Stormy politics meet a wild hurricane season

Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Jul 01, 2024 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell Hurricane Beryl strengthens over the Atlantic Ocean. | AP The first presidential debate isn’t the only disaster (for Democrats, anyway) to make landfall of late. The strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded this early in the season crashed over the Caribbean today. Hurricane Beryl is a dangerous Category 4, with sustained winds at 150 mph. That’s no fluke: Hurricanes are getting more frequent and more intense as oceans rapidly warm in a changing climate. While President Joe Biden has poured billions of dollars into combating global warming, much of that funding would be at stake if former President Donald Trump retakes the White House — a possibility that many Democrats fear became more likely after Biden’s debate performance last Thursday. The world’s oceans have been gradually warming for decades as humans have released greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. But the past year’s temperatures surpassed even the most doomsday-esque of predictions. “At this point a year ago, no one would have guessed what was about to come,” Brian McNoldy, an ocean scientist at the University of Miami, recently told POLITICO’s E&E News reporter Chelsea Harvey. Hurricane Beryl’s record-breaking activity confirms meteorologists’ worst fears for this year’s hurricane season, especially following the recent announcement that the hurricane-suppressing weather pattern El Niño has ended. “Incredible doesn't cut it,” meteorologist Noah Bergren wrote on X regarding Beryl’s explosive strength. Beryl is forecast to continue traveling westward, eventually reaching Mexico at a reduced speed. Meanwhile, another storm named Chris made landfall in Mexico on Sunday. Should he stay or should he go While Biden has made historic investments in cutting planet-warming emissions, at least one climate group thinks his debate performance proved he’s not up to finishing what he started. “Defeating Trump and Trumpism is existentially important for our climate and our democracy,” said Michael Greenberg, executive director of Climate Defiance, which is best known for protesting Democratic officials. The debate “proved President Biden is not up for the job.” Trump has pledged to roll back Biden’s climate agenda — and yank the United States out of the Paris climate accord for the second time if he takes back the White House this fall, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign told POLITICO. Also on a short fuse: global temperatures. Even if Biden’s historic investments in clean energy pan out, they may not be enough to achieve the nation’s climate goals, let alone stave off the worst effects of global warming.   It's Monday — 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.   THE GOLD STANDARD OF DEFENSE POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries, like defense, equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists. Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other. Our defense reporting team—including Lara Seligman, Joe Gould, Paul McCleary, Connor O’Brien and Lee Hudson—is embedded with the market-moving legislative committees and agencies in Washington and across states, delivering unparalleled coverage of defense policy and the defense industry. We bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY.     Power Centers Caution tape surrounds collapsed buildings from the Big Sioux River flooding in North Sioux City, South Dakota, on June 24. | Josh Jurgens/AP Climate-fueled storms spew sewage Torrential rainfall wreaked havoc on water infrastructure in parts of the U.S. last week, exposing the growing cost of flooding and chipping away at progress many communities have made to reduce sewage pollution, writes Miranda Willson. The bout of extreme weather exemplifies how climate change is stressing decades-old water treatment plants, sewer systems and pipes that may already be nearing the end of their useful life. Inside Greenpeace's leadership ‘implosion’ Ebony Twilley Martin, Greenpeace USA’s first Black female executive director, has been on leave from the organization for the past two weeks, the group’s board told staff Thursday during a meeting, writes Robin Bravender. Her sudden absence has sparked frustration within the ranks at Greenpeace and among her international counterparts who accused the Greenpeace USA board of sidelining its leader. Say goodbye to Virginia's climate law It took Virginia Democrats a quarter-century to win enough power to pass climate policy into state law, writes Adam Aton. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has managed to unravel much of it in less than one term. In Other News End of an era: The bipartisan consensus in favor of renewable power is ending. Refuge from extremes: These U.S. cities are advertising themselves as "climate havens." But can they actually protect residents from extreme weather?   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.     Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Friday. | Steve Helber/AP The Supreme Court has made it easier for conservative judges to strike down Biden’s climate and energy rules — but liberal-leaning judges could now do the same to Trump’s regulations. The Supreme Court has also cleared the path for new lawsuits over old rules, drawing rebukes from liberal justices who called for Congress to intervene. The property insurance crisis is headed to Nevada, where insurance companies are increasingly declining to write new policies and renew existing ones in high-risk areas. New York will likely fail to meet one of its major renewable electricity targets, state officials acknowledged in a report Monday. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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