President Donald Trump on Tuesday will sign an executive order aimed at rolling back a number of Obama-era climate policies, according to a senior administration official.
The action will set in motion an overhaul of President Barack Obama’s landmark rule to reduce carbon emissions from power plants and rescind a number of executive actions aimed at reining in climate change or mitigating its effects, the official said in a briefing with reporters.
Trump’s order will also seek to align federal agencies’ policies with his goal of boosting U.S. fossil fuel production and achieving energy independence.
The action signals that the administration is “going to go in a different direction” on climate policy, the official said.
“It’s an issue that deserves attention, but I think the president has been clear he’s not going to pursue climate or environmental policies that put the U.S. economy at risk,” he said.
Among the most substantial actions, the White House will initiate a review of the Clean Power Plan, a set of federal guidelines that give states a framework for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel-fired electricity plants, particularly those that burn coal. That component was widely expected and telegraphed by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt this weekend.
The official confirmed the administration will aim to replace the Clean Power Plan through established administrative procedures, which can take about a year. He also said the White House expects to face litigation over its rule writing.
The Clean Power Plan and other Obama-era regulations are currently being challenged in court by states and industry groups. The ongoing lawsuits around those rules make Trump’s executive order legally complex, the official said.
Trump will also aim to rescind the Climate Action Plan, Obama’s overarching strategy for cutting carbon emissions, preparing the country for the impacts of climate change and leading the international community’s response to global warming.
The administration will seek to overturn regulations on hydraulic fracturing and methane emissions from oil and natural gas wells on federal lands. Trump will also end Obama’s moratorium on issuing new leases for coal mining on government-administered property.
The White House will further instruct departments within the executive branch to identify all regulations and policies that may present obstacles to domestic energy production. Those reports will serve as a blueprint for the administration in setting energy policy, the official said.
The actions continue Trump’s war on energy regulation. He has approved two hotly disputed pipeline projects blocked by Obama and signed off on Congressional Republicans’ repeal of a rule meant to prevent corruption in the energy industry and another aimed at protecting waterways from coal mining pollution.
Tuesday’s executive action would also make it more difficult for the United States to deliver on its promises to reduce planet-warming emissions under the Paris Agreement, an international accord aimed at limiting the impact of climate change. Trump has threatened to pull out of the agreement, and Pruitt has called it a “bad deal.”
Asked whether the administration has made a final determination on U.S. participation in the Paris Agreement, the official said, “Whether we stay in or not is still under discussion.”