President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to expand mining and use of coal in the US, calling it “beautiful and clean coal.”
During the ceremony at the White House, surrounded by coal miners who were dressed in hard dressed, Trump signed the executive command of “releasing American energy” which followed the recent President’s promises to oversee the encouragement of coal production in the US
This action directs the Ministry of Home Affairs to facilitate coal rent for millions of hectares of public land. Trump’s command also directs the energy department and other institutions to examine if coal can be used to supply electricity for artificial intelligence data centers.
Tuesday’s comments followed the plan that was announced last month for the launch of the old regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency – which Trump’s administration was referred to as “the biggest deregulation action in US history.”
Some of the 31 actions announced by the agency in March targeted the previous regulations intended to limit emissions and pollution related to the use of coal. Among this is an announcement to “reconsider” “Presidential Plan for President Joe Biden,” which is a group of regulations targeting coal and natural gas power plants announced last year.
Comchane plant station, coal power plant owned by Xcel Energy.
Jim West/UCG/Universal Image Group via Getty Images
“Clean Power Plan 2.0” tightens the standard emissions for coal power plants for toxic metals such as mercury and forced factory to control and clean coal ash that are released during their operations. But during his campaign, Trump spoke well about using more coal to provide power to the needs of American energy.
Coal is an abundant and energy -dense resource with a higher concentration in the US than other countries in the world, but is also a fossil fuel and creates carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas) when burned, which contributes to climate change in global warming and human being. Coal emissions can also cause health problemsIncluding respiratory disease, lung disease, acid rain, haze, and neurological damage and development.
While coal -fueled electricity has become “cleaner than before,” according to US Energy DepartmentFossil fuels are still responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions and environmental coal ash. So “clean coal” is a little wrong, sometimes refers to the type of technology used to clean coal physically before being burned or capturing carbon associated with its burning, according to Michelle Solomon, a senior policy analyst in Energy innovation.
“Coal that burned will never be technically considered clean from the treatment applied in before burning – it will always emit the concentration of the largest greenhouse gas from fossil fuels, and soil and water pollution from coal and coal ash (what is left after being burned) will never disappear,” Solomon said. “Even the best technology that reduces air pollutants such as sulfur and nitrogen oxide still allows many of this to pass.”
This technology is also not widely used in the US according to A December 2023 Reports from the Congress Budget Office, 15 carbon capture and storage facilities operating in the United States. And none of them are used in coal power plants. CBO also found that 15 facilities could capture “0.4% of percent of the total annual CO2 emissions of the United States.”
According to the administration of US energy information, the most significant factor in recent reduction of carbon dioxide emissions related to energy in the US is a decrease in coal use. In 2022, coal -fired power plants were mostly replaced by other sources, especially natural gas and renewable energy. When cleaner alternative production continues to grow, dependence on coal to meet the country’s energy needs continues to decrease.
The ABC News climate unit contributes to this report.