How an executive order to ‘unleash American energy’ could ripple across states By EPN Staff President Donald Trump’s Day 1 executive order “Unleashing American Energy” includes multiple provisions that will ripple across states, influencing policy actions affecting energy, transportation and environmental considerations for years. The order prioritizes American energy resources and projects and sets a foundation for identifying – and eliminating – regulations deemed burdensome, wasteful or counter to promoting an abundant supply of domestic energy. Why it matters The order suggests a simplified focus around reviewing energy production and transmission at the federal level, which could streamline reviews and provide legal clarity that discourages the kind of litigation that has bogged down many energy projects. It also pulls back Biden administration promotion of electric vehicles, prohibiting distribution of federal funds for charging infrastructure and terminating “state emissions waivers that function to limit sales of gasoline-powered automobiles.” The bigger picture American economic advocacy groups have long complained about arduous permitting processes and poorly drafted regulatory guidance that adds years and significant costs to critical projects. The National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have highlighted specific examples to illustrate the regulatory and legal environments that complicate project development and result in extensive delays. More detail Calculating the social cost of carbon associated with a project also has proven controversial and has been used to justify carbon pricing policies in states along the West Coast, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. In late 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency hiked the estimated cost nearly four-fold. While the issue has been the subject of years of efforts to research and identify an effective and accurate methodology, the executive order seeks to dispense with the matter altogether, noting: “The calculation of the ‘social cost of carbon’ is marked by logical deficiencies, a poor basis in empirical science, politicization, and the absence of a foundation in legislation. Its abuse arbitrarily slows regulatory decisions and, by rendering the United States economy internationally uncompetitive, encourages a greater human impact on the environment by affording less efficient foreign energy producers a greater share of the global energy and natural resource market.” The nearly 3,500-word executive order also: Rescinds multiple Biden administration executive orders focused on climate change, environmental justice and renewable energy. Revoked the Council on Environmental Quality’s authority to create rules shaping agency compliance with the National Environmental Protection Act. Directs agencies to “strictly use the most robust methodologies of assessment at their disposal and shall not use methodologies that are arbitrary or ideologically motivated” to calculate potential project-related environmental impacts. Eliminates the American Climate Corps, a controversial Biden administration venture aimed at commissioning thousands of young Americans to install solar panels, promote environmental justice and otherwise “tackle the climate crisis.”
