U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 28 calling for fundamental changes to anti-global warming measures that had been introduced by his predecessor, Barack Obama. The order specifically was aimed at reviewing regulations that impede the development of domestic energy sources like coal and shale oil and gas, abolishing the Clean Power Plan which the Obama administration adopted in 2015, and bringing back lost jobs in the energy-related industries.
The Clean Power Plan mandated state governments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from thermal power plants in the United States by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. Lawsuits for invalidating the plan were subsequently filed by 27 conservative states, and in February last year, the Federal Supreme Court ruled to temporarily suspend the plan.
From the 1960s up to 2005, coal-fired thermal power plants constantly generated around 50 percent of total U.S. electricity supply. In the ensuing decade, however, that proportion declined rapidly to hit 31 percent last year.