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Factbox-How Trump would seek to dismantle Biden’s climate legacy
Michael Nelson, a coal miner,shakes hands with then-U.S. President Donald Trump as Trump prepares to sign Resolution 38, which nullfies the / Reuters/Carlos Barria
(Reuters) - Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has laid out an energy policy platform centered around maximizing U.S. fuel and power output, in part by dismantling the Biden administration’s centerpiece efforts to fight climate change.
The Republican former president’s campaign has said that President Joe Biden’s efforts to support adoption of electric vehicles while curbing the use of coal and gas poses a risk to the nation’s power grid at a time of soaring energy demand, and promised reforms that would ease permitting for new power plants and remove obstacles to fossil fuel produce.
In an ironic twist, the United States has become the world’s top producer of oil and gas during Biden’s tenure, and his agencies have been approving projects at a more rapid pace than under Trump. Even so, Biden passed legislation through Congress and issued regulations that aim to speed the transition to cleaner energy.
Here are some of Biden administration climate initiatives that Trump would seek to target should he win against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in November’s election:
POWER PLANT RULE
In April, Biden's Environmental Protection Agency finalized rules targeting carbon, air and water pollution from power plants, an industry responsible for nearly 25 percent of U.S. carbon emissions. The rules will effectively require coal-fired power plants and new natural gas-fired generators in the coming decade to capture emissions before they reach the atmosphere.
In a call with reporters on Aug. 29, Trump’s former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said Trump would overturn the rules and “put coal country back to work so that all Americans have access to affordable energy." He did not elaborate. Employment in U.S. coal fields and production of the mineral fell during Trump's four-year term.
VEHICLE EFFICIENCY RULES
The Biden administration announced new U.S. auto-emissions regulations in March intended to slash tailpipe pollution and push automakers to expand the production of electric and hybrid vehicles. The final rules were a watered-down version of the original proposal, giving automakers more leeway in how to meet the standards.
But they’ve still drawn the ire of the Trump campaign, which has lumped it into a group of Biden’s green initiatives that it says are distorting the markets, driving up prices, and limiting consumer choice.
Despite Trump’s opposition to widespread adoption of EVs, his campaign has won the support of Tesla founder Elon Musk, whose company may be able to eke out an advantage against rivals even if Trump axes vehicle pollution limits further or rolls back EV subsidies.
INFLATION REDUCTION ACT
Trump has repeatedly said he may repeal EV subsidies, a core provision of Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, if he is elected.
The 2022 IRA contains billions of dollars of additional subsidies for clean energy, including for wind and solar energy, and high-tech batteries, but it is unclear whether Trump would also aim to target those provisions.
Any changes to the law would require an act of Congress.
Corey Lewandowski, a Trump campaign adviser, avoided the question when asked on an Aug. 29 call with reporters whether Trump would support the repeal of parts of the IRA.
PARIS DEAL
During his 2017-2021 term as U.S. president, Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Deal, an international pact to fight climate change, arguing it was unnecessary and put the country at a competitive disadvantage to China.
Trump’s campaign said he’d do it again if he wins in November.
At the moment, the U.S. is a full participant in the accord, after Biden swiftly rejoined in 2021 and sought to restore U.S. climate leadership on the global stage.
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