Trump executive orders on EVs "will harm economy, jobs and affordable choices for consumers"
Tue 21 January 2025
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The signing of executive orders on clean vehicle pollution standards by the new President Trump will undermine investments, jobs and the affordability of electric vehicles - while allowing more climate damage and air pollution - according to the US Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).
On his first day in office, President Trump issued executive orders seeking to reverse the nation’s clean vehicle pollution standards, California’s bedrock Clean Air Act legal authority to set its own vehicle emission standards, and other policies to support the manufacture and introduction of electric vehicles.
According to EDF, in the last two years, since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed, manufacturers have announced nearly $200 billion in investments in US electric and battery manufacturing with almost 195,000 associated new jobs.
EDF analysis shows that US electric vehicle-related investments in the past three years have surged ahead of electric vehicle investments in China. Since 2021, the US has attracted almost four times as much investment as in the previous five years, more than any other region in the world. Any action, it says, to put the brakes on US investments would allow other nations to pull ahead again.
Beyond the automotive sector, according to analysis by the UK's Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) may ultimately channel $1 trillion into green energy. These projects bring 109,278 jobs, mostly in manufacturing.
"If Trump seeks to dismantle IRA, he could face a backlash from governors, as well as federal and congressional representatives, in states benefiting from this new prosperity."
ECIU says that, meanwhile, China is spearheading a renewables revolution and is on track to account for 60% of clean energy capacity by 2030. The European Union and the US have been competing to court investment in the energy sources of the future – cutting their emissions 8% over the last year as a result.
Gareth Redmond-King of ECIU says "Bowing out of the clean tech race now would leave America behind, weakened and less energy secure.
"Britain’s net zero industries added a staggering £74 billion to the economy last year. An American retreat from IRA could leave investors looking for other opportunities, including in the UK."
Image: Courtesy Lenny Kuhne, Unsplash
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