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United States (US) President Donald Trump has announced plans to use Cold War-era legislation to unlock $700 million in funding for a series of coal projects, marking his latest push to expand the use of the most polluting fossil fuel.
According to AFP, Trump stated that the funds will be used to keep 14 coal plants and 42 mines open, as well as to build two new coal plants and an export terminal.
“Today we’re officially invoking the Defense Production Act to save 13 coal plants in West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, Arizona, Arkansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Wisconsin,” Trump said.
The Defence Production Act, enacted in 1950, gives the US president emergency power over domestic industries. Trump calls human-induced climate change “a hoax” and has worked since returning to power last year to clean out a number of environmental regulations, many of which limited fossil fuel use.
Coal is the fuel that discharges the highest levels of greenhouse gases, contributing to climate change.
According to an analysis by Global Energy Monitor, in 2025 the world built and commissioned more coal power but used the polluting fuel less, with the US the only major economy to substantially increase generation.
