What’s Important to Remember: Trump’s Record on Climate

Washington, D.C. – Let’s talk about memory. Specifically voters’ collective memory of Donald Trump’s time in office and why they denied him a second term. Polling makes clear that voters have largely forgotten the truth about Trump’s record: Trump spent his four years in office gutting critical climate legislation that would have saved lives, cut costs, and created jobs. Now, he’s promising to do it all again, this time as a dictator. Here’s what we can’t let anyone forget: 

Trump denied climate science and withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement. 

• One of Trump’s first actions as president was to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement. The United States’ participation would have saved over half a trillion dollars annually, and the Agreement was projected to create 24 million clean energy jobs globally by 2030.  

Trump filled his administration with fossil fuel lobbyists and climate deniers. 

• Nearly half of Trump’s initial political appointees for positions at the EPA had polluting industry ties, and almost one-third worked as registered lobbyists or lawyers. Just halfway through his administration, a report found that Trump had nominated 281 lobbyists to serve in appointed positions. At the EPA, Trump first put climate denier Scott Pruitt in charge of the agency, but after Pruitt resigned in a corruption scandal, Trump nominated fossil fuel lobbyist Andrew Wheeler to take over. At the Department of the Interior, Trump first put climate denier Ryan Zinke in charge of the department, but after Zinke resigned in a corruption scandal, Trump nominated fossil fuel lobbyist David Bernhardt to take over.

Trump rolled back more than 100 environmental rules. 

• As President, Trump rolled back more than 100 environmental rules, including nearly 30 air pollution and emission rules, 12 drilling and extraction rules, and eight water pollution rules. 

Trump launched a war on the nation’s clean energy economy that cost jobs and stunted growth. 

• The former president’s policies amount to a war on the clean energy economy that cost jobs, stunted growth, and impeded the nation’s ability to tackle climate change. Trump imposed tariffs on solar, tried to eliminate the electric vehicle tax credit, and slow-walked the leasing and planning processes for renewable energy projects. His actions cost Americans 1.1. million clean energy jobs.

Trump repealed the Clean Power Plan, allowing toxic coal power plants to make our air dirtier.

• Trump repealed the Clean Power Plan, allowing coal power plants to continue polluting our air. If fully implemented, the Clean Power Plan would have reduced power sector carbon emissions by 32%, SO2 pollution by 90%, NOx pollution by 72%, prevented 4,500 premature deaths, and delivered over $50 billion in health savings per year in 2030.

Trump rolled back clean car standards, making our air dirtier with dangerous tailpipe emissions.

• Trump rolled back clean car standards in accordance with a lobbying campaign by Big Oil. The Obama-era vehicle standards would have cut carbon emissions by six billion tons, while the EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated Trump’s rollback would result in an additional 872 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.