U.S. President Donald Trump has signed executive orders aimed at “turbocharging coal mining” in the United States, with the goal of “more than doubling” electricity production to meet the demands of power-hungry artificial intelligence technologies.
The orders, signed in the presence of miners wearing hard hats, are designed to remove regulatory barriers to coal extraction and halt the planned closure of several coal-fired power plants across the country. “We will end the government bias against coal,” Trump declared, directing the Department of Justice to challenge any state or local regulations that might be harming the coal industry.
Trump also emphasized that coal mining could be leveraged to extract vast amounts of critical minerals and rare earth elements needed for high-tech industries, further supporting the country’s technological needs.
However, Lena Moffitt, director of the climate-focused NGO Evergreen, condemned the move, accusing Trump of using artificial intelligence as a pretext to support his fossil fuel donors by backing “the dirtiest, most expensive power source on the grid.”
Coal production, the most polluting form of fossil fuel, has seen a sharp decline in the U.S. over the past 15 years. In 2023, coal accounted for just over 16 percent of the nation’s electricity generation, while renewable energy sources surpassed coal, making up more than 21 percent.
Trump, a long-time skeptic of climate change, has used his return to the White House as an opportunity to promote fossil fuel use through deregulation.
Last month, his administration rolled back several environmental policies set by his predecessor, Joe Biden, including revisiting a 2024 rule requiring coal-fired plants to nearly eliminate all carbon emissions or shut down—an essential component of Biden’s climate agenda.
