President Donald Trump began his second term with bold actions opposing the transition away from fossil fuels for the preservation of a livable climate. Most of these came as executive orders signed Monday night, hours after he was inaugurated.At the end of his first week back, the precise implications of how and when these orders may be felt across the nation and in Arizona remain largely unclear. Broadly speaking, though, scientists, lawyers and policy experts told The Arizona Republic that Trump’s intentions to reverse climate progress and boost oil production are likely to hurt Arizona’s and the United State’s economy while further destabilizing atmospheric weather patterns that increase the likelihood of expensive storms, fires and infrastructure damage.Trump’s declaration of a “National Energy Emergency” Monday night cites a need for a reliable, diversified and affordable supply of energy while seeking to fulfill this primarily by fast-tracking more oil drilling. The order defined “energy” and “energy resources” as “crude oil, natural gas, lease condensates, natural gas liquids, refined petroleum products, uranium, coal, biofuels, geothermal heat, the kinetic movement of flowing water, and critical minerals.”While critical minerals are involved in solar panel manufacturing, this definition does not mention solar energy directly and leaves out wind power entirely. Solar and onshore wind are two of the nation’s most readily available clean energy options and, due to recent advances, already rival fossil fuel energy costs and reliability when combined with battery storage.In a separate order signed Monday, Trump formalized his long-voiced opposition to wind power by withdrawing leases for offshore wind projects on the outer continental shelf. If the order sticks, it would eliminate a source of energy production that the National Renewable Energy Lab has projected to drop dramatically in price over the next decade.In a third order titled “Unleashing American Energy,” he called for “energy exploration and production on Federal lands and waters, including on the Outer Continental Shelf.” It outlined a need to facilitate “the generation of reliable and affordable electricity…with particular attention to oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical mineral, and nuclear energy resources.” It also rolled back electric vehicle programs in the name of “consumer choice,” despite data showing EVs have steadily gained popularity among consumers, including in areas without incentives.Trump’s first-day orders are also contradicted by the fact that experts say there is no national energy emergency, and that America’s energy resources, including oil, have already been unleashed at record rates under former President Joe Biden.The reality instead is that — in addition to incentivizing a domestic clean energy boom that started with funding from his Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act and ended with billions in private investments for manufacturing initiatives across the U.S. by the end of his term — Biden approved more oil drilling permits than Trump did in his first term. As a result, oil production in the U.S. surged to never-before-seen highs on Biden’s watch.Market analysts say this means Trump’s orders may not influence oil drilling much at all, since oil companies won’t want to produce more oil right now if it won’t make them more money.More:What executive orders did Trump sign? What to know about his first actions as presidentArizona is also unlikely to benefit directly from more oil drilling.As the state with the second-highest solar energy potential but no meaningful oil and gas reserves, Arizona ranks ninth among state beneficiaries of Biden’s clean energy incentives, according to an analysis by the organization Climate Power. In the two and a half years since Congress appropriated nearly $370 billion to expand America’s energy dominance in less polluting ways, Arizona has welcomed 30 new solar, battery storage and electric vehicle projects …
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