China vows to ‘fight to the end’ on President Trump’s tariffs
President Donald Trump threatened China with more tariffs after they put a 34% tariff on U.S. imports.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order Tuesday aimed at reviving the long-declining coal industry by rolling back Democratic efforts to curb a source of energy that’s a major pollutant.
Trump will instruct federal agencies to identify coal resources on federal lands, lift barriers to coal mining and prioritize coal leasing on federal lands, according to the White House.
In addition, the order directs Trump’s Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to acknowledge the termination of the Jewel Mortarium, which paused coal leasing on federal lands; requires agencies to rescind policies that seek to transition the U.S. away from coal; and promotes coal exports while also pushing for its use to power new artificial intelligence data.
The rollbacks include efforts to save coal plants that were likely to be retired, according to Reuters, which cited anonymous sources who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. It was not immediately clear which coal plants are targeted.
“Coal is critical to achieving American Energy and AI Dominance,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Trump is expected to sign the order at a 3 p.m. EDT ceremony in the White House East Room. The order continues Trump’s efforts to eliminate climate and environmental regulations under former President Joe Biden as Trump looks to expand U.S. energy production.
Trump has often touted “beautiful, clean coal,” borrowing a term from the coal industry, but the environmental concerns from burning coal ‒ a major contributor of carbon dioxide ‒ are well-documented.
Trump’s action is a blow to environmentalists who point to the well-documented harm of carbon dioxide emissions.
In 2022, burning coal accounted for about 20% of the carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. and 55% of all carbon dioxide emissions from the electric power sector, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Coal production in the U.S. has been on the decline since the 2000s. In 2023, the U.S. produced less than half the amount of coal it did in 2008.
The five largest coal producers in the U.S. are Wyoming, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Illinois.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.