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GOP CLIMATE PLAN: A group of Republican senators is introducing a clean energy and climate strategy today that challenges the Biden administration and Democrats’ agenda of massively expanding clean energy while reducing fossil fuel production and use.
Sens. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming — all representing major oil and gas producing states — are releasing the “American Energy, Jobs, and Climate” plan, which aims to cut global emissions up to 40% from today’s levels by 2050, according to a fact sheet obtained exclusively by Josh.
The plan is notable in that Republicans are setting an emissions reduction target (which they haven’t done before).
George David Banks, former international energy adviser in the Trump administration, told Josh that energy-related carbon emissions being 40% less in 2050 would represent a significant change from today.
It’s less aggressive than net-zero pledges most world leaders are now calling for in order to prevent the worst consequences of climate change, but those targets are being set domestically, not globally. He said reducing global emissions by 40% would necessarily require substantial cuts from the U.S.
“People will just dismiss it because it’s not net-zero, but in reality it’s substantial,” Banks said. “If you have a global goal and are designing policy around that, you are acknowledging U.S. responsibility for global emissions. We haven’t done this before.”
But by focusing on global emissions and not setting aside a U.S. goal, Republicans are swiping at President Joe Biden and Democrats for aiming to cut domestic emissions in half by 2030.
Proponents say that an aggressive domestic target inspires the rest of the world to do more. Republicans say U.S. targets mean nothing without international emission reductions, especially from China (the U.S. and China combine for about 40% of global emissions).
Ok, so what’s in it? The plan calls for familiar ideas favored by Republicans, such as developing and deploying clean energy technologies, including carbon capture, advanced nuclear reactors, and battery storage, and exporting those innovations abroad.
It also aims to “revitalize” manufacturing of renewable energy technologies in the U.S, such as solar panels and wind turbines, to lessen dependence on China — a goal shared by Democrats.
And it seeks to reform permitting of energy, infrastructure, and mining projects to ensure they can be built faster.
The plan would “export America’s innovations — not our jobs — and in turn, reduce global emissions,” said Heather Reams, president of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, a conservative clean energy group.
Fossil fuels remain dividing line: Republican senators diverge from Democrats most glaringly in promoting an expansion of natural gas production at home, while exporting more LNG abroad, which they say would displace dirtier coal in developing countries with growing energy demand. The Republicans don’t acknowledge any need to reduce fossil fuel use or development. They make clear they continue to oppose “mandates, regulations, and taxes.” That would seem to include regulation of methane emissions.
Addressing methane leaks is not mentioned, despite it being a major problem facing the oil and gas industry that raises doubts about Republican claims that natural gas is a “clean” solution for decades to come.
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GRANHOLM ‘SO BULLISH ON CARROTS’ AS CORE OF AGENDA: Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is “so bullish on carrots” as the main tool the Biden administration has to encourage clean energy growth and meet its emissions reduction goals.
Granholm, fresh upon arriving in Glasgow for the U.N. climate conference, held a press call this morning in which she was asked by Josh how she would tout President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better domestic agenda without the clean electricity performance program being a part of it.
Democrats had to toss aside that policy, which would have restrained fossil fuel use by penalizing utilities that didn’t generate enough power from zero-carbon sources.
‘Build, build, build’: Granholm responded that the $555 billion of clean energy spending remaining in the Democratic-only framework, mostly long-term tax credits for a host of technologies, combined with another $250 billion or so in the bipartisan infrastructure bill, would put the U.S. on track to triple the amount of zero-carbon power on the grid. Granholm said that level of growth is required if Biden wants to meet his pledge to cut economy-wide emissions in half by 2030.
“We want to build, build, build,” said Granholm, also emphasizing that the two bills would help double the size of the grid by funding new production tax credits for transmission lines, for example. “We want to make sure we build the capacity for the renewable energy we want to have.”
Granholm also pointed to Biden administration regulations to curb methane from oil and gas operations as an example of how it can restrain fossil fuel emissions at the same time as it grows the clean energy slice of the pie.
NO LOVE LOST BETWEEN US AND CHINA: Biden says China’s President Xi Jinping made a “big mistake” not showing up to COP26, a new characterization of his frustrations with the world’s largest emitter not boosting its emissions pledges for this decade.
“They’ve lost their ability to influence people around the world and all the people here at COP,” Biden said during a press conference yesterday, closing his two days of attendance at the event.
Biden added that China and Russia, another big emitter, have “walked away” from staking out a global leadership position on addressing climate change.
“How do you do that and claim to have any leadership mantle?” Biden said.
Of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, specifically, Biden added: “Literally the tundra is burning. He has serious, serious climate problems. And he is mum on the willingness to do anything.”
Biden sought to reposition the U.S. as restoring leadership after former President Donald Trump rejected the Paris agreement, taking credit for new initiatives such as agreements to end deforestation and reduce emissions of methane.
“We showed up,” Biden said. “And by showing up, we’ve had a profound impact.”
China’s response: China’s leaders are swiping back, arguing the U.S. is making promises it can’t keep given its volatile politics.
“China sticks to its word, and its actions bear fruit,” Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, told reporters in Beijing according to the New York Times.
Wang criticized the U.S. for having “constantly flipped and flopped and gone backward” on climate change.
REPUBLICANS SKEPTICAL OF EPA’S METHANE RULES: Republicans sounded skeptical about the need to regulate methane emissions from oil and gas drilling after the EPA announced aggressive new rules yesterday. Their stance doesn’t quite align with the oil and gas industry, which is supporting EPA expanding its regulations to existing sources as it reviews details of the proposal.
Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana, the top GOP member of the House Select Climate Committee, said that he favored “reasonable” regulation but that his “fear is that a Biden EPA will intentionally stifle innovation to require ineffective and higher cost alternatives.”
As Josh wrote yesterday, EPA designed its rules with built-in flexibility to accommodate different needs of oil and gas companies, promoting advanced measurement technologies like satellites, planes, and drones, which are much faster at detecting methane emissions and likely cheaper at completing required surveys.
The top Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee, led by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, said they are “reviewing” the proposal but warned of a “harsh winter predicted” and “energy prices at 7-year highs.” The rules, of course, won’t go into effect for a few years, when energy prices could look different.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, top Republican of the Environmental and Public Works Committee, is more directly opposed to EPA regulating methane.
“We should be acknowledging emissions reductions accomplishments we’ve made and look for more ways to further incentivize reductions,” Capito said, suggesting EPA issuing regulations is “demonizing” the oil and gas industry as the “world faces severe energy supply constraints.”
CARBON REMOVAL IS THE NEXT ‘EARTHSHOT’: Biden announced yesterday that the Energy Department’s next “Earthshot” is focused on accelerating and reducing the cost of technologies that remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere.
Earthshots are designed to focus research and development on challenging technical problems that are critical to addressing climate change. Biden’s DOE has already announced Earthshots focused on hydrogen and long-duration storage that can help with hard-to-abate sectors like heavy industry and provide a solution for when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow, respectively.
DOE previously had success with its SunShot initiative in 2011 that helped drive cost declines for solar energy.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS SUBPOENA OIL FIRMS: House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney subpoenaed several major oil corporations and industry groups yesterday, saying they failed to produce documents as part of a committee investigation into the industry’s “disinformation campaign” on climate change.
“For far too long, Big Oil has escaped accountability for its central role in bringing our planet to the brink of a climate catastrophe. That ends today,” Maloney said in a tweet.
The subpoenas follow a contentious Oversight Committee hearing, during which Democrats accused Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP America, Shell, American Petroleum Institute, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce of sitting for decades on information about the warming effects fossil fuels have on the climate.
The executives disputed the allegations during the hearing and insisted their companies have evolved their business strategies and investments as science related to climate change has.
MAINE VOTERS OPPOSE HYDROPOWER TRANSMISSION LINE PROJECT: Mainers voted to ban the construction of a transmission line project yesterday that was designed to bring 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydropower to Massachusetts through Maine’s Upper Kennebec region.
Nearly 60% of voters supported the ban via a ballot question, with 93% or precincts reporting results as of this morning. Approval of the question also authorized the state’s legislature to approve, by a two-thirds majority, all other such projects utilizing public land across the state retroactively dating back to 2014.
The project was opposed by environmentalists and natural gas companies alike (albeit for different reasons), and the vote highlights the significant tension between the transition to carbon-free energy sources and local land-use requirements that could hamper construction of the infrastructure needed for that transition.
Granholm spoke to the outcome in her press call this morning: “I think people have to see this happening. They’ve got to understand and see the buildings going up, factories going up, neighbors employed. They’ve got to feel it in a way they haven’t yet necessarily.”
Three-quarters of trees have already been removed for the project, which began construction earlier this year.
GLOBAL BUSINESS COALITION COMMITS TO BUYING CLEAN ENERGY TECH: Biden appeared alongside Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and other global business executives in Glasgow yesterday to announce the “First Movers Coalition,” a public-private partnership involving 25 corporations that have committed to purchasing emerging clean energy technologies in order to drive their demand and development.
The coalition, which includes companies representing various “need-to-abate” sectors, such as steel, aviation, and chemicals manufacturing, have committed an initial investment of $4 billion to be put to use over the next five years.
The U.S. government will also be a party to that with a $1 billion initial investment of its own, Biden said.
RANKS OF UN’S GLOBAL NET-ZERO FINANCING COALITION GROW: The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, a group of global financial institutions supporting a 2050 net-zero carbon emissions target, has grown to more than 450 member firms whose total assets are valued at $130 trillion.
Michael Bloomberg and Mark Carney, who co-chair the alliance together, announced the new memberships in an op-ed this morning, noting that GFANZ’s focus is providing financing “to build sustainable infrastructure and to accelerate the transition to clean energy,” especially in developing countries. GFANZ was launched in April.
The Rundown
New York Times Corporate climate pledges often ignore a key component: supply chains
Associated Press US says oil, gas sales damage climate — but won’t stop them
Reuters China optimistic on climate markets deal after ‘wasted’ years
Wall Street Journal Financial system makes big promises on climate change at COP26 Summit
Washington Post A novel way to reduce emissions? China tries confiscating coal from households.
Calendar
CALENDAR
THURSDAY | NOV. 4
10 a.m. 366 Dirksen. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing to examine the potential non-electric applications of civilian nuclear energy.
