Trump's executive orders target electric vehicles and wind power
Two of President Trump’s executive orders take aim at Biden administration efforts to boost electric vehicles and wind power — two fast-growing climate technologies.
With two executive orders, President Donald Trump on Monday changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power.
The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming.
One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles.
Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.
“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”
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