Trump's+Climate+Change+Policy

Policy Home Pagemedia type="custom" key="29471839" align="right" Trump's Climate Change Policy W ith the relatively new president elected into office, former President Barack Obama's policies remain at risk for policy reversal. President Donald Trump ran an election based on the conservative agenda based on fiscal conservatism and nationalistic ideal to " Make America Great Again". Trump's promise to his key voting demographic, a conservative audience, advocates to dismantle Obama's policy role and agenda. The Trump regime agenda has already been successful at reversing key policy pieces such as the Clean Energy Act of 2009 and the Paris Accord of 2015 through executive orders. The two key policies initiated by Obama set forth standards to reduce total carbon emissions and diversify energy production for the United States of America. With the recent backpedaling on climate change policy framework at the national and global level the response of states, cities, and local municipalities must be examined to understand Trump's effect on climate change policy efforts in the United States and the implications on the international level.

Obama Administration
The Obama administration worked on the international level to create comprehensive climate change change policy. They created key policy pieces such as the Clean Energy Act of 2009 and the Paris Accord of 2015. These two policy initiatives set the standards for allowable greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and on an international level. To achieve the policies, the administration used a, "2007 Supreme Court decision that the EPA must regulate carbon emissions; therefore, this policy requires every state to develop its own plan to reduce carbon emissions from power plants."(2). The next piece of policy incorporated into the Clean Energy Act measures carbon as a social cost and therefore puts a price on carbon emissions (4). CEA 2009 set standards to get levels down 32% prior to the carbon dioxide levels of 2005 by 2030 (4). The CEA 2009 is an ambitious pledge that is part of the centerpiece to the Paris climate agreement (1). These two polices work together like checks and balances: CEA 2009 puts price on carbon and raises interest in energy diversification, CEA sets goal in motion to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the Paris climate accord sets the US in motion to meet international standards, and the EPA is legally bound by the Supreme Court to regulate carbon emissions.

Trump Administration
At the start of June 2017, Donald Trump delivered this speech to the world to announce the United States withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. Thousands of diplomats from around the world have worked together to create guidelines for daily operations with consideration to environmental protection. President Trump does not believe climate change is a threat on a national level nor on an international level. Donald Trump's entire cabinet whom oversee energy and the environment departments all have ties to the fossil fuel industry( Krupp). Trump issued the executive order, "“Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth", which effectively guts all of the CEA and Paris Accord (6). President Trump's goal is to cost businesses less money rather than tax business for greenhouse gases as part of the CEA of 2009 mandates. Trump talks about putting coal energy back into production and work, however, coal production is costly to mine, is not efficient at producing quality energy when in comparison to renewable energy sources and demand for coal has decreased (4). Coal has seen an overall decrease in consumption by 42% over the past 10 years; while natural gas use for power has increased 27 percent and wind power has jumped 387 percent over the same time period(6). The demand for coal decreases each year due to more efficient options available for less than coal. The clean energy market employs have begun to outpace energy produced from fossil fuels; more than 2 million people work in jobs relating to energy efficiency and there is only 52,000 people employed by the coal industries (6). The market for renewable and clean energy has overstepped the need and consumption of coal. A readily supply of natural gas has cut the need for coal down significantly



Environmental Protection Agency
The EPA’s annual budget currently stands at about $8.06 billion, close to its lowest level in 40 years. The projected 2018 budget anticipates thousands of people will get laid off (5).Trump plans to eliminate the EPA all together through budget cut. In March of 2016 Donald Trump said, “We’re going to have little tidbits left, but we’re going to take a tremendous amount out (the EPA)"(5).The elimination of the EPA deregulates all carbon requirements for energy production. With the EPA budget cuts proposed, a hiring freeze is on-going, downsizing of the department is on-going, and with lower funds the EPA is not able to enforce regulations. Check out the EPA website to find out more on climate change.

Local Government
Due to the recent changes with climate change policy at the federal level, state governments and local municipalities are responding with progressive climate policy aimed to combat global warming previously safeguarded by federal government. Currently, "twenty-nine states, the District of Columbia, and three U.S. territories have adopted renewable portfolio standards that create markets for low-carbon, renewable energy by requiring electric utilities to meet a portion of their sales with solar, wind, and other renewable alternatives." (3). The renewable portfolio creates requirements from electric utility companies to source a certain amount of renewable energy sources. This acts to diversify energy production for consumption with lower carbon emission rates."The Renewable Portfolio Standards has allowed state lawmakers to better capture potential economic benefits in-state while minimizing constitutional concerns."(3). As climate change policy has been revoked at the national level, local municipalities still have the ability to commit and select alternative energy sources that work for them. In fact, two thirds of the US population live in states that mandate a minimum of electricity produce come from renewable sources (6).

Refrences
(1) Harvey, Chelsea. “Trump Has Vowed to Kill the Clean Power Plan. Here’s How He Might — and Might Not — Succeed.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 11 Nov. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/11/11/trump-has-vowed-to-kill-the-clean-power-plan-heres-how-he-might-and-might-not-succeed/?utm_term=.084936237c35.

(2) Kluger, Jeffrey, and Justin Worland. “How a War on Science Could Hurt the U.S.-and Its Citizens.” Time, vol. 189, no. 5, 13 Feb. 2017, p. 17. MAS Ultra - School Edition, EBSCOhost, ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ulh&AN=121093557&site=eds-live&scope=site. Accessed 11 Nov. 2017.

(3) Mormann, Felix. “Constitutional Challenges and Regulatory Opportunities for State Climate Policy Innovation.” Harvard Environmental Law Review, vol. 41, no. 1, Jan. 2017, pp. 189–242. Environment Complete, EBSCOhost, ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eih&AN=123032099&site=eds-live&scope=site. Accessed 9 Nov. 2017.

(4) Press, Associated. “Trump Administration to Terminate Obama's Climate Plan.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 9 Oct. 2017, www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/epa-chief-says-administration-will-abandon-clean-power-plan-n808986.

(5)Thrush, Glenn, and Coral Davenport. “Donald Trump Budget Slashes Funds for E.P.A. and State Department.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Mar. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/us/politics/budget-epa-state-department-cuts.html.

(6)Yi, Hongtao. "Clean-Energy Policies and Electricity Sector Carbon Emissions in the U.S. States." Utilities Policy, vol. 34, June 2015, pp. 19-29. EBSCOhost, doi:www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09571787.