Trump's Climate Change Rollback: A Step Back for the Planet

Key Changes and Impacts

• Cancellation of 16-year-old finding: The administration proposed to cancel a finding that carbon dioxide emissions are harmful to public health.
• Preventing EPA regulations: This move could prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating emissions from cars and power plants.

Shifting Stance on Climate Change

• Denial of scientific evidence: The administration is no longer downplaying global warming but outright denying the scientific evidence of climate change.
• Significant policy shifts: This shift has led to many changes in climate policy.

Important Changes

• Repeal of the "endangerment finding": This finding is crucial for climate protections.
• Cutting funding for climate science: The administration has taken down websites that track climate change and fired hundreds of scientists, replacing them with climate skeptics.

Stopping Renewable Energy Projects

• Phasing out tax credits: The administration has phased out tax credits for wind and solar development.
• Declining Republican support: Renewable energy is becoming more partisan, with Republican support for wind, solar, and electric cars declining.

Stopping Climate Data Gathering

• Retiring databases: The administration has retired an extreme-weather database.
• Stopping reporting requirements: They have stopped requiring power plants to report their greenhouse gas emissions.
• Proposed funding elimination: They have proposed eliminating funding for the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, which has tracked climate data for nearly 70 years.

International Criticism

• Concerns from experts and policymakers: The administration's actions have drawn criticism from abroad, who are concerned about the impact on the planet and global efforts to combat climate change.