On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that rolls back many of Barack Obama’s climate policies, including those aimed at meeting the targets of the Paris climate agreement.
The full text of the order is available at PBS, the full text annotated by an expert in environmental law is available at Vox.
According to Trump the goal of the order is to promote the use of American energy sources, especially coal.
Reuters – USA Today – the Economist
However, there is considerable debate about whether Trump’s actions will create jobs in coal country or if the market itself has decided that the days of coal are over.
Financial Review – Reuters – International Business Times – Al Jazeera
It has been reported in many places that wind energy now employs more people than coal anyway but the Christian Science Monitor has cast some serious doubt on that claim.
Another story claiming that Trump had plans to reduce emissions by 20 percent by 2022 has also been filed under ‘Fake News‘ by Snopes.
While there is considerable debate over jobs, there is little debate over what this means for carbon emissions and efforts to reign in climate change – especially in the scientific community.
Live Science – Discover – Phys.org
Some are warning that this executive order will likely face legal challenges.
California and other states have pledged to continue to fight for lower emissions with or without Trump.
Internationally Trump’s policy also has few fans or supporters
ABS/CBN – Globe and Mail – the Economist – the Guardian – Al Jazeera
Meanwhile, China is now claiming, with some credibility, the role of global leader in the fight against climate change.
Quartz – New York Times – Guardian – Los Angeles Times – ABC (Australia) – Japan Times
[arve url=”https://youtu.be/FA3Royf9_zM” /]