Donald Trump, the president-elect, presented his choices for important positions charged with carrying out his campaign pledge to reduce regulations on fossil fuels and boost the production of natural gas and oil to reduce inflation and energy costs. Trump pledged throughout his campaign to withdraw from the “disastrous” and “horribly unfair” Paris Agreement, which he will be able to do more swiftly the second time. Reversing environmental regulations that restrict carbon emissions and other pollutants from power plants and automobiles is another item on his agenda. After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Zeldin’s constituents reportedly worked to get him involved in environmental problems in Congress. The storm had a severe impact on the Long Island communities he represented.
Trump’s EPA nominee and climate stance
Trump intends to expedite the granting of federal licenses and leases, open more public land for drilling, approve natural gas pipeline projects, and lift a temporary halt on approvals for new liquefied natural gas projects to fulfill his pledge to “drill, baby, drill.” Additionally, he has stated that he will reclaim any unused money from the Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden’s centerpiece climate change initiative, which allocates billions to increase the production of clean energy, enhance energy efficiency, and promote the use of electric vehicles. Trump’s transition team suggests reversing several of the Biden administration’s EV-supporting initiatives, according to a Reuters story published on December 16. This entails removing the need for government agencies to buy EVs, diverting funds from the construction of charging stations, and repealing the $7,500 EV tax credit offered by the IRA. Among other policy recommendations, the team urges restoring vehicle emissions and fuel economy regulations to 2019 levels. Sea level rise, coastal erosion, rising temperatures, and severe storms have affected and will continue to influence Long Island’s coastal areas, including the well-known beaches on Fire Island, the Hamptons, and Montauk. These factors can have an impact on local businesses and the economy.
Interior Department picks on climate policy
The Senate will need to hold confirmation hearings for Trump’s nominees to carry out many of these objectives, including Lee Zeldin for the Environmental Protection Agency, Doug Burgum for the Department of the Interior, and Chris Wright for the Department of Energy. The hearings can start before January 20th, Inauguration Day. Lee Zeldin, a lawyer, Army veteran, and former congressman, was named by Trump on November 11 as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is in charge of safeguarding the environment and public health. Although Zeldin served on the House committees on Foreign Affairs and Financial Services, he did not participate in any environmental policy-related panels. Nevertheless, he took part in a few related caucuses, such as the Conservative Climate Caucus, the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, the Long Island Sound Caucus, and the Congressional Estuary Caucus. On its website, the latter, which was established in 2021, admits that the “climate is changing” and that “decades of a global industrial era having brought prosperity to the world has also contributed to that change.”
Fact | Detail |
EPA Administrator | Repealed environmental laws from the Obama administration, such as the Clean Power Plan. |
The Interior Secretary | Loosened safeguards for national monuments and allowed oil and gas production on public lands. |
The Energy Secretary | Decreased financing for green energy initiatives while promoting fossil fuel energy. |
EPA Deputy Administrator | centered on encouraging industry-friendly policies and reversing EPA rules. |
The Interior Deputy Secretary | Push for the coal, gas, and oil industries to be deregulated. |
The Energy Undersecretary | Favored fossil fuels and nuclear power over renewable energy sources. |
Environmental Policy | Decreased funding for EPA programs and backed the departure from the Paris Climate Agreement. |
Interior picks to challenge climate action efforts
Zeldin took part in bipartisan initiatives in Congress to protect and restore the Long Island Sound, an estuary that connects New York and Connecticut and is crucial for tourism, commercial fishing, and other forms of economic growth. He also fought to keep Plum Island, a federal island in the Sound that spans 840 acres, from being developed and sold. He resisted Trump’s Interior Department’s 2018 plan to allow oil and gas drilling along Long Island and other coastlines. He would be able to repeal the stricter rules the Biden administration imposed on power plants, especially coal-fired ones, and loosen the agency’s auto emissions standards if he were approved. Zeldin, a New York native, served as a state senator from 2011 to 2014 before joining the House in 2015 to 2023 to represent parts of Long Island. Although he has backed some environmental protection measures, especially for his home district, his record on climate change problems has been characterized as mixed, and he has little experience with environmental policy.
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The New York Center for Foreign Policy Affairs (NYCFPA) is a policy, research, and educational organization headquartered in New York State with an office in Washington D.C. NYCFPA is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, institution devoted to conducting in-depth research and analysis on every aspect of American foreign policy and its impact around the world. The organization is funded by individual donors. The organization receives no corporate or government donations.