Factbox-How Trump would try to dismantle Biden’s climate legacy By Reuters

(Reuters) – Donald Trump’s presidential campaign laid out an energy policy platform centered on maximizing U.S. fuel and energy production, in part by dismantling the Biden administration’s central efforts to fight climate change.

The former Republican president’s campaign said President Joe Biden’s efforts to support the adoption of electric vehicles while limiting the use of coal and gas pose a risk to the nation’s power grid at a time of rising energy demand and promised reforms that would facilitate granting permits for us. power plants and removing obstacles to fossil fuel production.

In an ironic twist, the United States became the world’s largest oil and gas producer during Biden’s tenure, and his agencies approved projects at a faster pace than under Trump. Even so, Biden has pushed legislation through Congress and issued regulations aimed at accelerating the transition to cleaner energy.

Here are some of the Biden administration’s climate initiatives that Trump would try to target if he wins against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the November election:

POWER PLANT RULE

In April, Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency finalized rules targeting carbon, air and water pollution from power plants, an industry responsible for nearly 25 percent of U.S. carbon emissions. The rules will effectively require coal-fired power plants and new natural gas generators to capture emissions before they reach the atmosphere.

In a call with reporters on August 29, Trump’s former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said Trump would overturn the rules and “put coal country back to work so that all Americans have access to affordable energy .” He did not give details. fields and production of the mineral have declined during Trump’s four-year term.

VEHICLE EFFICIENCY RULES

The Biden administration in March announced new US auto emissions regulations aimed at reducing tailpipe pollution and pushing automakers to expand production of electric and hybrid vehicles. The final rules were a simplified version of the original proposal, giving automakers more freedom to comply with the standards.

But they still drew the ire of the Trump campaign, which included them in a group of Biden’s environmental initiatives that it says distort markets, drive up prices and limit consumer choice.

Despite Trump’s opposition to the widespread adoption of electric vehicles, his campaign has won the support of Tesla (NASDAQ: ) founder Elon Musk, whose company may be able to gain an advantage over rivals even as Trump cuts more much limits on vehicle pollution or cancel subsidies for electric vehicles. .

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT

Trump has repeatedly said he may repeal subsidies for electric vehicles, a key provision of Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, if elected.

The 2022 IRA contains billions of dollars in additional subsidies for clean energy, including wind and solar power, and high-tech batteries, but it is unclear whether Trump would target those provisions as well.

Any change to the law would require an act of Congress.

Corey Lewandowski, a Trump campaign adviser, dodged the question when asked on an Aug. 29 call with reporters whether Trump would support repealing parts of the IRA.

PARIS OFFER

During his 2017-2021 term as US president, Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, an international pact to combat climate change, arguing that it was unnecessary and put the country at a competitive disadvantage against China.

Trump’s campaign said he would do it again if he wins in November.

The US is now fully participating in the deal, after Biden quickly joined in 2021 and sought to restore US climate leadership on the global stage.

(Reporting by Richard Valdmanis and Timothy Gardner)