January 2015 Climate Change Summary Report

“The climate debate is brutal and dysfunctional, but there’s still a way out”

January 30, 2015: An op-ed in The Washington Post states: “As we watch the new GOP-controlled Congress clash over the Keystone XL pipeline, it’s rather depressing to realize that this is just the beginning of the pitched, drag-out battles to come over climate change in the next two years. Yet, while watching the blow-by-blow, there’s been far too little stepping back and realizing how we got here. That’s the wrong approach in light of the following two facts: First, even proponents of strong climate action wouldn’t call EPA’s approach their first choice; and second, we also know enough about the psychology of politics to recognize that EPA’s approach — not that the agency can help it, of course — is guaranteed to produce a highly polarized partisan response.”

“House panel agrees to prioritize climate change”

January 29, 2015: The Hill reports: “The Republican-led House Natural Resources Committee agreed to put climate change on its agenda over the next two years. The panel, led by Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), voted unanimously Wednesday to include climate change and its impacts on natural resources as a subject in its oversight plan. Thanks to an amendment sponsored by ranking member Rep. Raul Grijalva (R-Ariz.), the committee said it will ‘conduct oversight of global climate change and impacts on federal lands and resources and the strategies for using federal lands, oceans and other resources to mitigate harmful effects.’ In introducing the amendment, Grijalva said that many members of the panel, not just Democrats, are concerned with climate change and ‘the committee’s ability to deal with that issue in a way that provides real information and begins to look at possible solutions for public lands, oceans and other resources that fall under the jurisdiction of this committee.’”

“Court battle set for Obama climate rule”

January 29, 2015: The Hill reports: “A federal appeals court has agreed to hear arguments in a pair of cases challenging the Obama administration’s climate rule proposal for power plants. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said Tuesday that it will hear oral arguments from the various sides in the cases on the morning of April 16. Twelve states, led by West Virginia, along with coal mining company Murray Energy Corp., filed separate lawsuits last year asking the court to overturn the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule to cut carbon pollution from power plants by 30 percent by 2030. In briefs for both cases, the appellants say that the planned regulation is illegal because other pollutants from power plants are already regulated and the Clean Air Act prohibits ‘double regulation’ of pollution sources.”

“New Report Urges Western Governments to Reconsider Reliance on Biofuels”

January 29, 2015: The New York Times reports: “Western governments have made a wrong turn in energy policy by supporting the large-scale conversion of plants into fuel and should reconsider that strategy, according to a new report from a prominent environmental think tank. Turning plant matter into liquid fuel or electricity is so inefficient that the approach is unlikely ever to supply a substantial fraction of global energy demand, the report found. It added that continuing to pursue this strategy — which has already led to billions of dollars of investment — is likely to use up vast tracts of fertile land that could be devoted to helping feed the world’s growing population.”

“Natural Gas’ Green Friends Are Gone”

January 27, 2015: The Morning Consult reports: “Four years ago, the Sierra Club launched the “Beyond Coal” campaign. It called for, among other things, replacing coal power plants with natural gas facilities that emit less carbon. That backing was seen by some environmentalists as a betrayal and a tacit approval of the American fracking boom. But in November, the Sierra Club’s Board of Directors voted to change that position, adopting a policy that opposes fracking. Their position is not simply an effort to regulate the industry, as the Obama administration did last week in proposed regulations on the natural gas drillers. It intends to get rid of fracking entirely.”

“Close vote in Senate previews GOP attacks on Obama’s global climate strategy”

January 23, 2015: ClimateWire reports: “The Obama administration yesterday narrowly survived the first major attack on its efforts to forge a new global climate change agreement. By a vote of 51-46, the Senate rejected a measure by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) that would have insisted upon Senate approval of any new international global warming accord and barred any deal that imposed ‘disparate’ carbon commitments for the United States and other countries. It also would have declared invalid an agreement Obama crafted with Chinese President Xi Jinping last year, calling it a ‘bad deal’ for America. ‘We’re the only party that has a commitment made in the agreement with China. The Chinese agree to increase emissions,’ Blunt said in arguing for the amendment.”

“Romney says climate change is real”

January 23, 2015: The Hill reports: “Stoking the fires for a possible third presidential run, Mitt Romney split with the majority of Republicans and said he believes humans contribute to climate change. ‘I’m one of those Republicans who thinks we are getting warmer and that we contribute to that,’ Romney said of climate change, during a speech in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. Romney argued ‘real leadership’ is needed to deal with carbon pollution from coal plants, the Deseret News reported. Romney’s made the statement a day after the Republican-controlled Senate voted 98-1 that ‘climate change is real and not a hoax.’”

“Sen. Inhofe takes charge of Environment Committee”

January 22, 2015: The Hill reports: “Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), the Senate’s most vocal climate change skeptic, took the gavel of the Environment and Public Works Committee Wednesday, eight years after he gave it up. The assignment makes him the top senator in charge of two of his passions: fighting attempts to curb climate change and building transportation infrastructure. ‘We’re going to be very busy on this committee,’ Inhofe said at the panel’s first meeting of the 114th Congress, shortly after taking the gavel from Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), now the ranking member. Inhofe, who has declared climate change to be the greatest hoax played on mankind, came to the hearing wearing a polar bear tie, referencing assertions from scientists and environmentalists that unchecked climate change could decimate the polar bear’s habitats.”

“Senate votes 98-1 that climate change is real but rejects bids to assign blame”

January 22, 2015: E&E News reports: “The Senate late this afternoon rejected two amendments — one from a Democrat and the other from a Republican — aimed at getting lawmakers on the record saying that humans are contributing to global warming. Before shooting down those two amendments, the senators approved, 98-1, an amendment from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) saying climate change is real and not a hoax. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) cast the lone no vote. Environment and Public Works Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) — the Senate’s leading naysayer on climate issues — surprised the chamber and elicited applause when he offered himself as a co-sponsor of the Whitehouse amendment.”

“Climate Reporting’s Hot Mess”

January 21, 2015: A column in The Wall Street Journal by Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. states: “News reporting of the latest climate alarm was not uniformly bad. Among hundreds of publications in the Factiva database, exactly one—the Mail on Sunday, one of those derided London tabloids—injected the phrase ‘statistically significant’ into consideration of whether 2014 was in any meaningful sense the ‘hottest year on record.’ A nonjournalistic source and not exactly an outfit of climate-change deniers, Berkeley Earth, also noted that, when it comes to 2014 and the other ‘hottest year’ candidates, 2005 and 2010, the observed temperature difference was smaller than the margin of error by a factor of five, adding: ‘Therefore it is impossible to conclude from our analysis which of 2014, 2010, or 2005 was actually the warmest year.’”

“Obama, GOP set battle lines over climate and Keystone”

January 21, 2015: Energy Guardian reports: “President Barack Obama and Republicans on Tuesday previewed battles ahead over the Keystone XL pipeline and his climate regulatory agenda, but with gas prices low and the economy growing, both avoided new energy policy pitches to the American public. In his State of the Union address, Obama vowed to resist Republican attempts to halt his climate action plan, including first-ever planned regulation of carbon from coal-fired power plants. And Obama chided Republicans for pursuing legislation to approve the $8 billion Keystone oil sands crude line from Canada, and called on them to instead pass his four-year, $302 billion highways bill proposal.”

“GOP looks to take a position on climate change, but how?”

January 20, 2015: The Washington Examiner reports: “Republicans are trying to find solutions of their own to climate change instead of just attacking President Obama’s environmental policies, but the party hasn’t been able to agree on specific plans or policies. Now in control of Congress, some Republicans are beginning to think that simply throwing bombs at the Environmental Protection Agency and Obama’s regulations won’t work any longer, staffers on Capitol Hill say. Instead, they believe they must develop their own ideas on how to combat climate change, especially to help moderate GOP senators up for re-election in 2016. Nine Senate Republicans are on the ballot in states Obama carried at least once, and House districts that were safe in midterm races likely will be tighter in the general election.”

“Senate to vote on whether climate change is happening”

January 14, 2015: The Hill reports: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday he will allow the Senate to vote on an amendment asking if they agree that climate change is impacting the planet. At his weekly press briefing, McConnell said “nobody is blocking any amendments” to legislation that would approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.  The GOP leader had promised to allow an open amendment process on the Keystone bill.  But a measure proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) had raised questions about whether he would stick to that commitment. The Sanders measure asks whether lawmakers agree with the overwhelming consensus of scientists who say climate change is impacting the planet and is worsened by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.”

“Approve Keystone and Move On”

January 13, 2015: An editorial in Bloomberg states: “At this point, Keystone XL has more value as a political issue than as a pipeline. That’s why President Barack Obama should just approve it already and put this absurdly politicized issue to rest. True, the president has said he will veto the current congressional effort to force approval of the pipeline, but his objections seem more bureaucratic than substantive. And last week, the highest court in Nebraska, through which Keystone will run, quietly opened the door to allow him to approve the project through the proper channels. To reiterate: The pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to the U.S. Gulf Coast is neither a threat to Earth’s climate (as its opponents claim) nor a boon to employment (as its proponents argue).”

“Republican voters split on climate change opinions”

January 13, 2015: The Hill reports: “Republican voters are split on many issues surrounding climate change, and more than half want carbon dioxide regulated as a pollutant. The finding came from an analysis the Yale University Project on Climate Change Communications released Monday, based on three years of surveys. The analysis found that 56 percent of Republicans support regulating carbon as a pollutant, compared with 70 percent of all registered voters. Most subsets of Republicans also have majorities who support carbon regulation, including 71 percent of liberal Republicans, 74 percent of moderates and 54 percent of conservatives. Only 36 percent of Tea Party Republicans support carbon regulation as a pollutant, Yale said.”

“The Myth of the Carbon Investment ‘Bubble’”

January 12, 2015: An op-ed in The Wall Street Journal by Nancy Meyer associate director of the energy climate strategy dialogue and Lysle Brinker, director of oil company equity research at IHS, a research and consulting firm, states: “Is there a new economic bubble—a ‘carbon bubble’—forming around oil, natural gas and coal investments? Proponents of the theory assert that the prices of fossil-fuel company stocks are substantially overvalued because their inventory of fossil-fuel resources cannot be brought to the surface and consumed if the world is to keep global emissions below certain carbon-dioxide thresholds. The argument, advanced by such groups as 350.org, Carbon Tracker Initiative and Go Fossil Free, assumes that more-stringent climate policies will render many fossil-fuel reserves ‘unburnable.’”

“In Low Gasoline Prices, an Opening Emerges for Higher Taxes”

January 9, 2015: The Wall Street Journal reports: “The sharp drop in gasoline prices over the past few months is providing a rare political opening for state and federal officials who want to raise gasoline taxes to repair highways and boost construction jobs. In Iowa, Republican Gov. Terry Branstad is gauging lawmakers’ support for the first state gas-tax increase since 1989, among other options to raise transportation funds. In Michigan, the GOP-controlled legislature approved a plan last month for a ballot initiative to boost the gas tax for road repairs. In Utah, Republican leaders in the state House signaled this week they are moving to raise the gas tax to cover a transportation-funding shortfall.”

“Nebraska Supreme Court approves Keystone pipeline route”

January 9, 2015: KETV (Omaha, NE) reports: “The Nebraska Supreme Court cleared the way Friday to run the Keystone XL oil pipeline through Nebraska. The court overturned a Lancaster County District Court ruling, even though a majority of the justices felt the law that allowed the governor to determine the route of the pipeline was unconstitutional. Four members of the seven-member court concluded the Lancaster County District Court ruling was correct when it sided with landowners who challenged LB 1161 — the law which allowed the governor to sign off on a path for a pipeline.”

“New Oregon Rules Require 10 Percent Cleaner Fuels”

January 8, 2015: Oregon Public Broadcasting reports: “The Oregon Environmental Quality Commission voted 4-1 Wednesday to pass new rules that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuels by 10 percent over a decade. The rules require companies that import fuel into Oregon to reduce the carbon intensity of their fuel mix. That will mean substituting alternative fuels such as biofuel, natural gas, propane or electricity for gasoline and diesel. The rules create a program similar to the low-carbon fuel standards already in place in California and British Columbia. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has directed his state Department of Ecology to implement its own version.”

“Taking charge, GOP to seek balance on energy, enviro front”

January 7, 2015: E&E News reports: “Republicans face a delicate balancing act this year: Convince the moderate voters who typically decide presidential elections that the GOP can govern responsibly while still delivering enough red meat to prevent conservative activists from mounting primary campaigns aimed at unseating congressional incumbents. Capitol Hill debates on energy and environmental policy could offer an early indication of how GOP leaders will navigate that tightrope. The approach will be twofold: Demonstrate bipartisan appeal with bills to expand energy production and address infrastructure needs across all sectors, traditional and renewable, while continuing to do battle at every turn with President Obama’s environmental agenda that conservatives see as an assault on the economy.”

“Oil’s swoon creates the opening for a carbon tax”

January 6, 2015: An op-ed in The Washington Post by Lawrence Summers, professor at and past president of Harvard University, treasury secretary from 1999 to 2001, and economic adviser to President Obama from 2009 through 2010, states: “The case for carbon taxes has long been compelling. With the recent steep fall in oil prices and associated declines in other energy prices, it has become overwhelming. There is room for debate about the size of the tax and about how the proceeds should be deployed. But there should be no doubt that, given the current zero tax rate on carbon, increased taxation would be desirable. The core of the case for taxation is the recognition that those who use carbon-based fuels or products do not bear all the costs of their actions.”

“California governor toughens climate-change goals”

January 6, 2015: Associated Press reports: “As he was sworn in for a record fourth term, Gov. Jerry Brown charted an ambitious new goal on Monday for California in its fight against climate change, challenging the nation’s most populous state to increase renewable energy use to 50 percent in the next 15 years. Brown, a Democrat, specifically called for the state to increase renewable electricity sources, reduce petroleum use in vehicles, double the energy efficiency of existing buildings and make heating fuels cleaner by 2030. California already is known as a leader in far-reaching environmental laws, but Brown said existing efforts were not enough.”

“Expect nonstop energy drama in 2015”

January 5, 2015: Politico reports: “President Barack Obama’s administration will spend 2015 taking on energy controversies from fracking to smog, from interstate air pollution to coal-burning power plants — and in December, his negotiators will head to Paris to try to reach a global agreement on climate change. In between all that, he just might make a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline. It should all add up to one of the most ambitious years in energy and climate policy in decades, from a president who is free to act with no more elections to face, no further concern over protecting the Senate’s moderate Democrats, and not much chance of compromise on these issues with the GOP-held Congress. But Republicans, with the Senate under their control, vow to wield their spending and investigative powers to ensure none of this goes down easily. The collision between a strengthened GOP and a president with just two years to cement his legacy will be one of 2015’s biggest policy dramas, while setting markers that will have repercussions for the 2016 presidential campaign.”

“Oil’s swoon creates the opening for a carbon tax”

January 6, 2015: An op-ed in The Washington Post by Lawrence Summers, professor at and past president of Harvard University, treasury secretary from 1999 to 2001, and economic adviser to President Obama from 2009 through 2010, states: “The case for carbon taxes has long been compelling. With the recent steep fall in oil prices and associated declines in other energy prices, it has become overwhelming. There is room for debate about the size of the tax and about how the proceeds should be deployed. But there should be no doubt that, given the current zero tax rate on carbon, increased taxation would be desirable. The core of the case for taxation is the recognition that those who use carbon-based fuels or products do not bear all the costs of their actions.”

“California governor toughens climate-change goals”

January 6, 2015: Associated Press reports: “As he was sworn in for a record fourth term, Gov. Jerry Brown charted an ambitious new goal on Monday for California in its fight against climate change, challenging the nation’s most populous state to increase renewable energy use to 50 percent in the next 15 years. Brown, a Democrat, specifically called for the state to increase renewable electricity sources, reduce petroleum use in vehicles, double the energy efficiency of existing buildings and make heating fuels cleaner by 2030. California already is known as a leader in far-reaching environmental laws, but Brown said existing efforts were not enough.”

“EPA Launches New Rule To Rescind GHG Permits, Vows Enforcement Relief”

January 6, 2015: Inside EPA reports: “EPA plans to finalize by the end of the year a new rule for rescinding Clean Air Act permits for sources that triggered the requirements due solely to their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a step the Supreme Court held to be unlawful, while also vowing to limit enforcement against entities that are currently subject to such permits. EPA acting air chief Janet McCabe and enforcement chief Cynthia Giles quietly detailed the agency’s plans in separate Dec. 19 memos, with McCabe outlining plans to revise existing prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) implementing regulations to provide regulators with authority to rescind GHG-only permits and Giles providing a “no action assurance” that the agency will not enforce the GHG provisions of permits as it proceeds with the rule.”