Trump orders the Pentagon to power itself with coal, despite its widespread pollution

The executive order was signed during a ceremony at the White House, where Trump appeared accompanied by miners with security helmets.

The document orders the Pentagon to connect long-term agreements on power supply produced by coal burning, with the aim of ensuring the continuous supply for strategic military installations and facilities. The Trump administration has expressed criticism of renewable resources, especially wind power, which it considers unstable.

During the ceremony, Trump named the “obsolutely essential to national security”, while industry representatives assessed it, calling it the “the biggest coal defender”. Currently, coal burning produces about one third of the world's electricity, but remains one of the main contributors to CO2 emissions and global warming.

Since the return to power in January 2025, Trump has taken steps to support this sector, even forcing some companies to keep open thermal power plants planning to shut down. His policy conflicts with previous administration strategies for lowering emissions and with energy market trend.

Coal production in the US has dropped for about 15 years, after being gradually replaced by cheaper and cleaner sources, such as natural gas and renewable energy. In 2023, coal represented little more than 16% of the American energy mixture, compared to about 50% in 2000.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is expected to cancel a regulatory act that served as the basis for numerous policies for lowering greenhouse gas emissions -- a move that could have significant implications for regulating the energy sector and operating thermal power plants in the future. /Periscope/