10 Reasons Trump’s Energy Plan Poses Major Climate Threats

Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump unveiled his “America First” energy plan back in April and it’s pretty much what you’d expect from someone who refers to climate change as a “Chinese hoax.” In short, he plans to undo over 40 years of work and efforts to protect the environment and stop climate change in one fell swoop.

Trump has vowed to back out of an international treaty to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, do away with long-standing environmental regulations and rebuild the country’s dying coal industry. However, what Trump calls a plan to achieve “complete American energy independence,” experts call “idiotic,” “damaging,” and “an embarrassment.”

Here are 10 ways that Trump’s energy plan could pose major global economic, health and climate threats in the years, decades and centuries to come:

It could damage the U.S. economy

Trump’s proclamations about making America completely energy independent have been met with nothing but cheers from his audiences, but what might sound like a safe bet in theory, economists are calling the more volatile option.

Eliminating all foreign oil would be like putting “all of your eggs in one supply basket.” While a natural disaster or political upheaval would be localised and cause minor damage to the global market, it could potentially cripple a closed market and easily lead to a homegrown energy crisis.

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