Climate Deregulation Under Trump 2: Will It Have Any Durable Impact?

Following through on his 2024 campaign pledges, President Donald Trump is dismantling President Biden's aggressive climate policies, including federal regulatory controls on the major sectors of the economy that account for most greenhouse gas emissions in the US. Although it is too early to make a definitive assessment of what Trump will accomplish, I present evidence that Trump is taking a more creative, radical, and legally sophisticated approach to climate deregulation in his second administration than was attempted in his first administration. I evaluate how durable climate deregulation may be. A major weakness in Trump's agenda is the lack of adequate attention to scientific and benefit-cost considerations, as federal climate regulations have significant benefits as well as costs.

I conclude by addressing the hard lessons that proponents of aggressive climate policy should take from the second Trump administration and what steps should be taken in the future to make meaningful, durable progress on federal climate policy.