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CENTER-RIGHT GROUP SAYS TIME ISN’T RIPE FOR A CARBON TAX: A conservative group that is working to develop Republican messaging on climate change doesn’t see this week’s big industry push to bolster a carbon tax making much of a difference, at least not right now.
Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions has been very busy working with Republican members on forming legislative principles to address climate change, but it doesn’t see a carbon tax as a part of that effort, the group’s executive director Heather Reams said in an interview.
“We are more agnostic on a carbon tax” because it’s not “politically viable,” said Reams.
Reams acknowledged that there are a number of center-right groups that advocate for a carbon tax, but she says it gives her more room to maneuver without it.
BP and Shell, along with dozens of other companies, descended on Capitol Hill on Tuesday and Wednesday to show their support for a carbon tax. The two oil companies also forked over $2 million to help the Republican-led Climate Leadership Council’s advocacy wing push for its carbon tax and dividend plan.
A carbon tax is generally seen as a simpler way to regulate carbon emissions. But weathering the price hikes that could result from the tax is a hang-up in more conservative circles. Some groups are trying to mitigate those concerns through a tax-and-dividend approach, in which the tax would be collected and then redistributed to taxpayers to help mitigate any increased energy costs.
Ream says she isn’t lobbying against the tax. It’s just not part of her group’s “playbook,” she said. If groups were coming to together to negotiate on a piece of carbon tax legislation, then she might have a different position. But for now, she said, “it’s just not going anywhere.”
Even the Democratic leadership in the House is skeptical about a carbon tax being the direction they want to take ahead of the election, she added.
For the vast majority of Republicans a carbon tax is just too “radioactive” for her group to be pushing, she explained.
Currently, Reams is more focused on legislation that the GOP can endorse that includes supporting renewable energy, like solar, wind, and energy storage.
Renewable energy helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it also helps to spur free-market competition that conservatives can also get behind, she explained.
She sees room for Republicans to endorse tax credits for wind and solar as a policy they can get behind, despite conservative critics that say otherwise.
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NEW HOUSE CHAIRMAN INTRODUCES BILL TO AVERT EXTINCTION CRISIS: House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., introduced a comprehensive bill to address what has been called an “extinction crisis” that the Trump administration is exacerbating.
The Extinction Protection Act of 2019 aims to provide a financial boost to maintain critical habitat for endangered and threatened species, while increasing funds to list new species for protections under the Endangered Species Act.
The bill authorizes $5 million annually to restore each species group receiving federal protections.
The bill was released Wednesday ahead of the first hearing held by the Natural Resources Committee on a recent report by the United Nations that showed 1 million species are on the brink of extinction due to climate change and human activity.
Climate skeptic picks fight at hearing: Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif, who served as chairman at the hearing, had to cut off testimony when one of the climate skeptics testifying began to verbally attack the credibility of one of the U.N. scientists.
Marc Morano, a critic of the U.N. and founder of Climate Depot, was asked twice to direct his comments to the chairman and not fellow panelists at the hearing. Huffman was forced to stop Morano from delivering his prepared remarks for refusing to listen to the chairman’s direction not to criticize fellow panelists.
ENERGY COMMITTEE REPUBLICANS FLAG COST OF DEMOCRATS’ CLIMATE-FOCUSED INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN: Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon, the top Republican of the Energy and Commerce Committee, drew attention Wednesday to the potential cost of an infrastructure plan promoted by committee Democrats focused on combating climate change.
“Just spending more money may not necessarily achieve, what I believe to be, our shared infrastructure goals,” Walden said.
Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., hosted a hearing Wednesday focused on a bill he released last week sponsored by all of the committee’s Democrats that would dedicate tens of billions of dollars to renewable energy and energy efficiency. It hosted the hearing as a blueprint for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer ahead of their White House meeting with Trump later Wednesday on reaching a infrastructure deal, which quickly broke down after the president insisted Democrats stop investigating him.
Pallone acknowledged “a lot” of the feasibility of his plan would depend on whether Trump and Democratic leaders can agree on how to fund infrastructure legislation and how much to spend.
What his plan would do: The LIFT America Act directs more than $33 billion for clean energy, including $4 billion for grid upgrades to accommodate the use of more renewables.
It includes another $4 billion for the expansion of renewable energy use, including the installation of solar panels in low-income and underserved communities. The bill also dedicates $23 billion to make energy efficiency improvements in homes, schools, and other buildings to ensure they produce less greenhouse gas emissions. And it would invest in developing an electric vehicle charging network.
EPA PURSUES NEW COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS THAT CRITICS FEAR WILL UNDERMINE CLIMATE RULES: The Environmental Protection Agency is pursuing new rules for regulatory cost-benefit analysis that critics fear could undermine the agency’s regulation of climate pollution by saying it costs too much.
Administrator Andrew Wheeler released the May 13 memo outlining the overhaul on Tuesday, after it was leaked.
“This action supports the Trump Administration’s efforts to identify regulations that impose costs that exceed benefits, providing clarity, transparency and consistency in how regulations are written,” EPA said in releasing the memo.
Environmentalists say the cost-analysis changes could slow new pollution rules, including those to address climate change under future administrations.
Industry, however, welcomed Wheeler’s new effort to expose EPA’s regulatory processes to public scrutiny.
Read John’s full story here.
EPA WANTS EVERYONE TO KNOW WHEN IT’S BEING SUED: EPA General Counsel Matthew Leopold launched a new online tool on Tuesday to allow anyone to know when, and by whom, the agency is being sued.
The new online tool is part of an effort by the counsel’s office to enhance transparency about EPA’s “defensive litigation activities.”
It’s no secret the Trump EPA is facing a slew of lawsuits over most of its deregulation agenda, including its plans to scrap the previous administration’s climate regulations and clean car rules.
“With just a few clicks, anyone can now sign up to receive notices of EPA litigation that could affect them,” Leopold said.
SENATE DEMOCRATS REBUKE INTERIOR’S BERNHARDT FOR ‘DODGE’ ON CLIMATE: Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico rebuked Interior Secretary David Bernhardt Wednesday for claiming federal law does not give him the discretion to aggressively combat climate change impacts on federal lands unless Congress directs him to.
“Blaming Congress is a dodge,” said Udall, the top Democrat of the Senate Appropriations environment subcommittee, adding Congress has provided Interior “broad discretion” to address climate change. “Federal law requires the department to manage federal lands and waters for the benefit of future generations. It is impossible to meet that mandate if you disregard climate change.”
Bernhardt testified before the appropriations subcommittee about Interior’s proposed fiscal year 2020 budget, but Democratic senators scrutinized the agency’s policy agenda, including proposals to weaken regulations targeting methane emissions on public lands, expand offshore drilling, modify endangered species protection rules, and shrink national monuments.
Bernhardt defended his agency’s approach, saying Interior “already incorporates” climate change factors into its listing of endangered species, for example. Nearly a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from energy production on public lands
“I am certainly concerned our carbon pollution is increasing,” Bernhardt said in response to questioning from Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., asking if the Interior leader “loses sleep” over climate change. Bernhardt this month in testimony before another committee said he has not lost sleep over record amounts of carbon dioxide recorded in the Earth’s atmosphere.
HOUSE APPROPRIATORS APPROVE $46 BILLION ENERGY BILL, REJECT TRUMP CUTS: The Democratic-led House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved a fiscal year 2020 energy and water spending bill that rejects Trump’s proposed budget cuts.
The bill, approved by a mostly party-line 31-21 vote, would increase spending by nearly $2 billion from previously enacted 2019 levels, totaling $46.4 billion in funding aimed at energy innovation and mitigating the effects of climate change.
“Meeting the needs of current and future generations requires our nation be at the forefront of global energy innovation, and this funding bill sets us on that path,” said Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development.
Big funding for clean energy R&D: The bill rejects the Trump administration’s proposed cuts across the Energy Department, Interior, and the Army Corps of Engineers.
It reverses the president’s proposed plan to zero out funding for the Energy Department’s loan guarantee programs, which are used to fund innovative clean energy technologies.
And it provides $425 million, an increase of $59 million from the previous year, to the DOE’s ARPA-E advanced energy research program, which Trump sought to eliminate.
COMPANIES TO BUILD WORLD’S LARGEST DIRECT AIR CAPTURE PLANT IN PERMIAN: Occidental Petroleum announced Tuesday it plans to build the world’s largest “direct air capture” and sequestration facility in West Texas’ booming Permian Basin, aiming for a major breakthrough on a technology seen as crucial to reaching emissions reduction goals.
The project, a partnership with Carbon Engineering, would suck carbon dioxide directly from the sky and inject it into the ground to assist with oil production — a process known as enhanced oil recovery.
The companies project the facility would be able to remove 500,000 tons of carbon per year.
“Climate experts tell us that, alongside other mitigation solutions, carbon removal technologies like [direct air capture] are going to be essential if we hope to decarbonize in time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change,” said Steve Oldham, CEO of Carbon Engineering. “This project is therefore a huge step forward in demonstrating the readiness of large-scale atmospheric carbon removal.”
Occidental Petroleum and Carbon Engineering first plan to proceed with engineering and design of the facility.
The companies aim to eventually build multiple plants each able to capture 1 million metric tons per year of carbon.
They expect to begin construction on the first plant in 2021, and for it to be operational no later than 2023.
The Rundown
Wall Street Journal Saudi Arabia lines up deal to buy US natural gas
Los Angeles Times Trump administration wants to cut payments to California for wildfire reimbursements
Associated Press Research on children’s health risks in doubt over EPA funds
ProPublica Why carbon credits for forest preservation may be worse than nothing
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | May 22
All-day event, 550 C Street SW. The National Utility Contractors Association holds its 2019 Washington Summit, May 22-23.
THURSDAY | May 23
11 a.m., 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Energy Secretary Rick Perry addresses the annual U.S. Energy Association’s policy forum.
