Trump Administration Cuts Climate Initiatives: Halts Clean Energy Projects and Weakens NOAA Programs

Since January 2025, President Donald Trump has dismantled federal climate initiatives, halted clean energy projects, and reduced disaster preparedness. Executive orders and budget cuts have weakened agencies like NOAA, which faces a $1.3 billion cut, affecting weather and climate research. The administration has repealed Biden-era energy regulations and paused climate funding. FEMA faces restructuring with a $644 million budget cut. Internationally, the administration seeks to weaken climate-related financial regulations. These actions have raised concerns about the U.S. government's ability to address environmental threats and natural disasters.

Executive Orders and Policy Rollbacks

In April 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14260, titled “Protecting American Energy From State Overreach,” directing the Attorney General to challenge state-level environmental regulations that the administration deems burdensome to domestic energy production. The order specifically targets state laws that restrict fossil fuel use or impose stricter pollution standards than federal guidelines. This move follows a broader strategy to centralize environmental policy and limit state autonomy in setting climate goals.

Earlier in the year, Trump also signed a series of measures under the Congressional Review Act to repeal Biden-era energy efficiency standards. These included regulations on gas water heaters, walk-in coolers, and commercial freezers. “It’s all about common sense,” Trump said during the signing ceremony, flanked by Republican lawmakers. The repeals were part of a broader effort to eliminate what the administration calls “unnecessary climate measurements” and “Green New Deal-style” initiatives.

Halting Clean Energy and Climate Funding

The administration has paused the disbursement of climate-related funds allocated under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Trump has repeatedly and falsely conflated these programs with the Green New Deal, a legislative proposal that was never enacted. In February 2025, the FBI, Treasury Department, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) instructed Citibank to freeze accounts of nonprofit organizations that had received funding under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, pending further investigation.

At a private dinner in April 2024, Trump reportedly encouraged fossil fuel executives to support his campaign financially, promising to roll back environmental regulations if re-elected. His transition team for climate and environmental policy was led by former oil and coal lobbyists David Bernhardt and Andrew R. Wheeler, both of whom held senior positions in his first administration.

NOAA Budget Cuts and Program Terminations

One of the most significant targets of the administration’s climate rollback is NOAA, the federal agency responsible for weather forecasting, climate monitoring, and oceanic research. The White House’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 includes a $1.3 billion cut to NOAA, eliminating its research division and shutting down several weather and climate labs. These cuts are part of a broader $32 billion reduction across agencies involved in environmental monitoring and conservation.

As a result, NOAA announced it would discontinue its widely used Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters database, which tracked the costliest natural disasters in the U.S. The agency cited “evolving priorities” and “staffing changes” as reasons for retiring the tool, which had documented 27 events causing $182 billion in damage and 568 deaths in 2024 alone.

The administration has also defunded NOAA’s climate adaptation partnerships and canceled contracts for satellite programs and other climate-related data collection efforts. Thirty of the National Weather Service’s 122 local forecast offices are now operating without a chief meteorologist, raising concerns about the agency’s ability to provide timely and accurate weather warnings.

FEMA Restructuring and Disaster Preparedness

The Trump administration has also taken steps to restructure—or potentially dismantle—the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In January 2025, Trump suggested during a tour of flood damage in North Carolina that FEMA should be eliminated, stating, “You don’t need FEMA, you need a good state government.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem echoed this sentiment in a May 6 congressional hearing, saying the agency “has failed the American people.”

Trump’s proposed budget includes a $644 million cut to FEMA, and more than 200 employees were laid off in February. The administration has also ended FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program and scaled back the Hazard Mitigation Assistance program, both of which were designed to help communities prepare for and recover from natural disasters.

In April, the administration dismissed all scientists working on the next National Climate Assessment, a congressionally mandated report that synthesizes climate research to guide policy decisions. The report, due in 2028, was expected to focus on adaptation strategies for state and local governments.

International and Financial Deregulation

Beyond domestic policy, the Trump administration has also sought to weaken international efforts to address climate-related financial risks. U.S. financial regulators have proposed diluting the authority of a task force established by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to assess climate risks to the global financial system. Critics argue that this move undermines global cooperation on climate resilience and financial stability.

Trump Administration Cuts Climate Initiatives: Halts Clean Energy Projects and Weakens NOAA Programs

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