And now, coal… does Trump understand that he is playing into China’s hands?

The Trump administration’s recent attempts to revive the coal industry are as hard to understand as they are counterproductive from a technological and environmental perspective, as well as from a purely economic one.

In mid-2025, Trump’s insistence on rescuing a sector that as well as driving climate change now finds itself at a clear competitive disadvantage compared to renewable energies, is not only a sign of political short-sightedness, but also of a profound ignorance of the reality of global energy markets in which, in 2024, 40% of energy was obtained from renewable sources, simply because their costs are much more lower.

Beyond the countless scientific studies that have demonstrated the harmful impact of coal on public health and the climate, the reality of the production costs of clean energy can no longer be ignored by those who defend coal. Solar and wind energy are already, according to many international organizations, considerably cheaper than energy produced from fossil fuels anywhere in the world. Gambling on an outdated and highly polluting resource, no matter how much it is disguised as an old-fashioned and jingoistic “defense of national industry,” is nonsense. Only someone devoid of judgment or driven by personal interests and obsessions would refuse to see how, while the…