Trump's Environmental Policies and Climate Claims in 2025
In January 2025, President Trump issued the 'Putting people over fish' executive order, diverting water from the delta smelt habitat in California towards farmers and firefighting efforts. Experts have stated that this water diversion would not meaningfully aid firefighting amid ongoing drought conditions.
During his first month in office, Trump targeted offshore wind projects, claiming that wind turbines drive whales crazy. However, NOAA has found no evidence that wind activity causes whale deaths; the main threats to whales are entanglement, ship strikes, and prey shifts due to warming oceans. In August 2025, Trump halted planned offshore wind projects and vowed to reject wind and solar energy, repeating claims that wind is the most expensive energy source.
In September 2025, during a speech at the UN General Assembly, Trump promoted 'clean, beautiful coal' and described climate change as the greatest con job. He acknowledged coal's pollution and mentioned black lung disease among miners. He also referenced carbon capture funding that has yet to be implemented.
Trump also asserted that scientists once discussed global cooling in the 1920s and 1930s, a claim that contrasts with the current scientific consensus that the world is rapidly heating due to fossil fuels and climate change.
In November 2025, Trump announced climate investigations at a US-Saudi investment forum, suggesting conspiracies among those who discuss climate change. This follows his past actions, including firing scientists, removing climate content from government websites, banning words like 'emissions' and 'green,' rolling back clean air protections, and receiving campaign donations from the fossil fuel industry.
