The Summary
- Environmental organizations are preparing to push back against the incoming Trump administration.
- They expect Trump to attempt to expand oil and gas drilling and repeal or pare back some Biden-era legislation.
- Environmental groups are already gearing up for legal fights and soliciting donations accordingly.
The upcoming Trump administration is expected to implement significant policy changes more swiftly than when Donald Trump took office in 2017, therefore environmental groups are preparing to fight back.
Experts, attorneys, and supporters made a number of predictions about Trump’s agenda in office based on his prior presidential actions and remarks made during the most recent campaign. They anticipate that he will prioritize reducing the amount of federal land that is preserved, increasing oil and gas drilling, and repealing or reversing two of President Joe Biden’s most notable legislative achievements: the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Cabinet picks are viewed by environmentalists. As a first move toward that plan, Trump has told Fox News anchor Sean Hannity in December that those who support the goal should “drill, drill, drill” on day one. Trump has already appointed oil industry CEO Chris Wright as his preferred energy secretary and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who has advocated for more domestic oil production, as his secretary of the interior.
According to a tracker from the impartial Brookings Institution, the first Trump administration implemented at least 74 measures deemed to be eroding environmental policy. Considering Trump’s pledges to significantly alter the regulatory environment, the figure may be higher in the next term.
According to Brett Hartl, director of government affairs for the Center for Biological Diversity, “I think the thing that we’re preparing for more is sort of the potential aggressiveness and disregard for the rule of law.” He went on to say that his team will also keep an eye out for any modifications or procedures that are blatantly unlawful.
A large number of court battles are anticipated in the future, and the center and other environmental groups, such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, are already asking for funds to support those efforts. Every website has pop-up advertisements urging support to thwart anticipated changes to environmental protections.
A request for comment from Trump’s transition staff was not answered.
Trump’s plan has been successfully contested in court by the Center for Biological Diversity and the NRDC. By its own tally, the center won 87% of the 266 lawsuits it filed against government acts it considered to be environmental dangers during Trump’s administration. Reversing the removal of grizzly bears from the endangered species list and stopping an offshore drilling project in the Alaskan Arctic were two of the group’s greatest successes. In contrast, the NRDC claims that during that time, it filed 163 lawsuits and won about 90% of them.
Even though Trump rejected Project 2025 during his campaign, a number of environmental organizations stated that they still anticipate the incoming administration to adhere to the conservative policy roadmap created by the right-leaning think tank Heritage Foundation. In line with that, they are getting ready.
According to Andrew Wetzler, leader of the NRDC’s nature program, we are already witnessing individuals who were part in Project 2025 getting appointed to the administration. And from the most comprehensive climatic perspective, that is truly pretty concerning.
According to the strategy, halting what it refers to as a “war on oil and natural gas” is one way to achieve American Energy Dominance. It supports rescinding Biden-era programs that allocated billions of dollars for renewable energy and suggests ending federal climate research.
Lawyers for Good Government, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization, is working to ensure that funds designated for clean energy projects under the Inflation Reduction Act cannot be readily reclaimed by a new administration, according to Jillian Blanchard, who oversees the organization’s climate change and environmental justice program.
Blanchard described her group’s efforts to assist those clients in navigating any regulatory compliance difficulties and accelerating the payment process, saying, “We worked with a lot of the federal grantees who either have gotten the money or are announced to receive money.”
Whether it’s for environmental justice, transit, climate justice, addressing the climate issue, or something else entirely, we plan to keep working to ensure that the funds reach the intended grantees, she continued.
Additionally, conservation organizations anticipate a resurgence of the battle for federally protected territory, especially in the Southwest. The Bears Ears National Monument in Utah was established by President Barack Obama in 2016, but when Trump took office the following year, he cut its size by more than 1 million acres. Following a lawsuit from a number of environmental organizations, Biden completely repaired the monument in 2021.
Many anticipate that Bears Ears and Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument will be attacked once more.
The Grand Canyon Trust’s executive director, Ethan Aumack, stated, “We anticipate that these national monuments may be demolished on day one.”
According to him, the team has prepared scenarios so they can react quickly to any such attempt.
To put it simply, we’re not starting from scratch. According to Aumack, we witnessed what transpired during President Trump’s first term. We think it’s illegal for any president to demolish national monuments, and if he does it again, we’re prepared to take the matter to court.
Wetzler noted some environmental policy types that would be challenging for the incoming Trump administration to repeal, even though he anticipates intense battles ahead.
“Many elected Republicans, including leaders in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina, may not want to lose the money going to their districts,” he added, citing the Biden administration’s investments in renewable energy and infrastructure.
According to Wetzler, the great majority of the funding allocated to clean energy initiatives, such as new battery technologies, electric vehicle production facilities, and solar manufacturers, is concentrated in red states and Republican districts nationwide. I believe that the Republican Party and its own voters will put a lot of pressure on Congress to avoid interfering with such investments.
Second, he claimed that there is now a fair amount of bipartisan agreement on clean water.
Republicans and those who live near the land are among the most ardent conservationists, Wetzler continued. According to my experience, regardless of the political party in power in Washington, there would be strong opposition to maintaining access to water, fishable and swimmable lakes, and areas where people might camp, hike, hunt, and fish.
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