The Trump administration is cutting the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star program, which highlights energy efficient home appliances, according to sources and images of slides viewed by The Hill.
According to one source, at a meeting Monday, staffers were told that Energy Star was being eliminated, as is the Climate Protection Partnerships division that houses it.
Staffers were also told that the EPA was cutting its Climate Change division, which includes the agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. This program requires major polluters to report their planet-warming emissions.
The Hill also viewed images of slides from a meeting with staffers that listed both the Climate Protection Partnership division and the Climate Change division as “organization and programs eliminated.”
The slides noted that staff “may be reassigned to other positions.”
“In the briefing we heard that climate work will come to a standstill at EPA,” said Nicole Cantello, president of the AFGE Local 704 , a union representing EPA employees in the Midwest, in an email to The Hill.
“EPA’s action is short sighted and disastrous for our people and our planet. With everything the nation is facing in confronting climate change, from dangerous wildfires to uncontrolled flooding, this is the time to ramp up the climate resiliency of our communities,” Cantello added.
The plans were first reported by CNN.
In a statement to The Hill, the EPA noted that it had announced a broad reorganization on Friday.
“With this action, EPA is delivering organizational improvements to the personnel structure that will directly benefit the American people and better advance the agency’s core mission, while Powering the Great American Comeback,” said an agency spokesperson in an email.
The news comes after the Trump administration indicated in its skinny budget that it wanted to cut funding from the Office of Atmospheric Protection, which includes Energy Star and the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.
The White House has sought to cut staff across the board — but has taken particular aim at climate change, which President Trump has repeatedly downplayed.
The president has also lamented pushes toward more energy efficient appliances. Much of his criticism, however, has focused on regulations rather than programs such as Energy Star, which is a voluntary partnership.
Under the program, companies that meet energy efficiency specifications can display the Energy Star logo to inform consumers that the government considers their product to be efficient.
The move to cut the program is getting significant pushback.
“If you wanted to raise families’ energy bills, getting rid of the ENERGY STAR label would be a pretty good way,” said Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, in a written statement.
“This would take away basic information from consumers who want to choose cost-saving products easily.”
Industry players have also expressed support for Energy Star, with various appliance companies and trade groups writing to the administration in March that it “reduces burden and aligns with the laudable goal of freedom to choose from a wide variety of appliances.”
Updated at 9:48 p.m. ET.
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