(Reuters) – Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has laid out an energy policy platform focused on maximizing U.S. fuel and power production, in part by dismantling the Biden administration’s key efforts to combat climate change.
The Republican former president’s campaign has said President Joe Biden’s efforts to support electric vehicle adoption while curbing the use of coal and gas pose a risk to the nation’s power grid at a time of rising energy demand, and promised reforms that would make it easier to allow new vehicles. power plants and removing barriers to fossil fuel production.
Ironically, during Biden’s term, the United States has become the world’s largest oil and gas producer, and its agencies have approved projects at a faster pace than under Trump. Yet Biden, through Congress, has passed legislation and issued regulations aimed at accelerating the transition to cleaner energy.
Here are some of the Biden administration’s climate initiatives that Trump would like to focus on if he were to win against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the November election:
ELECTRICAL 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% of U.S. carbon emissions. Over the next decade, the rules will essentially require coal-fired power plants and new natural gas-fired generators to capture emissions before they reach the atmosphere.
In a call with reporters on August 29, Trump’s former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said Trump would overturn the regulations and “put coal country back to work so that all Americans have access to affordable energy.” He did not elaborate further. fields and production of the mineral declined during Trump’s four-year term.
VEHICLE EFFICIENCY RULES
The Biden administration announced new U.S. auto emissions rules in March, aimed at reducing tailpipe pollution and pushing automakers to expand production of electric and hybrid vehicles. The final rules were a watered-down version of the original proposal, giving automakers more leeway in meeting the standards.
But they have still drawn the ire of the Trump campaign, which has lumped them in with a group of Biden’s green initiatives that he says are distorting markets, driving up prices and limiting consumer choice.
Despite Trump’s opposition to widespread adoption of electric vehicles, his campaign has won the support of Tesla (NASDAQ:) founder Elon Musk, whose company could potentially gain an advantage over rivals even if Trump further removes restrictions on vehicle pollution or roll back subsidies for electric vehicles. .
INFLATION REDUCTION ACT
Trump has repeatedly said he could revoke EV subsidies, a core provision of Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, if elected.
The 2022 IRA includes billions of dollars in additional subsidies for clean energy, including for wind and solar energy, and for high-tech batteries, but it is unclear whether Trump wants to target those provisions as well.
Any change in the law would require an act of Congress.
Corey Lewandowski, a Trump campaign adviser, sidestepped the question when asked during an August 29 phone call with reporters whether Trump would support withdrawing parts of the IRA.
PARIS DEAL
During his 2017-2021 term as US president, Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Deal, an international pact to combat climate change, arguing it was unnecessary and put the country at a competitive disadvantage compared to China.
Trump’s campaign said he would do it again if he wins in November.
Currently, the U.S. is a full participant in the accord, after Biden quickly rejoined the accord in 2021 and sought to restore U.S. climate leadership on the global stage.
(Review by Richard Valdmanis and Timothy Gardner)
