Daily on Energy: Environmentalists claim mandate for Biden

Tom Steyer, the former presidential candidate who runs NextGen America, said Joe Biden benefited from strong turnout among youth voters who were initially skeptical but came through after he bolstered his plans.

Varshini Prakash, leader of the youth liberal group Sunrise Movement said young people voted in “historic numbers”, with 50% turnout in battleground states and even stronger turnout from youth of color.

“We expect him to do everything in his power to act on climate in the next weeks and months,” Prakash said of Biden.

Still, Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters, acknowledged a Senate run by Mitch McConnell would present a “huge challenge” and mean that climate-related legislation “won’t be as ambitious.”

The environmental leaders did not present specifics on whether they’d push Biden to press comprehensive policies through Congress, such as his proposed 100% by 2035 clean electricity standard or a carbon tax.

But former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, who now leads the NRDC Action Fund, said Biden would have “ample opportunities,” including outside Congress. McCarthy is quite familiar with the Clean Power Plan, the Obama administration’s main climate initiative after it struggled to pass legislation through Congress.

Personnel matters: McCarthy and Prakash are also watching Biden’s handling of personnel.

Prakash said Biden can quickly prove he’s “serious” by creating a new climate-czar position who focuses federal agencies on addressing climate change and coordinates between them.

McCarthy said Biden should appoint cabinet members who respect science, understand the law, and are thoughtful and trustworthy.

“He needs to appoint the Anthony Fauci of DOE and EPA,” she quipped.

Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers Josh Siegel (@SiegelScribe) and Abby Smith (@AbbySmithDC). 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.

CARBON TAX SUPPORTER BRIAN FITZPATRICK WINS RE-ELECTION: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick kept the distinction of being the only Republican in Congress who backs a carbon tax after holding his seat in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Fitzpatrick’s success might not tell us much about how Republican voters receive his carbon tax advocacy, so it’s a reach to expect other GOP lawmakers to follow his lead.

Climate change was not a dominant issue in the race and Fitzpatrick was one of only three House Republicans defending seats in districts won by Hillary Clinton in 2016. The district, Pennsylvania’s 1st, was redrawn in 2018 in a way that made it slightly more left-leaning.

But Fitzpatrick is a favorite of center-right groups pushing for a carbon tax who also has credibility with environmental groups, including left-leaning ones like the League of Conservation Voters that endorsed him. So expect him to be a player in climate discussions that promise to heat up if Biden wins.

BIDEN MARKS PARIS WITHDRAWAL: Biden was mostly quiet yesterday about making policy proclamations. But he was quick to recognize the official withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement, reiterating his vow to rejoin it on day one of his presidency, Jan. 20.

“Today, the Trump Administration officially left the Paris Climate Agreement. And in exactly 77 days, a Biden Administration will rejoin it,” Biden tweeted.

If Biden wins and immediately announces his intent to rejoin Paris, he would need to wait another 30 days for the U.S. to officially be back in it. From there, expect him to take his time to set an emissions-cutting target (nationally determined contribution, in official parlance) for 2030.

BONUS…BIDEN REITERATES CLIMATE PRIORITY: If there was any lingering doubt a Biden administration would focus heavily on climate, look no further than the newly launched Biden-Harris transition site.

The website is sparse for now (the votes are still being counted after all), but it lists climate change as one of the four crises a Biden administration would tackle, mirroring a line Biden repeated often on the campaign trail. “The transition team will continue preparing at full speed so that the Biden-Harris Administration can hit the ground running on Day One,” the site says.

NOMINATION BATTLES ON DECK: If Biden wins the White House and Republicans keep control of the Senate, don’t expect smooth sailing for any of Biden’s nominees.

McConnell is already signaling he’d bring down the hammer on any nominees from the left wing of the Democratic Party, or “radical progressives” as a source close to McConnell told Axios.

“It’s going to be armed camps,” the source added of a GOP Senate’s response to Biden’s agenda.

The source suggested McConnell would work with Biden on more centrist nominees, but those types of names are unlikely to please left-wing Democrats and constituencies.

Liberal climate activists, for example, have already been pressuring the Biden campaign to consider nominees for agencies like EPA, the Energy Department, and the Justice Department that would push aggressively on climate change. They’ve also targeted former Obama officials like former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, potentially more likely to garner GOP backing, for ties to the fossil fuel industry.

GOP LOOKS LIKELY TO KEEP MAJORITY ON ARIZONA UTILITY COMMISSION: The votes are still being counted, but it’s looking more and more likely that Democrats will only pick up one seat on the Arizona Corporation Commission, ending clean energy groups’ hope of flipping control of the utility regulatory body for the first time since the 1990s.

As of early this morning, Democratic candidate Anna Tovar and Republican candidates Lea Marquez Peterson and Jim O’Connor are leading the race for the three open commission seats, according to the Arizona Republic. The two remaining Democratic candidates are trailing by nearly 100,000 votes.

Clean energy standard hangs in the balance: If those results hold, it could raise questions about the fate of a 100% carbon-free power by 2050 standard the outgoing slate of commissioners preliminarily approved. That standard, which would also require utilities in the state to get 50% of their power from renewable energy by 2035, still must undergo another vote and a rulemaking process to be final.

Marquez Peterson, the only incumbent commissioner running in this election, voted against the standard. O’Connor has objected strongly to new renewable energy mandates and has raised questions about mainstream climate science.

The three Democratic candidates had run together as the self-described “Solar Team,” with promises to boost Arizona’s commitment to renewable energy. Billionaire former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other clean energy interests poured millions into the race.

Marquez Peterson told local radio station KJZZ she thinks that money backfired for the Democratic candidates because it looked like they were trying to buy the majority.

NOT A GOOD YEAR FOR COAL: The U.S. power sector consumed 30% less coal in the first half of 2020 than it did in the first half of 2019, as natural gas prices reached record lows and electricity demand declined amid the pandemic, the Energy Information Administration said today.

The EIA expects the power sector’s coal consumption to increase in the second half of this year, but not to the levels seen in the second half of 2019. Overall, the EIA expects the power sector to consume the least amount of coal this year since 1975.

The Rundown

Washington Post Trump administration taps mainstream climate scientist to run key climate review

Reuters Allstate Corp CEO eyes climate insurance plan under potential Biden win

New York Times How VW’s diesel settlement is changing fleets, from schools to seaports

Politico Newsom can put his stamp on California’s world-leading air board

Calendar

THURSDAY | NOV. 5

Congress is out