Daily on Energy: Why a key Democrat is holding back a bipartisan climate bill

Republicans stung by criticism that they aren’t sincere about combating climate change are eagerly turning the tables on Democrats over Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone opposing the inclusion of the “USE IT Act” in a final defense policy bill being negotiated by Congressional leaders.

“There is no reason why Democrats in the House should stand in the way of bipartisan legislation that supports American innovation and reduces carbon emissions,” said Mike Danylak, a spokesman for Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso. Barrasso is a lead co-sponsor of the bill.

State of play: Other House Democrats, including bill co-sponsors Cheri Bustos of Illinois and Marc Veasey of Texas, have also pushed for its inclusion in the NDAA, realizing it’s one of the last remaining must-pass bills during this session.

“Congresswoman Bustos has confidence in committee leadership as negotiations continue on both the NDAA and the USE IT Act,” her spokesman Sean Sibley told Josh.

The USE IT Act would invest $50 million to research carbon capture and utilization technologies that would trap carbon from industrial facilities and reuse it for commercial products.

It would also facilitate the construction of pipelines to transport the captured emissions to where they can be sold, and set up a program to incentivize the creation of technologies that can suck carbon directly out of the air and store it underground, known as direct air capture.

The USE It Act passed unanimously through the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and was included in the NDAA that passed the Senate. However it was not included in the House NDAA, despite companion legislation in that chamber having 35 Democratic and 13 Republican co-sponsors. It is unlikely to make the final NDAA reconciled between the House and Senate amidst opposition from Pallone, sources tell Josh and Abby.

Republican Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe introduced a “skinny” NDAA this week as negotiations have stalled on a comprehensive bill. The slimmer measure would not include any outside measures such as the USE IT Act, and simply re-up existing policy for another year.

A reminder this is Congress: Pallone’s opposition is rooted in procedural concerns. He supports the underlying bill and carbon capture in general, his office says.

“The USE It Act is a priority and the Chairman has made a commitment to his Senate colleagues to get it passed this Congress, but he simply doesn’t think its inclusion in NDAA is an effective way to get it done,” said a spokesperson for Energy and Commerce committee Democrats.

Stay with us here: Sources say Pallone prefers the USE It Act go through normal committee process, originating in Energy and Commerce. In the House, the bill started in the Science Committee because the legislation sets up the direct air capture research program at the Environmental Protection Agency, instead of the Energy Department.

While Energy and Commerce has jurisdiction over much of the EPA, it doesn’t oversee the agency’s science arm — known as the Office of Research and Development. That’s squarely in the purview of House Science.

For Energy and Commerce to take the lead on the bill, it’s possible lawmakers would have to swap the direct air capture program to the Energy Department, which some have suggested would be better suited for such technology-driven research anyway.

Republicans don’t buy it: It will be harder to pass the USE IT Act without the pressure of a must-pass bill like the NDAA, they say. An earlier carbon capture tax credit bill, called 45Q, only passed Congress in 2018 as part of a bill to fund the government.

“This is one of those pieces where let’s get a bipartisan ‘W’ on climate and move on to the next one,” a House Republican familiar with discussions told Josh. “There’s a vehicle here right in front of us. That’s the path. Getting Republicans on board gives you a greater likelihood of making law in this divided Congress. The onus is on Democrats now.”

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.

GOP LAWMAKERS: PAST TIME FOR FERC TO HELP COAL AND NUCLEAR: Two dozen Republican lawmakers — led by West Virginia Congressman David McKinley — are urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to act expeditiously to help coal and nuclear energy compete in electricity markets.

“[F]uel-secure coal and nuclear plants are continuing to close at an alarming rate while the Commission waits to act,” the lawmakers wrote FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee in a letter Friday, obtained by the Washington Examiner.

FERC initially rejected plans by the Department of Energy to subsidize existing coal and nuclear plants, but it opened a docket to look into how to ensure grid “resilience.” But that docket has laid dormant for more than a year, the lawmakers point out.

“The time for action is overdue,” the lawmakers write. “We urge you to revisit this issue and act in an urgent and thorough fashion.” The letter asks Chatterjee to provide specific updates on timing for action and the commission’s next steps.

Pressure builds on FERC: The lawmakers’ letter comes just days after coal mining giant Murray Energy filed for bankruptcy protections, prompting new questions about whether the Trump administration would try again to help out increasingly retiring coal plants.

Chatterjee recently said he wants FERC to develop a unanimous definition of resilience, which sources tell Abby grid operators could then use to give coal and nuclear a boost in the electricity markets.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds a confirmation hearing next week for James Danly, who once confirmed would Republicans a 3-1 majority on the commission.

¡VAMOS A MADRID! The show must go on.

Spain will officially host global climate talks next month, after Chile abruptly pulled out Wednesday citing protests in the country, United Nations Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa confirmed Friday.

“It will be our pleasure to host COP25 in Madrid,” Minister of the Ecological Transition of Spain Teresa Ribera tweeted, calling it a privilege to facilitate global action on climate change. “Progressive & constructive multilateralism is the best answer to global challenges.”

GET CHA’ MONEY: Congress keeps finding ways to push back on Trump administration proposed budget cuts. The Senate passed a bipartisan Interior and environment appropriations bill Thursday that includes a bump for the EPA, which would be funded at $9.01 billion for fiscal year 2020, slightly higher than the fiscal year 2019 enacted level.

The measure includes an additional $2.25 billion for wildfire suppression, and $20 million in funding to help states address contamination from PFAS chemicals.

Here’s a complete breakdown of what’s in the bill.

WHEN THE WIND BLOWS: There are now 100 gigawatts of wind farms operating in the U.S., enough to power 32 million homes, according to the industry’s trade group.

That amount of wind, with more than 57,700 wind turbines operating across 41 states, is greater than the amount of electricity that California and New Jersey together consume each year, the American Wind Energy Association reported Thursday.

The U.S. only had 25 gigawatts of wind power as recently as 2008. Industry expects growth to continue with a boost from offshore wind, which is in its infancy in the U.S. but has nearly 6,000 megawatts in “advanced development.”

KEEP (MOST OF IT) IN THE GROUND, REPORT SAYS: No oil major is on track with global climate targets set under the Paris Agreement, a new report from the research group Carbon Tracker Initiative says.

In fact, the report finds oil and gas majors would have to slash production by a third by 2040 in order for the world to meet the Paris targets and to avoid stranded assets. Absent any production cut, global temperatures would surpass 1.5 degrees Celsius — the more ambitious of the Paris deal’s two goals — in just 13 years, Carbon Tracker says.

No oil company is fully aligned with the Paris Agreement, but some are doing better than others, the report finds. For example, according to the report, Shell would only need to cut 10% of its production by 2040 to be on track with Paris — while ConocoPhillips would need to cut 85% and ExxonMobil would need to slash 55%.

TRUMP PUSHES FRACKING ON CALIFORNIA: The Interior Department is proceeding with a plan to reopen more than 1 million acres of federal land in central California to oil and gas drilling, despite an outcry from environmental groups.

A Bureau of Land Management final environmental impact statement released Thursday would end a five-year-old moratorium on leasing on the land in Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Ventura counties.

“We’ll do everything possible to stop this,” said Clare Lakewood, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity.

BLM has not issued an oil and gas lease in California since 2013, the group said.

Interior’s move comes after the agency last month approved a plan to lift a more than five-year-old moratorium on leasing of federal lands across California’s Central Coast and Bay Area.

The Rundown

Washington Post Big automakers take risks in siding with Trump administration against California

New York Times Electric roads could be a path to a driverless future

Reuters Drilling ban proposals divide Democrats in US oil states

Roll Call Democrats’ Bernhardt probe has California’s Cox in a tough spot

Calendar

TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 5

10 a.m. 366 Dirksen. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds a confirmation hearing for James Danly to be a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Katharine MacGregor to be deputy secretary of the Interior

THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 7

10 a.m. 366 Dirksen. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds a hearing on issues and legislation related to energy development on federal land