Washington, D.C. — Trump has signed an Executive Order that seeks to block states from enacting climate change policies. The order directs the U.S. Attorney General to identity state laws that are designed to curb emissions, and move to block them. The order comes just hours after Trump took steps to revive the coal industry.
JL Andrepont, U.S. Senior Policy Analyst, 350.org:
“We’ve seen a flurry of horrific climate cuts, but this Executive Order marks a clear escalation in how far the Trump administration will go to stifle any climate progress at any level. Under the guise of ‘protecting Americans from state overreach,’ the Executive Branch is federally overreaching. They’re trying to cut our infrastructure for transitioning off fossil fuels, revive a dying coal industry, cut funding for adapting to the climate disasters they cause, and now they’re saying to states: ‘don’t you try to protect yourselves.’ While signing an Executive Order does not automatically make something law, Trump is giving carte blanche to the DOJ to carry out his latest whim. They are trying to guarantee that the climate crisis kills as many of us as possible, as quickly as possible. The illusion of checks and balances and small government is falling away; we must fight back with everything we have.”
Rebecca Beaulieu, Communications Director, 350 New Hampshire:
“Our over-reliance on fossil fuels is to blame for the high prices of energy. Our best course of action to gain energy independence is to use reliable local energy sources which are abundant here. We can create reliable local manufacturing jobs by producing solar panels, heat pumps, and windmills here. This Executive Order only serves the wealthy fossil fuel and utility corporations that poison our communities by drilling, fracking, and burning. Ignoring the climate crisis does not mean that it impacts us any less. This is a signed promise that the government does not care about the health of our people or our planet and the states being targeted need to take a stand and not comply with orders to destroy our future.”
Emma Rodriguez, Volunteer Coordinator, SanDiego350:
“California has been at the forefront of protecting our communities by supporting renewable energy, safe homes, green transportation, and clean air. But we need to continue to take action on climate to prevent massive, expensive disasters like the LA fires, which have been estimated to cost at least $250 billion. For so many of my friends and family, these disasters have cost us our money, our homes, and our lives. The costs of recovery and prevention of climate disasters should fall on wealthy fossil fuel corporations, not consumers and taxpayers. We are especially concerned with the president’s moves to end California’s vehicle emissions waivers, allowed by the Clean Air Act, which have been responsible for incredible drops in air pollution in California. The president cannot stop California from taking action to protect our communities. We will continue to fight back against Trump’s unconstitutional attacks on our rights and demand that California step up as climate leader.”
Candice Fortin, U.S. Campaigns Manager 350.org:
“This administration is taking drastic measures to halt climate progress and to silence us because they know how powerful we are—and we will not shy away. Our partners and affiliates across the U.S. have won hard-fought battles to bring safe and reliable renewable energy to their states and cities, and we refuse to let Trump’s unconstitutional and authoritarian administration upend that progress. These increasingly blatant power grabs show that the Trump administration knows that the green energy transition is a viable pathway forward that can end the fossil fuel industry. Our movement refuses to let them sabotage that. We will keep telling the truth and fighting back in the streets, in our government houses, in the courts, and at the ballot box.”