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GETTING MIDTERM READY: House Republicans are convinced their new energy and climate change platform seeking first and foremost to “unlock American resources” will appeal to voters who are paying more than ever for fuel and sail them to victory in November’s midterm elections.
The House GOP’s Energy, Climate, and Conservation Task Force began rolling out the six-part plan yesterday afternoon, which presents the conference as a foil to President Joe Biden’s energy and climate agenda for its embrace of domestic oil and gas production as a net positive, with the argument being that more U.S. oil and gas can displace more emissions-intensive product coming from major producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Republicans also “understand that increasing U.S. production and advancing American innovation is our competitive advantage over the rest of the world and it should be fostered instead of hindered,” a one-pager put out by the task force said.
Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana, ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and the task force’s head, said yesterday he expects the platform will be especially appealing to younger voters, whom polls have shown are more concerned about the environment and climate change than some older demographics.
“I think on the emissions front, by demonstrating a path forward that’s going to result in greater environmental performance than this administration — I do think that’s something that resonates with young voters,” Graves said.
Heather Reams, president of conservative energy policy group Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, said the plan “recognizes where we are today” with technological limitations of green energy sources while also addressing global greenhouse gas emissions.
“This is a novel approach. Republicans are talking about producing more in the United States to reduce emissions,” Reams told Jeremy. “Democrats aren’t talking about that.”
Greens respond: Environmental groups, many of which have pressed Biden to be more aggressive with his green policies, bashed the Republican plan yesterday.
“The fact that Republicans have not changed course in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence and cascading climate-fueled disasters speaks volumes,” said Mitch Jones, Food & Water Action’s managing director.
Congress needs lawmakers who “will prioritize shifting off of dirty fossil fuels that poison communities and enrich corporate polluters,” Jones said.
Where Biden and Democrats are: Biden has called for more oil production and has committed the U.S. to providing more liquefied natural gas to Europe, also making it a point to emphasize that production has risen under his watch.
The administration has also leaned on OPEC+ to produce more oil and praised the cartel’s decision yesterday to raise production targets.
At the same time, administration officials have said restricting new oil and gas development on federal lands is still part of his agenda, despite the Interior Department’s scheduling of multiple lease sales (Remember, officials blame a court decision that enjoined Biden’s leasing pause for having to move forward and schedule the sales.)
A number of Democrats have introduced bills this Congress designed to end new leasing and to “keep it in the ground,” also keeping the oil and gas industry at more than arm’s length by accusing companies of unethically profiting off the war in Ukraine.
On the other hand: A handful of Democrats have gone on the record pushing Biden to do more than he is to support domestic production on lands and waters under federal jurisdiction.
Four Texas Democrats wrote to him last month saying the United States “can and should be doing more to meet the global energy demand” and asking that his administration publish a new program.
“The energy crisis in Europe demonstrates the vital national security benefits of robust domestic production and the consequences of relying on foreign nations to satisfy our energy needs,” said Reps. Henry Cuellar, Sylvia Garcia, Vicente Gonzalez, and Lizzie Fletcher.
Sen. Joe Manchin, who has appealed to the administration to speed up pipeline permitting and encourage production, said in response to the OPEC+ announcement yesterday that the U.S. “should never have to depend on other nations to provide the energy we can produce ourselves.”
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers Jeremy Beaman (@jeremywbeaman) and Breanne Deppisch (@breanne_dep). 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.
UKRAINE ENDS DEPENDENCE ON RUSSIAN NUCLEAR FUEL WITH US DEAL: Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear company announced today that it has signed a contract with the U.S. nuclear power company Westinghouse to supply nuclear fuel to its atomic power stations across the country, ending its dependence on Russia for supply.
Ukraine’s nuclear plants supply roughly half of the country’s power, Reuters reports. Ukraine currently has four active nuclear power stations—the largest of which fell under Russian control just days after the war began.
“We will modernize our fleet of nuclear power units, which will produce clean, safe and reliable energy without any Russian influence,” Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said, according to a statement released by state-owned nuclear power company Energoatom.
EU LEADERS FINALIZE OIL EMBARGO: The European Commission adopted the bloc’s sixth sanctions against Russia, the final step in formalizing the package, which includes a phased-in ban of all Russian seaborne oil imports and Russian petroleum products, according to a press release from the commission.
Importantly, the text also contains rules governing the transport of Russian oil. After six months, the rule states, EU countries will be prohibited “from insuring and financing the transport of oil to third countries,” which it said “will make it particularly difficult for Russia to continue exporting its crude oil and petroleum products to the rest of the world since EU operators are important providers of such services.”
Adoption of the EU’s latest sanctions package comes after nearly one full month of intense negotiations, far surpassing the EU Commission’s original projection that EU ambassadors would pass the sanctions in a matter of “days.”
Leaders in the bloc are also furious with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who further delayed the package late Wednesday over demands they remove Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, a close Putin ally, from its list of sanctioned individuals.
“Many member states are disappointed with Hungary,” one EU diplomat said, according to reports from Politico. “Hungary has lost the last sympathies of its former friends in Central and Eastern Europe with this unnecessary stunt.”
EPA MOVES TO REVERSE TRUMP-ERA WATER PERMITTING POLICY: The EPA proposed a rule yesterday that would reverse a Trump-era decision on water permitting projects, in an effort to strengthen authority of states and tribal areas to protect their water resources from projects that they believe could cause them harm.
The move is a departure from the previous administration, which had sought to prioritize major energy projects. The revision would restore flexibility for what states and tribes can consider when reviewing permitting applications in their waterways, according to an EPA fact sheet.
For the first time, it would also allow states and territories to decide what constitutes a “reasonable period of time” to review requests for project certification, another change from Trump-era policies, which had granted them one year to review requests. Read more from Breanne here.
HAALAND TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19: Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the latest Biden cabinet official to contract the virus. Haaland, who is fully vaccinated and has two booster shots, last tested negative at the White House on Monday. Interior confirmed she had not been in close contact with the president.
“I feel fine and am grateful to be fully vaccinated and twice boosted,” Haaland wrote on Twitter. “I hope everyone stays current on their vaccinations so that, if they are exposed, they too will have milder symptoms.”
“Secretary Haaland cancelled her West Coast travel upon feeling symptomatic,” the department said. “She is isolating per CDC guidance and working remotely.”
The Rundown
Reuters Self-driving cars from GM’s Cruise could soon carry paying riders in San Francisco
Associated Press US has over 750 complaints of Teslas braking for no reason
ClimateWire Changes ‘absolutely massive’ in warming European Alps
Bloomberg BMW’s long and winding road to cut gas from carmaking
Washington Post Once eager to drill, oil companies exit leases in Arctic refuge
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | JUNE 8
10:00 a.m. 406 Dirksen The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will consider the nominations of Annie Caputo and Bradley R. Crowell to be members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
10:00 a.m. 2318 Rayburn The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee will hold a hearing on detecting and quantifying methane emissions from the oil and gas sector.
