President Trump issued two executive orders late Monday aimed at ramping up oil and gas drilling, including in disputed areas of Alaska.
One of the orders calls for drilling to begin in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and National Petroleum Refuge.
The other would begin a review of all policies that “burden the development of domestic energy resources.”
The latter order also specifically targets former President Biden's push for electric vehicles, stating that it is U.S. policy to “elimate the 'electric vehicle (EV) mandate.'”
Many of the measures do not necessarily change the rules on the books immediately, but instead direct federal agencies to begin the long process of reversing Biden policies, which also took years to complete. It is something to do.
But one of the key policies the second order seeks to revisit could ultimately prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from issuing climate regulations altogether. Specifically, it directs the EPA to reevaluate a 2009 finding that climate change poses health risks and should be regulated.
It also aims to restart approvals for new natural gas exports, which the Biden administration had paused until a court halted the move.
President Trump, who signed the Alaska state order in the Oval Office, was particularly enthusiastic about restarting drilling operations in wildlife refuges.
Drilling in the reserve is particularly controversial because the area is home to wildlife such as grizzly bears, polar bears, gray wolves, caribou, and more than 200 species of birds. It also includes land sacred to the Gwich'in people. But Republicans have long focused on it as a source of oil and a way to boost local economies, including those of local tribes.
of order Specifically, it is directing the Interior Department to restore drilling rights on the land that were stripped away under the Biden administration, and calling for a review of the Biden administration's ultimately unsuccessful lease on the land.
In addition to electric vehicle rules, the order also targets Biden's efficiency rules for household appliances, including light bulbs, dishwashers, washing machines, gas stoves, water heaters, toilets, and showerheads. It states that it is the policy of the United States to maximize options.
The Trump administration rolled back rules on energy efficiency for household appliances during its first term, and Trump himself disparaged more energy-efficient versions in speeches, from low-flow toilets to energy-efficient light bulbs. He blamed everything. Gathering. Gas stoves, meanwhile, have become a hot topic among Republicans under the Biden administration after U.S. consumer product safety officials indicated they were considering regulating them because of their link to childhood asthma.
However, 97% of gas stoves on the market were already compliant with the standards finalized by the ministry in January last year.
It also aims to revise construction rules to speed up the construction of new projects, sometimes at the expense of environmental reviews. Specifically, the order states that government agencies evaluating infrastructure projects must “prioritize efficiency and certainty over any other goals.”
Additionally, the order directs federal agencies to halt cash contributions issued under the Democratic Climate, Tax, and Health Care Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law. In particular, it calls for funding for electric vehicle charging stations.
Beyond wildlife refuges, the order also aims to open other areas of Alaska to drilling and other industries.
It also directs the administration to rescind Biden's policy restricting drilling in the Alaska National Oil Reserve, which President Harding set aside in 1923 as an emergency oil supply for the Navy.
The order also lifts Biden-era protections for Alaska's Tongass National Forest and reinstates a 2020 regulation from the Trump administration's first term that allowed industrial logging on much of the old-growth forest. The Biden administration has banned logging and road construction in most areas in 2023.
The order takes aim at a variety of Biden's other policies, including the Alaska Mine Road and the veto of the American Climate Change Corps. — Climate change jobs program.
— Updated at 10:24 p.m.
