What you need to know about Trump’s harmful environmental policies

The health of our environment is foundational to the health of our society. Without clean air, clean water, a healthy climate, and thriving ecosystems, we all suffer. 

As a Quaker organization, AFSC is committed to caring for the Earth and all its inhabitants. Defending our environment is a shared responsibility for which we all must play our part. We must transition away from fossil fuels and create an economy that provides for all communities, with no one left out. Yet our present economic system prioritizes short-term gains for the wealthy over long-term prosperity for all.

The latest executive actions by President Donald Trump demonstrate complete disregard for human well-being. Now, Congress is preparing to do even more damage in a forthcoming reconciliation bill. If these anti-climate proposals pass, they could cause long-lasting environmental damage, endangering the health of generations to come.

These actions compound an already serious climate crisis. Last year was the hottest year on record, and heat-related deaths are on the rise. Climate change is fueling more and more large-scale natural disasters. The cost of home insurance is spiking due to the threat of climate catastrophes, making some areas increasingly unaffordable to live in. And climate change is putting more pressure on our agricultural system, jeopardizing food supplies and farmers’ livelihoods. 

But we are not bound to this path. Through collective action, we can change this course. History has shown that when people unite and act together, we can overcome even the most entrenched interests.

If we want to take action to defend the health of our planet and secure a brighter future for all, we should first understand the threats we now face. Here’s what you need to know about how Trump’s executive orders and Congress’s plans will fuel climate change. 

Trump’s executive actions:

• Reverse actions taken by the Biden administration to address climate change: The Trump administration has overturned 14 environment-related executive orders issued by the Biden administration. Those include policies that preserved forests, promoted environmental research, encouraged green investments in low-income areas, coordinated climate change policies across agencies, and more.
• Withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, a vital international treaty governing the global effort to avoid a climate catastrophe. By pulling us out of this historic agreement that virtually every other nation is a part of, the United States is abandoning the rest of the world on an issue that affects all of us. The decision will slow progress on one of the most serious issues of our time. It could also potentially undo a large portion of the reductions in carbon emissions that have already been achieved.
• Disrupt climate funding, halting any new spending of funds from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), two of the most significant pieces of climate action ever to make it through Congress. The IRA has so far been responsible for billions of dollars in projects that have created good jobs in green industries all over the United States, especially in areas that need it the most. Rural areas in particular have received billions in funding for everything from sustainable conservation and job training to upgraded school buses and clean energy utilities.
• Give away natural resources to fossil fuel companies, bypassing important environmental rules to offer the fossil fuel industry even more of our public lands at subsidized rates. Not only will people be forced to deal with the damage caused by climate change, but they will also be forced to subsidize it, as well: Taxpayers lose out when the government leases land to big companies for less than its worth. This is especially worrying considering the focus on promoting fossil fuels in ecologically sensitive areas like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
• Expand offshore oil drilling by promoting new offshore projects at our oceans’ expense. More than a decade after the BP oil spill, marine life is still polluted, parts of the regional fishing industry are still recovering, and some of those involved in the clean-up effort are still sick. The coastal waters off the U.S. are already filled with over 2,700 old oil wells that were supposed to have been decommissioned. The last thing we need is to create even more ticking time bombs by further expanding offshore drilling.
• Freeze federal rulemaking, a move that might endanger rules like the new restrictions on PFAS “forever chemicals” in our water supply, as well as the methane emissions fee that charges oil and gas companies for the damage caused by their destructive methane pollution.
• Abuse emergency powers by declaring a “national energy emergency.” Despite the Trump administration’s claim that the U.S. suffers from “insufficient energy production,” we actually produce more energy than we consume. The decision is another giveaway to the fossil fuel companies, including propping up the declining coal industry. But the order will do nothing to secure the demands of mineworkers calling for safe, secure jobs. Nor will it produce cheaper energy (as coal is more expensive than renewables). Instead of declaring an emergency that would worsen climate change, the U.S. needs to join others in declaring a climate emergency that enables bold action to protect our planet, along with a just transition for coal miners and all other fossil fuel workers.
• Make cars dirtier by overturning recent emissions standards, removing policies that make electric vehicles more accessible, and eliminating the ability of states to set their own air pollution standards. Each of these policies would have produced cleaner air, and the emissions standards alone would have saved drivers $62 billion a year in gas and maintenance costs.
• Block offshore wind energy. At the same time that the government is trying to promote oil drilling in the ocean, it is also ending approval for offshore wind projects. Trump has repeatedly made a range of false claims about wind power and its impacts, despite the fact that wind is one of the safest and most efficient sources of energy in existence. By ending such projects, the Trump administration will worsen pollution while making electricity more expensive. Anyone concerned about either the environment or their energy bills should be pushing for more wind power, not less.
• Expand liquid natural gas (LNG) exports, despite the findings of a recent government report that found that such an expansion would worsen pollution, raise prices, and help lock the world into a future of dirty energy. One estimate suggests that the additional air pollution caused by creating more LNG export facilities could cause up to 1,110 deaths and $15.1 billion in health costs by 2050, a count that does not even include the industrial risks posed by dangerous facilities operating under outdated safety rules.
• And much more, including terminating the Climate Corps, weakening the Endangered Species Act, undermining efficiency standards for household appliances, and abandoning our international climate finance obligations.

How Congress’s plans could inflict even more damage

Trump’s executive actions constitute a serious threat to our planet. Unfortunately, some of the proposals being considered in Congress would be just as harmful. Many of the tax cuts for the rich passed in 2017 are set to expire this year, and congressional Republicans are now looking for spending cuts to pay for the extension of these benefits for the wealthy. These potential cuts include the elimination of funding for the IRA and IIJA. That’s despite the fact that these programs have been so successful that some members of Congress who voted against the IRA have been working to save the parts of the law that most benefit their districts.

What programs would be affected if Congress cut funding for the IRA and IIJA? Programs on the chopping block include those aimed at reducing air pollution, building energy-efficient housing, improving the national power grid, upgrading our infrastructure, encouraging clean manufacturing, improving weather forecasting, preparing our communities for natural disasters, developing new transportation options, and conserving our national parks. 

Other plans under discussion in Congress include the “repeal of all federal methane and greenhouse gas regulations.” Senate Republicans have discussed deregulating hydrofluorocarbons, dangerous chemicals that are thousands of times more dangerous than carbon dioxide. House Republicans, meanwhile, are looking to supercharge land giveaways to fossil fuel companies. They have already passed a measure that makes it easier to do so by declaring that public land is essentially valued at $0.

How you can take action

Our government should prioritize the health of its people and the planet over the profits of the fossil fuel industry. Instead of padding the pockets of big business, it should:

• Hold the fossil fuel industry accountable by requiring them to pay for the damages caused by their pollution.
• Promote a just transition away from fossil fuels to create new green jobs in clean energy, infrastructure, public transit, housing, and more.
• Strengthen rules that protect our air, water, and land from environmental destruction.
• Commit to international action which recognizes climate change as a global problem.
• Protect all communities from both poverty and pollution, particularly those who are most often left behind: workers, people of color, low-income people, rural communities, Native Americans, and more.

Urgent action is needed to preserve our planet for future generations. Short-sighted decisions by lawmakers whose campaigns are funded by fossil fuel interests drag us in the exact opposite direction. To move forward toward a world where everyone can benefit from a clean environment, it is critical that we make our voices heard today.