Project 2025 Blueprint Seeks to Reshape Federal Government and Roll Back Climate Initiatives

Earlier this week, as delegates gathered in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention to nominate Donald Trump as their 2024 candidate, a nearby event hosted by the Heritage Foundation presented Project 2025.

This extensive policy blueprint, created with contributions from numerous conservative groups, aims to drastically reshape the federal government. The document covers changes that would affect various aspects of American life, emphasizing reductions in human rights and individual liberties, and particularly targeting environmental and climate policies.

The Biden administration has made significant efforts to integrate climate change considerations across federal operations and passed the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate spending law in U.S. history.

However, Project 2025 seeks to dismantle these initiatives by slashing funding, weakening federal oversight, and rolling back Biden-era legislation. These proposed changes would undermine the United States’ commitments to climate goals under the 2015 Paris Agreement, making it challenging to achieve significant emissions reductions.

Environmental advocates, such as David Willett of the League of Environmental Voters, express deep concern over Project 2025’s potential to systematically dismantle government functions in favor of private industry.

Although Trump has attempted to distance himself from the blueprint, many former Trump administration officials contributed to its creation. The Heritage Foundation’s influence on GOP policy is notable, as its previous recommendations have been implemented under Trump, suggesting a similar impact if he is reelected.

Project 2025’s proposals focus on reducing federal government size and empowering states. Key recommendations include lifting restrictions on fossil fuel drilling, cutting investments in renewable energy, and easing permitting for new fossil fuel projects.

The blueprint also calls for eliminating clean energy research offices and energy efficiency guidelines, significantly weakening environmental oversight by agencies like the Department of the Interior and the EPA.

The plan also targets smaller federal programs that protect public health and environmental justice, advocating for the elimination of the Endangerment Finding and efforts to assess the social cost of carbon.

These changes would disproportionately impact low-income communities and communities of color, which are often hardest hit by pollution and climate change. Additionally, Project 2025 proposes eliminating critical agencies like NOAA and the National Weather Service, threatening Americans’ access to accurate weather forecasts.

Despite its controversial nature, some Project 2025 recommendations have been acknowledged by climate experts as worthy of consideration, such as shifting disaster recovery costs to states and supporting nuclear energy.

However, the overall effect of these proposals would likely lead to increased emissions and a weakened federal government, echoing patterns seen in previous Republican administrations. The reduction in institutional knowledge and disruption of federal personnel would significantly hamper government operations, reinforcing the narrative that government is ineffective.