Climate oversight comes for corporate America

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Mar 06, 2024 View in browser   By Joel Kirkland Presented by Chevron SEC Chair Gary Gensler participates in a July 28, 2023, meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Wall Street’s top regulator approved a groundbreaking but scaled-back rule today that will require companies to divulge more about the climate risks they face and, in some cases, their greenhouse gas emissions. The 3-2 party-line vote of the Securities and Exchange Commission came after a bitter two-year fight over how far the agency can go to force public companies to provide information about their business costs and risks tied to rising temperatures and extreme weather. A more ambitious earlier version of the nearly 900-page final rule buckled as business groups and Republicans threatened legal action. Opponents argued that a rule that requires climate reporting is outside of the SEC’s statutory authority and unworkable for much of corporate America, Declan Harty writes. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is likely to sue, and a legislative push to overturn it is expected. This rule — for backers, a landmark rule that finally pulls corporate accountability into the suite of Biden administration efforts to combat climate change — is already proving extremely messy in terms of where it might end up. One observer noted that some of President Joe Biden’s climate allies might be among the litigants challenging the SEC’s rule. “Even after today, the SEC will have a long runway ahead on climate disclosure,” Satyam Khanna, a former climate adviser at the commission, said before the vote. “Market participants may seek additional guidance. And there’s some risk that, in its effort to allay industry concerns, the SEC adopts arguments exposing it to litigation from advocates.” For policy advocates, the rule cuts in different ways, Robin Bravender and Avery Ellfeldt write. The opposition campaign resulted in a rule that shielded public companies from having to give investors (and competitors) a deeper look at their supply chains and customers. The agency dropped a requirement known as Scope 3 that would have forced companies to report indirect supply-chain emissions — for example, those resulting from the production of chemicals that go into plastics, or the pollution caused by using fuels like gasoline. The rule “needs to do much more,” said Elizabeth Derbes, director of financial regulation and climate risk for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Investors have been pressing for mandatory disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions,” she said, “and the agency needs to give them a fuller picture of companies’ risk exposure.” The final rule marks a “positive step” but “falls significantly short of what’s needed,” Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous said in a statement. “Greenhouse gas emissions are a critical measure of a company’s handling of climate risk and Scope 3 emissions represent the vast majority of emissions from most companies,” he said.   It's Wednesday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Joel Kirkland. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to jkirkland@eenews.net.   On the ground in Albany. Get critical policy news and analysis inside New York State. Track how power brokers are driving change across legislation and budget and impacting lobbying efforts. Learn more.     Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Zack Colman breaks down tension in the Biden administration over EPA's upcoming power plant rule.   A message from Chevron: Chevron knows methane management is critical for a lower carbon future. We’re striving to lead in methane management with innovative practices, partnerships, and new technologies. These are a few ways we’re aiming to keep methane in the pipe.   Power Centers Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.). | Jose Luis Magana/AP Fossil fuel backers have had enough of the 'Hunter Biden thing' Fossil fuel advocates and some Republican lobbyists and former staffers worry that investigations of Hunter Biden have distracted from oversight of the Biden administration's energy and climate initiatives, Kelsey Brugger writes. The gist: Precious staff resources would be better used to probe the White House's implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden administration's landmark climate law. “Team Biden is clearly trying to spend as much of the green giveaways in the IRA as they can before the election in case it goes bad for them,” said Tom Pyle, president of the pro-fossil fuel American Energy Alliance. Republicans who support the probe counter that they are keeping pressure on the Biden administration and will launch more investigations. But a former Republican senior staffer on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee told Kelsey: “They wanted to do this Hunter Biden thing, and it’s kind of been a mess. They spent a lot of time on it, and it hasn’t really gone anywhere. They haven’t built the committee in a way that allows them to do other stuff also.” Green (energy) light for nonprofits The Biden administration finalized tax rules Tuesday to give nonprofits access to federal funding for clean energy projects, Brian Dabbs writes. A provision in the Inflation Reduction Act allowed nonprofits, which are tax-exempt, to take advantage of tax codes that have driven decarbonization. Under the rules finalized Tuesday, nonprofits now can get paid for up to 30 percent of clean energy projects such as solar and wind farms. That could benefit tax-exempt organizations like the Tennessee Valley Authority, tribes and power cooperatives, Brian writes. But tax experts say the rules from the Treasury Department fall short on partnerships, which are common for big energy projects. “The IRS and Treasury did not budge very much,” said David Burton, a partner with Norton Rose Fulbright. States to fossil fuel companies: Pay up A growing number of states are considering making oil and gas companies pay for damages from climate-fueled disasters, write Adam Aton and Lesley Clark. At least four states are debating legislation modeled on the federal Superfund program, which taxed the chemical and petroleum industries to clean up contaminated land. They all propose charging the largest fossil fuels firms billions of dollars for the damage caused by the historical emissions of their products. A bill in Vermont is all but ensured to pass, after gaining the support of a majority of the House and a supermajority of the Senate. Lawmakers in New York, Massachusetts and Maryland have introduced similar bills, and advocates expect it to soon pop up in California and Minnesota.   A message from Chevron:   In Other News Forest cities?: Architects are expanding their use of organic materials like wood, hemp and bamboo — and integrating more plants and trees — in an effort to cut down on the building and construction industry's large carbon footprint. A whole new world: A Ford electric vehicle is put to the charging test at Tesla's Superchargers, with some hiccups but otherwise good results.   A message from Chevron: By 2028, our upstream methane intensity target is set to be 53% below the 2016 baseline. To help us get there, we’ve trialed over 13 advanced methane technologies including satellites, planes, drones, and fixed sensors to help reduce methane emissions intensity. In the Permian, we have deployed real-time autonomous optimizers that continuously monitor facilities and well conditions to help prevent flaring, venting and well shutdowns. Developing new solutions to provide energy that’s affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner, that’s energy in progress.   Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Power transmission lines are shown in Lansing, Michigan. | Al Goldis/AP The Midwest's grid operator released a $23 billion plan to build transmission in eight states, creating an “interstate highway system for electricity" that could help utilities add renewables and boost reliability. A man arrested for allegedly smuggling refrigerants into the U.S. will be the first person prosecuted under the 2020 American Innovation and Manufacturing Act. Internal emails reveal how Interior Department officials reacted privately in 2022 when lawmakers announced a deal on what would become the Inflation Reduction Act. For the first time, solar energy made up more than half of new U.S. power generation in 2023. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The stakes are high as America's health care community strives to meet the evolving needs of patients and practitioners, adopt new technologies and navigate skeptical public attitudes toward science. Join POLITICO’s annual Health Care Summit on March 13 where we will discuss the future of medicine, including the latest in health tech, new drugs and brain treatments, diagnostics, health equity, workforce strains and more. REGISTER HERE.       Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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