| | | | |  | | By Matthew Choi | Presented by Growth Energy | With help from Gloria Gonzalez. 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.
| | | — While the Russian president and the oil industry get the lion's share of the blame for high fuel prices, the Democratic Party has not escaped the wrath of voters as lawmakers and the administration try to shake off the fingerpointing ahead of the midterms. — The White House is treading extra carefully as it courts Sen. Joe Manchin a second time for a climate and social spending bill. — The Mountain Valley Pipeline faces one less hurdle after FERC unanimously approved its plans to burrow under rivers and wetlands. HAPPY MONDAY! I'm your host, Matthew Choi. Nucor's Daniel Falcone gets the trivia for knowing the 2012 AP World History DBQ focused on cricket (and for taking the exam that year). For today: What is the API gravity of water? 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: Lawmakers sick of gas price gaslighting.
| | | A message from Growth Energy: Fuel prices are up, and drivers across the nation are looking for relief at the pump. Now more than ever, we must invest in American-made energy like ethanol by unleashing the power of year-round E15, a lower-cost, lower-emission option compared to traditional fuel blends. The administration must work swiftly to issue an emergency waiver and lift E15 restrictions that threaten to cut off motorists from lower-cost options at the pump. Learn more here: www.GrowthEnergy.org/GasPrices. | | | | | | WHO'S TO BLAME: The House and Senate are in recess this week, meaning a brief pause in the finger wagging and blame tossing on the floor and in committee over the rise in energy prices. But Democrats still face an uphill battle in shaking off blame for the increase in retail fuel prices as the midterms approach. A whole 51 percent of voters blame President Joe Biden for the rise in fuel prices, with 52 percent blaming Democratic Party policies, according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll published Sunday. And while a greater share of voters blame Russian President Vladimir Putin (71 percent) and the oil industry (68 percent) for rising prices, 68 percent of respondents said they disapprove of how Biden is handling the situation. POLITICO's Dave Cohen has more on the poll. And it could be getting worse for Democrats. Consumer confidence in the U.S. economy is tanking amid escalating costs for food and fuel, POLITICO's Ben White reports . The University of Michigan's consumer confidence survey touched its lowest level in over a decade. It's leading to a White House scramble to find some immediate relief for voters, with officials considering their options to free up more crude and untangle supply chain issues. "There are still things we can do and arguments we can make, but frankly it would have been better had Vladimir Putin not invaded Ukraine," a White House aide told Ben. Republicans are hammering the point home that the administration's clean energy policies are to blame. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News Sunday that the administration wants "us to be green so they're going after our allies in the Middle East asking them to up production," adding Biden "needs to take the shackles off of domestic production." But as lawmakers and industry representatives emphasized repeatedly in numerous hearings over the past weeks, fuel prices remain a function of market forces largely outside the immediate control of federal policy. And Democrats aren't done highlighting the role of the oil and gas industry in the ordeal. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) introduced a bill last week to give the Federal Trade Commission tools to probe the markets for unfair practices and price gouging by big oil and gas companies that may be contributing to energy cost hikes. The Senate Finance Committee is also hoping to have a hearing with oil and gas executives after recess. The League of Conservation Voters unveiled a $180,000 ad buy in Georgia to help Sen. Raphael Warnock as he faces reelection this year. The ads directly tie Warnock's clean energy and climate priorities to gasoline price relief, placing blame for rising prices on Putin's invasion and oil and gas companies' shareholder returns. Related: POLITICO's Ruby Cramer has a deep dive on Rep. Ro Khanna , who has been a leading voice in the Democrats' messaging around the fossil fuel industry.
| | | | DON'T MISS ANYTHING FROM THE 2022 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from the 25th annual Global Conference. This year's event, May 1-4, brings together more than 3,000 of the world's most influential leaders, including 700+ speakers representing more than 80 countries. "Celebrating the Power of Connection" is this year's theme, setting the stage to connect influencers with the resources to change the world with leading experts and thinkers whose insight and creativity can implement that change. Whether you're attending in person or following along from somewhere else in the world, keep up with this year's conference with POLITICO's special edition "Global Insider" so you don't miss a beat. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | | MANCHIN CAUTIOUS: The White House is dipping its toes back into negotiations with Senate Energy Chair Joe Manchin on a revived climate and social spending package, but this time, they're trying not to make a show about it, POLITICO's Adam Cancryn and Eugene Daniels report. After the collapse of the Build Back Better bill, the White House is keeping its cards close to the chest, not divulging deadlines or targets as it charts a path forward. Staffers have also deliberated on who would be the best emissary to the West Virginian and narrowed down some policy items where they would agree, such as energy and drug pricing. Some Democrats on the Hill have joked that the White House's cautious silence means it doesn't care about the legislation at all. But the White House still says it's committed to a major package that could deliver results ahead of November's midterms. "I reject the notion that we should look to Joe Manchin as the oracle on what is best for America," Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) told POLITICO recently, warning it's a waste of time for Democrats to spend months chasing Manchin's support. "He's the saboteur of the Build Back Better Act so I see no point in placating the implacable. I have trouble grasping the political logic there." Read more from Adam and Eugene. TAKE THE LEAD ON CYBERSECURITY: House and Senate energy leaders in both parties urged Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to take charge in leading the country's energy cybersecurity, including by tapping into its industry partnerships to manage "risk in today's threat environment." Senate Energy Chair Joe Manchin and ranking member John Barrasso, along with House Energy and Commerce Chair Frank Pallone and ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, wrote to Granholm that the department should work across agencies to ensure consistency in cybersecurity reporting and coordinate with DHS's Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency develops a rulemaking on reporting requirements. The lawmakers cite the administration's warnings that Russia could target U.S. energy infrastructure with cyberattacks. A DOE spokesperson told ME that cybersecurity is one of the department's top priorities in its collaborations with industry and looks forward to working with CISA as it works on its rulemaking. Read the letter here. House Energy and Commerce Energy Subcommittee Chair Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) made pipeline cybersecurity a priority for his final year in Congress, introducing a bill to better coordinate security efforts across state and federal authorities (though it has faced opposition from industry, which says it would create a redundant agency). MAKING MOVES ON CDR: Last week's IPCC report called for a buildout of the world's carbon dioxide removal capacity to mitigate both legacy carbon emissions and to neutralize difficult-to-decarbonize sectors like heavy industry. Reps. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) and Scott Peters (D-Calif.) hope to boost U.S. direct air capture technology by creating demand for captured carbon and incentivizing the nascent technology's development. The Federal Carbon Dioxide Removal Leadership Act introduced Friday would mandate the Energy secretary to remove pre-determined amounts of carbon while laying out best practices for the technology taking into account environmental justice and community engagement. The bill is the first legislation centered on carbon removal procurement and comes as the International Energy Agency also released its own report stressing the importance of direct air capture technology in achieving global net-zero goals. CONFERENCE TIME: The House and Senate are sending some of their energy and natural resources bigwigs to work out a final package on competitiveness with China. Both bills include new investments in clean energy research, U.S. national labs and domestic manufacturing. But lawmakers will also have to work out their differences on trade protections, with the House version acting more aggressively on that front but attracting far fewer Republican supporters (only Rep. Adam Kinzinger voted for the bill among House Republicans). The total conference committee has over 100 members included, split between the House and Senate, Republicans and Democrats. On the House side are Pallone and Natural Resources Chair Raul Grijalva. Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell and Finance Chair Ron Wyden , who are also members of the Senate Energy Committee, will be in the conference. Senate Environment and Public Works ranking member Shelley Moore Capito and Energy ranking member John Barrasso are also on the list.
| | | | INTRODUCING DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED: Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | FERC'S MVP: The Mountain Valley Pipeline has one less obstacle to completion after FERC on Friday approved the pipeline's builders to bore under wetlands and rivers as part of its plans to connect West Virginia's natural gas with Virginia. It was a unanimous decision from the commission, but the project still faces roadblocks from other agencies on its environmental impact, The Roanoke Times reports. The project faces opposition from environmentalists, who challenged FERC in court for extending its certificate back in 2020. The two sides faced off last week in federal appeals court in D.C., which has already sent a handful of FERC approvals back to the commission for further environmental review. That case is still pending (read more from E&E New's Niina Farah). Both of West Virginia's senators have been fierce advocates for the pipeline, saying it would help the U.S. expand its natural gas capacity as it seeks to export energy to help Europe wean off of Russian fossil fuels. Manchin called FERC's Friday move "the correct decision," adding the pipeline is a "strategically important project for the energy and national security of our country." "Unfortunately, there are still several additional steps that need to be taken by the Administration to get this critical project - which would put an additional two billion cubic feet of natural gas into the market within a matter of months - complete," Manchin said in a statement. "I continue to call for the full approval of the MVP so we are able to domestically produce the natural gas we need today and support our energy and climate goals for decades to come as we advance innovative solutions like hydrogen." KERRY GOES TO SEA: U.S. climate envoy John Kerry will lead a delegation to the Pacific island country of Palau this week as party of the Our Ocean Conference. The conference will dive into ways to combat climate change and protect the world's oceans from pollution. "The importance of ocean-based climate solutions and the centrality of a healthy ocean to small island developing states – and all places where the ocean is a primary source of sustenance – will be cross-cutting themes," according to a State Department advisory. Palau, along with other low-lying Pacific island countries, is particularly vulnerable to climate change, both from rising seas and an increasingly hot and humid climate. The country is in free association with the U.S.
| | | LIGHTS (MOSTLY) BACK ON IN PUERTO RICO: LUMA Energy, the company that operates Puerto Rico's grid, said power has been restored to 99.7 percent of its 1.5 million customers following a massive island wide outage that started Wednesday. But the power situation on the island remains precarious and LUMA and local government-owned utility Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority are asking customers to conserve their energy consumption to help reduce demand. LUMA President and CEO Wayne Stensby said in a statement Sunday the company still doesn't know what caused such a large outage and its investigation will take some time, but "there is no doubt that this event has exposed the fragility of the energy grid." Grijalva called the island's frequent power failures "inexcusable" and said in a statement that the committee was in contact with Puerto Rican officials to follow up on the outage. LA PRÉSIDENTIELLE: Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen are heading to the April 24 runoffs in the French presidential elections after beating out the competition in the first round of votes Sunday. It's a rehash of the 2017 election, but the divisions are even more entrenched with the war in Ukraine recoloring politics in Europe. Macron has become one of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's closest allies in the West, practicing a marathon of shuttle diplomacy between Kyiv, Moscow and NATO in the lead up to February's invasion. Meanwhile, Le Pen, a far-right candidate whose family made a name for itself through nationalism and euro-skepticism, is a friendly face to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both candidates support the nation's pivot toward more nuclear in a quest for greater energy independence. Macron has vowed to make France the first "great nation" to quit fossil energy, while Le Pen hopes for an exit from the European electricity market. Le Pen also campaigned on growing hydropower while pushing to return wind subsidies to individual households.
| | | | A message from Growth Energy:   | | | | | | — Rob Glenn is joining the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation as its new vice president of global resilience. Glenn was previously director of the Office of Business, Industry and Infrastructure Integration at FEMA.
| | | — "IAEA says Ukraine carried out first staff rotations at Chernobyl," via Reuters. — "The FDA's Food Failure," via POLITICO. — " Gas Price Surge Fuels Fights at FedEx, Uber Over Who Will Pay," via The Wall Street Journal. — "Pennsylvania governor appeals RGGI pause to state's highest court," via POLITICO. — "A 'New Era of Air Pollution' in the Tropics Could Have a Huge Toll," via The New York Times. — "An Indigenous village works to save a Brazilian forest, seed by seed," via The Washington Post. THAT'S ALL FOR ME!
| | A message from Growth Energy: Gasoline prices have recently surged to record levels, and drivers across our nation are feeling the pain at the gas pump. Fortunately, U.S. leaders have an opportunity to provide consumers with immediate relief from high gas prices with higher blends of plant-based, America-made ethanol.
President Biden and EPA Administrator Michael Regan must act quickly to increase the supply of lower-cost biofuels available to motorists. The EPA has authority to waive summertime restrictions on the sale of higher biofuel blends like E15, just as the agency has done in response to past market interruptions.
Now more than ever, it is critical that policymakers in Washington protect access to lower-cost, lower-emissions fuel options made with more American-made energy. We're calling on the administration to support American-made biofuels and waive summertime E15 restrictions. Learn more here: www.GrowthEnergy.org/GasPrices. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
Comments
Post a Comment