The dismantling of the White House’s climate policy took a few minutes.
President Donald Trump signed two executive orders Monday to transform the office into one focused on supporting fossil fuels. One directed federal agencies to halt all “Green New Deal” initiatives, referring to former President Joe Biden’s historic investment in climate and clean energy. The other rescinded a slew of Biden executive orders.
Gone are the Biden administration’s goals to sharply cut planet-warming emissions. The country’s highest office now aims to boost offshore drilling, rapidly approve energy permits and remove incentives for renewable energy.
It’s a plan first laid out by Russell Vought, whom Trump picked to head the Office of Management and Budget. But much of the Trump administration’s approach still relies on forces outside of its control, like the energy market itself, said John Morton, who served as the first climate counselor to Biden’s Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
