Energy Brief: Trump Executive Orders Reshape U.S. Energy Policy

On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders and memorandums that begin implementation of his policy agenda. For energy, he issued three executive orders and a memorandum to direct U.S. energy policy toward a prioritization of deregulation in the fossil fuel sector and away from support for renewable energy.

The executive order on “Unleashing American Energy” declares a need to “unleash America’s affordable and reliable energy and natural resources” to “restore American prosperity...” The executive order “Declaring a National Energy Emergency” generally grants government agencies the authority to expedite oil and gas projects. Trump also issued a memorandum that temporarily withdraws the Federal Outer Continental Shelf from offshore wind leasing. Trump also issued an executive order that withdrew the United States from the 2016 Paris Agreement, which aims to reduce global carbon emissions.

The key policy aims that emerge from these orders are:

• Increasing oil and gas production

• Easing environmental reviews and energy permitting

• Reducing support for renewable energy.

Increasing Oil and Gas Production

Trump’s executive order on “Unleashing American Energy” states that it is in the U.S. national interest to “unleash America’s affordable and reliable energy and natural resources” to “restore American prosperity...”

Opening more federal lands to oil drilling: The order on “Unleashing American Energy” establishes U.S. policy to “encourage energy production and exploration on federal lands and waters, including on the Outer Continental Shelf.” Trump issued an executive order titled “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential,” which establishes U.S. policy to “avail itself of Alaska’s vast lands and resources,” including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). It prioritizes the development and export of energy resources from Alaska, “including but not limited to the long-term viability of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System...”

Developing LNG: The order on Alaska prioritizes the development of Alaska’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry and related pipeline infrastructure. The order on “Unleashing American Energy” orders a restart in reviews to allow for new LNG export projects.

Easing Environmental Reviews and Energy Permitting

A theme across the executive order is to ease environmental reviews and regulations. The order on “Unleashing American Energy” requires heads of all agencies to conduct an immediate review of all agency actions that could pose an “undue burden” on domestic energy development. Agency heads are then directed to begin a plan to “suspend, revise, or rescind all agency actions identified as unduly burdensome” for energy production. Additionally, the order revokes a number of presidential and regulatory actions, declares a policy of expended permitting, and requires federal agencies to “adhere to only the relevant legislated requirements” for environmental reviews.

Notably, the order states that the administration will “ensure that the global effects of a rule, regulation, or action shall, whenever evaluated, be reported separately from its domestic costs and benefits, in order to promote sound regulatory decision making and prioritize the interests of the American people;” The order also guarantee that all executive departments and agencies provide opportunity for public comment and rigorous, peer-reviewed scientific analysis; and

Trump also issued an executive order on “Declaring a National Energy Emergency,” which gives agencies the authority to expedite oil and gas projects by removing environmental and regulatory restrictions. The order directs agency actions in six main provisions: (1) use statutory emergency powers to facilitate approval of energy resources; (2) expedite the completion of energy infrastructure projects: (3) identify “planned or potential actions to facilitate the Nation’s energy supply that may be subject to emergency treatment” pursuant to the Clean Water Act (CWA); (4) identify “planned or potential actions to facilitate the Nation’s energy supply that may be subject to the regulation on consultations in emergencies” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA); (5) directs the ESA Committee to meet quarterly to “review and consider any lawful applications submitted by an agency, the Governor of a State, or any applicant for a permit or license who submits for exemption from obligations” under the ESA; (6) directs the secretaries of Interior, Energy, and Defense to conduct “an assessment of the Department of Defense’s ability to acquire and transport the energy, electricity, or fuels needed to protect the homeland and to conduct operations abroad.”

Reducing Support for Renewable Energy

Reducing support for renewable energy is a general policy across the executive orders.

Terminating government spending on renewable energy: The order on “Unleashing American Energy” states that all agencies “shall immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-169) or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58).” This includes, but is not limited to, funds for EV charging stations.

Ending incentives for EVs: The order also states that it is U.S. policy to “eliminate the ‘electric vehicle (EV) mandate’ and promote true consumer choice…by removing regulatory barriers to motor vehicle access…”

Ensuring “freedom to choose” appliances: The order also states U.S. policy to “safeguard the American people’s freedom to choose from a variety of goods and appliances, including but not limited to lightbulbs, dishwashers, washing machines, gas stoves, water heaters, toilets, and shower heads, and to promote market competition and innovation within the manufacturing and appliance industries;”

Withdrawing offshore wind leases: Trump also issued a memorandum that temporarily withdraws the Federal Outer Continental Shelf from offshore wind leasing and calls for a review of the Federal government’s leasing and permitting practices of wind energy projects. The withdrawal does not affect rights under existing leases in the withdrawn areas but calls for a “comprehensive review of the ecological, economic, and environmental necessity of terminating or amending” existing wind energy leases. The memorandum also stops development of the Lava Ridge Wind Project in Idaho. This withdrawal raises doubts about the long-term viability of the U.S. offshore wind industry, which has been dependent on federal support to encourage private investment.