According to Sidley (an environmental law firm), on Trump's first day in office, he signed 26 executive orders (EO's) which included the recission of almost 80 executive orders of President Biden's. Trump’s orders contained, "both repeals of key Biden Administration policies and calls to agency action to reassess treatment of major environmental issues associated with motor vehicles, energy development, and climate change." Top actions to know from Trump’s first day include (again according to Sidley):

1. Rollback of Climate Policies. Trump repealed all climate oriented executive orders from the Biden Administration. Besides the directive to remove the United States from the Paris Agreement, Trump directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review two key aspects of EPA regulatory policy on climate:
   • First, the EPA must submit a report on the “legality and continuing applicability” of its 2009 endangerment finding for greenhouse gasses (GHGs) under the Clean Air Act (CAA). Revoking the finding would undermine the EPA’s regulations covering carbon dioxide and other GHG emissions from vehicles and power plants, and its climate regulatory authority in general. During the previous Trump Administration, the EPA considered and rejected a petition to reconsider the endangerment finding.
   • Second, the EPA must issue guidance on the “social cost of carbon”—a metric used by agencies to quantify the climate impacts of regulations and permitting—that considers whether its use should be eliminated. The Biden Administration significantly increased the value of the social cost of carbon, which the EPA and other agencies used to support climate regulation and policy.

If the EPA shifts course on either of these, significant litigation should be expected.

2. Increase Domestic Energy Generation. Pursuant to the National Emergencies Act, Trump declared a national "emergency" regarding insufficient domestic energy infrastructure and supply, including oil exploration and production and petroleum refining—activating all emergency agency authority to expedite energy generation. He also ordered agency heads to begin immediate review of policies posing “obstacles to energy development” and report findings to the U.S. attorney general.
3. Push for Oil and Gas Drilling and Temporary Withdrawal of Areas for Offshore Wind Leasing. In line with his push for domestic energy production, President Trump reopened for development the federal waters in the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans and parts of the Gulf of Mexico (now renamed by Trump as the "Gulf of America" in a separate EO) that Biden had restricted. Among other directions to agency heads, he also lifted the Biden Administration’s pause on new liquid natural gas permits and halted the issuance of any new or renewed wind energy leases for any Offshore Continental Shelf locations. Additionally, the Department of Interior must review existing offshore wind leases via a “comprehensive review” to determine whether to terminate or amend such existing wind energy leases. During the pendency of this review, Trump directed the Interior and other agencies not to issue new or renew approvals, rights of way, permits, leases, or loans for offshore wind projects.
4. Proposed Revocation of Electric Vehicle and Other “Clean” Technology Goals. Trump’s EOs reflect a goal to eliminate Biden’s elective vehicle (EV) “mandate” and push back on California’s ability to develop their own EV requirements. He rescinded all Biden policies regarding net-zero GHG emission goals for vehicles and other industries, such as the “Green New Deal,” which, among other provisions, funded EV charging stations. He also vowed to revoke California’s waiver, promulgated under that state’s unique Clean Air Act authority to develop vehicle emission standards stricter than federal standards.
5. Removal of Environmental Justice Considerations. Finally, Trump called to terminate all environmental justice (EJ) offices and positions in federal government, as well as any EJ initiatives, programs, or other activities. This move reverses the EJ commitments undertaken by the Biden Administration and tracks towards the removal of all EJ considerations from agency action promulgated in Trump’s first term.

Executive Orders do not have the force and effect of regulations per se but nonetheless are powerful statements of presidential policy and direction that can have immediate legal and/or practical consequences. Presidents are generally free to revoke the EOs of their predecessor without meeting the type of procedure requirement necessary for changing a regulation, which is the case with the revocation of many of President Biden’s EOs here. Stay tuned for further EOs and specific agency actions implementing President Trump’s policies.

According to Time Magazine, the president signed an executive order on Jan. 24 calling for an assessment of the effectiveness of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the nation’s main arm for disaster recovery. While visiting Hurricane Helene victims in North Carolina on Jan. 24, he proposed "getting rid" of FEMA, a move that could impact the country’s ability to recover from extreme weather events that are becoming more intense and frequent due to climate change. The appointed council, which will include the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Defense, will have one year to evaluate “the existing ability of FEMA to capably and impartially address disasters occurring within the United States.”

Also in the Time article, on February 14, Trump signed an executive order to create a new “National Energy Dominance Council,” aimed at increasing the country’s oil and gas production. Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” approach is meant to lower energy prices and increase supply of fossil fuels. The country’s oil and gas production, however, already reached record highs under the Biden Administration, according to the Center for American Progress. And some experts have warned the moves may actually harm some refineries and raise gas prices.

The Trump Administration and its newly created so-called Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) proposed sweeping cuts to many federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as explained in the Time article. At the beginning of February, the agency told more than 1,000 “probationary” employees, those who had been working for the agency for less than a year, that they could be fired immediately, according to NBC News. The agency has since “terminated” nearly 400 employees, according to The Hill. 

The reduction of staff could impact the organization's speed and ability to respond to crises like addressing environmental health risks or implementing regulations.

Finally, according to the Time article, in 2021 the Biden Administration set a goal to have EVs make up half of all new cars sold by 2030, a move which President Trump revoked upon returning to power. The Federal Highway Administration also released a memo on Feb. 6 saying that the Department of Transportation was reviewing the implementation of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program. The move froze roughly $3 billion dollars in funding that was allocated to expand the network of electric vehicle charging stations across the country, according to Atlas Public Policy. According to the most recent EPA data, in 2022 transportation was the largest source (28%) of emissions in the U.S. Decarbonizing this sector would go a long way to reducing the country’s carbon footprint.

Again, I will focus in upcoming articles on ways to respond to the Trump/Musk anti-environmental actions and to their deeply serious threats to our constitutional democratic republic.