Biden’s quandary: Drill, maybe, drill

Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Jan 09, 2023 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell Brown pelicans fly near offshore oil rigs after sunset. | David McNew/Getty Images The Biden administration is at a crossroads on offshore drilling. The Interior Department is finishing a five-year plan for new offshore oil and gas leases in federal waters, which could either hasten the decline of the nation's offshore oil business or lock the country into many more years of drilling, writes POLITICO's E&E News reporter Heather Richards.  President Joe Biden campaigned on a pledge to end oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters, but he later made concessions to pro-fossil-fuel Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to win passage of last year's landmark climate law. Under the law, for example, Biden will reinstate three offshore oil sales he had canceled last year. The law also ties the number of allowed offshore wind leases to oil and gas leases. Interior's forthcoming blueprint thus stands as a test for how Biden will balance his climate pledges with other political considerations, including consumers' frustration with high fuel costs. "What's at stake is the pace of oil and gas development in the Gulf of Mexico, which has climate ramifications and energy supply ramifications," Heather told Power Switch this morning. Burning fossil fuels is the main driver of the climate emergency, and the Gulf of Mexico is the country's largest offshore supplier of crude oil. Rigs in the Gulf provide 15 percent of the nation's total oil supply and can operate for decades. What's on the table : A draft of the five-year plan released in July said the final proposal could include up to 11 sales, or none at all. Environmentalists are pushing for the latter, while the oil and gas industry is lobbying for the former. The final plan is expected in the coming weeks. It's unclear how much the industry would capitalize on such leases. Only one company bid on a lease in a recent auction in Alaska. But how far the administration moves in one direction or the other is certain to catch the eye of the new Republican majority in the House, whose members have pledged to energize U.S. oil production.   It's Monday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net. Listen to today's POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy's podcast: Alex Guillén breaks down the Biden administration's proposal to lower the annual average soot exposure limit and why it is drawing criticism. Gas wars Lizette Samuels holds daughter Starasia Platt, 5, who is being treated for an asthma attack. | Mario Tama/Getty Images A major change in how people cook and heat their homes could be underway. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says its considering a ban on gas stoves after a recent study linked the appliances to childhood asthma. And Massachusetts energy officials are planning to shrink the role of natural gas in heating new buildings, making it one of the latest states to consider a natural gas ban. Countering that trend is a strong push from the natural gas industry to outlaw such bans. Twenty states prevent cities from prohibiting gas use in buildings. Ten more prohibit utilities from encouraging customers to switch to electric. But the new research could compel officials to pivot away from using the fossil fuel in new buildings. A peer-reviewed study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that gas-burning stoves across the country cause roughly 12.7 percent of childhood asthma cases. Those numbers are commensurate with childhood asthma risks linked to secondhand smoke exposure. Power Centers Coal is stored for a thermal power project near the world's largest mangrove forest in Bangladesh. | Al-emrun Garjon/AP Photo Climate aid abroad For years, the world's wealthiest nations have dragged their feet on sending climate aid to developing countries, writes Jean Chemnick. But experts say that viewpoint is shortsighted. They argue that climate investments in developing countries offer some of the cheapest and best opportunities to avoid runaway warming and preserve geopolitical stability. Electric future Mercedes-Benz wants to build 400 electric vehicle charging plazas across North America, becoming the latest automaker to invest in charging, writes David Ferris. The network, announced Thursday at the CES technology show in Las Vegas, adds Mercedes-Benz to a roster that includes General Motors, Volvo and Rivian — and of course Tesla, which predates them all. Russia's war One of Ukraine's top cyber officials said a series of Russian cyberattacks on Ukrainian critical and civilian infrastructure could amount to war crimes, writes Shannon Van Sant. Ukrainian officials are gathering evidence of cyberattacks linked to military strikes and are sharing the information with the International Criminal Court in The Hague, in an effort to support potential prosecutions of Russia's actions. in other news Planetary update: Scientists say that restoration of the ozone layer is back on track. Cybersecurity: The tech issue that could unite a deeply divided Congress. Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. A formerly sunken boat stands upright in a section of Lake Mead that was previously underwater in Nevada. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Human activity such as burning fossil fuels made the drought in the western U.S. and other recent extreme weather events more severe. The National Football League's Houston Texans will buy carbon removal credits from Occidental Petroleum Corp. to offset the team's travel emissions. A series of extreme storms will hit California today and throughout this week, threatening flooding, landslides and other damages. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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