President Donald Trump signs executive order to roll back Obama's climate change measures

US President Donald Trump on 28 March 2017 signed an executive order to roll back his predecessor Barack Obama's climate change measures keeping up his campaign promise. The order seeks to suspend, withdraw or flag for review of more than a half-dozen measures in an effort to boost domestic energy production in the form of fossil fuels.

The Executive Order directs all agencies to conduct a review of all regulations, rules, policies and guidance documents that put up roadblocks to domestic energy production. The opposition Democratic Party and environmental groups, however, slammed Trump for his latest move.

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The order was signed at the headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). After signing the order, Trump said that the executive action is a historic step as it will lift the restrictions on American energy. He said that this roll back is the start of a new era in energy production and the latest decision will help in creating jobs in America.

Highlights of the roll-back

• Review of the clean power plan will be initiated. The plan restricts greenhouse emissions at coal-fired power plants. This regulation was an effort of Barack Obama to curb emissions of carbon.

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• The decree, dubbed the "Energy Independence" order, will seek to undo former President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan requiring states to slash carbon emissions from power plants.

• It will also rescind a ban on coal leasing on federal lands, reverse rules to curb methane emissions from oil and gas production, and reduce the weight of climate change in federal agencies' assessments of new regulations

Reactions on the signing of the Roll Back Plan

Trump’s decision of rolling back the Obama-era rules aimed at tackling global warming was criticised by several people. Few of the reactions include

• Environmental Advocates: They were not surprised by the move but they said that the decision will have an impact on the health and economic implications for not fighting against the climate change. The decision will also affect US stand in the world.

• Laurence Tubbiana, the CEO of the European Climate Foundation: She termed the order will propel the economy backwards.

• Trip Van Noppen, President of Green group Earthjustice: He said that the group will fight the order both in and out of the court, as it ignores the law and scientific reality.

Earlier during campaigning for the President election, Trump once termed global warming as a hoax. Terming it as a hoax, he criticised Obama’s efforts as an attack on American workers and the struggling US coal industry.

Comment: It seems that the roll back of the Obama era Clean Power Plan would hurt job creation in the field of renewable energy sector of the United States. At the same time, it will also have a negative impact on the health of residents of the country.