Maryland is slipping behind schedule as it races to curb its contributions to climate change, and the road only looks likely to get rougher with President Donald Trump back in charge.

Trump has moved swiftly to begin dismantling the policy agenda of his predecessor, President Joe Biden. Among his first steps, Trump rolled out a suite of executive orders aimed at curtailing the country’s clean energy transition and boosting fossil fuels, moves that could impact Maryland’s ability to pay for aspects of its green playbook.

Steps to put the brakes on an infant U.S. offshore wind industry, kneecap electric vehicle manufacturing and preserve polluting fuel sources like coal and natural gas on the nation’s power grid threaten to undermine a Maryland climate strategy that, even before Trump, reporting indicates, wasn’t moving fast enough. Under a 2022 law, the state aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions 60% by 2031 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2045.

Maryland has made steady progress. A study released last fall found that Maryland slashed its emissions 36% between 2005 and 2022, more than any other state.

But, according to an update last month from Gov. Wes Moore’s subcabinet on climate change, that isn’t enough. Maryland is missing many of its own benchmarks, falling behind in virtually every sector the state wants to decarbonize.

Under Biden, Maryland benefited from federal support. The state received more than $15 billion from the federal government in the last four years to fund infrastructure and climate projects, according to a fact sheet from the Biden White House.

The second Trump chapter looks to be a different story: The White House tried to suspend federal grants and loans in a sweeping move this week. Though the administration backpedaled within 48 hours amid a nationwide backlash, Trump’s message was clear.

A spokesperson for Gov. Wes Moore did not make the governor’s climate staff available for an interview and did not respond to requests for comment on the implications of the new administration.

But speaking before a crowd of climate advocates Tuesday night at an Annapolis church, Moore struck a hopeful chord and unwavering commitment to environmental efforts.

“Despite what’s happening in Washington, we will continue to deliver for the people of Maryland,” Moore said. “We will continue to defend our constitution. We will continue to grow our economy. We will continue to make sure that our heirlooms can be protected and passed off to the next generation.”

Other Maryland officials are watching warily, trying to figure out what the Trump administration could mean.

Some, like Senate President Bill Ferguson, suggested that the state consider pivots in its climate plan over the next four years. The climate agenda likely won’t get much love from Trump, Ferguson noted earlier this month.

It could be smart to “readjust,” he said.

At a meeting this week of the Maryland Commission on Climate Change, one member wondered aloud what Trump could mean for building a local solar and wind industry workforce. She asked whether the state needs to shift resources towards Trump-favored technologies like nuclear and geothermal.

“My opinion would be that,” regardless of what’s happening in Washington, “let’s just continue to be positive, I guess, about the future,” state Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain replied.

The full extent of Trump’s impacts on Maryland won’t be clear for a while, but his early actions have dealt blows.

Michael Gerrard, founder of Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center on Climate Change Law, pointed to Trump’s policies on zero-emissions cars and offshore wind as particularly problematic for Maryland.

Under an executive order Trump signed last week, two proposed wind farms off Maryland’s coast wouldn’t get federal permits anytime soon. And the administration signaled that it’s looking for ways to revoke permits already approved by Biden — a move that could ice a contested wind farm off Ocean City.

Trump also lobbed a few grenades at the electric vehicle industry. Transportation, particularly vehicles on roads, is the state’s largest contributor to climate change, and Maryland is banking on a mass shift from gas guzzlers to EVs to reduce emissions.

According to data shared with state lawmakers last week, the state has a long way to go. The total number of charging stations in Maryland — around 1,600 — is a tenth of what the Alliance for Automotive Innovation estimates the state will to meet 2027 decarbonization goals. The roughly 127,000 state-registered EVs also are well below what officials expect is needed to hit long-term decarbonization goals, the governor’s climate subcabinet reported.

The transition to EVs depends on overcoming consumer concerns about affordability and range, experts believe.

Though Maryland has its own tax credits to help residents purchase EVs, Trump has signaled plans to end the higher federal credit of up to $7,500, which could significantly slow sales nationwide. Another executive order took aim at federal grants for EV charging infrastructure, including one program that has allocated $5 billion to fill gaps in the nation’s charging network.

The majority of those funds were already promised to states, according to Paren analyst Loren McDonald, but roughly 16% is still at risk of being cut. While larger companies that build chargers should weather the storm, McDonald said, there’s a risk that “charging deserts” the companies don’t see as economically viable locations will go overlooked.

At the same time, Trump is trying to revoke a waiver that allowed California to require stricter car pollution requirements than the federal government, regulations the president’s new transportation secretary is considering easing.

Maryland is among numerous states that have adopted California’s fuel standards, and the Moore administration is using them to enforce a deadline to phase out sales of new gasoline-powered cars within the next decade. Trump’s attempt to undercut the California standard surely faces legal challenges, but could still hold back Maryland’s climate plan, Gerrard said.

Gerrard argued that this is no time for Maryland to take its foot off the pedal.

“The blue states need to go full speed ahead and do everything they can to advance their climate goals,” he said. “They may not get all the way there, but they need to get as far as they can.”

Still, Maryland may be limited in how much it can accomplish on its own.

A small fraction of the budget — barely 1% — funds Maryland’s three main environmental agencies, and the feds have helped finance a wide assortment of state climate programs. According to the Biden White House, hundreds of millions of dollars flowed into Maryland for climate programs ranging from wind and solar farm development to transit infrastructure to rebuilding wetlands that can absorb carbon dioxide.

While Maryland is behind on its climate goals, Kim Coble, director of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, said its most important work right now is laying the foundations for bigger emissions cuts later in the decade — say, when an offshore wind farm finally comes online.

“Does federal funding help? Absolutely. Does federal leadership help? Absolutely. And they will be missed,” Coble said. “But that doesn’t mean we’re instantly stopped. It just means it’s a different strategy.”

Pamela Wood contributed reporting to this story.