The American Petroleum Institute (API), the top oil and gas lobbying group, sent President-elect Donald Trump its policy wish list this week, after donors from the industry helped power the largest pro-Trump super PAC and propelled Republicans to retake control of Congress next year.
API sent Trump what it called a 5-point policy roadmap, calling on his administration to undo a swath of Biden-era environmental rules designed to slow climate degradation from polluting emissions. The roadmap, which is in a brochure addressed to “Dear President-Elect Trump,” calls on the incoming administration to repeal vehicle emission rules meant to promote the transition to electric vehicles, lift a pause on new export permits for liquefied natural gas, and other steps.
In addition, API called on the Trump administration and Congress to repeal a just-finalized Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fee on methane emissions beyond certain levels by large oil and gas facilities, a fee authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
“As an industry committed to American prosperity, we stand ready to work with you and Congress to reverse course and advance a robust vision for securing America’s energy dominance,” API President Mike Sommers wrote to Trump.
API, a nonprofit trade association with a mission to influence public policy in support of the oil and gas industry, spent nearly $240 million in 2022, the most recent year for which its tax filings are available. Its lobbying spending totaled more than $5.8 million that year, while more than $45 million was spent on advertising and promotion, according to the filing. Among its hundreds of member companies are industry giants like Shell USA, Marathon Petroleum, and ExxonMobil.
In one item under the heading “Protect consumer choice,” API calls on the Trump administration to deny California the ability to require tailpipe emission standards that are stricter than federal rules, urging the EPA to rescind a waiver applying to the state’s Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII) rule.
