(Photo by Gage Skidmore via flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0)
“We will Drill, Baby, Drill”: Those are the words shaping the slogan of U.S. President Donald Trump. Under his agenda, investments in pushing forward fossil fuel are at the centre of his attention. With that, his goal is to lower energy prices and increase the fossil fuel energy supply.
Such a statement is unsurprising, coming from a president who, under his last regime, pushed for deregulatory actions that eliminated approximately 100 environmental regulations and relaxed restrictions on carbon emissions from power plants and vehicles. Additionally, his administration removed protections and pollution controls for wetlands and streams and undermined the Endangered Species Act.
What we will see during his current presidency is a continuation of such policies that boost fossil fuel and weaken environmental protections. It is bound to shake the balance between economic interests and environmental safekeeping.
Trump’s Policy Moves: the Dismantling of Climate Actions
Trump’s policies directly undermine environmental protection. The President has already signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement, arguing that such an agreement was an “unfair, one-sided… rip-off.” This action directly opposes the commitment made by 196 countries to address climate change by striving to limit global warming to below 1.5°C.
Trump has also suspended leasing offshore wind areas and temporarily paused permits, loans, and approvals for wind energy projects. Adding into this mix, an executive order to create a new “National Energy Dominance Council” has been signed, with the goal of increasing the US’s oil production embedded in the agenda.
Most significantly, regarding fossil fuels, the president declared a “national energy emergency,” granting him the authority to overturn Biden’s environmental regulations and accelerate oil and gas exploration. At a campaign event, Trump promised to make middle-class life more affordable by approving “new drilling, new pipelines, new refiners, new power plants, new reactors.” Notably, during Biden’s administration, the US experienced record levels of oil production, surpassing all other countries in output.
Further, electrification will see a downward trend. Trump pledges to terminate Biden’s regulatory policies that push forward purchases and the manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (EVs). Additionally, he has intentions of cutting spending for low-emission means of transport.
Trump’s Key Players Strategies to Dismantle Environmental Protections
Donald Trump’s cabinet is a reflection of his anti-climate agenda, with fossil fuel advocates and climate change denialists. Some of their intentions and responses toward environmental governance are listed below. Most of the key players listed in this article come from reporting by Martina Igini from Earth.com.
- Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior: Burgum aims to strengthen laws that accelerate energy projects, advancing Trump’s push for energy dominance. He has deep ties to the oil industry, profiting from leasing his land to oil companies and co-hosting dinners for fracking executives.
- Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture: Rollins has implemented measures to remove references to climate change from official government websites and promoted shutdowns of grants for ecological projects. Rollins constantly denies climate change, arguing that climate “changes throughout the year” and that climate change is “not widely understood or defined.” She has also led the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a right-wing think tank supported by the oil industry.
- Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation: This executive ordered Duffy’s department to remove any ruling, activities and policies “which reference or relate in any way to climate change, ‘greenhouse gas’ [sic] emissions, racial equity, gender identity, ‘diversity, equity and inclusion.” Duffy also eliminated rulings that obligated states to reduce carbon emissions from vehicles and decrease carbon emissions.
- Chris Wright – Secretary of Energy: Wright has condemned net-zero policies and has committed himself to “the importance of energy independence and innovation]” in order to reach what, through his eyes is an American energy dominance. Wright will further prioritize fossil fuels as well as geothermal, hydropower, and nuclear energy.
- Lee Zeldin – Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency: In a post on X, Zeldin announced that he would shred contracts to distribute $20 billion in funds for clean energy projects in vulnerable communities. This fund was previously available through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund created alongside the Inflation Reduction Act. He also cancelled a $50 million environmental justice grant to the Climate Justice Alliance (CJA), alleging that it sent pro-Palestinian messaging on the website.
Environmental Impact of Trump’s Policies
With all these policies and agents denying the severity of climate change and pushing full force ahead on fossil fuels, the environmental landscape is at risk. Scientists widely recognize that the burning of oil, coal and natural gas for electricity generation is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions and one of the key drivers of climate change.
The fossil fuel industry causes major effects on coastal and marine ecosystems, where seismic blastings for oil exploration can lead to ocean noise, pollution and destruction of wetlands if any pipelines leak. This industry is also responsible for creating “produced water,” a byproduct of oil and gas that is extremely toxic and cancerogenic, which is dumped into the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, the Gulf’s water has been heating up twice as fast as the Atlantic, directly damaging the environment and species now on the brink of extinction, like the Rice’s whale.
Another notable area is the “Cancer Alley” on the Mississippi River. Thanks to oil refineries, this area has the highest cancer rates in the whole country. Under the Greater Houston area, they constitute the third biggest hot spot of cancer-causing air in the US. If Trump succeeds in implementing his goals, the Gulf’s miseries will multiply—not to mention those of the entire country.
According to a United Nations report, global climate action is too slow. If countries do not push harder in their efforts, there is “virtually no chance” of reaching the international target of temperature decrease. Efforts to block Trump’s climate agenda are extremely crucial in the fight against climate change.
Global Reactions to Trump’s Fossil Fuel Obsession
The international system has responded significantly to Trump’s environmental agenda, with some expressing concern while others seek to follow the US’s lead. The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said: “The Paris Agreement can survive, but people sometimes can lose important organs or lose legs and survive. But we don’t want a crippled Paris Agreement.”
Having one of the richest and biggest oil-producing countries in the world boost its oil production gives other nations the perfect justification to increase their own. However, Indonesia has shown a different response, being cautious about fully committing to the goals of the Paris Agreement. Hashim Djojohadikusumo, Indonesia’s special envoy for climate change and energy, questioned, “If the U.S. isn’t participating, why should we?”
Indonesia is one of the top 10 biggest carbon-emitting nations. Despite this, when compared to the US, the number barely scratches the surface. Indonesia produces 3 tons of carbon [per person a year] while the US releases 13 tons. Yet “we [Indonesia] are the ones being told to close our power plants. Where is the sense of justice here?” asked Djojohadikusumo at the ESG Sustainable Forum 2025 in Jakarta on January 31st.
Moreover, Argentina has withdrawn from the COP29 climate meeting in Baku following Donald Trump’s victory and has since expressed a desire to exit the Paris Agreement as well. Without U.S. support in the fight against climate change, other countries are growing reluctant to act, accelerating global inaction and rising emissions.
Can Trump Actually Lower the Prices of Oil and Gas?
In the short term, increasing energy supply can bring down prices, but that depends on the constant demand. It is important to understand that the price of oil is dependent on the global market, and countries can react to lower prices by adding taxes and lowering production.
In the long term, though, not so much. Prices remain low for a long time only when there’s too much of something because people don’t want it anymore. But the chances of that happening this time are very low. Cullen Hendrix, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, explains that “The US is not Saudi Arabia or Russia: the president just doesn’t have the policy levers to control oil output and prices to these extents.”
The steady increase in oil and gas supply depends on the private sector, though, and whether they are willing to commit. Such an idea is not very appealing to companies, considering they would have to produce more for low prices. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, illustrates this by arguing that if prices drop to Trump’s preferred levels, many oil companies would be “losing money on every barrel.”
The international system would also respond to an increase in supply so the prices do not go too low. So, the bottom line is that oil prices will likely not drop as dramatically as Trump’s desires.
The Unstoppable Global Energy Transition
Although Trump’s agenda can cause significant harm towards climate action, we should not overestimate it.
The global trend is increasingly shifting toward a green economy and responsible environmental governance, driven partly by the rise of electric vehicles. If the US continues to invest in combustion engines and “old school” energy alternatives, it will lose the battle for innovative leadership.
Global energy decarbonization is here to stay, and despite Trump’s constant attempts to promote fossil fuels, the overall impact will be relatively modest. The influence of Trump’s policies on dismantling its commitment to the Paris Agreement on other countries is still a concerning reality that hopefully will be expanded.
Edited by Lubaba Mahmud
