Since January 2025, the Trump administration has rolled out a wave of executive orders gutting environmental protections and clean energy support in favor of oil and gas, putting the Four Corners region at even greater risk of suffering the effects of accelerated climate change.
Since the inauguration in January of 2025, the Trump administration has released a slew of executive orders that aim to dismantle environmental protections, strip sustainable pursuits and renewable energy incentives, and work to push a narrative of American “energy dominance” in order to support the oil & gas industry. The Four Corners region is one of the most susceptible areas in the country to climate change effects, and it’s important to understand some of the most significant executive orders and what they might mean for the region.
What’s the background?
Key EO’s that Affect the Four Corners Region
“Unleashing American Energy” / “Declaring a National Energy Emergency”
American Climate Corps, and several older orders that established incentives for clean energy jobs emission reductions, and Inflation Reduction Act era funding. This order also began the process of stripping the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a crucial check in fragile ecosystems that hold natural deposits of fossil fuels. The San Juan Citizens Alliance (SJCA) is valiant in the fight to uphold environmental regulatory and permitting processes such as NEPA, and has been involved in litigation and action to protect this valuable process.
The second action, Declaring a National Energy Emergency, pushes a misinformed urgency in order to make people believe we are in an energy crisis. This executive order, evoked under the Defense Production Act, uses war-time policy to claim that America has a weak security against foreign actors, and that in order to fortify this, the country must increase domestic production. The irony is that domestic energy production was at an all time high when Trump implemented this order. This action is devastating on its own, but also creates a fast track method for environmental permitting of projects related to coal, oil & gas and squishes authority of the Endangered Species Act. This action also opens up the potential for hazardous material, such as uranium, to be transported through the Four Corners region and Navajo Nation. SJCA has tracked the extensive solar projects and energy transition over the last decade & has seen projects like San Juan Solar flourish with great success. The Alliance fights to bring light to these projects, as public knowledge is crucial to success.
“Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry”
This order, signed on April 8th, 2025, required the heads of land management agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Forest Service, etc. to identify coal resources on their respective lands. This order aims to eliminate any incentive or policy shifting the nation away from coal production and seeks to “reclassify” coal as a mineral and therefore establish it as a Strategic National Asset. The EO also puts measures to accelerate coal mining for the use of AI and the boost of AI in the American economy. In the Four Corners, there are coal, oil, and gas deposits on public and private lands. The threat of further extraction poses a threat to the more viable solar or wind power, the closure of Four Corners Power Plant, and a successful just and equitable energy transition. Whether by meeting with public land officials or engaging in developmental processes with agencies like the Bureau of Land Management, the SJCA is determined to engage and slow any harmful process that would promote multiple use policies on public lands that do not benefit environmental conservation.
“Protecting American Energy From State Overreach”
This order, also signed on April 8th, 2025, aims to punish state initiatives for any kind of renewable energy protections as well as any kind of process that would delay the administration’s priority for American energy dominance and renewed interest in coal. The EO is structured to legally challenge any state that has policies and protections that oppose the order. This has not effected Colorado or surrounding states in any significant manner, as the EO was aimed towards states like Vermont and California which had adopted rigorous laws that Trump singled out to eliminated. This EO has faced significant backlash and delay as it is not constitutional for a president to block state laws. In the four corners, this may cut away any state-specific tax credits or initiatives for citizens to install solar panels/batteries, ebikes, etc. It may also “scare” away investors for large scale solar projects if there is not a support and incentive behind energy transition. The SJCA is heavily focused on local action and the importance of government on the county and city level – pushing for higher funding and authority for the City of Durango’s Sustainability Department is one of these ways forward.
“Restoring Gold Standard Science”
This order uses deceiving language to put forth the idea that Biden-era orders and policies damaged scientific integrity in the country. The Biden orders state that science on the federal level must be restructured to be extremely transparent and reviewed. What the Trump order really creates is a channel for political appointees and other politicians to define scientific values, therefore shooting down real science, especially that related to climate change and environmental topics. In states like Arizona and New Mexico, there are countless unresolved issues with environmental injustice after decades of harm – all of which requires solidified science to clean up. In addition to this, rural communities rely on real science to understand potential effects of climate change and the atmosphere in which they live. Public land management, wildlife programs, and energy development are all heavily vested in science, and the SJCA is an active opponent to misinformation in the scientific lens – whether it be advocating for the continued reintroduction of wolves to promoting facts about the true power and efficiency of solar, science communication continues to be a priority.
“Ending Market Distorting Subsidies for Unreliable, Foreign‑Controlled Energy Sources”
The Trump administration has been adamantly against the adoption of renewable energy, especially wind and solar, and has searched for ways in which they can control foreign imports of crucial parts for these energies. This order, signed on July 7th, 2025, aims to cut out subsidies and incentives for renewable equipment used to build panels and windmills (amongst other things), and goes along with the goals of the Big Beautiful Bill Act. It requires agencies like the Bureau of Land Management to analyze how future projects can be halted and remove processes for future renewable energy. This could significantly slow down many planned projects, some over 100 megawatts, in the Four Corners. States like New Mexico could see a full halt of further solar projects that have thus far been greatly successful. The SJCA monitors all ongoing and in-development solar projects along with accompanying transmission lines, and is involved in comment and advocacy to better guard the future of solar development in areas like northwest New Mexico.
“America’s AI Action Plan”
In a slew of three related executive orders signed on July 23, 2025, the Trump administration officially released their AI Action Plan, a result of an early EO at the beginning of this term. The plan correlates with the EO’s and hosts three pillars, focusing on promoting AI development in the country while being able to control exports, ensuring that AI systems are not “woke” in nature, and attempting to accelerate permitting for data centers across the country. A trend that has already put strain on the Western United States electric grid is the expansion of large data centers, and this action plan promotes a fast tracked method to expanding the country’s involvement in the technology. In the Four Corners, more energy strain could be seen as AI systems are built, and within the popular use of AI in everyday life, misinformation could absolutely become a larger problem as federal control encroaches factual information. The SJCA has long been involved in the fight to mend environmental injustice. Installing more AI centered data centers not only would contribute to a higher strain on the electrical grid, but this development is already being created while many people live without power across the region.
It’s important to stay up to date on the ever-changing world of executive actions. Check out some of the resources below:
Climate Backtracker
Columbia Law School has an excellent, up-to-date tracker of all environmental actions taken by the Trump administration.
Trump Lawsuit Tracker
The Associated Press tracks all Trump-related lawsuits in the nation, pertaining to various issues.