Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 4/13/18
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The Agency Has a Deputy. Is He the Administrator-In-Waiting?
Apr 13, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Robin Bravender and Zack Colman
Administration officials, EPA career staff and industry executives are envisioning a future with Andrew Wheeler at the helm of EPA. -
Lead Found in 70% of Tested Chicago Homes
Apr 13, 2018 | Chicago Tribune (In E&E Greenwire)
By Michael Hawthorne and Cecilia Reyes
Nearly 70 percent of homes in Chicago tested as part of a city program over the past two years had lead present in their water, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis. -
Report: Boosting Energy Efficiency Would Bring Vast Health Benefits
Apr 13, 2018 | Environmental Working Group
By Grant Smith
A new report estimated the sweeping public health benefits that a 15 percent reduction in energy demand would yield in one year. -
Interior Aims to Duck Fracking Rule Showdown in Calif.
Apr 13, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Ellen M. Gilmer
The Trump administration and the oil and gas industry want their legal fights out of California. -
U.S. Land Permits Still Climbing Year-to-Date, as Texas, New Mexico, Wyoming Lead Gains
Apr 13, 2018 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Carolyn Davis
Requests for oil and natural gas drilling permits continued to strengthen in March, when U.S. land permits totaled 5,586, up 34% from February and 42% year/year, according to data by Evercore ISI. -
Perry Heads to India to Promote Natural Gas Exports
Apr 13, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
Energy Secretary Rick Perry is traveling to India starting Friday to promote liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other forms of energy from the United States. -
Agency Leaders Tout 'Great Work' on Climate Under Trump
Apr 13, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Scott Waldman
The acting heads of both NOAA and NASA, which conduct the bulk of the nation's climate research, say their agencies have not seen their research diminished during the first year of the Trump administration. -
Top Massachusetts Court Rules Against Exxon in Climate Case
Apr 13, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Miranda Green
The highest court in Massachusetts ruled against Exxon Mobil in the company's bid to block the state's attorney general from obtaining records to investigate whether the oil and gas giant knew about the role fossil fuels played in climate change. -
High-Profile Climate Trial to Kick off This Fall
Apr 13, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Benjamin Hulac
The landmark climate lawsuit filed by kids and young adults against the U.S. government will begin in the fall, a judge said yesterday. -
Global Shipping to at Least Halve Its Emissions by 2050
Apr 13, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Sara Stefanini
The U.N. shipping regulator clinched a deal today to cut the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent by mid-century — a fragile compromise that deeply split the EU and the U.S. -
Transportation Rivals Power Sector as Top CO2 Emitter
Apr 13, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Jean Chemnick
EPA's greenhouse gas inventory released yesterday shows that the transportation and electricity sectors now supply about the same amount of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. -
Court Slates October Trial Date for Youth Climate Suit
Apr 13, 2018 | Inside EPA
A federal district court judge in Oregon has scheduled an Oct. 29 trial date in the first-time constitutional climate change suit brought by 21 youth plaintiffs, which seeks to force the government to adopt a broad “climate protection plan to reduce greenhouse gases to levels scientists deem safe.
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The Agency Has a Deputy. Is He the Administrator-In-Waiting?
Apr 13, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Robin Bravender and Zack Colman
Administration officials, EPA career staff and industry executives are envisioning a future with Andrew Wheeler at the helm of EPA.
Wheeler was confirmed by the Senate yesterday to be deputy administrator of the agency, even as Scott Pruitt, EPA's chief, continues to come under fire for allegations of ethical lapses. Pruitt's job security was in question in recent weeks as revelations about excess spending and ties to lobbyists piled up, but he seems to have shored up President Trump's support, at least for now.
"Trump at this point appears to be OK with Pruitt, but you never actually know what's in his head on this," said an administration official. "White House staffers are joking that Wheeler's going to be the administrator."
Even before the ethical flare-ups, Pruitt was widely expected to leave EPA — perhaps to seek elected office — before Trump's term ends. If the president decides to fire Pruitt, or if the EPA chief steps down, Wheeler is expected to fill in. He could be there for a while, depending on whether Senate Democrats can fend off the confirmation of another Trump nominee to lead the agency.
Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist and staffer to Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), was nominated last October for the deputy job at EPA. His confirmation months later came as allegations of Pruitt's unethical behavior have sparked investigations within the White House and at EPA.
Now, agency staffers think he might be their next boss.
"People are certainly wondering who would take over, and now that we apparently have a [deputy administrator], he'd be the first in line," said an EPA career employee. "Nobody here really knows him that much, so nobody knows what to think."
A source in the White House acknowledged that many of the mishaps surrounding Pruitt threatened to waylay Wheeler's nomination. That would have been a blow to an agency already under fire for its chief's actions.
"There has been some concern that these stories would harm [Wheeler's] ability of getting in," the White House official said. "What people want to make sure is that EPA continues to be effective as it can be moving forward, to help us get past this."
Meanwhile, some industry representatives would prefer to have Wheeler at the helm.
"Folks are thinking in some cases it might be a step up because [Wheeler] has more institutional know-how of the process, how to move things along," said a refining industry executive. Wheeler and EPA air chief administrator Bill Wehrum would be "a really good one-two punch" on Clean Air Act issues.
"Everyone in our industry loves Scott Pruitt," the executive added, but "everyone is shaking their heads at the questionable situation he's putting himself in. ... He's bringing unnecessary heat on all the other stuff he's done."
As far as the bad press affecting Pruitt's agenda, that person said that "it slows it down a little bit in terms of the staff being able to focus for more than two minutes. ... Everyone's pretty distracted right now."
Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the former head of Trump's EPA transition team, said it's "no surprise that Pruitt doesn't have unanimous support in the White House." And he said it's clear that the White House is watching for further bad news about the EPA chief.
"And obviously if there is, the people who don't support him in the White House are going to say, 'Hey, look, now we've got Andrew Wheeler confirmed, and use him at least as the acting administrator.' I can see that this is at least a plausible alternative, but I'm still focused on supporting Pruitt and focused on getting Andrew confirmed as deputy."
Pruitt and Wheeler are coming from "different standpoints" but are "focused on making fundamental reforms at the EPA," Ebell said. "They're absolutely agreed with the president that the Obama climate agenda has to be rooted out completely. So I think they'll work well together. They have complementary experience and talent. ... It's too bad they haven't been together since September."
And while Pruitt appears to have Trump's support for now, continued reports about his exorbitant spending likely aren't helping. Yesterday, Democratic lawmakers sent Trump a long list of complaints about Pruitt, including allegations that he exceeded the legal amount allowed to decorate his office and sought a contract to rent a private jet that would have cost about $450,000.
"Trump certainly gets ticked off when he hears about his Cabinet officials being loose and irresponsible on travel," said the administration official.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/04/13/stories/1060078965
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Lead Found in 70% of Tested Chicago Homes
Apr 13, 2018 | Chicago Tribune (In E&E Greenwire)
By Michael Hawthorne and Cecilia Reyes
Nearly 70 percent of homes in Chicago tested as part of a city program over the past two years had lead present in their water, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis.
The city started offering free testing kits after the crisis in Flint, Mich., and an EPA study in 2013 that raised concern about lead in Chicago's pipes.
The Tribune analysis reveals that out of the 2,797 homes tested, nearly 70 percent had lead in their water. Three in 10 had lead concentrations exceeding the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's limit for bottled water.
Chicago required water providers to use lead service lines between street mains until 1986, when Congress banned the practice.
In recent years, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars to invest in water infrastructure, but Chicago has no plans to replace its lead service lines. The mayor's office said homeowners can pay to replace lead pipes themselves.
"Chicago could be a leader on nationwide solutions to this problem, but instead they appear to be sticking their heads in the sand," said Tom Neltner, chemicals policy director at the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund.
A city Department of Water Management spokeswoman said she would have to check with the mayor's office before commenting. The mayor's office referred questions back to the Department of Water Management, which sent a short statement saying "the city's water exceeds the standards" set by EPA.
But environmentalists and scientists say EPA's testing standards are hardly a good metric. The agency requires testing at just 50 homes each year, and in Chicago, many of the homes tested belong to water department employees or retirees.
"Chicago's testing blows out of the water one of the foundations of [federal regulations], namely that current lead-in-water monitoring requirements yield reliable information about the extent and severity of contamination across a service area," said Yanna Lambrinidou, a Virginia Tech researcher who served on an EPA lead advisory panel (Hawthorne/Reyes, Chicago Tribune, April 12). — NS
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/04/13/stories/1060078997
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Report: Boosting Energy Efficiency Would Bring Vast Health Benefits
Apr 13, 2018 | Environmental Working Group
By Grant Smith
A new report estimated the sweeping public health benefits that a 15 percent reduction in energy demand would yield in one year.
The February report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, or ACEEE, and Physicians for Social Responsibility, or PSR, found that the savings from modestly cutting energy demand in the electric sector, and thus reducing air pollution, would be the equivalent of the annual insurance premiums for nearly 3.6 million families.
The health harms from air pollution reviewed in the report include premature deaths, respiratory-related visits to the hospital, heart attacks, lost work days and cases of acute bronchitis.
According to the report, this single year reduction in energy demand in the power sector would result in:More than six lives saved per day from premature deathUp to $20 billion in avoided health harmsNearly 30,000 fewer asthma episodes
Energy efficiency investments reduce the need to generate electricity from polluting power plants, reducing air emissions and reducing health harms. The ACEEE and PSR estimated the following substantial reductions in lung-damaging air emissions:Particulate emissions: more than 20,000 tons, or 11 percentNitrogen oxide emissions: about 192,000 tons, or 18 percentSulfur dioxide emissions: about 276,000 tons, or 23 percent
Energy efficiency would also slash emissions driving climate change. Carbon dioxide would be reduced by 14 percent or 285 million tons.
Energy efficiency can be used to dampen price volatility in the electric markets, according to an ACEEE report published this month. Utilities typically purchase power on the open market and need to determine how much power they’ll need to purchase. They essentially bet on power prices going forward to avoid having to buy on the spot market, where prices can be very high. But to hedge against price volatility, they have to pay a premium that eventually shows up on ratepayer bills. If utilities are wrong, they’ve paid too much – if not, they make out.
The 15 percent reduction in energy demand studied in the February report would, in reality, occur over a number of years, but given current trends it is an easily attainable goal. Energy efficiency already meets 18 percent of U.S. electric demand.
The lifecycle cost of energy efficiency is two to three times less than new coal, natural gas or nuclear power plants. Though utilities incur additional costs to hedge against possible bad weather events, energy efficiency is purchased at a low cost and the price of the investments stays the same, as direct savings and other benefits accrue from those investments over a 15- to 20-year period. Saving kilowatt-hours upfront, instead of generating them and betting on their future price, poses far less financial risk to utilities and ratepayers.
With 2.2 million jobs, the energy efficiency sector shouldn’t be sneezed at. But the health, climate and financial benefits are unignorable. Energy efficiency should be the cornerstone of any national or state energy policy.
https://www.ewg.org/news-and-analysis/2018/04/report-boosting-energy-efficiency-would-bring-vast-health-benefits#.WtDTZ_lubX4
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Interior Aims to Duck Fracking Rule Showdown in Calif.
Apr 13, 2018 | E&E Energywire
By Ellen M. Gilmer
The Trump administration and the oil and gas industry want their legal fights out of California.
As another environmental lawsuit — this one over Obama-era hydraulic fracturing standards — starts off in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, government and industry lawyers are pushing for a change of venue.
They want to move the case out of the Golden State, long a favorite spot for environmentalists to file litigation. A coalition of green groups and the state of California filed suit there in January, weeks after Trump officials' December rescission of the Bureau of Land Management's fracking rule.
The Trump administration and its allies would rather fight over the fracking rule rollback in Wyoming. The federal district court there is already intimately familiar with the details of the regulation at issue, they argue, because it handled earlier challenges to the Obama rule. And the Cowboy State is home to more than 40 million acres of the federal mineral estate and the highest number of active federal oil and gas leases.
"If Plaintiff's suit remains in this venue, the parties will be compelled to replicate more than three years of litigation that has already been conducted before another federal district court with greater connections to this case than this district," oil and gas groups told the California court this week. "Such an effort would impose unnecessary burdens on the parties and the Court, implicate the possibility of inconsistent judgments, and run contrary to this Court's policy to promote efficiency and comity."
Though not spelled out in the briefs, there's another thing about Wyoming they like: It's seen as a friendlier venue for oil and gas drillers than California.
The Northern District of California, based in San Francisco, has repeatedly ruled against the Trump administration in environmental cases dealing with the Interior Department's regulatory rollbacks.
In August, for example, the court ruled that Interior officials violated the Administrative Procedure Act when it attempted to suspend a regulation for royalties from federal fossil fuels. Two months later, the court struck again, rejecting a similar Interior effort to suspend part of its rule for methane emissions from oil and gas operations. Yet again in February, the court knocked down the agency's second attempt to halt the methane standards.
In both methane cases, judges rebuffed requests to transfer proceedings to their choice venue of Wyoming.
What makes Wyoming so popular? In litigation over the fracking and methane rules, opponents of the regulation say the Casper court is best because it is already familiar with the issues. Industry groups and Western states filed their original challenges to both Obama rules there, and Judge Scott Skavdahl — who handled both cases — has handed down decisions favorable to the industry before and already understands all the procedural and technical issues.
"Unlike this Court, the District of Wyoming is already familiar with the administrative record and essential facts of the 2015 Rule and can therefore be anticipated to resolve the merits of this case expeditiously, reducing litigation costs and shortening the period of any regulatory uncertainty," the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the Western Energy Alliance told the California court this week.Dueling decisions?
There's another complication if the case stays in California, government lawyers say: It could lead to conflicting court decisions.
In 2015, Skavdahl issued a contentious ruling that the federal government lacks authority to regulate fracking on public and tribal lands. An appeals court last year decided to vacate the ruling on procedural grounds, but the judges did not directly state whether Skavdahl got it right or wrong. The 2015 ruling has also not been vacated yet because the 10th Circuit hasn't yet issued a formal mandate that would finalize its 2017 decision.
The current challenge to the fracking rule rescission asks the court to reinstate the Obama rule. If the California court agrees to do that, it would revive a regulation found unlawful by the Wyoming court.
"If Plaintiffs were to obtain the relief they seek while the Wyoming Court's judgment remains in effect, Defendants would be in the untenable position of having to decide whether to comply with an order from the Wyoming Court setting aside the [fracking] Rule or an order from the Northern District of California reinstating the [fracking] Rule," Justice Department lawyers representing Interior told the California court on Wednesday.
Interior argues that even if the 10th Circuit issues the mandate and that outcome is avoided in the short term, inconsistent court rulings would likely arise down the road. If, for example, the case stays in California and the California court revives the rule, the opponents could simply return to the Wyoming court and ask Skavdahl to strike it down again, Wednesday's brief says.
California and the environmental coalition have maintained that their case, because it challenges the rescission of the rule, raises different legal issues than the original litigation in Wyoming.
"Attempts by Industry to inject questions about BLM's legal authority into this case should in no way affect whether the court invalidates the Repeal as arbitrary, capricious or contrary to law under the APA," environmental lawyers wrote earlier this month.
They added that the California court can weigh any concerns about BLM's legal authority to regulate fracking at the remedy stage, after it decides whether the rollback was lawful.
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2018/04/13/stories/1060078989
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U.S. Land Permits Still Climbing Year-to-Date, as Texas, New Mexico, Wyoming Lead Gains
Apr 13, 2018 | Natural Gas Intelligence
By Carolyn Davis
Requests for oil and natural gas drilling permits continued to strengthen in March, when U.S. land permits totaled 5,586, up 34% from February and 42% year/year, according to data by Evercore ISI.
There are some weak spots, with Utah permitting falling 32% from February, while Louisiana was off 2%, but the losses were more than than offset by month/month gains in New Mexico (29%) and Wyoming (25%).
“Texas permitting grew 34% on the back of flat growth a month before; with over half of the working U.S. oil rigs, Texas continues to be the single-most important state in terms of evaluating the magnitude and direction of U.S. permitting trends,” said Evercore’s James West.
It was the second straight month for permitting to improve sequentially and from a year earlier, with the monthly total in march above 5,000 for the first time since late 2014.
Through April 6, U.S. land permitting stood at 1,088, with the four-week rolling average of 1,125 “just shy of the multi-year high of 1,155 realized in March,” he said.
A 25% uptick in Wyoming permitting drove the recent week/week improvement, which implies an April total sharply above 4,000.
“From a momentum standpoint, year/year improvement in the state-level four-week trailing average is most robust in the Rockies (Colorado/Wyoming) and the Permian (New Mexico/Texas), where the Rockies permitting cadence has tripled and the Permian pace has grown nearly 50%,” West said.
Oklahoma and Bakken Shale permitting also are solidly higher, while even conventional activity appears to be on the mend, at least in terms of permitting, for California.
With nearly every budget finalized for the year and assuming commodity prices below the $65-70/bbl band, “we see ample upside to drilling programs as evidenced by the sheer outperformance of permits” versus estimates and capital spending assumptions.
Year-to-date, domestic land permitting outperformance in 1Q2018 followed on a strong showing in 4Q2017.
The 41% growth in domestic permitting for fiscal 2018 “continues to vastly outpace our projected 15% increase in spending growth (and is anticipated to fall just 15% shy of the 2014 peak),” West said.
The U.S. rig count to date has surprised to the upside, with the count last Friday eclipsing the 1,000 level. The March total count and a multi-year high average over four weeks “bode well for continued rig count strength,” he said.
Evercore expects domestic onshore drilling to outpace market expectations through the year, particularly as completion activity “lumpiness” and negative exploration and production revisions push North American output growth lower.
“The inflationary cycle is in full swing,” West said, and the oilfield services (OFS) sector “is poised to capture this upside as seasonal and weather related bottlenecks subside.”
The onshore metamorphosis to manufacturing mode is showing in conventional permit trends too.
However, the rig count is driving most of the macro models in Evercore’s North American OFS coverage, “and ‘conventional’ wisdom would suggest that we are still a far cry from the 2014 peak of 1,864 U.S. rigs.”
Still, there’s upside on the OFS front, as sold-out completions lines “continue to command similar pricing power to that of the previous cycle peak.”
The unconventional/conventional permit ratio “has nearly doubled from the 6.0-times level in 2014 to nearly 12.0-times today,” West noted. “Conventional plays, including California, have been relatively absent from the permit/activity recovery thus far, despite the lower capital barriers,” as vertical conventional wells often cost less than $1 million in total drilling and completion costs.
“Conventional wells tend to be more risky from a geological perspective, and the push for scale-driven value creation in shale lends itself well to the ‘manufacturing’ paradigm that would preclude conventional projects of size.”
Continued improvement in crude oil prices could invite more conventional drilling spend, which could pose an “outsized benefit to drilling contractors versus completions companies.”
http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/114021-us-land-permits-still-climbing-year-to-date-as-texas-new-mexico-wyoming-lead-gains
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Perry Heads to India to Promote Natural Gas Exports
Apr 13, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
Energy Secretary Rick Perry is traveling to India starting Friday to promote liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other forms of energy from the United States.
His itinerary will include meetings in New Delhi “with both government officials and private sector stakeholders about the growing bilateral energy relationship between the United States and India,” the department said Friday.The trip will also include a meeting to launch an energy partnership between the nations, chaired by Perry and India’s minister of petroleum and natural gas, Dharmendra Pradhan.
Bloomberg reported that in February, Perry postponed his India trip in order to attend talks with Saudi leaders about a potential agreement to let them use U.S. nuclear power technology.
Perry previewed the India trip Thursday in a budget hearing with the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy.
“India is obviously a huge market” for United States energy, he said. “Our ability to deliver U.S. innovation, U.S. natural resources into that country are a great opportunity. That’s the real driving factor of why we're headed that way.”
Perry told senators earlier in the week that he’ll also be pitching India on buying “clean coal” technology from the United States, such as carbon capture equipment.
Perry has made it a priority to promote exports of fossil fuels like LNG and oil in his time as secretary.
He said in January that when the U.S. exports LNG, it “is not just exporting energy, we’re exporting freedom.”
“We’re exporting to our allies in Europe the opportunity to truly have a choice of where do you buy your energy from. That’s freedom. And that kind of freedom is priceless,” he said on Fox Business Network.
Energy exports are a key pillar of President Trump’s agenda for “energy dominance,” a strategy to increase domestic production of fossil fuels and other energy sources and use exports as a geopolitical tool.
India took its first import of U.S. crude oil in October and its first import of U.S. LNG in March.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/383034-perry-heads-to-india-to-promote-natural-gas-exports
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Agency Leaders Tout 'Great Work' on Climate Under Trump
Apr 13, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Scott Waldman
The acting heads of both NOAA and NASA, which conduct the bulk of the nation's climate research, say their agencies have not seen their research diminished during the first year of the Trump administration.
Appearing before congressional appropriators this week, NOAA's acting chief, retired Rear Adm. Timothy Gallaudet, and NASA acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot defended the climate science conducted at their agencies. NOAA's climate research is important because there are still so many uncertainties, including future sea-level-rise projections, that need to be explored, Gallaudet said. Gallaudet is a Trump appointee; Lightfoot is a career NASA official who plans to retire this month.
"Our organization does much great work still in terms of monitoring climate and climate change and the studies behind it, including the various aspects of it — whether it be drought or sea-level rise — and we're applying that information every day in studies and assessments and work with local officials to help manage and adapt to those changes," Gallaudet said.
However, the fate of that research remains unclear. Under Trump, both agencies have gone a record amount of time without a permanent leader.
The president has said he believes climate change is a hoax, and a number of his Cabinet secretaries have scaled back research in their departments. Both agency leaders acknowledged that some climate work, including one satellite mission at NASA and ocean acidification research at NOAA, would be scaled back as a result of the Trump administration's budget request.
NASA and NOAA, however, have continued to put out a high volume of climate research in the last year. In the recent budget agreement, NOAA received a 4 percent increase to $5.9 billion, though much of that funding is dedicated to weather research. Climate research was held flat. Overall, NASA received an 6 percent hike to $20.7 billion. Its earth science division received $2 billion in funding, a flat funding level from the previous fiscal year.
At two separate hearings on Wednesday and yesterday, Democratic representatives questioned whether the Trump administration's approach to science was affecting the agencies. Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) said the administration appeared to be ignoring the decadal surveys crafted by scientists, research institutions and policymakers that guide years of NASA research planning.
"Instead of respecting the expertise behind the recommendations in the earth science and astrophysics decadal surveys, the current administration is shelving our next flagship space telescope and canceling four earth science missions that were highly prioritized in the 2010 and 2017 decadal surveys, including one mission that is operational and has been flying for years," he said.
Lightfoot replied that all of the climate science satellite missions, except one, had been restored during the budget negotiations. He said the agency still had a good portfolio of earth science, including 20 space missions and 65 aircraft used for airborne science.
"We think the budget is adequate, and if you look at the entire cycle ... the Earth system, all the different things, ice, clouds, water levels, ocean color, rainfall, all the different things we measure, we believe we have a measurement in all those areas that allows us to look at the Earth as a system and provide the data we need," Lightfoot said.
But the topic of climate change was still controversial at the hearings. Rep. José Serrano (D-N.Y.) said Republicans bristled at the mere mention of global warming before the proceeding began.
Serrano said he was going to disregard the pledge made to Republican colleagues prior to the meeting not to talk about global warming, and jokingly said he would talk about global changes but not call it climate change.
"We made an agreement yesterday that since climate change upsets some people in the House, I'm just referring to something is going on, and we'll leave it at that," he said.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/04/13/stories/1060078957
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Top Massachusetts Court Rules Against Exxon in Climate Case
Apr 13, 2018 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Miranda Green
The highest court in Massachusetts ruled against Exxon Mobil in the company's bid to block the state's attorney general from obtaining records to investigate whether the oil and gas giant knew about the role fossil fuels played in climate change.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled Friday morning that the state attorney general had jurisdiction to investigate the climate-related offenses by Exxon, which included probing whether the company violated the state's consumer protection law when it marketed or sold its products.
Previously Exxon had sued to stop the probe and lost, leading to an appeal, which the court ruled Friday had been accurate.
"We conclude that there is personal jurisdiction over Exxon with respect to the Attorney General's investigation, and that the judge did not abuse her discretion in denying Exxon's requests to set aside the C.I.D., disqualify the Attorney General, and issue a stay. We affirm the judge's order in its entirety," the court wrote in its ruling.
The Massachusetts office began investigating Exxon follows the publishing of leaked documents in 2015 showing internal communications that appeared to show that the company knew of the significant role burning fossil fuels played in climate change. Fossil fuels are Exxon's principal product.
The internal correspondence also showed that the company did not alert the public of the public health risks, as mandated by the state, and "instead sought to undermine the evidence of climate change altogether, in order to preserve its value as a company," the court wrote.
Maura Healey (D), the state’s top lawyer, first filed requests for Exxon documents related to the case in April 2016. Exxon soon after sued to stop the action.
Healey believed the action was done to "forum shop" for a more favorable court venue for Exxon.
“This court should reject Exxon’s transparent attempt at forum-shopping and dismiss this case,” Douglas Cawley, who is representing Healey’s office, wrote in a brief with the federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
“Exxon has challenged the validity of the [demand] in Massachusetts state court and will have a full and fair opportunity to press its claims there,” he said at the time. “Notwithstanding that fact, Exxon also elected to file a nearly identical suit in this court and asks the court to exercise personal jurisdiction over Attorney General Healey — despite the fact that all relevant events alleged in the complaint occurred in Massachusetts or New York and no relevant events occurred in Texas.”
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/383013-top-massachusetts-court-rules-against-exxon-in-climate-case
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High-Profile Climate Trial to Kick off This Fall
Apr 13, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Benjamin Hulac
The landmark climate lawsuit filed by kids and young adults against the U.S. government will begin in the fall, a judge said yesterday.
Judge Ann Aiken, a Clinton appointee on the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, will hear opening statements Oct. 29 in Eugene, Ore.
The plaintiffs sued in 2015, arguing that the American government has for decades violated their constitutional rights and safety by worsening climate change and at points encouraging the combustion of fossil fuels, despite the fact federal researchers knew of climate dangers by the 1960s.
That their case, Juliana v. United States, will be heard in a federal courthouse and before the public is a victory for the plaintiffs, who have climate scientists lined up to testify that the world is in a perilous state due to humanity's actions and inaction (Climatewire, March 22). Justice Department lawyers under the Obama and Trump administrations fought to get the case dismissed.
Instead of suing for financial damages, the plaintiffs demand that the federal government develop a plan to phase out fossil fuels and swiftly address climate change.
Three industry groups — the American Petroleum Institute, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers and the National Association of Manufacturers — sued years ago as outside parties to block the case, before withdrawing in 2017.
The organizations could have been exposed to discovery requests if they had remained.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/04/13/stories/1060078991
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Global Shipping to at Least Halve Its Emissions by 2050
Apr 13, 2018 | PoliticoPro - Whiteboard
By Sara Stefanini
The U.N. shipping regulator clinched a deal today to cut the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent by mid-century — a fragile compromise that deeply split the EU and the U.S.
The U.S., Saudi Arabia, India, Brazil, Iran, the Philippines and Cyprus were among the dissenters, calling to further weaken the target agreed in the International Maritime Organization.
Europeans, small island states and others instead expressed disappointment that it wasn’t higher, but did accept the compromise.
The draft climate strategy, due to be finalized in 2023, aims to peak emissions from shipping as soon as possible and halve them by 2050, compared to 2008 levels. But it leaves open the door for much bigger cuts by calling to pursue a full phase-out.
It also aims to reduce emissions per each ton of cargo shipped by at least 40 percent by 2030 and pursue efforts toward 70 percent by 2050, and calls to review the IMO’s energy efficiency design rules for ships with a view to tightening them.
The shipping industry broadly cheered the agreed strategy as a sufficient signal for cleaner fuels and other changes.
“The 50 percent cut is an incredibly ambitious objective, and it can only be realistically achieved with the development and roll-out of zero-carbon fuels,” said Simon Bennett, deputy secretary-general of the International Chamber of Shipping.
That means that once the industry has enough clean fuel to reach that goal, full decarbonization will be in reach, he said.
https://www.politicopro.com/whiteboard
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Transportation Rivals Power Sector as Top CO2 Emitter
Apr 13, 2018 | E&E Climatewire
By Jean Chemnick
EPA's greenhouse gas inventory released yesterday shows that the transportation and electricity sectors now supply about the same amount of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.
In 2016, the latest year for which data is available, fossil fuel-generated power and transportation each supplied about 34 percent of total U.S. CO2 emissions, according to the annual EPA report. Industry was a distant third at 15 percent.
Electricity has historically been the chief source of CO2 emissions, but shifts from coal to lower-carbon fuels, especially natural gas, have shrunk its share of the total carbon dioxide pie in recent years. Power generation is currently responsible for 28 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions overall, due in large part to methane emissions from natural gas. Transportation accounts for 27 percent of overall greenhouse gases.
The United States released 6,511 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent in 2016 when CO2, methane, nitrogen oxides and fluorinated gases are added together. That total is down 2.5 percent compared with 2015. It was also 12 percent below 2005 levels after accounting for reductions from carbon sinks. In Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2007, the Obama administration promised the world that the United States would cut its greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 — a goal it is considered likely to miss.
The State Department will submit the inventory to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, which the United States plans to remain a party to for the foreseeable future. But the body also requires the transmission of a biennial Climate Action Report detailing efforts to curb emissions. State missed a New Year's Day deadline to supply that report, which would be the first since President Trump took office, and has yet to say when or if it will be completed.
The Center for Biological Diversity refiled a lawsuit in U.S. District Court this week demanding that the agency meet its obligation after receiving no answer to a Freedom of Information Act request.
The EPA inventory is comparatively uncontroversial, skirting policy issues in favor of emissions data. The exercise was completed last year under Trump, and a draft version of the latest tally was made public in February.
Dina Kruger, former director of EPA's Climate Change Division, said in a recent interview that industries like the greenhouse gas inventory.
"That's the way that they can basically tell people the level of greenhouse gas emissions," she said. "The sectors like to see that their emissions are going down."
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/04/13/stories/1060078995
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Court Slates October Trial Date for Youth Climate Suit
Apr 13, 2018 | Inside EPA
A federal district court judge in Oregon has scheduled an Oct. 29 trial date in the first-time constitutional climate change suit brought by 21 youth plaintiffs, which seeks to force the government to adopt a broad “climate protection plan to reduce greenhouse gases to levels scientists deem safe.
While some experts have said the litigation faces an uphill battle on the merits, this fall's upcoming high-profile trial could nonetheless increase public pressure on the Trump administration to take more affirmative steps to address climate change.
In addition, the trial will occur in the days leading up to the Nov. 6 midterms, in which Democrats hope to make major gains in Congress in part by campaigning against President Donald Trump's efforts to roll back a swath of Obama-era climate and other environmental protections.
Julia Olson of Our Children's Trust, which is representing the plaintiffs, said in an April 12 statement that the coming months will include depositions and federal defendants' disclosure of their experts. “We will build a factual record for trial so that the Court can make the best-informed decision in this crucial constitutional case,” she said.
She also said that during a case management hearing, Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin “made clear that [the court] is not going to make decisions on summary judgment motions before the full record at trial, despite [federal] defendants' intentions to move to summary judgment prior to Oct. 29.”
The suit is Juliana, et al. v. United States of America, which is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.
The trial is slated to occur after a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit denied a Department of Justice request to order dismissal of the suit even before the lower court completed its review.
The 9th Circuit panel called the requested writ of mandamus a “drastic and extraordinary remedy” and that there is a value in allowing trial courts to consider litigation “free of needless appellate interference. In turn, appellate review is aided by a developed record and full consideration of issues by the trial courts.”
https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/court-slates-october-trial-date-youth-climate-suit
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