Trump's attack on environment and climate policy

February 18, 2025

In a continuing slew of stories being generated by the Trump administration’s attempts to destroy US climate-focused policies, Bloomberg reports that “top officials at the US Department of Homeland Security received a memo on Friday ordering an immediate stop to work connected to climate change and the elimination of climate-related terms across the agency”. The outlet adds: “The memo instructs senior office heads to ‘eliminate all climate change activities and the use of climate change terminology in DHS policies and programs, to the maximum extent permitted by the law’, according to the document seen by Bloomberg News. The changes are meant to bring ‘alignment’ with Trump’s executive orders that reverse multiple climate-related orders by former president Joe Biden, it said. The directive from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem marks the latest move by president Donald Trump and his appointees to roll back federal efforts to address global warming and could affect disaster response capabilities which are overseen by DHS.”

In other news, the Associated Press is among many outlets, including Bloomberg and E&E News, reporting that “Trump on Friday signed an executive order formally creating a National Energy Dominance Council and directed it to move quickly to drive up already record-setting domestic oil and gas production”. The newswire continues: “Trump’s administration also announced it has granted conditional export authorisation for a huge liquefied natural gas project in Louisiana, the first approval of new LNG exports since former president Joe Biden paused consideration of them a year ago. And Trump said he has directed Interior secretary Doug Burgum to undo Biden’s ban on future offshore oil drilling on the east and west coasts. Biden’s last-minute action last month ‘viciously took out’ more than 625m acres offshore that could contribute to the nation’s ‘net worth’, Trump said. Trump also vowed to revive a canceled pipeline that would carry natural gas from Pennsylvania to New York, saying it could slash energy prices in the Northeast by as much as 70%. Taken together, the actions underscored Trump’s commitment to increase US energy production, particularly fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas, and remove regulatory barriers that may slow that down.”

Relatedly, Reuters reports that the “US Environmental Protection Agency on Friday said it has terminated 388 employees hired over the last two years, saying this will align its workforce with president Donald Trump’s ‘energy dominance’ policy agenda. The agency said it did a ‘thorough review’ of its probationary staff, employees who have worked in their roles for less than two years.” The New York Times also covers the news. Inside Climate News says “former EPA officials are condemning the agency’s new leadership for trying to claw back billions from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, calling waste claims the current administrator, Lee Zeldin, lobbed a ‘smokescreen’ to justify dismantling climate programs the Trump administration opposes”. The Financial Times says US scientists have warned that “critical work” is now at risk from further Trump cuts.

Finally, the Washington Post says: “Even before he took office, president Donald Trump’s promise to halt all offshore wind projects upended an industry just as it was getting off the ground. Now, a freeze on wind project approvals threatens so many plans that it could undercut the country’s climate goals.”