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Quick Fix
— Democrats are expressing optimism about passing a reconciliation bill this month, with members in the House eyeing a vote on it and the bipartisan infrastructure bill by the end of the week.
— Leaders of the world's largest economies will often apologize for their countries' contributions to the greenhouse gas emissions threatening the globe, but still have to be repeatedly shamed into action during international climate talks.
— EPA unveiled its aggressive new methane rules, garnering tentative support from parts of the fossil fuel industry that have opposed Democrats' methane fee.
HAPPY WEDNESDAY! I’m your host, Matthew Choi. Congrats to NAM’s Rachel Jones for knowing Bute House is the official residence of Scotland’s first minister. For today’s trivia: What is the name of the movie theater where Josh works in “Drake and Josh”? Send your tips and trivia answers to [email protected]. Find me on Twitter @matthewchoi2018.
Check out the POLITICO Energy podcast — all the energy and environmental politics and policy news you need to start your day, in just five minutes. Listen and subscribe for free at politico.com/energy-podcast. On today's episode: EPA tackles methane emissions.
Driving the Day
THE TANDEM BIKE MOVES FORWARD: House Democrats across the ideological spectrum appear to be coalescing around plans to vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the reconciliation package this week. Progressives had previously delayed votes on the bipartisan bill, insisting that the Senate first act on the reconciliation package.
But even with key parts of the climate and social spending bill still under negotiation, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal told reporters that her members were prepared to take the bills to the Rules Committee on Wednesday "and then hopefully vote right after that."
The difference now: Her members have draft text of the reconciliation measure in hand, and what they feel is a solid commitment from Biden to carry it across the finish line.
“We will accept the President's word that he is going to get 51 votes in the Senate and that's what we're going to get," Jayapal told reporters.
Moderate Democrats also signaled hope over advancing the bill this week, with Rep. Josh Gottheimer saying he was “cautiously optimistic” about the timeline. Still, Gottheimer and a handful of other House moderates are insisting on seeing a Congressional Budget Office score of the reconciliation package before voting on it while Sen. Joe Manchin has been adamant about seeing a CBO score before committing to action. Moderates are still calling for the bipartisan infrastructure bill to pass as soon as possible, which could put them at odds with progressives' push to move both bills together. Read more from Pro’s Julian Sorapuru and Claire Radford.
Meanwhile, CNN reports that Manchin believes a deal could be possible by Thanksgiving. “We have all next week. We're going to work into it next week — as they are working. So if everyone works real hard, I've said, we can get it done before Thanksgiving. We're going to get something done," he said.
COP'S A SHAME GAME: For those watching the ins and outs of the U.N.’s climate summit in Glasgow, POLITICO Europe’s Karl Mathiesen took a 10,000-foot look at not just the summit’s quirks but the laggardly movement it takes the world’s leaders to make any progress on climate. The leaders of some of the world’s largest economies will use forceful language on the urgency of climate change and even apologize for their countries excessive greenhouse gas emissions, but they take their sweet time, miss deadlines and often do not do nearly enough to keep warming in check without being repeatedly shamed into action.
Poorer countries continue to insist their richer counterparts put their money where their mouths are and pay up to help fend off the worst effects of climate change. But U.N. boss António Guterres said it was an “illusion” that the commitments being made were enough.
In other words, it’s a lot of talk but not always a lot of heft to back up promises to reduce emissions, curb deforestation or fund overseas projects. “We have to repeat and repeat. It’s just awfully boring, awfully long, but absolutely necessary,” Laurence Tubiana, a former French diplomat who is one of the architects of modern climate politics, told Karl.
The goal, Tubiana said, is to build a sense of inexorable progress, “the expectation that this will happen, it’s just inevitable … then you have the fear that if you are out of the loop, if you are not bandwagoning with the movement, you will be left on the side of the global economy.” Read more from Karl.
Related: The ‘risk’ carbon border tax poses to climate negotiations, via Pro's Zack Colman and Paola Tamma.
On the Hill
A NOTICEABLE ABSENCE: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee advanced a whole line up of nominees for the Energy and Interior Departments, as well as Willie Phillips, Biden’s pick to fill the vacant FERC commissioner seat. Those nominations advanced largely drama free and now head to the full Senate for approval. Most of the nominees were approved by a voice vote, though Asmeret Berhe, nominated to lead DOE’s Office of Science, went through by a vote of 12-8 with Republican opposition.
“While I don’t necessarily agree with all of their views, I do believe they are well qualified and deserving of support,” Ranking Member John Barrasso said in voting for five of the seven nominees considered by the committee.
But two of the nominees didn’t get votes due a conspicuous absence on the Democratic side. Sen. Bernie Sanders didn’t show up for votes, leading to members making small talk until they eventually postponed votes for Laura Daniel-Davis to be Biden's oil and gas policy point person for DOI and Sara Bronin to chair Biden's advisory council on historic preservation. A committee aide told POLITICO’s Anthony Adragna and Ben Lefebvre that “We needed Bernie for both and [Sen. Lisa] Murkowski for one of them, so since they weren’t there, we didn’t proceed."
Sanders and Manchin have become the faces of Senate Democrats’ disparate wings, often going public with their disagreements on the scope of the reconciliation package. Sanders’ office didn’t respond when ME asked why he missed Tuesday’s vote.
ON THE FLOOR: Jeffery Prieto, nominee to serve as EPA’s top lawyer, is likely to get final passage in the Senate today, a Senate aide told ME. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved his nomination last month 12-8.
BIG OIL GETS SUBPOENAED: The House Oversight and Reform Committee issued subpoenas for Exxon Mobil, Chevron, the U.S. operations for BP and Shell, the American Petroleum Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as part of its probe into big oil and whether it tried to mislead the public about its role in climate change. Chair Carolyn Maloney said last week she’d issue the subpoenas during a committee hearing with the big oil C-suite because the companies hadn’t revealed enough about their operations when the committee asked for internal documents earlier.
Under the subpoena, the companies and trade groups have two weeks to cough up documents on climate science and clean energy policy, as well as any marketing and social media activities related to climate change and clean energy. Pro’s Ben Lefebvre has more.
Around the Agencies
METHANE MADNESS: The Biden administration unveiled its sweeping new EPA regulation to curb methane emissions on Tuesday, going after the potent greenhouse gas more aggressively than either of the previous two administrations, and for the first time tackling emissions from hundreds of thousands of existing wellheads and other sites, as Pro’s Alex Guillén breaks down in depth here.
Environmentalists are happy with the administration's new regulatory approach. The proposed regulation also has the tentative backing of big-name oil and gas groups whose members are already working to reduce emissions and improve efficiency, although the American Petroleum Institute says it is still evaluating the proposal. The fossil fuel industry has been arguing that regulations — and not the methane fee under debate in Congress — are the way to go.
“The appropriate policy tool to further reduce methane emissions is through the EPA regulatory process, rather than adding new, punitive taxes on the industry through a methane tax,” said AXPC CEO Anne Bradbury in a statement Tuesday.
But Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Tom Carper insists that the two approaches are complementary. Despite reports of deep concerns over the fee from Manchin, a source familiar with the negotiations said Carper and House Energy and Commerce Chair Frank Pallone are "cautiously optimistic" that their current iteration will pass muster with the West Virginian.
BIOFUELS PUSH EPA WITH THE COURTS: The ethanol industry group Growth Energy is teeing up a lawsuit against EPA over the slow rollout of its long-awaited biofuel blending proposals, even before the official deadline for EPA to act. "We're simply trying to force some action out of the agency," Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor told reporters Tuesday.
EPA is due to unveil its blending proposals by the end of the month, but the agency hasn't even issued a proposed rulemaking to establish those volumes. Agriculture groups, farm-state lawmakers and biofuel producers all have pushed against any cuts to blending requirements, saying it would be detrimental to both the administration’s climate goals as well as their industries, but have braced themselves after a leaked document appeared to show EPA was planning to do so for 2020 and 2021. Kelsey Tamborrino has more for Pros.
ARE TRUMP’S SOLAR TARIFFS SAFE? Prehearing briefs are rolling in ahead of the International Trade Commission’s meeting today on whether to extend the Section 201 tariffs on solar panels that former President Donald Trump imposed in 2018. Those so-called safeguard tariffs are set to expire early next year, but domestic panel manufacturers want them extended for another four years to help them compete against cheap imports, largely from Southeast Asia. If not, the companies say they will not be able to recoup investment on new panel factories in the states.
But companies that develop and build solar projects say that the tariffs are raising the prices for panels stateside, making their electricity less competitive with fossil fuels and threatening the Biden administration’s climate goals. The Solar Energy Industries Association urged the ITC to recommend termination of the tariffs. But if it does not, the group urged the ITC to recommend that carve-outs continue for solar panels used in large, utility-scale operations, especially bifacial panels that are currently exempt from the 201 tariffs. After today’s hearing, ITC will recommend to the White House whether to extend or terminate the tariffs — a suggestion the president typically accepts.
ANOTHER TEST FOR FERC: A federal appeals court decision is highlighting questions about how FERC considers the public necessity and environmental impacts of natural gas infrastructure. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered FERC to consider pausing its certificate for the Jordan Cove LNG facility, after oral arguments last week alleged it could be another case of self-dealing and a project without provable necessity. Cases dealing with similar issues related to the Spire STL pipeline and two Texas LNG facilities are pending before the commission. Pro’s Catherine Morehouse has more.
EPA ORDERS LEAD ACTION IN MICH.: EPA on Tuesday ordered the city of Benton Harbor, Mich., to bring its water system into compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act after three years of sampling detected lead levels above the federal action level of 15 parts per billion. The move comes nearly a month after state officials urged residents in the majority-Black community to switch to bottled water due to lead concerns. The EPA order directs Benton Harbor to improve corrosion control and disinfection at the water plant, tighten monitoring, repair plant filters, and alert residents if lead levels exceed the federal threshold.
The Grid
— "Tariffs to Tackle Climate Change Gain Momentum. The Idea Could Reshape Industries," via The Wall Street Journal.
— “As Demand for Green Energy Grows, Solar Farms Face Local Resistance,” via The New York Times.
— “Four more UK energy suppliers go bust,” via the BBC.
— “China Binges on U.S. Gas to Manage Energy Shortage, Carbon Footprint,” via The Wall Street Journal.
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