![]() ![]() It's not exactly a strong comeback, but it's enough to rate this promise a Compromise. Many coal companies, including Murray Energy, filed for bankruptcy last year."Īt most, Trump's extensive deregulatory efforts have reversed the employment freefall under Obama and postponed coal's day of reckoning. "The cost of natural gas and renewable power has declined steadily, and coal cannot compete. "Loosening environmental regulations hasn't really helped much, as switching away from coal is driven by market rather than regulatory factors," said Anna Mikulska, a fellow at Rice University's Center for Energy Studies. and Southern Co., have pledged net-zero emissions by mid-century, and no new coal plants are planned for construction, according to E&E News.Īnd because these changes require utilities to make sizable capital investments, they are not easy to reverse. power companies, including Duke Energy Corp. While China has recently signaled an increase in coal use to help the recovery from the coronavirus-driven recession, that is an exception from global trends. ![]() This shift has been driven by both price concerns and worries about coal's carbon content, which has been linked to climate change. and other countries have for years been shifting away from coal and toward natural gas and renewable energy sources. The big problem facing coal is that utilities in the U.S. But coal employment has remained at roughly the same level during Trump's tenure, with the future uncertain due to the coronavirus pandemic. Under Trump, the industry did halt its years-long employment decline under Obama. This chart shows the employment level in coal mining under both presidents. The chart shows a slow but consistent decline in output for the coal sector.Įmployment in the coal sector has fared better, though it's still only treading water. The data comes from the Federal Reserve Board's industrial production index, which tracks monthly changes in inflation-adjusted output for the sector. Here's a look at total output for the coal industry, under both President Barack Obama (in blue) and Trump (in red). However, there is only so much that one president can do to save an industry besieged by global trends that put coal at a disadvantage in the marketplace. He revoked the Stream Protection Rule signed an executive order to begin dismantling the Clean Power Plan, an Obama administration policy that sought to limit carbon emissions lifted a temporary ban on new coal leasing on federal land and pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement on June 1. Once in office, Trump loosened regulations for the industry and was a big cheerleader on the hustings for coal. Donald Trump's pledge during the 2016 presidential campaign to save the coal industry helped him assemble strong support in coal states such as West Virginia and Kentucky. ![]()
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