How climate projects could trump ecosystems

Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Jan 19, 2023 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell Transmission towers in Houston. | Brandon Bell/Getty Images For the first time, the White House has directed agencies to calculate the climate consequences — in dollars — of every proposed energy project. The governmentwide use of a metric known as the social cost of carbon will attach a hefty price tag to every metric ton of carbon pollution associated with a project. A high-polluting pipeline or oil rig could consequently be deemed more costly than beneficial in an agency's environmental review. But the metric could also have an unintended consequence: discounting the preservation of forests, marshes or even a scenic view, writes POLITICO's E&E News reporter Jean Chemnick. That's because there is no comparable calculation for valuing other social and environmental goods, like waterways and other ecosystems, despite the benefits they provide. Forests absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide, promote wildlife habitat and provide opportunities for recreation, among others. Those benefits could get overshadowed by projects with more seemingly tangible effects on emissions under the administration's new guidance for using the social cost of carbon. For example, a transmission line that carries solar and wind power from rural areas to urban centers, slashing carbon pollution from the grid, could provide benefits to the tune of millions under an agency's environmental review. But the wildlife refuge it crossed to reach the urban center wouldn't have the same monetized value. There are some federal efforts afoot aimed at assigning a dollar amount to environmental goods like preserving ecosystems. But those are typically cruder and more preliminary than the social cost of carbon, which is the product of more than a decade of analysis using peer-reviewed models. Huge caveat: The results of an agency's environmental impact evaluation don't dictate its decisions one way or the other. But the potential carbon savings of a renewable energy project could be hard to ignore, even if it disrupts an ecosystem. The Biden administration is advancing a new social cost of carbon that raises the price of planet-warming pollution to $190 per ton, up from $51. The White House has also told agencies to consider the indirect and cumulative pollution associated with a proposed project, not only on-site emissions. Add that to the updated social cost metric, and the premium associated with avoiding greenhouse gases could be astronomical.   It's Thursday — 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: Charlie Cooper breaks down why Europe is faring better than anyone expected in its energy war with Russia. Featured story A Turbinaria coral is shown at Eilat Coral Beach Nature Reserve in Eilat, Israel. | Lukasz Larsson Warzecha/Getty Images The last corals on Earth — For three decades, the Israeli scientist Maoz Fine waited for the corals around his home on the Red Sea to succumb to global warming and turn a horrible shade of white. Instead, he discovered they have a superpower, writes Karl Mathiesen. In 2013, Fine, who runs a research center in the Israeli port of Eilat, published a scientific paper reporting that the corals across a large sweep of the Red Sea appeared to be resistant to the rising sea temperatures that are killing reefs across the planet. Power Centers The Vivint Smart Hub, which helps customers control home security, lighting, thermostat and other connected technology. | Courtesy of Vivint Smart Home Inc. Smart grid, smart homes NRG Energy Inc. has announced it will buy the smart-home company Vivint for $2.8 billion in a deal that marks a new opportunity for the electricity sector, writes Jason Plautz. Combining Vivint with a power producer and retailer like NRG is another major shift as the grid transitions to more renewable energy and consumers look for more control over their own energy use. Wind boom or bust? Offshore wind has struggled to take hold in the United States, even as it has expanded in Europe and Asia, writes Benjamin Storrow from Massachusetts. But signs of a coming wind boom are mounting on Cape Cod, where the first major offshore project is inching forward. This is climate change After a deadly flood tore through the city of Olbia in Italy, displacing thousands and killing nine, local politicians vowed such a tragedy would never happen again, writes Giovanna Coi. But nearly a decade on, locals and campaigners say the government has done little to prevent another disaster, even as climate change increases the likelihood of extreme weather events. in other news Icebergs are seen from NASA's Oceans Melting Greenland research aircraft. | Mario Tama/Getty Images "This is bad": Parts of Greenland are now hotter than at any time in the past 1,000 years. Geoengineering: Mexico said it will ban solar geoengineering after a controversial experiment.   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.     Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Ford F-150 Lightning pickup trucks sit on the production line at the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center. | Bill Pugliano/Getty Images Ford has left an auto industry trade group that lobbied against climate regulations for heavy-duty trucks. Shell PLC, one of world's largest oil companies, is buying a small but troubled electric-vehicle charging network — and the digital advertising business that comes with it. A California official who oversaw oil and gas permitting has resigned, prompting calls from environmental advocates for a replacement who will be tougher on the industry. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   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 Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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