In the news today…
Reconciliation Bill:
- Politico Pro reports House Democrats offered an updated version of their massive social spending bill yesterday — one that stripped out new royalties for hardrock mining but dared moderates like Sen. Joe Manchin to oppose fees on methane and more than $500 billion in other climate policies.
Energy:
- Reuters reports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will continue to draft rules targeting greenhouse gas emissions from power plants despite a surprise Supreme Court decision last week to review its authority to do so, its administrator told Reuters on Monday.
- Utility Dive reports the Supreme Court’s decision to consider four consolidated appeals could hamper the Biden administration’s goal of cutting U.S. GHG emissions by up to 52% below 2005 levels by the end of this decade.
- Washington Examiner reports a group of Republican senators is introducing a clean energy and climate strategy today that challenges the Biden administration and Democrats’ agenda of massively expanding clean energy while reducing fossil fuel production and use.
- Politico Pro reports the United States committed today with other countries to stop financing fossil fuel projects abroad by the end of next year, in a seismic shift that could stem the construction of natural gas and oil facilities in lower-income nations.
Climate:
- Washington Examiner reports Biden announced that the Energy Department’s next “Earthshot” is focused on accelerating and reducing the cost of technologies that remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere.
- Reuters reports Indonesia, Poland, Vietnam and other nations on Thursday pledged to phase out their use of coal-fired power and stop building plants, a deal the COP26 climate summit host Britain described as putting the end of the fuel “in sight”.