Senator Capito expresses support for President Trump’s Executive Order

Trump’s March 28 order to reexamine or kill a host of federal actions to combat climate change might help lower US energy prices but will hurt development of new energy technologies.

“One of his major scientific contributions in recent years has been to proclaim that climate change is a hoax“, Mr Sanders said at a rally in February 2016.

In many ways, Trump’s scrapping of Obama’s climate change efforts is a repeat of history.

Former President Barack Obama and other USA officials saw the pledges from both Beijing and Washington as crucial: China is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, followed by the United States.

Energy firms welcomed the Trump measure.

But many people in coal country are counting on the jobs that Trump has promised, and industry advocates praised his orders.

However, after winning the election Trump told The New York Times he has an “open mind” about the Paris agreement and said he believes clean air and “crystal clear water” are important. This new order will do irreparable damage to our environment and our economy. That makes it Washington’s biggest climate polluter.

China long resisted binding emissions limits, citing its economic development needs. Though Bill Clinton had signed the Kyoto Protocol to reduced GHG emissions, his successor George Bush refused to ratify it, leaving the other signatories feeling cheated. He says the clean power plan was “unlawful as it comes”, and is glad the regulation is being eliminated.

Obama promised a year ago to cut USA greenhouse gas emissions by about 26 per cent from the 2005 level by 2025. But while it will slow the decline in US greenhouse gas emissions, it will not have a major impact on global emissions.

“All around the world, wind power and solar power is becoming so cheap that it will be favored over fossil fuels”, said Niklas Hoehne, of the NewClimate Institute in Germany.

“I am going to lift the restrictions on American energy, and allow this wealth to pour into our communities”, President Trump wrote.

Beijing also sees renewable energy as a commercial opportunity.

A plan released in January by the Cabinet’s planning agency calls for spending another 2.5 trillion yuan ($360 billion) on renewable energy by 2020 in an effort to clean up smog-choked Chinese cities.

“Coal is not coming back”, Van Noppen added.

To fulfil its commitment to Paris deal, China will have to cut carbon emissions per unit of its GDP by 60-65% by 2030 from 2005 levels, increase non-fossil fuel sources in primary energy consumption to about 20%, and peak its carbon emissions by 2030.

The president’s reckless executive order begins to roll back the federal Clean Power Plan and rescinds at least six major climate change policies implemented by the previous administration.

In June 2015 the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday unveiled tough new rules meant to curb emissions from coal-burning power plants.