Trump’s Climate Change Denying Energy Plan Puts Big Oil Over People and Planet

At today’s Inaugural Address, President Donald Trump unveiled his plan to quickly enact a number of executive orders concerning energy and the environment in his complete denial of the climate change crisis that is now ravaging the planet.

These include a “national energy emergency” to encourage more oil and gas production; opening up new federal lands to fossil fuel extraction; ending environmental justice programs across the country; and canceling clean energy incentives, according to a press release from Food & Water Watch.

Trump also announced his plan to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, as he did in his first administration.

Here’s Trump’s statement on the White House website: 

MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AND ENERGY DOMINANT AGAIN

• The President will unleash American energy by ending Biden’s policies of climate extremism, streamlining permitting, and reviewing for rescission all regulations that impose undue burdens on energy production and use, including mining and processing of non-fuel minerals.
• President Trump’s energy actions empower consumer choice in vehicles, showerheads, toilets, washing machines, lightbulbs and dishwashers.
• President Trump will declare an energy emergency and use all necessary resources to build critical infrastructure.
• President Trump’s energy policies will end leasing to massive wind farms that degrade our natural landscapes and fail to serve American energy consumers.
• President Trump will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord.
• All agencies will take emergency measures to reduce the cost of living.
• President Trump will announce the America First Trade Policy.
• America will no longer be beholden to foreign organizations for our national tax policy, which punishes American businesses.

As expected, there was not a word in Trump’s statement addressing the increasingly dramatic impacts of climate change on the U.S. and the world. Of course, we all expected this.

In response, Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter issued the following statement:

“Trump’s declaration of a national energy emergency leverages a false premise to encourage expanded fossil fuel production at a time when the United States is already the top oil and gas producer in the world. As fires still rage across Los Angeles and communities impacted by hurricanes and floods still struggle to recover, we must rapidly reduce our dangerous fossil fuel production and dependence – not increase it.

“Though Trump claims he is acting to reduce costs for consumers, his actions will only increase expenses for everyone, through higher utility bills, greater pollution impacts, and the overwhelming costs of climate change-supercharged disasters – all falling disproportionately on low-income families and communities of color.

“Trump’s filthy fossil fuel agenda may benefit billionaires invested in the oil and gas industry, but it will hammer everyday Americans. We will vigorously fight back against any and all attempts by Trump and his allies in Congress to weaken common-sense environmental rules and put polluter profits over the health, safety and wellbeing of people and the planet.”

U.S. crude oil production reached record highs under the Biden Administration — and the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) forecasts that U.S. crude oil production will rise to a new high under the second Trump administration: https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/index.php.  

U.S. crude oil production (million barrels per day) was 12.0 in 2022, 12.9 in 2023 and 13.2  in 2024. The EIR forecasts that there will be a new record high of 13.5 million barrels per day in 2025 under Trump.

In other words, the U.S. has produced more crude oil over the past three years than any other country in history - and this year U.S. oil production is expected to reach a new record high in oil production unmatched by any other country. Yes, the U.S. is the world's largest oil producer as the climate crisis intensifies, as evidenced by the apocalyptic fires in the LA Area.

We must do everything in our power to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to make the U.S. government a virtual subsidiary of Big Oil.