One week: Unpacking Trump's energy and environmental orders
After a busy seven days, here's what Trump's new 'energy emergency' means and how his executive orders impact climate change legal fights.

During his first seven days in office, President Donald Trump signed dozens of executive orders that aim to drastically reshape the federal government he inherited, including many that favor fossil fuel energy production over renewables.
The president’s flurry of orders — many of which are likely to be challenged in court — have signaled a major shift in the country’s approach to its energy future as it faces a huge expected increase in electricity demand to power huge artificial intelligence data centers and power semiconductor chip and battery manufacturing.
The stakes are high, from both a climate change and geopolitical perspective.
On the climate front, the policies seek to effectively encourage the release of planet-warming greenhouse gas emission at a time when U.S. oil and gas production is at an all-time high. On the geopolitical side of the equation, the focus puts the U.S. out of step with global competitors like China that are investing heavily in electric vehicle and solar panel production, but could help position the country well to help meet projected increased global gas demands in the coming years.
Here are the highlights from Trump’s busy week in Washington.
‘Unleashing American energy’ amid an ‘energy emergency’
Two of the first executive orders signed by the president last week stated that it is the country’s official policy to “encourage energy exploration and production on Federal lands and waters,” and declared an energy emergency in the United States.
The former, titled “Unleashing American Energy,” was multifaceted. It rescinded numerous Biden-era environmental executive orders, encouraged American dominance of critical minerals supplies, said it was eliminating the Biden administration’s electric vehicle (EV) “mandate” and described the need for abundant fossil fuels as a national security concern.
The energy emergency, meanwhile, said that American energy and critical minerals production — including aspects across the production chain from the identification of resources to refining — is inadequate. The order specifically sets out a goal of faster permitting and approval for the development of fossil fuels, uranium, geothermal heat, biofuels and hydropower.
Solar power, wind energy and even batteries are conspicuously left out, though renewable energy sources and EVs account for a big chunk of demand for many minerals currently considered to be “critical” by the U.S. Department of Energy. The president also effectively blocked future offshore wind leasing and took steps to stop funding for renewables that were made available through laws like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.
To speed up the production of the Trump administration’s preferred energy sources, the executive order would utilize emergency provisions of cornerstone environmental protection laws like the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act (note: one such endangered species that is likely on the chopping block is a small fish Trump has blamed repeatedly for the fires currently burning in Los Angeles). The administration is also making use of the National Emergencies Act, which can give the president numerous powers and may allow the president to sidestep environmental reviews in certain circumstances and reduce or eliminate public comment periods for some projects.
The National Emergencies Act was notably used by Trump in 2019 to divert billions of dollars to build a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. But Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said in October 2020 the Trump administration had unlawfully used those powers.
Undermining the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s power
Trump also made big changes to how the government implements the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the law that requires the government to take a hard look at the environmental consequences of major actions.
Trump rescinded a decades-old order from the Carter administration that gave the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) the power to develop NEPA regulations telling federal departments how to comply with NEPA when evaluating everything from proposals to dredge rivers to pollution permits for power plants.
The decision to strip CEQ of its authority comes on the heels of a shocking D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in November that said the CEQ never had the authority to issue binding NEPA regulations relied upon by agencies for over 40 years. The Biden administration had quickly moved to appeal that unexpected decision, but the Trump administration told the court it is now reevaluating the federal government’s position in that case.
(For a more in-depth dive into CEQ regulations, read Landmark’s coverage of that earlier ruling — it’s not nearly as dry as it sounds).
Challenging crucial climate change legal pillars and tools
Included in one of Trump’s sweeping executive orders on energy was a directive that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency submit recommendations “on the legality and continuing applicability” of the agency’s 2009 finding that greenhouse gases in the atmosphere endanger the public’s health and the environment.
That formal recognition was key to the EPA developing emissions rules to limit carbon dioxide and other gas emissions from power plants and vehicles.
Conservatives have pushed to eliminate the finding, but supporters say there is “overwhelming science” that greenhouse gases are dangerous. That would make it nearly impossible for a Trump reversal to stand up in court. (It’s worth noting that the issue has already been litigated, and the D.C. Circuit rejected a challenge by fossil fuel producers and Republican-led states to the original finding in 2012).
The president also instructed the government to consider eliminating the “social cost of carbon” calculation, which attempts to better account for indirect environmental and public health impacts of major projects. (To better understand that calculation, think of a power plant. While there are clear economic benefits to creating energy, pollution from smokestacks can cause health issues like asthma).
On the international side, Trump also ordered the U.S. withdrawal from the United Nations climate agreement known as the Paris Accord.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) export approvals back on the table, alongside Alaskan resources
Trump ended a Biden administration pause on Energy Department approvals for the export of LNG to non-free-trade countries. The decision will make it easier for the U.S. to meet growing demand for LNG abroad, though environmental critics say unleashing LNG exports will exacerbate climate change through the release of a “carbon bomb.”
(If you want to better understand the debate around LNG exports, check out Landmark’s previous coverage).
The president also issued an order to prioritize oil and gas development in Alaska, including in parts of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve, both of which the Biden administration took steps to protect.