{"id":31971,"date":"2017-03-29T06:34:38","date_gmt":"2017-03-29T06:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=31971"},"modified":"2017-03-29T06:34:38","modified_gmt":"2017-03-29T06:34:38","slug":"trump-moves-to-roll-back-obama-climate-measures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=31971","title":{"rendered":"Trump moves to roll back Obama climate measures"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"trumpp2\"International Desk: President Donald Trump declared the end of a \u2018war on coal\u2019 on Tuesday, as he moved to curb rules that underpin American emissions targets and a major global climate accord.<\/p>\n

Following through on an election promise, Trump signed an order to review some of his predecessor Barack Obama\u2019s climate legacy, declaring an end to \u2018job-killing regulations.\u2019<\/p>\n

In a maiden trip to the Environmental Protection Agency, he ordered a review of emission limits for coal-fired power plants and eased up restrictions on federal leasing for coal production.<\/p>\n

Trump said the measures herald \u2018a new era in American energy and production and job creation.\u2019<\/p>\n

Critics say that rolling back Obama\u2019s Clean Power Plan is unlikely to result in a boost to production or to create substantial numbers of jobs.<\/p>\n

America\u2019s coal industry has long been in decline, with natural gas, cheap renewable energy, automation and tricky geology making the sooty fuel a less lucrative prospect.<\/p>\n

In 2008 there were 88,000 coal miners in the United States, according to the US Energy Information Administration.<\/p>\n

Today, the number of coal miners has fallen around 25 percent. More people work in Whole Foods, an upscale supermarket chain.<\/p>\n

But some experts and environmental groups warned Trump\u2019s order could be the opening salvo of an effort to undermine internationally agreed targets under the Paris Climate Accord.<\/p>\n

Curbing emissions from coal-fired power plants was a pillar of America\u2019s commitment to cut carbon emissions by 26-28 percent by 2025.<\/p>\n

\u2018It will make it virtually impossible\u2019 for the US to meet its target said Bob Ward, a climate specialist at the London School of Economics.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has not said whether it will pull out of the Paris deal. \u2018Whether we stay in or not is still under discussion,\u2019 a senior administration official told AFP.<\/p>\n

Veterans of the Obama administration played down the impact of Trump\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n

Obama\u2019s former chief environmental advisor described the executive order as \u2018terrible\u2019 but said \u2018it isn\u2019t the ball game.\u2019<\/p>\n

He added that any damage can be mitigated in the courts and in states, which are tasked with coming up with emissions reduction plans.<\/p>\n

Already the states of California and New York\u2014two of the most populous states\u2014have said they will press ahead with climate mitigation plans.<\/p>\n

Politics at play <\/strong><\/p>\n

During the 2016 election campaign Trump donned a hard hat and embraced miners from Kentucky to West Virginia, promising to return jobs to long-ravaged communities. He won both states by a landslide.<\/p>\n

Miners were by his side again on Tuesday. \u2018Our incredible coal miners, we love our coal miners, great people,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s words may have been less well received in the corridors of the EPA\u2019s imposing Washington headquarters.<\/p>\n

His repeated questioning of humans\u2019 role in warming the planet had prompted environmentalist critics to charge the fox is guarding the hen house.<\/p>\n

Trump has done little to assuage those fears, vowing to slash EPA funding by a third, appointing anti-climate litigator Scott Pruitt as head of the EPA and Exxon\u2019s CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State.<\/p>\n

But Trump\u2019s climate skepticism has struck a chord with many Republican voters.<\/p>\n

Some 68 percent of Americans believe climate change is caused by humans, but just 40 percent of Republicans say they worry about it, according to Gallup.<\/p>\n

\u2018War on coal\u2019 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Some experts warn the economic payoff from abandoning Obama\u2019s Clean Power Plan will be limited.<\/p>\n

\u2018In my view, it will have virtually no impact,\u2019 said professor James Van Nostrand of West Virginia University, who said the decline of coal had more to do with higher mining costs and cheaper natural gas and renewables.<\/p>\n

\u2018Defunding or dismantling the EPA and repealing its regulations is not going to bring the coal industry back.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018The constant narrative about the \u2018war on coal\u2019 and the alleged devastating impact of EPA\u2019s regulations on West Virginia\u2019s coal industry will now be exposed for its inherent speciousness,\u2019 he predicted.<\/p>\n

Referring to the plan, the senior administration official told AFP: \u2018It\u2019s going to take some time.\u2019<\/p>\n

The United States is the world\u2019s second largest polluter. Around 37 percent of domestic carbon dioxide emissions come from electricity generation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

International Desk: President Donald Trump declared the end of a \u2018war on coal\u2019 on Tuesday, as he moved to curb rules that underpin American emissions targets and a major global climate accord. Following through on an election promise, Trump signed an order to review some of his predecessor Barack Obama\u2019s climate legacy, declaring an end […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":31972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n