Trump’s bid to reverse climate agenda puts pressure on Ottawa – by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – March 29, 2017)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

OTTAWA — U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order Tuesday aimed at boosting coal-fired electricity and unravelling key elements of his predecessor’s climate-change policies – a move that will increase political pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s own climate agenda.

Mr. Trump’s push to reverse the climate plans of former president Barack Obama is raising concerns in Canada that domestic industries will find it tougher to compete and raise capital, especially in energy-intensive industries.

Through his use of executive orders, the new President has signalled he has little interest in meeting U.S. commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that were made at the Paris climate summit in December, 2015.

Instead, he plays down the looming threat of climate change and, on Tuesday, promised “a new energy revolution” that encourages American production and consumption of coal, oil and natural gas and will lead to what he calls “unbelievable prosperity all throughout the country.”

However, as with many of Mr. Trump’s orders, there is a lengthy process that must play out before his political rhetoric can be implemented. Environmental groups have vowed to challenge in court his charge to the Environmental Protection Agency to rollback Mr. Obama’s Clean Power Plan, which would essentially force utilities to reduce their use of coal-fired power over the coming decades.

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