Coal country's bumpy transition

Jan 17, 2023 View in browser   By Debra Kahn and Jordan Wolman THE BIG IDEA Pennsylvania is switching from coal to gas, but its tax base isn't. | Alex Brandon, File/AP Photo PENNSYLVANIA'S DILEMMA — The energy transition is producing losers — even if they have the resources to benefit. Take Pennsylvania, which has been fast transitioning from coal mining to natural gas drilling but hasn't updated its tax code to keep up with the changes. It's the only big natural gas producer that doesn't have a tax on production, and coal country is feeling the pinch. Outgoing Gov. Tom Wolf (D) has championed tax reform for years but hasn't gotten anywhere with the state's Republican-led Legislature. "It struck me that Pennsylvania, unlike every other state that has this natural gas, was not availing itself of the money that might be able to be used for things like education, infrastructure, flood control, making lives better," Wolf said last month. Incoming Gov. Josh Shapiro, who's being sworn in today, hasn't weighed in on the issue, but he's positioned himself as a pro-business, anti-tax Democrat — and, as Jordan notes, he named a production tax skeptic to his transition committee. Greene County, in the southwest corner of the state, still holds an annual Bituminous Coal Queen Pageant. Coal once contributed half of Greene County's taxable assets, a share that has dropped to 30 percent — and nothing has replaced the loss. "It's a real puzzle to try to put together a sustainable budget when you have decreasing tax value because of your primary industry, which is the coal companies," said Mike Belding (R), chair of the Greene County Board of Commissioners. "If every other state that produces natural gas has a severance tax, and Pennsylvania chose not to, we're probably wrong." Read more here from Jordan, Nancy Vu and Shayna Greene. KEYSTONE CRUMBLING — In other Pennsylvania news, Pittsburgh is suffering from landslides that are carving a chunk out of the city's budget, Daniel Cusick reports for POLITICO's E&E News. It's a function of the region's geology, but also of extreme storms and flash floods exacerbated by climate change. There's been bipartisan interest in creating a state landslide insurance program for homeowners, but so far the city has been shelling out a few million dollars per year for remediation and monitoring. "We experience in Pittsburgh climate change very differently than a coastal city does," Maria Montaño, press secretary to Mayor Ed Gainey, told Danny. "And this is one of the ways we're feeling the impacts."   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.     AROUND THE WORLD DAVOS DRIFT — U.S. lawmakers are in Davos for the World Economic Forum, and they're focused on smoothing over their puckered relationship with the EU caused by the Inflation Reduction Act's subsidies for domestic energy and manufacturing, POLITICO's Alex Ward and Suzanne Lynch write. The U.S. message: We hear you, but we're right. "That bill was designed to basically strengthen the United States so that we can help our allies and friends, which need it right now," said Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). "And if anybody needs it, the EU needs it. And without that, we're not going to be and maintain the superpower status of the world if we're not energy independent." HOT AIR — Private flights to last year's WEF generated 7,400 tons of CO2, according to an analysis by the environmental firm CE Delft (H/t Ryan Heath). BUILDING BLOCKS ONE HOUSEHOLD'S TRASH  — A startup coming out of stealth mode today wants you to send it your leftovers. Mill, founded by former Nest CEO Matt Rogers, is launching a $33-per-month food-scrap pickup service. It comes with a bin that dehydrates food into a coffee-ground-like consistency and lets you know when it's time to mail the contents back to Mill's facility near Seattle. (Washington has a favorable regulatory environment, Rogers says: It's "one of the first states to recognize that it's food, not waste.") The company, with backing from investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Energy Impact Partners, Google Ventures and Prelude Ventures, is planning to sell the dried scraps to farmers as chicken feed, pending regulatory approval. Rogers says the technology can avoid a half-ton of CO2 emissions per household annually. "Composting is one of the best things we can do with yard waste and agricultural waste," Rogers said. "But the best thing we can do with food is to keep it as food. We really think that our competitor's the landfill." Sustainable Finance MATERIAL WORLD — The International Sustainability Standards Board is inching closer to releasing two rules that would cover companies' disclosure of risks related to climate and sustainability. After the standards-setting board agreed in October to require that companies' disclose emissions from their suppliers – the controversial Scope 3 – with a one-year reporting delay, it's taking up provisions at this week's meeting that would:  require companies to use climate-related scenario analysis to assess resilience  exempt companies from disclosing certain commercially sensitive information  extend similar accommodations around scope 3 emissions to scopes 1 and 2, including allowing a company to measure its emissions using different reporting periods than that of its value chain. The ISSB is looking to finish its proposed rules in the first quarter of this year — ahead of the SEC's anticipated April release of its climate-disclosure rule. The board's proposals would need to be adopted by individual countries in order for companies to be required to comply. NATURE'S CALLING — Concern is growing over biodiversity loss and what it means for the private sector. The ISSB said it would soon start work on including disclosures related to natural ecosystems. And on Tuesday, the U.N. Environment Programme and S&P Global announced a new methodology aimed at the financial sector to analyze companies' impacts and dependencies on nature. 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 iseditor Greg Mott, deputy editor Debra Kahn and reporters Jordan Wolman and Allison Prang. Reach us all at gmott@politico.com, dkahn@politico.com, jwolman@politico.com and aprang@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 — BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said at Davos that he's "trying to address the misconceptions" around ESG investing, but "it's hard because it's not business any more, they're doing it in a personal way." — Danone and Environmental Defense Fund are trying to reduce dairy cows' methane emissions. — California's storms are underscoring its failure to capture more of its precipitation, POLITICO's Camille von Kaenel reports.   LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today.       Follow us on Twitter Debra Kahn @debra_kahn Greg Mott @gwmott Jordan Wolman @jordanwolman Allison Prang @AllisonPrang   Follow us

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