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Blog Post | April 10, 2025

RDP Trump Environment Tracker

Dorothy Slater Fatou Ndiaye

Climate and Environment
RDP Trump Environment Tracker

Trump’s War On Our Environment: Tracking Cuts, Rollbacks and Likely Harmful Impacts 

Trump’s second term began with drastic announcements on Day One and has been chaotic every day since. It can be overwhelming to try to keep up with the cuts to environmental funding, rollbacks to critical regulations, and track the thousands of staff across agencies who have been fired from their roles. The purpose of this tracker is to monitor some of the most important tangible increases in pollution and environmental and health harms caused by the Trump administration’s actions.

Many resources already exist in this vein:

  • ProPublica summary on EPA rollbacks that will impact air pollution as of February 5, 2025

Note: Tracking effects of these changes will likely become more difficult – greenhouse gas emission data is under threat due to Trump.

Specific examples of harmful Trump administration actions  – last updated July 1, 2025

Funding cuts for projects in communities across the country

  • Unleashing American Energy Executive Order ordered an end to funding for an array of climate, environmental, and pollution reduction projects. Courts have responded with challenges and orders to unfreeze this money, but the federal government is ignoring these orders in many cases and the future of thousands of critical projects is uncertain. 
  • Blocked funding that was being disbursed to farmers, cities, and Native American tribes to offset conservation efforts of water in the Colorado River and improve water quality in its tributaries. This freeze will accelerate the shrinking of the river’s water supply and increase pollution in the water, which provides drinking water for one in ten Americans and a huge percentage of water needed for farming and raising cattle. 
  • Blocked funding to a non-profit group in New Orleans that plants trees around the city, especially attempting to replace trees lost in hurricanes over the past two decades. The city has one of the lowest tree canopy rates in the country and suffers as a result – sufficient tree cover makes a tangible difference in ambient temperature, air conditioning costs, air quality, and flood resilience. The non-profit that takes on most of this work has had to cancel contracts for tree seedlings and rescind job offers as a result of the funding freeze. This is only one example of many cities that lost funding for tree planting. 
  • Blocked funding for school districts such as Ritenour School District in St. Louis, MO who had been promised money to replace their entire fleet of diesel school buses with electric school buses. Diesel exhaust increases cancer and asthma risk, is linked to negative cognitive developmental impacts, and emits high levels of CO2 into the atmosphere.
  • The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published an interim rule to remove regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in response to this executive order. This will result in inconsistent permitting processes across agencies and less thorough environmental review for proposed infrastructure projects. 
  • As of May 1, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had announced plans to illegally terminate at least 384 grants totaling over $2.4 billion, including the entire environmental and climate justice block grant program from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The EPA cut off funds intended to provide clean drinking water to a rural Black community in Maryland, California farmworkers, and tribal villages in Alaska, as well as to address cancer-causing radon gas in rural Utah homes and support air pollution monitoring in Louisiana communities suffering from high rates of respiratory illness in the petrochemical corridor. 

Employee firings and budget cuts

  • Demotions at EPA from principal deputy assistant administrator (second in command) to deputy assistant administrator (lower down) in the Office of Research and Development, Office of Enforcement and Compliance, Office of Land and Emergency Management (oversees cleanups of contaminated lands and responds to environmental emergencies, and Office of Mission Support (human resources and grants and contracts). Replacing professionals with fossil fuel friendly political appointees will almost certainly lead to private profits over the safety of the broader public – check back to see the likely tragic implications play out.
  • Employee firings and potential closures of NOAA facilities. At least 800 workers have been fired, meaning the people who monitor the intensifying climate change-driven storms will struggle to adequately monitor, predict, and communicate the dangers to American residents. This will be especially dangerous for hurricanes, tornadoes, and fires characterized by rapid intensification. 
  • Trump announced sweeping cuts to 11 area offices of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as well as cuts of over two thirds of the staff from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). These offices, which are housed in different departments but have related mandates, prevent work-related injury, illness, and death via research, recommendations, and enforcement. As temperatures rise, with Earth’s 10 hottest years on record being the last 10, this will have an enormous impact on worker safety and heat-related workplace injuries. Workers at the most risk include those in agricultural, construction, and warehouse jobs, which are made up of disproportionately immigrant and poor populations. 2300 people died from heat-related illness in the U.S. in 2023 with a functioning OSHA; these cuts will undoubtedly cause more deaths. NIOSH, which has been severely downsized and moved to RFK Jr.’s Administration for a Healthy America, was also responsible for testing and certifying personal protective equipment including respirator masks, which workers use to protect themselves against pesticides, oil and gas fumes, and wildfire smoke. See more information on NIOSH’s many critical jobs, including protecting firefighters and mine workers from dangerous environmental hazards, here. 
  • HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., fired the research team studying the deadly effects of extreme heat and how to safeguard against them right before the start of the summer, which is expected to be hotter than usual nationwide. The heat team RFK Jr. fired was housed at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), an agency within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The firings also come right before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is set to hold a hearing on the first-ever federal rules to protect workers from extreme heat. Announced in 2024, the proposed rule would require employers to provide paid water and rest breaks to outdoor workers when combined heat and humidity exceeds 80°F. Nearly every element of the proposed rule relied on research conducted by the heat team at NIOSH. OSHA relied on the NIOSH team’s expertise to define heat stress, explain how heat affects the human body and explain how staying hydrated helps prevent heat-related dangers, including kidney damage and sudden death from heat stroke. Without the researchers that were instrumental in drafting the rule, OSHA might have more trouble finalizing and defending the rule. Additionally, losing the heat team halts research on extreme heat, which kills more U.S. residents each year than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined. Furthermore, the firings have paused public communications about how to stay safe in extreme heat. The heat team’s social media accounts have been silent since April 1st 2025, when RFK Jr. announced the layoffs.
  • In April 2025, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) issued layoff notices to roughly 90% of the staff at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Among those placed on administrative leave were members of the mobile clinic crew, a group of employees who reviewed coal miners’ lung disease test results and researchers working to prevent these diseases. While the mobile clinic workers have since been reinstated, many other NIOSH researchers working on lung disease prevention remain at risk of being laid off. These cuts come at a time when lung disease among coal miners is on the rise.  A 2023 national NIOSH study found that coal miners were twice as likely to die of lung diseases than non-miners. In Central Appalachia, nearly one in five coal miners suffer from black lung disease (for which there is no cure). Between 1970 and 2016, black lung disease was listed as the underlying or contributing cause of death for over 75,000 miners across the country. According to a 2018 NIOSH study, black lung cases have been increasing for the past two decades, with the most severe cases returning to record-high levels. Due to layoffs at NIOSH, the agency paused its black lung programs which restricted some coal miners’ access to federal “Part 90” benefits. “Part 90” benefits re-assign coal miners to jobs with less dust exposure, which could stop black lung disease from getting worse. Beyond black lung, a 2023 CDC study found that coal miners are also dying from a broader range of lung diseases at higher rates than in the past, with some dying at younger ages. Layoffs at NIOSH means less research, testing, and prevention of lung diseases, potentially leading to delayed diagnoses, weaker protections, and limited treatment options for miners.
  • The acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Cameron Hamilton was fired by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem the day after he testified before the House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee, where he rightfully stated that eliminating FEMA would not be in the best interest of the American people. Hamilton’s statements contradict Trump and Noem, both of whom have been critical of FEMA and suggested shrinking or eliminating the agency entirely. Hamilton was replaced by David Richardson, a senior Trump official at the Department of Homeland Security with no disaster response experience. Hamilton’s firing comes right before the onset of hurricane season on June 1st. This is especially concerning given that the number of climate disasters will increase as climate change intensifies. Last year, there were 27 individual weather and climate disasters, costing at least $1 billion in damages and resulting in at least 568 direct or indirect deaths. A leadership change weeks before hurricane season could compromise FEMA’s ability to coordinate the federal government’s response to disasters and help states and local communities prepare. Without a strong FEMA, millions of Americans are vulnerable to destruction, injury and death. 

New fossil fuel projects and end of renewable projects

  • Trump ordered rapid fossil fuel expansion and prioritization of LNG projects in Alaska. The main Alaska LNG project in question would result in over 50 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually, threaten wetlands, forests, and permafrost habitats, and threaten endangered species including beluga whales, polar bears, and caribou. 
  • End of offshore wind leasing. Wind power currently provides for 10 percent of the nation’s electricity. A 2024 study found that developing 32 planned or proposed offshore wind farms in the Atlantic and Gulf would lead to a decrease in emissions and pollution such that they would prevent 2,100 premature deaths each year, have a 14:1 benefit to cost ratio, reduce U.S. emissions by 5 percent by 2035 and improve fine particulate air quality by 5 percent, and decrease electricity and gas bills. These benefits will be off the table with Trump’s new order. 
  • DOE Secretary Chris Wright issued an export authorization for the Commonwealth LNG project in Cameron Parish, Louisiana that will have an export capacity of 1.2 billion cubic feet per day. This project is predicted to add 3.6 million tons of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere every year, the equivalent of adding 700,000 new cars to the road, and release over 500 tons of nitrogen dioxide per year, a dangerous air pollutant. Low-level exposure to nitrogen dioxide irritates the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs, leading to coughing, shortness of breath, tiredness, and nausea. High levels of nitrogen dioxide exposure can cause rapid burning, spasms, and swelling of tissues in the throat and upper respiratory tract, reduced oxygenation of body tissues, a build-up of fluid in the lungs, and death. Longer term exposure to elevated levels of nitrogen dioxide could contribute to asthma and increase susceptibility to respiratory infections. People with asthma, children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to the health effects of nitrogen dioxide.
  • Trump ordered “immediate expansion” of American timber production across 280 million acres of forest. This order also directs the circumventing of critical endangered species protections for over 400 species using unspecified emergency powers. A single tree is understood to store as much as 28,000 pounds of CO2 in its lifetime, so this order will increase the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, endanger critical species, and increase fire risk. 
  • Trump signed a joint resolution to overturn a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management rule titled “Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources” that required new oil and gas leases on the outer continental shelf to submit a marine archaeological report. This resolution was overturned because it had “imposed compliance costs on energy producers.” 
  • The Department of Commerce’s Patent and Trademark Office officially terminated its Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program, which launched in 2022 with the goal of accelerating review of patent applications for innovations that could reduce emissions and mitigate climate change. It’s hard to know exactly what kind of innovations the country will miss out on, but the administration has made clear that it doesn’t want to know.
  • The Interior Department announced it would begin revitalizing the coal mining industry by ending its moratorium on federal coal leasing, reopening federal lands in Montana and Wyoming for coal mining, and lowering royalty rates for coal companies. When burned, coal releases airborne toxins and pollutants that cause asthma, brain and heart problems, cancer, and premature death, and Trump also announced in April that coal-fired power plants would be exempt from complying with new EPA emissions standards for air pollutants for two years beyond the original compliance date of July 2027. Coal plants also already produce more than 100 million tons of coal ash per year, which typically ends up in waterways where it contaminates the water supply for all living creatures, and as of 2025, coal accounted for roughly one quarter of all carbon emissions in the U.S. Expanding the production and burning of coal will have devastating impacts. 
  • In response to Trump’s National Energy Emergency declaration, which framed fossil fuel expansion as a critical part of safeguarding America’s national and economic security, the Department of the Interior adopted emergency permitting procedures to fast-track the development of fossil fuel resources. The Interior Department will invoke emergency powers under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act to speed up the permitting process. The new procedures are expected to reduce multi-year permitting processes down to just 28 days. Interior’s plans to expedite fossil fuel projects will likely result in a surge of new extraction projects, even as the U.S. already leads the world in oil and gas production. This is happening at a time when we need to halt all new developments to effectively limit global warming. Furthermore, environmental advocates warn that the Interior Department’s actions could harm public lands and water resources, jeopardize the existence of federally protected species, and undermine the public’s ability to participate in decisions about projects affecting their communities. 
  • The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), housed within the Interior Department, implemented new parameters that will allow companies to drill from multiple reservoirs at higher pressure levels, expanding the allowable pressure differential from 200 psi to 1500 psi. The rule is expected to increase offshore oil production from the Gulf of Mexico by about 10%, which would translate to over 100,000 barrels per day production increase over the next 10 years. Increased offshore drilling raises the risk of oil spills, which harms animals and habitats such as wetlands and oyster reefs. Habitat losses could disrupt migration patterns and life cycles of animals and result in erosion of shorelines. Increased production could also mean more abandoned and orphaned oil wells. When an operator shuts down an oil well—usually because it is no longer profitable—the company is required to remove its equipment and help restore the area damaged by its operations. However, this does not always happen. There are over 3.5 million abandoned oil and gas wells across the United States and approximately 14 million Americans live within a mile of one of the wells. Abandoned oil wells are dangerous because many remain uncapped and leak oil, methane, and other pollutants into oceans and the atmosphere every day. Abandoned wells typically emit methane, a highly combustible and potent greenhouse gas. However, wells can also emit carcinogenic benzene and hydrogen sulfide or H2S, an extremely deadly gas that can kill humans even during short exposures.
  • In a memorandum, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced it would expedite oil and gas leasing on public land. (The action does not apply to tribal lands.) For the past two years, the lease parcel review process took between 8-15 months. Now, the goal is to complete the entire lease parcel review process, from the start of scoping to the lease sale, within 6 months. Producing oil and gas on public land contributes to climate change via emissions from drilling, venting, transportation, processing and combustion of fossil fuels. According to Resources for the Future, if oil and gas leasing returns to its fastest pace in the past decade (which was in 2019 under Trump), it could add a cumulative 1.2 billion metric tons of CO₂-equivalent greenhouse emissions between 2024 and 2050. 
  • In accordance with President Trump’s Executive Order entitled “Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry”, the DOE announced the designation of (metallurgical) coal used in the production of steel as a critical material under the Energy Act of 2020. Issued in April 2025, the executive order directed the Secretary of Energy to evaluate whether coal used in steelmaking meets the criteria for a “critical material” as defined by the Energy Act. If so, the Secretary was instructed to begin the process of adding coal to the DOE’s Critical Materials List. Under the Act, a critical material is defined as “any non-fuel mineral, element, or substance that (i) faces a high risk of supply chain disruption and (ii) plays an essential role in energy technologies, including those that generate, store, transmit, or conserve energy.” President Trump’s order built on Executive Order 14241 by aiming to (a) designate coal as a critical mineral eligible for federal funding and deregulation, and (b) declare its use vital to U.S. national and economic security. Globally, around 70% of steel is produced using metallurgical coal. However, this method has significant environmental and public health consequences. For every tonne of steel produced, approximately 2.3 tonnes of CO₂ are emitted. If current practices continue, coal-based steelmaking could consume nearly 25% of the world’s remaining carbon budget by 2050. An October 2024 report by Industrious Labs highlights the health impacts: coal-based steel production is projected to cause between 460 and 892 premature deaths, 443 respiratory-related emergency room visits, and 250,504 asthma cases in the U.S. each year.
  • The Interior Department is preparing to rescind a Biden-era rule that put restrictions on oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. Rescinding the rule would open up 13 million acres for oil and gas drilling. Opening up the reserve could destroy habitat for caribou and thousands of migratory birds and put communities dependent on subsistence hunting at risk. As rightly stated by Matt Jackson, the Alaska state senior manager at The Wilderness Society, “This move will accelerate the climate crisis at a time when the ground beneath Alaska communities is literally melting away and subsistence foods are in decline.” Alaska’s climate is warming at a rate 2-3 times higher than the global average, causing permafrost to thaw and sea ice to melt. 
  • In its Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volume requirements for 2026 and 2027, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced regulatory changes that eliminated renewable electricity from qualifying under the program. Established under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and expanded by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the RFS program (authorized by the Clean Air Act) is a federal program that requires transportation fuel, home heating oil, or jet fuel sold in the U.S. to include a minimum volume of renewable fuels. This is done by increasing the amount of renewable fuel to be blended into fossil fuels each year. Each renewable fuel category in the RFS program must emit fewer greenhouse gases than the petroleum fuel it replaces. The goals are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, expand the renewable fuels sector, and reduce U.S. reliance on imported oil. The EPA implements the RFS program in consultation with the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Energy (DOE). The EPA monitors compliance via the Renewable Identification Number (RIN) system, which assigns an RIN to each gallon of renewable fuel. Oil refiners and gasoline and diesel importers are among the entities regulated by RFS and failing to meet requirements can result in a hefty fine. The EPA’s RFS requirements for 2026 and 2027 reduced the number of RINs “generated for renewable fuel imported or produced from foreign feedstocks”. The EPA also removed renewable electricity as a qualifying renewable fuel under the program, which the agency claimed furthered “the President’s goal of eliminating the electric vehicle (EV) mandate.” This change was enacted despite the electricity sector being the second-largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, accounting for 25% of the national total. A study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that transitioning to renewable electricity would substantially reduce emissions: CO₂ from direct combustion fell by about 10% in a 30% renewable electricity scenario, 55% in a 60% scenario, and 95% in a 90% scenario by 2050, compared to a low-demand baseline. Using renewable electricity would also have major health benefits by addressing air and water pollution caused by coal and natural gas plants, which is linked to breathing problems, neurological damage, heart attacks, cancer, premature death, and other serious conditions. Additionally, the renewable energy industry is more labor intensive than the fossil fuel industry, meaning it creates more jobs per unit of electricity generated. By removing renewable electricity from the RFS program, the EPA has missed an opportunity to reduce a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, improve public health, and generate employment in a growing sector.

Nuclear energy 

 Attacks on environmental regulation, protections, and requirements 

  • The EPA withdrew a November 2024 rule that required the agency to impose an annual fee on methane emissions from petroleum and natural gas infrastructure that surpassed certain thresholds established by Congress. Had the methane fee been in effect from March 2022 to March 2023, the top 25 oil and gas producers in the U.S. would have faced a combined liability of up to $1.1 billion. For 2024, the EPA was directed to charge $900 for every metric ton of methane above the threshold. Without this fee, the government will lose revenue, and polluting companies will have less of an incentive to reduce emissions from fossil fuel infrastructure, including venting and flaring. Rising methane emissions means more air and earth-warming pollution which is detrimental to human health and the planet. 
  • The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is withdrawing its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change. The guidance, issued by the CEQ in January 2023, helped agencies analyze greenhouse gas and climate change effects of their proposed actions under NEPA. Although NEPA does not require agencies to adopt the least environmentally-harmful alternative, it has played a critical role in shaping more informed and environmentally conscious decision-making. NEPA ensures the public has informed access and input into federal agency decisions that could affect people’s lives and the environment. By withdrawing guidance, the CEQ is going against its mandate and disempowering ordinary Americans by weakening their ability to influence decisions that impact public health, ecosystems, and climate resilience.
  • The Department of Interior (DOI) adopted 33 categorical exclusions under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Section 109. Section 109 of NEPA, added through the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, permits a federal agency to adopt a categorical exclusion from another agency’s NEPA procedures, as long as it applies to a similar category of proposed actions. 
  • The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) adopted 27 categorical exclusions under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Section 109. Section 109 of NEPA, added through the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, permits a federal agency to adopt a categorical exclusion from another agency’s NEPA procedures, as long as it applies to a similar category of proposed actions. 
  • The Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced nearly $4.9 billion in available funding for major bridge projects, alongside up to $500 million for repairing or replacing bridges in rural areas, but removed climate change and environmental justice requirements from its funding criteria. Removing climate change and environmental justice requirements may hinder the development of climate-resilient infrastructure, leaving communities more vulnerable to climate risks. Bridges may be built or repaired without accounting for risks such as sea-level rise, intense storms, and increased flooding. This could lead to shorter infrastructure lifespans, more frequent and costly repairs, and even catastrophic failures. A 2019 study published in the journal PLOS ONE found that rising temperatures could cause 25% of all US steel bridges to collapse by 2050. At a time when climate threats are accelerating, sidelining these factors from infrastructure planning is dangerous and irresponsible.
  • In Executive Order 14308 entitled “Empowering Commonsense Wildfire Prevention and Response”, Trump directed agencies to ​​streamline wildfire response efforts, promote local preparedness, and revise wildfire mitigation policies. These changes include modifying or rescinding any federal regulations that hinder the use of fire retardants, preventative prescribed fires, and more. However, these regulations exist for important environmental and public health reasons. For example, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) are prohibited from spraying retardants within 300 feet of any waterway (unless human life or property is in danger) due to their harmful effects on aquatic ecosystems. Fire retardants feed harmful algal blooms along waterways and are toxic to fish like Chinook salmon, a native species already at risk and critical to California’s river and ocean ecosystems. While fire retardants are generally not toxic to humans (though they should not be ingested), little is known about inhaling fire-retardant chemicals once they’re burned off by wildfires. In addition, fire retardants can increase the presence of non-native plant species, which often die off during very dry summers, leaving behind dead plant material that can fuel wildfires. Although prescribed burns are important for land management and preventing wildfires, a new study found that they can significantly contribute to air pollution in the southeastern United States, especially for minority and low-income communities. The study warns that these air quality effects may intensify as climate change progresses. Thus while improving wildfire management is important, changing or eliminating federal regulations may have adverse effects on the environment, ecosystems, public health, and long-term wildfire resilience.
  • Trump signed H.J. Res. 87 and H.J. Res. 88 into law —two joint resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act that nullified the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s preemption waiver allowing California to set its own motor vehicle pollution control standards.  Under the Air Quality Act of 1967—later amended and incorporated into the Clean Air Act (CAA)— Congress generally prohibits states from setting their own emissions standards for new motor vehicles. However, under Section 209 of the CAA, the state of California can apply for a waiver from the federal preemption through the EPA. Congress initially allowed California to apply for waivers because the state had “demonstrated compelling and extraordinary circumstances sufficiently different from the Nation as a whole to justify standards on automobile emissions which may, from time to time, need to be more stringent than national standards.” The EPA is expected to grant waivers except where disqualifying conditions apply. As of 2025, California has received over 100 federal preemption waivers for new and amended state-level vehicle emissions standards. Some members of Congress also believed California’s “pioneering” efforts “offer[ed] a unique laboratory, with all the resources necessary, to develop effective control devices which can become a part of the resources of this Nation.” As of 2025, 17 states and the District of Columbia have adopted some subset of California’s standards. H.J. Res. 87 nullified 88 Fed. Reg. 20688 (published in April 2023), in which the EPA granted the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) requests for waivers for the following California regulations: the Heavy-Duty Vehicle and Engine Emission Warranty Regulations and Maintenance Provisions, the Advanced Clean Trucks Regulation, the Zero Emission Airport Shuttle Regulation, and the Zero-Emission Power Train Certification Regulation. H.J. Res. 88 nullified 90 Fed. Reg. 642 (published in January 2025), where the EPA granted CARB’s waiver request for California’s Advanced Clean Cars II (“ACC II”) regulations. Trump signed H.J. Res. 87 and H.J. Res. 88 into law to “prevent California’s attempt to impose a nationwide electric vehicle mandate and to regulate national fuel economy by regulating carbon emissions.” Nullifying these waivers blocked California from advancing key zero-emission vehicle policies—despite the transportation sector being the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. Zero-emission vehicle policies can help improve air quality, lower smog, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. 
  • The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) voided Advisory Bulletin ADB-2021-01, issued under the Biden Administration in June 2021, which clarified that Section 114 of the 2020 Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety (PIPES) Act required all operators of PHMSA-regulated pipeline facilities—including those not transporting natural gas—to update their inspection and maintenance plans. Advisory Bulletin ADB-2021-01 also outlined specific considerations for compliance, including measures to prevent and mitigate both unintentional fugitive emissions and intentional vented emissions. The PHMSA allegedly justified the withdrawal by claiming the bulletin overstepped the statutory language of Section 114 by applying its requirements to facilities that do not transport natural gas and by introducing new, undefined terms—such as fugitive and vented emissions—which do not appear in existing law or regulation. Section 114 of the 2020 PIPES Act was designed to improve public safety, modernize aging infrastructure, and reduce environmental harm from pipeline leaks—particularly methane emissions. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, with a global warming potential 84 times higher than carbon dioxide (CO₂) over a 20-year timeframe, and 30 times higher over a 100-year period. The Environmental Defense Fund found that U.S. natural gas pipelines leak between 1.2 million and 2.6 million tons of methane per year, which has the same climate impact as almost 50 million passenger cars being driven for a year on near-term warming scales. Efforts to reduce methane emissions could slow the rate of near-term warming by 30% and prevent 0.25°C of additional warming by midcentury. Mitigating pipeline methane leaks also helps improve public safety by reducing the possibility of fires or explosions caused by ignition of escaped natural gas. PHMSA’s decision to void Advisory Bulletin ADB-2021-0 undermines efforts to reduce methane emissions and weakens critical safety and environmental protections at a time when both are urgently needed.

Mining 

  • Trump ordered “immediate measures” to increase American mineral production, which he says will create jobs and fuel prosperity. This executive order directed each department or agency head involved in the permitting of mineral production to identify within 10 days priority projects that can be immediately approved or expedited. While some minerals are critical to certain renewable energy goals, the process of mining requires significant water resources, produces toxic, radioactive, or acidic substances, significantly impacts the land including deforestation, and has a greenhouse gas emission footprint of its own. And it is hard to understand why mining “gold” is critical in the 21st Century.
  • Trump issued an executive order titled “Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals And Resources” asserting that expanding U.S. leadership in seabed mineral development was vital for national and economic security. The order instructs several federal agencies, including the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the State Department, the Department of Energy, and other relevant agencies, to expedite deep-sea mineral exploration, extraction, and processing, both within the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf and internationally. Deep sea mining could kill marine life, destroy their habitats, and disrupt the feeding and reproduction patterns due to noise and light pollution. The ocean serves as the planet’s largest carbon sink, absorbing approximately 25% of global carbon dioxide emissions. The loss of deep-sea biodiversity from mining activities could interfere with the ocean’s carbon cycle and weaken its capacity to moderate global temperature increases.

Air pollution

  • Trump’s DOJ dismissed a lawsuit against the operators of a synthetic rubber plant in Louisiana for its release of chloroprene, a likely human carcinogen. This was a landmark environmental justice case seeking to improve air quality in Cancer Alley, the stretch of land between New Orleans and Baton Rouge that has extremely high cancer rates due to the petrochemical plants that pollute the air. Unchecked, this chemical plant (and many others like it in the area) will continue to release carcinogenic pollutants into the air that Louisiana residents, many of them Black and poor, are forced to breathe. 
  • The State Department ended air quality monitoring at 80 embassies and consulates abroad. This data was used primarily to track air pollution in areas U.S. officials worked, but also benefited global coordination of air quality measurement and anti-pollution efforts. 
  • Trump signed a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) into law that voided the EPA’s final rule on methane waste emissions. This removes a fine system that would charge large emitters of methane waste that exceeded certain emission levels set by Congress. Methane gas is responsible for 20-30% of global heating since the Industrial Revolution. The rule, which Democrats passed late enough that it could be easily repealed using the CRA, had not gone into effect, but would have applied to roughly a third of the methane emissions that come from oil and gas infrastructure in the U.S and diverted 1.2 million metric tons of methane through 2035, the equivalent of taking nearly 8 million gas-powered cars offline for a year. Methane is a major contributor to climate change as it is 28 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Additionally, when methane is leaked, it releases other pollutants like volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Breathing in VOCs can cause cancer, affect the nervous system, and cause birth defects. Everyone is vulnerable to breathing in VOCs because they can travel far from source.
  • The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an emergency fuel waiver allowing the sale of E15 gasoline (gasoline blended with 15% ethanol) nationwide this summer. The waiver took effect on May 1, preventing a scheduled halt in E15 sales in some areas of the country. The waiver will remain in place until May 20, the maximum number of days allowed under the Clean Air Act. However, the agency is seeking to “issue new waivers effectively extending the emergency fuel waiver until such time as the extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances are no longer present.” E15 gasoline sales are typically restricted in summer months due to environmental concerns over smog because it emits more pollutants in warm, humid weather, and its chemical composition contributes to “summertime smog” through both its production and vehicle emissions. Now with this waiver in place, exposure to smog will increase. Smog exposure has been linked to asthma, obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, cardiac arrest, strokes, miscarriages, and developmental disorders. 
  • The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued guidance interpreting the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) to allow up to 50 hours of non-emergency use of Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (RICE). The goal is to use RICE to power the nation’s power grid and artificial intelligence (AI) data centers to “maintain America’s lead on artificial intelligence.” Expanding energy use to encourage the expansion of AI is a growing problem and has multiple harmful consequences, including that exposure to air toxics emitted from RICE can irritate the eyes, skin and mucous membranes, and cause central nervous system problems. Expanding RICE use could expose more people to these harms. Generative AI also consumes vast amounts of energy, contributing to higher carbon emissions and straining the electric grid. In addition to its massive energy consumption, AI also has significant water demands. Large volumes of water are needed to cool the hardware used in training, deploying, and fine-tuning generative AI models which can strain municipal water supplies and disrupt local ecosystems.
  • The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is preparing to initiate a two-step process to roll back its vehicle fuel economy standards. The agency also alleged that the Biden administration illegally factored electric vehicles (EVs) into the baseline of its standards. The NHTSA’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards regulate how far vehicles can travel on a gallon of fuel, with a focus on promoting energy conservation. CAFE standards were first established under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, passed by Congress in response to the energy shortage caused by the 1973 oil crisis. Since their inception, CAFE standards have saved over 2 trillion gallons of gasoline — enough to power every car and light truck in the U.S. for over 15 years. In June 2024, the NHTSA finalized its new CAFE and Heavy-Duty Pickup Trucks and Vans (HDPUV) standards, projected to save consumers almost $23 billion in fuel costs. Other projected benefits of these standards include saving approximately 70 billion gallons of gasoline (equivalent) through 2050, preventing over 710 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, reducing air pollution, and reducing America’s dependence on oil. With the NHTSA now moving forward to roll back these vehicle fuel economy standards, Americans stand to lose out on these critical environmental, economic, and energy security benefits.

Water pollution 

Data tracking and scientific standards

  • The EPA shut down a website late on April 18th that was used to track the locations of thousands of dangerous chemical facilities throughout the country. This occurred at the request of chemical industry lobbyists. As a result, the public can no longer easily access information about the locations of pesticide, fertilizer, and plastic production facilities, which pose risks to neighboring communities including significant health-harming pollution and chemical fires requiring evacuation.
  • The Trump administration ended funding and halted work on the National Climate Assessment, which is required by Congress and has been released every five years since the 1990s. This report is intended to be a trusted source of information on how climate change is impacting the U.S. and is designed for use by the public, including local city planners, fire and emergency officials, homeowners, and judges and juries regarding environmental cases. It has been considered the most widely trusted source of information on climate impacts, so without it, city planners won’t know where to put buildings and roads, fire and emergency officials won’t be able to design comprehensive disaster preparedness plans, homeowners won’t know their risk, and judges and juries won’t have a common source of information on which to base their decisions. 
  • In a memo from the acting administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Jeffrey Clark, the White House directed agencies to stop using a metric that estimates the economic impact of carbon dioxide and other climate pollutants when developing policies and regulations. The “social cost of carbon” is a metric that calculates the dollar amount “of damage caused by one ton of carbon pollution, so as to more accurately assess the costs or benefits of federal policies.” The Biden administration used the “social cost of carbon” to implement stronger regulation on greenhouse gas emissions from cars, power plants, factories and oil refineries. When the metric is used, the economic benefits of climate-conscious actions like reducing emissions from power plants and cars rises, which helps the government justify why industries must cut down on pollution. With the metric no longer in use, the Trump administration will have an easier path to dismantling climate regulations. Weaker climate regulations will lead to increased emissions of climate change-driving pollutants, posing risks to both human health and ecosystems. 
  • In Executive Order 14303, titled “Restoring Gold Standard Science”, President Trump claimed the previous administration’s falsification of data, high-profile retractions, and failures to replicate certain scientific studies have eroded the public’s trust in science. Trump alleged the Biden administration relied on misused scientific data to shape its policies on climate change, COVID-19 guidance, and other issues. Trump also stated Biden “politicized science” by incorporating DEI initiatives. To address these concerns, Trump called for the restoration of “a gold standard for science to ensure that federally funded research is transparent, rigorous, and impactful.” This sounds harmless, but the scientific community warns this could change research for the worse. The president of the Union of Concerned Scientists called the executive order “extremely dangerous” in its details and subtext. The executive order allows political appointees—rather than nonpartisan career officials, as was standard under Biden—to “correct” scientific findings and crack down on so-called misinformation. According to the Union’s president, this move “steamrolls long-standing efforts to create a buffer between science and politics.” Others in the scientific community have echoed these concerns. Stand Up for Science, a nonprofit that has previously organized demonstrations in response to Trump’s science policies, released an open letter opposing Executive Order 14303, which has garnered over 8,000 signatures. Trump’s executive action allowing political appointees to dictate science standards could lead to delayed or inadequate responses to climate or health emergencies, weakened environmental regulation to comply with his administration’s agenda, and slower technological progress. 

Transportation

  • Changed criteria for a transportation funding grant program so it now penalizes projects that aim to reduce driving, increase electrification, or incentivize walking and biking, while favoring highway expansion projects. Highway expansions are always a negative for increased CO2 emissions and air and noise pollution for those living nearby. Highway expansions will put more people at risk of developing respiratory illnesses and cancer due to greater exposure to traffic-related air pollution from cars and trucks. Racist interstate citing policies in the 1960s and 1970s led to major highways cutting through Black and Latinx neighborhoods. As a result, those communities are more likely to live near highways and bear the disproportionate health impacts of traffic pollution. Highway expansions (especially under Trump) will continue to disproportionately impact BIPOC communities.  

Energy and water efficiency

  • Trump rescinded two orders made under Biden that determined renewable energy resources, including solar panel components and heat pump technology, were critical to national security and therefore deserved federal resources under the Defense Production Act. Keeping renewable energy costs low helps people save on utility bills, which have gone up 51% since 2019. Investing in renewable energy sources like solar is likely to increase a home’s value which benefits homeowners in the long run. As showcased during Winter Storm Elliott, America’s fossil fuel-powered energy grid is becoming more unreliable, leading to outages and grid failures during extreme weather events. Using renewable energy can build out a clean, more reliable electricity grid which will benefit everyone by reducing the likelihood of power outages and disruptions. 
  • In a memorandum, Trump instructed the Secretary of Energy to rescind or amend several water conservation and efficiency standards established by the Energy Policy Act of 1992. He argued that these requirements—for faucets, showers, bathtubs, toilets, washing machines, dishwashers, and other fixtures—made the products “more expensive and less functional.” However, water-efficient plumbing can save people hundreds of dollars annually, a benefit particularly significant for low-income households. Other benefits of water conservation and efficiency include lower water infrastructure costs, reduced energy use and emissions associated with heating, pumping, and treating water and wastewater, protection against property damage, and improved community resilience to water shortages related to water quality problems. By rolling back these standards, Trump’s directives risk depriving Americans of these important economic and environmental benefits.

“pollution!” by aguscr is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Climate and Environment

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