In their first few weeks in office, the Trump Administration is making good on their promise to target federal environmental policies. This includes a slate of executive orders that we anticipate could have a serious stalling impact on what we have been doing and fighting for for years – working to make our communities more resilient against climate change, working for infrastructure changes to move toward more robust public transit and working to replace fossil fuels with clean energy.
On his first day in office, on January 20, Trump signed at least six executive orders that we view as anti-environmental. One of his first actions was to withdraw the United States from the international Paris Agreement – the agreement signed by 195 countries in which all signatories vowed to take action against climate change and to keep global warming’s rise to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to temperatures during pre-industrial times. Among other orders, Trump signed an executive order entitled Unleashing American Energy, in which he ordered U.S. government agencies to abolish restrictions on fossil fuel energy exploration.
He also issued an order titled Terminating the Green New Deal (notwithstanding that there was no “Green New Deal” passed) requiring federal agencies to pause all funding authorized by the Biden Administration’s signature legislative efforts – the federal Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, that together earmarked hundreds of billions of dollars for wind and solar projects, EVs and other energy and carbon-reducing projects and technologies, The New York Times reported. This action by the Trump administration has caused confusion and uncertainty, as it has stalled projects, grants and jobs worth billions of dollars in the energy sector, all designed to reduce carbon emissions and make our country more energy independent and resilient against the impact of climate change.
The Times reports that the Trump administration also has notified 1,100 employees at the Environmental Protection Agency that their jobs may be in jeopardy – all with the intent to pare back the agency designed to enforce laws and implement programs designed to protect our environment and help our country fight pollution and global warming.
And, locally, there are threats from the Trump administration that it might take action to stop congestion pricing, which is barely a month old in New York City.
“What the Trump administration is doing is counterproductive to achieving clean air and water,” said Matt Salton, NYLCV’s Federal Policy Manager, “but it was somewhat anticipated, given the president’s rhetoric as he campaigned for office. As environmentalists, we must come together with other leaders in our field and with like-minded elected officials and work even harder to fight these new currents.”
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander’s office has studied the potential impact and issued a report.
In addition to the potential loss of billions of dollars to fund critical transit capital improvements if Trump cancels congestion pricing, other funds are at risk of being lost for transportation and environmental projects, including:
- Hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for transportation and infrastructure projects that “will likely result in deprioritization of mass transit, climate, equity and environmental justice” programs;
- Funds for the Gateway Tunnel, Second Avenue Subway Phase II and other NYC-based transit expansion projects;
- Grant money for New York City designed to fund critical projects like the reconstruction of the BQE and building EV charging stations and other EV-related investments;
- Funds for Solar for All grants, which allow for reimbursement to local and state governments, are at risk; and
- If there is a climate-related disaster in New York City (there were five from 2011-23), federal disaster relief could be in jeopardy
In addition, Lander’s report states that the Trump administration is likely to delay or withhold approval for New York state’s pending offshore wind projects, given that Trump has stated his opposition to such projects. In fact, one of Trump’s first executive orders on the day he was inaugurated “suspended new federal leases, permits and other approvals for wind projects …”
This action alone threatens New York state’s effort to meet its climate goals of having 70 percent renewable electricity by 2030 and 9 gigawatts of wind power by 2025. New York is planning on having five large wind farms off the coast of Long Island by the early 2030s.
“Without offshore winds, we will not reach our targets,” Rob Freudenberg, vice president for energy and environment at the Regional Plan Association, told NYS Focus.
Governor Hochul said: The state “must be prepared to meet the challenge of the federal government walking back commitments to offshore wind, a key energy source in our transition to renewables.”
One way to challenge the Trump administration is to take them to court.
“There is a body of case law that has developed in response to Democratic administrations attempting to pause permitting of oil and gas projects that could come back to bite the Trump administration here,” Matthew Eisensen, a senior fellow at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, told NYS Focus.
The Institute for Policy Integrity at the NYU School of Law tracked litigation from Trump’s first term and compiled case-by-case statistics of wins and losses.
According to the Institute, 246 cases were litigated involving the Trump Administration’s effort to use federal agencies to implement policies and they lost 192 cases and won 54. In the environment, energy and natural resources sector, the results were similar: The Trump administration lost 103 cases and won 32.
Meanwhile, Hochul, as co-chair, is working with the U.S. Climate Alliance, which includes 24 governors representing approximately 60 percent of the U.S. economy. In its first major action since Trump took office, the Climate Alliance said it is committed to upholding the standards of the Paris Agreement.
“Our states and territories continue to have broad authority under the U.S. Constitution to protect our progress and advance the climate solutions we need,” Hochul and fellow Co-Chair New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham wrote. “This does not change with a shift in federal administration.”
Gov. Hochul said the bipartisan alliance is implementing a range of policies and programs “to secure our net-zero future, including statewide and regional carbon markets, 100% clean energy standards, and methane reduction programs for the oil and gas, waste and agricultural sectors, among many others,” according to Centersquare.com.
In a report issued by The Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan think tank, in the form of questions posed to its experts, there was no denying that Trump’s action will have an impact and delay or cancel projects designed to reduce carbon emissions, but there was much uncertainty and some reason to be cautiously optimistic. The report emphasized that implementation of executive orders and other actions relating to permitting, authorization, funding and implementation can take considerable time, and Trump is only in office for four years.
“The process of revising or rescinding regulations will take time and be subject to legal challenge,” the report said, adding, “Headlines come fast, but change comes more slowly.”
The report also said that state and local governments “retain vast powers under the US Constitution and existing laws to set their own energy agendas.”
The good news is we have a strong congressional delegation and we are optimistic that they will do what is beneficial for New York.
Peter Aronson, a volunteer writer at the New York League of Conservation Voters since September 2022, is a former journalist and retired attorney. He is the author of Mandalay Hawk’s Dilemma: The United States of Anthropocene, a novel for middle-grade readers about kids fighting global warming. Kirkus Reviews, in a starred review, wrote: “A scathing work and an essential blueprint for youth battling climate change.” To read more about Peter, visit his website www.peteraronsonbooks.com or to purchase his book, click here.