Trump's Executive Orders

What’s in This Week’s Newsletter:

• Trump signs scores of executive orders aimed at reversing climate legacy.

• US states and other countries pledge to stick to the Paris Agreement and Decarbonization.

• The EU looks set to weaken a series of sustainability policies under the omnibus regulation.

• What is the impact of AI’s insatiable appetite for energy?

• More banks leave GFANZ.

After decades working in the “sustainability” field, the pendulum has never swung so far and so fast…ESG & Climate News aims to keep you informed with the least spin and most accessible reporting we can muster.  Please share your reactions to all of these changes, any feedback, and your coping strategies in the comments. 

Last week we cataloged Biden’s Climate Legacy. This week, Trump issued executive orders seeking to reverse many of these climate policies. 

Here is a breakdown of new executive orders and rescissions (reversals of prior executive orders) from an ESG & climate perspective:

• Removing the US from the Paris Accord

• Rollback of $300 billion of funds tied to the energy transition

• Ended the pause on liquefied natural gas (LNG) export permits

• Removed subsidies for electric vehicles 

• Blocked new leases and permits for offshore wind

• Opened public land for natural resource exploitation

• Declared a national emergency to promote fossil fuel energy 

The news cycle is overwhelmed with the volume of these executive orders and it will take some time before we know their full impact.  The New York Time Daily Podcast did a terrific job breaking down the impact - and non-impact - of the executive orders focused on clean energy.  We will continue to report on these changes as the outcome becomes clear. Without delving too deep into American civics, there are limits to Presidential power, and the issuance of an executive order does not supersede a law like the Inflation Reduction Act, for example. It is too early to predict the impact, but legal observers say some of Trump’s ambitions will be harder than others to justify — even before a high court dominated by conservatives, including three of the president’s own picks.

“Yes, it’s a Trump Supreme Court,” said Pat Parenteau, emeritus professor at the Vermont Law and Graduate School, “but I’m not ready to say there are five votes to rubber-stamp whatever he wants.”

“Presidents love issuing executive orders. It’s easy to do, and many people will credit the president with major accomplishments. But really, as someone recently said, an executive order is just a memo on fancy letterhead. They’re basically nudges to various agencies to carry out his agenda,” Dan Farber, faculty director at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote in a Monday blog post. 

Similar to the last Trump Administration, Democratic state governors have vowed to sustain and advance climate action in the US. This week, the US Climate Alliance, a net zero-focused group of 24 U.S. state governors, sent a letter to UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, indicating that they plan to remain committed to the U.S. Paris Agreement goals despite President Trump’s announced withdrawal from the international climate accord.

Other Countries Pledge to Stay on Course

Perhaps a little overshadowed this week, the annual World Economic Forum is currently hosting business and political leaders in Davos, Switzerland. A key theme of this year’s event is that the transition to clean energy will continue with or without the US.

President of the EU Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen said, “Europe will stay the course and keep working with all nations that want to protect nature and stop global warming,” adding, “The Paris Agreement continues to be the best hope for all humanity.” And UN Climate Chief Simon Stiell said, “The world is undergoing an energy transition that is unstoppable,”

In his speech to the conference on January 23rd, Trump sharply criticized his predecessor, Joe Biden, and policies that have dominated at Davos for years, from climate change to diversity. Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who served under Biden, visibly winced as he listened.

While the US will again retreat from climate action for the next four years, countries around the world continue to embrace climate policies. Here’s a roundup of this week’s developments from countries advancing sustainability policy and driving the energy transition in 2025. 

• France is now 95% clean energy, with new nuclear plants coming online and others coming out of refurbishment.

• The Shanghai Stock Exchange announced an expansion of its voluntary ESG reporting framework, which more than 50% (1,193) of companies already use. 

• The Canadian government announced they would introduce a supply chain due diligence rule requiring companies to “scrutinise their international supply chains for risks to fundamental labor rights and take action to evolve these risks.”

CSRD EU Turn

What will happen with the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), and the EU Taxonomy? That is the question on everyone’s lips ahead of next month's “omnibus” regulation on February 26th.

The "Omnibus Simplification Package" proposed last year aims to amend the CSRD, EU Taxonomy, and the CSDDD to increase efficiency and reduce burden. Proposals from Germany and France ask for delays and exclusions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The infographic below from Amanda Koefoed Simonsen summarizes each of these proposals.

The extraterritorial reach of EU rules has drawn criticism from U.S. Republicans, with some suggesting retaliatory tariffs to shield US-based firms. Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) said, “Donald Trump is America first. And if there is any example of a foreign regulation that puts America last, it's the EU's [climate agenda].” However, even as the Omnibus regulation aims to simplify these requirements, it is virtually certain that foreign firms doing business in the EU will still need to comply.

Piling on the pressure in the other direction, A group of 11 of the largest companies in Europe has warned against reopening the CSRD and CSDDD, saying, “Investment and competitiveness are founded on policy certainty and legal predictability.” Additionally, a group of 400 French Chief Sustainability Officers has warned against weakening the CSRD and CSDDD.

AI’s Insatiable Energy Appetite

Last month the US Department of Energy released a report finding that data center energy consumption could triple by 2028, making it 12% of the US electricity use. Cut to this week, the US Government announced “Stargate,” a $100 billion private sector investment in AI infrastructure (data centers and energy), which could reach up to a $500 billion investment over the next four years. Stargate has already broken ground on data centers in Texas.

AI leaders are investing in clean energy at a record pace to try to keep up with the new demand. Microsoft just announced a $200 million investment in reforesting the Amazon to offset its AI emissions. And Google just signed the largest-ever biochar removal deal.

AI’s impact goes beyond energy. A new study found that AI chatbots are proliferating misinformation about oil and gas’s role in the climate crisis.

Net Zero Finance Exodus Accelerates

Last year, we saw a trickle of banks and asset managers leave the finance groups under the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero Alliance (GFANZ). 

In 2025, that trickle has turned into a flood. Four of Canada’s largest banks have now left the group, and the EU’s major banks are also considering their exit. Oxford University’s Sustainable Finance Group founder, Ben Caldecott, said, “GFANZ had been dismantled step by step. Some [alliances] have a sunset clause, and others, like zombies, persist even though they’re not very useful.” 

The US Federal Reserve joined the mass departure, announcing that it is leaving the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), a coalition of central banks collaborating on sustainable financing and risks. 

The views expressed on this website/weblog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer. 

Other Notable News:

Sustainability Research

• As political winds shift, a new survey finds that 63% of employees think their company is not doing enough on climate and sustainability.

• This new research article looks at the different categories of interventions for supply chain emissions and suggests additional research.

• New research from CDP finds that of the companies on course to meet their climate targets, 80% link their climate performance to executive pay. 

• A new report from BCG outlines how countries can unlock up to $11 trillion in opportunities by 2040 through proactive climate action.

Global Weirding

• As if the destruction was not bad enough, the smoke from the LA fires has high levels of lead and chlorine, both of which can have long-term detrimental impacts on health. 

• The US Gulf Coast was blanketed under a rare winter storm this week. Climate change is likely to impact the polar vortex, bringing more of these one-off winter storm events.

Sustainability Regulations

• Despite the potential weakening of the CSDDD, some countries have already started the process of transposing the rule.

• In light of Trump’s election, California withdrew its requests for federal approval to limit emissions from trains and trucks.

Sustainability Reporting

• Schneider Electric has announced its partnership with the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) to help more financial institutions report their “financed emissions.”

• EcoVadis launches a new CSRD supply chain data collection solution. The tool is designed to help companies engage their suppliers to comply with the CSRD.

Notable Podcasts: 

• The most recent episode of BCG’s ‘The So What’ podcast features an interview with BCG’s sustainable finance lead, Vinay Shandal, who answers, “Does Climate Finance Have a Chance?”. Vinay points to last year’s advances, with China accelerating their decarbonization investments and solar prices dropping by 30% for reasons to be bullish about climate investments, even against political and investment headwinds.  

• In last week’s episode of Bloomberg’s Zero: The Climate Race podcast, the focus was on internal climate migration. Podcast host Akshat Rathi spoke to Gaia Vince, author of Nomad Century, about how disasters like the recent LA fires will cause a migrant crisis this century, whether people should rebuild in former disaster areas, and the implications for insurance.

Notable Jobs:

• Analyst, ESG, Warner Music Group, New York, NY, Hybrid

• Sustainability Data Analyst, Watershed, New York

• Analyst Sustainability, NRG, Houston

• Analyst/Associate, ESG, Oaktree Capital Management, Los Angeles, CA, Hybrid

• Coordinator for Sustainability and Outdoor Programs, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, Hybrid

• Sustainability Manager (Climate Change / Nature Strategy), Worley, Houston, TX

• Market Development Lead, Climate, Stripe, Remote, US

• Sustainability Associate, Fidelium Consulting Virginia, United States, Remote