US President Donald Trump bulldozes Barack Obama's climate legacy with executive order

New Delhi: Living up to the people's expectations by keeping up the series of promises made during campaigns, US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to roll back Barack Obama's climate change measures.

"With today's executive action, I am taking historic steps to life the restrictions on American energy, to reverse government intrusion and to cancel job-killing regulations," Trump said after signing the order at the headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday.

"My action today is the latest in the series of steps to create American jobs and to grow American wealth. We're ending the theft of American prosperity and rebuilding our beloved country," Trump said.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Trump strongly believed that protecting environment and "promoting our economy are not mutually exclusive goals."

"This executive order will help to ensure that we have clean air and clean water without sacrificing economic growth and job creation," he said.

The Executive Order directs all agencies to conduct a review of all regulations, rules, policies and guidance documents that put up roadblocks to domestic energy production and identify the ones that are not either mandated by law or actually contributing to the public good.

It also rescinds a number of the previous administration's actions that do not reflect this administration's priorities.

The order directs the EPA to take several actions to reflect this president's environmental and economic goals, including a review of the new performance standards for coal- fired and natural gas-fired plants that amount to a de facto ban on new coal plant production in the US.

In his address Trump said his measures would start a new energy revolution.

(With PTI inputs)