Donald Trump, set to be sworn in as president on Monday, is reportedly preparing to invoke emergency powers to advance domestic energy production and reverse policies implemented by President Joe Biden aimed at combating climate change, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Trump’s administration is expected to take immediate action to fulfill campaign promises of increasing energy output. These measures include enabling new oil and gas development on federal lands and initiating a rollback of Biden-era climate regulations.
Although many of these actions will begin lengthy regulatory processes, they aim to impact various sectors of the U.S. energy industry, from oil extraction to vehicle emissions. Trump’s approach signals a significant shift in federal energy policy, emphasizing oil and gas production over renewable energy initiatives championed by Biden.
Details on how Trump intends to use an emergency energy declaration remain unclear. However, such a declaration could grant special powers to manage crude oil transportation and direct changes in electricity generation and distribution.
During his campaign, Trump pledged to declare a national emergency on energy to address increasing demand fueled by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence. Speaking at the Capital One Arena on Sunday, he emphasized the need for doubling current energy production.
“We’re going to use emergency powers to help entrepreneurs and countries build large-scale AI energy plants,” Trump said.
A declaration of a national emergency could enable the president to access up to 150 special powers designed for events like natural disasters and national security crises, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. However, whether these powers can be effectively used to build additional power plants remains uncertain.
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Trump previously attempted to invoke emergency powers during his first term to prevent the closure of struggling coal and nuclear plants. That effort, which relied on the Federal Power Act, was ultimately abandoned.
The potential energy declaration would contrast sharply with efforts by environmental groups, who have urged Biden to declare a climate emergency to restrict oil exports and limit domestic fossil fuel use.
Trump’s declaration could potentially leverage emergency authorities contained in other laws, such as a Cold War-era statute initially invoked by President Harry Truman to ramp up steel production during the Korean War. Biden also used this law, the Defense Production Act, to boost domestic manufacturing of renewable energy technologies like solar panels and heat pumps.
Experts suggest Trump could use existing legislation to declare a “grid security emergency,” which offers broad authority for such declarations. However, legal disputes are likely to follow any efforts to enact significant policy changes.
Trump is expected to issue executive orders lifting restrictions on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, reversing Biden’s moratorium on federal oil and gas leases, and rolling back regulations on vehicle emissions and fuel economy.
Another anticipated move is the reversal of Biden’s decision to withdraw 625 million acres of U.S. waters from oil and gas leasing, a measure currently facing legal challenges from states and industry groups. However, Trump’s efforts to reverse similar Obama-era protections in Arctic waters were previously blocked by federal courts, suggesting legal battles may once again arise.
Trump’s agenda represents a significant pivot toward prioritizing fossil fuel industries, setting the stage for policy clashes and environmental debates in the years ahead.
