President Trump plans to sign an executive order Tuesday aimed at expanding the mining and use of coal in the United States, in an effort to revive the struggling industry.
The order will direct federal agencies to remove barriers to coal leasing and mining, loosen environmental reviews of coal projects and explore whether coal-fired electricity could help power new A.I. data centers, according to a White House official. The administration also plans to designate coal a critical mineral, which could speed up federal approval of new mines. And it intends to open more federal land to mining.
In the past several months, Mr. Trump, Chris Wright, the energy secretary, and Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, have all spoken about the importance of coal. “We have clean, beautiful coal, more than anybody else,” Mr. Trump said Monday during an appearance in the Oval Office with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Coal is the most polluting of all fossil fuels when burned, and accounts for roughly 40 percent of the world’s industrial carbon dioxide emissions, the main driver of global warming. It releases other pollutants, including mercury and sulfur dioxide, that are linked to heart disease, respiratory problems and premature deaths.
Over the past two decades, the use of coal has fallen precipitously in the United States, as utilities have switched to cheaper and cleaner electricity sources like natural gas, wind and solar power. That transition has been the biggest reason for the drop in U.S. emissions since 2005.
[!–><!–>
–>
<!–>
–>