Donald Trump burst into his second term today with sweeping promises to usher in a golden age for the country — in part by unleashing the “liquid gold” oil beneath our feet. Of course, the United States already produces more oil and exports more natural gas than any other nation, but the president’s opening words — and subsequent plans to declare a national energy emergency — underscore his intent to push his executive powers to the limit to boost fossil fuels. Trump has spent the day preparing to sign dozens of executive orders, including ones to cut environmental regulations, slash wind and electric vehicle programs, exit the Paris climate agreement, and open large swaths of federal land to drilling. “We will be a rich nation again, and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it,” Trump said during his inaugural address, referring to U.S. oil. “We will bring prices down, fill our strategic reserves up again, right to the top, and export American energy all over the world. “With my actions today, we will end the Green New Deal, and we will revoke the electric vehicle mandate,” he added. Reality check: Trump spent his campaign promising to cut inflation by drilling oil, a strategy that experts say is unlikely to work, since presidents exert little control over energy prices. Plus, Trump can’t force oil companies to drill huge amounts more if they don’t want to — and the way things are going, they may not want to. His plan to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — which former President Joe Biden tapped in 2022 in an attempt to bring down gasoline prices — may also collide with a Republican proposal to sell oil from the reserve to help pay for extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. And rolling back finished environmental regulations, such as Biden’s fuel economy rules, is a lengthy process that cannot be done with the stroke of a pen. Trump could also need Congress to claw back any unspent funds from Biden’s $1.6 trillion investment in clean energy and climate spending and tax breaks. (It remains to be seen if he will try to unilaterally “impound” the money, despite a 1974 law that says he can’t.) But some of Trump’s other energy efforts will have an immediate effect. Less than 30 minutes after Trump took his oath of office, his team announced the U.S. will once again withdraw from the Paris climate agreement — delivering a major setback to global efforts to reduce the greenhouse gases driving stronger storms, wildfires, heat waves and floods. The move signals to the world that the Trump administration will not pursue Biden’s just-promised carbon pollution cuts. It could also hurt the U.S. by giving China a leg up on clean energy manufacturing, write Sara Schonhardt, Zack Colman and Karl Mathiesen. The announcement coincides with a rise in climate havoc around the world, including the devastating Los Angeles wildfires and the determination that last year was the hottest ever recorded.
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