CARTER’S SUBCOMMITTEE PLANS: New House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee chairman Buddy Carter told the Washington Examiner he wants to use his new perch to press, at home and abroad, the Republican argument that U.S. fossil fuels are, on balance, good for the environment—helping offset much higher pollution from other major energy exporter nations, such as Russia and China.
This shift in thinking was most prominently on display last month when he and a group of committee Republicans traveled to Dubai to attend the COP28 summit.
Though Carter, who replaced Rep. Bill Johnson of Ohio as the head of the House Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials subcommittee, said he had “trepidation” before the trip, he praised the experience— and said he plans to attend this year’s COP in Azerbaijan as well.
“We need conservatives to be there,” Carter said of the conference. “For us to just ignore it and boycott it, I think, is the wrong approach,” he added.
He also noted the similarities between Republicans and the COP host countries— which have embraced an energy approach that includes fossil fuels and renewable resources. He also said the selection of two oil- and gas-producing nations—UAE and Azerbaijan—to host the COP28 and COP29 summits is “significant.”
“They have said that we need to be focusing more on emissions than on [the] source,” Carter said of the host countries. “And I think that’s important.”
The argument: “The U.S. has decreased carbon emissions in the last decade by more than the next 12 countries combined, while still growing our economy,” Carter said, adding that in his view, the oil and gas industry needs to do a better job of telling that story.
Carter’s push to make the case for “all of the above” energy production on the basis of climate represents a departure from previous years of Republican leadership, which until recently preferred to sidestep issues of climate altogether.
“There are those in our party who are climate deniers,” he told the Examiner.
But the reality is that that no longer accounts for many members of the party, Carter included.
“I think there’s a balance there,” he said, between protecting the environment and also keeping fossil fuels on the grid.
Still, that argument won’t fly with Democrats, who pushed hard at the U.N climate summit to commit to the phasing out of fossil fuels—arguing that any final text that did not include it would be toothless. The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has called for the phase-down of fossil fuels to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
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BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PAUSES DECISION ON MAJOR LNG EXPORT TERMINAL AMID POLITICAL PUSHBACK: The Biden administration is reportedly pushing back its planned decision on the Calcasieu Pass liquefied natural gas export terminal in Louisiana, delaying approval of what would be the nation’s largest LNG export hub in response to new concerns raised by environmental groups and some Democrats.
The White House ordered the Department of Energy to expand its consideration of the planned LNG export facility in Louisiana to include its effects on climate change, as well as on the economy and national security, people familiar with the decision told the New York Times.
The Biden administration has come under mounting political pressure from Democrats in Congress to reconsider the criteria it uses to approve new LNG export terminals, which have taken on new urgency as exports have ballooned in recent years.
The U.S. is currently building five additional LNG export facilities, with a baseload export capacity of more than 70 million tons per year. DOE, meanwhile, has cleared 11 LNG export facilities for approval (though many may not come online).
The Calcasieu Pass 2, or CP2, was on track to be the largest export terminal in the U.S., with a capacity to export 20 million tons of natural gas per year.
Industry groups and Republicans have argued this growth is needed for U.S. energy security and to help allies avoid an energy supply crisis.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday that the administration’s decision to delay CP2 to consider climate concerns would “amount to a functional ban on new LNG export permits” in the U.S.
“The administration’s war on affordable domestic energy has been bad news for American workers and consumers alike,” he said during floor remarks.
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana slammed the decision as a politically motivated “war” on U.S. allies.
The Biden administration is “deliberately postponing permitting” for political purposes, he said in a statement, adding: “Putin must have designed this strategy.”
BIDEN SNAGS UAW ENDORSEMENT: The United Auto Workers labor union has endorsed President Joe Biden despite former President Donald Trump’s courting of the organization’s support, our Naomi Lim reports.
UAW President Shawn Fain announced his organization’s sought-after endorsement during his group’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., yesterday, underscoring Biden’s record of standing with auto workers, dating back to the industry’s 2008-2010 crisis.
“Donald Trump is a scab. Donald Trump is a billionaire, and that’s who he represents,” Fain said. “This choice is clear. Joe Biden bet on the American worker, while Donald Trump blamed the American worker.”
Bigger picture: Late last year, Biden joined striking UAW workers in their standoff with Big Three automakers, believed to be the first time a sitting president has crossed the picket line to join union employees.
Still, Fain has not shied away from voicing his displeasure with some of the Biden administration’s policies, including DOE’s $9 billion loan to Ford last July to help fund the buildout of three planned EV battery plants.
Fain blasted the loans then as a massive “giveaway” made with “no consideration for wages, working conditions, union rights or retirement security,” and accused the Biden administration of “actively funding the race to the bottom” in granting the loan. Read more on that here.
BIDEN VETOES ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGER CRA: President Joe Biden has officially vetoed a Republican resolution, introduced by GOP Rep. Marco Rubio of Florida, to overturn the Biden administration’s decision to waive “Buy America” requirements for government-funded electric chargers.
The Buy America provisions, which were enacted by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill, require federal projects such as electric vehicle chargers to obtain at least 55% of the construction materials from domestic sources and be totally manufactured in the United States. However, the Federal Highway Administration issued a temporary waiver to suspend the 55% requirement until July of this year.
In a message to the Senate, the White House reiterated its previous arguments for vetoing the measure, reasoning that the resolution would actually do the opposite of its intended purpose – and instead allow for federal dollars to be spent on electric vehicle chargers made overseas, in countries like China.
“Establishing resilient supply chains is critical to our national economic and energy security, and my Administration will not support policies that would undermine efforts to bring this critical manufacturing back to the United States,” the White House’s message reads.
The irony: Republican critics of the waiver had the same argument against it – that the waiver would be a giveaway to China, the leader in the electric vehicle and battery industry.
“We know the Biden administration’s priority is to pour billions into green energy and clean cars, but by rushing to meet arbitrary green and climate agendas, the United States is more likely to solidify China’s control of our energy future rather than save the planet,” Rep. Erin Houchin of Indiana, a member of the House Rules Committee, said earlier this month during floor remarks.
NEW APPROVALS FOR NEW JERSEY WIND FARMS: New Jersey’s state energy regulators have approved new wind farm projects that are expected to bring in a combined capacity of 3,742 megawatts – advancing the state’s wind power goals following a major setback last year.
As the Associated Press outlines, the projects approved by the state Board of Public Utilities will be placed farther offshore than previous projects – likely in response to concerns from coastal towns that the turbines would be visible from the beach.
The two projects, named the Leading Light Wind and Attentive Energy, would generate electricity to power 1.8 million homes, according to the board’s president Christine Guhl-Sadovy. However, in statements provided last year, the companies estimated that the combined projects would power a total of 1.6 million homes – a slightly smaller figure than the newest estimate.
The move brings the state’s total number of preliminarily approved offshore wind projects to three. These project approvals, however, came just three months after Orsted – one of the world’s biggest developers of offshore wind farms – backed out of two projects. The withdrawal was a notable setback to the state’s goal of transitioning away from fossil fuels.
The projects will join Atlantic Shores, a previously approved wind farm. Read more on that here.
GOP THREAT TO SUBPOENA DOCS FROM JIGAR SHAH: House Energy and Commerce Republicans are upping their efforts to probe DOE Loan Programs Office Director Jigar Shah, going as far as to threaten to subpoena documents from him.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, along subcommittee chairmen Reps. Morgan Griffith and Jeff Duncan, are threatening to subpoena documents from Shah over accusations that a previous trade organization Shah founded may be influencing which companies have access to DOE loans.
Some background: The lawmakers, along with Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Sen. John Barrasso, have sent a total of four letters to Shah requesting information about his relationship with the trade organization and the LPO’s process for approving loans. Shah has responded with one letter. However, the lawmakers are claiming that he is failing to “cooperate in a meaningful way.”
“Recent reports, your testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and the exponential expansion of the LPO’s loan authority of over $400 billion have raised legitimate questions regarding how the program plans to spend taxpayer dollars,” the lawmakers write in a new letter sent on Tuesday. “As the LPO continues publicly to emphasize its commitment to transparency, full cooperation would have provided this program office with an opportunity to address these issues.”
While the lawmakers acknowledged that Shah’s December response “purportedly” addressed the first two letters sent by Republicans, the lawmakers said the letter is missing requested documents, such as correspondence between the DOE and the trade group, and internal documents detailing the loan approval process. Read the letter here.
The deadline: The GOP is requesting that Shah respond with the requested documents by Feb. 6, or face a subpoena of the information.
Sound familiar? We’ve covered this feud between Energy committee Republicans and Shah extensively, dating back to when Shah testified in front of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in October. Background on that here.
RUNDOWN
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