The United States is increasing pressure on its European allies to weaken or completely roll back regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, part of the Trump administration’s broader attempt to undermine international efforts to tackle climate change. [emphasis, links added]
President Donald Trump has long dismissed concerns about climate change as well as the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, urging European leaders to also abandon their green crusade.
Since his first day in office, Trump has pushed for the U.S. to step back from climate change discussions on the international stage, pulling the country out of the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement for a second time.
The administration also moved to pull the U.S. from discussions with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in February, ordering federal scientists to halt work on all climate assessment-related activities.
More recently, Trump and his Cabinet have taken aim at several European Union- and United Nations-backed climate-focused rules and regulations.
While EU leaders have publicly defended these policies, vowing not to roll them back completely, the ramped-up pressure from the Trump administration appears to have created more wiggle room in some negotiations.
The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive
Just this week, the Department of Energy sent a letter to EU officials urging the bloc to roll back the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
This directive, set to take effect for some companies in 2027, would require those affected to provide reports on ESG effects and establish liability for ESG violations.
The primary aim of the rule is to limit harm to the environment and human rights throughout EU and non-EU supply chains.
Under the current language, companies that fail to comply with the regulations will face a fine of 5% of the company’s global net turnover.
The rule has been heavily criticized by U.S.-based companies, who claim it would cause major barriers to trade between the U.S. and the EU.
“[T]he CSDDD, as it is worded today, poses a significant risk to the affordability and reliability of critical energy supplies for households and businesses across Europe and an existential threat to the future growth, competitiveness, and resilience of the EU’s industrial economy,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright wrote in the letter sent this week, which was cosigned by the Qatari government.
However, while the EU has given no indication that it plans to walk back the directive, European officials appear willing to negotiate some provisions.
Earlier this week, the European Parliament said it would further negotiate changes to the rule during a scheduled vote and hopes to finalize any amendments by the end of the year.
President Trump participates in a bilateral meeting with the European
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok, United States Government Work
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