CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (April 8, 2025)—President Donald Trump announced an executive order today suspending critical public health and environmental safeguards, clearing the way for reckless coal extraction and potential public subsidization of uneconomic coal-fired power plants. Coal—one of the dirtiest, most expensive, and increasingly unreliable forms of electricity production in the United States—has seen its market share steeply decline since 2008. Today’s executive order considers advancing illegal actions by undermining decades of clean air, water and consumer protections and if carried out, is likely to be challenged in courts.
Below is a statement by Julie McNamara, an associate policy director with the Climate & Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
“The only way to prop up coal is to deny reality, and the reality is that people no longer rely on coal because it’s expensive, unreliable, and devastating to public health. With that in mind, it’s impossible to read this executive order with a straight face.
“President Trump has tried and failed to bolster coal, and now he’s at it again—counter to the public interest, solely for the benefit of a heavily polluting few. Let there be no misunderstanding, this is an attempt to ignore legally required, life-saving pollution reduction measures and basic market economics, with the public left to foot the bill. All the while, the United States has vastly better options on-hand. Renewable energy resources are far cheaper and cleaner to deploy than coal and have been for many years.
“Instead of supporting the economy-boosting clean energy transition that maintains widespread public support across the country, President Trump is relentlessly attempting to tear it down. People will pay the price through higher energy bills and towering costs to their health and the environment.”