Top Headlines

 

Science Agency Never Briefed Trump On Climate.

 

Coal-Friendly Manchin Becomes Top Democrat On Senate Energy Committee.

 

‘A Slap In The Face’: Senior Democrats Fight Ocasio-Cortez’s Climate Committee.

 

Key Advisers Blast EPA For Firing Review Panel.

 

 

White House

 

Science Agency Never Briefed Trump On Climate. According to E&E News, “President Trump has never had a briefing about climate change by the nation’s leading science agency, the acting NOAA administrator said yesterday. Nor has the White House requested one. Timothy Gallaudet, a retired Navy rear admiral and oceanographer who is leading NOAA, was asked at a major science conference whether he had spoken with Trump about the rising dangers of global warming or if he had ever been invited to. ‘The simple answer is no,’ he said. The revelation follows a series of recent comments by the president that contradict scientists’ assertions that humans are raising temperatures on Earth by burning fossil fuels. It also comes as scientists express increasingly stark warnings about the effects of climate change. Gallaudet was attending the American Geophysical Union’s annual conference yesterday to help unveil an Arctic report card that warns of accelerating transformations to the region and its species. The administration, for its part, has ignored its own scientists. Trump has said he doesn’t ‘believe’ the latest version of the National Climate Assessment, released last month. The annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, one of the nation’s largest science organizations, has brought more than 20,000 scientists to Washington. They will spend the week giving presentations on the latest research in their fields, including carbon cycles, geoengineering and rising sea levels.” [E&E News, 12/12/18 (=)]

 

Environmental Protection Agency

 

EPA Leadership & Personnel

 

EPA And Interior Face Furloughs If Talks Fail. According to E&E News, “The chance of a government shutdown that could furlough EPA and Interior Department employees days before Christmas increased yesterday after an extraordinarily tense meeting between President Trump and congressional Democratic leaders at the White House. The lawmakers and White House had hoped to use the meeting to move closer to finalizing a deal for the remaining seven fiscal 2019 spending bills in advance of a Dec. 21 deadline. Instead, the talks turned into a 17-minute live televised bickering session between Trump and the Democrats that left them no closer to an accord. ‘I am proud to shut down the government for border security, Chuck,’ Trump said in comments aimed at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). ‘Because the people of this country don’t want criminals and people that have lots of problems and drugs pouring into this country. So I will take the mantle, I will be the one to shut it down. I won’t blame you for it.’ Schumer countered, ‘We believe you shouldn’t shut it down.’ He later blasted Trump for throwing a ‘temper tantrum’ and warned that the GOP would bear the blame if federal agencies are forced to close. Trump has repeatedly said he wants $5 billion for building a U.S.-Mexico border wall and could veto a spending package without it. Democrats, however, don’t want to provide any more dollars for the barrier beyond the $1.3 billion in the fiscal 2018 spending bill, saying little of that has been spent.” [E&E News, 12/12/18 (=)]

 

Clean Air

 

Key Advisers Blast EPA For Firing Review Panel. According to E&E News, “Two of acting EPA chief Andrew Wheeler’s appointees to a prominent advisory committee are pushing back against his recent decision to disband an auxiliary panel involved in a closely watched review of airborne particulate standards. EPA ‘should immediately’ reconstitute the particulate matter panel, Dr. Mark Frampton, a retired University of Rochester pulmonologist, wrote in comments made public yesterday. The panel ‘should be retained to enable more thorough review’ of a draft EPA roundup of scientific research on the health and environmental effects of particulate matter exposure, said Tim Lewis of the Army Corps of Engineers. Wheeler named both men to the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) in October, around the same time that he fired the approximately 24-member review panel, which was supposed to help the committee with added know-how during its legally required review of the standards. Also urging its revival is Jim Boylan, a senior manager at the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, appointed to the committee last fall by then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. The panel would furnish ‘additional insight and expertise to allow for a more thorough and in-depth review of the relevant science and policy documents,’ Boylan wrote.” [E&E News, 12/11/18 (=)]

 

In The Air. According to Politico, “EPA’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee holds an in-person meeting today in Crystal City on the agency’s Integrated Science Assessment — a part of the agency’s ongoing National Ambient Air Quality Standards review. Ahead of the meeting, former CASAC members blasted EPA over its approach to the particulate matter review.” [Politico, 12/12/18 (=)]

 

Op-Ed: The Latest Chapter In EPA Vs Environmental Science Saga. According to an op-ed by Dr. Bernard Goldstein in The Hill, “The latest saga of EPA’s divorce proceedings against environmental science is unfolding this week at the hearings of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) on particulate air pollution. CASAC is mandated under the Clean Air Act to be an integral part of the required five year review of each National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA administrator sets standards ‘requisite to protect public health.’ Further it is required that the standards ‘accurately reflect the latest scientific knowledge.’ By law, CASAC has seven members appointed by the EPA administrator. But with just seven members it clearly does not have the breadth and depth of expertise to fully and accurately distill the growing body of knowledge about increasingly complex and changing processes that lead to the effects of air pollutants. Accordingly, CASAC has long relied on scrutinizing the key issues based upon input from subcommittees of knowledgeable experts. But EPA has suddenly terminated the subcommittees assembled to provide input to CASAC on both particulate and ozone pollution. As a former chair of CASAC, and former EPA assistant administrator for research and development appointed by President Reagan, I have watched this and other EPA processes to build policy on sound science be admired and emulated worldwide. That is, until the current administration.” [The Hill, 12/11/18 (+)]

 

Department of Energy

 

Dems Wants Perry On The Hill. According to Politico, “Markey and Sen. Jeff Merkley, both members of the Foreign Relations Committee, called for a briefing by Energy Secretary Rick Perry on any discussions the secretary has had with Saudi Arabia on the potential of a 123 nuclear agreement. The Democrats called it ‘imperative’ that Perry brief the committee on ‘any and all of your discussions regarding civil nuclear cooperation during your recent trip to the region.’” [Politico, 12/12/18 (=)]

 

Where’s Perry? According to Politico, “The secretary was in Iraq Tuesday, leading a U.S. delegation for talks with government officials in Baghdad and Erbil. Perry ‘delivered a firm message’ that the Trump administration wants to help make Iraq energy independent, ‘however further steps are needed to improve the business climate and reduce the malign influence of Iran,’ according to the Energy Department.” [Politico, 12/12/18 (=)]

 

DOE Sued Over FOIA Request For Tax Credit Lobbying Records. According to E&E News, “A conservative group sued the Department of Energy today seeking lobbying records related to a federal tax credit for storing captured carbon dioxide. The Competitive Enterprise Institute charged that DOE failed to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request in 2017 seeking correspondence and records about a credit under Section 45Q of the tax code. Congress passed legislation in February that more than doubled the value of the 45Q credits for stored CO2 and eliminated a cap on the program. According to CEI’s complaint, DOE slowed down its response to the FOIA request ‘as the lobbying campaign intensified to expand 45Q’ last year. ‘The Department of Energy suddenly slammed on the brakes, and has refused to release any of the records it had identified as responsive,’ said CEI senior fellow Chris Horner. ‘The program is a consequential one, the campaign to expand it is disturbing, and DOE’s behavior is remarkable.’ Along with compelling DOE to release the records, CEI is requesting payment of attorney fees. DOE said in a statement that it does not respond to pending litigation. Many climate and industry advocates hailed passage of the expanded credits and said they would be critical to building more projects that remove carbon dioxide emissions resulting from fossil fuel use. Others called them a giveaway to coal, oil and gas.” [E&E News, 12/11/18 (=)]

 

McNamee Sworn In As FERC Commissioner. According to Politico, “Bernard McNamee was sworn in today as a FERC commissioner, according to the regulator’s website, returning the agency leadership to full strength after the resignation of Rob Powelson this summer. McNamee, who served two separate stints in President Donald Trump’s Energy Department, was narrowly confirmed by the Senate last week after a quick but controversial nomination process. Ill health has prevented FERC Commissioner Kevin McIntyre from voting in agency business for weeks, leaving FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee effectively outnumbered by their two Democratic colleagues.” [Politico, 12/11/18 (=)]

 

Congress

 

Senate

 

Manchin Will Officially Became Key Energy Gatekeeper. According to E&E News, “As Sen. Joe Manchin prepared to take over as the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the leading coal-state Democrat met yesterday with the National Wildlife Federation to talk conservation. After weeks of speculation, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) released the list of ranking members for the next Congress. On the ENR Committee, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) is out and Manchin in. The West Virginian’s leadership position comes amid much scrutiny from progressive and environmental groups over his staunch support for coal and other fossil fuels and as activist groups like the Sunrise Movement grow louder in their efforts to ensure climate action on Capitol Hill. ‘The problems facing our country are serious, and I am committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find common sense solutions for a long-term comprehensive strategy that incorporates an all-the-above strategy and ensures our state and our nation are leaders in the energy future,’ Manchin said in a statement. Manchin’s ascension is a result of Cantwell taking over the ranking member spot on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee from departing Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) who lost his re-election bid to Republican Gov. Rick Scott.” [E&E News, 12/12/18 (=)]

 

Coal-Friendly Manchin Becomes Top Democrat On Senate Energy Committee. According to Politico, “Senate Democrats today named Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The move is sure to anger liberal activists, who fear the coal-friendly Manchin may impede future progress on bold climate change legislation. The West Virginia Democrat allayed some of those concerns last week when he invoked climate change denial in voting against FERC commissioner Bernard McNamee, who he had previously backed in committee. Manchin has offered to meet with his critics and vowed to work with anybody. ‘Tell them to please come talk to me. If you talk to them, tell them Sen. Manchin is open,’ he said previously. In a statement today, Manchin pointed to his home state priorities and the energy panel’s history of bipartisanship but did not specifically mention climate change. ‘West Virginia is a leading energy producer and major contributor to advanced energy technologies, and I intend to ensure this progress is continued,’ Manchin said. ‘The problems facing our country are serious, and I am committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find common sense solutions for long-term comprehensive energy policy that incorporates an all-of-the-above strategy and ensures our state and our nation are leaders in the energy future.’ The National Wildlife Federation, whose president and CEO Collin O’Mara met with Manchin earlier today, praised him as a ‘bipartisan bridge-builder’ who would be able to work with Republicans on issues such as conservation, reducing methane emissions and rebuilding infrastructure.” [Politico, 12/11/18 (=)]

 

Manchin’s In. According to Politico, “It’s official: Coal-friendly West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin will be the top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee next session, a move that’s sure to anger liberal greens who worry he’ll impede future progress on bold climate change legislation, Pro’s Anthony Adragna reports. Manchin has struck a conciliatory tone in recent days toward the party’s green wing, but he didn’t mention climate change in a statement issued Tuesday in which he said he would work for ‘common-sense solutions for long-term comprehensive energy policy that incorporates an all-of-the-above strategy and ensures our state and our nation are leaders in the energy future.’ — MEET AND GREET: For what it’s worth, Manchin met Tuesday with the National Wildlife Federation to discuss legislative priorities for the next Congress. NWF President and CEO Collin O’Mara told ME that the topics of discussion included public lands, using technology like carbon capture and sequestration to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, making energy systems more efficient, and infrastructure. ‘There’s a range of issues that could move through that committee,’ O’Mara said. ‘It won’t look the same as it would as if it were a coastal member, but the chances of actual bipartisanship increases.’” [Politico, 12/12/18 (=)]

 

Sanders Thinks House Will Step Up. According to Politico, “Sen. Bernie Sanders told reporters Tuesday he expects the House to step up and pass bold climate legislation that would pressure Republicans in the Senate to take a side on the issue. ‘It’s going to be legislation which moves in a very profound way to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and sustainable energy,’ he said. He declined to weigh in on whether a select House committee should be formed to prioritize the issue.” [Politico, 12/12/18 (=)]

 

Markey Hosts Bicameral Climate Meeting. According to Politico, “Sen. Ed Markey hosted a bicameral meeting Tuesday with the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition that was attended by six senators and more than a dozen representatives. ‘The discussion was comprehensive, including hitting topics such as green infrastructure, energy efficiency, pushing committee chairs to make a plan for climate as a priority in their offices, putting a price on carbon, and reversing worsening trends on appropriations,’ a Democratic aide told ME.” [Politico, 12/12/18 (=)]

 

Senate Republicans Take Aim At Green New Deal. According to Politico, “The Senate Republican Policy Committee, chaired by Sen. John Barrasso, called the Green New Deal ‘a colossal waste of money that misses the vast majority of the problem’ in a policy paper issued Tuesday.” [Politico, 12/12/18 (=)]

 

Heitkamp Vows To Keep Fighting For Clean Coal. According to E&E News, “Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) said yesterday she plans to continue pushing carbon capture and sequestration technology as a bipartisan solution to climate change after she leaves Congress at the end of the month. ‘We’re going to do everything that we can,’ Heitkamp told E&E News outside the Senate chamber yesterday during an impromptu interview about one of her top priorities during her six-year congressional tenure. ‘This is a space that I’m passionate about,’ she said. ‘I think that it presents a real public policy model for how we can do really complicated things and build broader coalitions.’ Heitkamp, who lost her bid for a second term to Rep. Kevin Cramer (R), said she intends to stay active on energy policy but hasn’t figured out exactly what just yet. Prior to joining the Senate, she spent more than a decade as director of Dakota Gasification Co.’s synfuels plant. ‘I don’t know what it’s going to look like, but I know a lot about energy,’ she said.” [E&E News, 12/12/18 (=)]

 

House of Representatives

 

‘A Slap In The Face’: Senior Democrats Fight Ocasio-Cortez’s Climate Committee. According to Politico, “Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has galvanized liberal activists with her call for a new select committee that would be responsible for drafting ambitious climate legislation to transition the U.S. to 100 percent clean energy within a decade from its enactment, and nearly 30 House Democrats have agreed to support the effort. But Energy and Commerce members have resisted the effort as a potential encroachment of their sweeping jurisdiction over climate change policy. ‘It’s a slap in the face for some of us who have been fighting on this issue for the last eight years,’ Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), incoming chairman of the Energy subcommittee, told POLITICO. ‘It’s going to be confusing at best. Is this a message committee? Why are we wasting the resources to have just a messaging committee? Is this some kind of a way to appease certain newly elected members of Congress? I think that’s wrong-headed.’ Rush said he discussed his opposition to the panel with House Speaker-designee Nancy Pelosi at a Democratic caucus meeting this morning and that Pelosi intended to meet with affected chairmen this afternoon on the issue. He argued his fellow E&C Democrats have ‘fought the good battle with very little help from anyone’ and are ready to swiftly act. Incoming Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) has vocally opposed the formation of the committee, arguing it infringes on the committee’s jurisdiction. He declined to comment to POLITICO after the meeting Tuesday.” [Politico, 12/11/18 (=)]

 

Dems See A Budding Movement, 'Public Enthusiasm' In Sunrise. According to E&E News, “It’s becoming a near-daily refrain on Capitol Hill: The Sunrise Movement has grown its coalition. After the group occupied a trio of Democratic offices Monday, 10 more members endorsed the select committee on a ‘Green New Deal’ proposed by Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), bringing the total to 35. Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, added themselves to the list yesterday, underscoring the proposal’s growing clout on the left flank of the Democratic Party. ‘This is part of a movement,’ Jayapal told reporters. ‘And we should think about it that way and think about it as an opportunity for us to really take up this issue with more strength and more power and more excitement from young people across the country.’ Democrats across Capitol Hill say that’s exactly why the Sunrise Movement and its progressive allies, such as Ocasio-Cortez, have gained traction so quickly. Their importance is not so much their policy prescriptions, or lack thereof, but the kind of grassroots energy they bring to an issue that’s long been dormant in the public consciousness. It’s something that’s been missing from the climate movement since the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill passed the House but foundered in the Senate in 2009, said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), who endorsed Ocasio-Cortez’s proposal this week.” [E&E News, 12/12/18 (=)]

 

Rep. Peter Welch Joins Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez In Addressing Job Creation, Climate Change. According to USA Today, “Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., tweeted his support for a measure to push job creation and environmental sustainability – a plan championed by one of the Democratic Party’s youngest rising stars. The proposal backed by Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has been termed the ‘Green New Deal.’ The name references President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s initiatives during the 1930s to restore jobs to American workers and help the country get back on its feet after the 1929 stock market crash. Ocasio-Cortez focused in on this plan during a Climate Change Town Hall hosted by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. She has been an avid supporter of environmental reform and is moving forward with a plan to tackle the issue. The goals of the plan involve: Moving the nation’s economy toward carbon neutrality. Reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. Promoting ‘economic and environmental justice and equality.’” [USA Today, 12/11/18 (=)]

 

And In The House. According to Politico, “House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi met with incoming Democratic chairmen Tuesday to ease their concerns over the future of a select committee dealing with climate change, Anthony and POLITICO’s John Bresnahan and Heather Caygle report. They agreed to hold another meeting with Pelosi today to discuss it further. ‘She’s going to present her outline and we’ll deal with it,’ Raúl Grijalva said after Tuesday’s meeting. ‘It was a good meeting. It was frank and productive.’” [Politico, 12/12/18 (=)]

 

Energy, Industry, & Finance

 

U.S. Expected To End 2018 As World's Top Oil Producer: EIA. According to Reuters, “U.S. crude oil output growth was expected to slow slightly for this year compared with previous forecasts, the Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday, but at a record 10.88 million barrels per day, the nation will end 2018 as the world’s top producer. Output this year was forecast to rise 1.53 million bpd to 10.88 million bpd, down from the EIA’s previous estimate of an increase of 1.55 million bpd. The current all-time U.S. annual output peak was in 1970 at 9.6 million bpd, according to federal energy data. For 2019, U.S. crude oil production was expected to average 12.06 million bpd, the EIA said, up 1.18 million bpd from the prior year which is a small upward revision from the previous forecast of a 1.16-million bpd rise. A shale revolution has helped the United States produce a record amount of oil this year and topple Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world’s biggest producer. ‘The United States will conclude 2018 as the world’s largest producer of crude oil,’ said EIA Administrator Dr. Linda Capuano. ‘EIA’s December short-term outlook largely attributes the recent decline in Brent crude oil spot prices, which averaged $65 per barrel in November, to record production among the world’s largest crude oil producers and concerns about weaker global oil demand.’” [Reuters, 12/11/18 (=)]

 

Batteries Could Worsen CO2 Emissions — Study. According to E&E News, “Home batteries like the Tesla Powerwall could spike greenhouse gas emissions significantly unless current policies governing the electrical grid change around the country, according to a new study. The findings in the journal Environmental Science & Technology run counter to the conventional wisdom that energy storage is inherently a ‘clean’ technology. That’s not always the case, and batteries on the market today could make it more difficult to address climate change in the short term, according to researchers at University of California, San Diego. ‘While the increase in home batteries deployment is underway, we need to work on multiple fronts to ensure that their adoption is carbon minded,’ the paper states. The study advances earlier research by examining the impact of widespread use of different types of batteries across 16 of the largest U.S. utility service territories. ‘The coverage is vastly larger than any similar study attempted previously,’ said Ryan Hanna, a study co-author and researcher at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy. The reason residential batteries could worsen emissions is that people looking to reduce their electricity costs typically draw power from the grid when it’s cheapest — which, in many locations, means electricity from coal and other fossil fuel sources.” [E&E News, 12/11/18 (=)]

 

Op-Ed: Wind And Solar Clash With Energy Reality. According to an op-ed by Winston Porter in The Hill, “In the name of protecting the environment, some public and political leaders want most of our electrical energy to come from renewables. The reality is that wind and solar combined supply only 17 percent of electricity-generating capacity in the U.S. and even less globally. This has not deterred environmental organizations and some members of Congress from raising public expectations about renewables. A group of Democrats, led by Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), is floating the idea of a ‘Green New Deal’ calling for a transition to 100 percent renewable power. At the same time, 29 states are pressing ahead with renewable portfolio standards requiring utilities to produce designated levels of electricity from renewables. Not only are renewable portfolio standards expensive and a burden on consumers, new research from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows they don’t always work in reducing carbon emissions. This is because there is enormous uncertainty about how quickly renewable systems can be built, what the cost will be and what the consequences will be for the electricity network.” [The Hill, 12/11/18 (-)]

 

Environmental Action

 

Opposition

 

Ocasio-Cortez’s ‘Green New Deal’ Gains Big Backer, But Shows Signs Of Falling Apart. According to The Daily Signal, “The so-called Green New Deal gained a big backer Monday after Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., tossed his support behind the idea to create a committee centered around climate change. McGovern is propping up the idea first proposed by Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, and backed by a slew of enthusiastic young environmentalists. However, starting a new committee designed to brainstorm ways of phasing out fossil fuels is facing major hurdles. ‘We need real change. We need a select committee. We need a #GreenNewDeal. And we need to work together w/ all @HouseDemocrats Committees to make it work!’ McGovern wrote in a tweet Monday. His support also comes as lawmakers consider how the Green New Deal will affect older committees. McGovern, the incoming House Rules Committee chair, also must haggle with the group propelling the deal. Reports show more than 140 young activists were arrested in demonstrations on Capitol Hill, where they targeted the offices of House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. It’s unclear exactly how the select committee for a Green New Deal would function. Some veteran Democrats are criticizing the idea, calling it unnecessary given the existence of other committees designed to take on global warming.” [The Daily Signal, 12/11/18 (-)]

 

Report From United Nations Climate Conference: Heckling The Hecklers. According to Competitive Enterprise Institute, “Katowice, Poland—’Le temps est mauvais,’ an African delegate told a colleague as they wrapped themselves up against the early evening chill. The weather wasn’t as leaden and directionless as inside the twenty-fourth Conference of the Parties (COP-24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The industrial (now post-industrial) city of Katowice is in the middle of Poland’s coal country, and the host nation was doing little to hide the fact. Neither was the United States, at a side event extolling the benefits of fracking and energy innovation—the reasons why America is achieving far and away the largest cuts in carbon dioxide emissions. The American pro-energy side event set off a tedious, pre-arranged demonstration which had all the hallmarks of a Tom Steyer stunt. A similar protest was staged a year ago at COP-23 in Bonn, but the organizers had learned some lessons since then. While last year’s participants had been overwhelmingly white, like a frat boy outing, the speakers were more carefully chosen this time around– a Najavo here, a person of color there, a Mexican-American reading his spontaneous screed off his cellphone. ‘I’m pissed,’ a young protester insisted. He didn’t sound like it. They don’t like nuclear, and they don’t really mind carbon dioxide emissions. If they did, they would be protesting at Germany’s rising emissions as they close down their nukes. ‘Nuclear energy is genocide,’ one of them preposterously shouted. And they took great exception when I said ‘rubbish.’” [Competitive Enterprise Institute, 12/11/18 (-)]

 

COP24 Summit

 

US Accused Of Obstructing Talks At UN Climate Change Summit. According to The Guardian, “The United States and other high carbon dioxide-emitting developed countries are deliberately frustrating the UN climate summit in Katowice, Poland, Vanuatu’s foreign minister has said. His warning came as Pacific and Indian ocean states warned they faced annihilation if a global climate ‘rule book’ could not brokered. In a bruising speech before ministers and heads of state, Vanuatu’s foreign minister, Ralph Regenvanu, singled out the US as he excoriated major CO2-emitting developed countries for deliberately hindering negotiations. ‘It pains me deeply to have watched the people of the United States and other developed countries across the globe suffering the devastating impacts of climate-induced tragedies, while their professional negotiators are here at COP24 putting red lines through any mention of loss and damage in the Paris guidelines and square brackets around any possibility for truthfully and accurately reporting progress against humanity’s most existential threat,’ he said. Regenvanu said the countries most responsible for climate change were now frustrating efforts to counter it.” [The Guardian, 12/11/18 (=)]

 

Low Profile At U.N. Talks For Pro-Paris Americans. According to E&E News, “American political divides are on display as usual at this year’s United Nations climate talks, but the players are less colorful than they were in years past. President Trump’s appointees from the White House, EPA and Department of Energy put on a limited fossil fuels roundtable yesterday and otherwise seemed determined to keep a low profile here in the saucer-shaped Spodek conference center. Likewise, American politicians who support the Paris climate pact — which Trump has rejected — are also subdued. At last year’s Conference of the Parties (COP) in Bonn, Germany — staged just months after Trump announced the U.S. exit from the Paris Agreement — there was a 27,000-square-foot tent with cathedral ceilings and coffee carts bankrolled largely by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. That tent played host to more national Democrats than usually frequent U.N. climate meetings. Headliners included Bloomberg, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D), former Vice President Al Gore, and a bevy of Democratic governors and senators. The message, as Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) put it, was that America ‘is not just the president of the United States.’ This year, the State Department declined as it did last year to sponsor a pavilion, although 40 or so U.S. officials are working in offices upstairs. And this year again, Bloomberg Philanthropies stepped in with the Hewlett Foundation and billionaire activist Tom Steyer’s NextGen America to provide a U.S. Climate Action Center run by ‘We’re Still In,’ a pro-Paris coalition helped by Climate Nexus, the World Wildlife Fund and business group Ceres.” [E&E News, 12/11/18 (=)]

 

"Dearth Of American Leadership" At Global Climate Conference. According to Axios, “Depending on who you ask, the lack of presence of Democratic politicians and leaders at a major climate-change conference here is either expected or ridiculous. Driving the news: This year’s U.S. event space, which wrapped up operations Tuesday, is a fraction of the size and scope compared to last year’s at the same United Nations conference in Bonn, Germany. Show less ‘There is a dearth of American leadership here,’ said Tom Steyer, a billionaire turned liberal activist, in one of the only small conference rooms available in the space. The details: Steyer, who spent more than $120 million supporting Democratic issues and candidates in the midterm elections, said this conference is essential to ensure countries keep on track with the 2015 Paris climate deal, which President Trump vowed to withdraw from last year. Instead, the top headline coming out of the conference so far, Steyer said, is how the Trump administration joined with Russia and Saudi Arabia to resist stronger wording on a climate science report. ‘I don’t think any of those things is going to happen without American leadership,’ Steyer said. He went so far to criticize two of his progressive colleagues, California Gov. Jerry Brown and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, for not attending. They both came last year. Steyer speculated that for them, ‘it just wasn’t a high enough priority.’ Steyer and Inslee have indicated they’re considering presidential runs in 2020.” [Axios, 12/12/18 (=)]

 

Climate Change & Weather

 

Research & Analysis

 

CNN Urges People To Ignore Climate Change Deniers They Regularly Feature On TV. According to Vox, “CNN posted a video on Monday evening urging people not to listen to climate change deniers, and instead pay attention to experts, like the channel’s meteorologists. The video begins with brief clips of four prominent Republicans — President Donald Trump, Rick Santorum, Tom DeLay, and Kimberly Guilfoyle — each casting doubt upon climate change during TV appearances. It then transitions to a debunking of myths frequently pushed by people like them. ‘A lot of these scientists are driven by the money they receive,’ Santorum says. ‘It’s not because of climate change,’ DeLay adds. But there’s an irony to CNN’s video: Two of the four clips CNN is urging people to ignore — the comments from Santorum, who is a paid CNN commentator, and DeLay — are from interviews on CNN. The network has come under fire in recent weeks for giving a platform to climate change deniers instead of scientists. Santorum’s evidence-free comment about climate scientists being motivated by money took place late last month, when the network had him on to discuss the latest National Climate Assessment in an interview that was widely criticized. Days after Santorum made that comment, Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist who co-authored the National Climate Assessment, said in a Twitter thread that an interview she recorded with CNN’s Anderson Cooper never aired. Instead, CNN gave Santorum more airtime.” [Vox, 12/11/18 (+)]

 

Misc. Opinion Pieces

 

Op-Ed: States Can Lead The Way On Climate Change. Let’s Get To Work. According to an op-ed by Larry Hogan and Ralph Northam in The Washington Post, “We are already experiencing the negative impacts of climate change, as the recent National Climate Assessment from 13 federal agencies made painfully clear. The impacts differ by location, but whether it’s stronger storms and rising seas, or hotter heat waves and more intense wildfires, every state is grappling with the effects of a warming climate. This new report from the federal government confirms what we already know: Climate change can hurt public health and cripple our economy. Our most important job as governors is ensuring the safety of our constituents. So when we face a threat to people’s livelihood and way of life, showing leadership means acknowledging the risk and addressing it. Climate change hits Democrats and Republicans alike, and we need to work together, despite our differences, to stop it. This is why a bipartisan group of governors joined to form the U.S. Climate Alliance. After starting with three governors, the alliance has now grown to 17 state leaders who have committed to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris agreement. We are united in our belief that smart, coordinated state action can ensure that the United States continues to contribute to the global effort to address climate change. Together, we are taking action to implement a range of climate policies — such as lowering the cost of renewable energy and promoting the use of electric vehicles.” [The Washington Post, 12/12/18 (+)]

 

 

 

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