United States President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to offer faster environmental approvals for companies and individuals who invest at least US$1 billion in the U.S.
Trump took to Truth Social on Tuesday to announce the planned streamline in the permitting process as part of his plan to boost the US economy.
“Any person or company investing ONE BILLION DOLLARS, OR MORE, in the United States of America, will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals. GET READY TO ROCK!!!” he said.
Trump has yet to give details on what regulatory approvals would be granted or how the $1 billion threshold will be applied.
The proposal comes off the back of his vow during the campaign to reduce corporate tax from 21% to 15% for companies that invest in the country.
Trump’s post was immediately met with backlash from advocacy groups, which argued that the proposal undermined the country's environmental protections.
This includes the Sierra Group, one of the most prominent environmental groups in the U.S., who likened the proposal to a “bribe” that is “endangering” the community's clean air and water.
“Donald Trump’s plan to sell out the highest bidder confirms what we’ve long known about him: he’s happy to sacrifice the wellbeing of American communities for the benefit of his Big Oil campaign donors,” Sierra Club director of Beyond Fossil Fuels policy, Mahyar Sorour, said in a statement.
“We will keep fighting to defend our bedrock environmental protections and ensure they apply to everyone, not just those who can’t afford Trump’s bribe.”
Trump has a previous reputation for cutting back environmental policy, with a New York Times analysis finding that by the end of his last four-year term, Trump has achieved the full rollback of around 112 environmental rules, with others weakened or partially dismantled.
Following his election win in November, Trump was also named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.
“For 97 years, the editors of TIME have been picking the Person of the Year: the individual who, for better or for worse, did the most to shape the world and the headlines over the past 12 months. In many years, that choice is a difficult one. In 2024, it was not,” Time’s editor-in-chief, Sam Jacobs said in the announcement.
Trump also received the honour after winning his first election in 2016.