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4 major climate, energy moves included in Trump's Day 1 executive orders

2 8
22.01.2025

President Trump issued a broad slew of energy policies and efforts to roll back environmental protections on his first day in office.

The moves excited supporters and the fossil fuel industry. American Petroleum Institute (API) President and CEO Mike Sommers, for example, said in a written statement that Trump’s moves “chart a new path where U.S. oil and natural gas are embraced, not restricted.”

But they worried environmentalists, who warned that the orders would ultimately be bad for the planet.

“The theme that runs throughout is to maximize both the supply of and the demand for fossil fuels, which is precisely the opposite of what we need to do to address the climate crisis,” Michael Gerrard, founder of Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, told The Hill.

Here are some of the measures that could be the most impactful.

Blocking new wind energy projects

Trump on Monday issued an executive order that barred the government from auctioning off the rights to build wind farms offshore and also temporarily blocked new rights for wind on public lands.

In addition, the order directs the Interior Department to halt the construction of a wind farm in Idaho that was approved under the Biden administration.

Trump has long railed against wind as an energy source, calling windmills ugly and claiming that they have killed birds. According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wind turbines can kill birds, but fewer than house cats and fossil fuels do.

The wind industry and climate advocates alike expressed concern about the order — noting that it could disrupt the industry and prevent the build-out of carbon-free power.........

© The Hill


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