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Trump’s picks for Interior, Energy and EPA are allies of the oil and gas industry.
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They plan to expand drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and on federal lands and roll back climate regulations.
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Scientists warn that burning more fossil fuels will worsen the climate crisis.
President-elect Donald Trump wants to expand his Cabinet with oil and gas supporters who plan to make it easier to drill on federal lands and waters and repeal climate regulations on the industry.
If confirmed by the Senate, three key nominees would be largely responsible for implementing Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” agenda within the federal government.
Trump tapped North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a Republican with ties to fossil fuel executives, as Interior secretary. The Department of the Interior leases millions of acres of public lands and waters for oil and gas drilling.
Chris Wright, the CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy, is nominated as energy minister. The Energy Department’s pause on approving new export terminals to ship U.S. gas abroad is a major target of the new Trump administration, as are billions of dollars in loans and grants that are accelerating the U.S. transition to renewable energy.
And Lee Zeldin, a former New York congressman who often voted against climate legislation, has been tapped to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates pollution from cars, trucks, power plants and oil and gas infrastructure.
Burgum would coordinate the efforts as chairman of the National Energy Council, which Trump said in a statement on Truth Social would consist of all departments and agencies involved in “permitting, regulating, producing, generating, distributing and transporting energy’. Cutting red tape and regulations is their mandate, Trump said.
Scientists say the US and other major economies must reduce the burning of fossil fuels to slow the climate crisis – which is already making hurricanes, wildfires, heat waves and droughts more destructive around the world. Trump and his allies in the oil and gas industry argue that the U.S. must boost production to hold down prices and help lower inflation, an issue voters cited as a top concern this year. Energy analysts have said that gas prices are largely determined by global supply and demand, and not by the actions of any president.
Here are three actions Trump’s administration is preparing for, based on interviews with various groups helping shape his agenda. When asked about these priorities, Karoline Leavitt, spokesperson for the Trump-Vance campaign, said: “The American people re-elected President Trump by a wide margin, giving him a mandate to fulfill the promises he made during the campaign. deliver.
Resume approval of new gas export facilities
At the Energy Department, Wright, if confirmed, is expected to begin approving permits for new gas export terminals, which have been largely suspended by the Biden administration in 2024.
Biden suspended approval of new terminals in January until the department could analyze their impact on greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs for consumers. A federal judge blocked the pause this summer, and the department has since given the green light to one permit. Republicans and the oil and gas industry accused the Biden administration of deliberately delaying the process. They argue that the delays undermine America’s influence over its competitors, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Russia, and cost jobs at home.
The pause did not affect terminals already under construction, which are on track to double U.S. gas exports by the end of this decade, federal data show. Some energy analysts and consumer advocates have said U.S. dominance in the global market could expose customers to more volatile prices. A cold snap in Europe or unrest in the Middle East could increase gas demand – and therefore prices – and the climate crisis increases the risks of extreme weather shocks.
“The new administration has an opportunity to strengthen America’s geopolitical strength by lifting the Department of Energy’s pause on LNG permits, expeditiously processing all pending export applications and ensuring the open access of American energy to global markets” Amanda Eversole, the chief advocacy officer of the American Petroleum Institute, told reporters on a call last week.
Enable more oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico
The Interior Department will hold three lease sales for oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico between 2024 and 2029 — the fewest since the program began decades ago. The sales were required by the Inflation Reduction Act, which directed the department to offer a minimum amount of oil and gas leases before opening an auction for offshore wind developers.
The oil and gas industry is pushing the Trump administration to enact a new five-year offshore leasing program.
“There are companies today that would pay leases in the western Gulf of Mexico if there were an auction,” said Kenny Stein, the vice president for policy at the American Energy Alliance, a conservative group that advises Trump’s energy agenda . “They already have platforms and equipment ready and can start drilling quickly.”
ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods similarly told CNBC earlier this month that there are areas in the Gulf of Mexico that could be tapped for more oil production in the long term. However, he doesn’t expect a big oil boom in the U.S. because the market is already well supplied, he said.
The new Trump administration is also expected to shrink national monuments in the West to open more public lands to drilling and mining activities, although these moves are likely to be challenged in court by environmental groups, Stein said.
Roll back climate rules
Trump has promised to “destroy” EPA regulations that limit emissions from cars, trucks, power plants and oil and gas wells, pumps and storage tanks. He has dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act the “green new scam” and promised to claw back renewable energy subsidies under the law.
It is a repeat of Trump’s first term, when the EPA removed nearly a hundred environmental regulations. This time, some climate rules have support from car manufacturers and major oil and gas companies. ExxonMobil’s Woods told Semafor last week that the Trump administration must enforce regulations to curb methane emissions from oil and gas infrastructure. The largest U.S. automaker group has said the future is electric and companies are investing billions in the transition. But Trump attacked electric vehicles during his campaign, echoing the oil and gas lobby’s message.
A full repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act is unlikely, in part because most of the $220 billion in investments in the production of electric cars, batteries, solar panels and other renewable energy technologies is flowing to Republican congressional districts, says David Brown, the executive director of the Energy Reduction Act. transition service at Wood Mackenzie, said in a statement.
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