Just days after his second coming, Donald Trump has picked Lee Zeldin to lead the Environment Protection Agency. Zeldin is a staunch supporter of Trump’s policies and is likely to share similar sentiments on environmental issues as well. In his first term, Trump reportedly reversed over a 100 environmental laws, and has some famously controversial takes on the environment and climate change. This begs the question as to what his next term will bring, and what the repercussions will be for countries who have joint ventures in the climate action and energy space with the United States. For India, financial commitments and joint ventures targeting renewable energy initiatives might be at risk.
A mere glance at what the Trump administration did in his first term reveals his scepticism about climate science and emphasis on ‘energy dominance’. Much of what is considered factual, such as the consequences of fossil fuel emissions, was dismissed as a hoax. In addition to withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Agreement– which he has vowed to do again- Trump also repealed the Clean Power Plan, a key policy Obama put in place. Trump also promoted the use of fossil fuel production and opened up many previously restricted untapped areas for drilling, including certain portions of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Additionally, over 100 environmental regulations were weakened and repealed.
The Biden administration, on the other hand, was more focused on addressing climate change as both a domestic and global issue. On his first day in office, President Biden rejoined the Paris agreement, and went on to set ambitious targets for emission reduction. Biden also put the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into place, which directed over 370 billion dollars to clean energy investments. He also restored regulations that Trump had removed that had been established since the Obama era, focused on regulating the oil and gas industry’s methane emissions. In addition to these significant initiatives, there were multiple executive orders and clean energy ventures that prioritised environmental and climate action. The coming weeks will be telling of how many of these initiatives Trump intends to remove.
No comments:
Post a Comment