Executive Order Seeks to Revive “America’s Beautiful, Clean Coal Industry”

Research & Developments is a blog for brief updates that provide context for the flurry of news regarding law and policy changes that impact science and scientists today.

16 April update: Continuing its efforts to bolster the nation’s coal industry, the Trump administration has exempted at least 66 coal-fired power plants from federal rules to limit emissions of toxic air pollutants, AP reported. 

In March, the EPA set up an email address meant for companies to request exemptions to air pollution regulations set by the Biden administration, including the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard, which set stricter emissions limits on mercury, arsenic, and benzene. Exemptions can also be requested for EPA rules limiting ethylene oxide, a carcinogenic gas used in chemical manufacturing.

The Clean Air Act allows President Donald Trump to temporarily exempt industrial sites from these new regulations if those sites meet certain requirements. 

A list posted as of 15 April shows companies’ requests for exemptions have succeeded. The list names 47 power providers who operate at least 66 coal-fired power plants that will receive a two-year exemption from the Biden-era regulations. 

“These passes to pollute carve a ragged hole through the heart of federal protections for the air we breathe,” Maya Golden-Krasner, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, told AP. “This is what it looks like to put polluter profits ahead of the wellbeing of Americans and the planet.”

9 April: President Trump signed an executive order on 8 April to drastically reduce restrictions on domestic coal production . It lays out plans to enable coal mining on federal lands, identify and revise existing regulations and policies that seek to transition the country away from coal production, and identify regions where “coal-powered infrastructure” can be used to support artificial intelligence data centers.

In a separate order, Trump said he would instruct the Justice Department to identify and fight any state and local laws “purporting to address ‘climate change’ or involving ‘environmental, social, and governance’ initiatives, ‘environmental justice,’ carbon or ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions, and funds to collect carbon penalties or carbon taxes.” Such climate policies, he said, were “putting our coal miners out of business.”

In March, the president signed a different executive order demanding immediate action to increase production of minerals in the United States. The order defined “mineral” as critical minerals, uranium, copper, potash, gold “and any other element, compound, or material as determined by the Chair of the National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC).”

The new executive order designates coal as a mineral as well. Several days before Trump signed the order, the U.S. Department of Agriculture removed regulations that protected 264,000 acres of land in Nevada from oil, gas, and geothermal energy development and 165,000 acres of land in New Mexico from mining and geothermal leasing.

According to the 2024 global carbon budget, coal is responsible for 41% of global fossil carbon dioxide emissions. Burning coal also emits sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulates, mercury, and other heavy metals, all of which can contribute to health problems such as respiratory illness and some of which contribute to smog and acid rain.

In the United States, reliance on coal has been falling for decades as it has been replaced with other sources of electricity, primarily natural gas. Though natural gas is not a clean energy source, it produces fewer emissions than coal does, and natural gas plants are cheaper than coal plants to build and operate. Solar and wind power have also risen in popularity. In 2001, about 51% of the country’s net electricity generation came from coal. By 2023, the figure had dropped to just 16.2%.

Trump signed the executive orders while standing in front of a group of coal miners wearing hard hats, and spoke about “bringing back an industry that was abandoned, despite the fact that it was just about the best, certainly the best, in terms of power, real power.”

“I told my people ‘Never use the word “coal” unless you put “beautiful, clean” before it,’” he said. “Today, we’re taking historic action to help American workers, miners, families and consumers.”

The executive order comes in the wake of the General Services Administration closing dozens of Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) offices across the country, laying off an estimated 85% of employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and imposing tariffs on Chinese-made ships entering U.S. ports to pick up materials, including coal.

In a 9 April statement, Cecil E. Roberts, international president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), said the union appreciated the new executive order. In an earlier statement, he had called the downsizing of MSHA offices “devastating to the coal industry” and said the Trump administration owes American miners an explanation for the slew of new policies that put “a target on their back.”

The White House posted a video on X of several of the people who stood behind Trump while he signed the executive order. None were identified by name, but one was Jeff Crowe, a miner from West Virginia who also spoke briefly at the podium during the announcement of the executive order. All praised the president’s decision, as well as his new tariff policies.

President Trump signed major energy executive orders today—surrounded by REAL AMERICANS.

The fake news media's latest orchestrated attack—this time over tariffs—falls flat with coal miners, who told us: "it's actually gonna help our industry out [&] bring jobs back to America." pic.twitter.com/yQsxAJxIxm

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 9, 2025

These updates are made possible through information from the scientific community. Do you have a story about how changes in law or policy are affecting scientists or research? Send us a tip at [email protected].