President Trump’s newly released 2026 budget proposal aims to slash over $15 billion in federal support for carbon capture and renewable energy programs, signaling a sharp pivot toward fossil fuels and nuclear energy—and away from climate-focused policy.
The White House plan, which proposes $163 billion in total cuts to non-defense spending, also scraps $6 billion in funding for electric vehicle (EV) chargers from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. The administration blamed the lack of charger deployment on overregulation and climate justice priorities, arguing that EV infrastructure should be built “just like gas stations”—by the private sector.
The Department of Energy would see its funding reoriented toward oil, gas, coal, nuclear, and critical minerals R&D—though specifics remain scarce. Offshore wind and Interior Department renewable programs face another $80 million in cuts. Meanwhile, $1.3 billion in NOAA climate-focused grants and contracts for satellite-based climate observations would also be eliminated.
The Environmental Protection Agency is on the chopping block too. Trump’s plan would cut the EPA’s budget by 55%, gutting climate change research and completely eliminating its environmental justice program. The proposal follows the agency’s March announcement that it is reviewing the 2009 Endangerment Finding—the legal cornerstone that classifies greenhouse gases like CO? as pollutants under the Clean Air Act.
If the EPA rescinds the finding, it could strip the legal basis for emissions regulations on power plants, vehicles, and oil wells. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin defended the review, saying the agency would now follow “science, the law, and common sense,” while Energy Secretary Chris Wright called the Endangerment Finding “an enormously negative” policy tool.
While the budget is a policy wish list and not yet law, its priorities are clear: less funding for climate, more for fossil fuels, and a regulatory rollback that could redefine U.S. energy strategy for years to come.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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