This story originally appeared in voice and is part of Climatic desk collaboration.
During his CampaignPresident-elect Donald Trump had a direct slogan for his energy policy: “Drill, baby, drill..”
That statement is emblematic of where Trump is willing to focus his efforts in a second term: He has promised US “energy dominance” and all from “new pipelines” to “new refineries” that increase the production of fossil fuels.
This approach marks a marked shift from that of the Biden administration and places the United States’ emphasis more on oil and gas production than attempting a transition to clean energy sources. In addition to touting the need to boost fossil fuels, Trump disparaged subsidies for clean energy investments and called for “ending (ing)”the funds that were allocated for those subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Law. His stance ignores the role that burning fossil fuels has played in climate change and could do considerable damage to US efforts to address the problem.
Several of his nominations are indicative of these goals. he is elected oil industry executive Chris Wright—a fracking evangelist—to head the Department of Energy. He has appointed North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who connected Trump to an oil executive donors during the campaign, as leader of the Department of the Interior and as “energy czar.” He also turned to former Rep. Lee Zeldin, who is highlighted his commitment to deregulation—as his head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
However, there is much that management can control. Although Trump may take notable steps to try to increase fossil fuel production, actual increases in oil and gas extraction will depend largely on the private sector and the economics of the industry.
Still, while Trump faces some limitations, he has important policy levers he can use to encourage fossil fuel production. Wright, Burgum and Zeldin have also signaled that they are prepared to execute the president-elect’s vision, including changes to drilling on public lands and faster permitting for oil and gas projects.
“President Trump and his energy team, Mr. Burgum, Mr. Wright, Mr. Zeldin, can do everything they can to make scaling up attractive and relatively easy,” Barry Rabe, a professor, told Vox. of environmental policy at the University of Michigan.
How Trump could increase fossil fuel production
Trump has two key avenues he can use to boost fossil fuel production. First, it can open up more public lands and waters for exploration, development and extraction. Second, it can facilitate regulatory processes governing work with fossil fuels.
Trump could offer more oil and gas leases on public lands
As president, Trump will oversee the Department of the Interior, which includes the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, both of which manage a substantial fraction of the country’s public lands and waters. He will also oversee the Department of Agriculture, which contains the Forest Service, another agency that oversees some public lands.
The Bureaus of Land Management and Ocean Energy Management, as well as the Forest Service, are the three main entities that grant oil and gas leases in public spaces. These leases Effectively allowing fossil fuel companies to lease parcels of public land from the federal government so they can extract resources from these areas. Once land is designated as available for lease, leases are typically auctioned to the highest bidder.