Leaders on both sides of the aisle see the challenges when it comes to permitting reform, but “everybody agrees” that it’s necessary, according to one climate change expert.
There are several incentives for more permitting, which could support programs to help build out clean energy infrastructure and affordable housing, Joseph Majkut, director of the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for International Studies, told the Washington Examiner.
“One of the key barriers to making capital investment in the United States, and one of the things you hear from nearly every business leader who wants to do that is that permitting is a challenge,” Majkut said on the Plugged In podcast.
“It would make a meaningful difference if we were able to open up the floodgates for infrastructure investment from the private sector,” he added.
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While the Biden administration took significant strides for clean energy with investment in the Inflation Reduction Act, Majkut said lawmakers and industry have to strike a balance between natural gas pipelines, popular with progressives, and fossil fuel infrastructure, more popular with the GOP.
But how do you actually design and build a much larger clean energy system?
“That is not an easy political task, but I think there’s probably a lot of room for horse-trading,” he said.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), a known advocate of permitting reform, made an attempt to include new policies in a stopgap spending bill in September, but it fell short of the 60 votes needed to continue. In order to pass the bill to fund the government, Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) dropped the reforms.
When asked if the bill could be reignited during the lame-duck session following the Nov. 8 midterm elections, Majkut said he didn’t have a strong opinion.
“I don’t know … whether or not the Manchin bill’s going to live a second life in the lame duck or [if] a version that would be more conciliatory toward Republican preferences might emerge,” he said. “But I do think whether it’s the lame duck or next, Congress permitting reform is not going to go away.”
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Majkut also delved into the longer-term impacts on global energy, including domestic production in the United States and liquefied natural gas exports, as the war in Ukraine continues.
Last month, the International Energy Agency published its annual World Energy Outlook. Following the release, the head of the IEA declared that the world is in an energy crisis, one that could get worse in the coming months amid higher gas demand, OPEC+ oil production cuts, and sanctions on Russian energy.
The report’s trend has been that emissions outlooks or emissions forecasts were looking better and better from a climate perspective, according to Majkut.
He said that since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a dance around whether emissions are peaking or if they already have.
“What we’re seeing out of the IEA now is real confirmation that the economics of the energy system have changed a lot,” he said. “Policies are setting in around the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
This is further evidence that we are somewhere near the peak, he added.
Plugged In, hosted by former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee and energy reporter Breanne Deppisch, brings on key players, from lawmakers to federal employees to industry experts, to keep our audience up to speed on the latest energy issues facing the country and the planet.
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