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WICKER DROPS SUPPORT FOR CASSIDY POLLUTION FEE: Sen. Roger Wicker has pulled his support of a GOP climate bill following a “miscommunication” from staff, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Yesterday, Semafor scooped that Wicker was pulling his support from Sen. Bill Cassidy’s Foreign Pollution Fee bill – a measure that would penalize carbon-intensive imports from nations that are less climate-friendly than the U.S. The measure was originally introduced by Cassidy, Wicker, and Sen. Lindsey Graham – however, Wicker’s name and statement was scrubbed from the press release, the Washington Examiner has found.
The source familiar said the staffer who came to the senator about the bill “explained the bill poorly.”
“It’s just one of the sort of things, clerical things that happen in an office,” they said. “He was new and young, and he misinformed” the senator.
In an interview with reporters, Cassidy said there was “nothing dramatic” about the senator dropping out of the bill, reasoning that it had been “a while” since Wicker had originally signed up to support the measure.
What the bill does: The Foreign Pollution Fee bill would namely take a hit at China, shielding American manufacturers from competition with the country and other nations with lax environmental standards. The first Republican bill to intertwine climate change policy with U.S. trade policy, the measure could tax a large swath of items, including aluminum, biofuels, crude oil, critical minerals, solar cells and panels, and wind turbines. How the tax is calculated, however, would be determined by the Secretary of Energy.
Why it’s controversial: Although the introduction of the bill has been anticipated for quite some time, conservatives have generally been opposed to the idea of a carbon border adjustment tax, arguing that it could become a slippery slope to enforcing a domestic carbon tax. In a move to assuage concerns, Cassidy, along with several other GOP cosponsors, had introduced a resolution expressing disapproval for a carbon tax, specifically – underlining the political puzzle Republicans will have to navigate as they try to educate and convince their colleagues on the concept.
When asked how the FPF bill has been received amongst conservatives, Cassidy said that the feedback was “really good,” touting a poll that showed aligning trade policy with climate measures resonated with voters – even in a conservative state like Louisiana.
The poll, conducted by business consulting group JMC Enterprises in December 2022, tested state-wide attitudes in Louisiana on the intersection of climate policy with U.S. trade issues. When asked if they would support the U.S. enacting policies discouraging products made with higher carbon pollution and providing incentives for products made in America with less carbon pollution, 75% of respondents either strongly agreed or agreed, while 18% agreed or strongly disagreed. Seven percent were undecided. Read the poll here.
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TEXANS VOTE TO APPROVE MEASURE CREATING $10B STATE ENERGY FUND: Texans voted overwhelmingly yesterday to approve Proposition 7, a $10 billion measure that will create a state energy fund and incentivize new natural gas production in an effort to build out the state’s grid capacity and protect against future blackouts.
It has been criticized, though, for leaving out other energy efficient alternatives, such as battery storage.
Proposition 7 also establishes the Texas Public Utility Commission as the preferred lender for gas power developers in the state, effectively allowing the body to operate like a bank, despite concerns that PUC has little experience to do so or to adequately gauge risk for default on these investments.
A smaller, $1.8 billion in Prop. 7 funding will invest in microgrids, or small-scale “backup” power programs that would keep the lights on for systems serving critical facilities, such as hospitals, in the event of a supply shortage—something that earned near-unanimous approval. Read more on the bill here.
… MAINE VOTERS REJECT QUESTION 3: Meanwhile, voters in Maine rejected a plan that would have consolidated two of the state’s largest electricity providers—which together account for 97% of generation in the state—and replaced them with a public nonprofit.
The rejection of Question 3, which would have established the consumer-owned Pine Tree Power and a 13-member board to manage the grid’s day-to-day operations, was a blow to some environmental groups, as it would have required the board to lower emissions in keeping with the state’s larger climate goals.
If passed,the takeover could have cost taxpayers up to $13.5 billion, according to estimates, though others had put it at a slightly lower cost of $9.9 billion
There have been a series of attempts in Maine in recent years to create a consumer-owned utility, but state legislators and Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, have stymied them. Read more from the Washington Examiner’s Rachel Schilke here.
… PLUS, VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS SWEEP THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Democrats were able to maintain control of the state Senate and flip the state House, ensuring their grip on the state legislature in what continues to be a divided government.
The legislative win will all but promise Democrats have a stronger hand in pushing back against the policy priorities of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin – and that includes reversing Democrats’ clean car standards.
Republicans like Youngkin vowed to do away with a 2021 Virginia law that would ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles starting in 2035, introducing a number of legislative efforts in the State Assembly that were eventually blocked by Democrats. However, with Democrats in control of both legislative chambers, it will be even harder for Republicans to pursue the effort.
WHITE HOUSE GIVES VENEZUELA DEADLINE ON OIL SANCTIONS: The U.S. could start reimposing oil sanctions on Venezuela if it does not begin advancing commitments for free elections and release more political prisoners by the end of the month, a senior White House official said, one week after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government suspended the results of his political opposition’s primary election.
“We have taken a pretty big step to signal our commitment, but after 30 November, if those expectations are not fulfilled, we will have to take steps to dismantle that sanctions’ relief,” White House adviser Juan Gonzalez said in a televised interview, reiterating earlier remarks from the administration should Maduro fail to comply with his commitment to a “free and fair” election in 2024.
His remarks come just days after Venezuela’s Supreme Justice Tribunal, considered to be an extension of Maduro’s government, invalidated the results of the nation’s primary election, which saw opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado win more than 90% of the ballots cast.
Gonzalez said that the U.S. is considering a range of actions if Maduro fails to hold up its end of the deal, including a complete reinstatement of sanctions on Venezuela’s oil and gas sector.
LITHIUM AND HYDROGEN CORRUPTION PROBE BRINGS DOWN PORTUGAL’S PRIME MINISTER: Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa resigned yesterday after senior members of his administration were detained in a probe involving alleged corruption and influence peddling in their handling of lithium mining and hydrogen projects near Portugal’s northern border and along the south coast in Sines.
Portuguese Infrastructure Minister, João Galamba, and the head of the country’s environmental agency, Nuno Lacasta, have also been formally named as suspects and will appear before a judge, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The news comes as Portugal has been eyed in Europe as an increasingly critical source of lithium. The country is home to more than 60,000 metric tons of known lithium reserves, and could be crucial to the bloc’s push to reshore battery and clean energy production and move away from China.
FOR YOUR RADAR: The North American Electric Reliability Corporation releases its Winter Reliability Assessment for the 2023-2024 season today. This afternoon, the organization is expected to warn of potential shortfalls during extreme weather events, with areas including Texas, the Midwest, and New England considered particularly vulnerable. More on this to come…
BLACKROCK INVESTS $550M IN PERMIAN BASIN CARBON CAPTURE PROJECT: BlackRock will invest $550 million into Occidental Petroleum’s carbon capture project, Stratos, giving it joint ownership of what is slated to be the world’s largest direct air capture facility.
The BlackRock investment makes up roughly 40% of the Stratos project’s cost of roughly $1.3 billion, making it one of the largest direct air capture investments to date, as Bloomberg reports.
The project, which will be located in West Texas, is slated to become operational in 2025, and will be capable of pulling 500,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere each year—or the equivalent of one million barrels of oil—before burying the captured gas underground. Read more on the project here.
LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS VERSUS FINANCIAL APPROPS BILL: The League of Conservation Voters led a coalition of 15 environmental groups today in rallying opposition to the House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, as well as than 10 amendments that they criticized as “anti-environment” and which they claimed would also “harm investors, and put taxpayer dollars at risk.”
Signatories included the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice, the Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club. They oppose H.R.4664 and amendments that would prohibit funds from being used to meet President Joe Biden’s climate change-related executive orders, prohibit funds from being used to regulate or require farmers to disclose Scope 3 emissions, and block funding for the Treasury Department’s Climate Data Hub, among other things. Read the letter—and the full list of amendments they opposed—here.
RUBIO CRA VOTE THIS AFTERNOON: The Senate is set to vote on Sen. Marco Rubio’s disapproval resolution overturning the Biden administration’s decision to waive “Buy America” requirements for government-funded electric vehicle charging stations.
The Rundown
Wall Street Journal Nations keep upping fossil-fuel production despite climate pledge
Washington Post Greenland’s ice shelves hold back sea level rise. There are just 5 left.
