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OIL DRILLERS MAKE THE TRICKY CASE THEY CAN HELP WITH THE ‘CLIMATE EMERGENCY’: Oil and natural gas producers aren’t walking away from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s latest effort to combat climate change, but instead are making the case that they can be part of the solution even though Democrats blame them as the cause.
“Efforts to ‘fight climate change’ should include producing and using more American oil and natural gas,” said Tim Charters, head of government affairs for the National Ocean Industries Association, a trade group representing offshore oil and natural gas producers.
Charters was responding to Tuesday’s introduction of a new bicameral climate resolution from AOC, Bernie Sanders, and other Democrats in the House and Senate, calling for the government to invoke a “climate emergency” and mobilize resources to reduce global warming.
Charters’ basic argument is that the U.S. produces energy more responsibly than other nations do. “We can do better by using and producing our energy here at home,” he said.
It’s a hard case to make for the industry as Democrats look to stifle fossil fuel production in favor of renewable energy at every turn, while eyeing a zero-emission future in as little as a decade.
Sanders, however, said his top concern is to “stand up to the fossil fuel industry and tell them that their short-term profits are not more important than the future of the planet.”
But energy production and environmental protection need not be “mutually exclusive goals,” Charters said. “[W]e can do both.”
A five-year plan: The offshore industry is anticipating the Trump administration will release its five-year offshore drilling plan, but the plan has faced delays, as well as a tide of opposition from House Democrats looking to block the plan with legislation.
The oil industry is trying to convince lawmakers that the plan can be implemented without endangering the country’s coastal areas by producing energy in an “ecologically and socially responsible manner.”
The petrochemical industry has been pushing the idea of promoting more oil and natural gas production in the U.S. as a means of lowering global emissions. They argue that by relying on the nation’s more responsible environmental standards when compared to other countries, more energy production in the U.S. equates to lower global emissions.
This is an issue known as “emissions leakage,” which refers to the reliance on dirtier energy imports from abroad with lower environmental standards when faced with more strict standards at home. Such “leakage” would undermine any improvements in emissions reductions in the United States.
“U.S. petrochemical production is expanding due to robust supplies of natural gas from shale formations. This new production is advanced, state-of-the-art and energy-efficient,” the American Chemistry Council argued in a statement to John.
The chemical industry is moving back to the U.S. to take advantage of the huge natural gas reserves in the country, which make up its principal feedstock.
As the U.S. chemical industry increases its footprint by drawing market share from around the world, it is “displacing legacy capacity” that is older and produces more greenhouse gas emissions, the trade group explained. The U.S. industry is already about 30% more energy efficient than older facilities elsewhere.
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ENERGY DEALMAKING COINCIDES WITH TRUMP’S VISIT WITH EMIR: President Trump’s meeting with Qatar’s Emir Tamin bin Hamad al-Thani on Tuesday coincided with the announcement of the Mideast country’s first-ever chemical complex to be built on the Gulf Coast.
“The proposed US project is part of a trend of Middle Eastern oil companies looking to diversify across regions and expand their footprint in the growing chemicals industry,” explained John Maselli, senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie, in a statement.
The $8 billion chemical complex will be a joint venture between U.S.-based Chevron Phillips Chemical and Qatar Petroleum, where Chevron owns the majority share of the project.
Chevron and Qatar also announced another joint venture a few weeks earlier of a similar chemical plant in Qatar. Trump and the emir discussed the deal as mutually beneficial to both countries, the White House said.
“Likewise, the Qatar project provides CP Chem an opportunity to further diversify assets internationally, while still maintaining advantaged production economics based on ethane,” said Maselli.
Ethane is the reason: The chemical ethane is a valuable byproduct of the shale oil and natural gas boom, as demand for the substance continues to rise for making a wide variety of products, from iPhones to batteries and shampoo bottles.
“Ethylene production from ethane has grown almost 70% globally since 2010, as ethane production skyrockets from the continuing US shale gas revolution,” said Maselli.
Read more about ethane crackers from John in this week’s Washington Examiner magazine.
ETHANOL BATTLE TAKES OVER THE AIRWAVES: The renewable fuel and oil industries are taking their fight over ethanol to television and the internet with dueling ad campaigns focused on gaining the attention of Trump.
The ads take opposing sides on the Trump Environmental Protection Agency’s refinery exemption program, which frees up oil companies from having to meet the federal Renewable Fuel Standard.
The RFS requires that refiners blend billions of gallons of ethanol each, which the industry argues has placed increased costs on refineries.
The refinery ad warns that refineries could begin closing if Trump eliminates the refinery exemption program, because of the high costs imposed by the RFS.
The Fueling American Jobs Coalition, representing independent refiners, paid for the ads.
The National Biodiesel Board launched a counter-ad campaign on Monday in Washington and Iowa, asking the president to stop the refinery exemption program.
Just one exemption granted to an oil company by EPA can close an entire biodiesel facility, the ad stated.
FIRST-EVER GLOBAL ETHANOL SUMMIT SET FOR OCTOBER: The first-ever international ethanol summit will be held in Washington this fall as the presidential election season kicks into high gear.
The Global Ethanol Summit, Oct. 13-15, will be held in Washington, D.C. to help promote the use of the renewable fuel globally, said Ryan LeGrand, president and CEO of the U.S. Grains Council, which is organizing the event with Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association.
“We are very excited to open this unique event to policy makers and ethanol users from across the globe,” LeGrand said.
The ethanol industry announced open registration for the event last week. Over 250 ministerial-level officials, industry CEOs, ethanol producers and refiners from over three dozen countries are expected to attend.
MOST HIGH-EMITTING COMPANIES OFF TRACK TO MEETING PARIS CLIMATE GOALS: Only one in eight of the world’s highest-emitting companies are on pace to reduce their carbon emissions at a rate required to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the main goal of the Paris climate agreement.
A study released Wednesday funded by a network of investors with $14 trillion worth of assets found 46% out of 274 of the world’s highest-emitting publicly-listed companies do not adequately consider climate risk in decision-making.
A quarter of those companies do not report their own emissions at all, according to a study by the Transition Pathway Initiative.
The companies come from sectors including oil and gas, electric utilities, automobiles, airlines, and steel.
“The clock is ticking on irreversible climate change,” said Adam Matthews, co-chair of the Transition Pathway Initiative and director of ethics & engagement at the Church of England Pensions Board. “The fact only 1 in 8 of the highest-emitting firms are responding at anywhere near the pace required is an urgent challenge to investors. Investors themselves need to adopt an emergency footing otherwise the window to secure the change we need will be gone.”
DEMOCRATS INTRODUCE BILL REQUIRING COMPANIES TO DISCLOSE CLIMATE RISKS: Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren and Illinois representative Sean Casten introduced legislation Wednesday requiring public companies to disclose information about their exposure to climate change-related risks.
The bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue rules within two years that require every public company to disclose its greenhouse gas emissions; the amount of fossil-fuel related assets that it owns or manages; how its valuation would be affected if climate change continues at its current pace compared to if policymakers implemented tough policies, and its strategy to manage risks from climate change.
Along with Warren, other presidential candidates co-sponsored the bill, including Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Michael Bennet of Colorado, and Cory Booker of New Jersey.
REPUBLICANS LAUNCH ENVIRONMENTAL CAUCUS IN HOUSE AND SENATE: Republicans in the House and Senate launched a new caucus Wednesday intended to demonstrate the party’s “innovation”-centric approach to reducing emissions and pursue other environmentally-friendly policies.
“From a Republican point of view, we need to showcase we care about conservation, we are about the environment, and we have innovative solutions that are not top-down regulatory solutions,” said Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina senator and one of the leaders of the Roosevelt Conservation Caucus, speaking at a press conference Wednesday morning.
Other members of the caucus include senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Steve Daines of Montana, Rob Portman of Ohio, Richard Burr of North Carolina and Cory Gardner of Colorado, and representatives Elise Stefanik of New York., Will Hurd of Texas, Brian Mast of Florida, and Matt Gaetz of Florida.
Republicans at the press conference provided few details about new proposals, instead challenging China and India to do more to reduce emissions. They were dismissive of solutions such as carbon pricing.
Members, however, challenged Trump to accept climate change science and propose appropriate policies. Trump delivered an address Monday defending his environmental record without mentioning climate change.
“I would encourage the president to look long and hard on the science, admit the science is real, and come up with solutions that do not destroy the economy like the Green New Deal,” Graham said. “I am tired of playing defense on the environment. We will win the solution debate, but the only way to win is admit you have a problem.”
GOP GOVERNORS PUSH FOR TRUMP TO ABANDON FUEL EFFICIENCY ROLLBACK: Two dozen governors, including three Republicans, urged the Trump administration Tuesday to jettison its plan to dramatically weakening Obama-era fuel efficiency rules for cars and pickup trucks.
Governors from 22 states and Puerto Rico joined California in pushing the Trump administration to pursue a “common sense” approach that would enforce strong efficiency standards to help combat climate change from transportation, the highest emitting sector in the U.S.
“Strong vehicle standards protect our communities from unnecessary air pollution and fuel costs, and they address the largest source of carbon pollution in the United States,” the governors wrote in a joint statement.
The Republican governors of Maryland (Larry Hogan), Massachusetts (Charlie Baker), and Vermont (Phil Scott) joined the statement.
The Rundown
Reuters Aggressive US energy policy tests ties with European allies
New York Times It’s New York vs. California in new climate race. Who will win?
Bloomberg Chevron is playing a long game in Venezuela’s oil fields
Associated Press Attorneys general write PJM on search for new CEO
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | July 10
All day, Denver. The Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy, or ARPA-E, holds its annual Innovation Summit.
5:30 p.m., 1030 15th Street NW. Atlantic Council hold forum on “Green Banks: Financing the Low-Carbon Future.”
THURSDAY | July 11
9:30 a.m., The Environmental and Energy Study Institute holds its 2019 Congressional Clean Energy Expo and Policy Forum.
10 a.m., 1324 Longworth. The House Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources holds an oversight hearing on “The Future of the Federal Coal Program.”
10 a.m., 366 Dirksen. Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds a hearing on evolving global natural gas markets, the increasingly important role of U.S. liquefied natural gas, and the competitive outlook.
FRIDAY | July 12
9:30 a.m., 2123 Rayburn. The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy holds a hearing entitled “Keeping The Lights On: Addressing Cyber Threats To The Grid.”
