Overview:
- The Trump administration's executive orders targeting climate action and environmental safeguards, such as rolling back efficiency mandates and fast-tracking fossil fuel developments, have sparked concern.
- Michigan environmental advocates warn of potential job losses in green tech and higher energy costs for residents.
- Yet, policy experts suggest that legal challenges and Congressional pressure might block many of these orders.
In the days following the inauguration, the Trump administration issued a blitz of executive orders, many of them targeting climate action and environmental safeguards.
These orders aim to eliminate the Biden administration’s electrical vehicle goals, freeze Inflation Reduction Act spending and fast track permitting for fossil fuel projects. In his inaugural address, President Trump said the executive orders would lead to a “complete restoration of America.”
Michigan environmental advocates warn that if these orders stand Michigan could lose out on investments in green technologies that have been creating jobs and residents could face higher energy prices. Policy experts who spoke with Planet Detroit said that legal challenges and pressure on Congress could prevent many of Trump’s executive orders from being carried out.
“Most of this stuff is pretty out of step with what I think people were voting for when they voted for Trump,” Bentley Johnson, federal government affairs director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, told Planet Detroit.
He noted that many voters were concerned about cost-of-living issues going into the election, while executive orders that undermine wind and solar and roll back efficiency efforts could deprive residents of cheap electricity and energy savings. However the fossil fuel industry, which donated heavily to President Donald Trump’s campaign, stands to benefit.
As of this writing, neither the White House Office of Public & Media Affairs nor the White House Press Secretary had public emails where they could be reached for comment.
Pro-fossil fuel policies and efficiency rollbacks may raise Michigan energy prices
Trump touted his support for fossil fuels in his inaugural address, saying, “We will be a rich nation again, and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it.”
Fossil fuels are the primary driver of the climate crisis. Damage to infrastructure, farming, productivity and health from climate change could cost the global economy $38 trillion a year by 2050, according to the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
A 2021 report from Swiss Re, one of the largest providers of insurance to other insurance companies, found an increase in global temperatures of 2.6 F by 2050 could make the U.S. economy 7% smaller than in a world without climate change.
The administration is looking to fast track oil and gas developments as well as halt leases for wind developments on federal lands and waters. Both wind and solar were left out of the White House’s order declaring an “energy emergency” that seeks to increase power production.
Advocates say executive orders pushing oil and gas production are likely to make energy more expensive for Michiganders.
Johnson pointed out that renewables are now the cheapest form of energy in the country. The lifetime cost of natural gas plants is more than twice as expensive as wind and solar, with the cost of renewables expected to continue falling.
The administration is also looking to lift a pause on liquified natural gas export applications. Yet, a report released by the Department of Energy in December found that “unfettered exports of LNG would increase wholesale domestic natural gas prices by over 30%,” raising costs for the average American household by $100 annually by 2050.
The Trump administration also plans to roll back Biden-era energy efficiency mandates for dishwashers, washing machines, gas stoves and lightbulbs.
The previous administration updated efficiency requirements for dozens of products, which the Public Interest Research Groups, a coalition of non-profit organizations, estimated would save the average household more than $100 each year.
Order could hurt Michigan auto industry and environmental justice efforts
Michigan industries and communities that benefited from Biden-era policies to invest in clean energy technology could take major hits if Trump’s executive orders are carried out.
“The most obvious impacts are going to be around the EV subsidies and Trump’s clear push to fast-track fossil fuel projects,” said Christy McGillivray, legislative and political director for the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter.
The “Unleashing American Energy” order looks to eliminate the Biden administration’s target for 50% of all new cars and light trucks to be electric by 2050. It also orders agencies to pause funding for EV charging infrastructure, which is widely seen as essential for broader EV adoption. However, congressional action may be needed to eliminate the $7,500 rebate for EV purchases that was enacted during the Biden administration.
It’s unclear how these changes will affect Michigan automakers, which have invested heavily in EV and battery operations in recent years.
Glenn Stevens, executive director of the auto-industry trade group MichAuto, told Bridge Michigan that a change in federal policy would slow but not stop the EV transition.
“This is a technology that is not going to go backwards or stop,” he said. “It is going to progress, but it is going to be decided ultimately by the consumer and the products that are available.”
Yet, the Trump administration looks to freeze funding for the Inflation Reduction Act, which has disproportionately benefited Michigan.
Michigan secured more clean energy projects with help from the Inflation Reduction Act than any other state. This includes $26 billion in investments for projects like General Motors’ Lansing Grand River Plant and Toyota and LG Energy’s Holland battery plant.
Federal funding also helped Michigan invest in over 40 environmental justice projects for things like removing mold and improving air quality in Southwest Detroit homes and addressing lead plumbing in Flint Homes.
In an executive order that targeted diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, the Trump administration instructed federal agencies to terminate environmental justice offices and positions to the “maximum extent allowed by law.”
‘We need an actual opposition’
The extent to which these orders will be implemented hinges on the outcome of legal challenges and the U.S. Congress, which could block efforts to eliminate the IRA funding that has flowed to many Republican-controlled states and congressional districts.
In 2017, Congress resisted the first Trump administration’s efforts to cut the EPA’s budget by a third.
However, there are indications Congress could hew more closely to Trump’s deregulatory agenda this term, with top House Republicans looking to cut funding for climate regulations and health care to fund massive tax cuts and an immigration crackdown.
Yet, Johnson with MLCV said the Republican caucus is “fractious,” with some members looking for steep cuts while others want to protect the IRA’s clean energy tax credits that benefit their districts.
He noted that U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has just a three-seat majority and may need support from moderate Democrats, who will have leverage to “limit the damage” from Republican spending cuts.
Sean McBrearty, Michigan director for the nonprofit Clean Water Action, told Planet Detroit that he anticipates many executive orders will never be carried out.
“A lot of these, I don’t think, are going to be legal or enforceable,” he said.
McBrearty praised the quick action by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and 21 other state attorneys general to challenge the executive order seeking to overturn birthright citizenship for the children born in the United States.
However, he said prominent Democrats needed to do more to push back on the Trump administration.
“I hope that both of our U.S. senators from Michigan are getting lots of phone calls from constituents who…are very upset to see them voting for some of these horrible department nominees that Trump has put up,” he said.
U.S. Sens. Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin both voted to confirm Marco Rubio as Secretary of State in a 99-0 vote. The two lawmakers also voted for the Laken Riley Act, which requires the detention of U.S. immigrants charged with theft-related crimes.
Immigrant rights advocates have said the bill could result in racial profiling and that it undermines the principle that those charged with a crime are entitled to due process.
“We need an actual opposition across this country,” McBrearty said.