Trump lays out reforms and lays into Obama

Donald Trump has laid out a series of proposed energy reforms and slated his predecessor’s efforts. On Monday the Republican presidential nominee spoke about energy reform as part of a […]

Donald Trump has laid out a series of proposed energy reforms and slated his predecessor’s efforts.

On Monday the Republican presidential nominee spoke about energy reform as part of a larger economic speech in Detroit.

Trump said: “The Obama-Clinton Administration has blocked and destroyed millions of jobs through their anti-energy regulations, while raising the price of electricity for both families and businesses.

“Clinton not only embraces President Obama’s job-killing energy restrictions but wants to expand them, including going after oil and natural gas production that employs some ten million Americans.

“According to the Heritage Foundation, by 2030, the Obama-Clinton energy restrictions will eliminate another half a million manufacturing jobs, reduce economic output by $2.5 trillion (£1.91 tn) and reduce income by $7,000 (£5300) per person.”

These statements are at odds with information from the Solar Foundation, which says the solar industry has created 115,000 new jobs over the past six years. A recent study in Energy Policy similarly found that although coal lost 50,000 jobs between 2008 and 2012, wind and solar added 79,000 and natural gas added over 94,000.

The price of natural gas, used to heat many US homes, has declined for residential consumers since 2008.

According to Trump, lifting energy restrictions would result in US GDP increasing by more than $100 billion (£76.5 bn) annually, 500,000 new jobs being created annually and increases in annual wages by more than $30 billion (£22.95 bn) over the next seven years.

He also suggests his reforms would increase total economic activity by more than $20 trillion (£15.29 tn) over the next 40 years.

Trump did not mention renewable energy or the struggling nuclear sector in his speech.

Obama’s administration has been praised for a huge range of energy efficiency measures.

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