Biden's climate agenda is in shambles

Jun 03, 2022 View in browser   By Debra Kahn THE WEEK THAT WAS National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy is getting flak from the left. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo HOW SOON IS NOW? — President Joe Biden's ambitious climate plans have cratered, and some Democrats are pointing fingers ahead of the midterm elections. Nine Democrats inside and outside the administration told our Zack Colman that Biden's Climate Policy Office, headed by former EPA administrator Gina McCarthy, is letting political considerations get in the way of reducing emissions. They said McCarthy's office is micromanaging agencies' work in an effort to avoid court fights or upsetting negotiations with lawmakers like Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). Some casualties include weakened rules to rein in oil and gas leasing on federal lands, a stalled redo of ethanol policies, and slowed efforts to address pollution in low-income and minority communities. The Democrats, who were granted anonymity to discuss politically sensitive issues, expressed worry that the agenda is already suffering from Manchin's opposition to the Build Back Better plan, which had more than $500 billion in climate spending, and that other watered-down policies could dampen progressive voters' enthusiasm for Biden's presidency. "There is a general sense that a number of these things were slow-walked or watered down," said a Democratic congressional staffer whose office serves committees with climate policy oversight, referring to rules and executive actions the administration has taken. The White House and senior leaders at several agencies say McCarthy's office has done a lot. They point to last year's $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, which has billions for climate tech, and new rules on offshore wind development, worker heat protection standards and vehicle fuel economy. The criticism comes at a delicate moment for Biden, who took office calling climate change one of the "four crises" facing the U.S., and who promised to put people to work upgrading the power grid with renewable energy and making millions of electric vehicles while cleaning up heavily polluted areas. Now, spiking gasoline prices and Russia's war in Ukraine have forced the White House to devote efforts to boosting fossil fuel supplies at home and in Europe. Read more from Zack here .   DON'T MISS THE 2022 GREAT LAKES ECONOMIC FORUM:  POLITICO is excited to be the exclusive media partner again at the Council of the Great Lakes Region's bi-national Great Lakes Economic Forum with co-hosts Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot. This premier, intimate networking event, taking place June 26-28 in Chicago, brings together international, national and regional leaders from business, government, academia and the nonprofit sector each year. "Powering Forward" is this year's theme, setting the stage to connect key decision-makers with thought leaders and agents of change to identify and advance solutions that will strengthen the region's competitiveness and sustainability in today's competitive climate of trade, innovation, investment, labor mobility and environmental performance. Register today.     CORPORATE PROMISES PRIDE AND PREJUDICE — Companies are filling their Twitter avatars with rainbow-themed logos in a time-honored display of LGBT pride. But they're not all putting their money where their marketing is. An analysis by the Popular Information newsletter finds that 25 major corporations — General Motors Co., AT&T Inc., Charter Communications Inc. and Walmart Inc. among them — have collectively donated more than $13 million to anti-LGBTQ politicians and political action committees since the start of 2021. Still, none of the 25 companies themselves scored below 80 in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, which doesn't take political donations into account. HRC seems fed up: "Touting your CEI score while donating to politicians who call us pedophiles is just not going to cut it," Joni Madison, interim president of HRC, told Popular Information. "We need corporations to get off the sidelines and actually pick a side." NB: It's relatively easy for companies to come out in support of gay and trans rights. But politicians are finding it trickier to attend pride parades that are making anti-police statements — see San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Aurora, Ill., Mayor Richard Irvin. WASHINGTON WATCH THINK OF THE SMALL BUSINESSES — A new line of attack against the SEC's proposed climate disclosure rule is emerging: Business groups, Republican lawmakers and conservative groups are raising concerns about its effect on small businesses, as Avery Ellfeldt reports for POLITICO's E&E News. They're objecting in particular to the rule's requirement to disclose Scope 3 emissions, which are ones related to a company's supply chain. They argue that if publicly traded companies have to get greenhouse gas data or other related information from their suppliers, it could hurt small businesses that don't have the necessary resources to comply. Others are pooh-poohing the argument. "If I was a very large SEC company that needs to report Scope 3, I would not expect all my tiny little suppliers to have accurate measures of their emissions," said Galina Hale, a former Fed economist and an economics professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "I would either have a top-down model based on national [or] regional averages, or I would hire a consultant who would kind of do that for me." Read more from Avery here.  YOU TELL US Happy Friday — how about them Celtics?! Team Sustainability is editor Greg Mott, deputy editor Debra Kahn, and reporters Lorraine Woellert and Jordan Wolman . Reach us at gmott@politico.com, dkahn@politico.com, lwoellert@politico.com and jwolman@politico.com. Want more? You can have it. Sign up for the Long Game. Four days a week and still free. That's sustainability!   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.     WHAT WE'RE CLICKING — The U.S. has been overlooking a crucial lever in its crackdown on Xinjiang solar: the fact that it controls almost all of the raw quartz that goes into polysilicon panels. South China Morning Post has the story. — Ford's EV sales surged last month by 222 percent year over year — even more impressive considering its overall sales are down. Inside EVs has the details. — Stellantis N.V. signed a 10-year deal with a lithium producer at the Salton Sea, the Desert Sun reports . The project is called "Hells Kitchen." — California gave the green light to GM's Cruise to begin charging the world's first fares for autonomous cab rides. It's starting with 30 Chevy Bolts in San Francisco, the Detroit Free Press reports. LOOK AHEAD Events are listed in Eastern Time June 6 — The International Air Transport Association holds a roundtable on sustainable aviation fuel. 2 p.m. June 7 — The American Council on Renewable Energy holds its 2022 Finance Forum. 9 a.m. June 7 — The Washington Post holds a virtual discussion on "Transportation for All," focusing on "the transition to more affordable, environmentally friendly modes of transportation." 12:30 p.m. June 8 — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the State Department hold their fourth CEO Summit of the Americas, with a discussion on "Leading Comprehensive Change on Sustainable Resources." 11 a.m. June 8 — Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler delivers remarks at the Piper Sandler Global Exchange and Fintech Conference. Noon. June 9 — The Securities and Exchange Commission's Investor Advisory Committee holds a panel discussion on the agency's proposed climate disclosure rule. 1:30 p.m. June 9 — PunchBowl News holds a discussion on "Broadening Food Access." 5 p.m.   Follow us on Twitter Debra Kahn @debra_kahn Greg Mott @gwmott Lorraine Woellert @Woellert Jordan Wolman @jordanwolman   Follow us

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