US plans to relax rules on coal energy

US President Donald Trump’s administration this week announced its plan to weaken regulation of US coal plants, marking the most significant rollback in the environmental legacy of former president Barack Obama.

The Environmental Protection Agency says it is designed to replace Obama’s 2015 Clean Power Plan, which aimed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by shifting electricity away from coal to natural gas, wind and solar.

Environmental advocates blasted the new rule, saying it will boost emissions from power plants, which emit about 28% of US greenhouse gases, and worsen global warming.