Trump wants to ‘drill, baby, drill.’ California wants to push electric cars
President Donald Trump Monday outlined sweeping changes in energy policies, vowing to end what he called the electric vehicle mandate while bringing down prices.
Doing all that, though, is going to be difficult, particularly in California..
Trump signed an executive order Monday night that directs his administration to take steps to “eliminate harmful, coercive ‘climate’ policies that increase the costs of food and fuel. “
Trump in another executive order declared a national energy emergency, and signed a third order pulling the United States out of the historic global Paris climate agreement.
“The United States’ successful track record of advancing both economic and environmental objectives should be a model for other countries.,” the order said. “These agreements steer American taxpayer dollars to countries that do not require, or merit, financial assistance in the interests of the American people..’
Trump and oil
Trump promised to pursue initiatives that would allow oil companies to “drill baby drill” and reduce this nation’s reliance on foreign oil.
Trump told the appreciative VIPs gathered for his swearing in at the Capitol Rotunda that the United States has “the largest amount of oil on earth and we are going to use it. We will bring prices down, fill our strategic reserves up again and export American energy all over the world.”
The nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, located on the Gulf Coasts of Louisiana and Texas, was created during the oil supply crisis of the 1970s to provide the product in emergencies. Levels are down after the Biden administration sold a large amount of its oil to help reduce prices in 2022.
Trump also wants to allow more drilling in Alaska and ease regulations he said stymie more oil production.
In one of his executive orders Monday, Trump took steps he said would help bring consumers relief from prices increasing at rapid levels. Prices in December were up 2.9% on an annual basis,the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Though well below the 9% peak in mid-2022, that was still higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
Trump has repeatedly cited the cost of transportation as an area where costs can be cut. He said during the 2024 presidential campaign he would get gasoline prices down to $2 a gallon.
In his order Monday, he emphasized how he’s eyeing fuel costs. “ Hardworking families today are overwhelmed by the cost of fuel, food, housing, automobiles, medical care, utilities, and insurance.,” the order said. “In particular, the assault on plentiful and reliable American energy through unnecessary and illegal regulatory demands has driven up the cost of transportation and manufacturing.”
Policies to move away from gasoline-powered vehicles, the order said, have “resulted in artificial price increases on those popular vehicles to subsidize electric vehicles disfavored by consumers. “
Trump’s insistence he can bring down gasoline prices with such action will have “no impact” on consumer costs, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, which tracks prices.
“While the president can make it easier for oil companies to drill, he cannot mandate they raise production,” he added. “Refining capacity is not within the purview of a president and remains a sticking point. Economics will dictate US oil, production and gas prices too much greater degree than any president.”
A gallon of regular gasoline in California cost an average of $4.45 Monday, according to AAA. It was as high as $6.44 in June 2022.
The federal Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. oil production will go up 3% this year. 2024 production set a production record.
Trump and electric cars
California is requiring that all new cars must be zero-emission vehicles by 2035. Before leaving office, President Joe Biden set a national goal to have half of the new cars and trucks sold nationwide by 2030 have zero emissions.
Trump said he would end what he termed the electric vehicle mandate but provided no details—as his new friend and adviser Elon Musk, founder of Tesla, which produces electric cars, sat close by Monday.
Whether Trump’s action will make much immediate difference in California is questionable, as clean energy advocates vowed to fight.
“When it comes to the environment, the only things Trump believes in recycling are his own dirty and dangerous ideas,” said Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president of governmental affairs at the League of Conservation Voters.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has said he’s ready to take strong action to maintain California’s vehicle emissions standards.
He has strong support from Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“Clean cars are here to stay. The Biden-Harris Administration reaffirmed what we’ve known for decades – California can rise to the challenge of protecting our people by cleaning our air and cutting pollution,” he said last month. “Naysayers like President-elect Trump would prefer to side with the oil industry over consumers and American automakers, but California will continue fostering new innovations in the market.”
The state legislature is considering creating a fund of up to $50 million to fight orders such as the ones Trump proposed Monday.
Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 Paris climate agreement during his first term in 2017. The voluntary pact permits countries to set targets for cutting their greenhouse gas emissions from burning oil, coal and natural gas.
As wildfires continue to burn in Southern California, environmental activists warned Monday that Trump’s action would have dire consequences.
“Floods wash away entire communities, drought bakes croplands to chalk and firestorms engulf our cities in flames. This is no time to abandon ship, cut U.S. climate leadership adrift and throw our children overboard in dark and rising seas,” said Manish Bapna, president and CEO at Natural Resources Defense Council.
Trump and the emergency
In his executive order declaring a national energy emergency said., Trump described the country as too dependent on foreign sources of energy, particularly in California and nearby states.
“Our nation’s current inadequate development of domestic energy resources leaves us vulnerable to hostile foreign actors and poses an imminent and growing threat to the United States’ prosperity and national security.,” his executive order
“These numerous problems are most pronounced in our nation’s Northeast and West Coast, where dangerous state and local policies jeopardize our nation’s core national defense and security needs, and devastate the prosperity of not only local residents but the entire United States population..”
California’s oil supplies sometimes face problems because of the state’s location, problems that have been a reason for higher fuel prices in the state.
California’s refineries often operate at or near total capacity because of high demand for petroleum products and the lack of interstate pipelines that can deliver the cleaner fuels the state requires, explained the federal Energy Information Administration in an analysis last year.
The lower supplies from interstate pipelines “means replacement supplies of (California gasoline) come in by marine tanker from out-of-state U.S. refineries or from other countries. It can take several weeks to find and bring replacement motor gasoline from overseas that meets California’s unique specifications,” EIA said.
Trump’s order did not mention such specific issues, but it cited a “precariously inadequate and intermittent energy supply, and an increasingly unreliable grid, require swift and decisive action. Without immediate remedy, this situation will dramatically deteriorate in the near future due to a high demand for energy and natural resources to power the next generation of technology.”
The order directed the heads of executive agencies to find and use any emergency power “as all other lawful authorities they may possess,” to spur ways to better utilize domestic energy resources.
This story was originally published January 20, 2025 at 4:55 PM.
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