Daily on Energy: Climate change could be the difference in the Iowa caucuses

A Des Moines Register/CNN poll earlier this month found climate change tied with healthcare as the number one issue likely Democratic caucusgoers consider “extremely important” as they evaluate candidates’ positions.

Separate polling last year from the Yale Program on Climate Communication found more than two-thirds of Iowans are concerned about climate change and its effects on agriculture, extreme weather, and more in the state.

That translates to policy positions, too, the Yala data found. According to its August polling, 77% of Iowans would be more likely to back a candidate supporting greater federal funding for renewable energy, and 73% would be more likely to support a candidate who would set a 100% renewable by 2050 mandate for the U.S.

How much are candidates campaigning on climate? They’re certainly spending a lot of money on ads in the state, many of them mentioning climate change and some solely focused on the issue.

Big spenders include Bernie Sanders, who paid $1.5 million for ads in Iowa mentioning energy and environment issues, according to a memo from the League of Conservation Voters. Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer also spent big in the state, throwing $4.5 million into 14 different ads referencing energy and environment, including a 60-second spot focused entirely on climate change.

Sanders and Steyer also both held climate-related events in Iowa in the run-up to the caucus. Last week, Steyer held a town hall in Ames highlighting ways to address climate change. Sanders has held multiple climate events in the state over the past couple months, including a summit in Des Moines with New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Notably, Joe Biden spent the least of all the major Democratic candidates on ads mentioning his plans to address climate change, according to LCV’s memo.

Will it matter? In years past, other issues, such as the economy and healthcare, have ultimately trumped climate change when voters go to caucus or to vote.

This year shows signs of a significant uptick in voters’ attention to climate change, however, especially in the Democratic primaries where youth climate activists have put pressure on candidates to commit to increasingly robust plans to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

If Sanders pulls out a win in today’s caucus, it could signal those more progressive voices are resonating with more Democratic voters.

Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers Josh Siegel (@SiegelScribe) and Abby Smith (@AbbySmithDC). Email [email protected] or [email protected] for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.

SAUDIS CONSIDER EMERGENCY OIL CUT IN RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS: Saudi Arabia is considering a short-term oil production cut over fears that the fast-spreading coronavirus is hindering demand and harming the global economy.

The Saudi-led OPEC will meet Tuesday to discuss possible action in order to boost revenues of exporting nations, the Wall Street Journal reported, discussing options such as collectively cutting 500,000 barrels a day until the health crisis is over. Another option would be the Saudis themselves doing a temporary cut of 1 million barrels a day.

Oil demand from China, the world’s largest importer, has dropped by about 3 million barrels a day, or 20% of total consumption, Bloomberg reports.

“The drop is probably the largest demand shock the oil market has suffered since the global financial crisis of 2008 to 2009, and the most sudden since the Sept. 11 attacks,” Bloomberg wrote.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, is hovering near $56 per barrel as of this writing, while West Texas Intermediate was trading at around $51. The price fall continues from January, when both grades suffered the biggest one-month declines since May of 2019.

ENERGY DEPARTMENT’S LATEST PLASTIC PROJECT: The Department of Energy is partnering with the American Chemistry Council to develop technologies to recycle plastic and keep waste out of rivers, oceans, and landfills, Josh has exclusively learned.

The Energy Department will sign a memorandum of understanding on Monday afternoon with the chemical industry’s trade group that enables them to collaborate on a number of projects.

These include creating technologies that collect plastic more easily once it has entered waterways, producing new plastics that are recyclable by design, and developing technologies that upcycle waste chemicals from plastic into other commercial products.

The partnership is part of the Energy Department’s “Plastics Innovation Challenge,” an initiative announced by former Secretary Rick Perry late last year that encourages collaboration with the private sector to accelerate energy-efficient technologies that reduce plastic waste in oceans and landfills.

HOW AUTOMAKERS ARE ADVERTISING THEIR NEW EVs: A new wave of electric cars is coming, and they’re fast, powerful, quiet, and zero emissions — at least, that’s what carmakers want you to know about them.

This year’s Super Bowl featured three electric car ads from major brands, more than ever before, during the big game’s primetime ad space. General Motors used Lebron James to introduce its new all-electric Hummer. Porsche aired a two and a half minute-long car chase, its first Super Bowl ad in two decades, with its all-electric Taycan sports car out in front. And Game of Thrones actress Maisie Williams leaves gas guzzlers in the dust driving an Audi e-tron model to a “more sustainable future.”

The ads signal major automakers may start leaning more heavily into EV marketing as they ready dozens of new electric models to come into the market in the next few years. Automakers are touting their commitment to cleaning up their fleets — transportation is the number one emitting sector of the economy — but without sacrificing speed, power, or that fun-to-drive feeling.

Reality check: What the commercials don’t say is that EV sales in the U.S. dipped to less than 330,000 in 2019, a nearly 10% drop from 2018, according to data from the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Lab. Tesla’s Model 3 alone accounted for nearly half of the 2019 sales.

In addition, automakers spent only 0.3% of the $8.6 billion they paid for U.S. advertising in 2019 promoting their electric cars, according to the New York Times.

CONSERVATIVE ACTIVISTS LOBBY FOR CARBON TAX: Conservative activists from the group Citizens Climate Lobby are on Capitol Hill this week to push Republicans to support a carbon tax.

Nearly 100 activists from 30 states will meet Tuesday with more than 70 Republican congressional offices to advocate for the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, a carbon tax bill in the House that distributes the revenue to taxpayers.

The legislation has 77 co-sponsors, including one Republican, Francis Rooney of Florida.

“We’re grateful to these conservative volunteers for making their voices heard,” said Mark Reynolds, CCL’s executive director. “With every meeting, they’re showing elected Republicans that climate change should be a bridge issue that we all work together on,”

INDUSTRY’S CARBON PROBLEM: Less than a quarter of the world’s largest industrial manufacturing companies are on track to cut their emissions consistent with global climate goals, a new report says.

More industrial companies are moving to align with the Paris climate agreement, according to the report released Monday by the London-based Transition Pathway Initiative. By 2030, 29% of the largest 100 industrial manufacturers are slated to align their emissions trajectories with the world’s goal to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius.

But that pace is still far too slow, the report notes, especially for the industrial sector, which doesn’t have a lot of options yet to quickly decarbonize. Aluminum and steel companies have made no progress toward cutting emissions, the report says.

“[M]ake no mistake, these industries must transform themselves if they are to survive the low carbon transition and play their part in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement,” said Faith Ward, co-chair of the Transition Pathway Initiative and chief responsible investment officer for the Brunel Pension Partnership.

FERC MOVES TO SPEED LANDOWNER APPEALS OF PIPELINE APPROVALS: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced Friday it created a new division to address landowner disputes with natural gas pipeline companies.

FERC’s Republican chairman, Neil Chatterjee, has directed the launch of a “rehearings” section within the office of general counsel that seeks to allow for quicker landowner appeals of the commission’s pipeline approvals.

“Our objective today is to reinforce the Commission’s commitment to ensure landowners are afforded a judicially appealable rehearing order as quickly as possible,” Chatterjee said.

The Rundown

Washington Post New emails show how President Trump roiled NOAA during Hurricane Dorian

Associated Press US energy secretary: Brazil showing commitment on climate

Politico Trudeau’s climate dilemma

Bloomberg Climate models are running red hot, and scientists don’t know why

Wall Street Journal Connecticut’s largest city sees future in harnessing wind energy

New York Times Church of England devises an index for climate-conscious investing

Calendar

WEDNESDAY | FEB. 5

9 a.m. 1300 Longworth. The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis holds a hearing entitled “Creating a Climate Resilient America: Overcoming the Health Risks of the Climate Crisis.”

10 a.m. 2318 Rayburn. The House Science Committee holds a hearing on “management and spending challenges within the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.”

10 a.m. 2322 Rayburn. The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Modernizing the Natural Gas Act to Ensure it Works for Everyone.”

10 a.m. 406 Dirksen. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee holds a hearing on “Oversight of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.”

THURSDAY | FEB. 6

10 a.m. 2123 Rayburn. The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee holds a hearing on the “USE It Act” entitled, “Clearing the Air: Legislation to Promote Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage.”