President Trump Signs Bill That Will Raise Energy Costs, Increase Pollution

“President Trump today broke his promise to improve the lives of Americans by signing into law this deeply unpopular bill that will raise energy costs, threaten grid reliability and increase the pollution that’s harming people’s health and the planet. 

“By sidelining the largest and fastest-growing sources of new electricity in favor of dirty and finite fossil fuels, President Trump and his Congressional allies are clinging to an energy policy from the 1950s. But we have better solutions now. We’ve seen the billions of dollars in clean energy investments flowing into nearly every state in recent years, creating job opportunities in communities where they’re needed most, at a time when the U.S. needs even more wind, solar and battery storage to meet growing demand. Yet the President and his allies decided to pull back the tax credits that were making these good things happen. 

“This new law is an inexplicable retreat that will leave the U.S. behind other nations in the global clean energy race it could be leading. It also gives a new tax credit to coal and delays a commonsense fee on the wasteful release of methane, a climate-destabilizing pollutant. For America to remain competitive and prosper while reducing its climate pollution, the only path forward is a swift and urgent transition to abundant clean energy.”

             - Joanna Slaney, Vice President for Political and Government Affairs, Environmental Defense Fund