Former Gov. Sarah Palin speaks at the 2012 CPAC in Washington, DC. (Photo: Gage Skidmore)
On 20 January 2017 Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as President of the United States of America.
That’s right, we’ve crossed the Rubicon.
As has been pointed all over the internet, Trump’s victory is likely to be a disaster for national and international action on climate change.
It’s therefore unsurprising that Trump, an avowed climate change denier and fossil fuel champion, looks set to stack his key energy and environment positions with oil and gas men and free market zealots.
Using documents leaked to Buzzfeed, sources at Politico and beyond, we’ve done a rundown of who’s in line for a top energy and climate job in the US government.
Harold Hamm (Possible Energy Secretary)
Tipped for energy secretary in a Trump administration, oil and gas billionaire Hamm has been showered with praise by the new President-elect, who said with classic hyperbole that Hamm understands energy “better than anybody else”.
As chief exec of Oklahoma-based fracking firm Continental Resources, Hamm would represent the first cabinet appointee directly plucked from the fossil fuel industry since 1977.
For years Trump has been dismissive of man-made climate change, but the particular brand of anti-regulation and anti-renewables stance he deployed in the election was vintage Hamm, who was often referred to as Trump’s ‘energy adviser.’
Hamm, whose firm runs the bulk of the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota, has already called for Trump to scrap “overreaching regulations” in order to ramp up oil production — despite record-breaking output under Obama.
During the campaign, Hamm said Trump didn’t actually “understand” oil issues after the then-candidate suggested local communities should have a say in whether there’s fracking in their area.
Myron Ebell (possible EPA)
Myron Ebell is a highly active climate change denier.
Reports emerged in September that Trump would appoint him to lead the…