President Donald Trump sent early signals in the first days of his Administration that indicate how the White House views climate change. One of his first action items: scrubbing references to global warming and climate change from the White House website and replacing previous language with an energy plan focused on increasing development of fossil fuels, opening up public lands and parks to drilling and mining, and reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil in order to lower the cost of energy. The website claims his America First Energy Plan will “increase wages by $30 billion over the next 7 years” (about $20 per person per year) and asserts that Trump will “refocus the EPA on its essential mission of protecting our air and water.”
Related, in a breakfast meeting this morning with business leaders, Trump promised to cut regulations “massively” but assured leaders he’s “a very big person when it comes to the environment.”
“I’ve won awards on the environment but some of that stuff makes it impossible to get anything built,” he said.
In a press conference this afternoon, press secretary Sean Spicer, in response to a question on climate change, said Trump is “going to meet with his team and figure out what policies are best for the environment.”