President Trump’s Energy EO: “There Is No Energy Emergency. There Is a Climate Emergency”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — According to media reports, President Trump declared an energy emergency, launching a wholesale rollback of successful climate and energy policies that are already creating jobs, cutting consumer costs, and strengthening the economy.
Following is reaction from Manish Bapna, president and CEO of NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):
“There is no energy emergency. There is a climate emergency. The United States is producing more oil and gas than any country in history. On the tailwinds of successful climate and energy policy, the nation is producing more clean power than ever.
“There’s a whiff of American oligarchy in actions meant to further enrich billionaire oil and gas donors at the people’s expense. Purging nonpartisan civil servants can enfeeble the government and consolidate power in the executive. Orders to begin mass deportations risk breaking apart families and drawing in many who came to this country in search of freedom and are abiding by our laws.
“Floods wash away entire communities, drought bakes croplands to chalk, and firestorms engulf our cities in flames. This is no time to abandon ship, cut U.S. climate leadership adrift, and throw our children overboard. It’s no time to gut essential safeguards, claw back successful policiesm and fast-track destructive projects that do more harm than good.
“Clean energy is creating jobs, cutting consumer costs, and improving health in red states and blue. It’s strengthening the supply chain for the building blocks of a modern economy, making U.S. companies more competitive and the country more energy secure. Targeting those gains on Day 1 is part of a raft of fossil fuel handouts meant to stall the shift to clean energy.
“Cascading climate disasters are upending lives and destroying communities in every corner of the country, from the washed out hamlets of North Carolina and the blistering streets of Phoenix to the uninsurable homes in Iowa and the fire-ravaged coast of Malibu. Two-thirds of the country—66 percent—wants the government to take more climate action, to raise climate ambition even higher, and to confront the climate crisis with the urgency it demands.”
Consequences not catastrophe
“Elections have consequences. There’s a difference between consequences and catastrophe. Nobody voted for that—and it’s not what most of the country wants. No president may simply wish away duly established safeguards and laws with the wave of an imperious hand. If the administration fails to carry out our laws, we’ll exercise our constitutional right to petition our courts to compel compliance.”
“The election didn’t roll back the laws of atmospheric chemistry. It didn’t negate the manifest benefits the country is experiencing from finally confronting the climate crisis. It didn’t signal that it’s okay to condemn our children to a runaway train of climate disasters. There’s no mandate to slam climate progress into reverse.”
As details about individual EOs becomes available, NRDC will comment on them individually.
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law, and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health, and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd). Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.