President Trump has never been shy about communicating his sweeping vision for clean air, crystal clean water, and conservation. While the Left may have dismissed the idea that he could be the "great environmentalist," those words ring true for many Americans. For far too long, the Left has pursued ineffective and unworkable policies that unnecessarily put jobs and economic growth at risk, rather than achieving practical results. This all changed with the Trump Administration, where actions speak louder than words and there is no higher priority than fighting for American families and workers.
From the beginning, President Trump has supported conservation and environmental stewardship. In 2018, he signed the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management and Recreation Act, expanding recreational access to public lands and supporting land and water conservation. This past August, he also signed the Great American Outdoors Act, which is the most significant conservation funding legislation in American history. This legislation will protect and improve our national parks and public lands, preserve our national treasures, and give more American families opportunities to explore the great outdoors.
No President has advocated more strongly for active forest management, and President Trump has directed agencies to prioritize reducing wildfire risk on millions of acres of Federal lands. President Trump has also affirmed America's commitment to promoting international conservation efforts by announcing that the United States would join the One Trillion Trees Initiative to plant, conserve, and restore trees on American soil and around the world.
The President has directed more efficient implementation of air quality standards, and America's air is cleaner today than we have seen in recorded history. Emissions of common air pollutants declined by 7% since 2017, and will continue to decline in the coming years. In 2019, the U.S. had the largest absolute decline of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions of any country in the world.
