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Manchin eyes defense bill for stalled permitting reform
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin is working to get his stymied permitting reform into the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, according to comments the West Virginia Democratic senator made Wednesday. “I’ve tried to put it in the continuing resolution, and I’m working now on getting it in the National Defense Authorization,” Manchin said at Stanford University’s Global Energy Forum. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle said they would be more willing to negotiate a permitting reform deal with more time for haggling and without the threat of a government shutdown [ read more … ]
States
New Tax Break for Clean Energy Draws Scrutiny
Blackstone, the New York-based asset manager with nearly $1 trillion of investor funds, is moving rapidly into the clean-energy revolution, driven in part by federal tax incentives that were sweetened this summer by the Biden administration and Congress. But one of its larger projects — through a subsidiary called Tallgrass Energy — is drawing protests from environmentalists who argue that Blackstone’s effort in New Mexico will not do enough to combat climate change, even if it receives tens of millions of dollars a year in federal subsidies intended to promote efforts to address global warming. Tallgrass intends to spend $600 million to rebuild a defunct coal-burning power plant in northwest New Mexico into one that uses natural gas converted into hydrogen to create electricity that will be sent to households and businesses in four states in the region. [ read more … ]
Every Politician Wants Green Jobs in This Bitter US Battleground
Once a stronghold of the conservative South, Georgia has emerged as both a hub of so-called cleantech manufacturing and a political swing state. The two themes converged last year when Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock won the state’s US Senate seats, giving President Joe Biden’s party just enough votes to pass the Inflation Reduction Act. The landmark law features $374 billion in new climate-related spending — with a wave of new electric vehicle, battery and solar plants among the key beneficiaries — in part to reduce US dependence on Chinese supplies. [ read more … ]
Biden Administration
Federal landlord phasing out fossil fuel equipment
The federal government’s real estate management agency is working on going fossil fuel-free. The General Services Administration announced Thursday that Inflation Reduction Act funding will not be used to install fossil fuel-based equipment at any of its 1,500 buildings across the country. That includes natural gas boilers, industrial pumps or chillers. The pledge reflects the Biden administration’s push to infuse climate policies at agencies that are not traditionally considered energy- or climate-related — from the GSA to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service. GSA has committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by midcentury.
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White House releases net-zero road map
The White House announced a new initiative this morning to help reach net-zero emissions and promised to direct research and billions in federal dollars toward 37 “game-changing” energy technologies. The Net-Zero Game Changers Initiative, as it’s known, is led by a working group of 17 agencies, chaired by President Joe Biden’s climate advisers. The administration also released a new road map identifying five initial key areas for energy research and development to reach net zero by 2050: power grids, aviation, fusion energy, efficient buildings and net-zero fuels and industrial products. [ read more … ]
Coal
Coal Was Meant to Be History. Instead, Its Use Is Soaring
Last November in Glasgow, the world’s climate leaders were locked in a fierce debate over whether the final draft of the summit’s agreement should include a pledge to “phase-out” or “phase-down” coal. Since then, the more appropriate term would probably be “phase-up.” [ read more … ]
Off Topic
How the Hulk took EPA to task over ‘forever chemicals’
Mark Ruffalo was not satisfied with EPA’s approach to “forever chemicals.” The film and television star who plays the Hulk had been pushing the Biden administration to do more to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which have contaminated water, land and air across the country. In October of last year, EPA announced its strategic road map for tackling the compounds, and several activists, including Ruffalo, were displeased at its limited scope. [ read more … ]
World’s Dirtiest Air Makes Delhi Push People to Work From Home
India’s capital city has appealed to residents to work from home to avoid the toxic smog that has engulfed the New Delhi region, making it the world’s most polluted air. The move comes after the local government imposed a series of measures, including an unsuccessful ban on burning farm stubble in areas surrounding New Delhi and stopping construction and demolition to avoid dust. Pollution levels spike every winter in part due to this practice and these reach multiple times the global safety threshold. The air quality index for the city state rose to 551 before easing to 409 by 2pm local time, which was still the world’s worst, according to website IQAir. The readings were well above 300, which is considered hazardous. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.