Trump's Likely First Energy Policy Moves

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to maximize U.S. oil and natural gas production - already at record highs - in part by clearing away what he deems as unnecessary regulation and bureaucracy.

Here are some of the energy-related executive orders Trump could announce during his first days in office, as he seeks to follow through on that promise.

CLIMATE WITHDRAWAL

Trump could order the U.S. to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement, an international pact to fight climate change and limit the rise in global temperatures by slashing fossil fuel-related emissions. Trump withdrew the U.S. during his first term, and transition sources have said he wants to do it again. A withdrawal from the accord is significant because the United States is the world’s largest historical greenhouse gas emitter and an important driver of global climate ambition.

GAS EXPORT BOOST

Trump has made clear he intends to swiftly lift a moratorium on new liquefied natural gas export permits imposed by President Joe Biden’s administration - something his advisers say could happen within hours of his inauguration on Jan. 20. Biden imposed the freeze in early 2024 to conduct a study on the environmental and economic impacts of rising U.S. gas exports,