Unleashing American Energy
Unleashing American Energy
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Background. America is blessed with an
abundance of energy and natural resources that have
historically powered our Nation's economic prosperity.
In recent years, burdensome and ideologically motivated
regulations have impeded the development of these
resources, limited the generation of reliable and
affordable electricity, reduced job creation, and
inflicted high energy costs upon our citizens. These
high energy costs devastate American consumers by
driving up the cost of transportation, heating,
utilities, farming, and manufacturing, while weakening
our national security.
It is thus in the national interest to unleash
America's affordable and reliable energy and natural
resources. This will restore American prosperity--
including for those men and women who have been
forgotten by our economy in recent years. It will also
rebuild our Nation's economic and military security,
which will deliver peace through strength.
Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States:
(a) to encourage energy exploration and production
on Federal lands and waters, including on the Outer
Continental Shelf, in order to meet the needs of our
citizens and solidify the United States as a global
energy leader long into the future;
(b) to establish our position as the leading
producer and processor of non-fuel minerals, including
rare earth minerals, which will create jobs and
prosperity at home, strengthen supply chains for the
United States and its allies, and reduce the global
influence of malign and adversarial states;
(c) to protect the United States's economic and
national security and military preparedness by ensuring
that an abundant supply of reliable energy is readily
accessible in every State and territory of the Nation;
(d) to ensure that all regulatory requirements
related to energy are grounded in clearly applicable
law;
(e) to eliminate the ``electric vehicle (EV)
mandate'' and promote true consumer choice, which is
essential for economic growth and innovation, by
removing regulatory barriers to motor vehicle access;
by ensuring a level regulatory playing field for
consumer choice in vehicles; by terminating, where
appropriate, state emissions waivers that function to
limit sales of gasoline-powered automobiles; and by
considering the elimination of unfair subsidies and
other ill-conceived government-imposed market
distortions that favor EVs over other technologies and
effectively mandate their purchase by individuals,
private businesses, and government entities alike by
rendering other types of vehicles unaffordable;
(f) to safeguard the American people's freedom to
choose from a variety of goods and appliances,
including but not limited to lightbulbs, dishwashers,
washing machines, gas stoves, water heaters, toilets,
and shower heads, and to promote market competition and
innovation within the manufacturing and appliance
industries;
(g) to ensure that the global effects of a rule,
regulation, or action shall, whenever evaluated, be
reported separately from its domestic costs and
benefits, in order to promote sound regulatory decision
making and prioritize the interests of the American
people;
(h) to guarantee that all executive departments and
agencies (agencies) provide opportunity for public
comment and rigorous, peer-reviewed scientific
analysis; and
(i) to ensure that no Federal funding be employed
in a manner contrary to the principles outlined in this
section, unless required by law.
Sec. 3. Immediate Review of All Agency Actions that
Potentially Burden the Development of Domestic Energy
Resources. (a) The heads of all agencies shall review
all existing regulations, orders, guidance documents,
policies, settlements, consent orders, and any other
agency actions (collectively, agency actions) to
identify those agency actions that impose an undue
burden on the identification, development, or use of
domestic energy resources--with particular attention to
oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical
mineral, and nuclear energy resources--or that are
otherwise inconsistent with the policy set forth in
section 2 of this order, including restrictions on
consumer choice of vehicles and appliances.
(b) Within 30 days of the date of this order, the
head of each agency shall, in consultation with the
director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
and the National Economic Council (NEC), develop and
begin implementing action plans to suspend, revise, or
rescind all agency actions identified as unduly
burdensome under subsection (a) of this section, as
expeditiously as possible and consistent with
applicable law. The head of any agency who determines
that such agency does not have agency actions described
in subsection (a) of this section shall submit to the
Director of OMB a written statement to that effect and,
absent a determination by the Director of OMB that such
agency does have agency actions described in this
subsection, shall have no further responsibilities
under this section.
(c) Agencies shall promptly notify the Attorney
General of any steps taken pursuant to subsection (a)
of this section so that the Attorney General may, as
appropriate:
(i) provide notice of this Executive Order and any such actions to any
court with jurisdiction over pending litigation in which such actions may
be relevant; and
(ii) request that such court stay or otherwise delay further litigation, or
seek other appropriate relief consistent with this order, pending the
completion of the administrative actions described in this order.
(d) Pursuant to the policy outlined in section 2 of
this order, the Attorney General shall consider whether
pending litigation against illegal, dangerous, or
harmful policies should be resolved through stays or
other relief.
Sec. 4. Revocation of and Revisions to Certain
Presidential and Regulatory Actions. (a) The following
are revoked and any offices established therein are
abolished:
(i) Executive Order 13990 of January 20, 2021 (Protecting Public Health and
the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis);
(ii) Executive Order 13992 of January 20, 2021 (Revocation of Certain
Executive Orders Concerning Federal Regulation);
(iii) Executive Order 14008 of January 27, 2021 (Tackling the Climate
Crisis at Home and Abroad);
(iv) Executive Order 14007 of January 27, 2021 (President's Council of
Advisors on Science and Technology);
(v) Executive Order 14013 of February 4, 2021 (Rebuilding and Enhancing
Programs to Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change
on Migration);
(vi) Executive Order 14027 of May 7, 2021 (Establishment of the Climate
Change Support Office);
(vii) Executive Order 14030 of May 20, 2021 (Climate-Related Financial
Risk);
(viii) Executive Order 14037 of August 5, 2021 (Strengthening American
Leadership in Clean Cars and Trucks);
(ix) Executive Order 14057 of December 8, 2021 (Catalyzing Clean Energy
Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability);
(x) Executive Order 14072 of April 22, 2022 (Strengthening the Nation's
Forests, Communities, and Local Economies);
(xi) Executive Order 14082 of September 12, 2022 (Implementation of the
Energy and Infrastructure Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of
2022); and
(xii) Executive Order 14096 of April 21, 2023 (Revitalizing Our Nation's
Commitment to Environmental Justice for All).
(b) All activities, programs, and operations
associated with the American Climate Corps, including
actions taken by any agency shall be terminated
immediately. Within one day of the date of this order,
the Secretary of the Interior shall submit a letter to
all parties to the ``American Climate Corps Memorandum
of Understanding'' dated December 2023 to terminate the
memorandum, and the head of each party to the
memorandum shall agree to the termination in writing.
(c) Any assets, funds, or resources allocated to an
entity or program abolished by subsection (a) of this
section shall be redirected or disposed of in
accordance with applicable law.
(d) The head of any agency that has taken action
respecting offices and programs in subsection (a) shall
take all necessary steps to ensure that all such
actions are terminated or, if necessary, appropriate,
or required by law, that such activities are
transitioned to other agencies or entities.
(e) Any contract or agreement between the United
States and any third party on behalf of the entities or
programs abolished in subsection (a) of this section,
or in furtherance of them, shall be terminated for
convenience, or otherwise, as quickly as permissible
under the law.
Sec. 5. Unleashing Energy Dominance through Efficient
Permitting. (a) Executive Order 11991 of May 24, 1977
(Relating to protection and enhancement of
environmental quality) is hereby revoked.
(b) To expedite and simplify the permitting
process, within 30 days of the date of this order, the
Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
shall provide guidance on implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq., and propose rescinding CEQ's NEPA regulations
found at 40 CFR 1500 et seq.
(c) Following the provision of the guidance, the
Chairman of CEQ shall convene a working group to
coordinate the revision of agency-level implementing
regulations for consistency. The guidance in subsection
(b) and any resulting implementing regulations must
expedite permitting approvals and meet deadlines
established in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023
(Public Law 118-5). Consistent with applicable law, all
agencies must prioritize efficiency and certainty over
any other objectives, including those of activist
groups, that do not align with the policy goals set
forth in section 2 of this order or that could
otherwise add delays and ambiguity to the permitting
process.
(d) The Secretaries of Defense, Interior,
Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development,
Transportation, Energy, Homeland Security, the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), the Chairman of CEQ, and the heads of any other
relevant agencies shall undertake all available efforts
to eliminate all delays within their respective
permitting processes, including through, but not
limited to, the use of general permitting and permit by
rule. For any project an agency head deems essential
for the Nation's economy or national security, agencies
shall use all possible
authorities, including emergency authorities, to
expedite the adjudication of Federal permits. Agencies
shall work closely with project sponsors to realize the
ultimate construction or development of permitted
projects.
(e) The Director of the NEC and the Director of the
Office of Legislative Affairs shall jointly prepare
recommendations to Congress, which shall:
(i) facilitate the permitting and construction of interstate energy
transportation and other critical energy infrastructure, including, but not
limited to, pipelines, particularly in regions of the Nation that have
lacked such development in recent years; and
(ii) provide greater certainty in the Federal permitting process,
including, but not limited to, streamlining the judicial review of the
application of NEPA.
Sec. 6. Prioritizing Accuracy in Environmental
Analyses. (a) In all Federal permitting adjudications
or regulatory processes, all agencies shall adhere to
only the relevant legislated requirements for
environmental considerations and any considerations
beyond these requirements are eliminated. In fulfilling
all such requirements, agencies shall strictly use the
most robust methodologies of assessment at their
disposal and shall not use methodologies that are
arbitrary or ideologically motivated.
(b) The Interagency Working Group on the Social
Cost of Greenhouse Gases (IWG), which was established
pursuant to Executive Order 13990, is hereby disbanded,
and any guidance, instruction, recommendation, or
document issued by the IWG is withdrawn as no longer
representative of governmental policy including:
(i) the Presidential Memorandum of January 27, 2021 (Restoring Trust in
Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking);
(ii) the Report of the Greenhouse Gas Monitoring and Measurement
Interagency Working Group of November 2023 (National Strategy to Advance an
Integrated U.S. Greenhouse Gas Measurement, Monitoring, and Information
System);
(iii) the Technical Support Document of February 2021 (Social Cost of
Carbon, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Interim Estimates under Executive Order
13990); and
(iv) estimates of the social cost of greenhouse gases, including the
estimates for the social cost of carbon, the social cost of methane, or the
social cost of nitrous oxide based, in whole or in part, on the IWG's work
or guidance.
(c) The calculation of the ``social cost of
carbon'' is marked by logical deficiencies, a poor
basis in empirical science, politicization, and the
absence of a foundation in legislation. Its abuse
arbitrarily slows regulatory decisions and, by
rendering the United States economy internationally
uncompetitive, encourages a greater human impact on the
environment by affording less efficient foreign energy
producers a greater share of the global energy and
natural resource market. Consequently, within 60 days
of the date of this order, the Administrator of the EPA
shall issue guidance to address these harmful and
detrimental inadequacies, including consideration of
eliminating the ``social cost of carbon'' calculation
from any Federal permitting or regulatory decision.
(d) Prior to the guidance issued pursuant to
subsection (c) of this section, agencies shall ensure
estimates to assess the value of changes in greenhouse
gas emissions resulting from agency actions, including
with respect to the consideration of domestic versus
international effects and evaluating appropriate
discount rates, are, to the extent permitted by law,
consistent with the guidance contained in OMB Circular
A-4 of September 17, 2003 (Regulatory Analysis).
(e) Furthermore, the head of each agency shall, as
appropriate and consistent with applicable law,
initiate a process to make such changes to
any rule, regulation, policy or action as may be
necessary to ensure consistency with the Regulatory
Analysis.
(f) Within 30 days of the date of this order, the
Administrator of the EPA, in collaboration with the
heads of any other relevant agencies, shall submit
joint recommendations to the Director of OMB on the
legality and continuing applicability of the
Administrator's findings, ``Endangerment and Cause or
Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases Under Section
202(a) of the Clean Air Act,'' Final Rule, 74 FR 66496
(December 15, 2009).
Sec. 7. Terminating the Green New Deal. (a) All
agencies shall immediately pause the disbursement of
funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act
of 2022 (Public Law 117-169) or the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58), including
but not limited to funds for electric vehicle charging
stations made available through the National Electric
Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program and the Charging
and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program,
and shall review their processes, policies, and
programs for issuing grants, loans, contracts, or any
other financial disbursements of such appropriated
funds for consistency with the law and the policy
outlined in section 2 of this order. Within 90 days of
the date of this order, all agency heads shall submit a
report to the Director of the NEC and Director of OMB
that details the findings of this review, including
recommendations to enhance their alignment with the
policy set forth in section 2. No funds identified in
this subsection (a) shall be disbursed by a given
agency until the Director of OMB and Assistant to the
President for Economic Policy have determined that such
disbursements are consistent with any review
recommendations they have chosen to adopt.
(b) When procuring goods and services, making
decisions about leases, and making other arrangements
that result in disbursements of Federal funds, agencies
shall prioritize cost-effectiveness, American workers
and businesses, and the sensible use of taxpayer money,
to the greatest extent. The Director of OMB shall
finalize and circulate guidelines to further implement
this subsection.
(c) All agencies shall assess whether enforcement
discretion of authorities and regulations can be
utilized to advance the policy outlined in section 2 of
this order. Within 30 days of the date of this order,
each agency shall submit a report to the Director of
OMB identifying any such instances.
Sec. 8. Protecting America's National Security. (a) The
Secretary of Energy is directed restart reviews of
applications for approvals of liquified natural gas
export projects as expeditiously as possible,
consistent with applicable law. In assessing the
``Public Interest'' to be advanced by any particular
application, the Secretary of Energy shall consider the
economic and employment impacts to the United States
and the impact to the security of allies and partners
that would result from granting the application.
(b) With respect to any proposed deepwater port for
the export of liquefied natural gas (project) for which
a favorable record of decision (ROD) has previously
been issued pursuant to the Deepwater Port Act of 1974
(DWPA), 33 U.S.C. 1501 et seq., the Administrator of
the Maritime Administration (MARAD) shall, within 30
days of the date of this order and consistent with
applicable law, determine whether any refinements to
the project proposed subsequent to the ROD are likely
to result in adverse environmental consequences that
substantially differ from those associated with the
originally-evaluated project so as to present a
seriously different picture of the foreseeable adverse
environmental consequences (seriously different
consequences). In making this determination, MARAD
shall qualitatively assess any difference in adverse
environmental consequences between the project with and
without the proposed refinements, including any
potential consequences not addressed in the final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which shall be
considered adequate under NEPA notwithstanding any
revisions to NEPA that may have been enacted following
the final EIS. MARAD shall submit this determination,
together with a detailed justification, to the
Secretary of Transportation and to the President.
(c) Pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, if
MARAD determines that such refinements are not likely
to result in seriously different consequences, it shall
include in that determination a description of the
refinements to supplement and update the ROD, if
necessary and then no later than 30 additional days, he
shall issue a DWPA license.
(d) If MARAD determines, with concurrence from the
Secretary of Transportation, that such proposed
refinements are likely to result in seriously different
consequences, it shall, within 60 days after submitting
such determination, issue an Environmental Assessment
(EA) examining such consequences and, with respect to
all other environmental consequences not changed due to
project refinements, shall reaffirm the conclusions of
the final EIS. Within 30 days after issuing the EA,
MARAD shall issue an addendum to the ROD, if necessary,
and shall, within 30 additional days, issue a DWPA
license consistent with the ROD.
Sec. 9. Restoring America's Mineral Dominance. (a) The
Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture,
Administrator of the EPA, Chairman of CEQ, and the
heads of any other relevant agencies, as appropriate,
shall identify all agency actions that impose undue
burdens on the domestic mining and processing of non-
fuel minerals and undertake steps to revise or rescind
such actions.
(b) The Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture
shall reassess any public lands withdrawals for
potential revision.
(c) The Secretary of the Interior shall instruct
the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey to consider
updating the Survey's list of critical minerals,
including for the potential of including uranium.
(d) The Secretary of the Interior shall prioritize
efforts to accelerate the ongoing, detailed geologic
mapping of the United States, with a focus on locating
previously unknown deposits of critical minerals.
(e) The Secretary of Energy shall ensure that
critical mineral projects, including the processing of
critical minerals, receive consideration for Federal
support, contingent on the availability of appropriated
funds.
(f) The United States Trade Representative shall
assess whether exploitative practices and state-
assisted mineral projects abroad are unlawful or unduly
burden or restrict United States commerce.
(g) The Secretary of Commerce shall assess the
national security implications of the Nation's mineral
reliance and the potential for trade action.
(h) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall assess
the quantity and inflow of minerals that are likely the
product of forced labor into the United States and
whether such inflows pose a threat to national security
and, within 90 days of the date of this order, shall
provide this assessment to the Director of the NEC.
(i) The Secretary of Defense shall consider the
needs of the United States in supplying and maintaining
the National Defense Stockpile, review the legal
authorities and obligations in managing the National
Defense Stockpile, and take all appropriate steps to
ensure that the National Defense Stockpile will provide
a robust supply of critical minerals in event of future
shortfall.
(j) Within 60 days of the date of this order, the
Secretary of State, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of
Labor, the United States Trade Representative, and the
heads of any other relevant agencies, shall submit a
report to the Assistant to the President for Economic
Policy that includes policy recommendations to enhance
the competitiveness of American mining and refining
companies in other mineral-wealthy nations.
(k) The Secretary of State shall consider
opportunities to advance the mining and processing of
minerals within the United States through the
Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.
Sec. 10. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary,
administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented in a manner
consistent with applicable law and subject to the
availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
DONALD J. TRUMP
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 20, 2025.