By Abbas Nazil
President Donald Trump used his State of the Union address to promote an aggressive fossil fuel agenda, reviving his “drill, baby, drill” slogan while making no direct mention of climate change despite growing scientific warnings and recent extreme weather disasters.
During the 108-minute speech, Trump celebrated rising US oil and gas production and criticized former president Joe Biden’s clean energy policies, which he labeled a “green new scam.”
Although he did not utter the words “climate change,” the issue hovered over the address, particularly when he referenced last year’s devastating floods at Camp Mystic in Texas, describing them as among the worst disasters he had ever witnessed.
Climate scientists have repeatedly warned that increasingly intense downpours and flooding events are linked to global warming caused by rising carbon emissions.
Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist at Texas A&M University, previously explained that additional carbon in the atmosphere traps energy, influencing every modern weather event.
Trump, however, has consistently dismissed climate change as a hoax while advancing policies aimed at expanding fossil fuel production.
In his address, he announced that American oil production had increased by more than 600,000 barrels per day and said natural gas output had reached an all-time high under his leadership.
Yet employment data cited by Sean O’Leary of the Ohio River Valley Institute indicates that roughly 15,000 mining, oil and gas jobs have been lost since Trump returned to office, raising questions about the economic benefits of the administration’s energy dominance strategy.
At the same time, the administration has rolled back approvals for renewable energy projects, paused offshore wind leases and sought to weaken incentives supporting green power expansion.
An analysis by Climate Power found that nearly 173,000 clean energy jobs have been lost or delayed as a result of these actions.
Wind and solar power remain the cheapest sources of electricity generation in the United States, according to multiple reports, and energy analysts argue that restricting them could tighten supply as electricity demand surges due to artificial intelligence data center expansion.
Despite Trump’s campaign pledge to halve electricity costs, average household power bills rose by about 6.7 percent in 2025 compared with the previous year.
The president announced new “ratepayer protection pledges,” saying major technology companies would shoulder additional energy costs tied to data center growth so communities would not face higher bills.
Environmental advocates expressed skepticism, with critics warning that unchecked AI expansion powered largely by fossil fuels could further undermine US climate goals.
