Donald Trump said today he would declare a "national energy emergency" in a move aimed at speeding up the development of fossil fuel infrastructure. He signed an executive order tonight.

The actions on his first day in office mark the beginning of President Trump's attempts to boost oil and gas development and abandon global climate goals. He campaigned on a promise to “drill, baby, drill” and repeal Biden-era policies to reduce pollution and halt climate change.

In his inauguration speech, Trump said the United States would "replenish our strategic reserves and export American energy around the world."

Trump also reiterated vague promises he has made to repeal environmental policies that have yet to be implemented. He said his administration would "end the Green New Deal, we will reverse the electric vehicle mandate and save our oil industry." It was initially unclear which policies his statement was referring to.

Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the most significant climate legislation to date, opening up $369 billion for climate action and clean energy. Trump has previously said he would divest all unspent IRA funds.

Biden’s transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, recently said: “I’m not worried about an electric vehicle mandate because there isn’t one yet, but I am concerned that he might take steps to make electric vehicles unavailable to U.S. consumers. It’s more expensive.” edge. But Trump said he would eliminate subsidies and tax credits that Biden introduced to make electric vehicles more affordable.

Biden-era tailpipe emissions standards may also be shelved. The Biden administration has tightened pollution standards in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and encourage more electric vehicle sales.

A new White House webpage says the Trump administration's priorities include "streamlining the permitting process and reviewing the repeal of all regulations that impose undue burdens on energy production and use, including the extraction and processing of non-fuel minerals."

There are few details on the page about what declaring a national energy emergency would entail, beyond using "all necessary resources to build critical infrastructure." It does say Trump wants to end federal leases in wind farm areas and pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord, echoing past promises he has made

Trump signed an executive order withdrawing from the Paris Agreement later that evening at an Inauguration Eve rally.

Shortly after the rally, he signed another executive order declaring a national energy emergency, requiring federal agencies to "identify and exercise any lawful emergency powers available... to facilitate the identification, leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining and energy supply". Generation of domestic energy resources. "

Another executive order temporarily canceled offshore wind leasing in the Outer Continental Shelf region. “We’re not going to do the wind energy thing,” Trump said at the rally, where he also made misleading remarks, falsely attributing whale deaths to offshore wind energy development. Necropsies link East Coast whale deaths to ship strikes and not to emerging U.S. offshore wind development.

Another executive action would free up American energy as "encouraging energy exploration and production" — oil and natural gas drilling — on federal lands and waters, including the Outer Continental Shelf. The order directs agencies to review any policies that might impede fossil fuel, hydroelectric, biofuel, critical mineral or nuclear energy resources. It also asks agencies to consider “eliminating unfair subsidies and other ill-conceived government-imposed market distortions that favor EVs” that create barriers to EV adoption.

Trump also signed an executive order revoking 78 executive actions of his predecessor, including authorizations to combat climate change. These include executive orders in 2022 implementing the energy and infrastructure provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act. Another directive announced tonight requires executive departments and agencies to "provide emergency price relief," a sign that the Trump administration may loosen energy efficiency requirements for appliances. It also said agencies should "eliminate harmful, coercive" climate policies. Another executive order is expected to open up more energy projects in Alaska.