Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, promised on Thursday, to roll back some of America’s most ambitious environmental policies, actions that he said would revive the ailing US oil and coal industries and bolster national security.
Among the proposals, Trump said he would pull the United States out of the UN global climate accord, approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada and rescind measures by President Barack Obama to cut US emissions and protect waterways from industrial pollution.
Trump and His Democratic Rivals: A Stark Contrast
Trump addressed an audience of 7,7000 people at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck, the capital of oil-rick North Dakota. It was Trump’s first speech detailing the energy policies he would advance if elected president. He received a loud applause from the crowd of oil executives.
Any regulation that’s outdated, unnecessary, bad for workers or contrary to the national interest will be scrapped and scrapped completely. We’re going to do all this while taking proper regard for rational environmental concerns.Donald Trump
The comments painted a stark contrast between the New York billionaire and his Democratic rivals for the White House, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, who advocate a sharp turn away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy technologies to combat climate change.
Trump slammed both rivals in his speech, saying their policies would kill jobs and force the United States “to be begging for oil again” from Middle East producers.
“It’s not going to happen. Not with me,” he said.
Two Sides of the Debate
Trump’s comments drew quick criticism from environmental advocates, who called his proposals “frightening.”
Trump’s energy policies would accelerate climate change, protect corporate polluters who profit from poisoning our air and water, and block the transition to clean energy that is necessary to strengthen our economy and protect our climate and health.Tom Steyer, Environmental Activist
.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
But industry executives cheered the stance.
It’s simple. If Trump wins, oil field workers will be happy. If Clinton wins, oil workers will be unhappy.Derrick Alexander, Operations Manager, Integrated Productions Services
Trump hit Clinton hard in his speech, saying the former secretary of state would be more aggressive than Obama on regulations. He repeated several times Clinton’s March comments that her policies would put coal miners out of work.
“Hillary Clinton’s agenda is job destruction,” Trump said.
Global Warming: A Hoax
Until Thursday, Trump had been short on details of his energy policy. He has said he believes global warming is a hoax, that his administration would revive the US coal industry, and that he supports hydraulic fracturing – an environmentally controversial drilling technique that has triggered a boom in US production.
But in North Dakota, he seemed to speak with greater clarity. He said slashing regulation would help the United States achieve energy independence and reduce America’s reliance on Middle Eastern producers. “Imagine a world in which oil cartels will no longer use energy as a weapon,” he said.
The United States currently produces about 55 percent of the oil it uses, with another quarter of the total coming from Canada and Mexico, and less than 20 percent coming from Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), according to US Energy Department statistics.
Trump’s advisers, including US Representative Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, have said they suggested Trump examine the role of OPEC in the global oil price slump since 2014, which has contributed to the demise of a handful of smaller US oil companies. Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members have declined to cut production to support prices.
Cancel Paris
Earlier this month, he told Reuters in an interview that he would renegotiate “at a minimum” the UN global climate accord agreed by 195 countries in Paris last December, saying he viewed the deal as bad for US business.
He took that a step further in North Dakota. “We’re going to cancel the Paris climate agreement,” he said.
Trump also promised he would invite Canadian pipeline company TransCanada to reapply to build the Keystone XL pipeline into the United States, reversing a decision by Obama to block the project over environmental concerns.
I want it built, but I want a piece of the profits. That’s how we’re going to make our country rich again.Donald Trump
Trump’s pledge briefly sent TransCanada’s shares 29 Canadian cents higher to C$54.13 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, but the stock quickly levelled back off and close up two Canadian cents at C$53.86.
In response to Trump’s promise that he would seek more profits from the pipeline, TransCanada spokesperson James Millar noted the project would create jobs, offer major contracts to US suppliers and provide tens of millions in taxes for state coffers.
“The pipeline will benefit American workers long term as the companies they work for have signed contracts to ship and refine oil through Keystone XL,” Millar said in an email.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)