Drought money part of Sinema's deal

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Aug 05, 2022 View in browser   By Nick Sobczyk Presented by Chevron Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) during a hearing. | Bonnie Cash-Pool/Getty Images Democrats secured the final holdout vote for their climate bill last night, when Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) agreed to support it in exchange for a handful of policy changes, including a multibillion-dollar infusion of money for drought resilience in the West. A group of Western lawmakers said this afternoon that $4 billion in funding for the Bureau of Reclamation to tackle drought had been added to the bill. Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), all of whom are up for reelection this year, made the announcement. The group did not include Sinema, but she had in recent days been calling for drought money as a condition of her support for the legislation. It was fitting dealmaking at a time when Western states are being ravaged by historically dry conditions. Much of the American West is experiencing the worst drought in roughly 1,200 years. Arizona is in its 27th year of long-term drought, according to the Arizona State Climate Office . 'Vote-a-rama' ahead Democrats have started taking victory laps, but the process is still plodding along. The Senate will take the first procedural vote on the $379 billion climate bill tomorrow afternoon. Final passage is expected sometime in the next few days, but first, senators will have to endure a marathon amendment session known as the "vote-a-rama." Any senator can offer an amendment during the session. Vote-a-ramas are standard special procedure for budget reconciliation, the process Democrats are using to pass the bill with a simple majority and avoid the Senate filibuster. Republicans are expected to offer dozens of amendments to the bill to force Democrats to take politically uncomfortable votes, but they're not likely to be able to make major changes to the legislation. "What will vote-a-rama be like? It will be like hell," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). After Senate passage, the House plans to return to town next week to finalize the bill and send it to President Joe Biden's desk. Republican threats The GOP is also threatening to sink the other half of the climate deal. As a condition of his support for the climate bill lawmakers are currently considering, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) struck a deal with Senate leadership to pass separate legislation this fall to cut down environmental permitting for energy projects . The permitting bill would need support from at least 10 Republicans. Even though the GOP has long supported changes to environmental permitting, Graham suggested today they might not comply .   Check out the POLITICO Energy podcast  — all the energy and environmental politics and policy news you need for the day, in just five minutes. Listen and subscribe for free at  politico.com/energy-podcast . On today's episode: The political fallout oil companies have faced since reporting big profits. Listen to today's POLITICO Energy podcast! (Consumer version) It's finally Friday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host today,  Nick Sobczyk . Arianna Skibell will be back soon! Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to nsobczyk@eenews.net. Trends Getty European countries are scrambling to limit their energy use amid a natural gas supply crunch fueled by the war in Ukraine. Spain will limit air conditioning temperatures to 81 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer and heating temperatures to 66 degrees in the winter. In Greece, similar limits on air-conditioning temperatures are testing the country's support for Ukraine , particularly after last month's historic European heat wave. European Union countries have agreed to cut gas demand 15 percent by winter ahead of expected shortages. Power Centers Pumpjacks operate in the Belridge oil field near McKittrick, Calif., last year. | Mario Tama/Getty Images Oil and the climate bill Oil executives are finding a lot to like in the Democrats' climate bill, writes Mike Lee. The industry could benefit from offshore leasing sales and tax credits for carbon capture and hydrogen. Manchin also has secured an agreement for a permitting reform bill to move this fall, a longtime priority for oil companies. Read the story here . On the flip side, the permitting deal could make it more difficult for states and tribes to block natural gas pipelines and other energy facilities they don't want, writes Miranda Willson. Read more here . Taiwan fallout China has suspended climate talks with the United States in retaliation for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan this week, writes Stuart Lau. It marks a setback after the world's two largest greenhouse gas emitters had forged ahead with an intensified climate dialogue over the past year. Read that story here .   A message from Chevron:  At Chevron, we believe the future of energy is lower carbon. In the Permian Basin, we're exploring solutions to help meet growing energy demand, while reducing emissions intensity.   In Other News Natural gas being flared during an oil drilling operation in the Permian Basin in Stanton, Texas. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images Leakage: The Biden administration announced a tranche of funding up to $32 million for research into curbing methane leaks from oil and gas operations. State influence: Republican state treasurers around the country are embarking on a coordinated campaign to halt climate regulations and cut ties with banks that step away from the fossil fuel industry. Question Corner The science, policy and politics driving the energy transition can feel miles away. But we're all affected on an individual and communal level — from hotter days and higher gas prices to home insurance rates and food supply. Want to know more? Send us your questions and we'll get you answers.   A message from Chevron:   Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. A wind turbine at the Block Island Wind Farm off the coast of Rhode Island. | John Moore/Getty Images Offshore wind developers are hoping Democrats' climate bill can shore up fragile supply chains . The world's major polluters have not yet committed to big emissions cuts ahead of the next round of United Nations climate talks this fall. Senate Republicans yesterday voted to overturn new Biden administration environmental rules , with help from Manchin. That's it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!   A message from Chevron: At Chevron, we recognize that energy demand is growing. It's why we're increasing production to help keep up. This year in the Permian Basin, we plan to increase oil production by 15% over 2021 levels. And we're projected to reach 1 million barrels of oil per day by 2025, while continuing to reduce both carbon and methane emissions intensities. From 2016 to 2028, we're on track to reduce our methane emissions intensity in the region by 50%. In fact, nationwide, our onshore methane intensity is 85% lower than the U.S. industry average. Every day, we look for opportunities to reduce our emission intensity as we strive to produce energy that Americans—and customers throughout the world—can count on. Find out more.     Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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