Biden to Brussels: Mi gas es tu gas

Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Apr 05, 2023 View in browser   By Heather Richards European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, right, shakes hands on Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during the EU-U.S. Energy Council Ministerial meeting at the European Council building in Brussels. | Pool photo by Olivier Matthys The Biden administration just can’t quit natural gas. So, it was no surprise when Secretary of State Antony Blinken stood in Brussels on Tuesday and pledged to keep sending massive amounts of the liquefied stuff to the European Union. Despite President Joe Biden and EU leaders standing shoulder to shoulder on climate commitments like capping methane emissions, the trans-Atlantic alliance appears bound most tightly by Europe’s need for U.S. natural gas — and America’s enthusiasm for selling it. With the war in Ukraine still raging, the West’s attempt to undercut Russia’s war chest by refusing to buy its oil and gas has hammered that country’s finances. “Climate concerns and environmental concerns prior to the war looked like they were an impediment to U.S. exports to Europe,” said Antoine Halff, former chief oil analyst at the International Energy Agency and now a scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. “Now it's a changed conversation, focused much more on energy security.” So, liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is having a moment. One notable impact: As Europe gobbled up the world's non-Russian natural gas, countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka were suddenly priced out of the LNG market. Aside from the human toll that high-priced energy or energy shortages can have on poorer countries, those developing nations are now burning more coal. That’s bad for people’s health and bad for the planet. LNG’s rise also appears to demonstrate that the world’s largest economies — the United States, the European Union, Russia, China, and India — are drifting further apart when it comes to climate and energy policies. But the new world order on gas has solidified a long-standing unity across the pond. In 2022, the amount of gas the United States sent to Europe — a whopping 56 billion cubic meters — was double the previous year. And Blinken said the U.S. will send at least 50 bcm this year too. “Over the past year, the United States and Europe have thrown our energy security cooperation into even higher gear,” Blinken said. And that revving up is fueled by American gas.   It's Wednesday— thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Heather Richards. Your regular host, Arianna Skibell, will be back soon! Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to hrichards@eenews.net. Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: POLITICO's Kelsey Tamborrino explores what exactly the Biden administration has promised in coal country with recent tax credits for renewable projects in energy communities. Power Centers Hundreds of climate protesters walk from Times Square to New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul’s office to demand more action against climate change on Nov. 13, 2021. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images Abortion could set stage for climate fight When Texas passed a law allowing private citizens to sue abortion providers, it may have paved the way for New Yorkers to sue oil companies over climate change. That’s the reasoning, at least, behind one state lawmaker's proposed legislation, writes E&E News' Lesley Clark.  Poop. That's it. That's the headline. There’s a clean water problem in Britain that people are getting stinked up over — and they’re blaming Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government. Private water firms have been dumping untreated sewage into Britain’s rivers and oceans. Unusually, the country’s water is controlled by private companies, in regional monopolies, but with their poop washing onto the beach, the issue has become a serious election problem for Britain’s conservative PM, writes POLITICO Europe’s Esther Webber.  EPA is coming for coal power, again EPA just released the biggest proposed update to its air toxics regulations for coal plants in a decade, and it’s got a notoriously dirty breed of the black rock, lignite, in its crosshairs, writes E&E News’ Sean Reilly.  As proposed, the regulations would reverse a Trump-era decision that said no updates were needed.   GO INSIDE THE 2023 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is proud to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage, insider nuggets and unparalleled insights from the 2023 Global Conference, which will convene leaders in health, finance, politics, philanthropy and entertainment from April 30-May 3. This year’s theme, Advancing a Thriving World, will challenge and inspire attendees to lean into building an optimistic coalition capable of tackling the issues and inequities we collectively face. Don’t miss a thing — subscribe today for a front row seat.     In Other News Offshore oil disappoints: Exxon is walking away from a multibillion-dollar gambit to drill in the deep waters off the coast of Brazil. Why? They didn’t strike oil. Question Corner What president visited a muddy pipeline storage yard outside of Cushing, Okla., in an election year to pledge support for construction of the southern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline? If you know the answer, send it to hrichards@eenews.net with “Question Corner” in the subject line. Subscriber Zone Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) speaks during a news conference, March 7, on Capitol Hill in Washington. | Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo | Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin is angry and ready to sue over the implementation of Biden’ electric vehicle tax credits, a key element of the White House — and many Democrats’ — plan to push U.S. consumers away from gas-powered cars. The question is, can he do that? There’s a banking fight gearing up, between execs and activist investors who want climate resolutions with teeth hammered into lender policies and practices once and for all. New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration appears to have dropped a proposal that would weaken the state's climate law to alleviate cost concerns, just a day after defending it from environmental groups' intense criticism. Exxon again is saying it’s all in on capturing carbon dioxide as part of a climate future. But while it's clear the mega oil producer envisions carbon solutions to keep its business booming, what’s less certain is whether Exxon will ever spend a significant portion of cash to make carbon capture any kind of solution at scale. 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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