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By Timothy Gardner, Valerie Volcovici and Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Monday unveiled a major plan to boost U.S. oil and gas production by declaring a national energy emergency, removing excess regulation, and removing US to international agreement to fight climate change.
The moves mark a dramatic shift in Washington’s energy policy after former President Joe Biden sought four years to promote a transition away from fossil fuels in the world’s largest economies and establish the US as a leader in fight global warming.
“America will once again be a manufacturing nation, and we have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have: the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth,” Trump said during his inaugural address.
“And we will use it.”
Trump said he expects the orders to help lower consumer prices and improve US national security.
“We’re going to lower prices, replenish our strategic reserves, to the upside, and send American power to the rest of the world,” he said.
Environmental groups have said they intend to challenge the administration’s orders in court.
US oil and gas production has reached record levels under Biden’s watch, as hawks chase higher prices following sanctions on Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
But Trump said production could be higher if environmental initiatives imposed by the Biden administration are repealed. He has said, for example, that he intends to end the Green New Deal — which refers to the Democratic climate effort — and repeal what he called Biden’s electric car order.
The Biden administration has sought to encourage the use of electric vehicles by providing consumer subsidies for new EV purchases, and by imposing strict emissions standards on automakers. He also sought to promote clean energy technologies that use taxpayer subsidies that have attracted billions of dollars in manufacturing investment.
“We’re gonna dig, baby, we’re gonna dig,” Trump said.
Trump’s White House also issued a press release on Monday saying that Trump will order the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris climate agreement, an international agreement to combat global warming, and end the auction of “giant wind farms”.
The Democratic National Committee called Trump’s day “a disaster for working families”.
Alex Floyd, a DNC spokesman, said: “Killing manufacturing jobs and giving free passes to polluters who make people sick does not put ‘America first.’
SATISFACTION GUARANTEE
Trump had promised during his campaign to declare a national energy emergency, saying the US should produce more fossil fuels and renew its power infrastructure and increase the supply of electricity to meet the growing demand. it increases.
US data center energy consumption could triple in the next three years, and consume about 12% of the nation’s electricity demand for AI and other technologies, the Department projects of Energy.
Sam Sankar, senior vice president for programs at Earthjustice, a nonprofit group prepared to fight Trump’s policies in court, said the emergency declaration of power during a time of war is unusual and not unusual. tested, to create a potential law. weakness.
The first Trump administration considered using emergency powers under the Federal Power Act to try to enforce a pledge to save the coal industry, but never followed through.
This time, Trump’s announcement will seek to ease environmental restrictions on power plants, speed up construction of new plants, ease permitting for transmission and pipeline projects, and open up new federal areas.
“The common theme really represents cheap and reliable American energy,” a Trump official said earlier Monday. “Because energy is embedded in every aspect of our economy, it is also key to restoring our national security and leveraging America’s power around the world.”
‘FROM ABOVE’
Trump’s promise to fill policy reserves, however, has the potential to raise oil prices by increasing oil demand.
After the invasion of Ukraine, Biden had sold more than 180 million barrels of crude oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a record amount. The hikes helped keep gasoline prices low, but they lowered inventories to their lowest level in 40 years.
Trump is also expected to sign another executive order aimed at developing natural resources in Alaska, canceling several of Biden’s electric car initiatives and protecting gas-powered utilities from federal and state regulators. home who want to get them out of homes and businesses, the incoming official said.
Alaska has long been a controversial area of the country when it comes to energy and the environment, and Republicans have long seen opportunities for oil and gas production there while Democrats have sought to preserve pristine land.
