| | | | |  | | By Matthew Choi | | | With help from Catherine Morehouse Editor's Note: Morning Energy is a free version of POLITICO Pro Energy's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro.
| | | — The Biden administration is touting the environmental justice spending under the bipartisan infrastructure package, though it's the states that will have final say over how that money is spent, and they may not be on board. — The SEC is making moves to standardize climate risk disclosure rules, accounting for disaster risk and creating accountability on emissions goals. — President Joe Biden warned that Russia may launch cyberattacks on the U.S. citing new intelligence, and he urged companies to step up their security. HAPPY TUESDAY! I'm your host, Matthew Choi. Alain Xiong-Calmes of Gov. Tom Wolf's office gets the trivia for knowing Vasco da Gama was the first European explorer to reach India via the Cape of Good Hope. For today: What was the shortest transit route for drivers between West Germany and West Berlin during the Cold War? (And let me know if you've ever done the drive!) Send your tips and trivia answers to mchoi@politico.com. Find me on Twitter @matthewchoi2018. Check out the POLITICO Energy podcast — all the energy and environmental politics and policy news you need to start your day, in just five minutes. Listen and subscribe for free at politico.com/energy-podcast. On today's episode: Europe's LNG dilemma.
| | | | | A message from The American Beverage Association: At America's beverage companies our plastic bottles are made to be remade. We're carefully designing them to be 100% recyclable, including the caps—so every bottle can become a new one. That means less plastic waste in our environment. Please help us get Every Bottle Back. EveryBottleBack.org | | | | | | IN THE STATES' HANDS: Last year's $550 billion bipartisan infrastructure package is looking like President Joe Biden's biggest domestic win going into the midterms and his main legislative vehicle for his environmental justice promises. But much of that money goes into state hands, and they may not be on the same page with the administration in focusing on vulnerable communities, POLITICO's Zack Colman reports. "People are saying 'Where are the projects?'" said Robert Bullard, a Texas Southern University professor and member of Biden's White House Environmental Justice Advisory Committee, expressing the frustration in communities of color. "They know the pressure they're going to be under with the midterms. There has to be something tangible rolled out because these people stood for hours in line [to vote] during the pandemic and they're going to be asked to do it again in November — and if nothing happens they're going to ask, 'Why?'" About 75 percent of the money in the package will go to states under a formula set by already existing statute, including the bulk of federal highway funding. Most of the $50 billion designated for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, lead pipe removal and toxic cleanups, must go through state revolving loan funds. Just 10 percent will go to "small and disadvantaged communities." Federal agencies are pushing the states to address the imbalances in resource allocation via memos and recommendations, and Transportation Department Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg said many state DOTs are on board to prioritize carbon emissions reductions and social equity.But activists fear GOP-led states won't allocate the money in line with the administration's priorities, and the administration's legal ability to ensure compliance is limited. Congress had the opportunity to change how the funding would be allocated to states, but Republicans were against Democrats' efforts to redirect highway funding toward public transit. Read more from Zack here.
| | | | JOIN THURSDAY FOR A CONVERSATION ON CRYPTOCURRENCY AND REGULATION: Cryptocurrency has gone mainstream. With the market now valued at $1.8 trillion, Washington's oversight of the fast-growing industry remains in its infancy. How should Congress and federal agencies shape future regulation of digital asset markets? Join POLITICO in person or virtually for a deep-dive discussion on what's next for crypto, regulation and the future of finance. Programming will run from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. EDT with a reception from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. EDT. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | STANDARD CLIMATE DISCLOSURE: The SEC voted Monday to advance a new rule standardizing how companies disclose their climate risks, from vulnerabilities to extreme weather to supply chain contingency plans as well as progress on their emissions reductions goals. On a 3-1 vote, the SEC issued the proposed regulation and will now put it up for public comment. It largely follows guidelines already used by the private sector, POLITICO's Lorraine Woellert and Zack Colman report, including emissions and reductions targets. But having it all standardized under the SEC offers uniformity and legal accountability that private investors and business groups have long requested. "The new climate disclosure rule is truly a watershed moment in responding to investor demand for accurate climate disclosure," said Danielle Fugere, president and chief counsel of As You Sow, a corporate responsibility nonprofit. "Clear and standardized reporting of greenhouse gas emissions is the bedrock of sound investor decision-making." But not everyone is so keen. Frank Macchiarola, a senior vice president at the American Petroleum Institute, contended that the U.S. oil and gas industry already reports its sustainability efforts and that the SEC proposal would "require non-material disclosures and create confusion for investors and capital markets. As the Commission pursues a final rule, we encourage them to collaborate with our industry and build on private-sector efforts that are already underway to improve consistency and comparability of climate-related reporting." Lorraine and Zack have the details on the proposal. BIDEN: RUSSIA MAY LAUNCH CYBER WAR: Biden urged the private sector to fortify cybersecurity protections Monday following "evolving intelligence that the Russian Government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks." Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emergency technology, told reporters Monday that there isn't any intelligence foretelling an impending attack on critical infrastructure, but said the administration gathered over 100 companies to share information and plan for future attacks. The White House released a fact sheet Monday laying out recommendations for private companies to beef up their cybersecurity, including using multi-factor authentication and conducting cyberattack drills. House Democrats are also considering a bill by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) to create a new federal authority to standardize cybersecurity and pipeline reliability across the country following the Colonial Pipeline attack last year. Read more from POLITICO's Maggie Miller and Sam Sabin. THE FERC PUSHBACK GROWS: FERC's recent natural gas policy statement drew a raft of opposition from fossil fuel interests and red states in comments filed over the weekend, with critics complaining that the commission had overstepped its authority. "The impact of these Rules cannot be overstated," wrote the coalition of states, led by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry. "They fundamentally reorder the balance of authority between FERC and EPA at the federal level and between FERC and the states. They impose massive costs on the American economy." The policies would boost environmental justice and climate considerations when approving natural gas projects. Democratic commissioners have defended the changes, saying they would help companies skirt some of the recent legal challenges FERC-approved projects faced over whether the commission had done its due diligence in first giving the greenlight. But Republican senators and Senate Energy Chair Joe Manchin felt they amounted to federal overreach and could jeopardize market certainty. The commission plans to clarify its position at its open meeting this Thursday. Read more from POLITICO's Catherine Morehouse.
| | | | A message from The American Beverage Association:   | | | | | | DEMS PROBE UTILITY SHUTOFFS: House Democrats are investigating an "alarming" rate of utility shut offs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Energy Subcommittee Chair Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair Diana DeGette, (D-Colo.), wrote to six U.S. companies to inquire why they cut power to customers after reassuring Congress that a federal moratorium on such shutoffs was unnecessary. Citing a report from environmental group Center for Biological Diversity, the lawmakers note that 16 utilities that received $1.25 billion in federal aid had cut the power to families more one million times between July 2020 and June 2021. "We understand that federal money received by utilities over the course of the pandemic has multiple applications, but we are disturbed by the alarming reports of shutoffs over the last two years ," the lawmakers wrote. The letters requested information from Dominion Energy, DTE Energy, Duke Energy, Exelon, NextEra Energy and Southern Company. NO RUSSIAN PROCUREMENT: House Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) is making moves to tighten sanctions on Russia by barring the federal government from doing business in the country. The Federal Contracting for Peace and Security Act would ban not only businesses with Russian companies but also any "company conducting business operations in territory internationally recognized as the Russian Federation during the covered period of aggression." Though numerous companies, including U.S. energy firms, have willingly withdrawn from the country, many others have said they plan to maintain a presence to protect assets from state seizure. Koch Industries announced last week it will keep its Russian glass manufacturing operation running. Read the bill text here. HONORING DON YOUNG: Alaska Rep. Don Young will lie in state in the Capitol next week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Monday. The former House dean died last week aged 88. Young was a bombastic member of the House Natural Resources Committee, advocating for his state's oil and gas industry but also willing to break from his party peers and support Deb Haaland's nomination for Interior secretary. "For five decades, he was an institution in the hallowed halls of Congress: a serious legislator always bringing people together to do the People's work," Pelosi said in a statement. " The photographs of him with ten presidents of both parties who signed his bills into law that proudly cover the walls of his Rayburn office are a testament to his longevity and his legislative mastery."
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | EUROPEAN RALLY: U.S. oil futures were on the upswing Monday, settling at $112.12 a barrel amid discussions among European Union leadership of a ban on Russian oil imports , The Wall Street Journal reports. Though some European countries, particularly those closest to Russia, such as Poland and the Baltic countries, support a ban, others including Germany are leaning more toward gradual restrictions. If the EU were to ban Russian oil, it would be a devastating move on the country's economy. Oil exports made up 37 percent of the country's export revenue, according to the Journal. But it would also be a tight crunch for the global economy, since Russia produces about 10 percent of global crude supplies and markets have been rattled by the import ban imposed by the Biden administration and a phaseout of Russian shipments by the UK. Biden will keep European energy needs high on the agenda during his Brussels trip this week to meet with fellow NATO leaders. Related: "Bulgaria signals historic shift from Russian gas," via POLITICO Europe. MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION: U.N. Secretary General António Guterres had some stern words about the world's progress to capping climate changing emissions, saying the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius was on "life support." "The world emerged from Glasgow with some naive optimism," Guterres said in pre-recorded remarks at The Economist Sustainability Summit on Monday. "But the main problem was not solved. It was not even properly addressed. … We are sleepwalking to climate catastrophe." Guterres reiterated warnings from the latest IPCC report, including that emissions were set to increase by almost 14 percent this decade and that the G20 was responsible for 80 percent of emissions. He urged developed countries to make good on their promise to provide $100 billion in climate finance for low income and vulnerable countries. He also called on developed nations to end domestic coal financing and for the private sector to drop investing in the energy sources that would become "billions in stranded assets." He also warned countries not to get carried away in their quest to replace Russian fossil fuels following the country's invasion of Ukraine. Evoking Cold War warnings, Guterres said an "addiction to fossil fuels is mutually assured destruction." "Ladies and gentlemen, if we continue with more of the same, we can kiss 1.5 goodbye," he stressed. Watch the whole speech here. NEW ENGLAND'S LAST COAL PLANT HANGS ON: New England's last remaining coal plant will continue chugging along through at least 2026 after securing another capacity contract in the regional auction that dictates what power resources will supply the Northeast power grid in the coming years. The coal plant is not run regularly, but rather is used essentially as a buffer in the region: It only operates when power demand is particularly high. Plant owners say it plays an essential reliability role in a region whose high dependence on gas resources has generated persistent supply concerns during the winter months in particular. But the plant has also been the subject of controversy in the region: It faces a lawsuit from environmentalists for discharging the water it uses to cool its units into nearby waterways, and unloading heated water that can harm local wildlife. Critics also say the plant's existence in the region is a sign the competitive market isn't working as it should — and that it should be retired in favor of cheaper, cleaner energy resources.
| | | — "Activists spray paint TotalEnergies' HQ west of Paris over Russia ties," via Reuters. — "Supreme Court declines Oregon ranchers' appeal in water rights case," via POLITICO. — " Some Chernobyl Staff Freed After Three Weeks on Duty at Gunpoint," via The Wall Street Journal. — "Kavanaugh tensions simmer behind low-key opening to Jackson hearings," via POLITICO. — " Shale Companies Drilling More, but Oil Output Growing Little," via The Wall Street Journal. THAT'S ALL FOR ME!
| | | | A message from The American Beverage Association: America's leading beverage companies - The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo - are working together to reduce our industry's plastic footprint through our Every Bottle Back initiative. We're investing in efforts to get our bottles back so we can remake them into new bottles and use less new plastic.
Together, we're:
· Designing 100% recyclable plastic bottles and caps – we're making our bottles from PET that's strong, lightweight and easy to recycle.
· Investing in community recycling – we're marshalling the equivalent of nearly a half-billion dollars with The Recycling Partnership and Closed Loop Partners to support community recycling programs across multiple states.
· Raising awareness – we're adding on-pack reminders to encourage consumers to recycle our plastic bottles and caps.
Our bottles are made to be remade. Please help us get Every Bottle Back. EveryBottleBack.org | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
Comments
Post a Comment