US President Donald Trump has signed a series of executive orders designed to reinvigorate the US coal industry, despite concerns over the fossil fuel’s climate-warming potential.
Last year, the Joe Biden administration introduced a number of rules designed to cut pollution from the sector, which included requiring the nation’s dwindling fleet of about 200 coal-fired power plants to install carbon capture technology if they plan to continue operating past 2039.
But Trump has claimed that coal is essential for the US to meet its booming electricity demand, partly due to the proliferation of AI data processing centres and the hope that his tariff policies will spark a resurgence in the country’s manufacturing sector.
Coal produces significantly more CO2 per unit of energy than other fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas because it contains a higher carbon content. Climate experts have said that countries need to move away from the fossil fuel or risk failing to reduce carbon emissions...