Trump's order rolling back the Clean Power Plan won't save coal jobs and is a false choice between jobs and a clean environment. That's the position of the Blue Green Alliance, a coalition of environmental groups and labor unions.
Kim Glas is Executive Director of the Blue Green Alliance.
[Kim Glas]: "He offered Americans a false choice between good jobs and safe workplaces or a clean environment. And I think whenever you pit jobs against the environment it's one of the oldest plays in the playbook, And it's been refuted again and again."
Glas says Trump's order trying to overturn the Clean Power Plan is an assault against both the environment and against workers.
[Kim Glas]: "This is not just an assault on the environment. It's an assault on workers as well. There's been certain rollbacks on workers' rights and their health and safety on the job.
And so our Blue Green Alliance - we not only work on environmental policies, but we also work on worker-related issues."
In fact, Glas says, the Green Economy offers enormous job opportunities while also protecting the environment.
The Blue Green Alliance is concerned that the U.S. may not honor its climate change commitments under the Paris agreement and could cede environmental leadership to other nations.
Glas says the Blue Green Alliance is also concerned that the U.S. under Trump could miss the boat on the enormous job opportunities a green economy offers.