According to many activists, President Donald Trump and his policies will harm the environment. While his victory in the US presidential election has been both surprising and controversial, some experts believe his take on climate change and other related issues are not exactly environment-friendly. Here are some of his controversial policies.
Opening Federal Land For Digging
Opening federal lands for more oil and gas production is one of the policies Trump has proposed. Interestingly, the Obama administration has opened federal land for fossil fuel extraction. According to experts at the "Climate Reality Project," Trump will struggle to revise the regulations even though he is expected to greenlight it right away.
Pulling Out Of Paris Agreement
President Donald Trump is likely to pull out of the Paris Agreement, which unites 103 countries for a cause to restrict global temperature. The idea is to restrict the rise with 2 degrees Celsius. The United States, under Barack Obama's leadership, has plans to restrict greenhouse gas emissions considerably by 2025. Trump, however, is against the accord and may eventually back out.
Cutting the Environmental Protection Agency
While it is unlikely to cut the Environmental Protection Agency altogether, Trump may decide to restrict its functionality by reducing it to an advisory committee. He may force the EPA to focus less on actual enforcement of existing environmental laws, something that it is legally authorized to do. To do it legally, Trump will need 60 senate votes. That's an unlikely scenario at the moment. But, when it comes to Trump, the unlikeliest thing has just come true: his presidency.
Ending The Clean Power Plan
President Donald Trump may end the Clean Power Plan, which aims to reduce carbon pollution from power plants. Obama's national regulation is presently under review in court. Even though Trump plans to end it, it may not be easy to cancel a regulation. According to CRP CEO Ken Berlin, Trump has two options.
"One, he can continue to challenge it in court and switch the government's position, saying we now oppose it. If the rule goes into effect, then he's got to do either a new rule-making to change that, and that has to go through normal notice and comments and it can be challenged by the environmental community," Business Insider quoted him as saying. "Or he could go to Congress and try to get Congress to repeal the Clean Air Act or modify it in some way."
