President Donald Trump is aggressively countering former President Joe Biden’s climate agenda with a series of executive orders aimed at boosting domestic fossil fuel production. These orders declare an “energy emergency” to safeguard against some legal actions attempting to block new drilling and energy projects. According to reports, the magnitude of Trump’s actions could be the most significant shift in U.S. energy policy since the 1973 oil export ban crisis.

Biden’s climate agenda, which included rejoining the Paris Agreement and imposing regulations like new appliance standards and restrictions on LNG export permits, faced backlash from Trump. Trump’s energy emergency plan emphasizes supporting mining for critical minerals, enabling quicker approvals for energy projects on public lands, and facilitating energy infrastructure development. Additionally, Trump issued an order promoting offshore drilling and reversing some of Biden’s fossil fuel restrictions, including canceling executive orders related to climate change policies and withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement.

Trump’s actions represent a clear break from Biden’s approach, and some observers, like Jeff Reynolds from Restoration News, suggest Trump’s swift rejection of Biden’s climate agenda may be influenced by the left’s aggressive actions during Biden’s presidency. While Trump was more measured during his first term, the actions taken under Biden appear to have prompted him to take a firmer stance on energy policy.