President Trump has signed an executive order rolling back Obama-era rules aimed at curbing climate change. He this would put an end to "job-killing regulations". The Energy Independence Executive Order suspends more than half a dozen measures enacted by his predecessor, and boosts fossil fuels.
Business groups have praised the Trump administration’s move but environmental campaigners have condemned it. Outside the White House, a few hundred protesters gathered to vent their displeasure at the executive order.
Inside, the president was flanked by coal miners as he signed the order, saying: "My administration is putting an end to the war on coal.
"With today’s executive action I am taking historic steps to lift the restrictions on American energy, to reverse government intrusion and to cancel job-killing regulations."
President Trump takes a very different approach to the environment from Mr Obama. The former president argued that climate change was "real and cannot be ignored".
Among the initiatives now rescinded is the Clean Power Plan, which required states to slash carbon emissions, to meet US commitments under the Paris accord.