DUELING LAWSUITS: The dueling lawsuits filed yesterday over President Joe Biden’s five-year offshore leasing program underscore the extent to which his actions in office have failed to appease industry or environmental groups— but rather served as a half-steps that have united the groups in frustration and possibly hurt his chances of reelection in November.
What’s new: The American Petroleum Institute and a coalition of environmental groups filed separate lawsuits challenging the offshore leasing program, which calls for just three oil and gas sales to be held through 2029 and is the smallest in the program’s history. (This year will be the first that the U.S. has not held an offshore lease sale since 1996.)
API argued that the administration’s plan would further choke out U.S. oil and gas producers and outsource production to more emissions-intensive parts of the world.
Meanwhile, green groups — including Friends of the Earth, EarthJustice, the Sierra Club, and NRDC—argued that Interior did not adequately assess the environmental justice effects of continued drilling on federal lands and waters or account for the impact of its climate-warming emissions.
The lawsuits crystallized the Biden administration’s broader struggles as it tries to strike a balance on key energy and climate issues.
Outside pressures at play: Biden’s hand has been forced, as he seeks to respond to external pressures caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine and the subsequent upending of global energy markets. And Sen. Joe Manchin expressly required the lease sales be tied to offshore wind development in the Inflation Reduction Act—a provision required to secure his “yes” vote on the bill.
Green objections: Biden’s steps to boost domestic production and energy security have sparked fierce opposition from green groups, who have accused Biden of reneging on his campaign trail pledge to end drilling on federal lands.
They’ve chastised Biden’s approval of ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project in Alaska’s North Slope, his decision to auction off 63 onshore drilling parcels in the West, and his administration’s authorization of record-high LNG exports to aid allies.
Biden also urged oil and gas producers to ramp up production following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in an effort to lower consumer costs and gas prices ahead of the midterm elections.
Industry grievances: Shortly after approving Willow, Interior moved to ban drilling on millions of North Slope acres and revoked seven nearby Trump-era oil and gas leases.
The Bureau of Land Management also updated its draft Public Lands Rule to allow federal lands to be leased for conservation purposes, which detractors say risks “significant harm” to energy, mining, and agricultural interests in Western states.
And the LNG pause ordered just weeks ago is already shaping up to be a defining energy issue in the 2024 election cycle.
The pattern: Almost every one of Biden’s most controversial actions to protect lands or unleash production has quickly followed by an overture to the aggrieved party—all of whom have echoed the view that he is doing the bare minimum.
Christopher Guith, the senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute, criticized what he said was a broader pattern of “schizophrenia” from the administration when it comes to energy and climate issues.
“On one hand, they’re saying that energy security is imperative and on the other hand implementing policies that damage [that]—they’re saying that the relationship the loyalty to our geopolitical allies is sacrosanct, and then [they’re] putting it into question,” he said in an interview focused on Biden’s energy agenda and actions on LNG.
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SPEAKING OF BIDEN AND ENVIRONMENTALISTS… PROTESTERS AT CAMPAIGN HQ: Nearly two dozen climate protesters were arrested outside of Biden’s campaign headquarters on Monday, demanding the end of fossil fuel use and a ceasefire to the Israel-Hamas war, The Hill reports.
The protest was organized by the Sunrise Movement, a group of young climate activists, who had about 100 demonstrators outside of the headquarters. Wilmington police arrested 20 protesters, according to the group.
“Climate change is at our doorstep. Our homes are flooding, we’re breathing in toxic air, Black people like me are dying while the President expands oil and gas production to record levels,” Sunrise Campaign Director Kidus Girma said in a statement. “Then President Biden goes around and claims he’s a climate president and wants our votes? That’s bullshit.”
Why this matters: This is the first time the group has protested outside of the Biden campaign headquarters after organizing demonstrations mainly at GOP events. While climate change has been a key issue for the administration, climate protesters have been going after the White House for not doing enough. Read more on that here.
SHIPS SANCTIONED FOR RUSSIAN PRICE CAP VIOLATIONS ARE NOW IDLING IN PORT: Roughly half of the 50 tankers that were hit by U.S. sanctions in October for violating the terms of the Russian oil price cap have idled in the subsequent months, according to ship tracking data shared with Bloomberg, in an early sign of success for the novel plan.
More than half of the tankers hit by sanctions between Oct. 10 and Dec. 12 have not transported cargo since then. While several had been idled beforehand, and the penalties are not enforced simultaneously, the data is sure to be seen as a win by Treasury officials, who began tightening the screws on Russian price cap enforcement late last year.
The price cap, led by the U.S. and its allies, seeks to cut into Russia’s war profits by capping the price at which entities using Western shipping services or insurance providers can sell Russian crude and Russian refined petroleum products. But early criticisms of the plan suggested it lacked teeth, prompting the enforcement crackdown last fall.
“Independent agencies, market analysts and the Russians themselves point to the fact that the price cap is achieving both of our goals: denying Russia the energy profits it needs to wage its illegal war, while simultaneously promoting stable energy markets,” Treasury’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy, Eric Van Nostrand, said of the news.
AFRICA WILL NEED TO INCREASE CLEAN ENERGY INVESTMENTS BY FIVEFOLD: Sub-Saharan Africa will need to increase its investment in renewable energy by fivefold in order to reach its promises of boosting its clean energy capacity by 2030, according to a new study reported by Bloomberg.
The report, by Climate Analytics, builds off the COP28 agreement, in which governments agreed to triple the globe’s renewable power by the end of the decade to limit global warming.
However, the region will need to heavily increase its own investments – from $20 billion in 2023 to $100 billion by 2030 – to contribute to that goal. The study uses information from the agreement to propose regional benchmarks and estimates on how much money is needed to reach those goals.
Keep this in context: Sub-Saharan Africa is the least electrified region in the world, with more than half of its population lacking access to power. On top of that, demand is set to double over the next 10 years. Read more on that here.
CCS IS A ‘COMPLETE FALSEHOOD,’ PER IRON ORE EXECUTIVE: Fortescue Metals Executive Andrew Forrest is not buying carbon capture as a solution – and is calling for better policies for phasing out fossil fuels.
During the 50th anniversary meeting of the International Energy Agency, the Australian billionaire made the case that the investment community will need “clear and obvious” incentives and disincentives aimed at lowering emissions.
“There’s a simple question from business leaders…when do we stop burning fossil fuels?” Forrest said.
The executive criticized the technology, arguing that there was little evidence to point to the idea that the carbon sequestered will stay in the ground – but there are “heaps of proof that it fails.”
“I say for policy makers everywhere, do not be the next idiot waiting for the old lie to be trotted out and say I believe in carbon sequestration. It has only failed for 75 years…It’s a complete falsehood.”
Fortescue is a major iron ore producer, which is the metal used to make steel. The company announced last year that it would produce green steel on a commercial scale. Iron and steel accounts for a large share of industry emissions. Read more on that here.
RUNDOWN
E&E News Wall Street warms to climate tech
Washington Post Here’s how many private jets besides Taylor Swift’s ride landed in Vegas for the Super Bowl
Financial Times The uninsurable world: what climate change is costing homeowners
Real Clear Politics Secret partnership fueling climate hawk journalism (Commentary)
