RNC launches with a vast divide on climate

Presented by Chevron: Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Jul 15, 2024 View in browser   By Emily Yehle and Joel Kirkland Presented by Chevron Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, arrive on the floor with Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno (right) during the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. | Carolyn Kaster/AP The Republican National Convention began today amid a burst of historic drama — from former President Donald Trump’s survival of Saturday’s assassination attempt to this afternoon’s announcement of his running mate, populist Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance. Beneath it all, though, is a Mariana Trench-sized chasm between the two parties’ visions on energy policy — including a brief Republican platform that promises to “unleash Energy Production” by boosting fossil fuels and slashing regulations. The GOP messaging on the energy front will be part of a broader effort by Trump’s campaign to win over the swing voters who turned against him four years ago. One big question is how exactly he does that. Trump spent last week trying to distance himself from the much more detailed Project 2025, a 900-page policy blueprint partly written by his former Cabinet officials. The document outlines how a second Trump administration could carry out a slew of policy priorities, including gutting federal climate research, slashing funding for environmental agencies and removing climate science from military planning. Now the GOP campaign playbook is evolving in the wake of the shooting, writes Robin Bravender. “We’re going to see what the message is coming out of the convention,” George David Banks, who worked on climate policy in the Trump White House, told Robin. Trump, he said, has a moment to “try to be a unifier.” Trump, however, eschewed the advice of some Republicans who urged him to choose a vice president who would add racial diversity to the ticket or appeal to moderates. As Timothy Cama writes today, Vance is a onetime Trump critic turned firebrand loyalist who questions the reality of climate change (a 180 from his views before he entered politics). The Ohio Republican won his Senate seat by running on an ardently pro-Trump agenda — and has introduced legislation to repeal the federal tax credit for electric vehicles. Tricky messaging Democrats may also recalibrate their messaging after the attack. The Biden campaign has focused on both policy and harsh attacks on Trump in recent weeks, highlighting Project 2025 and leaning on President Joe Biden’s success in securing billions of dollars for clean energy programs. A draft platform from the Democratic National Committee — obtained by POLITICO over the weekend — delves into the details. At 80 pages, it dwarfs the 16-page GOP platform and includes plans to eliminate oil and gas subsidies, encourage transmission upgrades and “grid-component manufacturing,” and scale up clean energy development on public lands. The DNC could approve the platform as soon as this week, with a final vote at the party’s convention in Chicago next month.   It's Monday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. We're your hosts, Emily Yehle and 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.   A message from Chevron: Energy demand is projected to reach record highs and continue to rise in the future. Chevron is responding to that growing need while innovating to help do so responsibly. All to help us provide energy that’s affordable, reliable, and ever-cleaner.   Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Zack Colman previews the RNC messaging and how it will seek to tie energy to inflation — but likely won’t include talk about climate change.   A message from Chevron:   Power Centers Climate protesters interrupt former president and Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump as he speaks at a rally in Indianola, Iowa, on Jan. 14. | Christian Monterrosa/AFP via Getty Images Gaming out Trump 2.0 Green groups are developing a strategy for how to maneuver during a second Trump administration, from Washington to the state and local levels, Zack Colman writes. Those efforts include detailed examinations of conservatives’ policy road maps. Supreme Court decisions have also hobbled the ability of the executive branch to protect climate actions from being reversed under Trump. Environmental leaders plan to work with local and state officials and businesses benefiting from Biden’s climate investments. This extensive scenario planning, described by 12 officials from environmental organizations, is a dramatic contrast from 2016, when green activists acknowledged they dismissed Trump’s chances of winning. 'Special areas' in the Arctic The Biden administration is considering further restricting oil development in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, Heather Richards reports. The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management on Friday said it will soon solicit public comment on whether to expand or designate new “special areas” in the 23-million-acre reserve. The move could extend the areas that are mostly off limits to drillers and stymie new exploration for oil in the western Arctic. A final goodbye for New England coal? Granite Shore Power in New Hampshire is closing the last two coal plants in New England. The region never was a large coal market, but the closures point to one energy transition challenge: how to keep the lights on when power demand surges, writes Benjamin Storrow. That often falls to the least-efficient power plants on the power grid. The region of nearly 15 million people relies on natural gas. That can be troublesome in the winter, when demand for gas rises and space on New England’s pipelines is limited.   Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more.     In Other News Slowing rotation: The melting of Earth’s ice sheets, accelerated by climate change, is making our days slightly longer. EV rental woes: Many rental car companies are trying to sell off electric vehicles at deep discounts, after encountering trouble making a profit.   A message from Chevron: Oil and gas are still an important part of the global energy system. To help responsibly address growing needs, Chevron is stepping up. Our Gulf of Mexico facilities are some of the world’s lowest carbon intensity operations, and our technological advances enable us to reach previously unviable oil and gas reserves there. In the Permian Basin, we’re harnessing new drilling and completion technologies to increase the amount of oil we recover. We expect to reach 1 million barrels of oil-equivalent there per day by 2025. Providing energy that’s affordable, reliable, and ever-cleaner. That’s energy in progress.   Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. A Seagull electric vehicle from Chinese automaker BYD parked outside a showroom in Beijing. | Ng Han Guan/AP U.S. automakers need to radically restructure if they are to compete against a new wave of Chinese electric vehicles, according to a new report. Amazon purchased a staggering amount of wind and solar power to reach its goal of matching all its electricity consumption with renewable energy. Some environmental advocates and legal experts are pointing to old opinions by the late conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to argue that the death of the Chevron doctrine may not lead to weaker environmental regulations. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, our newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW.       Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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