In a potential second Trump administration, there is a detailed playbook for how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could roll back climate regulations. The Project 2025 blueprint, spearheaded by the conservative Heritage Foundation, outlines strategies for reshaping the agency’s structure, weakening enforcement, and dispersing staff to regional offices. While former President Donald Trump has distanced himself from the initiative, many of its authors are likely candidates for a second term.
One of the key figures behind the EPA chapter of Project 2025 is Mandy Gunasekara, the former Trump EPA chief of staff. She has left open the possibility of returning to the agency under a second Trump administration. The chapter includes both familiar policies from the first Trump term, which were overturned by President Joe Biden, as well as new proposals such as reducing the number of industries required to report their greenhouse gas emissions annually.
The document marks a departure from the chaotic transition that occurred after Trump’s first election victory in 2016. The Project 2025 blueprint aims to avoid past mistakes by implementing a comprehensive plan from day one and addressing process problems that hindered regulatory actions in the previous administration. Gunasekara emphasized the importance of learning from past experiences and applying oversight more effectively.
The EPA chapter of Project 2025 focuses on reshaping the agency to align with a conservative vision. It includes a mix of ambitious proposals and specific recommendations, such as updating the endangerment finding for greenhouse gases and revising cost-benefit analysis practices. The document emphasizes the importance of transparency in regulatory decision-making and aims to streamline the consideration of costs in EPA regulations.
One of the central themes of the chapter is maximizing cost considerations while minimizing benefits in regulatory decision-making. By emphasizing cost-benefit analysis and discount rates, the document aims to prioritize the quantifiable costs of regulations over their broader societal benefits. This approach reflects a longstanding conservative perspective that values cost considerations over the potential benefits of environmental regulations.
Transparency is another key aspect of the Project 2025 blueprint. The document calls for greater transparency in the data used to support regulatory decisions, including making all scientific studies publicly available. However, critics warn that some of the proposed changes could create information gaps that hinder EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions effectively.
Overall, the Project 2025 blueprint offers a comprehensive roadmap for how a second Trump administration could reshape EPA regulations and policies. By focusing on cost considerations, transparency, and regulatory efficiency, the document outlines a conservative vision for environmental policy that could have far-reaching implications beyond the next four years. If implemented, these proposals could significantly impact the future of environmental regulation in the United States.