Trump Cluelessly Continues To Push Outdated Fossil Fuels At Climate Negotiations

For the second year in a row, the United States has chosen to ignore climate science and will host a coal-focused side event at the annual UN climate negotiations. This is despite hosting a similar event at last year’s negotiations to a disastrous end. The Administration’s continued peddling of outdated fossil fuels follows Trump announcing his plan to withdraw from the Paris Agreement in July 2017 and to date, Trump is still the only world leader to announce his rejection of the landmark climate deal.

In the past few months, the Administration has also ignored a number of major climate reports, including the IPCC report, projecting that catastrophic effects of the climate crisis such as food shortages and droughts could occur by 2040, and the Administration’s own National Climate Assessment, which details the impacts the climate crisis will have on our economy, health, and way of life.

Yet, Despite the Trump administration’s rhetoric and deregulatory agenda, the era of coal has unquestionably ended in the United States. For example:

• No new coal plants are under development, and in fact, American utilities are abandoning coal at roughly the same rate under the Trump administration as they did under the Obama administration.

• To date, more than half of the coal plants in the U.S. have retired or committed to retire, and 2018 is on track to be the second-biggest year for coal plant retirements since 2010, with over 17 gigawatts expected to be taken offline.

• According to the federal Energy Information Administration, coal consumption by the electric sector reached its lowest level since 1982, and overall fossil fuel consumption in the electric sector is at its lowest level since 1994.

• Rapid cost declines have made renewables America’s most economical new form of energy.  According to Lazard, the levelized cost of energy from new utility-scale solar and wind projects have decreased to the point that, in some scenarios, they are now at or below the marginal cost of existing coal generation, without subsidies. When subsidies are factored in, renewable resources are even more competitive.

• This has upended the economics of traditional utilities. For example, PacifiCorp, a utility that serves the northwest United States, found that 13 of their coal units were more expensive to run than other options, including clean energy, and that retiring just five of those units in 2022 would save customers $317 million.

• And Xcel Energy in Colorado announced that it wants to replace 660 megawatts of coal-fired power in Colorado -- a third of its Colorado coal fleet -- with solar, wind, and one of the country’s largest storage projects. To date, this is the single largest national clean energy proposal to replace retiring coal, and it will save customers an estimated $215 million. Xcel plans to be majority renewables in Colorado by 2026. The utility has also just announced an ambitious plan to eliminate carbon emissions utility-wide by 2050.

• And just last week, Cincinnati, Ohio became the 100th U.S. city to commit to transition to 100 percent clean, renewable energy. About 48.7 million people, or 15.1 percent of the U.S. population, live in places that are committed to transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy.

In response to the Trump administration’s coal side event, Steve Herz, Sierra Club’s International Climate and Energy Campaign Director, released the following statement:

“The fact that the Trump administration would try to yet again host a pro-coal event at the world’s largest climate conference is a testament to how out of touch and clueless they really are. The Administration’s effort to peddle outmoded, uncompetitive, and highly polluting technology that the U.S. itself no longer builds or invests in would be shameful even if the world were not in the midst of a climate crisis.

“World leaders aren’t being fooled by Trump’s fossil fuel-funded charade, and leaders have made it clear that they will continue to move on without the United States as they build the stronger, more resilient clean energy economies the world demands. Meanwhile, Trump’s constant blustering is further isolating the United States, tarnishing our reputation with the global community, and costing Americans their jobs, their health, and the chance to remain competitive in an increasingly clean energy economy.”