Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner for the presidential nomination, pledged during a campaign stop in Louisville, Ky., to “bring back the coal industry back.”
“Obama has decimated the coal industry, decimated it, and we’re going to bring the coal industry back folks, we’re going to bring it back,” Trump said. Trump did not, however, say how he intended to bring the coal industry back. The businessman also noted that “Donald Trump loves clean coal.”
We went on to suggest that U.S. coal is best used in the U.S. “It’s ridiculous. We’re sending out coal over to China, and they’re using our coal, but we can’t use it. They’re not cleaning our coal. They’re putting it out any way they want,” Trump said. “Look, the coal industry, and I know it’s a big industry here, the coal industry’s going to make a very big comeback.”
China’s coal imports have declined in recent years due to “rising output from domestic mines, improvements in coal transportation infrastructure, and slower growth in domestic coal demand,” as well the introduction of various regulatory measures the nation put in place in 2014 and 2015, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Trump is not the only Republican candidate who has voiced support for clean coal. Ohio Gov. John Kasich in October issued an energy plan calling for “research in new technologies that increase efficiency and conservation while reducing costs and environmental impact such as high-capacity, long-life batteries; fuel cells; the high-efficiency “smart” electricity grid; and clean coal.”
