Trump to scrap Obama climate change

Unpublished
Washington - US President Donald Trump is due to sign an executive order to overturn key parts of the Obama administration's plan to tackle global warming. The move will undo the Clean Power Plan which required states to slash carbon emissions. The executive order also cuts the Environmental Protection Agency's budget. Regulations on oil, gas and coal production are to be reviewed. During the campaign, he vowed to pull the US out of the Paris climate deal agreed in December 2015. The White House said the new measures would "help keep energy and electricity affordable, reliable and clean in order to boost economic growth and job creation". But environmental groups warn that they will have serious consequences at home and abroad. President Trump takes a very different approach to the environment from Mr Obama. The former president argued that climate change was "real and cannot be ignored". The Clean Power Plan sought to limit greenhouse gas emissions at coal-fired power plants to meet US commitments under the Paris accord. The regulation has been unpopular in Republican-run states, where it has been subjected to legal challenges - especially from businesses that rely on burning oil, coal and gas. Last year the Supreme Court temporarily halted the plan, while the challenges are heard. The Trump administration says that scrapping the plan will put people to work and reduce America's reliance on imported fuel. It says the president will be "moving forward on energy production in the US". "The previous administration devalued workers with their policies. We can protect the environment while providing people with work." The president also intends to slash funding of the Environmental Protection Agency by a third. He recently appointed climate change sceptic Scott Pruitt as its new head.(FA)

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