This story originally appeared on Vox and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
During his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump had a biting slogan for his energy policy: “Drill, honey, drill.”
This statement is emblematic of where Trump is poised to focus his efforts in a second term: He promised U.S. “energy dominance” and everything from “new pipelines” to “new refineries” that amplify fossil fuel production.
This approach marks a marked change from that of the Biden administration and places the US emphasis more on oil and gas production than on attempting to transition to clean energy sources. In addition to touting the need to ramp up fossil fuels, Trump has decried subsidies for clean energy investments and called for “going out of business.”[ing]” the funds set aside for such subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act. His position ignores the role that fossil fuel consumption has played in climate change and could do considerable harm to U.S. efforts to address the problem.
Many of his appointments are indicative of these goals. He chose oil industry executive Chris Wright, a fracking evangelist, to head the Energy Department. He named North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum — who connected Trump with executive oil donors during the campaign — to head the Interior Department and as “energy czar.” He also chose former Representative Lee Zeldin, who has emphasized his commitment to deregulation, as head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
However, there is only so much the administration can control. While Trump may take notable steps to try to increase fossil fuel production, actual increases in oil and gas extraction will largely depend on the private sector and the economics of the sector.
However, even as Trump faces some constraints, he has important policy levers he can use to encourage fossil fuel production. Wright, Burgum and Zeldin also signaled they are ready to put the president-elect’s vision into action, including changes to drilling on public lands and faster permitting for oil and gas projects.
“President Trump and his energy team, Mr. Burgum, Mr. Wright, Mr. Zeldin — they can do everything they can to make expanded production attractive and relatively easy,” Barry Rabe, an environmental policy professor at University of Michigan.
How Trump could increase fossil fuel production
Trump has two key avenues he can use to increase fossil fuel production. First, it can open up more public lands and waters to exploration, development and extraction. Second, it can facilitate regulatory processes that govern fossil fuel-related work.
Trump may offer more oil and gas leases on public lands
As president, Trump will oversee the Department of the Interior, which includes the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, both of which manage a substantial portion of the country’s public lands and waters. He will also oversee the Department of Agriculture, which includes the Forest Service, another agency that has oversight of some public lands.
The Bureaus of Land Management and Ocean Energy Management, as well as the Forest Service, are the three main entities that issue oil and gas leases on public spaces. These leases effectively allow fossil fuel companies to lease plots of public land from the federal government so they can extract resources from these areas. Once land is designated as available for leasing, leases are typically sold at auction to the highest bidder.