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Trump to remove climate change factors from environmental laws around major infrastructure projects
(Reuters News, 5 Jan 2020) Revised law allows federal agencies to overlook environmental impact .
The Trump administration has told federal agencies they should no longer take climate change into account when measuring infrastructure projects, according to two senior administration officials.
The proposed changes to the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act (Nepa) are aimed at speeding approvals for pipelines, oil and gas leases, highway construction and other kinds of development.
The Nepa law, last updated in 1978, has proved to be one of the most potent stumbling blocks to Mr Trump’s push to accelerate oil, gas, and coal extraction across the country.
Under the Nepa, agencies are required to analyse the extent to which proposed federal actions affect everything from endangered species to water quality to greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change.
Under the Obama administration, the Environmental Protection Agency raised objections during a Nepa review of the massive Keystone XL pipeline in Montana which resulted in it being delayed.
Reuters News, 5 Jan 2020: Trump to remove climate change factors from environmental laws around major infrastructure projects
