Trump Issues Order to Block State Climate Change Policies

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order intended to prevent state legislation enacted to address climate change and restrict the use of fossil fuels from being enforced.

The action is the most recent in a series of initiatives by Trump’s administration to increase domestic energy production and oppose regulations to reduce carbon emissions that Democrats mostly spearhead. It happened just hours after Republican President Donald Trump ordered an increase in coal output.

The order instructed the U.S. attorney general to find state legislation that deals with carbon emissions, environmental justice, climate change, and ESG programs and to take steps to prevent them.

According to the directive, several states have implemented or are now implementing onerous and ideologically driven “climate change” or energy policies that jeopardize American energy superiority and our economic and national security.

Trump explicitly mentioned California’s cap-and-trade scheme, lawsuits by states that have attempted to hold energy firms accountable for their involvement in global warming, and laws in New York and Vermont that penalize fossil fuel companies for their participation in climate change.

Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico and Kathy Hochul of New York, both Democratic governors who co-chair the U.S. Climate Alliance, stated that the presidential order would not dissuade states and that states could not be deprived of their power.

“We will continue to advance climate crisis solutions that protect Americans’ basic right to clean air and water, generate good-paying jobs, expand the clean energy economy, and improve the health and safety of our future,” they said in a joint statement.

The Alliance consists of 24 governors who are committed to addressing climate change. The American Petroleum Institute, a trade association for oil and gas, hailed the ruling.

API Senior Vice President Ryan Meyers said, “We applaud President Trump’s move to hold states like New York and California accountable for their unlawful attempts to penalize U.S. oil and natural gas producers for providing the energy that American consumers depend on daily.”