Tag

#environment

4 incidents

Updated November 4, 2020 Foreign Policy & War
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Paris Climate Agreement Withdrawal: Rejecting Global Climate Commitments

Trump announced the withdrawal in the Rose Garden, framing it as a defense of American workers against an agreement he claimed was economically harmful. The U.S. had committed under Paris to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 26–28% below 2005 levels by 2025. Trump claimed the accord would cost 2.7 million jobs — a figure taken from a Koch-funded study that most economists disputed. The U.S. was the only major nation to withdraw. The formal withdrawal process took three years under treaty terms; the U.S. officially left the day after the 2020 election. President Biden rejoined on his first day in office.

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climateParis-Agreementforeign-policyfirst-termenvironment
Updated July 5, 2018 Corruption & Self-Dealing
Major Abuse of Power

Scott Pruitt: EPA Corruption, Tactical Security Detail, and Regulatory Rollbacks

Pruitt's tenure combined serious corruption with aggressive deregulation — two goals that reinforced each other. His 24/7 security detail, which EPA Inspector General reports found was not justified by credible threats, cost taxpayers approximately $3.5 million in his 17 months at the agency. He flew first-class on domestic flights, claiming security concerns, while his own security detail said coach was adequate. He rented a condo from the wife of a lobbyist — at $50/night — while her clients' matters were pending before the EPA. He granted unprecedented raises to two staff members through CAA authority after the White House had denied the raises. He was ultimately undone by the accumulation of scandal but had already implemented dozens of deregulatory actions.

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PruittEPAcorruptionfirst-termenvironment
Updated December 1, 2020 Rule of Law
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Environmental Deregulation: 100+ Rules Rolled Back Across Four Years

The administration's approach was systematic: identify Obama-era environmental regulations, determine legal and administrative mechanisms for reversal, and implement reversals. The rollbacks covered air quality, water quality, climate, wildlife, and chemical safety. The vehicle emissions standards rollback was estimated to add approximately one billion tons of additional carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2035. Courts overturned many of the rollbacks, finding procedural defects. The Biden administration reversed the majority of the remaining reversals. The cumulative effect on environmental law precedent and the transition costs of the repeated changes were lasting.

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4
environmentderegulationclimateEPAfirst-term
Updated July 5, 2018 Corruption & Self-Dealing
Major Abuse of Power

Scott Pruitt's EPA Corruption: First-Class Travel, Condo Deal, Sweetheart Favors

Pruitt's EPA tenure was defined by serial self-dealing: he flew first-class and chartered government planes citing 'security threats' that his own security detail denied, leased a Capitol Hill condo for $50/night from the wife of an energy lobbyist (when the EPA was processing that lobbyist's clients' cases), directed his security detail to run personal errands and sourced a used mattress from Trump International Hotel, and asked his scheduler to seek Chick-fil-A franchise opportunities for his wife. He resigned in July 2018 as 14 separate federal ethics investigations were underway.

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corruptionEPAPruittethicsfirst-term