Trump undoes Biden energy and climate legacy in raft of executive orders [Global Gas Perspectives]
US President Donald Trump wasted no time in undoing the Biden administration’s energy and climate policies on his inauguration day on January 20, signing dozens of executive orders to end what the new White House described as “climate extremism” and pledging to “unleash American energy.”
Unleashing US energy might
Trump vowed in his orders to “unleash America’s affordable and reliable energy and natural resources” – namely by doing away with regulations and restrictions that the Biden administration imposed on hydrocarbon development.
“In recent years, burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations have impeded the development of these resources, limited the generation of reliable and affordable electricity, reduced job creation and inflicted high energy costs upon our citizens,” the White House statement read. “These high energy costs devastate American consumers by driving up the cost of transportation, heating, utilities, farming and manufacturing, while weakening our national security.”
Specifically, his administration will seek to encourage exploration and production on federal lands and waters, including on the country’s outer continental shelf, to “solidify the US as a global energy leader long into the future,” while also ensuring that “abundant supply of reliable energy is readily accessible in every state and territory of the nation.”
Earlier this month Biden withdrew all federal waters off the US’ east and west coasts and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as parts of the northern Bering Sea in Alaska from oil and gas drilling, stating that “drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation's energy needs.”
That offshore ban has now been revoked by Trump, along with another Biden order in 2023 that blocked oil and gas drilling in a 11,300 km2 area of the Arctic Ocean.
There is some legal uncertainty about whether Trump can so easily reverse these past orders from Biden, who invoked the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) when issuing them. While the 1953 act does say a president can set aside territory as off-limits to drilling, it does not specify whether a successor can then revoke that order.
Regardless, the outcome is unlikely to impact US production levels for the foreseeable future, as the areas in question have only limited current oil and gas development activity, and there is no schedule to lease them out for drilling.
Trump’s administration also vowed to slash red tape, by carrying out an “immediate review of all agency actions that potentially burden the development of domestic energy resources,” including existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, settlements and consent orders, “with particular attention to oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical mineral and nuclear energy resources.” A raft of Biden-era executive orders introducing increased regulation affecting energy projects were also revoked.
Another aim will be “unleashing energy dominance through efficient permitting,” by expediting and simplifying the permitting process for energy projects, and giving developers more certainty. To streamline project permitting further, Trump also declared a state of national energy emergency, enabling executive departments and agencies, among other things, to make emergency approvals of projects deemed critical to national energy security.
Ending the LNG pause
Trump has also lifted a moratorium on the approval of LNG exports to non-FTA countries, introduced by the Biden administration a year ago. The stated aim of the pause was to allow time for the Department of Energy (DoE) to update the economic and environmental analyses it uses to authorise those exports, primarily involving a reassessment of the impact of future projects on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
While the pause has had limited bearing on existing US LNG supply, it has affected export projects due to enter service in the late 2020s, causing their progress to stall. It was strongly criticised by the natural gas industry, with the International Gas Union (IGU) warning it sent an “unsettling signal” to global energy markets, harming both global energy security and efforts to reduce emissions.
The DoE finally released its new study on the economic and environmental impact of new LNG export permits in December, in which it cautioned against a return to a business-as-usual approach. It concluded that new LNG export projects would cause 1.5 gigatons of extra emissions by 2050, while also raising domestic gas prices in the US.
US LNG exports reached a new record of 88.3mn tonnes in 2024, up from 84.5mn tonnes the previous year, and the DoE has estimated they could double by the end of the decade, taking into account only current authorisations. Trump’s lifting of the pause removes uncertainty for a number of projects awaiting approval, including Commonwealth LNG, Venture Global's CP2, Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass expansion and Energy Transfer’s Lake Charles terminal in Louisiana, along with Sempra’s second-phase development of Port Arthur LNG in Texas.
The move was welcomed by the Asia Natural Gas and Energy Association (ANGEA), which noted that as the biggest LNG exporter, the US could make a significant and long-term contribution to Asia's decarbonisation.
“The resumption of US LNG export approvals is welcomed by every country in Asia,” ANGEA CEO Paul Everingham commented. A recent study by Wood Mackenzie, commissioned by ANGEA, projected that Asian LNG demand would almost double by 2050, and that the US would account for a third of global LNG supply by 2035.
“However, both LNG demand growth from emerging Asia and the ability of the US to meet it, were contingent on the 'pause' being lifted and sufficient US supply being available in coming decades to moderate global prices and ensure that LNG was affordable for nations in South and Southeast Asia,” Everingham continued. “Today’s issuing by President Trump of an order to resume processing of LNG export approvals will enable key projects to proceed and give decision and policy makers in Asia the certainty they require to make long-term decisions about energy."
Emerging Asian economies are seeking to switch high-emitting coal for more gas-fired power while growing their renewable energy sources, and “the resumption of LNG export approvals in the US will help make this a reality,” he said.
Opening up Alaska
The administration also pledged to expedite the permitting and leasing of energy and natural resource projects in Alaska, by reversing environmental protections that limited oil and gas extraction, logging and other development projects across the state.
Trump’s order rescinded Biden’s ban on oil and gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The president had allowed this exploration during his first term, only for it to be blocked again by Biden.
Similarly, Trump reinstated an order made in his first term allowing oil and gas operations across 113,300 km2 of federal Alaskan land that had been protected from development under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Those protections were restored by Biden last year.
The order also prioritises the development of Alaskan LNG, including for delivery to elsewhere in the US and to allies in the Pacific region. This could have implications for the 20mn tonne/year Alaska LNG project that has been proposed by New York-based Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC). Houston-based Glenfarne Energy Transition signed an agreement to lead the development earlier this month.
Unlocking Alaska’s natural resource wealth “requires an immediate end to the assault on Alaska's sovereignty and its ability to responsibly develop these resources for the benefit of the Nation," the executive order stated. “It is, therefore, imperative to immediately reverse the punitive restrictions implemented by the previous administration that specifically target resource development on both State and Federal lands in Alaska.”
Farewell Paris
Trump vowed to once more pull the US out of the 2015 Paris Agreement, repeating the step his first administration took in 2017. The US had rejoined the climate accord in 2021 under former President Joe Biden. Withdrawal will mean the US no longer has to submit nationally determined contributions (NDCs), detailing its plans to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in line with the agreement’s goals.
What is more, the US will no longer be obligated to contribute to the UN’s Green Climate Fund or other financial mechanisms that aim to assist developing nations in addressing climate change. It will also have no say on decisions under the agreement, such as updating collective goals or establishing accountability mechanisms. Some US domestic regulations are also tied to Paris Agreement commitments.
In broader significance, the exit of the world’s second-largest GHG emitter is likely to weaken international momentum on limiting global temperature rises to below 1.5°C.
Taking aim at wind, EVs
Another executive order introduced a temporary pause on federal wind leasing and permitting, citing the potential negative impacts projects might have on wildlife as well as the economic cost of increasing reliance on intermittent power generation supported by subsidies, among other things.
The US draws around 10% of its electricity from wind farms, with the American Clean Power Association estimating that there is currently a further 73 GW of offshore wind capacity under development.
Trump’s administration will also eliminate Biden’s mandate requiring half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 be electric, while also taking aim at the subsidies and regulations that support adoption of electric vehicles. Scrapping the mandate, the White House said, would “promote true consumer choice, which is essential for economic growth and innovation.”
The administration also pledged to “safeguard the American people’s freedom to choose” when it comes to various energy-related goods and appliances, including lightbulbs, gas stoves and water heaters. Increasingly in recent years, some US cities and states have introduced deadlines for banning installation of gas stoves and other gas-powered energy appliances and heating systems, to encourage a switch to renewable-based alternatives.