Preview Newsletter
ACC PM Test (13.6.17)
-
(ACC Mentioned) Industry, Enviros Double down on TSCA Priorities
Jun 13, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder
Industry and environmental groups wrapped up meetings with the Office of Management and Budget yesterday over their priorities for evaluating chemicals under the new Toxic Substances Control Act. -
US EPA Proposes Snur for Carbon Nanotube Substance
Jun 13, 2017 | Chemical WAtch
By The Editors
The US EPA has proposed a significant new use rule (Snur) for a carbon nanotube substance that was subject of a pre-manufacture notice (PMN). -
US House Passes Bill That Would Repeal Conflict Minerals Rule
Jun 13, 2017 | Chemical WAtch
By The Editors
The US House of Representatives has passed a financial regulatory bill that would fully repeal the conflict minerals reporting rule. -
(ACC Blog) Marine Litter: Let's Stay Focused on Solutions
Jun 13, 2017 | American Chemistry Matters
By Steve Russell
-
(ACC Mention) IN DEPTH: WWF Circular Economy Initiative of Cascading Material Flows
Jun 13, 2017 | Waste Management World
By Ben Messenger
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has launched the Cascading Materials Vision, a circular economy platform that seeks to enable a global system of efficient materials management, creating markets that better the re-use of materials to reduce waste. -
The Energy 202: Paris Climate Accord Divides Industrial Trade Group
|
The Eastman Chemical Company -- one of the largest chemical manufacturers in the United States, which like many U.S. firms supported the Paris climate accord -- discontinued membership in one of the few trade groups that publicly pressed the Trump administration to pull out of the landmark climate deal. -
Perry Pulls a U-Turn on Paris Position
| E&E Climatewire
By Umair Irfan
Energy Secretary Rick Perry entrenched himself as an opponent of the Paris climate agreement yesterday, reversing his earlier position. -
Tillerson: 'My View Didn't Change' on Paris Climate Agreement
Jun 13, 2017 | The Hill E2 Blog
By Timothy Cama
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told senators Tuesday that he still supports the Paris climate change agreement, despite President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from it. -
Pruitt Supports 'Sustainable' Goals Connected to Climate
Jun 13, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Niina Haikkenen
-
'Noah's Ark' Caucus Membership Rises amid Lobby Push
Jun 13, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Hannah Hess
Freshman lawmakers from coastal districts in Virginia and California have joined the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus. -
EPA to Use 'beyond the Fence' Legal Critique to Scrap CPP
Jun 13, 2017 | Inside EPA
By The Editors
Some details are emerging about the Clean Power Plan (CPP) rollback proposal EPA sent for White House review last week -- suggesting the Trump administration will use a key legal critique of the Obama-era power plant greenhouse gas rule to scrap it.
Industry and Association News
LCSA News
Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News - No clips to report
Transportation News - No clips to report
Environment News
-
(ACC Mentioned) Industry, Enviros Double down on TSCA Priorities
Jun 13, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder
Industry and environmental groups wrapped up meetings with the Office of Management and Budget yesterday over their priorities for evaluating chemicals under the new Toxic Substances Control Act.
Last week, OMB met with the American Chemistry Council and Environmental Working Group, and this week the Environmental Defense Fund got its turn.
ACC and EWG said they reiterated previous comments for OMB, which is reviewing U.S. EPA's proposed rules. EDF declined to provide comment on the meeting.
"We met with OMB to reiterate points from the comments we submitted to EPA regarding its proposed rules for prioritization and risk evaluation processes under the [Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act] amendments to TSCA," said ACC spokesman Scott Openshaw.
ACC's comments in the Federal Register stressed that EPA officials should change the proposed rule to give the agency "broad and flexible" authority to list certain chemicals as low priorities for risk evaluations.
Under the new TSCA, EPA is required to prioritize and assess existing chemical substances and manage identified risks.
Tens of thousands of chemical substances were grandfathered into the original TSCA in 1976 without any health or environmental risk evaluations.
EWG's legislative attorney Melanie Benesh said the advocacy group is pleased with the proposed rules and wanted to check in on the process. Meetings with OMB are generally a listening format, she said, but EWG is eagerly waiting to see the final rules.
In EWG's comments in the rule docket, it stressed having a high bar for the low-priority designations and labeling a chemical as low priority only "when EPA has adequate information to be very confident that a chemical poses no unreasonable risks."
Benesh said EWG requested the meeting to, among other things, make sure EPA remains committed to "reviewing a wide range of chemicals" under TSCA.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/06/13/stories/1060055960
-
US EPA Proposes Snur for Carbon Nanotube Substance
Jun 13, 2017 | Chemical WAtch
By The Editors
The US EPA has proposed a significant new use rule (Snur) for a carbon nanotube substance that was subject of a pre-manufacture notice (PMN).
The substance – bimodal mixture consisting of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and other classes of carbon nanotubes (generic) – is intended to be used as a specialty additive, according to its PMN.
The EPA says it has identified concerns for pulmonary toxicity and oncogenicity based on test data of analogous respirable, poorly soluble particulates and nanocarbon materials. It therefore imposed a consent order on it.
To apply these protections to future users of the substance, the agency is now issuing a Snur. This proposes to designate as significant new uses the absence of the following protective measures, consistent with the consent order:use of certain personal protective equipment (PPE);submission of a dustiness test within six months of notice of commencement of manufacture (NOC);submission of certain physical chemical properties;use of the substance outside of those specified in the consent order, including an application method that generates a vapour, mist or aerosol (unless the application method occurs in an enclosed process); andreleases to water beyond those described in the PMN.
It has also recommended the development of certain test data.
The agency had previously issued the Snur as a direct final rule, but withdrew it following receipt of a notice of intent to submit adverse comment.
The commenter noted a discrepancy between the direct final Snur and the consent order: namely, that it designated as a significant new use any purposeful or predictable releases to surface water, whereas the consent order allowed limited releases. The EPA has aligned the requirements in this proposed Snur.
Comments will be accepted until 10 July.
https://chemicalwatch.com/56773/us-epa-proposes-snur-for-carbon-nanotube-substance
-
US House Passes Bill That Would Repeal Conflict Minerals Rule
Jun 13, 2017 | Chemical WAtch
By The Editors
The US House of Representatives has passed a financial regulatory bill that would fully repeal the conflict minerals reporting rule.
The far-reaching Financial CHOICE Act – like a bill of the same name introduced last session – seeks to overhaul the nation's financial regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act. Among many reforms, HR 10 calls for the repeal of section 1502 of the law, and that provisions affected by the section be "restored or revived as if [it] had not been enacted".
Dodd-Frank section 1502 requires publicly traded companies to conduct due diligence and report to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on whether their sourcing of conflict minerals – tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold (3TG) – is supporting armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), or neighbouring countries.
The Financial CHOICE Act passed the House along party lines, with just one Republican crossing the aisle to vote against it with all 185 Democrats.
The measure now heads to the Senate, where comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s financial regulations is expected to face significant hurdles given strong minority opposition. But even if the passage of the bill in its current form may prove challenging, there remains the opportunity for consideration of more targeted measures to reform certain aspects of the law.Pressure mounts against reporting rule
Passage of HR 10 comes amid a spike in scrutiny of the conflict minerals reporting rule.
Earlier this year, former acting SEC chairman Michael Piwowar directed staff to "reconsider" the agency’s implementation of the rule and welcomed feedback from affected parties.
And in April, Mr Piwowar issued a statement in which he suggested the SEC would no longer enforce the requirement that companies submit enhanced disclosure on their due diligence efforts.
Rumours have also swirled that President Trump would issue an executive order putting the rule on hold for two years.
While industry groups have been divided in their support for the reporting scheme, NGOs have remained vocal in reiterating the importance of its continued enforcement.
Writing in this month’s CW Global Business Briefing, the Enough Project’s Ian Schwab and Annie Callaway say "reversing the still fledgling progress made by this key supply chain transparency measure could spark a return to a situation in Congo, where armed groups once again control every mine through intimidation and violence."
"At a time when Congo’s political future remains unnervingly uncertain and violence is already on the rise, any additional fuel to the fire could have disproportionately devastating ramifications," they add.
https://cheemicalwatch.com/56774/us-house-passes-bill-that-would-repeal-conflict-minerals-rul
-
(ACC Blog) Marine Litter: Let's Stay Focused on Solutions
Jun 13, 2017 | American Chemistry Matters
By Steve Russell
Earlier this week I had the privilege of speaking at the German Mission during the United Nations’ “The Oceans Conference.” The conference was designed to advance implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 to conserve and sustainably use our oceans, seas, and marine resources. And this obviously includes our shared goal of keeping plastics out of the oceans.
My remarks began with a point on which experts agree: to stem the flow of plastics into the ocean, we must urgently start collecting and recycling municipal solid waste, with a focus on countries with expanding populations where such systems are not yet in place. And for now means much of the Asia-Pacific region.
The plastics industry has been – and remains – committed to finding and implementing effective solutions to this very real problem. In 2011 we brought together plastics associations from around the globe under a Global Declaration reflecting specific actions taken to prevent marine litter solutions. The Declaration now has 65 signatories and we’ve implemented 260 projects in 34 countries to work on keeping plastics out of the oceans.
We are also working with leaders in the Asia-Pacific region, where ocean plastic inputs are the highest, to catalyze investment in municipal solid waste collection and recycling programs. And we are working with the U.N. to provide technical expertise and a range of commitments under the Global Partnership on Marine Litter.
So with so much momentum on solutions we were surprised that this week the U.N.’s “big idea” did not focus on building support for financing waste management, or on deploying innovative recycling and energy recovery. Instead, it encouraged citizens to call for bans on plastic bags and other “single use” plastics.
That’s a shame. Focusing on just a small part of the overall waste stream doesn’t begin to address the problem. And, it gives politicians a “pass” on the much harder parts. And worst of all, it probably makes matters worse for the ocean. How?
A 2016 study conducted by Trucost, the same firm that conducted a similar study for the U.N. in 2014, found that using materials other than plastics for packaging and consumer goods could have harmful, unintended effects on our environment. The study showed the environmental costs of using plastics in packaging and consumer goods is nearly four times less than they would be if plastics were replaced with alternative materials. Environmental costs include more food and packaging waste, more fuel used in transportation, more litter, and increased greenhouse gas emissions. If we generate more waste, more litter and have higher GHG emissions because we use less plastic, are we helping to create a more sustainable world?
We applaud the U.N. for making ocean health a priority. But solving this issue will require us to look past token acts, to aim high, and to commit to lasting solutions—namely the urgent need for expanded waste management infrastructure.
https://blog.americanchemistry.com/2017/06/marine-litter-lets-stay-focused-on-solutions/
-
(ACC Mention) IN DEPTH: WWF Circular Economy Initiative of Cascading Material Flows
Jun 13, 2017 | Waste Management World
By Ben Messenger
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has launched the Cascading Materials Vision, a circular economy platform that seeks to enable a global system of efficient materials management, creating markets that better the re-use of materials to reduce waste.
Grounded in a framework of guiding principles, WWF explained that the Cascading Materials Vision convenes industry and other stakeholders to help every business and industry source secondary materials, those that have already been used at least once in some form, to protect their profits, the environment and the future wealth of our natural resources.
Why?
According to the organisation, as global population rises, we face both resource scarcity, which affects our ability to produce goods, and increased waste disposal, which negatively impacts ecosystems and communities.Both challenges could be eased by the increased use of secondary materials. Businesses want to be part of the solution and use more secondary materials, but systematic barriers make acquisition and sourcing difficult at the quantity and quality needed.
How?
WWF said that through alignment and collaboration, the Cascading Materials Vision will engage stakeholders across both private and public sectors to minimise such barriers.The companies and organisations that sign onto the Cascading Materials Vision, which so far includes names such as The Coca-Cola Company, agree to abide by a set of guiding principles for decision making that align materials management practices, allow for greater collaboration across industry and create easier sourcing of secondary materials.
These principles range from systems thinking to evaluate the environmental impact of implementing solutions that work for today but can adapt to the future.
By aligning with stakeholders and collaborators around a common vision of a responsible future, WWF hopes to use this framework to influence relevant sectors toward achievable, sustainable and inclusive solutions that address the systemic issues that prevent creation, trade and use of secondary materials.
Who?
Businesses and organisations that have already signed on include: American Chemistry Council, AMERIPEN, Ball Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company, DuPont, European Bioplastic Association, Keurig Green Mountain, Inc., The Materials Leadership Council (MLC), McCormick, McDonald’s, Nestlé, Ocean Conservancy, Pathway21, The Recycling Partnership, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Target.Comments
WWF said that the initiative marks just the beginning and the flagship companies and nonprofit organistions that have signed onto the Cascading Materials Vision are eager to grow the platform and to create a reliable and innovative network grounded in maximising environmental and social benefit and measuring impact.Erin Simon, deputy director, packaging and material science at WWF: “We can quite literally do more with less simply by using materials more than once. With clear interest and willingness from industry to embrace this concept, WWF saw an incredible and imperative need to act.
“By bringing stakeholders together onto one cohesive platform, the Cascading Materials Vision will help reduce the burden on our natural systems and enable creation of the global markets needed to make quality secondary materials accessible and reliable.
“We are inspired by the number of companies who have already spoken up about the need for a global market of secondary materials. “With some of the world’s largest and leading companies already committed to the Cascading Materials Vision, we’re confident that this platform will create the catalyst needed to jumpstart the secondary materials market, protect our natural resources and meet the production demands of our growing population.”
Cal Dooley, President and CEO, American Chemistry Council: “We commend World Wildlife Fund for its vision and engagement with industry and policy leaders to promote and expand materials reuse and the availability of high-quality secondary materials.
Through this collaborative framework, ACC and its member companies look forward to working with stakeholders along the value chain to more efficiently use resources to reduce the environmental impacts of our operations and products, and to pursue initiatives that conserve materials and resources, and reduce waste through reuse and recycling.”
Nicholas Mallos, Director, Trash Free Seas Program, Ocean Conservancy: “Ocean Conservancy is working to protect the ocean from today’s greatest challenges, including the threats posed by marine debris.
“Scientists estimate that 80% of plastic waste entering the ocean starts on land, so we need to think about locally appropriate and resilient land-based solutions to address this issue.
“The Cascading Materials Vision outlines critical principles to help drive better waste management, which will not only keep trash out of the marine environment, but would help extend the use-life and inherent value of materials.”
Keefe Harrison, CEO, The Recycling Partnership: “While recycling feels universal, the truth is only half of Americans can recycle at home as easily as they can throw something away.
That inequality means that valuable materials are disposed, resulting in significant losses in potential GHG and water savings, at the same time depriving manufacturers across the globe of clean feedstock.
The Recycling Partnership is pleased to collaborate with WWF in this far-reaching initiative to build a better system.”
Lee Anderson, President, AMERIPEN: “The Vision includes many of the philosophies upon which our organisation is based, including science-based decision making, a systems approach, effective policies, and adaptability. We’re looking forward to helping deliver the progress needed to achieve it.”
John A. Hayes, Chairman, President and CEO Ball Corporation: “Ball manufactures billions of 100% and infinitely recyclable metal packages each year and we are working to maximise the recovery of these packages around the world.
We’re proud to be a part of the World Wildlife Fund’s Cascading Materials Vision, as it will allow us to work with other stakeholders to ensure that metal packaging, which is the most economically and environmentally sustainable of all packaging substrates, is collected and available to be reused for future generations to come.”
John Linc Stine, The Materials Leadership Council (MLC), Member; Environmental Council of the States (ECOS), President; and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Commissioner: “The Materials Leadership Council (MLC), a public-private partnership among state environmental commissioners and senior business representatives, praises the release of WWF's Cascading Materials Vision.
“States have a longstanding commitment to advancing SMM principals and their collaboration with businesses enables greater leverage to achieve resource efficiency while creating economic, environmental, and societal benefits.”
Michael Okoroafor, Vice President - Global Sustainability and Packaging Innovation McCormick and Company, Inc.: “WWF’s principles align closely with our 4R Framework (Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, Renew), and is reflective of our shared leadership role in creating a more sustainable world for future generations.”
Marco Bernasconi, Global Head of Packaging, Nestlé: “Continually improving the environmental performance of our packaging following a life cycle approach is a key driver in our product and packaging development process.
The guiding principles described in the WWF’s Cascading Materials Vision are therefore fully aligned with Nestlé’s ambition to prevent littering and packaging going to landfill.”
Adam Goldstein, President and Chief Operating Officer, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.: “As an intermediary between suppliers and consumers we have a responsibility to ensure our supply chain and waste management approaches help us achieve a more sustainable future.”
https://waste-management-world.com/a/in-depth-wwf-circular-economy-initiative-of-cascading-material-flows
-
The Energy 202: Paris Climate Accord Divides Industrial Trade Group
|
The Eastman Chemical Company -- one of the largest chemical manufacturers in the United States, which like many U.S. firms supported the Paris climate accord -- discontinued membership in one of the few trade groups that publicly pressed the Trump administration to pull out of the landmark climate deal.
Leading up to President Trump's announcement in June, hundreds of businesses publicly pledged support of the Paris accord. But more discreetly, the Industrial Energy Consumers of America told the White House that Paris disadvantaged U.S. manufacturers, arguing in two letters sent to the Trump administration -- one in April and another in May -- that "IECA fails to see the benefit of the Paris Climate Accord."
But that was not the public position of every IECA member on the Paris agreement, including Eastman. In the case of Eastman, the disagreement was strong enough to warrant leaving the trade group.
"While we valued the IECA's work in areas unrelated to climate change, the organization's action is so at odds with Eastman's position that we also cannot reconcile continued participation in IECA with our commitment to sustainability," David A. Golden, a senior vice president and chief legal and sustainability officer at Eastman, wrote to the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, an international human-rights organization that queried Eastman and other IECA members about their Paris stance following IECA's lobbying effort.
"As such," Golden wrote, "this week we discontinued our IECA membership."
The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre published that and other letters it received from IECA members late Monday. The center made its inquiries after the Natural Resources Defense Council pointed out the discrepancy between IECA's stance and that of some of its members on the Paris agreement earlier this month.
Eastman's decision to leave the trade association highlights the rift that has developed in the American business community over Trump's decision to exit the Paris accord. Many large consumer-facing companies, like Apple, Gap and Levi's, asked the Trump administration to remain in the climate agreement that is largely popular with its employees and customers, publicly pushing their position in full-page newspaper ads.
Meanwhile, some energy-intensive firms, which would bear the brunt of greenhouse-gas regulations, supported U.S. withdrawal from Paris, though most often less publicly.
The rift is playing out in trade groups like IECA, which represents a diverse set of chemical, metal, paper, glass and cement manufacturers, that find themselves caught in the middle of the two camps. It's unclear how many groups fall on either side of the divide within IECA, as it doesn't disclose its members.
"It reminds me of over 80 companies that left the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which similarly opposes any climate-based regulation," Gregory Regaignon, research director at the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, told me by email. "While some who left ALEC were mum about their reasons, Google, Enterprise, Shell, Unilever, Wal-Mart and others were explicit that they left over disagreement with ALEC’s policies such as opposition to climate-based regulation, to vote-suppressing voter ID laws, and to other worker rights, health care, and public safety laws."
Eastman was not the only IECA manufacturer that sought to clarify the record. Owens Corning, which manufactures insulation and roofing materials, distanced itself from the trade group after the Paris decision.
"We are members of many industry organizations that provide value to our company and our customers," Owens Corning toldthe human-rights nonprofit. "We virtually never find ourselves in alignment with all the positions of any industry organization, including IECA in this case."
International Paper, one of the largest pulp and paper companies in the world, also put itself at arm's length from IECA. Previously, the company had said it aims to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by a fifth from 2010 levels by the end of the decade,
"We were not involved in the development of the letter and do not agree with the organization's decision to send it," the company wrote. "We participate in IECA mainly to access the organization's vast reservoir of energy data and reports."
SABIC, or the Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corporation, a chemical manufacturer, also said that it "did not review or approve" the IECA letter sent directly to President Trump in May before it went to the White House. A majority of SABIC shares are controlled by the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which ratified the Paris accord in November shortly before Trump's election.
IECA did not reply to a request for comment from The Washington Post.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2017/06/13/the-energy-202-paris-climate-accord-divides-industrial-trade-group/593edc18e9b69b2fb981dcf5/?utm_term=.43b3e82ca1b4
-
Perry Pulls a U-Turn on Paris Position
| E&E Climatewire
By Umair Irfan
Energy Secretary Rick Perry entrenched himself as an opponent of the Paris climate agreement yesterday, reversing his earlier position.
At a White House Cabinet meeting, Perry told President Trump that he defended the United States' withdrawal from the global accord while meeting with energy ministers last week in China and Japan.
"They needed to hear why America was stepping away from the Paris accord, and they did," Perry said. "And how America is not stepping back, but we're stepping into place and sending some messages."
Before Trump's decision to quit the accord earlier this month, Perry said it would be better to stay in.
"I'm not going to tell the president of the United States to walk away from the Paris accord," Perry said at Bloomberg New Energy Finance's Future of Energy Summit in New York City in April. "I think we probably need to renegotiate it."
Perry's acquiescence to Trump is part of a trend. Since his confirmation hearing in January, Perry pledged support for many initiatives at DOE, but has also lauded White House budget proposals that slash these programs (Climatewire, May 31).
In a 580-word editorial last week published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, he praised the decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on economic grounds but did not mention climate change or greenhouse gases.
"This country has been and must continue to be a leader in energy technology, development, and delivery," he wrote. "This leadership will not occur if we disqualify sources of energy as we did through the Paris agreement, but only if we unleash America's know how and ingenuity to unlock our natural resources."
The Paris Agreement does not dictate energy sources nor place restrictions on what fuels a nation can consume under its terms.
Yesterday at the White House, Perry also promised to continue efforts against rising temperatures. The statement was unprompted.
"We are still going to be leaders in the world when it comes to the climate. But we are not going to be held hostage to some executive order that was ill-thought-out," Perry said. "My hat's off to you [Trump] for taking that stand and sending a clear message around the world."
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/06/13/stories/1060055926
-
Tillerson: 'My View Didn't Change' on Paris Climate Agreement
Jun 13, 2017 | The Hill E2 Blog
By Timothy Cama
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told senators Tuesday that he still supports the Paris climate change agreement, despite President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from it.
Tillerson, the former CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp., was the most vocal voice in the Trump administration pushing the president to stay in the pact.
He told Sen. Ben Cardin (Md.), top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that he respects Trump’s decision but disagrees with it.
“My view didn’t change,” Tillerson said at a hearing on the State Department’s budget. “My views were heard out. I respect that the president heard my views, but I respect the decision he’s taken.”
He said Trump was “quite deliberative” in his consideration of the Paris pact. The president “took some time to come to his decision, particularly waiting until he had heard from European counterparts in the G7 on it,” Tillerson said.
The State Department is the chief agency responsible for international agreements and treaties. Under former President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry was the key point person in developing the Paris pact.
But Tillerson didn’t participate in Trump’s public events surrounding his decision earlier this month to pull out of the Paris deal, including a grand White House ceremony to announce the withdrawal.
Instead, Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, an outspoken opponent of the Paris agreement, took the lead among administration officials in those events.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/337578-tillerson-my-view-didnt-change-on-paris-climate-agreement
-
Pruitt Supports 'Sustainable' Goals Connected to Climate
Jun 13, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Niina Haikkenen
The United States signed on to indirect international action on climate change at the recent Group of Seven environment ministers meeting, but it rejected explicit actions to address warming.
U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt briefly faced his counterparts in Bologna, Italy, over the weekend, about a week after President Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. While Pruitt reiterated that the United States would immediately stop action to implement the accord, he did join the other environment ministers in a communiqué agreeing to work toward the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The 17 targets, first adopted by countries in 2015, include efforts to clean up the world's oceans, reduce food waste and make clean energy more affordable.
Climate change is an implicit and explicit issue throughout all the goals, said Michael Burger, executive director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.
"Given that the SDGs treat climate change as one of the defining problems of our time, and they treat climate action as an opportunity for sustainable economic development, it does seem somewhat incongruent that the Trump administration was willing to sign on to the communiqué," Burger said.
Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, speculated that the United States signed the SDGs so as not to be completely left out of the communiqué. He noted that addressing climate change was one of the 17 targets.
"If you don't deal with climate change, it will overwhelm your ability to deal with agriculture or public health, with water supplies, or conservation, everything is integrated in there," he said.
"You can't say, 'Don't do anything on climate change,' and assume that things would be achieved, because they wouldn't be," Meyer added.
In the communiqué released by G-7 members, environment ministers and European commissioners agree to "work on integrating the economic, social and environmental dimension of sustainable development, with the aim of leaving no one behind, for the benefit of the people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership, and exchange respective experiences."
They state that they will all agree to implement the environmental dimension of the 2030 agenda, which includes cleaning up ocean litter, increasing people's awareness of food waste and using resources efficiently.
The United States also joined the other participants in pledging to make "further significant cuts to greenhouse gas emissions," according to a statement from German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks.
"I was pleased the United States also made this commitment," she said.
But the United States broke from the United Kingdom, Japan, England, Germany, France, Canada and the European commissioners on their reaffirmation of the Paris Agreement. The United States says in a footnote that it will "continue to engage with key international players in a manner that is consistent with our domestic priorities, preserving both a strong economy and healthy environment."
U.S.withdrawal sparked 'unity'
The other nations expressed their disappointment and regret at the United States exit from the Paris accord. In a statement, European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete said the United States triggered a "remarkable show of unity" around the climate accord by quitting Paris.
"Let me be very clear on the point of the irreversibility of the Paris Agreement. The European Union will not renegotiate the Paris Agreement. ... With the exception of the U.S., we are all determined to move forward and implement the Paris Agreement swiftly and effectively," he said.
Cañete met with Pruitt on the sidelines of the G-7 meeting. The pair discussed the topics on the meeting agenda, including the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, according to a spokeswoman, Anna-Kaisa Itkonen.
Pruitt cut short his participation in the two-day meeting, leaving after a few hours of meetings Sunday. In a statement, EPA spokesman Lincoln Ferguson said Pruitt returned early to Washington to attend a full Cabinet meeting yesterday, but senior staff members would remain in Bologna to continue discussions with their international counterparts.
Both the president and Pruitt have said the United States could help reduce global emissions through sharing energy technology for horizontal drilling and clean coal technology.
But those approaches could have limited effectiveness for the rest of the world, said Kevin Book, managing director of research at ClearView Energy Partners LLC.
While natural gas has been a "star player" in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, a similar approach won't necessarily work elsewhere in the world, particularly in countries not already using a lot of coal, he said.
Other nations do not have the resources to develop the infrastructure for natural gas or buy the technology needed for developing and producing it. Countries interested in developing their own domestic energy sources might not have the right geology for natural gas development. The United States could export natural gas to other nations, but that, too, could face significant infrastructure hurdles, since recipients would need port access to take in the fuel.
"Molecules are easier to move than technology, and even then it takes money to buy our molecules," Book said.
Encouraging the adoption of cleaner coal technology comes with another set of challenges.
"It's possible to create lower-cost production for coal by rolling back regulations, but it's hard to produce more opportunity for coal without a price on carbon," he added.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/06/13/stories/1060055925
-
'Noah's Ark' Caucus Membership Rises amid Lobby Push
Jun 13, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Hannah Hess
Freshman lawmakers from coastal districts in Virginia and California have joined the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus.
Rep. Scott Taylor (R), who represents Virginia Beach, and Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D), whose district encompasses Monterey Bay, are the latest additions to what's been dubbed a "Noah's Ark" group because it adds members in bipartisan pairs.
E&E News reported last month that Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney of New York and Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson of California joined the caucus (E&E Daily, May 25).
Taylor and Panetta added their names to the roster following the Trump administration's announcement that the United States intends to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
Volunteers with the Citizens' Climate Lobby from 49 states are visiting Capitol Hill today, urging members to set aside partisan politics surrounding global warming and embrace a market-based solution. The group stepped up advocacy for a revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend model in the wake of President Trump's election (E&E Daily, Nov. 14).
Since 2010, when just 25 CCL volunteers lobbied on the Hill, the group has mobilized more and more people. This year's international conference drew a record crowd of 1,300, said organizers.
New additions to the Climate Solutions Caucus reflect a trend of politically vulnerable members joining the ranks.
The National Republican Congressional Committee put Tenney on a list of incumbents who need extra support and funding from the GOP in the midterm elections, along with fellow climate caucus members John Faso of New York, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Brian Mast of Florida and Darrell Issa of California (E&E Daily, Feb. 16).
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has hired organizers and campaign operatives in 20 Republican-held districts, including Virginia's 2nd District, which Taylor won easily in November. Ten of the districts the DCCC is targeting are represented by members of the caucus (E&E Daily, Feb. 3).
CCL volunteers will pitch the political appeal of endorsing climate action, said Executive Director Mark Reynolds in a Hill op-ed.
"When our volunteers meet with you today, what you can expect is constituents and concerned citizens who appreciate that your job is not easy, that it is nearly impossible to please all the people you represent on any particular issue," he wrote.
"They will also come bearing this promise: If you are willing to step up and lead on climate change, they will do everything in their power to back you up in your district and state by enlisting support from community leaders and newspapers back home," Reynolds wrote.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/06/13/stories/1060055959
-
EPA to Use 'beyond the Fence' Legal Critique to Scrap CPP
Jun 13, 2017 | Inside EPA
By The Editors
Some details are emerging about the Clean Power Plan (CPP) rollback proposal EPA sent for White House review last week -- suggesting the Trump administration will use a key legal critique of the Obama-era power plant greenhouse gas rule to scrap it.
According to a report from E&E News, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt will hinge the CPP rollback on the claim that the rule unlawfully regulates “beyond the fenceline” of individual power plants in setting the CPP emissions targets.
CPP critics argue section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, under which the CPP was promulgated, only allows EPA to base targets on actions taken at the power plant facility -- or “inside the fence.” Only the rule's first “building block,” which called for heat rate improvements at coal-fired power plants, represents such a strategy.
The CPP’s other two building blocks -- encouraging fuel switching to natural gas and to renewables -- do not.
But even as EPA is moving ahead with repealing the CPP, Pruitt has not yet revealed whether he intends to replace the power plant GHG rule.
Already some industry attorneys are warning EPA could face legal risk if it repeals the CPP without an immediate replacement.
In addition, some utilities are looking for a replacement that does more than simply require heat-rate improvements at coal-fired plants. Abby Smith of Inside EPA gave our readers a first look at one utility coalition’s suggestions, which calls for EPA to write guidelines for states based on substantive and procedural criteria that the agency would then use to judge state plans.
Bill Bumpers of Baker Botts -- who represents the Coalition for Innovative Climate Solutions, a group of 13 utilities -- says such an approach gives states greater flexibility to choose compliance plans based on their resource mixes and individual authorities than the current rule.
It is not clear, however, how the coalition would envision EPA setting GHG targets under such a rule, given that it sharply criticized the agency’s target-setting process for the CPP.
Industry and Association News
LCSA News
Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News - No clips to report
Transportation News - No clips to report
Environment News
Add recipients
Suggested