Elif Eryigit
09 April 2025•Update: 09 April 2025
ISTANBUL
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday directing the attorney general to block the enforcement of state laws addressing climate change.
The order mandated Pam Bondi to identify all state and local laws related to climate change as well as funds to collect carbon penalties or taxes.
The Trump administration aims to eliminate penalties imposed by climate laws on traditional energy companies, arguing that American energy dominance is threatened when state and local governments seek to regulate energy.
The order specifically targeted Democratic-led states such as California, New York, and Vermont. It suggested New York imposed "billions in fines" on traditional energy producers such as the American Petroleum Institute, which quickly welcomed the order.
New York State imposed these fines as “compensatory payments” to companies for their part in greenhouse gas emissions. Trump administration labeled these payments “extortion."
The order further said California "punishes” carbon use through its cap-and-trade policy. The California Air Resources Board says the policy is a key element of the state's strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
These state policies raise energy prices, "disrupt" supply reliability, and "degrade" quality of life for families nationwide, according to the Trump administration.
Trump instructed Bondi to identify and take action against state laws that hinder domestic energy use and are “unconstitutional, preempted by federal law, or otherwise unenforceable.”
Breaking with the consensus of the world scientific community, Trump has argued that climate change is a “Chinese hoax.”
Researchers have warned the world has a very narrow window to reduce greenhouse gas emissions before world temperatures reach a dangerous tipping point from which it may never return.
