Trump Signs Away Action on Climate Change Impacts

Executive Order Unravels National Progress to Fight Effects of Climate Change

WASHINGTON— Today President Trump signed an Executive Order that drastically rolls back progress made by the Obama administration to tackle the environmental, economic and public health impacts of global climate change. The order specifically sets into motion the unravelling of the Clean Power Plan, which was intended to cut pollution from coal-fired power plants and create new jobs in the renewable energy sector. If enacted, Trump’s coal-focused energy program as outlined in the order will also make it nearly impossible for the U.S. to meet climate solution commitments set by the 2105 Paris Agreement. The Executive Order also revoked the requirement that federal agencies analyze climate change impacts in all their decision-making.

The following is statement from Andrew Kimbrell, Director, Center for Food Safety:

“The negative impacts of greenhouse gas pollution and resulting climate change are already being felt around our country and around the world, Farmers and our food system bear the brunt of the burden: Unseasonable temperatures, floods, drought and disruptions in pollination are all effects of endorsing a pollution-producing economy that contributes to climate change.

“Our president should not be investing in the harmful extraction methods and outdated, polluting technologies that jeopardize our health, food security, and environment. Industrial agriculture is a major source of climate change causing emissions, from its pesticide inputs to its animal factory pollution. We need to regulate these sources, not give them a free pass. The new administration should look to bolster struggling rural communities by encouraging a transition to the renewable energy economy and non-pesticide intensive agro-ecological methods of food production that have the potential to re-create viable livelihoods in America’s neglected rural regions.”

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