As US President Donald Trump headed to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 28 where he signed an executive order that initiates a review of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan to curb global warming, EU Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete was preparing for his visit to China on March 29 to April 2 where he will discuss the implementation of the EU-China energy roadmap, clean energy cooperation, low-emission mobility and emissions trading.
At a critical time in international climate policy, the EU and China are joining forces to forge ahead on the implementation of the Paris Agreement and accelerate the global transition to clean energy, Cañete said ahead of his visit to Beijing on March 28.
Meanwhile, Trump, who has reportedly previously called global warming a hoax created by and for the Chinese, signed the Energy Independence Executive Order, surrounded by coal miners, US Vice President Mike Pence and EPA administrator Scott Pruitt.
"Together, this group is going to do a truly great job for our country,” Trump said in televised remarks. "We have a very, very impressive group here to celebrate the start of a new era in American energy and production and job creation. The action I’m taking today will eliminate federal overreach, restore economic freedom, and allow our companies and our workers to thrive, compete, and succeed on a level playing field for the first time in a long time, fellas. It’s been a long time,” the US President added.
"We’ve already eliminated a devastating anti-coal regulation — but that was just the beginning. Today, I’m taking bold action to follow through on that promise. My administration is putting an end to the war on coal. We’re going to have clean coal — really clean coal. With today’s executive action, I am taking historic steps to lift the restrictions on American energy, to reverse government intrusion, and to cancel job-killing regulations,” he said, followed by applause.
"First, today’s energy independence action calls for an immediate reevaluation of the so-called Clean Power Plan. (Applause.) Perhaps no single regulation threatens our miners, energy workers, and companies more than this crushing attack on American industry. Second, we are lifting the ban on federal leasing for coal production. Third, we are lifting job-killing restrictions on the production of oil, natural gas, clean coal, and shale energy,” Trump said.
"Together, we will create millions of good American jobs — also, so many energy jobs — and really lead to unbelievable prosperity all throughout our country,” the US President added.
Meanwhile, environmental groups are preparing to go to court to battle Trump’s efforts to roll back his predecessor’s plans to curb global warming, AP reported. But they say their first order of business is to mobilise a public backlash against an executive order Trump signed on March 28 that eliminates many restrictions of fossil fuel production, according to the news agency.
Greenpeace’s Annie Leonard wrote on March 28 in an emailed press release, "This executive order gives us further proof that Trump isn’t a leader, he’s just a fossil fuel industry stooge with a presidential pen. Thankfully, for all his bluster, the best Trump can do is delay America’s inevitable transition to clean energy, but he can’t stop it. The problem, of course, is how much devastation his administration will inflict on the climate, vulnerable communities, and the environment in the meantime. With this executive order, the Trump administration is simply putting America further behind in the global race towards a renewable future”.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/trump-sweeps-away-obama-climate-change-plan/
