Written by Garrett Renshaw
(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump issued a series of orders within hours of his inauguration on Monday aimed at boosting the country's already record oil and gas production and dismantling former President Joe Biden's climate agenda.
Here are some of the actions Trump took on his first day:
Energy emergency
Trump declared a national energy emergency, intended to provide him with the authority to reduce environmental restrictions on infrastructure and energy projects and make it easier to permit construction of new transportation and pipeline infrastructure.
“It allows you to do whatever you have to do to get over this problem,” Trump told reporters as he signed the order. “And we have this kind of emergency.”
Earlier in the day, he explained the reason for the declaration, saying: “The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices, which is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. And we will dig, baby, we will dig.”
He had previously said that the growing demand for electricity from the technology industry, especially to fuel artificial intelligence, requires a major overhaul of the grid.
Liquefied natural gas permits
Trump ordered the United States to resume processing export permit applications from new ventures supplying Asia and Europe, effectively reversing a pause Biden put in place in early 2024 to study the environmental and economic impacts of booming exports.
US exports of supercooled fuel hit a record high in 2023, and the country is the world's largest exporter of the product. But the temporary halt in new export permits has created uncertainty for a large number of projects under implementation.
Plants in Louisiana awaiting approvals include Commonwealth LNG, Venture Global's CP2, Cheniere Energy's (NYSE:) expansion to its Sabine Pass facility and Energy transfer (NYSE:) Lake Charles Station. In Texas, the second phase of Sempra's Port Arthur LNG project is awaiting approval.
Goodbye Paris
Trump ordered the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, an international agreement to combat climate change, repeating the step he took in his first term.
Trump described climate change as a hoax and said that the agreement puts the United States at a competitive disadvantage against geopolitical rivals such as China.
“I will immediately withdraw from the unfair and biased Paris Climate Agreement,” he said. “The United States will not sabotage our industries while China pollutes with impunity.”
Offshore wind
Trump has suspended new federal offshore wind leasing pending environmental and economic review, saying wind mills are unsightly, expensive and harmful to wildlife.
“We're not going to do the wind thing,” he said.
Trump issued an executive action suspending offshore wind leasing from all areas of the U.S. outer continental shelf pending environmental and economic review, a White House press release said.
This order is not expected to impact existing offshore wind projects in the US being developed by companies including Orsted (CSE:), Avangrid (NYSE:), Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, and Dominion.
Biden saw wind energy as a vital part of his strategy to decarbonize the energy sector.
Electric vehicle goals
Trump targeted electric cars, rescinding a 2021 executive order signed by Biden that sought to ensure that half of all new cars sold in the United States by 2030 are electric.
Biden's 50% target, which was not legally binding, had support from US and foreign automakers.
Trump said in an executive order that he would halt the distribution of unspent government funds for vehicle charging stations from a $5 billion fund, called for an end to the exemption granted to states to adopt zero-emission vehicle rules by 2035, and said that his administration would consider ending tax breaks for electric vehicles.
Dig, kid, dig
Trump signed an executive order canceling Biden's efforts to prevent oil exploration in the Arctic and along large areas of the American coast, according to the White House.
The White House announced that Trump also canceled a 2023 memorandum banning oil drilling in about 16 million acres (6.5 million hectares) in the Arctic.
It is unclear whether these moves will be enough to attract major drilling companies, which have moved away from the region in recent years due to relatively high development costs.
This month, Biden banned the development of new offshore oil and gas projects along most American coasts before Trump took office.
Refill stock
Trump said he intends to fill the strategic reserves “right to the top.”
This is likely a reference to the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the country's stock of oil, designed to act as a buffer against supply shocks.
After invading Ukraine, Biden sold more than 180 million barrels of crude oil from reserves, a record amount.
The sales helped keep gasoline prices in check, but drove reserves down to their lowest level in 40 years.
“We will lower prices, fill our strategic reserves back up, all the way to the top, and export American energy around the world,” Trump said.
He will likely look to Republican lawmakers to give him the money to buy oil in the coming weeks.
