Trump issues orders aiming to drill in contentious Alaska areas, revisit Biden climate rules

President Trump late Monday issued a pair of executive orders that seek to bolster oil and gas drilling — including in contentious areas of Alaska.

One order seeks to open up drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and National Petroleum Reserve.

The other initiates a review of all policies that “burden the development of domestic energy resources.”

The latter order also specifically targets former President Biden’s electric vehicle push — stating that it is U.S. policy “to eliminate the ‘electric vehicle (EV) mandate.’”

Many of the measures do not necessarily change the rules on the books right away — instead directing federal agencies to begin the lengthy process of undoing Biden policies that also took years to complete.

However, one key policy that the second order seeks to revisit could end up preventing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from issuing climate regulations entirely. Specifically, it directs the EPA to reassess the 2009 finding that climate change poses a health risk and should be regulated.

It also seeks to resume approvals for new natural gas exports — which the Biden administration had paused until its action was halted in court.

Signing the Alaska order in the Oval Office, Trump was particularly enthusiastic about opening up drilling in the wildlife refuge.

Drilling in the refuge is particularly controversial because the area is home to wildlife including grizzly bears, polar bears, gray wolves, caribou and more than 200 species of birds. It also contains lands sacred to the Gwich’in people. But Republicans have long-eyed it as a source of oil and a way to bolster the local economy — including of local tribes.

The order particularly directs the Interior Department to reinstate drillings rights there that were revoked under the Biden administration and seeks to review a lease sale there by the Biden administration that ultimately flopped.

In addition to the electric vehicle rule, the order also targets Biden’s efficiency rules for household appliances, stating that it is U.S. policy to maximize consumer choice in: lightbulbs, dishwashers, washing machines, gas stoves, water heaters, toilets and shower heads.

The Trump administration rolled back energy efficiency rules for household appliances in his first term and Trump himself made disparaging the more energy-efficient versions part of his stump speech, taking aim at everything from low-flow toilets to energy-efficient light bulbs in remarks at rallies. Gas stoves, meanwhile, became a hot-button issue among Republicans during the Biden administration after U.S. Consumer Product Safety officials suggested it was exploring restrictions on them due to links to childhood asthma.

However, 97 percent of gas stoves on the market already complied with the standards the department finalized last January.

It also seeks to revise rules pertaining to construction — seeking to speed up building new projects, which can sometimes come at the expense of environmental reviews. Specifically, the order says that agencies assessing infrastructure projects must “prioritize efficiency and certainty over any other objectives.”

Furthermore, the order also directs federal agencies to stop doling out cash issued under the Democrats’ climate, tax and healthcare bill and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It particularly calls out funds for electric vehicle charging stations.

Beyond the wildlife refuge, the order also seeks to open up other areas of Alaska to drilling and other industries.

It also directs the administration to reverse Biden policies that limited drilling in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve — which was set aside in 1923 by President Harding as an emergency supply of oil for the Navy.

The order also removes Biden-era protections for Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, restoring a 2020 regulation from Trump’s first term that permitted industrial logging in much of the old-growth forest. The Biden administration banned logging and most road construction in most of the area in 2023.

The orders take aim at a range of other Biden policies, including its rejection of an Alaska mining road and the American Climate Corps — a climate jobs program.

— Updated at 10:24 p.m.

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