Trump redefines energy future with coal in national spotlight
The President of the USA, Donald Trump, signed a decree on Tuesday recognizing coal as a critical mineral. He also announced a series of actions aimed at removing environmental regulations, boosting coal production, and preventing the closure of mines.
"Today, we're taking historic action to help American workers, miners, families and consumers. We're ending Joe Biden's war on beautiful, clean coal once and for all... we're going to put the miners back to work," announced Trump during the signing ceremony for new decrees supporting the coal industry.
In a speech delivered at the White House, with miners in work clothes standing behind him, Trump argued that the value of untapped coal in the USA is 100 times greater than all the gold in Fort Knox.
He announced the end of environmental regulations that limit coal mining, aiming to protect 66 mines from closure. He also claimed that the mining industry has been discriminated against so far, even though miners love their work and wouldn't give it up even if offered a New York apartment or another job.
Trump also signed an order instructing the Secretary of Energy to potentially classify coal as a critical mineral, allowing increased resource extraction through provisions of the Defense Production Act, created to boost production of materials and goods necessary for national defense.
Trump wants to open new mines
Another decree aims at ending discriminatory policies of government agencies against the coal mining industry, making it possible to open new mines on federal lands. Trump also instructed the Department of Justice to combat and prosecute illegal state regulations against fossil fuels.
Trump's decrees are part of a broader deregulatory initiative in the energy sector, aimed at increasing electricity production to meet the massive demand for power, including the needs for the development of artificial intelligence.
