President Trump Signs 'Energy Independence' Order, Targeting Carbon Regulations

WASHINGTON, DC — President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday to begin undoing Obama-era environmental regulations that aimed to reduce carbon emissions from power plants.

"The action I'm taking today will eliminate federal overreach, restore economic freedom, and allow our companies and our workers to thrive, compete and succeed on a level playing field for the first time in a long time," Trump said. "That is what this is all about: bringing back our jobs, bringing back our dreams and making America wealthy again."

The Clean Power Plan, targeted by Tuesday's order, was initiated by President Obama's Environmental Protection Agency in an effort to reduce the United States' contributions to global climate change. It was controversial because critics said it would hurt the American energy industry and doubted whether the agency had the authority to regulate carbon.

The new executive order also eases regulations that limited coal mining and rolls back other policies designed to take climate change into account in federal policy.

Senate Majority Leader and New York Democrat Chuck Schumer issued a statement criticizing the order.

"If there was any doubt that big oil was back in charge under the Trump administration, today's executive order lays that to rest," he said. "Simply put, the Trump administration has put the health of the American people and the future of the planet on the back burner all for the sake of lining the pockets of big oil and the extreme-right special interests. The United States should be investing in cleaner water and cleaner air and in renewable energy, not ignoring basic scientific facts and rolling back the great progress we've made in addressing climate change."

Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said, "Today, we're taking another step, a great step in breaking the restraints that have become burdens. This executive order is a rejection of the belief that the path forward on energy is through additional federal regulations."

The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit environmental advocacy organization, put out a statement criticizing the action and the administration.

"The rollback of the Clean Power Plan not only imperils the planet's future climate but will have life-and-death consequences for millions of Americans here and now," said EWG President Ken Cook.

He also took aim at Scott Pruitt, Trump's Environmental Protection Agency administrator and long-time critic of the agency.

"Scott Pruitt, who lacks a fifth-grader's understanding of what's causing global warming, says the Paris climate treaty was a 'bad deal,'" Cook said. "But the bad deal is what America's getting from this administration. This decision to vacate the U.S. commitment to combat climate change is the latest evidence that this administration doesn't have a clue about what's needed to keep Americans – and the world – safe and healthy."

The White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer defended the president's action on climate Tuesday, saying that sound environmental protection and economic growth are not incompatible.

"The president strongly believes that protecting the environment and promoting our economy are not mutually exclusive goals," Spicer said. "This executive order will help to ensure that we have clean air and clean water without sacrificing economic growth and job creation."

Spicer did not answer a question about whether or not the president still believes that climate change is a "hoax," as he has previously stated.

Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images News/Getty Images