Coal is a “clean” energy source, according to the latest draft of the Republican Party’s 2016 platform. The party’s platform committee is meeting this week in Cleveland to update the document ahead of the GOP National Convention next week in the Ohio city. The committee on Monday filed through several amendments in the section on agriculture, natural resources, and energy, most without significant debate. An amendment from David Barton, a convention delegate from Texas, to add the adjective “clean” to a portion of the platform referring to coal got the same treatment, passing unanimously.
The platform now reads, “The Democrat party does not understand that coal is an abundant, clean, affordable, reliable, domestic energy resource.” Barton said he justified the addition of “clean” based on “the technology we have now,” though he did not specify which technology he was discussing.
