Several themes apparent in Trump's Day 1 energy frenzy
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As the world digests President Trump's Day 1 energy moves, below are some big themes and variables we'll be tracking.
Why it matters: Trump's barrage of orders aim to tear out Biden-era climate and cleantech finance policies root and branch.
- He wants huge areas opened for drilling and to marshal powerful federal authorities behind boosting fossil fuel supplies and projects.
Catch up quick: Trump's orders declare an energy "emergency"; rescind Biden goals; offer plans to "unleash" production; promote Alaskan resources; and attack wind power.
A few big themes...
Trump 2.0 vs. Trump 1.0. The orders reflect, from the outside at least, something missing the first go-round.
- It's a methodical, sweeping approach enabled by four years of Trump-orbit and industry planning while out of power.
It's a massive homework assignment. Those 2.0 chops will now be tested, bigly.
- Yes, some moves should have quick effect, like pausing remaining IRA funding and new wind leases and permits on federal lands and waters.
- But much is akin to a starting gun for the detailed bureaucratic slog of ending Biden policies and creating new ones.
- That applies to things like, say, repealing Biden's pro-EV auto emissions rules. And the emergency order tells agencies to begin scouring ways to use emergency powers like eminent domain and the Defense Production Act.
- Plus, environmental groups are already vowing to fight various moves in court.
K Street faces new tests. The American Clean Power Association response is a window into how the renewables sector will navigate the new landscape.
- The short answer is "carefully," while the longer one arrives in their 400-word statement. It praises steps like faster permitting before criticizing "blanket measures to halt or impede" wind on federal lands and waters.
- It then reminds Trump that renewables are big business in red areas, noting states that voted for him are eight of the top ten in terms of reliance on wind power.
⚔️ Trump may aim for the heart of EPA climate rules. He's requiring EPA and other agencies to give the White House recommendations on the "legality and continuing applicability" of the 2009 "endangerment finding."
- That's the formal EPA conclusion that greenhouse gases threaten public health and the environment. It's the legal foundation for Clean Air Act climate rules following a landmark 2007 Supreme Court ruling.
The ball is in oil's court. We've written plenty about how U.S. production is unlikely to surge from already record levels anytime soon, with just modest growth expected in the well-supplied market.
- But longer term, Trump's orders will test the industry's appetite in future years for expensive exploration and development in frontier areas.
- The Day 1 moves attempt to repeal Biden-era restrictions on oil-and-gas leasing on the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts and key Alaskan offshore areas. It also seeks a far less restrictive regime on federal onshore lands in Alaska.
The bottom line: Supplanting Biden's energy agenda with Trump's won't happen overnight, but the new president wasted little time in getting started.
