The Trump Administration’s massive overhaul of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hitting some of the nation’s least controversial, most cost-efficient “green” programs, as the government commits to downsizing the agency’s staff.
Next on the admin’s chopping block is the bipartisan-supported appliance program Energy Star, which will be shuttered as the EPA is forced to dissolve and restructure its administering office. The decision was announced during an all-hands meeting of the Office of Atmospheric Protection, first reported by CNN and the Washington Post, which spoke to employees under anonymity.
First established in 1992, the Energy Star program is a collaborative effort from the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy, which certifies appliances along the government’s energy efficiency standards. Energy Star appliances are eligible for tax credits and rebates, intended to incentivize individuals to buy more eco-friendly appliances. In the decades since, the Energy Star labels have become a fixture of appliance aisles, and, according to the program, have saved Americans nearly $500 billion.
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The Trump administration has made a concerted effort to disempower the government’s energy efficiency programs, including an executive order titled “Make America’s Showers Great Again” that redefined Obama-era shower head efficiency benchmarks and struck out against the previous administration’s “green agenda.”
This is the second effort to defund the program under President Donald Trump, after introducing a budget plan under his first term that proposed to eliminate Energy Star spending. According to the Associated Press at the time, more than 1,000 companies lobbied for the program to remain, outraged by the administration’s decision to cut the relatively modest $50 million line item.
Meanwhile, the cost of foreign-made goods and appliances in the country are steadily rising as the Trump Administration double downs on its steep tariff plan amid trade negotiations with China, with many consumers running to make big purchases before the market gets worse.
