As President Donald Trump rolls back the renewable energy initiatives put in place by the previous administration, environmentalists and climate groups are pushing back. Trump has consistently criticized former President Biden’s climate policies, particularly the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), calling it the “green new scam.” Since taking office, Trump has promised to reverse Biden’s climate actions. He declared an “energy emergency” in his first week in office, signing executive orders to prioritize oil, gas, and coal, while limiting wind energy development across the U.S.
This shift in policy has raised concerns among clean energy developers, who face an uncertain investment climate. However, several climate organizations are now turning to legal action to challenge these policies.
Environmental groups have increasingly relied on the courts in recent years to fight for climate protections. A 2024 analysis showed a sharp rise in climate-related lawsuits targeting major oil companies. The report from Oil Change International and Zero Carbon Analytics revealed that climate-focused lawsuits against oil and gas companies have nearly tripled globally since 2015. As Trump pushes policies that aim to reverse climate progress and support new oil and gas projects, legal challenges are expected to increase.
In interviews with the New York Times, executives from six prominent environmental groups said that while some legal battles may take time to develop—since many of Trump’s orders have yet to be implemented—there is a clear intention to challenge his energy policies. Several organizations have already started filing briefs in defense of air pollution regulations.
Some groups are hopeful that Trump will struggle to achieve many of his energy and climate goals. The president has already begun dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies, including putting 168 employees in the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice on leave. However, critics argue that reducing staff in these agencies could hinder Trump’s ability to weaken environmental regulations.
Bethany Davis Noll, executive director of the State Energy and Environmental Impact Centre at New York University School of Law, explained, “To change a rule, an agency has to carefully demonstrate the benefit of the change and respond to public comments, including from industry and environmental groups.” She pointed out that during Biden’s administration, detailed records were created to support climate regulations, which could make them difficult to overturn in court, even with reduced staff.
Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Centre for Biological Diversity, added, “If you don’t have people working at the EPA, it’s pretty hard to keep the air clean, the water clean.”
Before leaving office, President Biden moved to protect the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts from offshore oil and gas drilling. Now, Trump is attempting to undo these protections to allow new drilling operations. In February, several environmental groups filed a lawsuit to stop Trump from reversing these protections.
Martha Collins, executive director of Healthy Gulf, said, “Protecting the eastern Gulf has long been a bipartisan effort in Florida. President Trump used the same authority as President Biden to protect the eastern Gulf and Florida coastline from offshore oil and gas. President Biden simply made those protections permanent, something President Trump did not do.” Collins added that the lawsuit was necessary to fight against what she called “the rash and inconsistent policies of the Trump administration.”
Sam Sankar, senior vice president at Earthjustice, indicated that more legal challenges to Trump’s executive orders are in the works. “We are looking at and developing lawsuits aimed at ensuring that the money flows to the intended recipients,” Sankar said. Some groups are also preparing lawsuits challenging the authority of the Department of Energy (DOGE).
While environmental organizations are prepared to take legal action, they are waiting to see whether Trump’s executive orders are fully implemented. Several of his orders during his first term as president never came into effect, so the outcome of these legal battles remains uncertain.
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