Greens, labor turn on Biden's climate policies

Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

May 09, 2023 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell President Joe Biden walks to the Oval Office after returning from Detroit, Mich., where he announced new electric vehicle investments. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images President Joe Biden is facing pushback from some key political allies on core elements of his climate plans. The administration is sinking billions of dollars into capturing carbon pollution and storing it underground, while working to produce and secure the minerals needed to run cars, trucks and, well, everything on electricity. But these twin policies have placed Biden at odds with the environmental justice and labor advocates who helped elect him. Carbon capture vs. social justice? Environmentalists say the administration’s focus on capturing carbon (both from the air and from power plants) could give the fossil fuel industry political cover to continue burning oil, natural gas and coal — instead of phasing them out. They also argue that huge investments in transporting and storing carbon dioxide underground may not be reconcilable with Biden’s pledges to protect communities of color already overburdened by pollution, Allison Prang writes. They say pipelines could rupture, and that carbon capture could justify the continued operation of facilities that pollute disadvantaged neighborhoods. The arguments are gaining traction in some communities. The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice and the Alliance for Affordable Energy persuaded the New Orleans City Council to oppose underground carbon storage last year. Elsewhere in Louisiana, activists are trying to delay the permitting of a pipeline that would carry carbon to storage facilities. Critical mineral critics: Labor groups say the administration’s plan to craft mineral trade deals with some countries could stall domestic mining and production of critical minerals — and cost workers thousands of jobs, Brian Dabbs writes. The debate is yet another complication for the administration’s effort to secure minerals like lithium for electric vehicle batteries and other clean energy technology. Last year’s climate law requires the government to place a priority on developing a domestic supply chain for critical minerals, the bulk of which are now processed in China. That has angered trading partners in places such as Europe, where leaders have said the policy is isolationist and violates trade agreements. To ease those concerns, and speed up EV deployment, the administration has proposed facilitating mineral trade deals with 20 partner countries. But that is angering labor groups and Republican lawmakers, along with environmental groups that point to the risks of mining. This week, the administration moved to expedite the review and approval of a manganese and zinc mine in southern Arizona, setting up a standoff with an environmental group concerned about the fate of vulnerable species in the Patagonia Mountains, Hannah Northey writes.   It's Tuesday — 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.   GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGSITER HERE.     Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Holly Otterbein breaks down Sen. Joe Manchin's chances of winning reelection in West Virginia as one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the country. Still, Manchin has not lost an election in nearly 30 years. Breaking the debt ceiling President Joe Biden talks with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as he departs the Capitol following the annual St. Patrick's Day gathering March 17 in Washington. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Biden met with congressional leaders this afternoon in an effort to reach an agreement on raising the debt ceiling and averting a monumental default on the nation's bills. The House passed a bill that would raise the debt ceiling, but it contains a laundry list of GOP energy priorities and spending cuts, which the White House has said are nonstarters, write Timothy Cama and Jeremy Dillon. There could be room to negotiate a compromise on overhauling the country's process for permitting large energy projects, which has garnered some bipartisan support. Power Centers A federal appeals court has sided with environmentalists who criticized EPA for failing to regulate perchlorate in drinking water. | Steve Johnson/Flickr Rocket fuel chemical A federal appeals court has faulted EPA for failing to set drinking water limits for a chemical commonly used in explosives and rocket fuel, write E.A. Crunden and Pamela King. The judges sided with environmental groups that had challenged EPA’s continuation of a Trump-era decision not to set Safe Drinking Water Act regulations for perchlorate — years after the agency had determined that rules were needed. Power plant rules The Biden administration will plunge into transforming the U.S. power sector Thursday by requiring utilities to capture much of their carbon emissions — or not produce as many to begin with. Jean Chemnick answers four key questions about the federal plans to achieve maximum carbon reductions from natural-gas- and coal-fired power plants. Methane cuts The European Parliament quelled a last-minute rebellion and voted Tuesday for stricter measures to reduce emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, writes Zia Weise. The legislation, first proposed by the European Commission in 2021, applies only to the energy sector, which is responsible for about a fifth of the bloc’s methane emissions. In Other News Elsewhere in the world: In Norway, the EV future has already arrived. Impacts: Congo flood survivors mourn lost relatives as the death toll rises above 400 people.   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.     Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) gives remarks in Anderson, S.C. | Meg Kinnard/AP Photo Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) for governor, adding momentum to a climate change denier who’s emerged as the off-year election’s front-runner. The Energy Department has kicked off its efforts to make it easier to build large power lines in the United States by designating transmission corridors in capacity-constrained regions. A comprehensive academic inventory has found that plugging thousands of oil and gas wells sitting idle in the Gulf of Mexico could cost up to $30 billion. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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