(Image Credit: IMAGN) President Donald Trump holds up an executive order that renames a wildlife sanctuary in honor of the late Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12 year-old girl who was allegedly murdered by two undocumented migrants, during an address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2025.
Washington D.C. – Former President Donald Trump has issued a sweeping executive order aimed at rolling back state and local climate policies, calling them unconstitutional impediments to domestic energy production. The move directly targets California’s landmark cap-and-trade program and could have broad implications for environmental regulation nationwide.
The order instructs U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to review state and local climate laws for potential conflicts with federal authority. Within 60 days, Bondi must deliver a report to Trump identifying laws that may be preempted by federal energy policy and recommending further action.
California’s cap-and-trade system, a market-based initiative launched in 2012 to curb greenhouse gas emissions, is explicitly named in the order. The program, which allows businesses to buy and sell emissions credits, has been adopted in some form by 12 other states.
“California, for example, punishes carbon use by adopting impossible caps… forcing businesses to pay large sums to ‘trade’ carbon credits,” the order states. Trump claims such policies unfairly penalize fossil fuel producers and drive up energy costs for Americans.
The order marks a renewed push to promote oil and gas development while sidelining renewable energy efforts. It criticizes what it calls “illegitimate impediments” to fossil fuel use and places the term “climate change” in quotation marks, signaling skepticism toward the scientific consensus.
Legal experts, however, have raised constitutional concerns. Margaret A. Coulter, senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, called the order “more of an intimidation tactic” than a legitimate legal challenge. Amy Turner, director of the Cities Climate Law Initiative at Columbia University, said the federal government cannot override state laws without triggering a constitutional crisis.
“Trump’s order does not directly invalidate any laws, but it signals the start of legal and financial pressure that could chill climate innovation,” Turner wrote.
Trump also criticized climate-related lawsuits and funding mechanisms in states like New York and Vermont, calling them “extortion” of oil companies. California is currently considering similar legislation that would make fossil fuel producers pay for past climate damages.
The American Petroleum Institute praised the order, saying it protects energy producers from “unconstitutional efforts” by progressive states.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta did not respond to requests for comment, but the state has successfully defended its climate policies in past legal battles with the Trump administration.
