Here Comes the Fossil Fuel Agenda

As part of his wide-ranging first-week activities, President Trump issued a barrage of executive orders specifically intended to boost the fortunes of the fossil fuel industry.

Not for the betterment of the US public, as these actions would freeze, repeal, or actively undermine critical public health and environmental protections.

Not for the betterment of the US economy, as these actions would undermine billions of dollars of forward-looking investments, cede leadership in innovation, and spike household energy bills.

Not for the betterment of US energy abundance, as these actions sideline critical clean energy resources and threaten to stall the deployment of more.

Not for the betterment of US global standing, as these actions would aggravate areas of escalating geopolitical risk and spurn areas of productive geopolitical coordination.

Not for the betterment of anything beyond boosting the bottom line for a select polluting few.

Now, there's a yawning gap between President Trump's bold pronouncements and his actual ability to see many of these things through. Much of it will simply amount to hot air.

Still, there's a roadmap here. And if not by executive order, this administration has made clear from the jump that it will try anything to deliver for fossil fuel interests, no matter the public cost.

That makes understanding the what and the why critical, to be prepared for all the attacks to come. So here: a look at the Trump administration's first moves in its whole-of-government approach to selling out the nation.

A whole-of-government approach to selling the nation out

The fossil fuel industry's wish-list is sprawling. So too is the range of new executive orders designed to be to the industry's benefit.

On Day 1 alone, President Trump issued executive orders declaring a national energy emergency, exiting the Paris Agreement, halting offshore-and some onshore-wind development, "unleashing" American (fossil) energy, and expanding fossil fuel production in Alaska. These occurred alongside other executive orders striking down large numbers of cross-cutting federal initiatives, including those coordinating climate, environmental justice, and public health protections.

President Trump has framed these early actions as intended to improve the nation's economy by lowering energy costs-but the claim is immediately, preposterously undone by the logical incoherence of his actions.

For at the exact same time President Trump declared an energy emergency, he simultaneously attempted to derail new offshore wind development, which would undermine reliability, and directed agencies to take actions that would decrease the efficiency with which we use energy, which would drive up consumer energy costs. He also froze funding specifically intended to spur the deployment of new energy resources across the country, as well as infrastructure intended to boost energy reliability, resilience, and access.

Some way to solve a "crisis."

When you peel back the rhetoric, it's clear there's only one throughline here: actions that would boost the profits of fossil fuel companies, with the costs borne by everyone else.

And that strategy makes sense when remembering that this is an administration that pledged fealty to fossil fuel executives so long as they opened their wallets during campaign season-which they did. Because ultimately, fossil fuel executives don't want to drive down energy prices. They want higher earnings, achieved by lowering their costs of doing business while locking in long-term demand for fossil fuels.

How the Executive Orders advance fossil fuel interests

The executive orders attempt to advance fossil fuel interests through two main approaches: first, by making it easier to extract and transport fossil fuels, and second, by making it easier to use fossil fuels-including by making it harder to use clean energy resources instead.

Making it easier to extract and transport fossil fuels. U.S. fossil fuel production is at record highs. There is no shortage of fossil fuel production, nor-problematically, to our eye-is there any shortage of opportunities for future expansion. But fossil fuel companies object to any constraints on their ability to extract fossil fuels, wherever and however they want.

Moreover, fossil fuel pipelines crisscross the nation and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals extend the reach of gas transmission from within the country to around the globe. New pipelines, and new LNG terminals, are actively under construction-the latter of which are already projected to nearly double LNG capacity by 2028. But fossil fuel companies object to standards and accountability around where, how, and to what end those pipelines are constructed, as well as commonsense evaluations of the harmful economic, climate, and health implications of unfettered LNG expansion.

The Trump Day 1 orders attempt to appease fossil fuels interests on these fronts by opening more areas for leasing; attempting to shortcut the permitting process for fossil fuel infrastructure-both by claiming an energy emergency to sidestep regulatory requirements and by attempting to unwind decades-old permitting processes and requirements; pushing the Department of Energy to advance LNG approvals; and directing agencies to review (and, implied, weaken or fully rescind) regulations governing pollution associated with fossil fuel extraction, processing, and transport.

Making it easier to use fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are intertwined throughout the US economy-but less so every day. Renewable resources and energy storage are rapidly displacing coal-fired power plants and edging out gas-fired generation. Moreover, people are increasingly pivoting away from fossil fuel-burning end uses, such as vehicles, stoves, and furnaces, to electrified alternatives, such as electric vehicles (EVs), induction cooktops, and heat pumps. This existential threat of obsolescence means that even if fossil fuel extraction and transmission were fully unencumbered, if nobody wants what fossil fuel companies are selling, there's nothing left to prop up. Queue the out-of-the-gate attempts to force ongoing fossil fuel consumption, following a two-pronged approach.

First, President Trump directed agencies to discount, ignore, and potentially even outright reject the premise of, the harms of fossil fuel use to public health and the climate, thereby attempting to create a route to justify the weakening of pollution standards-which he also directed agencies like the EPA to reconsider. He also initiated the process of once more pulling out of the Paris Agreement, in so doing pivoting away from the single greatest commitment to global climate action.

Second, President Trump attempted to derail the competitors to fossil fuel use, namely renewable resources like wind, solar, and storage, as well as energy end uses like EVs and heat pumps that run on electricity or, even, just more efficient use of fossil fuels. This included freezing federal leasing and permitting of offshore wind; freezing the disbursement of funds intended to support the clean energy transition at the individual, community, state, and national levels; and freezing the disbursement of funds loaned to companies investing billions of dollars in new US manufacturing facilities to advance innovative clean energy technologies.

What comes next

With these executive orders, alongside a slew of fossil fuel-friendly agency nominees, the Trump administration has made clear who's once again calling their energy shots.

However, vanishingly little of what's been proposed thus far is at all guaranteed of coming to pass. Indeed, the overwhelming majority is directional at best, with no follow-through required. And even where there is follow-through, actual changes resulting from these orders will face substantial hurdles.

When it comes to unwinding regulations, agencies like EPA will have to justify their actions-and that means actually looking at the science. The Trump administration immediately leapt to undermine that very science on Day 1, too, but even with these bald-faced instructions to outright deny reality, agencies will still have to contend with the facts, as well as the long and winding processes associated with administrative procedures.

When it comes to halting the disbursement of funds from policies that have already been passed into law, such as those via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, that means halting the disbursement of funds that are legally owed. To change the flow of funds, Congress must pass new laws-or the president risks outright violating the constitution.

Finally, when it comes to popular buy-in, the administration will have to contend with the fact that people overwhelmingly favor clean air and commonsense standards; that people support innovation and advancement of clean energy technologies; and that people want real solutions to the devastating, escalating, staggeringly costly impacts of climate change.

And those solutions? They sure aren't this.

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