GOP takes aim at Biden's climate agenda

Presented by Evergreen Collaborative and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council): Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Feb 03, 2023 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell Presented by Evergreen Collaborative and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) House Speaker Kevin McCarthy talks with reporters outside the White House. | AP The rebellion against President Joe Biden’s energy and climate agenda has begun in a House emboldened by its new conservative majority. GOP lawmakers rebuked Biden’s use of oil reserves, pilloried his climate envoy John Kerry as an unaccountable diplomat and erased the term “environmental justice” from congressional documents. Republicans in the House and Senate also introduced resolutions to nix a Labor Department rule that permits asset managers to consider social and environmental factors in making retirement investments for workers, write POLITICO’s E&E News reporters Emma Dumain and Hannah Northey. Conservative critics say the practice amounts to “woke capitalism” designed to drive dollars away from fossil fuels. Investors and companies have also jumped into the fray. The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering softening a planned rule that would require companies to disclose their climate risks, after the plan got industry pushback, The Wall Street Journal reported. Dialing back that rule has also been a rallying cry for GOP critics, including Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, now chair of the House Financial Services Committee. Odds of success: Because Republicans introduced the resolutions through the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers to overturn recent rules with a simple majority, they have a fair shot at getting their Labor Department proposal to Biden’s desk — though he would be certain to veto it. The 1996 law (which Congress used only once before the statute enjoyed a renaissance under the Trump administration) requires Senate Democrats to schedule votes on proposed resolutions. No death by floor inaction. With a slim Democratic majority in the Senate, Republicans would need to peel off just two lawmakers to secure passage. (Joe Manchin, anyone?) A win in the House is more of a given. Less likely to advance is a provision that a major caucus of Republicans included in its debt limit demands. This one would implement “common-sense guardrails” for future regulations, such as a law that would require Congress to vote up or down on major rules before they take effect. The "REINS Act" has long been on the GOP’s regulation wish list — and would be a major blow to any president trying to cut climate pollution in a divided Congress.   Thank goodness it's Friday — 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. A message from Evergreen Collaborative and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council): The U.S. can run on 100% clean electricity by 2035. While the Inflation Reduction Act was a huge step, our leaders must go further, faster to put our clean energy commitments within reach. Read our new report to find out immediate actions President Biden, EPA, FERC, state leaders, and others must take to stay on track.   Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Zack Colman breaks down how the U.S. is trying to win the carbon management race, instead of playing catch-up as it did with wind and solar.   A message from Evergreen Collaborative and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):   Power Centers Climate scientist Kim Cobb was named to the White House Intelligence Advisory Board. | AP Photo/Brynn Anderson Climate meets U.S. spy program President Joe Biden's Intelligence Advisory Board now includes Kim Cobb, a top climate scientist, writes Scott Waldman. The council provides recommendations to the White House, and presidents have both followed and ignored its advice in the seven decades since it was founded. Coal waste profits During a hearing Thursday, Sen. Joe Manchin pressured a top Energy Department official to expand markets for coal waste, a high-polluting energy source that has earned Manchin’s family millions of dollars, writes Adam Aton. Over three decades, Manchin has built a lucrative business that supplies so-called gob — the toxic byproduct of mining that is a mix of coal, rock and other material — to the last power plant in West Virginia that burns it. Brian Dabbs offers four more takeaways from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing. in other news This is climate change: Nearly a half-million customers lost power from Texas to Tennessee following an overnight ice storm. Energy equity: A Connecticut program helps 15,000 households a year cut their utility bills.   JOIN POLITICO ON 2/9 TO HEAR FROM AMERICA’S GOVERNORS: In a divided Congress, more legislative and policy enforcement will shift to the states, meaning governors will take a leading role in setting the agenda for the nation. Join POLITICO on Thursday, Feb. 9 at World Wide Technology's D.C. Innovation Center for The Fifty: America's Governors, where we will examine where innovations are taking shape and new regulatory red lines, the future of reproductive health, and how climate change is being addressed across a series of one-on-one interviews. REGISTER HERE.     Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Oilfield trucks drive along the road that leads toward Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico. | AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan Conservation and tribal groups scored a victory against oil and gas development in New Mexico when a federal appeals court ruled Trump-era drilling approvals violated the law. A top Republican lawmaker is pressing special climate envoy John Kerry for details and documentation about his negotiations with China, the world's top greenhouse gas emitter. A planned $2.5 billion transmission line would allow more renewable power to flow across the country and better connect the Upper Midwest, Great Plains and Pacific Northwest. That's it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend! A message from Evergreen Collaborative and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council): President Biden made a pledge to the American people to halve carbon pollution by 2030 and achieve 100% clean electricity by 2035. His administration still has a huge role to play in achieving these goals. Read our just-released report to learn which steps are most critical to keeping his climate commitments within reach.     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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