Daily on Energy, Sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute: Takeaways from Biden climate summit

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*Momentum built: The Biden administration’s main priority was to prove the U.S. is back to playing a productive role in improving the Paris Agreement, and it did so by providing an aggressive target to cut its economy-wide emissions 50% to 52% by 2030.

“In terms of putting the climate issue front and center on the stage as a geopolitical priority, mission accomplished,” said Alden Meyer, U.S. manager of the International Climate Politics Hub, told Josh. “They made a real contribution to that front.”

The U.S. also won new commitments from some large economies, led by Japan and Canada. Combined with updated pledges from the UK, EU, and more, climate envoy John Kerry says countries representing 55% of global GDP have committed to levels of reduction for 2030 that could keep the world on track of holding warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

*All eyes on Glasgow: But these commitments are just the beginning of what’s expected at the next big United Nations meeting in Glasgow this November, when countries are formally expected to submit more aggressive pledges for 2030.

“We’ve made great progress,” Biden said to close the festivities this morning. “This summit is a start. Glasgow where we will make these commitments real.”

*Big holdouts remain: Which brings us to the status quo approaches of top emitter China, and to a lesser extent, India, which did not announce new targets at the summit. Both countries still expect their emissions to keep rising this decade, which is incompatible with reaching the 1.5 degrees Celsius Paris Agreement target.

China is under pressure to constrain its emissions this decade to show its carbon-neutral target for 2060 is credible, “but they are very reluctant to say they are doing anything in response to pressure from the U.S.,” Meyer said. China could commit to something new on its own terms before Glasgow. India, meanwhile, is collaborating with the Biden administration on renewables development, but is reluctant to put itself on the same plane as the U.S. and China, which have contributed a much higher level of historical emissions.

*Developing countries want help now: Leaders of poor countries warned they’re already facing damages from climate change and asked for more help.

“Most developing countries are struggling to finance mitigation and adaptation,” Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta told the Biden summit this morning.

Biden yesterday pledged to double the amount of money the U.S. offers developing countries to help curb climate change within the next three years, and also intends to triple its funding to global adaptation efforts by 2024, but he will need cooperation from Republicans in Congress — far from a sure thing.

“You have to give them an incomplete on the climate finance front,” Meyer said.

*U.S. risks falling behind on carbon pricing: Multiple European countries touted the importance of carbon pricing, and world leaders will look to harmonize their policies to manage leakage concerns ahead of Glasgow.

“If we don’t set a price for carbon, there will be no transition,” said French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday. The problem for the U.S. is passing a carbon price is not a priority because of political challenges, meaning it could be exposed to border carbon adjustments imposing a tax on the exports of countries that don’t put a price on pollution.

*IEA’s Birol provides reality check: The chief of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, was not in a celebratory mood during his remarks to the summit today.

Citing IEA projections released this week, Birol warned the world is on track this year for the second largest emissions increase in history because of the economic rebound from the pandemic and lack of policies to curb fossil fuel use and development.

“Right now, the data does not match the rhetoric,” Birol said. “We remain on a path of dangerous levels of global warming.”

NEW YORK’S SHUTDOWN OF NUCLEAR PLANT DENTS CLEAN ENERGY GOALS: The impending shutdown next week of the Indian Point nuclear plant outside New York at the behest of Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo will likely lead to a short-term increase in fossil fuel use, underscoring the challenge of turning aggressive emissions targets into reality, Josh reports for our magazine.

“In a state like New York trying to commit to long-term decarbonization, the closure of Indian Point is going to make the emissions picture worse,” said Brett Rampal, director of nuclear innovation at the Clean Air Task Force.

New York is racing to replace the zero carbon electricity provided by the last of three reactors to close with aggressive renewable energy growth targets.

The Indian Point reactor set to shutter at the end of this month, first commissioned in 1976, is responsible for avoiding nearly 4 million metric tons of carbon a year, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute.

A need for speed: Timothy Fox, vice president at ClearView Energy Partners, said losing Indian Point will challenge the feasibility of New York’s target for using entirely zero-carbon electricity by 2040, one of the most aggressive climate targets in the country.

As of last year, wind and solar together provided less than 7% of New York’s electricity, according to the Energy Information Administration, compared to 30% nuclear.

“Backfilling that much nuclear capacity and generation, particularly a resource located close to New York City, would require significant and swift investments in renewable energy at an accelerated pace not seen in New York to date or in other regions,” Fox said.

New York has issued contracts for half of the nearly 11,000 megawatts of renewable power it plans to add to the grid that comprises almost 100 solar, land-based wind, and especially offshore wind projects.

Finishing these projects, combined with building transmission lines to deliver wind and solar from upstate to New York City, would put the state ahead of schedule toward reaching its shorter term goal of 70% renewables by 2030, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

But nuclear needed to meet 2040 carbon-free goal: “We acknowledge there is a need for that dispatchable clean energy by 2040, but we do have a good amount of time for meeting that need, and in the meantime, we have to build a lot of wind and solar,” said Anne Reynolds, executive director of Alliance for Clean Energy, a group representing renewable energy companies.

DAY 2 SUMMIT ANNOUNCEMENTS: The Biden administration made a bit of news in the second day of its climate summit.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced a new international coalition with oil-producing nations dedicated to developing strategies to reach net-zero emissions globally.

The participating countries — the U.S. Canada, Norway, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia — make up 40% of global production.

Granholm also said DOE is setting a goal of reducing the cost of “clean, renewable hydrogen” 80% by 2030, making it “competitive with natural gas.” The administration frequently touted the potential of green hydrogen during the summit, selling it as a versatile tool that can decarbonize the hardest-to-abate sectors, such as heavy-duty trucking, marine shipping, and industrial manufacturing.

Green hydrogen is produced by using renewable energy to power an electrolyzer, which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SEES PROGRESS FROM RUSSIA: Biden said he looked forward to working with Russia on technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as he addressed the second day of the White House climate summit.

“I am very heartened by President Putin’s call yesterday for the world to collaborate on advanced carbon dioxide removal,” he said. “And the United States looks forward to working with Russia and other countries on that endeavor.”

Kerry also shouted out Russia yesterday, saying Putin was “pretty rational” and offered “decent visionary” thoughts on the importance of reducing methane emissions, which are more potent than carbon but don’t exist as long in the atmosphere.

KERRY LEANS IN ON EXECUTIVE ORDERS: “A lot of the plan is executable through executive order,” Kerry said yesterday at the White House press briefing when asked how the U.S. emissions reduction pledge is credible with so much Republican opposition to it.

Kerry’s comments downplaying the need for new legislation contradicts the views of other Biden administration officials, who have acknowledged the need for help from Congress.

To make his goal achievable, Biden would almost certainly need Congress to pass, in some form, his $2.3 trillion infrastructure and climate spending proposal, which would extend and expand tax subsidies for clean energy technologies, provide rebates for consumers to buy electric vehicles, and mandate utilities use entirely carbon-free electricity by 2035.

However, passing the package as written is far from certain, and owing to that, the administration is claiming it has “multiple pathways” to reach its goal, including by using executive actions to impose stricter pollution controls over the auto and power sectors.

AND BETS ON MARKET PROGRESS: Biden administration officials say their biggest advantage making their target achievable is that market momentum is on their side, with investment turning inevitably to clean energy — even if they struggle to make progress with legislation.

Kerry argued the new target is protected from being disavowed by future administrations because other countries, along with the U.S. private sector, are already moving to clean energy and electric vehicles. He predicted the U.S. could even “exceed” its new target if there are big technological breakthroughs in things such as batteries, green hydrogen, and carbon capture.

“Because the world as a whole is moving in a direction, because these companies have made this critical, long-term, strategic market judgment, and that is the way the market is moving,” Kerry said. “No politician, no matter how demagogic or how potent and capable they are, is going to be able to change what that market is doing.”

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION STILL COULD SUPPORT GAS EXPORT PROJECTS: Liberal environmental groups are calling out the Biden administration for allowing “loopholes” in its plan to end support for “carbon-intensive fossil fuel-based energy projects” abroad.

The plan announced yesterday says U.S. support for fossil fuel projects may continue “in limited circumstances” if there is a “compelling development or national security reason” to continue financing.

Collin Rees, a senior campaigner with Oil Change International, says that means the U.S. could look to support natural gas export projects when it helps developing countries replace coal.

“We urge the Biden administration to add a clear commitment to an immediate phase-out, with no loopholes for gas or any other continued fossil support,” Rees said.

HELP FOR COAL WORKERS ON THE WAY: An interagency working group set up by Biden has identified nearly $38 billion in existing federal funds to help workers in fossil fuel-dependent regions.

The Interagency Working Group on coal and power plant communities, established in a January executive order, released a report this morning that outlines federal resources that can be used to spur economic development in areas affected by a transition away from coal, oil and natural gas — which would be accelerated by Biden’s aggressive clean energy plans.

The report spotlights 25 regions dependent on coal mining and power generation that should be prioritized for investment in abandoned mine cleanup, workforce development programs, rural broadband, water infrastructure, and more.

In conjunction with the report, the Energy Department announced $109.5 million in additional new funds to “spark next-generation industries” that fit the skills of fossil fuel workers. The agency is providing $75 million for carbon capture projects on power and industrial plants, $19.5 million for critical mineral extraction from coal, and $15 million for geothermal research at West Virginia University and Sandia National Laboratories (Sen. Joe Manchin, who Biden needs to back his green infrastructure plans, is happy about that one).

ANOTHER GOP CHALLENGE TO BIDEN’S SOCIAL COST OF CARBON: Ten Republican attorneys general, led by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, sued the Biden administration yesterday over its update to the social cost of carbon, arguing the new values are an unlawful overreach.

The lawsuit follows separate litigation brought by a dozen Republican attorneys general last month also challenging the social cost of carbon, arguing the values violate the separation of powers.

In February, the Biden team announced it would temporarily return to the Obama administration’s social cost of carbon values while it undertakes a more comprehensive review of the metric. That move means federal agencies are using an average social cost of carbon of $51 per ton as they assess the costs and benefits of mandates to curb emissions.

START SPREADING THE NEWS: New York City became the latest in a growing number of cities and states to sue major oil companies for lying about the climate damages burning their products would cause.

The lawsuit, filed under New York City’s Consumer Protection Law, targets oil majors ExxonMobil, BP, and Shell, as well as the American Petroleum Institute. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the lawsuit challenges the oil companies for “false advertising and greenwashing.”

New York City’s new lawsuit comes following a recent federal appeals court ruling affirming the dismissal of another climate challenge the city had brought against oil companies. In that case, however, New York City filed in federal court, whereas this time the city has filed directly in New York state court.

Oil companies now face more than two dozen similar lawsuits in which cities and states are asking the courts to hold oil companies liable for the costs of damages they have faced from climate change.

GOVERNMENTS AND COMPANIES TEAM UP TO PROTECT FORESTS: As part of the steady stream of climate announcements during Biden’s climate summit, the U.S. launched a coalition with the United Kingdom, Norway, and nine corporations to direct at least $1 billion in financing this year for large-scale forest protection efforts. The companies include Amazon, Airbnb, Nestle, and Unilever.

NEW INTERIOR NOMINEES: The White House yesterday announced it is nominating Tracy Stone-Manning to be director of the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management and Bryan Newland as assistant secretary for Indian Affairs.

Stone-Manning was most recently senior advisor for conservation policy at the National Wildlife Federation and before that was chief of staff to Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat.

Newland was previously counselor and policy advisor to the assistant secretary for Indian Affairs in the Obama administration.

CONSERVATIVE CLEAN ENERGY GROUP PLUGS GOP AGENDA: ClearPath Action is launching a six-figure ad campaign today to promote the House Republican clean energy “innovation” agenda.

The 30-second ad runs on Fox News and other cable networks.

The Rundown

New York Times Chevron lobbies to head off new sanctions on Myanmar

Politico Biden’s climate plan faces global skepticism

Bloomberg Blackouts triggered gas shutdowns amid Texas freeze, report says

New York Times The US has a new climate goal. How does it stack up globally?

Calendar

TUESDAY | APRIL 27

10 a.m. 366 Dirksen. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on the status of the Interior Department’s onshore oil and gas leasing program.

2:30 p.m. 406 Dirksen. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety will hold a legislative hearing on S.283, National Climate Bank Act.

WEDNESDAY | APRIL 28

10 a.m. 301 Russell. The Senate Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing on the EPA’s fiscal year 2022 budget request.

THURSDAY | APRIL 29

10 a.m. 366 Dirksen. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing is to consider the nomination of Tommy Beaudreau to be deputy secretary of the Interior.

11 a.m. The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change will hold a remote hearing on the EPA’s fiscal year 2022 budget request.