Trump’s Return Signals a Boost for Fossil Fuel Sector Lobbyists
The previous Trump administration significantly favored fossil fuel leaders, and recent findings reveal the industry’s proactive measures to secure advantages as Trump resumes office in January, particularly targeting their lobbying efforts toward the U.S. populace.
“The strategies currently being utilized by the sector mirror those from Trump’s initial term, suggesting a persistent use of known fossil fuel approaches in influencing climate policy and politics,” according to a report by InfluenceMap.
The report identifies three primary tactics resurrected from Trump’s first term as the industry prepares for his upcoming inauguration:
- Moving from a defensive to a proactive stance in lobbying for Trump to dismantle specific climate policies;
- Aggressively pushing for reforms in permitting; and
- Cleverly crafting narratives to appear as though they are ‘defending’ consumers, even while they persist in extracting fossil fuels that contribute to global warming and expose communities to severe climate-related disasters.
“It’s concerning to witness the extent to which fossil fuel entities are reverting to their old strategies to undermine climate policy and portray themselves as the ‘heroes’ before the next presidential term,” stated Kendra Haven, director of projects at InfluenceMap.
In the lead-up to Trump’s first term, influential fossil fuel groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute (API) initiated multiple lawsuits aimed at challenging and weakening Obama-era climate regulations, including the Clean Power Plan, which were already considered less stringent than necessary by experts.
However, once Trump was in office in 2017, these organizations shifted their focus to lobbying for rollbacks that, according to Carbon Brief, could result in “a staggering 4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030, the combined annual emissions of the EU and Japan.”
Starting in January, it is expected that fossil fuel industry groups will proactively issue various statements and comments to encourage and support such actions. This includes the “5-Point Policy Roadmap” API released shortly after the election on November 12, urging the forthcoming Trump administration to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) vehicle emissions rules, maintain the 21% corporate tax rate, and implement other industry-favorable measures.
API’s roadmap also emphasizes the importance of permitting reform, demanding changes to the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), which mandates federal agencies to evaluate the environmental impacts of projects before granting approval, as well as modifications to the Clean Water Act.
“Permitting, infrastructure, and the future of gas will likely continue to be key focal points of corporate advocacy beyond 2025,” InfluenceMap noted.
Fossil fuel companies have made numerous public comments concerning state-level initiatives to phase out the use of fossil gas as an energy source. For instance, WEC Energy Group submitted several comments highlighting the ‘essential role’ of fossil gas in Illinois and cautioned that ‘forced electrification’ could hamper the state’s economic competitiveness.
While it is anticipated that fossil fuel groups will keep lobbying policymakers to support provisions favorable to the industry, InfluenceMap highlighted that oil and gas interests also devote substantial time and resources to influencing public opinion to safeguard their ‘social license,’ or public image.
With “a supportive administration that has committed to defending their interests” set to take office next month, industry groups may shift their focus towards swaying public opinion.
The strategy to influence the American public is evident in API’s policy roadmap, frequently using the term “consumer choice,” a phrase InfluenceMap repeatedly mentions in its analysis.
In 2024 alone, there were over 100 instances where corporate interests emphasized the ‘consumer choice’ narrative in their public advocacy concerning automobiles. The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’ electric vehicle mandates as detrimental to “consumer choice,” and shortly after the election, Toyota urged the incoming Trump administration to protect “consumer choice” by overturning federal greenhouse gas emissions standards.
“Identifying industry narratives is a crucial part of any effort to counteract industry influence over climate policy,” stated InfluenceMap, “especially since many fossil fuel interests are likely to publicly present themselves as champions of climate action as the new administration begins and continues.”
Haven noted that she expects “industry associations to lead the most adverse advocacy in the U.S. heading into 2025, just as they did during the first Trump term, providing vital support for individual companies.”
“The science is unequivocal, as is the long-term damage this advocacy will inflict on the climate and communities,” Haven concluded. “It’s essential to challenge the misleading narratives propagated by the industry accordingly.”
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