donald trump’s Victory in the 2024 election President Biden begins a race against time to protect himself environmental heritage The rest of his days as president.
But even if the Trump administration accelerates the pace of climate-related announcements, it will likely mean little once Trump takes office and a Republican-led Congress convenes in January. Biden’s latest efforts to combat climate change are almost certain to be short-lived, largely due to vague laws that tend to be enacted every four years.
That law, the Congressional Review Act, authorizes Congress, with a simple majority vote of the House and Senate and signature of the President, to override regulations issued by federal agencies within the past 60 legislative days.
Since Election Day, the Biden administration has released final rules that include significant curbs on methane emissions and a ban on all future coal mining leases on federal lands. Both rules are expected to be rescinded soon after President Trump takes office.
Methane is the second most abundant greenhouse gasafter carbon dioxide, trap heat in the atmosphere The Environmental Protection Agency observes that this amount is 28 times more than carbon dioxide. The advantage is that methane does not remain in the atmosphere as long as CO2, so reducing methane emissions can result in faster and more dramatic greenhouse gas reductions. Human sources of methane emissions include oil and gas systems, landfills, wastewater treatment facilities, and many other industrial processes.
On November 12, the Biden administration announced a final rule imposing fees on oil and natural gas companies. expensive fees If methane emission limits are exceeded. This is an effort to encourage these companies to improve their processes to reduce methane leaks.
The EPA estimates that implementing methane emissions regulations would be the equivalent of taking nearly 8 million gasoline-powered vehicles off the road for a year.
The Biden administration also recently blocked all new coal mining leases on public lands, which would affect new leases in Wyoming and Montana, which provide 40% of the nation’s coal. The Associated Press says eliminating federal leases would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of 293 million tons per year, roughly equivalent to eliminating emissions from 63 million gasoline-powered cars. He pointed to the government’s analysis.
Existing lease agreements could allow mining to continue in the area for decades. But coal’s status has been declining in recent years as the United States steadily reduces its dependence on coal and relies more on cheaper natural gas and renewable energy sources.
Republican politicians in Wyoming and Montana denounced the ban, and Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso said in a statement that he stands ready to work with President Trump to repeal the ban and other regulations. said.
In Trump’s view, concerns about climate change are overblown or premature. He has called it a “hoax” in the past. He opposes clean energy and EV subsidies, saying what the U.S. needs to do is “drill, baby drill” — increasing traditional oil and gas production to lower energy prices for Americans. Ta. This is not surprising. In his first term in office, he overturned 100 environmental rules enacted by President Obama.
During his presidential campaign, Trump promised business-friendly policies, claiming he would cut energy costs in half in a year by approving new drilling and eliminating bureaucratic red tape.
Some experts doubt that will happen.
Jonathan Elkind, a senior researcher at Columbia University’s Global Energy Policy Center, told CBS News: “There is no other world in which a federal decision would cause such a market reaction.” “The oil market is too big, too global. The president of the United States does not have the ability to exert such influence.”
But we still have Biden. climate policy That is likely out of President Trump’s reach.
Billions of dollars of investment in clean energy have been built up. Climate Act 2022, The most important climate change bills I have signed it before. But the key to protecting that money is ensuring it is spent or allocated before the Jan. 20 inauguration.
Once the grants are exhausted, it is highly unlikely that Trump and the Republicans will be able to get them back.
“Legally, any mandated funds are safe,” said Christina DeConcini, director of government relations at the World Resources Institute. “If you listen to incoming government officials, they say they’re going to work on it later. If it becomes mandatory, I don’t think they have any legal standing.”
EPA says it has learned over the years that the surest way to protect climate change policy is to link regulations directly to legislation and funding.
A total of about $643.1 billion, or more than 93% of available funds, is obligated, according to White House officials. There are still billions of dollars left in spending under the Climate Change Act next year, and some Republicans may want to keep climate spending in their districts and states.
Geelan Huber, the EPA’s senior adviser for enforcement, told CBS News that trying to claw back the grants “could deprive communities of benefits, not just in terms of public health protection, but also in terms of economic benefits.” “There is,” he said.
And these subsidies are far from the most expensive item in climate change law. The Department of Energy announced about $18 million for projects such as strengthening recycling programs, launching a residential energy efficiency rebate program, and expanding bike lanes and pedestrian walkways. The Department of Agriculture has committed $256 million to America’s Rural Energy Plan to expand the use of wind, solar, geothermal and small hydro energy.
These types of projects and grants are likely to be safe throughout President Trump’s second term.
Tracy J. Wolff contributed to this report.
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