Trump signs order to dismantle Obama-era climate policies

'My administration is putting an end to the war on coal'


Reuters March 28, 2017
U.S. President Donald Trump holds up an executive order on "energy independence," eliminating Obama-era climate change regulations, during a signing ceremony at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters in Washington, US, March 28, 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to undo a slew of Obama-era climate change regulations that his administration says is hobbling oil drillers and coal miners, a move environmental groups have vowed to take to court.

The decree's main target is former President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan that required states to slash carbon emissions from power plants - a critical element in helping the United States meet its commitments to a global climate change accord reached by nearly 200 countries in Paris in 2015.

The so-called "Energy Independence" order also reverses a ban on coal leasing on federal lands, undoes rules to curb methane emissions from oil and gas production, and reduces the weight of climate change and carbon emissions in policy and infrastructure permitting decisions.

"I am taking historic steps to lift restrictions on American energy, to reverse government intrusion, and to cancel job-killing regulations," Trump said at the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters, speaking on a stage lined with coal miners.

The wide-ranging order is the boldest yet in Trump's broader push to cut environmental regulation to revive the drilling and mining industries, a promise he made repeatedly during the presidential campaign.

COMMENTS (2)

thoughtpurification. wordpress.com | 7 years ago | Reply Its a political game, clean air energy is cheaper . USA has excessive supply of natural gas , Wind mill and Sun panels all over. Fossil fuel is more than domestic needs . So far President Trump has not been able to accomplish any thing so he is playing with the regulations to keep attention away from his alleged association with Russians.
Sexton | 7 years ago | Reply Perhaps President Trump, unlike climate scientists, is aware that the Sun is contributing towards global warming?
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