Following a summer with four of the hottest days ever measured, presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have starkly different visions on how to address a changing climate while ensuring a reliable energy supply. But neither has provided many details on how they would get there. About seven in ten say they have “not much” trust in Trump or “none at all” when it comes to climate. Fewer than half say they lack trust in Harris.
One thing is crystal clear that If Donald Trump wins the upcoming US presidential elections, he would rescind many of President Joe Biden’s clean energy rules and speed approvals of power plants.
Trump, led chants of “drill, baby, drill” and pledged to dismantle the Biden administration’s “green new scam” in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. He has vowed to boost production of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal and repeal key parts of the 2022 climate law.
In April this year, the US Environmental Protection Agency finalised regulations that would force coal plants and new natural gas-fired generators to either deploy technology to capture virtually all their emissions in the coming decade, or shut them down. The Biden administration estimates that the rules would cut 88% of the carbon dioxide emissions from power plants between now and 2047. David Bernhardt, Trump’s former Interior Department secretary, said as president, Donald Trump would overturn the rules and “put coal country back to work so that all Americans have access to affordable energy”. He also said Trump would implement rapid approvals for energy projects and “the construction of hundreds of new power plants”.
Republicans counter that Biden and Harris have spent four years adopting “punishing regulations” that target American energy while lavishing generous tax credits for electric vehicles and other green priorities that cost taxpayers billions of dollars. “We have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country by far,” Trump said at the convention. “We are a nation that has the opportunity to make an absolute fortune with its energy.”
Trump, who pushed to roll back scores of environmental laws as president, says his goal is for the US to have the cheapest energy and electricity in the world. He’d increase oil drilling on public lands, offer tax breaks to oil, gas and coal producers and speed approval of natural gas pipelines.
Meanwhile, he has also frequently criticised tough new vehicle emissions rules imposed by Biden, incorrectly labelling them an electric vehicle “mandate″. Environmental Protection Agency rules issued this spring target tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks and encourage but do not require sales of new EVs to meet the new standards.
Transportation accounted for the largest portion (28%) of total US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2022, with cars and trucks making up the bulk of emissions. In March, President Biden imposed limits on pollution from automobile tailpipes, pushing car automakers to expand the production of electric and hybrid vehicles.
The final regulations were a watered-down version of the original proposal. However, Trump said they would lead to a “blood bath” in the US economy, “kill” the auto industry, and trigger an “assassination” of jobs.
Enacted in 2022, the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is the largest investment in reducing carbon pollution in US history. It contains more than $340 billion in tax credits to help the US move towards clean energy such as solar and wind. Trump has repeatedly said he would repeal EV subsidies, calling them “one of the dumbest” decisions he has heard. It remains unclear which other provisions Trump might try to scrap.
Trump has said EV manufacturing will destroy jobs in the auto industry. In recent months, however, he has softened his rhetoric, saying he’s for “a very small slice” of cars being electric. Additionally, Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator, JD Vance deride climate spending as a “money grab” for environmental groups and say it will ship Americans’ jobs to China and other countries while increasing energy prices at home.
On Paris Agreement, Trump’s stand remains the same as in his previous term. He has again cast climate change as a hoax, withdrew the US from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
He has pledged to do so again, calling the global plan to reduce carbon emissions unenforceable and a gift to China and other big polluters. Trump promises to end wind subsidies included in the climate law and eliminate regulations imposed and proposed by the Biden administration to increase the energy efficiency of lightbulbs, stoves, dishwashers and shower heads.
Environmental groups are promising to defend Biden-era energy and climate regulations if Trump retakes the White House. America’s energy and climate regulations reach a crossroads where the two presidential candidates opines stark opposite for such critical issues. Apart from waiting for the elections to get wrapped up, the US has got no choice but brace itself for whatever may store in for it.
