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REVIEWING THE GOP AMENDMENTS: The House passed the Interior and Environment appropriations bill on Friday with over 100 amendments added to the bill – a number of them being controversial riders that aim to make even further cuts than what the bill originally proposed, while also reining in the agencies’ powers and rulemaking.
The $34.8 billion bill – which funds the Interior Department, the Environmental Protection Agency, and a number of related agencies – would already make a 39% funding cut to the EPA, slash Inflation Reduction Act act programs meant to help fight pollution and climate change, and cut the National Park Service budget by 13%. But the bill’s amendments take it a step further with deeper cuts and targets the agencies’ rules.
If you blinked and weren’t able to catch some of those riders, here’s a rundown of a few that caught our eye:
- Several amendments aim to decrease funding for specific agencies. One provision from Virginia Republican Rep. Morgan Griffith cuts the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse and Burro program by $74.2 million – bringing funding back to fiscal 2019 levels. Another amendment from GOP Reps. Scott Perry and Jeff Van Drew would reduce funding by $28 million for the Bureau of Ocean Management’s Office of Renewable Energy Programs. A rider from Republican Reps. Bruce Westerman and Rep. James Moylan would decrease funds for the Council on Environmental Quality by $2.75 million.
- A number of provisions would prevent agencies from issuing new rules without congressional approval. For example, Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra’s amendment would require the agency to not promote any new rules affecting over 50% of American farmland without congressional approval. Another amendment from GOP Rep. Garret Graves would prevent the use of the bill’s funds to issue new major rules, if the Office of Management and Budget determines the rule would have a negative impact on the economy or interfere with U.S. international competitiveness.
- A number of amendments would reverse the Biden administration’s rulemaking in various agencies. For example, one amendment from Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert would prevent officials from implementing the Biden administration’s rules under the Endangered Species Act that would expand further protections to species. The proposed rules – which were announced back in June – would extend the same protections given to endangered species to those listed as threatened, remove language allowing agencies to weigh economic factors when determining whether to list a species, and streamline the federal interagency consultation process.
- Another amendment from GOP Rep. Andrew Clyde would prohibit the BLM from implementing a rule creating protections for more than 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, and prohibits the cancellation or suspension of oil and gas leases.
- A rider from conservative Reps. Chip Roy, Kat Cammack, Josh Brecheen, Ralph Norman, and Troy Nehls would reverse any of President Biden’s executive orders on climate change. Another amendment from Norman would prohibit funding for the administration’s newly-created American Climate Corps, an initiative that aims to employ tens of thousands of young people to fight climate change.
- An amendment from Rep. John Rose would prohibit the implementation of any plastic straw prohibitions. Read more about that from our own Cami Mondeaux.
As for the amendments that didn’t make it in…: During last week’s debate on the bill and its amendments, appropriations subcommittee ranking member Rep. Mike Simpson objected to a number of provisions from conservative members of his own party that would propose even further cuts to the bill.
In one instance, Rep. Harriet Hageman proposed an amendment that would reduce BLM funding by 50% – to which Simpson stood up in opposition, saying that it would “put the agency in a position where they cannot carry out critical activities to address their most pressing issues in Western states.”
The measure failed by a recorded vote 144-280.
Simpson also advised against amendments from Perry that would eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities and National Endowment for the Arts, both of which failed during a floor vote. Another measure that Simpson opposed was from Rep. Mike Collins, which would defund the Council on Environmental Quality and transfer the money to the National Parks Service for construction activities. (This measure also failed.)
“I believe that the CEQ has a valuable role to play in leading efforts to strike a balance in ensuring our environment is protected while also promoting economic development and job growth,” Simpson said during his floor remarks.
Read more about the bill from Nancy here.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers Breanne Deppisch (@breanne_dep) and Nancy Vu (@NancyVu99). 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.
AHEAD OF COP28, FRAMEWORK SET FOR LOSS AND DAMAGE FUND: Climate negotiators reached agreement this weekend on a framework for the so-called “loss and damage” fund aimed at helping vulnerable nations deal with the effects of climate change, clearing one key hurdle for leaders ahead of this month’s COP28 summit in Dubai, even as some leaders and environmental groups sharply objected to some of its tenets.
In a statement Saturday, leaders announced the new terms, which include tasking the World Bank with short-term oversight of the Loss and Damage Fund—despite concerns from vulnerable nations that the body would disproportionately favor weather nations.
The World Bank will house the fund for the next four years, leaders said.
The language they released also failed to set firm monetary commitments for wealthy nations to offset the cost of extreme weather events, sparking additional concern and criticism from climate activists and developing countries, including those that have suffered disproportionately from the effects of climate change.
Barbados climate envoy Avinash Persaud told Bloomberg that the island has reservations about the terms of the agreement, which he says poses “mutual discomfort.” Still, he said, agreement on the Loss and Damage Fund represents a “positive step forward” for leaders after months of sparring over the issue.
“Failure would definitely have cast a long shadow over COP,” Persaud told the outlet.
Meanwhile, COP28 president and UAE oil executive, Sultan al-Jaber, praised the guidance as “clear and strong,” saying in a statement that it “paves the way for agreement” in Dubai, when leaders resume discussion.
“Billions of people, lives and livelihoods who are vulnerable to the effects of climate change depend upon the adoption of this recommended approach,” he said. Read more on the blueprint (and early reactions) here.
OIL SLIGHTLY AFTER RUSSIA AND SAUDI ARABIA EXTEND SUPPLY CUTS: Oil prices jumped slightly higher today after Saudi Arabia and Russia said they would extend their production cuts through the end of the year, keeping a combined 1.3 million barrels per day of oil off the market.
Futures for international benchmark Brent crude rose this morning by 65 cents to $85.54 per barrel, while futures for U.S.-based West Texas Intermediate saw slightly higher gains from the previous day of trading, up by 77 cents to $81.28 per barrel.
The announcement is in keeping with earlier commitments from the two OPEC+ producers. Leaders from both countries said yesterday that they plan to review the voluntary supply cuts in December—including, critically, whether to deepen their existing cuts through the beginning of 2024, or bring production back towards normal levels.
What to watch: Much will depend on refinery demand, including from China, which has slowed its activity compared to the previous quarter. Investors are closely watching for Beijing’s economic data, which will be made public tomorrow and give a better indication of future activity.
VENEZUELA LOOKS TO BOOST OIL OUTPUT AMID SANCTIONS REPRIEVE: Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA is in talks with equipment and service providers to help boost its depressed crude output amid the temporary lifting of U.S. sanctions against the country.
The news, first reported by Reuters, comes after the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Controls in October announced a six-month reprieve of most sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, allowing it to produce, export, and sell its crude oil, gas, and fuel supplies to customers largely without limitation.
Sources told the outlet that PDVSA’s primary goal is to find either local or foreign oil service companies to help reactivate rigs stored in the country, including many that are idled or are missing parts.
The announcement lifts punishing sanctions on Venezuela that were enacted under the Trump administration in 2019, and is contingent on the behavior of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s regime. Maduro’s government must honor a deal it struck in October with opposition parties that seeks to ensure a “free and fair” presidential election in 2024, including withdrawing its bans on opposition presidential candidates by the end of this month.
Still, the new permissions are unlikely to boost the country’s oil output in the near term: Venezuelan oil production currently averages roughly 780,000 barrels per day. And despite being home to the world’s largest crude reserves, the country currently has just one active oil rig in operation—a drastic decline from the more than 80 units that were operational in 2014, according to data from Baker Hughes. Read more from Breanne here.
‘JUST STOP OIL’ ACTIVISTS ARRESTED FOR DAMAGING NATIONAL GALLERY PAINTING: Two climate activists with the group “Just Stop Oil” were arrested in London this weekend for causing potentially criminal damage to a famed Rokeby Venus painting in the National Gallery of Art.
According to Met Police, the two protesters used safety hammers to smash the glass of the artwork. Their arrests come after a string of Just Stop Oil activists have massed in the UK in recent weeks to protest the government’s decision to slow down its phaseout of fossil fuel commitments, threatening its goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. In recent months, activists with the group have shut down a “Les Mis” theater performance in London, conducted large-scale demonstrations that have shut down major roads in the UK, and interrupted players at the Wimbledon tennis championships. This past weekend, 100 Just Stop Oil protesters were arrested for slow-marching in the road at Whitehall, according to police.
The demonstrations prompted the Parliament to pass anti-protest legislation earlier this year. Under Section 7 of the UK’s Public Order Act, demonstrators who fail to comply with officers can be arrested if their actions “interfere with the use or operation of any key national infrastructure in England and Wales.” Read more from the BBC here.
ICYMI, TRUMP ATTACKS DESANTIS ON ETHANOL: Former President Donald Trump is bringing back the ethanol playbook as Ron DeSantis drives his campaign to Iowa, criticizing the Florida governor’s previous support for eliminating the Renewable Fuel Standard – which requires oil refiners to blend a minimum volume of renewable fuel into the country’s transportation fuel. (The campaign also took a swipe at Nikki Haley.)
“As Ron DeSanctimonious takes his flailing campaign to Iowa today, his dreadful record on ethanol makes him unelectable in the First-in-the Nation state,” Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement Friday. “Coupled with the devastating DMR/NBC News poll that shows him tied with Nikki ‘Birdbrain’ Haley in distant second place, it’s clear to everyone the more DeSanctus meets with Iowans, the more they dislike him.”
Why this is important: The messaging around ethanol is a recurring strategy that’s specific to the politically significant corn state – one that has resurfaced between Trump and President Joe Biden in 2020 and one that emerged with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who won the Iowa caucus in 2016 despite being against ethanol subsidies.
Trump’s campaign message also comes as DeSantis launched his first Iowa ad buy of the 2024 cycle last Wednesday, and follows a consequential Des Moines/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa poll that shows Trump as the frontrunner at 43%, with DeSantis and Haley following behind at 16%.
The Rundown
Financial Times Top US gas producer says pipeline fights endanger industrial world
E&E News An EV slowdown? Battery makers are cool with that.
Bloomberg China energy storage push gets boost from new gravity projects
