Top 5 Environmental Actions You Should Know from President Trump’s First Day

On January 20, 2025, President Trump began his second term with the signing of 26 executive orders (EOs), which included the recission of almost 80 EOs of the previous administration. Trump’s orders contain both repeals of key Biden Administration policies and calls to agency action to reassess treatment of major environmental issues associated with motor vehicles, energy development, and climate change. Here are the top five actions to know from President Trump’s first day as the new administration begins its reshaping of U.S. environmental policy for his second term in office.

  1. Rollback of Climate Policies. President Trump made clear that there will be new U.S. policy on climate change, as he repealed all climate-focused EOs from the Biden Administration. This included a directive to the United Nations to remove the United States from the Paris Agreement, the international treaty to limit global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Trump also called upon the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review two key aspects of EPA regulatory policy on climate:
    • First, the EPA must submit a report on the “legality and continuing applicability” of its 2009 endangerment finding for GHGs under the Clean Air Act (CAA). Revoking the finding would undermine the EPA’s regulations covering carbon dioxide and other GHG emissions from vehicles and power plants, and its climate regulatory authority in general. During the previous Trump Administration, the EPA considered and rejected a petition to reconsider the endangerment finding.
    • Second, the EPA must issue guidance on the “social cost of carbon”—a metric used by agencies to quantify the climate impacts of regulations and permitting—that considers whether its use should be eliminated. The Biden Administration significantly increased the value of the social cost of carbon, which the EPA and other agencies used to support climate regulation and policy.

If the EPA shifts course on either of these, significant litigation should be expected.

  1. Increase Domestic Energy Generation. Pursuant to the National Emergencies Act, Trump declared a national emergency regarding insufficient domestic energy infrastructure and supply, including oil exploration and production and petroleum refining—activating all emergency agency authority to expedite energy generation. He also ordered agency heads to begin immediate review of policies posing “obstacles to energy development” and report findings to the U.S. attorney general.
  2. Push for Oil and Gas Drilling and Temporary Withdrawal of Areas for Offshore Wind Leasing. In line with his push for domestic energy production, President Trump reopened for development the federal waters in the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans and parts of the Gulf of Mexico (now renamed by the U.S. as the Gulf of America in a separate EO) that Biden had restricted. Among other directions to agency heads, he also lifted the Biden Administration’s pause on new liquid natural gas permits and halted the issuance of any new or renewed wind energy leases for any Offshore Continental Shelf locations. Additionally, the Department of Interior must review existing offshore wind leases via a “comprehensive review” to determine whether to terminate or amend such existing wind energy leases. During the pendency of this review, Trump directed the Interior and other agencies not to issue new or renew approvals, rights of way, permits, leases, or loans for offshore wind projects.
  3. Proposed Revocation of Electric Vehicle and Other “Clean” Technology Goals. Trump’s EOs reflect a goal to eliminate Biden’s elective vehicle (EV) “mandate” and push back on California’s ability to develop their own EV requirements. He rescinded all Biden policies regarding net-zero GHG emission goals for vehicles and other industries, such as the “Green New Deal,” which, among other provisions, funded EV charging stations. He also vowed to revoke California’s waiver, promulgated under that state’s unique CAA authority to develop vehicle emission standards stricter than federal standards.
  4. Removal of Environmental Justice Considerations. Finally, Trump called to terminate all environmental justice (EJ) offices and positions in federal government, as well as any EJ initiatives, programs, or other activities. This move reverses the EJ commitments undertaken by the Biden Administration and tracks towards the removal of all EJ considerations from agency action promulgated in Trump’s first term.

On top of these, the White House issued a regulatory freeze on agency rulemaking (broadly encompassing notices and policy statements), directing agencies to not only refrain from proposing or issuing new rules, but to withdraw any rules from publication consideration and consider postponing forthcoming effective dates for further internal review or public comment. This move is typical for new administrations and is similar to action taken by the Biden administration in January 2021.

Executive Orders do not have the force and effect of regulations per se, but nonetheless are powerful statements of presidential policy and direction that can have immediate legal and/or practical consequences. Presidents are generally free to revoke the EOs of their predecessor without meeting the type of procedure requirement necessary for changing a regulation, which is the case with the revocation of many of President Biden’s EOs here. Stay tuned for further EOs and specific agency actions implementing President Trump’s policies.

This post is as of the posting date stated above. Sidley Austin LLP assumes no duty to update this post or post about any subsequent developments having a bearing on this post.