New Trump exec order threatens climate policies
Environmental protections under threat
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, requiring 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 will also reverse a ban on coal leasing on federal lands, undo rules to curb methane emissions from oil and gas production, and reduce the weight of climate change and carbon emissions in policy and infrastructure per- mitting decisions.
“We’re going to go in a different direction,” a senior White House official told reporters ahead of Tuesday’s order.
“The previous administration devalued workers with their policies. We can protect the environment while providing people with work.”
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.
But energy analysts and executives have questioned whether the moves will have a big effect on their industries, and environmentalists have called them reckless.
“I cannot tell you how many jobs the executive order is going to create but I can tell you that it provides confidence in this administration’s commit- ment to the coal industry,” Kentucky Coal Association President Tyler White told Reuters.
Trump will sign the order at the Environmental Protection Agency with Administrator Scott Pruitt, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Tuesday afternoon.
US presidents have aimed to reduce US dependence on foreign oil since the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s, which triggered soaring prices.
But the US still imports about 7.9 million barrels of crude oil a day, almost enough to meet total oil demand in Japan and India combined.
Environmental groups hurled scorn on Trump’s order, arguing it is dangerous and goes against the broader global trend toward cleaner energy technologies.