Trump to sign executive order to reverse Obama's climate policies

US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Tuesday aimed at reversing his predecessor's efforts to address climate change, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Monday.

"Tomorrow, the President will sign an executive order to strengthen the nation's energy security by reducing unnecessary regulatory obstacles that restrict the responsible use of domestic energy resources," Xinhua news agency quoted Spicer as saying at his White House press briefing.

"This order will help keep energy and electricity affordable, reliable and clean, in order to boot economic growth and job creation."

On Sunday, US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said the executive order will undo the Clean Power Plan, a major initiative of the Obama administration to deal with climate change by reducing carbon pollution from power plants.

Trump has called climate change a "hoax" and has threatened to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement that took effect last year.

Trump's first federal budget, released a week ago, also reiterated his intention to end former President Barack Obama's climate change policies, including eliminating funding for the Clean Power Plan.

--IANS

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