With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

The benchmark that sets the global price of arabica coffee has more than doubled over the past year, with 25% of that surge coming since the start of 2025. For the first time, one pound of arabica costs more than $4 on commodity markets.

“Expect retail coffee prices to keep grinding higher,” Bank of America analysts recently warned, even with “consumers showing signs of price fatigue.”

The price run-up is largely driven by climate-change-fueled weather patterns that have disrupted agricultural production around the world. Chocolate prices are up sharply this year for similar reasons, with higher temperatures and rainfall levels spoiling cacao yields in West Africa.In key coffee-growing regions across South and Central America, Southeast Asia and East Africa, average temperatures are rising and precipitation patterns are changing, lengthening and intensifying droughts in some places while boosting extreme flood events in others.

Brazil has been contending with its most severe drought in 70 years, causing water shortages and crop failures. In Vietnam, months-long drought was followed by severe flooding last year during Typhoon Yagi, which brought extreme rainfall exacerbated by climate change. The two countries are the world’s top coffee producers, accounting for a combined 56% of global supplies.

Climate impacts can increase the prevalence of diseases in coffee crops, reducing overall yields for farmers. Studies have shown that the arabica bean — which makes up roughly 60% of all coffee produced globally — is particularly vulnerable to climate change. And while U.S. coffee producers in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, California and elsewhere sell homegrown beans, their output is nowhere near enough to satisfy domestic demand, a reality shared by farmers of imported specialty crops from wasabi to goji berries.

“As the long-term climate changes, these weather conditions are far more likely to hit extremes and cause losses in coffee yields as well as volatility to coffee production,” said Jeffrey Sachs, a sustainable economist at Columbia University.

Retail coffee prices are expected to rise in a “pronounced” way during the first quarter of this year, the Bank of America analysts wrote in a note to clients. They expect major food companies — such as J.M. Smucker, which sells coffee under multiple brands including Folgers, and Keurig Dr Pepper, which sells Lavazza coffee — to pass at least some of the cost increases on to consumers.

Neither company responded to requests for comment.

So far, higher coffee prices on commodity markets haven’t fully percolated into consumers’ mugs. Federal data released Wednesday showed the prices people paid for coffee, in all its forms, were roughly flat from December to January, though they were up 3.1% last month from 12 months earlier — just a little bit hotter than inflation overall. But instant coffee prices have been heating up, soaring 7.1% last month from a year earlier, and by 4.4% just from December to January.

The overall cost of drip coffee has risen every year since 2021, when it was $0.12 per cup, according to market researchers at NIQ. They estimated one cup of drip coffee cost $0.18 at the start of this year, while coffee pods like the ones that get popped into Keurig machines have also trended higher. Those, too, have risen steadily, from $0.50 per cup in 2021 to $0.55 at the start of 2025.

Major roasters such as Starbucks have sought to reassure investors about their strategies for handling global price spikes. “Our year-over-year coffee price impact was minimal,” Starbucks CFO Rachel Ruggeri recently told shareholders.

Sachs said he expects coffee prices to remain high in the coming months — and that climate change is likely to bring more major blows to global food supplies over the next decade. The world must bring down greenhouse gas emissions much faster to reduce these accelerating risks and ramp up investments in agricultural resiliency systems, he and other climate researchers warn.

The global coffee shortage has driven U.S. imported coffee bean supplies to its lowest level since November, according to data from Intercontinental Exchange. Arabica coffee production in Brazil is set to decline this year by 12.4% from last year, according to the Brazilian ministry of agriculture. If that production forecast proves accurate, it would be the lowest level since 2022, analysts at ING said last week.

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Adams case and other Trump moves threaten to open corruption floodgates, experts say
• Federal prosecutors in New York and Washington resign after refusing to drop Adams charges
• Trump administration tells federal agencies to fire probationary employees

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

“We used to look at hazelnuts and pistachio as an expensive inclusion,” said Jacques Torres, a chocolatier with high-end shops in New York City. “Today, those nuts allow us to lower the cost of our chocolate bar.”

The price of raw cocoa, chocolate’s key ingredient, has surged by 200% over the past year, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks online retail prices. On global commodities markets, cocoa futures are down slightly in recent weeks after peaking above $12,000 per ton — a record — just before Christmas. Two years ago, they were less than $2,500.

Torres said he had to raise prices by 20% last month to offset the higher costs, and he anticipates another hike before the end of the year.

The historic price run-up just ahead of the chocolate industry’s biggest day of the year has been months in the making. Disruptive weather patterns fueled by climate change have hammered West Africa, where most of the world’s cacao, the raw form of the bean that gets processed into cocoa, is grown. Similar challenges have been mounting for coffee farmers, too, fueling a sharp price spike on global markets that consumers are increasingly expected to feel this year.

The cacao bean grows best in temperatures up to 89 degrees Fahrenheit and with annual rainfall less than 2,000 millimeters. In 2024, 71% of cacao-producing areas in West Africa experienced an average of 42 days with temperatures above that heat threshold, with some areas receiving 40% more rainfall than expected during the peak of the rainy season, according to a report released this week by Climate Central, a climate research institute.

The increased temperatures and precipitation contribute to fungal diseases in cacao beans, the researchers said. Warm, humid conditions also breed mealybugs, which can spread an infection that spoils cacao crops. The combined impact of excessive heat and rainfall severely affected yield for cacao farmers. In the 2023-2024 harvest season, production was down 13.1% from the previous season, the Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute told NBC News.

Intensifying and more frequent extreme heat events and excessive precipitation are directly linked to global warming, as rising temperatures trap more moisture in the atmosphere. Climate scientists project excessive rainfall patterns to persist in West Africa through the rest of the century, while the entire continent warms 0.3 degrees Celsius faster per decade than the worldwide average.  

“This is kind of the new norm,” said Jason Clay, the executive director of the Markets Institute for the World Wildlife Fund. “With climate change, we’re seeing that there are more bad years than there are good years in some crops, in some locations.”

The Wells Fargo researchers estimate the cocoa supply deficit is now the worst it’s been in 60 years, standing at negative 478,000 metric tons. The crunch is triggering doubts about festivities beyond Valentine’s Day.

“Now the big question is about Easter,” Torres said. “The bigger question is next Christmas — that’s where things are going to be a little bit more sticky.”

Even Hershey is responding to the market squeeze. The chocolate giant requested permission from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to buy over 90,000 metric tons of cocoa, more than nine times the amount allowed by the exchange, Bloomberg reported last month. Regulators denied the request, saying a sale that large would’ve monopolized the global supply.

A Hershey spokesperson didn’t comment on the CFTC decision but dismissed worries of a shortage, saying the company “has a rigorous commodity procurement process, and we are well-covered in our cocoa needs for 2025.”

David Branch, sector manager of Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute, predicts chocolate products could become the next victim of shrinkflation — when brands reduce the size of their products without adjusting prices proportionately, a practice that has drawn scrutiny among Democratic lawmakers as contributing to inflation.

“The 30-piece bags of the mini candy bars, I think we’re going to see that shrink a little bit,” Branch said. “It may be 20 pieces in a bag instead of 30, and the price point kind of stays the same.”

Chocolate sales topped $21 billion in the 12 months ending in mid-August last year, up 1.5% from the prior 12-month period, according to the National Confectioners Association, even as units sold fell nearly 5% — indicating consumers spent more for less chocolate.

Keeping chocolate affordable will require stepped-up environmental protections in cocoa-producing areas, advocates warn.

“Climate change has barely started to affect food production. It’s going to get much worse,” Clay said. “The good news is that if you get trees planted for shade, you can actually reduce temperatures from getting as hot as they do in these deforested areas.”

Clay said chocolate producers need to work together, rather than in competition, to invest in protective measures. That includes planting more trees, ensuring sustainable pay for cacao farmers and genetically modifying crops to become more disease-resistant.

“It won’t mitigate all the impacts of climate change, but it will reduce the biggest impacts,” he said. “That’s really what we need to hope for.”

In the meantime, consumers may have to deal with more nuts and fruits in their chocolate, or reach for different types of candies altogether.

Younger consumers may already be leading the way. The NCA cited Gen Z and millennial consumers’ taste for “all things sour, flavor mashups, different textures, and flavor experiences” for helping drive a 5.4% jump in sales of non-chocolate candies in 2024 — a bigger uptick than either chocolate or gum and mints saw last year.

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com.  More from NBC News:

• A global coffee price spike is about to drip into your mug
• What’s at stake for consumers as Trump officials target the CFPB
• New clothes feel cheap? They really don’t make them like they used to

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

The vote was 56-42 in Zeldin’s favor.

Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York, is a longtime Trump ally and served on Trump’s defense team during his first impeachment. He voted against certifying Trump’s 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.

Zeldin, 44, said during his confirmation hearing that he has a moral responsibility to be a good steward of the environment and pledged to support career staff who have dedicated themselves to the agency’s mission to protect human health and the environment.

Zeldin repeatedly declined to commit to specific policies, however, promising instead not to prejudge outcomes before arriving at EPA. When asked by Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska whether he would roll back programs that promote electric cars — a program Trump has repeatedly criticized — Zeldin stayed vague but acknowledged he has heard Republican complaints.

Trump led efforts to dismantle more than 100 environmental protections during his first term and has promised to do so again, targeting what he falsely labels an electric vehicle “mandate” and “green new scam” approved by Democrats.

Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, has vowed to overturn former President Joe Biden’s biggest climate accomplishments, including tailpipe regulations for vehicles and slashed pollution from power plants fired by coal and natural gas. Trump has already moved to oust career staff at EPA and other agencies, remove scientific advisers and close an office that helps minority communities that disproportionately struggle with polluted air and water.

Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island called Zeldin the wrong man for the job.

Trump administration Jan 28

Sean Duffy is confirmed by the Senate to lead the Transportation Department

Trump administration Jan 29

RFK Jr. grilled on his views on vaccines and abortion in first confirmation hearing

“We need an EPA administrator who will take climate change seriously, treat the science honestly and stand up where necessary to the political pressure that will be coming from the White House, where we have a president who actually thinks (climate change) is a hoax, and from the huge fossil fuel forces that propelled him into office with enormous amounts of political money and who now think they own the place,” Whitehouse said in a Senate speech.

Trump is “under the thumb of the fossil fuel industry,” Whitehouse said, adding that the EPA administrator “has to be truthful and factual and support and defend our environment and our safety from climate change.”

He has nothing against Zeldin personally, Whitehouse added, “but the likelihood of him standing against that fossil fuel bulldozer that is coming at him is essentially zero. And in that context, this is very much the wrong guy.”

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said Zeldin will return the EPA to its original mission of protecting America’s air, water and land — without “suffocating the economy.”

Barrasso called Zeldin “a lifelong public servant” and a seasoned lawyer with a sharp legal mind and over 20 years of military service.

Zeldin will continue Trump’s “mission to roll back punishing, political regulations” at the EPA, “cut red tape” and oversee “a new wave of creativity and innovation,” Barrasso said.

“For the last four years, the so-called experts at the Environmental Protection Agency went on a reckless regulatory rampage,” Barrasso said, referring to the Biden administration. “They saddled American families and businesses with higher costs and heavy-handed restrictions. They bowed to climate extremism and ignored common sense.”

Zeldin “will right the ship and restore balance at the EPA,” Barrasso said, citing likely actions to repeal Biden-era rules on tailpipe emissions and power plants, along with eliminating federal subsidies for electric vehicles.

The League of Conservation Voters, a national environmental advocacy group, has panned Zeldin’s lifetime environmental record, giving him a 14% score. Like all Republicans at the time, he voted against the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act aimed at boosting renewable energy and manufacturing and fighting climate change.

Zeldin supported a bill to reduce harmful forever chemicals, called PFAS, that would have required the EPA to set limits on substances in drinking water. He also was a leading proponent of the 2020 Great American Outdoors Act, which used oil and gas royalties to help the National Park Service tackle its massive maintenance backlog. He’s also supported local conservation efforts on Long Island.

Zeldin said at his Jan. 16 hearing that he wants to collaborate with the private sector “to promote common-sense, smart regulation that will allow American innovation to continue to lead the world.”

The EPA under his leadership “will prioritize compliance as much as possible,” Zeldin said. “I believe in the rule of law and I want to work with people to ensure they do their part to protect the environment.”

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

The problem of stolen manhole covers in Turkey might seem an unlikely starting point for a new way for buildings to withstand earthquakes and tackle the construction industry’s environmental issues, but when a Turkish businessman heard about a new material that prevented the thefts, it sparked an idea.

Cast iron is traditionally used to make the manhole covers that protect drainage systems. But back in 2010, a spate of thefts of the covers for scrap metal in Turkey meant that an alternative, with equally strong material needed to be used to secure them. And when Engin Yesil read about this super-strong composite in news reports, he wondered whether it could be used to construct buildings that were able to withstand earthquakes — a significant risk in Turkey.

Yesil began manufacturing the composite, known as Renco (short for “renewable composite”) consisting of up to 40% repurposed materials including resin and fiberglass. Since 2011 more than 200 buildings in Turkey have been built using Renco blocks, which fit together like Lego bricks and are secured with glue.

Yesil wondered whether Renco had potential in the U.S., and after more than a decade of research and testing, Renco was used to build an apartment complex in Palm Springs in 2023.

Along with being able to withstand catastrophic Category 5 hurricanes (the highest rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale and an increasing phenomenon due to climate change), Renco claims to be greener than other building materials. The construction sector is “by far” the largest emitter of greenhouse gases of any sector, according to a 2023 U.N. report, making up 37% of global emissions.

Renco weighs about 80% less than concrete, meaning more of it can be transported per truck, and also has 82% less embodied carbon than structural steel, according to a report by the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute commissioned by Renco. Embodied carbon refers to the emissions released during the manufacturing, transportation and disposal of building materials.

Renco is also 100% recyclable, according to Patrick Murphy, managing director of Renco USA. He said the new composite marks a step-change in building materials. “In construction, there’s basically three ways to build, right? You have concrete, steel and wood, and that’s basically been the same thing for 100 years … so this is really the fourth way to build that’s been approved,” he told CNBC by video call.

This year, Renco will begin manufacturing in the U.S. for the first time, with a Florida factory opening in the coming weeks that can produce enough building blocks for around 9,000 average-sized apartments.

As with other materials used in construction, Renco isn’t without an environmental impact, with blocks currently shipped from Turkey to the U.S. while the Florida factory is being completed. And, while Renco’s Turkish manufacturing plant is powered by renewable energy, about 12% of the electricity generated in Florida comes from nuclear power plants.

Sustainable timber

Renco isn’t the only company aiming to build more sustainably. On the other side of the Atlantic, a British firm is designing buildings using a well-known material — wood. Architecture firm Waugh Thistleton designed its first building made from cross-laminated timber, or CLT, in 2001 and has since built around 30 in the U.K., Europe and the U.S. It uses products certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council, or equivalent, meaning the wood has to come from forests that are managed in ways that meet a number of internationally-agreed standards.

Building in timber rather than steel or concrete could achieve a 19% reduction in emissions, according to a 2024 study by the University of Arkansas, while a 2023 U.N. report urged the construction industry to shift to bio-based building materials such as sustainably sourced timber and bricks to decarbonize the built environment.

“The idea that we can build from replenishable materials has become something that has become increasingly important to us,” said Andrew Waugh, Waugh Thistleton founder and director. “And then the more you do it, the more you realize that there are health and wellbeing benefits to that, that actually people are much happier and healthier surrounded by natural materials than they are surrounded by polystyrene ceiling tiles and … drywall [wall panels],” Waugh told CNBC by video call.

But the U.K. has been slow to adopt wood as a building material, something that is “frustrating” to Waugh. Around 60% of the waste produced in the U.K. comes from the construction industry, according to a 2022 government report, whereas Waugh notes that building with wood produces little on-site waste. Again, building with wood is not without its environmental concerns: the timber used in Waugh Thistleton’s projects is often transported from Europe.

Building on water

Another phenomenon caused by climate change is the rising level of oceans — compounded by land sinking at the same time.

In the coastal independent state of Monaco, known as a playground for the rich due to its low taxes, a newly-built “eco neighborhood” known as Mareterra has put sustainability at its heart. “With climate change, building on water will become a strategic approach for certain coastal areas,” according to Guy-Thomas Levy Soussan, managing director of the Mareterra development, in an email to CNBC. The development aims to be a “model” for how coastal cities can grow responsibly, Levy Soussan added.

During construction, a technique known as the “caisson” method was used, where 27 meter high reinforced concrete structures were built in the French city of Marseilles and floated to Monaco so as not to disrupt marine life. Alongside acting as flood barriers, they are habitats for marine organisms, Levy Soussan said.

So-called “eco-reef villages,” were also constructed. Made up of more than 300 modules, they were installed in the marine area the development sits on. Ecological “corridors” mean that fish can reach the villages, while a protected species of seagrass known as posidonia was relocated to provide an ecosystem. These eco-measures will be monitored for at least a decade and Monaco’s government will use insights to guide future maritime projects, Levy Soussan said.

The future of sustainable construction

Both Waugh and Murphy expect the construction industry to move towards more sustainable materials.

“It’s inevitable because, you know, the better that other industries become at reducing their carbon burden, then the more exposed construction will become as an outlier,” Waugh said.

Regulation may be the force the construction industry needs to become more sustainable, Waugh Thistleton’s founder added.

The UK Green Building Council has called for the British government to go further in its environmental aims for new homes, while in Singapore, for example, the government added proposals to its Mandatory Energy Improvement regime to include older buildings. It had previously focused on new buildings or those being extensively refurbished.

Murphy said the industry will “have to” reduce its emissions. “The industry has flown under the radar in many senses, right? People talk about airplanes and cars and cows, you know, a lot of other … emissions. A lot of people don’t realize how bad cement is and how bad that the built environment is.”

Embodied carbon has been a focus for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and construction company Skanska USA developed a tool, known as EC3, to help construction projects quantify their emissions.

Steve Clem, senior vice-president of project planning and sustainability at Skanska USA Building, said that the tool has encouraged some suppliers to reduce their embodied carbon.

When Skanska was evaluating concrete companies for a large project in Seattle, it showed each firm how their materials fared against each other in terms of embodied carbon, using EC3. “When different suppliers saw how their mixes stacked up against each other, they voluntarily took steps to improve their mixes at no cost to the consumer,” Clem told CNBC by email.

The vice president is positive about the future. “The construction industry is doing more for sustainability now than any other time in history, or at least since the industrial revolution … My hope for the future is that sustainable construction is the norm and many more people have the opportunity to live, work and play in carbon-free buildings,” Clem said.

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

Last year’s global average temperature easily passed 2023’s record heat and kept pushing even higher. It surpassed the long-term warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since the late 1800s that was called for by the 2015 Paris climate pact, according to the European Commission’s Copernicus Climate Service, the United Kingdom’s Meteorology Office and Japan’s weather agency.

The European team calculated 1.6 degrees Celsius (2.89 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming. Japan found 1.57 degrees Celsius (2.83 degrees Fahrenheit) and the British 1.53 degrees Celsius (2.75 degrees Fahrenheit) in releases of data coordinated to early Friday morning European time.

American monitoring teams — NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the private Berkeley Earth — were to release their figures later Friday but all will likely show record heat for 2024, European scientists said. The six groups compensate for data gaps in observations that go back to 1850 — in different ways, which is why numbers vary slightly.

“The primary reason for these record temperatures is the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere” from the burning of coal, oil and gas, said Samantha Burgess, strategic climate lead at Copernicus. “As greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere, temperatures continue to increase, including in the ocean, sea levels continue to rise, and glaciers and ice sheets continue to melt.”

Last year eclipsed 2023’s temperature in the European database by an eighth of a degree Celsius (more than a fifth of a degree Fahrenheit). That’s an unusually large jump; until the last couple of super-hot years, global temperature records were exceeded only by hundredths of a degree, scientists said.

The last 10 years are the 10 hottest on record and are likely the hottest in 125,000 years, Burgess said.

July 10 was the hottest day recorded by humans, with the globe averaging 17.16 degrees Celsius (62.89 degrees Fahrenheit), Copernicus found.

By far the biggest contributor to record warming is the burning of fossil fuels, several scientists said. A temporary natural El Nino warming of the central Pacific added a small amount and an undersea volcanic eruption in 2022 ended up cooling the atmosphere because it put more reflecting particles in the atmosphere as well as water vapor, Burgess said.

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World shatters heat record for the second time in just two days

Alarm bells are ringing

“This is a warning light going off on the Earth’s dashboard that immediate attention is needed,” said University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd. ”Hurricane Helene, floods in Spain and the weather whiplash fueling wildfires in California are symptoms of this unfortunate climate gear shift. We still have a few gears to go.”

“Climate-change-related alarm bells have been ringing almost constantly, which may be causing the public to become numb to the urgency, like police sirens in New York City,” Woodwell Climate Research Center scientist Jennifer Francis said. “In the case of the climate, though, the alarms are getting louder, and the emergencies are now way beyond just temperature.”

The world incurred $140 billion in climate-related disaster losses last year — third highest on record — with North America especially hard hit, according to a report by the insurance firm Munich Re.

“The acceleration of global temperature increases means more damage to property and impacts on human health and the ecosystems we depend on,” said University of Arizona water scientist Kathy Jacobs.

World breaches major threshold

This is the first time any year passed the 1.5-degree threshold, except for a 2023 measurement by Berkeley Earth, which was originally funded by philanthropists who were skeptical of global warming.

Scientists were quick to point out that the 1.5 goal is for long-term warming, now defined as a 20-year average. Warming since pre-industrial times over the long term is now at 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 degrees Celsius).

“The 1.5 degree C threshold isn’t just a number — it’s a red flag. Surpassing it even for a single year shows how perilously close we are to breaching the limits set by the Paris Agreement,” Northern Illinois University climate scientist Victor Gensini said in an email. A 2018 massive United Nations study found that keeping Earth’s temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius could save coral reefs from going extinct, keep massive ice sheet loss in Antarctica at bay and prevent many people’s death and suffering.

Francis called the threshold “dead in the water.”

Burgess called it extremely likely that Earth will overshoot the 1.5-degree threshold, but called the Paris Agreement “extraordinarily important international policy” that nations around the world should remain committed to.

More warming is likely

European and British calculations figure with a cooling La Nina instead of last year’s warming El Nino, 2025 is likely to be not quite as hot as 2024. They predict it will turn out to be the third-warmest. However, the first six days of January — despite frigid temperatures in the U.S. East — averaged slightly warmer and are the hottest start to a year yet, according to Copernicus data.

Scientists remain split on whether global warming is accelerating.

There’s not enough data to see an acceleration in atmospheric warming, but the heat content of the oceans seem to be not just rising but going up at a faster rate, said Carlo Buontempo, Copernicus’ director.

“We are facing a very new climate and new challenges — climate challenges that our society is not prepared for,” Buontempo said.

This is all like watching the end of “a dystopian sci-fi film,” said University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann. “We are now reaping what we’ve sown.”

_____

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Georgia Wednesday to see hard-hit areas, two days after her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, was in the state and criticized the federal response to the storm, which has killed at least 200 people in the Southeast. Helene is the deadliest storm to hit the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

President Joe Biden toured some of the hardest-hit areas by helicopter on Wednesday and Thursday. Biden, who has frequently been called on to survey damage and console victims after tornadoes, wildfires, tropical storms and other natural disasters, traveled to the Carolinas, Florida and Georgia to get a closer look at the hurricane devastation.

“Storms are getting stronger and stronger,” Biden said Wednesday after surveying damage near Asheville, North Carolina. At least 70 people died in the state.

“Nobody can deny the impact of the climate crisis any more,” Biden said at a briefing in Raleigh. “They must be brain dead if they do.”

Harris, meanwhile, hugged and huddled with a family Wednesday in hurricane-ravaged Augusta, Georgia.

“There is real pain and trauma that resulted because of this hurricane” and its aftermath, Harris said outside a storm-damaged house with downed trees in the yard.

“We are here for the long haul,” she added.

The focus on the storm — and its link to climate change — was notable after climate change was only lightly mentioned in two presidential debates this year. The candidates instead focused on abortion rights, the economy, immigration and other issues.

The hurricane featured prominently in Tuesday’s vice presidential debate as Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz were asked about the storm and the larger issue of climate change.

Both men called the hurricane a tragedy and agreed on the need for a strong federal response. But it was Walz, the governor of Minnesota, who put the storm in the context of a warming climate.

“There’s no doubt this thing roared onto the scene faster and stronger than anything we’ve seen,” he said.

Bob Henson, a meteorologist and writer with Yale Climate Connections, said it was no surprise that Helene is pushing both the federal disaster response and human-caused climate change into the campaign conversation.

“Weather disasters are often overlooked as a factor in big elections,” he said. “Helene is a sprawling catastrophe, affecting millions of Americans. And it dovetails with several well-established links between hurricanes and climate change, including rapid intensification and intensified downpours.”

More than 40 trillion gallons of rain drenched the Southeast in the last week, an amount that if concentrated in North Carolina would cover the state in 3 1/2 feet of water. “That’s an astronomical amount of precipitation,” said Ed Clark, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Water Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

During Tuesday’s debate, Walz credited Vance for past statements acknowledging that climate change is a problem. But he noted that Trump has called climate change “a hoax” and joked that rising seas “would make more beachfront property to be able to invest in.″

Trump said in a speech Tuesday that “the planet has actually gotten little bit cooler recently,” adding: “Climate change covers everything.”

In fact, summer 2024 sweltered to Earth’s hottest on record, making it likely this year will end up as the warmest humanity has measured, according to the European climate service Copernicus. Global records were shattered just last year as human-caused climate change, with a temporary boost from an El Niño, keeps dialing up temperatures and extreme weather, scientists said.

Vance, an Ohio senator, said he and Trump support clean air, clean water and “want the environment to be cleaner and safer.” However, during Trump’s four years in office, he took a series of actions to roll back more than 100 environmental regulations.

Vance sidestepped a question about whether he agrees with Trump’s statement that climate change is a hoax. “What the president has said is that if the Democrats — in particular Kamala Harris and her leadership — really believe that climate change is serious, what they would be doing is more manufacturing and more energy production in the United States of America. And that’s not what they’re doing,” he said.

“This idea that carbon (dioxide) emissions drives all of the climate change. Well, let’s just say that’s true just for the sake of argument. So we’re not arguing about weird science. If you believe that, what would you want to do?” Vance asked.

The answer, he said, is to “produce as much energy as possible in the United States of America, because we’re the cleanest economy in the entire world.”

Severe weather Oct 1, 2024

Helene and another storm dumped a whopping 40 trillion gallons of rain

Hurricane season Oct 1, 2024

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, questions about government response emerge

Vance claimed that policies by Biden and Harris actually help China, because many solar panels, lithium-ion batteries and other materials used in renewable energy and electric vehicles are made in China and imported to the United States.

Walz rebutted that claim, noting that the Inflation Reduction Act, the Democrats’ signature climate law approved in 2022, includes the largest-ever investment in domestic clean energy production. The law, for which Harris cast the deciding vote, has created 200,000 jobs across the country, including in Ohio and Minnesota, Walz said. Vance was not in the Senate when the law was approved.

“We are producing more natural gas and more oil (in the United States) than we ever have,” Walz said. “We’re also producing more clean energy.”

The comment echoed a remark by Harris in last month’s presidential debate. The Biden-Harris administration has overseen “the largest increase in domestic oil production in history because of an approach that recognizes that we cannot over rely on foreign oil,” Harris said then.

While Biden rarely mentions it, domestic fossil fuel production under his administration is at an all-time high. Crude oil production averaged 12.9 million barrels a day last year, eclipsing a previous record set in 2019 under Trump, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Democrats want to continue investments in renewable energy such as wind and solar power — and not just because supporters of the Green New Deal want that, Walz said.

“My farmers know climate change is real. They’ve seen 500-year droughts, 500-year floods back to back. But what they’re doing is adapting,” he said.

“The solution for us is to continue to move forward, (accept) that climate change is real” and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, Walz said, adding that the administration is doing exactly that.

“We are seeing us becoming an energy superpower for the future, not just the current” time, he said.

Associated Press writers Colleen Long in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Christopher Megerian in Augusta, Georgia, contributed to this report.

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• Panama’s president tells U.S. to stop ‘lies and falsehoods’ about canal
• How weather driven by climate change helped fuel the Southern California fires
• Evacuation of Greece’s Santorini island continues as tremors persist

With two executive orders, President Donald Trump changed the trajectory of two of the fastest-growing climate-friendly technologies in the U.S.: electric vehicles and wind power. 

The orders took aim at efforts the Biden administration had made to boost both technologies, which have in recent years gained traction in the push to decarbonize the U.S. energy market. Trump also declared that the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement, through which nations set carbon emissions reduction goals to limit global warming. 

One of Trump’s executive orders reversed several climate-focused directives, most notably tailpipe emissions standards aimed at encouraging electric vehicle adoption. Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to end the regulation, calling it then-President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” and suggesting the rule forced consumers to buy expensive electric vehicles. 

Electric vehicle advocates criticized the move, with some noting that it could hamper U.S. competitiveness in the global car market.

“We suffer, we lose out, we squander opportunities by taking these kinds of actions,” said Max Boykoff, professor and chair of the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because other nations will then be able to step forward and fill that gap. Absolutely, Chinese companies are already outpacing the American electric vehicle market, and they’re ready to do more.”

The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

The second order temporarily halted federal approvals for lease sales of offshore wind projects in federal waters and restricted federal agencies from issuing new permits or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects. In the order, Trump suggested that wind power drives up energy costs and falsely claimed that wind turbines “may lead to grave harm” by endangering marine life such as whales. There are no known links between offshore wind turbines and deaths of large whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That order was similarly met with pushback from advocates of wind power. Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association, a trade organization for clean energy companies, said that blocking wind power undermines Trump’s broader goal of “unleashing American energy.”

“The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers,” Grumet said in a statement. 

Trump’s orders come amid recent growth in the adoption of electric vehicles and wind power.

Trump administration Jan 21

What's next for electric vehicles under President Trump?

Trump administration Jan 29

Senate confirms Lee Zeldin to lead EPA as Trump vows to cut climate rules

Electric and hybrid vehicle purchases made up a record 20% of new car sales in the U.S. last year, CNBC reported, and an S&P Global analysis projected that by 2030, more than 1 in 4 new passenger cars sold globally will be an electric vehicle. Since 2018, electric car sales have grown sixfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

When it comes to wind power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted in 2023 that solar and wind would make up most of the nation’s new energy capacity by 2050. In March and April, offshore wind power generated more electricity in the U.S. than coal. At the same time, though, rising commodity costs and supply chain issues, among other macroeconomic trends, have threatened the rise of wind power, according to the consulting firm McKinsey.

Wind power — especially large turbines — has long been a target for Trump. He has repeatedly blamed offshore wind projects for an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, though most of the documented whale mortalities were attributed to vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment. Trump has also suggested that noise from wind turbines can cause cancer, though there is no evidence of such a link, and that wind turbines kill birds. That last claim is correct, though some research suggests birds are more likely to die from building strikes and power lines.

Climate groups including the Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club said the changes mandated in Trump’s executive orders threaten the growth of green jobs, including in red states like Georgia.

“It’s a short-term political choice with potential long-term economic harm,” said Zara Ahmed, vice president of policy and advisory operations at Carbon Direct, a carbon management firm, referring to the executive order on electric vehicles.

Ahmed added that Trump’s regulations would not “stop the inevitable march of the clean tech transition.” 

In yet another executive order, Trump sought to end certain states’ abilities to set their own standards for electric vehicle adoption. 

The order targets a federal waiver that the Biden administration granted to California, which allowed the state to set more stringent tailpipe pollution standards than the federal limits. California’s regulation would essentially ban new gasoline-powered cars from its roads by 2032.  Washington, New York and nine other states have adopted the California standard.

Paul Cort, a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who now works with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said he expects Trump’s order to be fought in court and does not believe it will hold up to legal challenges. 

“California’s regulations are not just about addressing climate change. These rules were created so that California, which struggles with pollution issues, could meet its air quality and smog standards,” Cort said. “What’s their legal standing for saying California can’t clean up its cars?”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

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