Daily on Energy: House Democrats add species extinction to climate agenda

The move follows the release of a major report Monday by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization that showed how unsustainable human activity, in addition to climate change, is leading to a massive wipe-out of numerous species on sea and on land.

Some of those species include the iconic African elephant, which is being poached for the illegal ivory trade. Insect populations, required for pollination of fruits and vegetables, and fish stocks are also being harmed.

Democratic sources point out that it’s nothing new for the House Natural Resources Committee to take up the cause of endangered animals. It is the principal committee in the Democratic-controlled House that directly oversees the Interior Department, which implements species protections under the Endangered Species Act. It also oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that oversees fisheries and marine species protections.

The Democrats on the committee have been frustrated by the GOP, which they say has had a hard time grappling with the idea of human development pushing species toward extinction. They argue that the GOP’s focus has primarily been to pull back regulations protecting threatened animals and their habitats to allow unimpeded energy development.

The committee began the planning process for beginning hearings on “extinction” soon after the UNESCO report was released, and plans to hold its first hearing sometime before the August recess, say aides.

Legislation in the queue: The Natural Resources Committee will likely use the hearing to assemble a basket of legislation focused on endangered and threatened species protections. Some of the bills will look to reverse the Trump administration’s actions to remove animal and habitat protections.

On Tuesday, Democratic Chairman Raúl Grijalva introduced the Tribal Heritage and Grizzly Bear Protection Act, which ensures that protections for the bears are made permanent, recognizing their sacred role in tribal societies.

The Trump administration, in one of the Interior Department’s first actions, delisted the Yellowstone grizzly population, arguing that the bears had significantly recovered and no longer required species protections. Soon after, states from Idaho to Wyoming announced trophy hunts.

A court reversed the administration’s action to delist the bears in 2018, and Grijalva’s bill will ensure it does not happen again.

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt will face the committee next week, May 15, in his first appearance before the committee of jurisdiction after being confirmed by the Senate, where his plans to reform the Endangered Species Act and delist other animal species are expected to be front-and-center topics.

Bernhardt appeared before an appropriations hearing on Tuesday afternoon where the Democrats kept bringing up the UNESCO report.

The Center for Biological Diversity marked the release of the report by threatening to increase its legal challenges against the administration. The Center sent a formal notice on Monday that it intends to sue the Fish and Wildlife Service for not acting on a previous petition to grant the emperor penguin Endangered Species Act protection. The second-largest population of the penguins is on the verge of collapse.

Tiffany Finck-Haynes, agriculture program manager at the left-leaning Friends of the Earth, told John that the group is advocating for a “rapid shift” to organic farming practices to protect bees, pollinators and other endangered species in the wake of the report.

Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers John Siciliano (@JohnDSiciliano) and Josh Siegel (@SiegelScribe). Email [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.

BERNHARDT REJECTS DEMOCRATIC CALLS TO STOP DRILLING BECAUSE OF SPECIES EXTINCTION REPORT: Bernhardt rejected calls from House Democrats on Tuesday to reconsider Interior’s efforts to expand oil and gas drilling in light of recent reports about the damaging effects of human activity on the climate and biodiversity.

Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., who chaired an Appropriations Committee subcommittee hearing on Interior’s fiscal 2020 budget request, challenged Bernhardt to stop oil and gas drilling on federal lands because of the report by the U.N. released Monday finding that human activities are having an “unprecedented” damaging effect on global biodiversity.

Bernhardt, a former oil industry lobbyist, said the Interior Department would not stop oil and gas leasing on federal lands on the grounds that Congress has not passed a law explicitly ordering his agency to address climate change.

“Are we going to stop oil and gas development because of this report? The answer to that is no. You all have the ability to decide if we do anything on public lands,” Bernhardt said

OFFSHORE DRILLING PLAN NOT POSTPONED INDEFINITELY, BERNHARDT CLARIFIES: Bernhardt also clarified Tuesday that Interior has not postponed “indefinitely” its highly-anticipated plan to expand offshore oil and gas drilling.

Bernhardt in comments reported by the Wall Street Journal last month suggested the agency will wait out a potentially lengthy appeals process over a decision by a federal judge blocking drilling in the Arctic before deciding which parts of federal waters to allow for fossil fuel energy development.

“I don’t think that article quotes me saying sidelined indefinitely,” Bernhardt told lawmakers Tuesday.

Bernhardt, however, said he is “grappling” with the “best pathway” and acknowledged the court decision complicated his decision-making.

“I will promise you a plan it not imminent at this time,” he said. “The outcome is not certain.”

DEMOCRATS INTRODUCE FEDERAL CLEAN ENERGY MANDATE BILL: Sens. Tina Smith, D-Minn., and Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., the 4th ranked House Democrat, introduced legislation Wednesday imposing a nationwide clean energy standard.

Smith and Lujan’s bill, introduced in each chamber, would require utilities to gradually increase the portion of electricity from clean energy sources every year, allowing nuclear and carbon capture, with the aim of making the U.S. electricity sector more than 90% clean by midcentury or soon after.

The legislation addresses a concern of energy experts that clean energy standards should include zero-emission sources that aren’t wind or solar to be achievable, a list that also includes nuclear power and large-scale hydroelectric power.

The Democrats proposal “encourages the cheapest clean sources of generation to satisfy future demands for electricity without anyone needing to know in advance what those technologies will be,” said Noah Kaufman, an energy economist at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, who released an analysis of the bill Wednesday.

Supporters of so-called clean energy standards, or mandates, say this policy is more likely to attract bipartisan support than carbon taxes would, because the resulting higher energy costs would not be as obvious to people. An increasing number of states, more than half the country, have adopted some form of clean energy mandate or a more restrictive renewable portfolio standard.

But Kaufman argues carbon taxes would be more effective in reducing emissions because most proposals would apply economy-wide. Clean energy standards are directed solely at electricity generation, meaning high-emitting sectors like transportation would not be addressed.

POMPEO TALKS ‘BIG ENERGY DEALS’ IN IRAQ: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took an unannounced trip to Baghdad on Tuesday to talk about transitioning Iraq’s energy system away from Iran with a series of “big energy deals” expected to be announced soon.

“I’m going to have the opportunity to talk about some of those, where these deals are important to Iraq — big energy deals that can disconnect them from Iranian energy,” Pompeo said, referring to energy as a central part of his mission in visiting Baghdad.

Iraq’s electric grid is nearly completely dependent on natural gas it imports from Iran. But under the Trump administration’s sanctions, natural gas is supposed to be off limits. Iraq has been granted a waiver that expires next month to continue to use Iranian natural gas, but the administration wants it to find alternative supplies.

Saudi Arabia has been in talks with Iraq on energy cooperation in light of the sanctions. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke to Pompeo by phone Monday evening after talking to the leadership in Baghdad, and just hours before his unannounced trip.

Reuters reported that the Iraqi government is preparing to announce energy deals with Exxon and PetroChina worth over $53 billion. Baghdad denies that the deals have any relationship to the situation with Iran.

A State Department spokesman told John the energy deals that Pompeo referenced include “regional efforts” with other nations, which collectively can increase Iraq’s energy security while reducing Iraq’s reliance on Iran. The secretary was not referring only to private sector interests in Iraq’s energy sector.

NATURAL GAS WILL PLAY ‘ESSENTIAL’ ROLE IN LOWER CARBON FUTURE, INDUSTRY REPORT SAYS: Natural gas will retain an “essential” role in the nation’s energy future even if states across the U.S. fulfill aggressive mandates to use more renewables, according to a report commissioned by the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America released Tuesday.

“This discussion in Congress about the Green New Deal is an opportunity for us to educate,” INGAA President Don Santa said during a press conference in Washington Tuesday. “This report allows us to make the case if we want to get to goals of a greener energy economy, you need natural gas.”

What was tested: The study, conducted by the consulting group Black & Veatch, analyzes and compares two scenarios for the years 2020 to 2040: a “balanced future” scenario and “rapid renewables transition” scenario.

In the first one, the 29 states and Washington, D.C. that have adopted some form of clean energy mandate or a more restrictive renewable portfolio standard are assumed to meet those goals on schedule. But there still would be strong demand for U.S. liquefied natural gas, with America set to be the third top exporter of LNG. The second scenario assumes the states with clean energy or renewable portfolio standards set and fulfill targets of at least 50% — higher than many states have now.

It also assumes there would be “accelerated development” of battery storage technology, which is key to facilitating more renewables use, and lower future demand for U.S. LNG, where only the current slate of export projects that are known to the public get built as countries move to cleaner energy alternatives.

What the study found: The results showed 35 additional gigawatts of gas would come online by 2040 in the first scenario, continuing to help replace coal and nuclear, compared to 300 gigawatts of renewables. In the second scenario, renewables would be even more prominent, with 450 added gigawatts, while gas would add 16 gigawatts.

Existing natural gas pipelines and LNG export terminals will continue to be used, but limited new infrastructure would be needed. And while battery storage would continue to decline in cost, storage would only become “economically comparable” to gas generation closer to 2040.

“Even with those very aggressive assumptions [about renewables] natural gas demand holds steady at the level we are at today,” explained the report’s author, Deepa Poduval of Black and Veatch. “The more renewables that come into the mix, the more variability associated, and the more you need to balance that with gas.”

Big caveat: However, the study did not account for the possibility of a major federal policy breakthrough in the next 20 years, such as a carbon tax or federal clean energy standard, which would undoubtedly hinder natural gas over time.

NATURAL GAS TERMINAL DENIED: State officials denied Tuesday one of the only liquefied natural gas export terminals being built on the West Coast — the Jordan Cove facility in Oregon.

The facility was denied a key water access permit from state regulators. President Trump recently issued an executive order targeting these state water permit denials, which have become more common in opposing natural gas projects.

“We believe that state denials of 401 water certifications must be closely scrutinized to ensure that states are not misusing their certificates as a tactic simply to limit infrastructure,” said Charlie Riedl, executive director of the Center for LNG.

Riedl said one of the goals of the administration’s recent executive order is to assess how to fix parts of the state water certification process without compromising environmental standards. “If successful, the executive order will help to remove politics out of the 401 water certification process and allow states and federal authorities to do their jobs,” he said.

The Rundown

Wall Street Journal Occidental CEO battles oil-field giant to rule the Permian Basin

New York Times Start-ups hoping to fight climate change struggle as other tech firms cash in

The Advocate Trump heads to Louisiana May 14 to tout LNG energy infrastructure, jobs

Bloomberg The land where coal remains king

Calendar

WEDNESDAY | May 8

2:30 p.m., 222 Russell. The Senate Armed Service Committee’s strategic forces panel holds a hearing on “Department of Energy’s Atomic Defense Activities and Programs.”

THURSDAY | May 9

9:30 a.m., 385 Russell. The Bipartisan Policy Center holds a discussion on “Near-Term Policy Opportunities for Carbon Removal with Direct Air Capture.”

10:15 a.m., 2123 Rayburn. The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on energy holds a hearing entitled, “The Fiscal Year 2020 DOE Budget.” Secretary of Energy Rick Perry will be the witness for this hearing.

5 p.m., 1616 Rhode Island Avenue NW. The Center for Strategic and International Studies holds a book discussion on “Double Jeopardy, Combating Nuclear Terror and Climate Change.”