Most likely: Exit Paris pact, lift LNG export permit pause, suspend offshore wind permits, expand offshore oil/gas leases, declare national energy emergency.
When newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump issues his anticipated broadside of 100 day one executive actions on Jan. 20, several dozen will presumably zero in on energy policy and environmental regulation.
“Energy dominance” and “drill baby drill” 2024 campaign rally chants were amplified by Trump during the post-Nov. 5 transition by reiterating his intent to issue orders that “unleash American energy” while hinting at dispensing broader directives aimed at exercising regulations imposed under President Joe Biden’s “new green scam” from federal purview.
In the mix with potential energy-related executive actions is the second Trump administration’s proposed tariff regime. How those actions unfurl, including penalties on Canadian crude oil and refined fuel, imported solar and electric vehicle battery parts, supply chains, and critical minerals, will affect actions related to energy.
Of Trump’s expected 100 inauguration afternoon pen-stroke fiats—Biden holds the record of 17 day one executive orders—there will be two general types related to energy development.
There will be those that prompt an immediate, actionable event, and those that implement policies through administrative process, rule-making, and legislation.
Day One Action Items
Oval Office housekeeping will be addressed in day one executive orders with the elimination of the White House Climate Office and adviser position created under the Biden administration and the establishment of a National Policy Council chaired by Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary nominee Doug Burgum.
Trump is also expected to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris Climate Accord, as he did in 2017; order the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to move its headquarters from Washington to Grand Junction, Colorado, as he did in 2020; and renew federal approvals for the Keystone XL Pipeline, as he did in 2020 before the project was withdrawn in 2021.
Lift LNG Export Permit Pause: Trump is expected to immediately end the Biden administration’s January 2024 halt in new permit reviews by directing the Department of Energy (DOE) to approve new terminals to export liquified natural gas (LNG).
By John Haughey
