Trump plans cuts to EPA

6th April 2017


Related Topics

Related tags

  • Politics & Economics ,
  • Global

Author

Jack Webster

The US Environmental Protection Agency could have its budget cut by 31%, while funding would end for the clean power plan and international climate change initiatives, including research and partnership programmes.

The US Environmental Protection Agency could have its budget cut by 31%, while funding would end for the clean power plan and international climate change initiatives, including research and partnership programmes.

The proposed reductions were set out in A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again, President Trump’s preliminary 2018 budget plans. The document recommends reducing the EPA’s budget in 2018 by $2.6bn compared with 2017 and would lead to the loss of up to 3,200 jobs, more than 20% of its workforce.

The agency’s primary focus would switch to supporting states and tribes to protect air, land and water. According to the document, the cuts are designed to help to achieve the president’s priority of easing the ‘burden of federal regulations that impose significant costs for workers and consumers without justifiable environmental benefits’.

Discontinuing funding for the clean power plan, the Obama administration’s policy to combat anthropogenic global warming by regulating emissions from power plants, and international climate change programmes would save more than $100m. It is consistent with the president’s America First energy plan and reorients the EPA to protecting the air without ‘unduly burdening the American economy’, states the document.

Overall, the proposals eliminate more than 50 agency initiatives, including Energy Star, the energy efficiency scheme, and the endocrine disruptor screening programme. Funding will end for large-scale clean-up initiatives for the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay.

Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House office of management and budget, said: ‘The president wants a smaller agency. He thinks they overreach, and the budget reflects that.’

NGOs criticised the proposals. ‘Slashing the EPA’s overall budget by more than a third means the agency cannot adequately enforce our clean air and clean water safeguards,’ said Margie Alt, executive director of Environment America. ‘It is basically a “get out of jail free card” for polluters.’

Meanwhile, the EPA is withdrawing a request for owners and operators in the oil and natural gas industry to provide information on equipment and emissions. It has also said it plans to revisit the previous administration’s standards to raise fuel economy to the equivalent of 87.7 pkm for cars and light-duty trucks by 2025. EPA administrator Scott Pruitt claimed the standards were costly for automakers and the American people.

The Trump budget recommendations must be endorsed by Congress.

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.


Transform articles

Facing the climate emergency challenge in local government

It’s well recognised that the public sector has the opportunity to work towards a national net-zero landscape that goes well beyond improving on its own performance; it can also influence through procurement and can direct through policy.

19th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) strategy is based on optimistic techno-economic assumptions that are now outdated, Carbon Tracker has warned.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s climate adaptation plans are ‘inadequate’ and falling ‘far short’ of what is required, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has warned today.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK’s net-zero economy grew 9% last year while delivering higher paid jobs than average and attracting billions of pounds in private investment, analysis by CBI Economics has uncovered.

28th February 2024

Read more

A consortium including IEMA and the Good Homes Alliance have drafted a letter to UK government ministers expressing disappointment with the proposed Future Homes Standard.

26th February 2024

Read more

Campaign group Wild Justice has accused the UK government of trying to relax pollution rules for housebuilders “through the backdoor”.

14th February 2024

Read more

Three-quarters of UK adults are concerned about the impact that climate change will have on their bills, according to polling commissioned by Positive Money.

13th February 2024

Read more

All major housing developments in England will be required by law to deliver at least a 10% increase in biodiversity under new rules that came into force today.

12th February 2024

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert

IEMA Cookie Notice

Clicking the ‘Accept all’ button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies. Our website uses necessary cookies which are required in order to make our website work. In addition to these, we use analytics and third-party cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click ‘Settings’. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our website and how to change your cookie settings please view our cookie policy.

Manage cookie settings

Our use of cookies

You can learn more detailed information in our cookie policy.

Some cookies are essential, but non-essential cookies help us to improve the experience on our site by providing insights into how the site is being used. To maintain privacy management, this relies on cookie identifiers. Resetting or deleting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.

Essential cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to tailor advertising to you based on your interests. If you do not accept these cookies, you will still see adverts, but these will be more generic.

Save and close