Colleagues - I hope the New Year is treating you well; it is certainly a new day here in Washington!

The E3G Washington team, which I recently joined as a senior associate, is curating news and intelligence aimed at keeping transatlantic stakeholders up to speed as the Biden-Harris administration takes office and moves quickly to implement its priorities on climate change, clean energy, and other issues, and as the US constructively re-engages with the EU and the UK on climate and energy policy, after four long years of division.

Below is the inaugural issue of the 'Transatlantic Climate Diplomacy Digest' (TCD2), organized around the crucial climate outcomes we think the US, Europe and UK should work toward in 2021: building back better, a push for Paris ambition, clean energy transition, climate finance, and trade policy for a net-zero future. There is also information on the incredible team the Biden-Harris administration is putting in place at the White House and across the federal agencies, and a few select pieces on broader geopolitical dynamics affecting the transatlantic relationship.

Email Dani at daniela.schulman@e3g.org<mailto:daniela.schulman@e3g.org> if you want to sign up for future issues of the TCD2, or to send her information on relevant developments that we should consider for inclusion in the Digest.

Best, Alden

Alden Meyer
Principal, Performance Partners
Senior Associate, E3G - Third Generation Environmentalism
15 Montgomery Avenue
Takoma Park, MD 20912

(301) 270-0558<tel:(301)%20270-0558> (office)
(202) 378-8619<tel:(202)%20378-8619> (cell)
Alden@ppartners.com<mailto:Alden@ppartners.com>
Twitter: @aldenmeyer
Skype: alden.meyer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alden-meyer-91a64b5/

From: Daniela Schulman <daniela.schulman@e3g.org>
Sent: Friday, January 22, 2021 9:41 AM
Subject: E3G Transatlantic Climate Diplomacy Digest (TCD2) - 1.22.2021

Transatlantic Climate Diplomacy Digest (TCD2) 1.22.2021
Good morning,

In this week's edition, PRESIDENT Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement and announced a long list of executive orders<https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-protecting-public-health-and-environment-and-restoring-science-to-tackle-climate-crisis/> to tackle the climate crisis, including revoking the Keystone XL Pipeline permit. Wednesday, January 27 will be the next day to look out for White House omnibus climate action. US climate envoy John Kerry spoke to the Italian B20<https://www.state.gov/remarks-at-the-keynote-session-of-b20-2021-inception-meeting/> on Thursday morning and thanked Europeans for keeping up the fight.

TCD2 is a compilation of news and intelligence aimed at keeping transatlantic stakeholders up to speed as the Biden-Harris administration takes its place and sets its priorities. It is a snapshot organized around the crucial climate outcomes we think the US, with the EU and the UK, should work toward in 2021: building back better, a push for Paris ambition, clean energy transition, climate finance, and trade policy for a net-zero future.

Building back better with a global green recovery

  *   The White House has a list of Day One executive orders from Biden protecting health and environment (White House<https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-protecting-public-health-and-environment-and-restoring-science-to-tackle-climate-crisis/>). Executive orders include: listening to science; reducing methane emissions from oil and gas; establishing ambitious fuel economy standards; restoring national monuments and placing a moratorium on Arctic drilling; establishing an accurate social cost of carbon; and revoking the Keystone XL permit-a statement decision that received mixed reactions (WSJ<https://www.wsj.com/articles/bidens-keystone-pipeline-kill-11611184519?utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_content=20210121&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20Daily>). Biden is meeting with Trudeau on Friday in the wake of Keystone XL cancelation (Globe & Mail<https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-biden-to-hold-first-foreign-leader-call-of-his-presidency-with-trudeau/>).
  *   Expect an omnibus of executive action on climate next Wednesday, January 27. According to inside intelligence, the date of Biden's US Climate Leader's Summit will also be announced then (and it may be Earth Day, April 22nd).
  *   Trump worked to scale back or abolish more than 200 environmental protections in four years. Biden can overturn some with a stroke of a pen, while others will take years to undo and some may never be reversed. Track Biden's environmental action here (Washington Post)<https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2021/climate-environment/biden-climate-environment-actions/?wpmk=1&wpisrc=al_news__alert-politics--alert-national&utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wp_news_alert_revere&location=alert&pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJjb29raWVuYW1lIjoid3BfY3J0aWQiLCJpc3MiOiJDYXJ0YSIsImNvb2tpZXZhbHVlIjoiNWY5YjU4YzRhZTdlOGE0OGZkNGM1OWEyIiwidGFnIjoid3BfbmV3c19hbGVydF9yZXZlcmUiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy53YXNoaW5ndG9ucG9zdC5jb20vZ3JhcGhpY3MvMjAyMS9jbGltYXRlLWVudmlyb25tZW50L2JpZGVuLWNsaW1hdGUtZW52aXJvbm1lbnQtYWN0aW9ucy8_d3Btaz0xJndwaXNyYz1hbF9uZXdzX19hbGVydC1wb2xpdGljcy0tYWxlcnQtbmF0aW9uYWwmdXRtX3NvdXJjZT1hbGVydCZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj13cF9uZXdzX2FsZXJ0X3JldmVyZSZsb2NhdGlvbj1hbGVydCJ9.NKdJaS7yHVPZNUnN_7hRQgUhPk1d_sB0fa1wqHvT-j0>.
  *   Optimism abounds among European leaders about President Biden, but will he be too busy at home solving domestic crises? (New York Times<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/18/world/europe/biden-europe-bruno-le-maire.html>) Some think Biden will be behind from the start (POLITICO<https://www.politico.com/newsletters/transition-playbook/2021/01/15/bidens-agenda-will-be-behind-from-the-start-491436>), and the second phase of Biden's recovery plan with climate and energy legislation will be announced in a February joint session of Congress (New York Times<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/14/business/economy/biden-stimulus-plan.html>).
  *   The Smart Prosperity Institute looks at what the Biden-Harris administration means for global climate action (Smart Prosperity Institute<https://institute.smartprosperity.ca/BidenClimateAction>).
  *   IFC has attempted to quantify what green investment looks like for emerging economies, and says green recovery could drive $2.5tn renewables market this decade (PV Magazine<https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/01/19/ifc-says-green-recovery-could-drive-2-5tn-renewables-market-this-decade/>).
  *   The Green Economy Tracker is a new and unique tool to benchmark how nations are transitioning to fairer, greener economies (Green Economy Coalition<https://greeneconomytracker.org/?utm_source=Green+Economy+Coalition+List&utm_campaign=4bd1c4eff0-GEC+August+2018+Newsletter_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a4fd019b2c-4bd1c4eff0-146385921>).
Raising collective climate ambition for a successful COP26

  *   The UNSG has confirmed receipt of the US acceptance of the Paris Agreement, and the US will be a Party once again on 19 February 2021 (UNSG<https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/CN/2021/CN.10.2021-Eng.pdf>). Coral Davenport and Lisa Friedman cover this and other Biden-Harris Day One climate actions (New York Times<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/climate/biden-paris-climate-agreement.html>), and E3G's Alden Meyer weighed in on the creation of a new 2030 NDC: 'The Biden team should take the time to do this right. Conducting robust stakeholder consultations is important because the Biden administration should gather all of the advice they can, so that when they put something forward it has wide political support. The world is tired of the US roller coaster. They want to be sure that whatever the US puts forward has some real backing.' (CNN<https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/20/politics/paris-climate-biden/index.html>)
  *   John Kerry spoke at the Italian B20 conference Thursday, his first official appearance as Climate Envoy. Kerry called Trump's withdrawal from Paris 'reckless' and said the US would move forward with 'humility and ambition.' He also said we need to be moving away from coal-fired power five times faster than we are now, and criticized continuing investments in new coal & gas capacity (B20 2021<https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDAsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMTAxMjEuMzM2OTg1NDEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5zdGF0ZS5nb3YvcmVtYXJrcy1hdC10aGUta2V5bm90ZS1zZXNzaW9uLW9mLWIyMC0yMDIxLWluY2VwdGlvbi1tZWV0aW5nLyJ9.jCrPPANN2eyqyseDVoHeGcL2laYorOto_4ebH9B8wL4/s/62642200/br/93421017399-l>).
  *   That's the vision Kerry has so far shared with the world. Now, what does the world want from Kerry? (POLITICO<https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/20/john-kerry-climate-460477?nname=global-translations&nid=0000016f-153f-d06a-a5ff-f57f38310000&nrid=0000014c-2415-d9dd-a5ec-34bd5e000000&nlid=2660405>) He will meet with progressive EU foreign ministers on Friday, convened by Denmark.
  *   IRENA approved the establishment of a Global High-Level Forum on Energy Transition. It will focus on three overarching themes for 2021 such as building recovery efforts on energy transition, increasing renewables in health and food as well as driving net-zero strategies in line with the Paris Agreement (IRENA<https://mailchi.mp/1c69f53e061c/press-releaseirena-members-endorse-launch-of-global-high-level-forum-on-energy-transition?e=6bac55be40>).
Accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy

  *   Who will be in charge of implementing Biden's $2tn climate plan at home? Among others, the Department of Energy (DOE) just announced leadership. See a full list of senior staff here (DOE<https://www.energy.gov/articles/department-energy-announces-new-senior-leaders>)
  *   Sect. of Energy Jennifer Granholm is quoted on jobs: 'Why aren't we building the solar panels in addition to installing them? Why aren't we building the windmills in addition to putting them up? .... I'm just saying, there are huge numbers of jobs in this clean energy economy.' (POLITICO<https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-energy/2021/01/21/biden-moves-quickly-on-keystone-climate-792880>)
  *   Biden named Richard Glick as the next Chair of the FERC. As the top federal energy regulator, he will be at the forefront of implementing the administration's goal of decarbonizing the electric sector in the next 15 years (E&E News<https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2021/01/22/stories/1063723251>).
  *   A question for Europe is what stance the Biden-Harris administration will take to the nearly complete Nord Stream 2 pipeline bringing Russian gas to Germany. E3G's Jennifer Tollmann weighs in (Energy Monitor<https://energymonitor.ai/joe-biden/biden-faces-climate-dilemma-over-lng-exports-to-europe>).
  *   IEA data confirms methane emissions fell last year as oil and gas production declined, but they were still equivalent to the European Union's total CO2 emissions (Bloomberg<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-18/global-methane-emissions-equaled-europe-s-carbon-footprint-in-2020?sref=Oz9Q3OZU&srnd=premium&utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_content=20210118&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20Daily>). Last week, the IEA announced the publication in May of a new net-zero by 2050 scenario for the energy sector, intended to be aligned to 1.5 degrees of warming (IEA<https://www.iea.org/news/iea-to-produce-world-s-first-comprehensive-roadmap-to-net-zero-emissions-by-2050>).
  *   A new poll from the industrial heart of the Midwest shows 83% support for modernizing and retooling American manufacturing in an environmentally friendly way (BlueGreen Alliance<https://www.bluegreenalliance.org/the-latest/polling-shows-broad-support-in-midwest-for-biden-administration-congress-to-retool-and-rebuild-american-manufacturing/>).
Aligning financial flows for a net-zero economy

  *   Biden's Day One actions include setting a new social cost of carbon. A new academic report outlines a two-step process to return the United States government's Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) to the frontier of economics and climate science (U Chicago<https://epic.uchicago.edu/research/updating-the-united-states-governments-social-cost-of-carbon/>).
  *   In a change of climate stance, the Chamber of Commerce says it is open to carbon pricing. The group now "supports a market-based approach to accelerate greenhouse gas emissions reductions across the U.S. economy." (Washington Examiner<https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/us-chamber-carbon-pricing-climate-change?__twitter_impression=true&_amp=true&utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_content=20210120&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20Daily>)
  *   Gary Gensler is the next head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), known for his tough line on Wall Street in the Obama-Biden administration. The SEC is the body that is expected under Biden to push ESG and climate risk disclosure (Financial Times<https://www.ft.com/content/a1ddd082-a253-4148-975a-1ec85b5e94d0>)
  *   Sect. of the Treasury Janet Yellen promised in her hearing before the Senate Finance Committee to start a dedicated climate 'hub' in the Treasury, led by a 'very senior-level' official (POLITICO<https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/19/yellen-treasury-department-climate-change-460408>). She named climate change an 'existential threat' and in response to a question from Sen. Whitehouse said, 'We should take these risks very, very seriously.'
  *   In the US, fund managers land at the bottom of the pile as investors score low on climate goals (PA<https://www.itv.com/news/2021-01-13/us-fund-managers-at-bottom-of-the-pile-as-investors-score-low-on-climate-goals>), but according to Sarah Bloom Raskin US climate finance may be approaching a leapfrog moment (Financial Times<https://www.ft.com/content/ffa4f748-9f4e-406e-9cd1-8200cc40047f>).
  *   2020 saw a 9% overall increase in low-carbon investments as global energy transition spending hits $500 billion. Growth was uneven, with a rise in Europe and a drop in the US (Bloomberg<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-19/spending-on-global-energy-transition-hits-record-500-billion?sref=Oz9Q3OZU&utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_content=20210120&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20Daily>)
  *   How much does the US vote count in the MDBs? Check out this table (New Climate Institute<https://newclimate.org/>):
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Aligning trade policy for a net-zero economy

  *   Next week Monday, January 25 Biden will be signing a Buy America executive order to that 'Directs agencies to strengthen requirements for procuring goods and services from sources that will support U.S. businesses and workers.'
  *   Some in the EU see carbon border adjustment mechanisms, or CBAM, as a 'matter of survival' for industry. The European Commission is expected to issue proposals in June. We will be tracking policy signals from Biden and Congress on their reaction to a European CBAM, the likes of which would be tough to implement in the US without a nation-wide carbon price (Reuters<https://news.trust.org/item/20210118181340-kat4j>).
  *   The EU is looking past Trump to defuse transatlantic trade conflict, looking at priority areas of cooperation such as the Paris Agreement and the Iran nuclear accord (Bloomberg<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-11/eu-looks-past-trump-to-defuse-transatlantic-trade-conflict>). Biden plans to focus on international development funding to encourage climate-friendly action, trade agreements and tariffs (The Conversation<https://www.ecowatch.com/joe-biden-climate-change-plan-2649908342.html?rebelltitem=6#rebelltitem6>).
  *   Europe awaits Biden's reset on climate, China and trade (Financial Review<https://www.afr.com/world/europe/britain-europe-await-biden-s-reset-on-climate-china-and-trade-20210119-p56vel>).
Personnel Updates:

  *   Executive Office of the President
     *   Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ): Brenda Mallory, Chair; Dr. Cecilia Martinez, Senior Director for Environmental Justice
     *   Domestic Policy Council: Ambassador Susan Rice, Director; Stefanie Feldman, Deputy Assistant to the President and Sr. Advisor to the Director of Domestic Policy Council (she helped craft the Biden campaign climate plan, Energy Monitor<https://energymonitor.ai/policy/green-deals/meet-joe-bidens-climate-and-energy-team>)
     *   Office of Domestic Climate Policy:
     *   National Economic Council (NEC): Brian Deese, Director; Bharat Ramamurti, Deputy Director (former top economic advisor for Elizabeth Warren)
     *   National Security Council (NSC): Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor; Melanie Nakagawa, Sr. Director for Climate & Energy; Dr. Amanda Sloat, Sr. Director for Europe
     *   Office of Management and Budget (OMB): Neera Tanden, formerly President and CEO of CAP, will be essential for domestic climate action. Her office was directed on Day One to improve regulatory review (White House<https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/modernizing-regulatory-review/>), much needed for an ambitious US 2030 NDC
     *   Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP): Council of Economic Advisors (CEA): Cecilia Rouse, Chair; Heather Boushey and Jared Bernstein, Members
     *   (**New**) Office of Domestic Climate Policy: Gina McCarthy, National Climate Advisor; Sonia Aggarwal, Senior Advisor for Climate Policy and Innovation; David Hayes, Special Assistant to the President for Climate Policy; Jahi Wise, Senior Advisor for Climate Policy and Finance; Maggie Smith, Chief of Staff (Axios<https://www.axios.com/biden-white-house-climate-picks-5af62efc-41be-4d9b-8695-ee25221c3859.html>)
  *   Department of Commerce: Gina Raimondo, Secretary; Don Graves, Deputy Secretary
  *   Department of Energy: Jennifer Granholm, Secretary; See a full list of senior staff here (DOE<https://www.energy.gov/articles/department-energy-announces-new-senior-leaders>)
  *   Department of the Interior: announced 20 members of its leadership team this week (Interior<https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-announces-members-biden-harris-leadership-team>)
  *   Department of State: John Kerry, Special Climate Envoy; Sue Biniaz, Rick Duke, Leonardo Martinez-Diaz, and Jonathan Pershing as senior Kerry staffers (New York Times<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/climate/biden-climate-change.html?utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_content=20210120&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20Daily>). Expect more Kerry taps from Commerce and USTR, infusing climate across US agencies
  *   Department of the Treasury: Senior staff appointments for are here (Treasury<https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/0001>)
  *   Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Michael Regan, Administrator; Janet McCabe, Deputy EPA Administrator; Dan Utech, Chief of Staff; See a full list of leadership here (EPA<https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-welcomes-members-biden-harris-leadership-team>)
  *   USAID: Samantha Power, Administrator
  *   USTR: Katherine Tai, United States Trade Representative
  *   Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC): Richard Glick, Chair
Transatlantic relationship and geopolitical dynamics

  *   The Council on Foreign Relations reviews Biden's prospects for reviving Trans-Atlantic relations in light of new transnational threats, geopolitical rivalries and domestic realities (CFR<https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/29342/what-are-biden-s-actual-prospects-for-reviving-trans-atlantic-relations>)
  *   Before he was named National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan helped author this report form Carnegie, titled 'Making US Foreign Policy Work Better for the Middle Class' (Carnegie<https://carnegieendowment.org/2020/09/23/making-u.s.-foreign-policy-work-better-for-middle-class-pub-82728>)
  *   This podcast from ECFR discusses the role of the EU and US in supporting liberal internationalism and shaping the world order to address the problems of modernity and build a world safe for democracy (ECFR<https://crm.ecfr.eu/civicrm/mailing/url?u=158099&qid=8925735>)
Today's digest was curated and edited by Daniela Schulman at E3G Washington. Please feel free to reply to this email with additional updates and articles of interest that may be added to the digest.

You received this message because we have an existing working relationship with you and hope this digest may be helpful. If you would like to unsubscribe from TCD2, or if you would like to add anyone to our distribution list, please email daniela.schulman@e3g.org<mailto:daniela.schulman@e3g.org>. TCD2 is sent on Friday mornings (EST).

Daniela Schulman

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