President Trump, who calls climate change a “hoax” is eliminating restrictions on coal, oil and gas while imposing new ones on renewable energy like wind and solar.
The Biden-era auto emissions rules have significantly reduced the planet-warming greenhouse gases from transportation, which is the single largest source of carbon pollution in the United States.
Oil and gas firms were supposed to start reducing methane, a powerful driver of climate change. The agency is giving them more time and may cancel the requirement.
The president’s energy strategy is projected to generate more pollution, but so far production has not risen significantly and price drops have been modest, analysts say.
Since President Trump took office, oil production is up, but largely because of improved efficiency, and it has not translated into more jobs for either the industry or the overall economy.
The final agreement, with no direct mention of the fossil fuels dangerously heating Earth, was a victory for countries like Saudi Arabia and Russia, diplomats said.
A demonstration near the U.N. climate summit in Belém, Brazil, on Saturday. The atmosphere has been a marked contrast to the past three summits that were held in countries where governments restricted public protests.