Inslee knocks carbon move: Trump’s ‘undying loyalty to coal CEOs is literally killing Americans’

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D), who has made combating climate change the centerpiece of his 2020 White House bid, blasted the Trump administration on Wednesday over efforts to repeal Obama-era carbon regulations.

“Donald Trump’s undying loyalty to coal CEOs is literally killing Americans. Today’s action provides yet another egregious giveaway to corporate polluters and fossil fuels,” Inslee said in a statement.

“This Dirty Air Rule may be the most destructive environmental policy action ever taken by an American president, and it will foist upon the American people tens of billions of dollars more in climate and health costs, over the next decade and beyond,” he added.{mosads}

On Wednesday, the Trump administration finalized a rule repealing a carbon pollution regulation the Obama administration put in place, replacing it with a rule that gives states more time and authority to ease net emissions from coal-fired plants.{mosads}

“This proposal is morally reprehensible: This is a bailout for coal CEOs that will lead to more premature deaths, more children with asthma and more impacts of climate change across the world,” Inslee said.

The new rule has also been criticized by former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials who say it does little to cut carbon emissions. The Trump administration argues the Obama-era regulation exceeded the EPA’s authority.

Inslee’s climate change proposal seeks to eliminate the use of coal in 10 years and achieve 100 percent clean electricity in 15 years.

“The federal government needs to do far more, not less, to rein in climate pollution from power plants,” Inslee said.