Apr.30

electoral-vote.com

Dem 51

   

GOP 49

If He Wins, Trump Would Reverse at Least Five of Biden's Climate Policies

Donald Trump thinks climate change is hogwash and says that if elected he will do what he can to reverse many of Joe Biden's environmental policies. He's not kidding. When Trump took over from Barack Obama in 2017, he tried to reverse over 100 environmental protections Obama had put in place. However, due to sloppy legal work, court challenges to some of his plans were successful. Some of the most likely reversals in 2025 are these:

• Encourage fossil fuels: A quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions come from power plants. EPA regulations finalized last week would force coal plants to capture all the emissions or shut down. This will prevent 1.4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted. This is what 328 million gasoline-powered cars would emit in the next 20 years. Trump has said he will reverse this and build hundreds of new fossil-fuel power plants. This may be more of a threat than reality. Executives at power companies know that a new plant has to last decades. Spending tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to build a new coal-fired power plant in 2025 only to have President Newsom or President Whitmer shut it down in 2029 is not good business and they know it. It is also the case that coal plants are increasingly not cost-effective, as compared to greener alternatives like solar.
  
  
• Electric cars: Another quarter of emissions comes from transportation. Biden has imposed limits on tailpipe emissions that will ensure the majority of new cars and trucks sold in 2032 will be electric or hybrid. Trump wants to reverse this. Go Gas!
  
  
• The Inflation Reduction Act: Biden got the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides hundreds of millions of dollars for fighting climate change, passed. It provides many incentives and subsidies for electric vehicles, solar panels, and heat pumps for houses. Trump wants to gut the law. However, that would require an act of Congress, and if the Democrats can hang onto at least one chamber of Congress, they can largely thwart this plan. Another problem is that a lot of solar and wind energy is produced in the Great Plains and West. The states that have benefited from this money may not be keen on losing it.
  
  
• Drill, baby, drill: Biden has approved some oil projects, like the Willow oil development on the North Slope of Alaska, but he has tried to curb offshore oil drilling. He has also protected millions of acres of wilderness from drilling and mining. Trump is sure to reverse that and drill and mine everywhere fossil fuels can be found.
  
  
• Global climate negotiations: As president, Trump withdrew from the Paris Accord. On his first day in office, Biden rejoined the Accord. Trump will certainly withdraw again. This will give the U.S. a reputation as an unreliable partner. If the U.S. kills policies that contribute to fighting climate change, then other countries are likely to do the same.
  

These are just a few of the ways Trump will try to stimulate the use of fossil fuels. The Heritage Foundation is working on a more comprehensive list. Unlike in his first term, when Trump didn't know what to do, in a second term he will hit the ground running. (V)