US Policy Update: Trump Administration Dismantles Climate Policy In Line With Industry Demands

The Trump administration has taken several recent actions to repeal, delay, or weaken US climate policy—which have clear connections to the fossil fuel industry’s policy asks.

• Trump administration proposes rescinding 2009 endangerment finding. On July 29th, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a reconsideration of the 2009 endangerment finding. This landmark finding determined that, under the Clean Air Act, greenhouse gases (GHGs) are a danger to public health and welfare. Recognizing the finding’s role in underpinning GHG emissions regulations, in the same announcement the EPA proposed the repeal of federal GHG emissions standards for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles, stating that “absent this finding, EPA lacks statutory authority under Section 202 of the Clean Air Act to prescribe standards for GHG emissions.” The comment period for this reconsideration is open until September 22, 2025. Already, the Transport Project—an industry group that InfluenceMap assesses to be opposed to science-aligned climate policy that represents Amazon, Shell, and Volvo Group, among others—published a July 29th press release celebrating the announcement, with its CEO stating that the group and its members “look forward to working with the Administration and its partners to deploy more domestically fueled natural gas trucks and buses.”
• Trump administration proposes repeal of power plant emissions standards. In June 2025, the EPA proposed to repeal “all greenhouse gas emissions standards for the fossil fuel-fired power plants,” including the power plant carbon standards finalized under the Biden administration that set emissions intensity standards for certain existing coal- and new gas-fired power plants beginning in the 2030s. The comment period for this repeal closed on August 7, 2025. In responses, major companies, industry groups, and coalitions advocated for the repeal, with the Midwest Ozone Group—representing ExxonMobil, Marathon Petroleum, Ameren, AEP, Berkshire Hathaway, and subsidiaries of FirstEnergy and PPL Corp, among others—endorsing the Trump EPA’s proposed finding that fossil fuel-fired power plants do not contribute a “significant” amount of GHG emissions. These statements are misaligned with both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and EPA, which, respectively, emphasize the urgency of power sector decarbonization and find that the US power sector has contributed around 25% of total domestic GHG emissions. InfluenceMap continues to track engagement on these power sector emissions standards here.
• The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed by President Trump on July 4th, effectively repeals much of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)’s climate incentives and programs. InfluenceMap has tracked engagement on the budget reconciliation bill on its US platform. While InfluenceMap found that many companies moved to defend the IRA’s tax credits immediately after the election, in recent months, broad corporate support for the budget bill eclipsed this, mainly referencing its tax provisions and handouts for the fossil fuel industry. The bill’s many detrimental changes to the IRA include: rescission of funding for IRA climate grants; the rapid phase out of the electric vehicle, wind, and solar tax credits; delayed implementation of the methane fee and rescission of unobligated funding for methane monitoring and mitigation; and the facilitation of fossil fuel expansion via a minimum annual number of oil and gas leasing, expedited permitting review, and the eligibility of metallurgical coal for steel production tax incentives.
• President Trump’s July 7th Executive Order further targets wind and solar. Issued just a few days after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law, the order directs: 1) the US Treasury Department to develop guidance around the IRA’s wind and solar projects that further restricts their use; and 2) the US Department of the Interior to identify and “revise” any measures that “provide preferential treatment to wind and solar facilities in comparison to dispatchable energy sources.” The order emphasizes national security and economic growth, echoing deceptive fossil fuel industry narratives.