On April 8, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) titled “Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry.” This order aims to enhance the United States’ “economic prosperity and national security, lower the cost of living, and provide for increases in electrical demand from emerging technologies” by increasing domestic energy production via coal. The order emphasizes coal’s role in lowering electricity costs, stabilizing the grid, creating high-paying jobs, and supporting burgeoning industries.

In recent years, the international community has increasingly focused on the importance of respecting human rights in corporate activities. This trend was driven in part by the United Nations’ adoption of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in 2011, which accelerated the global movement towards holding companies accountable for human rights violations.