Subscribe today to the Washington Examiner magazine and get Washington Briefing: politics and policy stories that will keep you up to date with what’s going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW: Just $1.00 an issue!
MOMENTUM GROWS FOR RUSSIAN OIL EMBARGO: The European Union is planning to vote as early as next week on a ban of Russian oil imports—a major show of force intended to punish Vladimir Putin for his country’s war in Ukraine.
What we know: The ban won’t happen overnight. Speaking to reporters yesterday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Russian oil imports “will be halved by the summer and will be at zero by the end of the year.”
Still, that’s a major about-face from Germany and several other EU countries that have been vocal in their concerns about a potential embargo. Many are also scrambling to find viable alternatives.
But European Commission leaders say they can craft a compromise that will appease all 27 member states. To that end, officials spent the week scrambling to flesh out a draft proposal, going “back and forth” between member nations to help get them on board.
What we don’t know: The timeline for a ban — which remains a matter of speculation, despite Baerbock’s projections. Details remain vague, though it is almost certain that the embargo will include a transition period to allow countries to secure outside energy supplies.
A phased-out ban has been a major sticking point for Germany, who has long been reluctant to sanction Russian energy. Martin Brudermüller, chief executive of BASF chemical group, told the Financial Times that a sudden shut-off in energy supplies risks plunging Germany into its “worst [economic] crisis since the second world war.”
Leaders from Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia have echoed Germany’s concerns as well.
Natural gas remains off the table: Economists said that an embargo on both natural gas and oil would likely trigger a recession, the AP reports. Oil is also easier to ban compared to natural gas, which comes mainly by pipeline. Oil is moved by tankers, thus making it easier for countries to find alternatives.
“This will not be done overnight,” one senior EU diplomat told Politico. “It’s why the time is ripe to sit back down and hammer out the details, especially if you see the deterioration of the situation on the ground in Ukraine.”
The devil in the details: Getting all 27 member nations on board is no easy feat. Each nation has varying degrees of dependence on Russian energy supplies, including Germany, which last year imported one-third of its crude oil from Russia.
Germany, for its part, said it would support a phased-out ban, but reiterated that it will not vote to approve an immediate cutoff in supplies.
“We are willing to stop all energy imports from Russia, it’s just a matter of time,” German Finance Minister Christian Lindner told the BBC.
The pitfall: Putin might not feel the effects of the ban at all. Russia has no shortage of countries eager to purchase its crude, analysts said. Instead, they noted, it will likely be the EU that suffers the most.
Lindner said that while Germany is on board with the embargo, he preferred using sanctions which “hurt [Putin] more than us.”
As one senior diplomat told Politico, “The question is: If we ban oil, will it hit Russia or EU economies harder? Russia is selling oil to other countries and will get money that way.”
Others fear that Russia could retaliate by unilaterally shutting down its gas flow to Europe.
Why it’s been quiet: There’s been a dearth of news this week about the possible ban so far—and diplomats said that’s very much on purpose. They’re hoping to keep the embargo out of the headlines before France votes in next week’s presidential election, where right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen is hoping to unseat President Emmanuel Macron. Much like in the U.S., Le Pen has blamed Macron and his policies for the rising fuel costs.
More on that below…
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.
CLIMATE, ENERGY, AND RUSSIA FEATURE IN MACRON-LE PEN DEBATE: Le Pen said in an election debate last night that the energy transition “needs to be way less rapid” in blaming Macron for high prices, Politico reports.
Macron, in turn, accused her of being a “climate skeptic.”
The two agreed, though, on building more nuclear to reduce the need for energy imports.
Still, Macron attacked her for her ties to Russia. Le Pen has been outspoken about her desire to deepen ties with Russia – citing her hope of creating a new “Franco-Russian alliance.”
“You cannot defend the interests of France because your interests are linked to Russia,” Macron said.
Le Pen denied being under Putin’s sway, saying that she was “an absolutely and totally free woman.”
KERRY TALKS BIDEN’S BALANCING GREEN AND FOSSIL ENERGY: Climate envoy John Kerry said yesterday he doesn’t think the administration’s pending oil and gas lease sales set the U.S. back on its climate goals and that President Joe Biden’s motivation for encouraging more production is to achieve “stabilization of the economy.”
“I don’t think it’s a setback because I don’t think a lot of it is going to produce fuel that’s drilled,” Kerry told PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff during a Q&A hosted by the Center for Global Development.
Woodruff asked Kerry to square the administration’s green energy goals with its support for more oil production and LNG shipments.
“I don’t think the president has walked back one iota,” he said. “I think he has very reluctantly and importantly had to make some tough decisions. But I think ultimately, this will smooth out.”
BIDEN PLANNING FOREST PROTECTION ORDER: Biden is reportedly planning to order the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to inventory the nation’s old-growth forests in order to inform policies designed to protect them.
The order will also create new initiatives to stem deforestation around the globe, the Washington Post reported.
Biden prioritized forest protection during his appearance at COP26 in November and pledged billions of U.S. dollars to conserve forests. He said leaders need to “approach this issue with the same seriousness of purpose as decarbonizing our economy.”
What else is on the agenda: Biden is heading to the Pacific Northwest today, where he will market his achievements on infrastructure from the Portland airport and tout his pending order to relax restrictions on E15, according to a White House memo previewing the trip.
Biden will ring in Earth Day tomorrow from Seattle, where he’ll talk about his green energy agenda and becoming more resilient to wildfire threats.
CARBON CAPTURE GROUP ADDS NEW MEMBERS: Carbon Capture Coalition announced today that 20 new members have joined the pro-carbon management business, labor, and NGO consortium over the last year.
New members include corporations from “hard to abate” sectors, such as Norway-based oil and gas giant Equinor, United Airlines, and cement producer Holcim.
Jessie Stolark, CCC’s public policy & member relations manager, said the industrial sector has shown special interest in the coalition and its support for scaling carbon management technologies to mitigate sector emissions tied to manufacture of products like fertilizers, building materials, and chemicals.
“We will continue to rely on these vital products and services for decades to come, yet they present unique challenges to realizing a decarbonized economy,” she said, adding that “decarbonizing these industries is not possible without significant investment in the full carbon management value chain.”
See all 20 new members listed here.
The Rundown
Financial Times Worst crisis since the second world war’: Germany prepares for a Russian gas embargo
Bloomberg Why Volkswagen wants to be relevant in America again
Washington Post Russia’s ‘Satan 2’ missile changes little for U.S., scholars say
Wall Street Journal Russian oil flows, but increasingly under the radar
E&E news Interior eyes major increase in renewables on federal land
Calendar
THURSDAY | APRIL 28
10:00 a.m. House Energy and Commerce’s Energy Subcommittee will hold a hearing with Secretary Jennifer Granholm on the fiscal year 2023 budget request for the Energy Department.
10:00 a.m. 2318 Rayburn The House Science, Space and Technology Committee will hold a hearing on climate change mitigation.
