Biden’s climate pickle in tonight’s debate

Presented by Southern Environmental Law Center: Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Jun 27, 2024 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell Presented by  This combination of photos taken in Columbia, S.C. shows former President Donald Trump, left, on Feb. 24, 2024, and President Joe Biden on Jan. 27, 2024. | AP To brag about the United States’ record-high oil production — or let it go unmentioned. That is just one of the conundrums President Joe Biden faces in tonight’s debate with former President Donald Trump, who has spent years accusing his successor of attacking the fossil fuel industry and wrecking American energy “independence,” write Timothy Cama, Garrett Downs and Nicole Norman. While Biden has made fighting climate change a major pillar of his agenda, investing hundreds of billions of dollars more in clean energy and climate programs than any past president, his era has also seen record U.S. oil and gas production — a fact he might not want to highlight lest he further alienate young, progressive voters. Also a bad look: Boasting that U.S. companies produced more crude oil last year than any nation at any time in history to the backdrop of a dangerous, early-summer heat dome. Across the world, 1,400 temperature records were broken last week, many in the U.S., killing scores of people and offering a reminder of the consequences of a rapidly warming planet — which is primarily driven by burning fossil fuels. Trump supporters are eager to exploit Biden’s bind. “No Republican knows that oil production under Biden is higher than ever,” former Trump strategist Steve Bannon told The New York Times in April. But he added, “The college kids are furious about it.” On the other hand: Failing to tout oil and gas production could leave Biden vulnerable with independents and people worried about high fuel prices. Trump has made those prices a cornerstone of his attack on Biden’s energy agenda, even falsely claiming two years ago that gasoline cost nearly $9 per gallon. (The national average at the time was $4.60. It was $3.50 today for regular, still much higher than when Biden took office.) One way out? Blame the oil industry, said Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, an endangered Democrat who will appear on the ballot with Biden this year. “If the price of gasoline comes up in my debate back home, I’m going to blame who should be blamed — which is the big oil companies,” he told POLITICO’s E&E News. “And we should tax their excess profits, that’s what we should do.” Trump’s greatest (or newest) hits: Some of Trump’s other favorite lines of attack that may make an appearance tonight include his attempts to link wind turbines to whale deaths, claims that Biden’s electric vehicle incentives amount to a “mandate,” and accusations that Biden’s climate policies are a “scam” that will “make China rich” and debilitate the military. But the former president added a new, perhaps unexpected argument earlier today: “Under my Administration CO2 emissions went down,” said a proposed talking point that Trump posted on Truth Social from his former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler. (Inconvenient truths: That decline was largely because of the pandemic, climate experts said at the time — and it wasn’t sharp enough to prevent catastrophic warming.)   It's Thursday — 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.   A message from Southern Environmental Law Center: The Okefenokee Swamp is one of the South’s greatest natural wonders. But right now, a reckless mining project threatens its environment and the wildlife that depend on it. The Biden administration can take action to permanently protect the Okefenokee for future generations — add your voice now.    Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Ben Lefebvre and Josh Siegel fact-check some of Trump's and Biden's most common claims about energy that may emerge during tonight's debate. Read more about that here.   A message from Southern Environmental Law Center:   SCOTUS People stand on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. | Mariam Zuhaib/AP Another blow to Biden's green agenda The Supreme Court today froze further implementation of EPA's latest crackdown on smog-forming pollution that crosses state lines, writes Sean Reilly. Led by Justice Neil Gorsuch, the ruling halts enforcement of stricter power plant pollution limits in 11 states. Notably, Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court’s three liberal members in dissenting. Approximately 115 million people in the U.S. live in areas that fail to meet federal air quality levels. Particularly along the East Coast, state regulators blame upwind emissions from the South and Midwest for a significant part of their compliance problems. Agencies face uncertainty over enforcement powers The Supreme Court’s latest rebuke of the Securities and Exchange Commission is creating uncertainty about agencies’ power to punish law breakers, writes Alex Guillén. The justices held in a 6-3 ruling that the Constitution’s guarantee to a trial by jury applies when the SEC seeks civil penalties for securities fraud. Legal experts say that raises questions about whether other agencies — including the EPA — can issue fines for violations of a wide range of laws and rules. The decision “could threaten EPA’s enforcement program as we know it,” said Kevin Minoli, a former acting general counsel at the agency. Power Centers A worker handles a carton at an Amazon same-day delivery shipping center in Woodland Park, New Jersey. | Ted Shaffrey/AP Let's call it the Amazon tax Washington state is mulling a new way to pay for roads as gas tax revenue dwindles: a fee on doorstep deliveries, writes Adam Aton. A state panel estimates that by 2035, when Amazon's home state will require all new vehicles to emit zero greenhouse gases, gas tax revenue will fall below $1 billion, a decline of more than $300 million from last year. Big tech is coming for Ohio's electric grid Ohio’s largest utility has brokered agreements with data centers that will more than double the area’s peak demand by the end of the decade, writes Jeffrey Tomich. State lawmakers finally passed an embattled measure to increase energy efficiency, but it's likely nowhere near enough to address the new strain on the grid. What Europe's far-right really wants A bear attack in Slovakia illustrates of how far-right politicians have used resentment against green rules to help boost themselves into power, write Karl Mathiesen and Louise Guillot. It also shows what happens to environmental protections when politicians who have campaigned on dismantling them get a chance to turn their promises into reality. In Other News A surprising climate find: Despite sea levels rising, some atoll islands have managed to remain stable or even grow. Science: How water could be the future of fuel.   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.     Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Claudine Hellmuth/E&E News (illustration); Library of Congress (pipes); Internet Archive Book Images/Flickr (drafting elements) Federal energy regulators have approved one of the nation's largest liquefied natural gas export projects planned along the Gulf Coast — immediately sparking the ire of environmental critics. The Senate Budget Committee asked 18 oil companies to hand over any communications with OPEC members as Democrats look into allegations that U.S. companies participated in oil market price fixing. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said he’s “not at all” concerned about the agency’s embattled rules aimed at cutting emissions from the transportation sector. Electric vehicle sales from traditional automakers grew this year, countering the widespread notion that American consumers have lost interest in the technology. 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.       A message from Southern Environmental Law Center: The Okefenokee Swamp is one of the most pristine, ecologically intact places in America. It should stay that way. Strip mines don’t belong anywhere near this natural treasure. Tell President Biden to step in and protect the Okefenokee.     Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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