Key Impact Points:
- Executive order seeks to block state-level climate laws deemed harmful to fossil fuel industry.
- U.S. attorney general tasked with challenging state laws on carbon emissions, ESG, and environmental justice.
- Democratic governors vow to defy the order, citing states’ rights and commitment to climate action.
Trump Moves to Undermine State Climate Regulations
President Donald Trump has issued an executive order aimed at halting state-level efforts to limit fossil fuel use and curb climate change. The directive, released Tuesday, tasks the U.S. attorney general with identifying and blocking state laws that target carbon emissions, ESG initiatives, and environmental justice.
“Many States have enacted, or are in the process of enacting, burdensome and ideologically motivated ‘climate change’ or energy policies that threaten American energy dominance and our economic and national security,” the order stated.
Targeted States and Policies
The order specifically calls out New York and Vermont for imposing penalties on fossil fuel companies and criticizes California’s cap-and-trade system. It also seeks to counter lawsuits by states holding energy companies liable for their role in climate change.
This move follows Trump’s earlier actions the same day to boost coal production—part of his broader push to expand domestic energy output and dismantle Democratic climate initiatives.
Democratic Governors Push Back
In response, the co-chairs of the U.S. Climate Alliance—New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham—condemned the order, pledging to continue their efforts.
“We will keep advancing solutions to the climate crisis that safeguard Americans’ fundamental right to clean air and water, create good-paying jobs, grow the clean energy economy, and make our future healthier and safer,” they said in a joint statement.
The U.S. Climate Alliance represents 24 governors committed to aggressive climate action at the state level.
Fossil Fuel Industry Applauds the Move
The American Petroleum Institute praised the executive action as a defense of constitutional rights and industry freedom.
“We welcome President Trump’s action to hold states like New York and California accountable for pursuing unconstitutional efforts that illegally penalize U.S. oil and natural gas producers for delivering the energy American consumers rely on every day,” said API Senior Vice President Ryan Meyers.
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