Written by Timothy Gardner, Valerie Volcovici, and Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday laid out a sweeping plan to maximize already record U.S. oil and gas production by declaring a national energy emergency, eliminating excess regulation and withdrawing the United States from an international pact to combat climate change.
The moves signal a radical shift in energy policy in Washington after former President Joe Biden sought for four years to encourage a shift away from fossil fuels in the world's largest economy and establish the United States as a leader in the fight against global warming.
“America will be an industrialized nation again,” Trump said during his inauguration speech, “and we have something that no other industrialized nation will ever have: the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth.”
“And we will use it.”
Trump said he expects the orders will help lower consumer prices and improve US national security.
He added: “We will lower prices, fill our strategic reserves again, until they reach the top, and export American energy to all parts of the world.”
Environmental groups said they plan to challenge the executive orders in court.
US oil and gas production has already reached record levels under Biden, as drilling companies chase higher prices in the wake of sanctions imposed on Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
But Trump said production could be higher if environmental initiatives imposed by the Biden administration are rescinded. He said, for example, that he intends to end the Green New Deal — a reference to Democratic climate efforts — and rescind what he called Biden's electric vehicle mandates.
The Biden administration has sought to encourage the use of electric vehicles by providing consumer support for new electric vehicle purchases, and by imposing stricter exhaust emissions standards on automakers. He also sought to encourage clean energy technologies using taxpayer subsidies that attracted billions of dollars in investment in manufacturing.
“We're going to dig, baby, dig,” Trump said.
The Trump White House also issued a press release on Monday saying Trump would order the United States to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, an international agreement to combat global warming, and end auctions for leasing “mega-wind farms.”
The Democratic National Committee called Trump's first-day agenda a “disaster for working families.”
“Killing manufacturing jobs and giving a free pass to polluters who make people sick does not put America first,” said Alex Floyd, a national Democratic Party spokesman.
Emergency declaration
Trump promised during his election campaign to declare a national energy emergency, saying that the United States must produce more fossil fuels as well as modernize electrical infrastructure and increase power generation to meet growing demand.
Energy use in U.S. data centers could nearly triple in the next three years, consuming as much as 12% of the nation's electricity on demand from artificial intelligence and other technologies, according to Department of Energy projections.
Declaring an energy emergency in a non-war period is rare and untested, creating a legal possibility, said Sam Sankar, senior vice president of programs at Earthjustice, a nonprofit group preparing to fight Trump's policies in the courts. They are weak.
The first Trump administration considered using emergency powers under federal energy law to try to implement its pledge to bail out the coal industry, but never implemented it.
This time, Trump's announcement will seek to ease environmental restrictions on power plants, speed up construction of new plants, ease permits for transportation and pipeline projects, and open up new federal lands.
“The common theme is unlocking reliable, affordable American energy,” a Trump official said earlier Monday. “Because energy permeates every part of our economy, it is also key to restoring our national security and exercising American energy dominance around the world,” he added.
“Right at the top”
Meanwhile, Trump's promise to replenish strategic reserves has the potential to raise oil prices by boosting oil demand.
After invading Ukraine, Biden sold more than 180 million barrels of crude oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a record amount. The sales helped keep gasoline prices in check, but drove reserves down to their lowest level in 40 years.
Trump is also expected to sign another order aimed at developing Alaska's natural resources, rescinding several Biden initiatives related to electric vehicles and protecting gas-powered appliances from federal and state regulators who want to phase them out of homes and businesses, the incoming official said.
Alaska has been a controversial part of the country when it comes to energy and the environment, as Republicans have long seen opportunities for oil and gas production there while Democrats have sought to preserve clean lands.
