The government of President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday, March 12, reconsider a series of environmental measures adopted by the Democratic Administration of Joe Biden, which notably aimed to reduce the emissions of cars and coal -fired power plants.
The boss of the American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Lee Zeldin, spoke of the “The most important and substantial deregulation day in the history of the United States”promising “Release American energy” and “Revitalize the automotive industry” of his country.
Among the thirty measures announced, the US government intends in particular to cancel a 2024 rule requiring coal-fired power plants which they eliminate almost all of their CO² emissions, under penalty of closing, thanks to carbon capture technologies, a cornerstone of Joe Biden’s climate policy.
Praised by environmental organizations as “A colossal decision”this rule – which also concerned gas power plants to be built in the future – was to apply from 2032. The previous government estimated that it would have made it possible to prevent the issue of almost 1.4 billion tonnes of CO² by 2047, the equivalent of annual emissions of 328 million cars.
“Polluting companies are delighted today because Trump’s EPA has just authorized them to reject unlimited climate pollution, without worrying about the consequences”reacted Charles Harper, of the Evergreen environmental association.
Notorious climate, Donald Trump regularly qualifies “Arnaque” The energy transition. His government has dismissed hundreds of employees of the American Ocean and Atmospheric Observation Agency (NOAA), which plays a leading role in climate research in the United States. Massive layoffs are also expected at EPA, the budget of which should be reduced by 65 %.
Threat to rivers
The agency said on Wednesday its desire to return to standards for polluting cars of cars which were to enter into force in 2027, and which Donald Trump had criticized. It also intends to redefine the perimeter of the law on clean waters (“Clean Water Act”), which prohibits pouring pollutants in “Navigable waters of the United States”under penalty of fine.
Newsletter
“Human warmth”
How to deal with the climate challenge? Every week, our best articles on the subject
Register
The agency believes that the administration of Joe Biden did not take into account a 2023 Supreme Court decision, according to which only “Relatively permanent water masses, stagnant or continuous flow”like streams, rivers, lakes and oceans, were to be protected by this law.
The Earthjustice environmental association warned that this excluded millions of hectares of wetlands, vital ecosystems that filter water and constitute a protection against floods, as well as millions of kilometers of small rivers which provide drinking water in particular.
Lee Zeldin also confirmed the decision to close services responsible for environmental justice missions within the agency, ending decades of federal efforts to combat pollution affecting disadvantaged populations across the United States.
For Matthew Tejada, from the NGO Natural Resources Defense Council, “Trump’s EPA brings us back to an era of unhindered pollution in the country, exposing each American to toxic chemicals, dirty air and contaminated water”.