'Drill, baby, drill': Donald Trump's plan on climate change

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LONDON - On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump declared a "national energy emergency" with a plan to boost oil and gas production and withdrawing the United States from a global pact to fight global warming.

With an inauguration speech and series of executive orders signalling a dramatic departure from his predecessor, President Joe Biden, Trump in his second term as U.S. president is expected to have a major impact on climate action at home and abroad.

Trump, whose campaign won significant donations from oil companies, was an outspoken critic of Biden's climate plans and is expected to pull back from several green commitments.

What is Trump expected to do on climate change?

Trump already signed an executive order to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement, the international pact to limit average temperature rise to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) and ideally 1.5°C (2.7°F).

Domestically, Trump declared a national energy emergency, plans to rescind Biden's clean energy regulations and has pledged to axe any unspent funds in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The IRA provides billions of dollars in clean energy subsidies and investments to cut planet-heating emissions.

Trump has lambasted the measures. He declared in his inauguration speech that he would "end the Green New Deal" and revoked an executive order signed by Biden aimed at ensuring half of all new vehicles sold by 2030 were electric.

Fully repealing the IRA law, however, would require a vote in Congress, a move that analysts say could fall foul of Republicans whose states benefit from its investment and jobs.

What will Trump do on the energy transition?

U.S. production of oil and gas reached record levels under Biden as the president tried to control fuel prices at the pump.

Trump has vowed to further boost fossil-fuel production, with executive orders declaring an energy emergency to speed up oil and gas permitting and lifting a freeze on natural gas export permit applications.

"We will drill, baby, drill," he said in his inauguration address.

Trump also repealed Biden's efforts to block oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and other U.S. coasts.

Trump promised to revive the coal industry in his first term, but employment in the sector fell as power generators turned to natural gas and renewable energy.

Employment in clean energy - including wind, solar, nuclear and battery storage - rose by 142,000 jobs, or 4.2% in 2023, up from a rise of 3.9% in 2022.

What could Trump's win mean for global climate action?

As the world's No. 2 polluter after China, the United States is a key player in global climate politics, and the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement risks undermining efforts to accelerate international climate ambitions.

Trump also pulled out of the pact during his first term.

Environmentalists fear a lack of U.S. leadership on climate action could encourage other nations to weaken their efforts.

By contrast, Biden had planned to halve U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 against 2005 levels and to reach net zero by 2050.

The United States is also expected to withdraw from international aid commitments for global climate action, such as Biden's $500-million pledge for the Amazon rainforest.

Will Trump stop all U.S. climate action?

Separate from federal policies, many U.S. states and local governments have their own climate policies, spanning transport to energy, so many initiatives - such as California's ambition for 100% clean electricity - should go unscathed.

Along with a dozen other states, California also wants to mandate that 80% of all new vehicles sold in the state be electric by 2035 and up to 20% plug-in hybrid electric.

Despite close ties with electric vehicle maker Tesla boss Elon Musk, Trump has said he will seek to repeal a waiver from the federal U.S. Environmental Protection Agency which allows the state's EV mandate.

This article was updated on Tuesday January 22, 2025 at 10:04 GMT following Donald Trump's inauguration as president.

(Reporting by Jack Graham; Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths and Ellen Wulfhorst.)