Trump Aims to Increase Coal Pollution with Executive Orders

TEXAS - Today Donald Trump signed executive ordersaimed at boosting coal production in the United States in part to support artificial intelligence data centers. Despite being surrounded by coal miners for the press conference, just days earlier Trump cut funding for coal miner health and safety protectionsand shuttered Mine Safety and Health Administration officesacross the country.

Trump's executive orders seek to invoke an outdated wartime law that allows the Department of Energy to compel power plants to temporarily remain operational even past their scheduled retirement dates. Though he attempted a similar strategy during his first administration, nearly 100 coal plants retired or announced retirements during those four years.

Texas has 12 operating coal plants, more than most other states, and also burns the second most coal per pound of all U.S. states. By trying to extend the lifespan of coal-fired power plants that are already scheduled to retire and placing aggressive tariffs on renewable energy, Trump's policies will raise monthly energy bills for everyday Americans. On average, renewable energy costs 30 percent less than coal for the same energy output.

Burning coal takes a massive toll on our health. Coal pollution causes asthma, respiratory illnesses, heart conditions, and premature death, and has been associatedwith neurological, developmental, and behavioral conditions in children and adults. In the last two decades, half a million Americans have died from coal pollution. It also is not as reliable as Trump claims, with several coal plants in Texas experiencing outagesduring winter storms and other times of grid strain.

Last year, coal production fell to a historic low, making up only 15 percent of U.S. electricity generation. Meanwhile, renewable energy has recently overtaken coal and made up nearly a quarter of the U.S. grid in 2024.

In response, local Texas advocates issued the following responses:

"Coal is not clean nor reliable nor beautiful just because a billionaire says it is," said Donna Thomas, the president of Fort Bend County Environmental Organization."As a neighbor to one of the country's biggest and dirtiest coal plants, W.A. Parish, I know the truth about how it ruins our health. Americans need cleaner air and lower bills, so why is the American president trying to increase electricity prices while also keeping our air dirty? If you want a chance at a prosperous life, one where you can breathe and afford to cool your house in a Texas summer and your kids can have a healthy childhood outdoors, the time is now to tell the administration you disagree - no matter what your politics are."

"Despite pledging to make life more affordable and 'America healthy again,' Trump actually wants to boost the deadliest and most expensive way to produce electricity. He is forsaking most of the people who voted for him, as well as all the taxpaying Americans who didn't," said Sierra Club's East Texas organizer, Misti O'Quinn."Coal plants are always more polluting and more expensive than clean energy options, and when they near the end of their 45-year lifespan, coal plants often have increased safety and pollution events that especially put neighbors' and workers' well-being on the line and make the energy even more expensive. Replacing coal with solar and wind benefits everybody. These executive orders, like so many decisions out of this administration, will continue to drive up the cost of living under Donald Trump."

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.