The climate regulator transitioning to the private sector

Oct 26, 2022 View in browser   By Debra Kahn VERBATIM Former CARB executive officer Richard Corey thinks the low-carbon transition has turned a corner. | Courtesy AJW Inc. Richard Corey has seen a lot in his 37 years at the country's most powerful air pollution agency. Corey joined the Arlington-, Sacramento- and New York-based lobbying and consulting firm AJW Inc. as a partner in September. He spent the preceding nine years as executive officer of the California Air Resources Board, which regulates everything from cruise ships to leaf blowers and in August passed rules to phase out the sale of gasoline-powered cars by 2035. It's considering a draft rule this week that would require trucking fleets to buy zero-emission trucks. An environmental toxicologist by training, Corey joined CARB in 1985, when it had 500 employees (it now has 1,750). He steered the agency through the Trump years, when it had to defend its authority to set stricter-than-federal vehicle emissions rules, while at the same time weathering criticism from environmental justice advocates and expanding its rulemaking process to include more public engagement. Now, with electric vehicles hitting the mainstream, he says, "It's pretty amazing what is happening, especially with all the years of pushback on EVs and zero-emission trucks and so forth, and basically seeing not just companies talking the talk, but actually investing the money to actually expedite this transition." This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Do you think that we have turned a corner in terms of automakers opposing California's emissions rules? You've got a continuum of companies. Virtually every one of them has a global footprint. And they're positioned differently. They have different customer bases. I'd say they're all talking the talk. But at the end of the day, look at what they're doing, which is board decisions on allocating capital. Many of them are in a transition point. How much capital do we direct to the past, combustion, versus the future? Because they're not stupid. They basically see the writing on the wall. They're seeing a rapid decline in the capital costs of the vehicles. The gas prices that we're dealing with today, they're seeing the rapid reduction in the cost to operate the vehicles and the performance of the vehicles. I mean, a Ford Lightning. The towing capacity, the acceleration. It's superior [to the internal combustion engine]. They're all seeing that, and I think they're scared. I think the challenge that many of them are facing right now is this allocation of capital. They don't want to direct a lot of capital on the combustion side. To me, the allocation of capital doesn't lie. They're directing hundreds of billions of dollars to this transition; this is real, and we're not going to go back. Are there companies that I put on the other end of the spectrum? Sure. But they still don't want to be regulated. I have been doing this for 37 years and I have never had someone come up and say, "Please regulate me." But I think several see the benefits of smart regulation and engage pretty effectively on it. Are you worried that CARB is still waiting on Biden's EPA to issue waivers for several of its vehicle pollution rules? We've gotten over 100 waivers over the years. What we've also found over the years is the waivers won't come immediately. When we would submit the package for a waiver, sometimes those waivers would take years. But the companies that we're regulating, they just assumed we would get the waiver, so they just complied with the regulation on the expectation the waiver would come. So it was kind of a non-issue. So when I see EPA now, it's like, well, they've got a process that takes some time. Traditionally, if you're going against our track record of receiving waivers from EPA, I would not want to bet against that. Do you feel like CARB's rulemaking process has gotten longer? I think that's true. You want to get a regulation adopted, you want to move it through the process, but a few things happen. One, how do you more effectively engage at the community level? Well, that isn't necessarily just having a workshop at noon. That doesn't work. Two, the sophistication of those that are opposed to action. They're much more sophisticated. Now, that's made us better, I think, but it's a harder and more intense process, because odds are, you're probably going to get sued, and you actually have to prepare and assume you're going to get sued. So it's like, make sure that you've got that process dialed in and it is as bulletproof as you can possibly be on all the range of claims and assertions that are going to be made. Those two elements add to the intensity and process of getting regulation through the process and ultimately getting it adopted. You're interested in working with companies that are in hard-to-decarbonize areas, like aviation. Are there any areas you wouldn't work in? There are. We are in a clean energy transition. And there are many, many leadership companies, I'm convinced of this, that are looking at how to navigate through that transition. I think I can help those companies. There certainly are some that are basically looking backwards and trying to protect the old guard and continued use of traditional use of petroleum and are looking for defending that. I'm not interested in that space. I spent my entire career trying to transition out of that. BP is one of AJW's clients. Would you work with them? For me, it's the nature of the project. What is the objective and purpose of the project and what does a successful outcome actually deliver? That's the lens through which I want to look at when I'm thinking about, "Can I add value here and is that something that is aligned with how I spent 37 years of my career?"   NEW AND IMPROVED POLITICO APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. With a fresh look and improved features, the sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don't miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. Already a POLITICO app user? Upgrade today! DOWNLOAD FOR iOS  – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID .     YOU TELL US GAME ON — Welcome to the Long Game, where we tell you about the latest on efforts to shape our future. We deliver data-driven storytelling, compelling interviews with industry and political leaders, and news Tuesday through Friday to keep you in the loop on sustainability. Team Sustainability is editor Greg Mott , deputy editor Debra Kahn and reporter Jordan Wolman . Reach us all at gmott@politico.com , dkahn@politico.com and jwolman@politico.com . Want more? Don't we all. Sign up for the Long Game . Four days a week and still free! WHAT WE'RE CLICKING — Oregon's cap-and-trade program, Maryland's net-zero emissions targets and Arizona's solar subsidies all hinge on the midterms, Reuters reports . — Life in a flood zone: a patchwork of buyouts, home elevations and rising insurance rates, the Washington Post reports .   JOIN WOMEN RULE THURSDAY FOR A TALK WITH DEPARTING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS: A historic wave of retirements is hitting Congress, including several prominent Democratic women such as Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos, House Democrats' former campaign chief. 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