Drill Baby Drill
Energy and Climate in the New Trump Era
Around the World
As the second iteration of the Trump administration nears, his proposed climate policy is set to drastically alter the outgoing Biden administration’s plans for addressing arguably the most pressing issue of our time.
One of the first and most impactful changes to policy proposed under the new plan includes the extension of oil drilling in the Alaskan wilderness. The so-called “Aurora Project” is already a massive oil drilling operation in the Alaskan wilderness that will have a major impact on the pristine and incredibly sensitive environment, which is home to many unique species.
This area is under increased risk for disturbance due to the melting permafrost that is a direct result of the ever-warming climate. While this plan was set in motion by the Biden administration, the business-friendly Trump administration has developed a pro energy friendly stance towards oil drilling. On March 20, 2025, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced plans to open mining roads and oil extraction in the Alaskan wilderness.
The choice for President Trump’s “Energy Council” lead, Senator of North Dakota, Gov. Doug Burgum, is infamous for his support of the Alaska pipeline from Canada. While the project is a huge driver of the economy in a state that has struggled in recent decades from the loss of oil field jobs, the protest by the local Dakota community of Tribal States became infamous worldwide, who persistantly showed up despite the harsh conditions they endured for their sacred ancestral lands to be preserved under the looming threat such a project posed.
The Dakota Governor was an integral part of why the years-long protest by environmental and tribal groups ended in failure. The pipeline construction was completed despite many requests from advocate groups, and at the same time, acting as a microcosm for the future of fossil fuel energy projects such as Aurora, becoming the reality many communities will have to face in the coming years.
The Inflation Reduction Act, while an interesting choice for a bill named by the Biden administration, yet nonetheless an important step for the US economy to shed 40% of its carbon contribution by 2030 is also certainly on the chopping block for the incoming administration. Trump wants to “ drill baby drill” in a drive to make the United States economy independent when it comes to all energy needs for the US economy.
This will probably be a welcome relief from the seemingly endless occupation of oil-rich countries by the United States, or at the very least a halt to its ties to less than democratic regimes in pursuit of beneficial trade deals to keep oil prices low for the average consumer. Still, the proposed measures will only increase the amount of carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere, which is attributed to climate warming.
Trump also aims to cut emission reductions on coal power plants, which, while reducing carbon emissions by 1.38 billion metric tons, also cleans the air from other harmful particulates that harm local communities, many of which are ironically in republican lead districts.
More than just energy, Trump has proposed major changes to the sectors of industrial investment in the United States. Namely, he aims to roll back tax credits for EV and other renewable production industries, despite the location of such sites typically landing in Republican counties. Many of these new policies will support GOP areas in rural parts of the US, however, that have struggled with a loss of industry.
“America first and pro-U.S. business,” said David Shepheard, partner and energy expert at the global consultant Baringa—manufacturing credits remain safe for now while tax credits on EVs are likely up next on the chopping block.
Despite this idea, however, the realities of the changing American economy, as is the case in economies across the globe, are that the drive towards renewable technologies and industries that support their implementation are inevitable. No amount of Trump's policy rhetoric is going to change that reality, and in recent months, as he has even become publicly friendly with Tesla’s Elon Musk, the rhetoric around EV has died down considerably.
The Inflation Reduction Act, or Biden's health and climate plan to be more precise, has disproportionately benefited red states. Trump seems to indicate, however, that they do not deserve this sort of investment. Many rural areas characteristic of the regions that supported Trump have suffered for decades at the steady loss of industry and further investment. It seems unlikely, considering this reality, that Trump would pull the long-sought-after revival of industry for his constituents, despite his repeated calls for a return to a romanticized golden age of coal and other antiquated industrial models.
Before recently leaving office, President Joe Biden passed sweeping legislation, providing $3 billion to businesses in the US to boost domestic production of EV batteries and related electronics in a bid to counter a Chinese-dominated market in the electric vehicle space. This is provided under the infrastructure law passed in 2021 to improve the country's production capacity in the growing electric market.
Currently, China has the market cornered in the production of batteries and electric vehicles, while also having the capacity to acquire lithium and other rare earth minerals essential to the EV and battery market. Chinese dominance in this sector not only hurts the US market, but as has been felt in Germany over the last decade as the largest economy in Europe has struggled to keep pace with Chinese exports of EVs and photovoltaic cells.
At the GOP29 on climate policy and action, due to the recent re-election of Donald Trump in the US, China is now poised to take over center stage to replace the US in leading global climate action.
Speaking at the GOP29, Yao Zhe, who is a policy analyst at Greenpeace East Asia, said, "I think it's certainly an important moment and a great opportunity for China to step into this leadership gap," referring to China's dominance in the global energy transition away from fossil fuels.
This comes as there are more calls for not only the US and EU member states, which are responsible for historical carbon production, but China to invest in poorer countries, who, according to the UN, will need more than 1 trillion to adapt to a warming global climate. A sticker price these regions can ill afford, but developed nations (including China, even though it is not technically classified as a developed nation) can invest if they so choose.
Climate financing is becoming a major focus, especially as Trump’s policy promises to divest from the green energy sector in a bid to “dominate energy” in the US. Trump wishes to “drill baby drill” local and foreign economies to secure energy independence for the U.S.
Even outside of the NCGQ agreement, China has already invested 3 billion globally to support green energy projects, and they are the world's leading producer of solar panels and EVs, creating a market where buying such products has become affordable even in poorer developing nations.
Despite these initiatives, China still produces the most carbon in the world, almost twice as much as the US, and is the second largest polluter due to its heavy reliance on coal power, one of the most destructive sources of energy for the climate as well as being responsible for 90% of global emissions growth since 2015.
Germany has recently passed the “Global Shield’ climate finance at COP27. The Biden administration stated that it would help to support this initiative, however, it is unclear if the GOP majority will continue this pledge once Trump steps into office next year. Tariffs for crude oil from Mexico and Canada (25%), USMCA Treaty signed in 2020 (Up for review in 2026).
As wind becomes cheaper, having dropped by 19% since 2019, coal and natural gas energy producers will continue to close. By 2045, renewable energy is projected to even surpass natural gas as the primary source of energy in the United States. Why then do the promises made by incumbent president Trump, who presents himself as a populist angel ready to protect the workers of America, seem to propose a clear and contradictory plan to the nation, which will inevitably harm the very communities he claims to “fight for”?
The 2024 Hurricane season is at an end as talks move forward by the upcoming administration to strengthen fossil fuel production in the US, wrapping up one of the most deadly and costly seasons on record. Only two years, 2005 and 2020, compared to the destruction caused by the 8 hurricanes that made landfall or affected communities across the Atlantic this year.
Hurricane Helene, one of the stronger hurricanes this season, caused an estimated 48.8 billion dollars in damage for the state of North Carolina from severe flooding, the destruction of homes and businesses, as well as extensive damage to water and power infrastructure. Many around the world became familiar with images of donkeys and pack animals carrying relief to stranded survivors in the hilly terrain of that region as emergency responders failed to adequately respond to the disaster.
Climate change cannot be directly linked to specific storms, but it does, however, shift the climate balance towards more frequent and destructive storms. Methane and carbon released by transportation and industry help contribute to a warming ocean, leading to more unpredictable and disastrous weather events.
The U.S. has sustained 400 weather and climate disasters since 1980, where overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 billion (including CPI adjustment to 2024). The total cost of these 400 events exceeds $2.785 trillion. (NOAA) “No matter what Trump may say, the shift to clean energy is unstoppable and our country is not turning back,″ McCarthy said. Advocacy for climate change has become a bipartisan issue; advocates and politicians alike are “fully prepared to deliver climate solutions, boost local economies, and drive climate ambition”, she said.
