President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, has announced that he is authorizing the administration to begin producing energy with coal.
Media Talk Africa 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 at 2023, 9 percent of US energy is generated from coal, the majority came from fossil fuels at 38% and 36% from natural gas.
More so, electricity from nuclear power generated 9% and renewable energy supplied 9%, which includes biomass, wind, hydro, solar and geothermal
America has the world’s largest coal reserves, accounting for about 22% 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has, however, received backlash from individuals and groups like the Sierra Club, who argued that this push for coal is outdated and costly.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 authorising my administration to immediately begin producing energy with beautiful clean cool,” President Trump.wrote on Monday.
Trump pointed out that while America is gripped by climate radicals, countries like China are building stronger economy by opening up coal plants by the hundreds.
Climate change: I’ve authorized production of energy with coal – Trump
