Energy debate moves on to New Hampshire

Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Jan 16, 2024 View in browser   By Christian Robles Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump takes the stage at a caucus night party in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday. | Andrew Harnik/AP GOP calls to roll back President Joe Biden’s climate and energy policies could get louder as the Republican primary field narrows. Following Donald Trump’s blowout win in the Iowa caucus, the race is now between the former president, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, starting with next Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary. In Iowa, DeSantis came in a distant second, and Haley finished third. On the campaign trail in Iowa, the three candidates decried air and water regulations and Biden’s “electric vehicle mandate” (though no such mandate exists). But most energy and environmental issues were on the back burner, even in the state where ethanol is such a perpetual political force, writes Timothy Cama. Only 10 percent of Republican caucusgoers in Iowa said climate change was “extremely important” in how they evaluated candidates, according to an October poll by The Des Moines Register and NBC News. The only issue that polled lower was vaccinating against Covid-19. The economy and inflation were No. 1. The three GOP candidates focused most of their energy rhetoric on a version of “drill, baby, drill.” All have repeatedly promised to make America “energy dominant,” even as oil and gas production reaches record levels under Biden. They have also vowed to repeal Biden’s sweeping climate agenda, which they’ve inaccurately labeled the “Green New Deal.” Expect more of those messages — especially if, as polls and Tuesday’s results suggest, Trump is almost certain to become the Republican presidential nominee. The former president has promised to be an energy “dictator” on his first day in office and would use that power to “drill, drill, drill.” And if he wins the election, Trump is set to make his second term an even less restrained assault on climate policies than his first, writes Scott Waldman. “The approach is to go back to all-out fossil fuel production and sit on the EPA,” said Steve Milloy, a former Trump transition team adviser. The Heritage Foundation-led Project 2025 effort, which outlines policy goals for a second Trump term, would turn government agencies like EPA away from public health protections and toward increasing fossil fuel production.   It's Tuesday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Christian Robles. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to crobles@eenews.net.   YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS: From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics.      Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Alex Guillén breaks down the details of the methane fee and the expected pushback from the oil industry and Republican lawmakers. Power Centers U.S. climate envoy John Kerry will step down in the coming months. | Andy Wong/AP John Kerry is out. Who comes next? John Kerry plans to step down as the Biden administration’s special presidential envoy for climate change, a position he held for three years and helped transform. In the role, Kerry served as the nation’s top climate diplomat, working to rebuild trust after years of hostile climate policies under the Trump administration, writes Sara Schonhardt. In the short term, Kerry’s deputies, Rick Duke and Sue Biniaz, will take over climate envoy responsibilities. But whether the position is filled in the long-term depends on who wins the White House in November. Republicans dodge key Iowa issue GOP candidates for president have largely ignored a priority for the biofuels industry: pipelines to transport carbon dioxide emissions from ethanol plants. CO2 pipelines could help the ethanol industry tap into tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act. But siting them has fractured the GOP. While eminent domain is politically unpopular, opposing pipelines could be seen as anti-ethanol, writes Jeffrey Tomich. “To the extent that the issue crosscuts traditional partisan lines, it might give some GOP candidates pause to address it,” said Barbara Trish, a professor of political science at Grinnell College in Iowa. EU's empty clean tech promise Last year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen traveled to Davos, Switzerland, and promised to put billions into clean energy technologies. But since then, conservative politics, fiscal austerity and a growing emphasis on the military have ensured green EU spending has not materialized as von der Leyen promised, write Federica Di Sario and Victor Jack. In Other News Oil country: Kern County, California, is betting that carbon capture removal technology will save its oil drilling economy. Solar retreat: A change to California’s solar policies last year has led some businesses to flee the state and brought rooftop solar installations down. YouTube climate denialism: A new report indicates that YouTube videos are moving away from outright dismissal of climate change and instead increasingly focused on skepticism for climate solutions. Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Drilling operations in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. | Judy Patrick/AP The Biden administration is asking a federal appeals court to uphold its controversial Willow oil drilling project in Alaska. Democratic lawmakers called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to advance a transmission rule that could yield a significant amount of clean energy across the nation. The Supreme Court will hear two cases that could overturn 40 years of legal precedent that has protected environmental rules from legal attacks. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   SUBSCRIBE TO CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes.       Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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