With two executive orders, President Donald Trump on Monday changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power.
The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming.
One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles.
Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.
“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, director of the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”
The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.
The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”
“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement.
Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.
Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.
When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.
Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.
Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.
“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.
Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.”
In yet another executive order issued Monday, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption.
The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032. Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.
Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges.
“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
