President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday to begin the process of repealing several Obama-era actions tackling the climate crisis and protecting clean air and water, including steps to begin the process of dismantling the Clean Power Plan, roll back Oil and Gas New Source Performance Standards, rescind National Environmental Policy Act guidance that directs agencies to account for the climate crisis and end efforts to reform the broken federal coal leasing program.
A new Sierra Club analysis of Department of Energy 2017 jobs data across the energy sector makes it clear that the sector Scott Pruitt and Trump will be attacking – clean energy – employs far more American workers than the fossil fuel industry. Coal is declining so rapidly – thanks to grassroots activism and market forces in the U.S. and abroad – and clean energy is growing at such a fast pace that the U.S. is on track to meet its Clean Power Plan goals and the U.S. has a path to meet its goals under the Paris climate agreement.
#Trump to Strike Biggest Blow Against Obama #Climate Legacy https://t.co/L9JoFshse8 @SierraClub @ClimateReality @NRDC @RobertKennedyJr @350
— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) March 28, 2017
Donald Trump’s executive order would let dirty power plants spew unlimited pollution into our air while ignoring the climate crisis, unraveling protections that are designed to save billions of dollars and thousands of lives. In fact, Trump’s sweeping order is the single biggest attack on climate action in U.S. history, period.
The safeguards Trump is trying to throw out protect all families in America by curbing dangerous carbon pollution and reducing other dangerous pollutants like mercury, methane and sulfur dioxide – but unfortunately Trump would rather pad the fossil fuel industry’s profits. But it’s not just padding their profits with threats to our health, it’s also being done with our wallets. Ending the coal leasing moratorium does nothing but sell-out our publicly-owned lands for pennies on the dollar to coal companies.
Worse, Trump’s attack ignores reality – not just the reality of the climate crisis, but the reality that the clean energy economy is rapidly growing in both red and blue states, creating jobs and safeguarding our air and water. The best way to protect workers and the environment is to invest in growing the clean energy economy that is already outpacing fossil fuels and ensuring no one is left behind at a time when we can declare independence from dirty fuels by embracing clean energy, this action could only deepen our dependence on fuels that pollute our air, water and climate while making our kids sicker.
Meanwhile, grassroots advocates have helped push coal to its lowest level in history by retiring nearly 250 plants nationwide and cities ranging from Salt Lake City, Utah to Georgetown, Texas are committing to 100 percent clean energy.
Is YOURS One? 25 Cities Now Committed to 100% #Renewables https://t.co/bm40Mm5vOs via @EcoWatch @StefanieSpear @CLIME_IT pic.twitter.com/CFwiDkZ6dw
— Allan Margolin (@AllanMargolin) March 26, 2017
Because of strong local action to replace coal and gas with clean energy we are on track to meet the Clean Power Plan’s 2030 emissions targets as soon as next year and clean energy growth nationwide will continue unabated. However, the Clean Power Plan is a critical tool that helps every state benefit from the clean energy economy and plan for an orderly and effective transition away from fossil fuels. Sadly, Trump’s aggressive pro-polluter action means residents living downwind of the remaining coal- and gas-powered power plants will suffer from dirtier air while missing out on many of the benefits of the fair and just clean energy economy the Clean Power Plan would help create. And kids everywhere face a deeply uncertain future, with a president content to let the climate crisis spiral out of control.
The good news is that the safeguards Trump wants to shred – like the Clean Power Plan – are on a strong legal footing and the public will have the chance to voice its objections as the Trump administration tries to roll them back. Trump can’t reverse our clean energy and climate progress with the stroke of a pen and we’ll fight Trump in the courts, in the streets and at the state and local level across America to protect the health of every community.
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