Climate, Politics/Capitol Light©, is a service of The JBS Group and Civil Notion
January 11, 2020 Talk about cooking the book(s) As anticipated, Trump announced his administration’s proposed changes to the National Envi-ronmental Policy Act (NEPA). The proposed changes would reduce the number of infra-structure projects requiring an environmental review and releasing agencies from having to account for cumulative environmental impacts. Under the proposed rules, projects paid for with private investment funds, e.g., the Keystone XL pipeline, would not require an environ-mental impact statement. Absent the NEPA requirement privately funded projects would not be required to disclose plans to discharge waste into nearby rivers, clear cut forests or otherwise increase greenhouse gas emissions. The administration has virtually eliminated federal consideration of climate change by freeing agencies from having to account for cumulative environmental impacts. The courts have generally required agencies to account for cumulative climate impact of projects like the federal government's leasing public lands for oil and gas exploration and extraction. The proposed changes are here. The changes won’t become permanent before the conclusion of a 60-day comment period and conduct of two public hearings.
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Climate, Politics/Capitol Light©, is a service of The JBS Group and Civil Notion
January 8, 2020 Feeding off of a failed UN Summit late in 2019, the almost daily release of reports updating and confirming climate science studies, student strikes, a continent on fire, and the already prominent place of climate in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, 2020 looms as a watershed political year for national climate policy. To state the obvious, the re-election of Trump would be a devastating setback for the environ-mental well-being of the nation and the world. Almost as costly in terms of climate defense would be a divided Congress. Notwithstanding the rising number of Republicans in both the House and Senate who are now at least willing to admit there is a problem, Republicans and Democrats remain very far apart in terms of a willingness to do anything even close to what the scientists say is needed within the time they say it needs to be done. Below is a thumbnail about the new million dollar ad campaign the American Petroleum Institute (API) is launching this year on behalf of oil and gas companies. The tack the Institute is taking is to pitch themselves as part of the solution, without altering their position on most policy matters. API, for example, remains opposed to a carbon tax, the regulation of methane and other greenhouse gases. The campaign is intended to support a heavy lobbying effort by the companies to keep fracking alive. 
Climate, Politics/Capitol Light©, is a service of The JBS Group and Civil Notion
Volume 1 September 4, 2019 Issue 25 Get a move on. Government lawyers today urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to expedite consideration of legal challenges to the EPA regulation, which replaces the Obama-era Clean Power Plan. The move could mean the Trump administration defends the ACE rule in the Supreme Court before the end of the president's term.
For an additional discussion of what a Democratic administration will be facing after four years of Trump check here for my series on Erasing Trump’s Climate Legacy.  Climate, Politics/Capitol Light©, is a service of The JBS Group and Civil Notion
Volume 1 August 19, 2019 Issue 23 AK’s dominatrix. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) released her “discussion” draft of legislation that would assist the U.S. to achieve “energy dominance” in its efforts to compete with countries like China and Russia. The legislation, the Strategic Energy for America Act, would enable the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to provide foreign aid for nuclear energy projects in developing countries, aiming to compete with Russian and Chinese companies that are seeking to build reactors overseas. It would also direct the Treasury Department to oppose policies at multilateral development banks — such as the World Bank — seeking to impose restrictions on assistance to fossil fuel projects in developing countries. Murkowski’s bill would also promote U.S. exports of natural gas and advanced nuclear energy through the Export-Import Bank by forcing it to establish a “strategic energy portfolio” focused on providing financial assistance for gas and nuclear infrastructure projects overseas. For a healthy mid-America. Maintaining renewable portfolio standards in ‘Rust Belt’ states would bring health benefits of at least $4.7 billion in 2030, says a new peer-reviewed study. The research, conducted by MIT, looked at the impacts of energy policies that reduce unhealthy air particulates by displacing coal-fired power in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and seven other states. Ramping up renewable energy requirements in the region from 13 to 20 percent of generation would bring health benefits of $13.5 billion in 2030 compared to $5.8 billion in cost. The findings come shortly after Ohio’s Republican Governor Mike DeWine signed a new bill weakening the state’s RPS. (Axios)  Climate, Politics/Capitol Light©, is a service of The JBS Group and Civil Notion
Volume 1 August 5, 2019 Issue 21 Budget update. Both the House and Senate are out on their August recess. They are not scheduled to return until September 6th. Before leaving town, both chambers passed a two-year budget deal that was quickly signed by Trump. The legislation raises discretionary spending by more than $320 billion over the next two years and includes a nonbinding side agreement banning policy riders on appropriations bills. Should the deal of no riders on appropriations bills be kept, it could be a major roadblock for the climate and clean energy communities. Riders are an often used means to attach measures the administration might otherwise oppose, e.g., anything climate related, onto measures it supports or can't afford to veto, e.g., immigration and defense. The bill also raised the nation's debt ceiling through July 2021, averting a potential debt default until after the 2020 election. The attention of Capitol Hill lawmakers now turns to appropriations. It’s been reported by E&E News that Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chairman of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, volunteered to be "at the head of the line" when the chamber begins marking up and moving spending bills. He said his staff would be working throughout August recess to draft the measure. Upon returning in September Congress will have less than two months to finish all 12 appropriations bills before the new fiscal year begins on October 1st. The House has passed 10 of its 12 bills, including the Energy-Water and Interior-EPA titles. The Senate has yet to introduce their first bill having waited until a budget deal was signed for their committee budget allocations. (Multiple sources) 
Climate, Politics/Capitol Light©, is a service of The JBS Group and Civil Notion
Volume 1 July 29, 2019 Issue 20 Note to Readers. The Senate will soon be following the House out of Capital City for their August recess. Climate Politics will drop down to one report a week during the recess. A brew of a different sort. Murray Energy Corp. founder Bob Murray said he had provided President Donald Trump another memo containing policy recommendations, which include pressing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to elevate coal power sales among state public utility commissions. The coal executive hosted a fundraiser for Trump's 2020 campaign at an arena along the Ohio River. According to reports, the event drew a crowd of several hundred spruced-up donors, many associated with the energy industry. (E&E News)
On the count of 3. More than 60 media outlets have committed to a week of focused climate change coverage in September. The effort was coordinated by the Covering Climate Now project, which was co-founded by the progressive magazine The Nation and the Columbia Journalism Review, in partnership with The Guardian.  Climate, Politics/Capitol Light©, is a service of The JBS Group and Civil Notion
Volume 1 July 25, 2019 Issue 19 This Week’s Notion: There auto be a law. From the Washington Post: Four automakers from three continents have struck a deal with California to produce more fuel-efficient cars for their U.S. fleets in coming years, undercutting one of the Trump administration’s most aggressive climate policy rollbacks. The compromise between the California Air Resources Board and Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and BMW of North America came after weeks of secret negotiations and could shape future U.S. vehicle production, even as White House officials aim to relax gas mileage standards for the nation’s cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs. The deal reached between California and the four auto companies is truly extraordinary both in terms of why the deal came about and the position in which it puts the Trump administration. Since Day 1 of the Trump presidency, the auto industry had been hoping to re-negotiate the deal it struck with the Obama administration on auto and light truck fuel efficiency standards (CAFE) for the period 2021 through 2026. Over the past two and a half years of the Trump administration, the auto industry has learned the meaning of the phrase be careful what you wish for; as it just might come true. The bad news came to industry representatives in late February on a conference call with the White House. They were told that the administration had cut-off any further conversations with California officials and was going ahead with its proposed Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule freezing the standards at 2020 levels. The freeze has been called the Trump administration’s most environmentally significant regulatory rollback yet" by the Rhodium Group following its penetrating analysis of the rule’s impact on the environment. The call is not surprising. The transportation sector has surpassed electricity as the major contributor of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to the atmosphere; and, Trump’s efficiency 36.9 mpg is standard is 14.5 mpg more lenient than Obama’s 51.4 mpg. 
Climate, Politics/Capitol Light©, is a service of The JBS Group and Civil Notion
Volume 1 July 22, 2019 Issue 18 Still negotiating. Congressional negotiators and the White House are hoping to reach an accord, before the House leaves for summer recess at the end of this week, that would raise both discretionary spending and the nation's debt ceiling. The lead negotiators, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), both said late last week they were close to an accord that would lift automatic budget cuts, known as sequestration, due to hit in 2020 and 2021. They are also in agreement about raising the nation's debt ceiling, which is due to be hit in September. Discussions were focused on finding ways to offset the costs of spending increases over the next two years that could reach $150 billion. (E&E News)
Climate, Politics/Capitol Light©, is a service of The JBS Group and Civil Notion
Volume 1 July 18, 2019 Issue 17 This Week’s Notion: Presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden released his “Plan for rural America.” He joins other Democratic candidates, e.g., Warren, Klobuchar, and Sanders in reaching out to a constituency that voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2016. Whatever else one might think the meaning of the 2020 national election to be, it represents a line in the sand for the fight against rising global temperatures. While the nation’s politicians fiddle, Earth continues to burn, and the rate of species extinction accelerates, with grave impacts on people around the world. According to the Pew Research Center Trump won comfortable majorities of both rural white men and women, according to the exit poll. While Trump held a 10-percentage-point advantage over Clinton among white women nationally (53% to 43%), his victory margin nearly triples to 28 points among rural white women (62% to 34%). Trump led Clinton by 32 points among all white men nationally (63% to 31%), but he beat the Democrat by 48 points among white men living in rural areas (72% to 24%). Although rural America is only 20 percent of the nation’s population, it presents an outsized opportunity for the 2020 Democratic contender for the presidency in terms of the Senate and the electoral college. Big or small, every state has the same number of Senators. In terms of electoral votes, rural voters have proportionally more weight than large urban population centers. It’s the way the founders designed the system—until its changed presidential candidates can lose the election while garnering millions of votes more than their competition.  Climate, Politics/Capitol Light©, is a service of The JBS Group and Civil Notion
Volume 1 July 15, 2019 Issue 16 Just butt out. Federal agencies have until Aug. 1 to submit plans for eliminating at least a third of their advisory committees, according to new guidance from the Office of Management and Budget. The instructions follow an executive order signed by President Trump last month, which instructed agencies to get rid of panels established under the Federal Advisory Committee Act that have become obsolete or whose costs outweigh their benefits. Agencies have until September 30 to reduce the total number of committees and can count panels eliminated as of January 2017 toward their one-third total. Committees established by Congress through statutory authority would not be up for consideration. (E &E News)
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AuthorJoel Stronberg, MA, JD., of The JBS Group is a veteran clean energy policy analyst with over 30 years’ experience, based in Washington, DC. Archives
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