Daily on Energy: Trump loses grasp on history and the facts in talking energy

It’s worth reviewing some of the claims he made while speaking at the opening of the Cameron LNG natural gas export terminal in Louisiana.

* Trump claimed that: “Without what we did, you could have never gotten this done. It would have taken years.”

But it’s not clear how his actions could have done that so quickly. A key executive order he was referring to was just signed a few weeks ago — and primarily directed at undermining state authorities to block natural gas pipelines. But House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, also in attendance, noted that the plant had been in the works for eight years. And it’s in a region of the country that is friendly to oil and gas.

* Trump claimed that his permitting reform helped get the plant up and running/liquefying gas. In fact, it won’t start exporting for a few weeks.

* Trump also said the Cameron facility was originally planned to be an LNG import terminal because of “Anti-American Energy policies.” But plans to export from Cameron started years before Trump was in office, primarily because of a surge in natural gas production that began under President Barack Obama.

The export boom in the Gulf has much less to do with the policies of one president, and more to do with the huge market demand for low-cost natural gas.

Also, “those export terminals started to be approved during the Obama administration,” said Chip Minty, former spokesman for Devon Energy, the company that led the shale natural gas boom. “The country also made it legal to export oil during the Obama administration.”

* Trump claimed that pundits were predicting just five years ago that the nation would be running out of natural gas.

“If he said five years, ago that’s not correct,” said Minty.

Talk of the nation running out of natural gas and oil was most common at the beginning of the George W. Bush administration. But by the time Obama was in office, the shale boom was well underway and the idea of “peak oil” and running out of supply became a thing of the past.

Minty says Trump often uses “hyperbole” to get a point across, where he “shoots from the hip” and facts and precision get lost.

* Trump said the Green New Deal wants to “stop coal, oil, nuclear. They want to stop practically everything.”

But the Green New Deal says nothing about nuclear and is open to zero-carbon sources of energy that would include nuclear power.

* Trump claimed the 2015 Paris climate deal would “have shut down clean American energy production,” alluding to natural gas production. But natural gas would not be eliminated under Paris.

In fact, he praised European officials present at the Cameron LNG event for buying U.S. natural gas. All European Union nations are part of the Paris climate agreement.

* Trump said the Obama EPA’s Clean Power Plan would have stopped the nation from exporting LNG. The power plan was primarily aimed at existing power plants, targeting the electricity sector. Although it did seek to place limits on emissions from states, it did not place direct restrictions on energy extraction and exports.

It is more likely that individual states would have decided to bar fossil fuel export terminals as part of their individual climate plans.

Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers John Siciliano (@JohnDSiciliano) and Josh Siegel (@SiegelScribe). Email [email protected] for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.

TRUMP CALLS THE GREEN NEW DEAL A ‘HOAX’: Trump attacked the Green New Deal Tuesday, claiming the progressive plan to fight climate change “might be a bigger hoax” than the Russian investigation.

“The Green New Deal is a hoax like the hoax I just went through,” Trump said during his speech in Louisiana. “I’m not sure, it might even be a bigger one. And mine was pretty big.”

Trump told the audience of energy industry workers that if the Green New Deal were implemented, “everybody in this room gets fired” because backers of the plan “don’t like clean, beautiful natural gas.”

CEOS OF BIG COMPANIES URGE CONGRESS TO ENACT CARBON TAX: CEOs from more than a dozen large companies across various sectors partnered with environmental groups Wednesday to call on Congress to enact a carbon tax to address climate change.

The coalition, calling themselves the “CEO Climate Dialogue” aims to build bipartisan support for federal climate policies that will “increase regulatory and business certainty, reduce climate risk, and spur investment and innovation needed to meet science-based emissions reduction targets.”

Companies participating in the CEO Dialogue include BP, Citi, Dominion Energy, Dow, DTE Energy, DuPont, Exelon, Ford LafargeHolcim, PG&E, Shell, Unilever, and the chemical maker BASF. The environmental groups in the coalition are the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Environmental Defense Fund, Nature Conservancy, and World Resources Institute.

“An economy-wide price on carbon is the best way to use the power of the market to achieve carbon reduction goals, in a simple, coherent and efficient manner,” the coalition said.

The coalition calls for a carbon price that achieves economy-wide emissions reductions of 80% or more by 2050. That is less aggressive than the Green New Deal, which seeks to reach net-zero emissions.

Principles that should inform federal climate policy: The group outlines other priorities. It says climate policy should not emphasize certain technologies or energy resources over others.

It should keep the U.S. economy “competitive.” And, in language echoing the Green New Deal, the coalition says climate policy should “include mechanisms to invest in American workers, and in disadvantaged communities that have the least resources to manage the costs” of global warming.

TOP WAYS AND MEANS REPUBLICAN KEVIN BRADY OPPOSES CARBON TAX: Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican of the House Ways and Means Committee, quickly threw cold water on the political viability of a carbon tax Wednesday.

“We believe a carbon tax is not the solution to address our environmental challenges,” Brady said during the committee’s first hearing focused on climate change in more than a decade.

The Ways and Means Committee would have jurisdiction over any carbon pricing proposal that might gain traction in Congress. But only two Republicans, Reps. Francis Rooney of Florida and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania are on record supporting a carbon tax.

Brady instead called on Congress to incentivize clean energy development, and make “smart investments” in “cutting edge” technology.

BLOCKED FROM TESTIFYING, CARLOS CURBELO SAYS STENY HOYER DOESN’T CARE ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE: Former Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo of Florida struck back at House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Wednesday for blocking him from testifying about climate change before the Ways and Means Committee.

“His main concern is not solving climate change,” Curbelo told Josh outside the committee room. “It’s blocking me from an opportunity he thinks could be beneficial to me in a future run for office that may not even happen. It’s really just short-sighted.”

Hoyer last week intervened to pressure Ways and Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., to revoke an invitation Neal offered Curbelo to testify. Curbelo used to serve on the Ways and Means Committee and is friends with Neal.

Despite being disinvited, Curbelo appeared at the committee hearing and submitted testimony for the record, focused on promoting a carbon tax as “the best policy” to combat the problem.

IEA SEES ‘NO DISRUPTION’ TO OIL SUPPLY DESPITE DISRUPTIONS: There has been no disruption to oil supplies and prices are little changed in recent weeks despite Trump’s sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, and increasing hostilities in the Middle East, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.

“The IEA is reassured to see that the challenges posed by the supply uncertainties are being managed and we hope that major players will continue to work to ensure market stability,” the IEA said in its monthly oil market report.

Losses in oil production from Iran, Venezuela, and Libya, coupled with attacks on shipping off Fujairah and on pumping stations in Saudi Arabia, are “confusing the supply outlook.”

However despite the “difficult geopolitical backdrop and other supply problems” oil prices are little changed from a month ago at just above $70 barrels per day for Brent, the international benchmark.

Why IEA is confident: The IEA mostly credits pledges by Saudi Arabia and its OPEC allies to increase production.

OPEC and Russia have been implementing an agreement since January to cut oil production in order to raise prices. But IEA says the parties to the agreement are actually cutting more than they promised, meaning there is an opportunity for producers “to step up production.”

IEA also projects U.S. crude oil production to increase by 1.2 million bpd in 2019.

BERNHARDT SAYS HE CAN’T WAVE A ‘MAGIC WAND’ TO STOP CLIMATE CHANGE: Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said Wednesday he has no power to stop climate change without the direction of Congress.

“You haven’t given any direction” to “stop it,” Bernhardt said in a heated exchange with Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif.

If the Congress wants to stop climate change then “go for it,” Bernhardt added. But that’s not something the agency can do with a “magic wand.”

Bernhardt was testifying for the first time before the House Natural Resources Committee.

Levin pointed out examples of ways the agency can address climate change, and said not doing so represents the “epitome of the swamp” by favoring energy companies.

BERNHARDT GETS HAMMERED AHEAD OF HEARING IN AD CAMPAIGN: Groups took aim at Bernhardt in an ad campaign Tuesday calling attention to his previous energy lobbying as undermining public lands policy.

The Western Values Project, a conservation group, launched the campaign timed with Bernhardt’s congressional testimony.

The ad says Bernhardt has told Congress and the public a “series of lies” when it comes to his ties to industry while serving at the agency.

PROPOSAL TO REMOVE GRAY WOLF FROM ENDANGERED LIST GETS PUSHED BACK AMID OUTCRY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Tuesday that it would be giving groups another 60 days to comment on its proposal to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list after a massive outcry by conservation groups.

The decision followed the submission of 900,000 letters by a coalition of conservation groups opposing the Trump administration’s proposed action on the grounds that it would open the states to trophy hunts and other actions that would likely put the wolves back on the list of threatened species.

The Center for Biological Diversity, an advocacy group leading the charge against the administration’s roll back of species protections, called the outpouring the largest number of comments ever received by the federal government on an Endangered Species Act issue in the law’s 45-year history.

The Rundown

Washington Post Climate change tests Joe Biden as he confronts a major question for Democrats: Is any compromise too much?

New York Times A Keystone-like pipeline opens fierce battle over New York’s ‘energy future’

Wall Street Journal Attacks to raise security, insurance costs for Persian Gulf oil shipments

Reuters Asia oil buyers, shippers go on alert after Saudi ship, facility attacks

Bloomberg These are the cities doing the most to combat global warming

Calendar

WEDNESDAY | May 15

2 p.m., 1334 Longworth. The House Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands holds an oversight hearing on “Examining the Impacts of Climate Change on Public Lands Recreation.”

THURSDAY | May 16

10 a.m., 366 Dirksen. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds a hearing on the Department of Energy’s carbon capture, utilization, and storage programs and to receive testimony on the Enhancing Fossil Fuel Energy Carbon Technology Act of 2019.

10 a.m., 1324 Longworth. The House Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources holds an oversight hearing on “Oil and Gas Development: Impacts of Water Pollution Above and Below Ground.”