Republican lawmakers are raising concerns that provisions in the sweeping climate bill from top House Democrats would stifle the plastics industry.
One late addition to the nearly 1,000-page piece of legislation, known as the CLEAN Future Act, is meant to curb greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution emitted from the petrochemical facilities that produce plastics or the raw materials used to make plastics.
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Most significantly, the bill would impose a temporary pause on air pollution permits needed for approval of new plastics production facilities.
The legislation also directs the Environmental Protection Agency to issue new greenhouse gas and air pollution controls for these facilities within three years, including requiring plastics production plants to use zero-emissions power and improve emissions monitoring.
The EPA regulations must also require any permit for a plastics production facility to be accompanied by an “environmental justice assessment,” which would include consulting with the people who live in the region where the facility would be located, according to the bill.
Several Republicans, during a legislative hearing on the bill Thursday, argued it would dampen the plastics industry at a time when the pandemic exposed a need for more plastic materials for personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves.
Rep. David McKinley, a West Virginia Republican, asked whether the Democrats’ bill would preclude the opening of new facilities such as an under-construction ethane cracker plant being built by Shell near Pittsburgh or a similar plant planned for eastern Ohio.
“Yes, I believe that language would jeopardize future investment into those types of facilities,” said Kevin Sunday, director of government affairs for the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, in response to McKinley’s question.
Sunday added that beyond PPE, plastics are also used to weatherize homes and can be found in automotive devices, recreational equipment, and even components used to transport and store the coronavirus vaccines.
Especially in natural gas-rich Appalachia, policymakers have seen plastics production facilities as a way to utilize excess gas and create jobs in a region already suffering economically from the decline of coal power. Former President Donald Trump had touted the endeavor, personally touring the Shell plant in 2019 to draw attention to the project.
This week, Shell said it expects its multibillion-dollar facility outside of Pittsburgh to complete construction next year and estimates it will create 600 permanent jobs.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican, questioned whether the provisions targeting plastics production would have any measurable benefit on curbing emissions or reducing plastic waste in the oceans.
“I take that cotton bag to Whole Foods, I do, but I know it’s virtue-signaling,” Crenshaw said during the hearing. He suggested that the bulk of the plastics waste in the oceans can be traced back to Asian countries and that the United States isn’t as big a piece of the problem.
Nonetheless, plastics production is coming under tougher scrutiny from environmentalists and Democrats given its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, especially with its potential to grow exponentially and offer a lifeline to the oil industry.
The International Energy Agency, in a recent report, said the petrochemical industry will be a “pillar of growth” for the oil industry over the next five years as demand for the fuel decreases in sectors such as transportation as cars increasingly electrify.
A 2019 report from the Center for International Environmental Law estimated the planned growth in global plastics production through 2030 could lead to annual emissions roughly equal to that of 295 coal-fired power plants.
Overall, the CLEAN Future Act sets a national goal for the U.S. to cut its emissions in half, from 2005 levels, by 2030 and reach a 100% clean economy by 2050.
A centerpiece of the bill is a clean electricity standard, targeting carbon-free power by 2035. Other provisions seek reductions of the potent greenhouse gas methane from oil and gas production, direct investments to speed up construction of electric transmission, and establish a “buy clean” program to promote low-carbon materials.
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Democrats touting the bill, including House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, have said the comprehensive nature of the bill is commensurate with the urgency needed to address climate change.
Republicans, meanwhile, have likened the bill to implementing the left-wing Green New Deal.
