricity generation and improve the capacity to deliver energy to fulfill demand.

This order calls for streamlining the “identification, leasing, development, production, transportation, refining, and generation capabilities of the United States.” It critiques the previous administration’s policies for creating a capacity shortfall that is “far too inadequate to satisfy our nation’s needs.”

“This poses an active threat to the American people due to high energy prices, compounded by our diminished capacity to shield ourselves from hostile foreign actors,” the order states.

The order mandates that all agency heads “identify planned or potential actions to facilitate the nation’s energy supply that may be eligible for emergency procedures” while authorizing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to oversee “emergency permitting provisions.”

The provision outlines “emergency consultation regulations” that pertain to the National Environmental Policy Act and the 51-year-old Endangered Species Act, suggesting both environmental laws—often challenges for developers—will be evaluated under an emergency declaration, potentially reducing regulatory scrutiny.

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Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump discusses oil drilling at a campaign town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds in Oaks, Pa., on Oct. 14, 2024. Alex Brandon, File/AP Photo

Rescissions, Regulatory Freeze

Trump’s expansive “Initial Rescissions Of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions” executive order rescinds 78 of Biden’s executive actions with a single stroke.

These primarily remove the “divisive and harmful preferential hierarchy” enforced through diversity, equity, and inclusion policies enacted during Biden’s administration, with at least 11 focusing on energy-related matters.

Two actions affect offshore oil and gas leasing, reversing Biden’s executive orders which imposed restrictions on offshore drilling across 625 million acres off the East and West Coasts from December, while calling for a new five-year offshore leasing strategy that provides more auction opportunities in a broader range of locations than Biden’s current plan.

Three actions cancel Biden’s energy-specific orders facilitating various aspects of the IRA and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, one of which is referenced in the “Unleashing American Energy” initiatives for elimination.

Among Trump’s most sweeping and immediate executive actions on January 20 is his order, mandating agencies to “not propose or issue any rule in any manner … until a department or agency head appointed or designated” by Trump provides approval.

The action also directs agencies to “immediately withdraw” any unfinalized rules “so they can be reviewed and approved” by Trump or an appointee.

This order effectively invokes the Congressional Review Act, which enables an incoming Congress and administration to suspend the finalization of rules established within 60 days preceding their term.

Among the regulations in question are certain elements of the greenhouse gas and methane control programs.



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