Lee Zeldin, Trump’s pick to lead the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), is another well-known climate denier. During his tenure in Congress, Zeldin had voted against important climate legislation. “He will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards,” Trump said announcing his appointment. During his first term, Trump had used the EPA to roll back many of the Obama-era regulations meant to tackle climate change.
Another controversial pick is Chris Wright, CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy, to lead the Energy Department. If you were to ask Wright about the climate crisis, he would probably say there is no such thing. He appears to think of global warming as a blessing, saying it has saved the world many cold-related deaths. “But global temperature rise is — by itself — not the concern. In fact, millions of lives have been saved by reducing cold-related deaths,” he said during a hearing at the US House of Representatives.
Trump’s pick for interior secretary is Doug Burgum, who, unlike others, does not deny that the world is facing a climate crisis, but remains a strong supporter of the fossil fuel industry. The Guardian called him a “moderate” compared to other cabinet picks. During Trump’s first term, the Interior Department opened up millions of acres of federal lands in the US to fossil fuel extraction. Now, Trump has given Burgum one directive for the half-a-billion acres of land under the department’s control: drill.
Trump 1.0 made the world poorer in its fight against climate change. As Trump 2.0 takes shape, one thing is becoming clear: It isn’t going to be any better.