Donald Trump, the president of the United States of America, has said that he is giving the administration permission to start using coal to generate energy.
DAILY POST can report that energy in the US is obtained from a diverse portfolio of sources, such as fossil fuels, petroleum, natural gas, and coal.
As of 2023, 9 percent of US energy is generated from coal; the majority came from fossil fuels at 38 percent and 36 percent from natural gas.
More so, electricity from nuclear power generated 9 percent and renewable energy supplied 9 percent, which includes biomass, wind, hydro, solar and geothermal
America has the world’s largest coal reserves, accounting for about 22 percent of the global total (estimated at 1.16 trillion short tons in 2023 by the World Energy Council).
Trump made his plans known on Monday, lambasting those against the move, using words like ‘thugs, lunatics, and environmental extremists’ to describe them.
The US leader emphasized the role of coal in meeting rising electricity demands of his country, particularly for technologies like artificial intelligence.
Recall that during a virtual appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 24, 2025, the US President pointed out that coal could serve as a “good, clean” backup fuel source for new power plants.
On his first day in office, Trump had declared a national energy emergency, which was meant to expedite fossil fuel projects and ease environmental regulations.
The president has, however, received backlash from individuals and groups like the Sierra Club, who argued that this push for coal is outdated and costly.
“After years of being held captive by environmental extremists, lunatics, radicals, and thugs, allowing other countries, in particular China, to gain tremendous economic advantage over us by opening up all Cool Fire Power Plants, I’m authorizing my administration to immediately begin producing energy with beautiful clean coal,” President Trump wrote on Monday.
Trump pointed out that while America is gripped by climate radicals, countries like China are building stronger economies by opening up coal plants by the hundreds.
Written By John Owen Nwachukwu