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ABOUT THE LATEST REPORT ON MELTING GLACIERS AND SEA LEVEL RISE: Melting glaciers and ice sheets are causing sea level rise, causing coastal extreme weather events to become more severe while the ocean is warmer, more acidic, and less productive, according to a major new report by the United Nations.
The report, released Wednesday by the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, focuses on global warming’s effects on the ocean and the cryosphere — the frozen parts of the planet — which are necessary for food and water, energy, trade, transportation, recreation, and tourism.
More on the report below.
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UN report: Why should policymakers care? “The report is a reminder that the debate over global climate change is becoming a discussion about the challenges local communities are facing such as flooding, salt water intrusion, coral bleaching, melting snowpack, and stressed crops among others,” former Republican congressman Carlos Curbelo of Florida told Josh. “Soon it will be impossible for any honest policymaker to ignore or disregard this issue.”
Some major findings of the report, produced by more than 100 authors from 36 countries, include:
- Sea levels are currently rising more than twice as fast, 3.6 millimeters per year, as they did in the 20th century. Sea level rise could reach around 30 to 60 centimeters by 2100 even if global warming is limited to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius, the goal of the Paris agreement.
- The Greenland Ice Sheet has lost mass at an average rate of 278 billion tons per year between 2006 and 2015, while the Antarctic Ice Sheet during the same period has melted at a rate of about 155 billion tons annually.
- Oceans are becoming more acidic and losing oxygen, having absorbed between 20 to 30% of total CO2 emissions since the 1980s, affecting the distribution and abundance of marine life in coastal areas, which harms the supply of product for commercial fisheries.
- Marine heatwaves, which can cause large-scale deaths of corals and other ocean organisms, have doubled in frequency since 1982 and are increasing in intensity.
The context of the report: The findings build on a larger report released by the same U.N. climate panel last year that concluded world energy use must undergo a “rapid and far-reaching” transition by 2030 to prevent a 1.5-degree rise in the global temperature. That report said the world must reach net-zero emissions by 2050, inspiring Democratic presidential candidates and members of Congress to offer pledges to reach that target.
But the world’s largest emitters, including the United States and China, did not commit to significant additional policies to meet those goals at a U.N. Climate Summit this week.
That suggests the latest report might not move the needle with those already skeptical of extensive federal action to combat climate change.
“The needle has moved in Congress where Republicans are saying yes, climate change is real and our office is looking into it,” said Andres Jimenez, senior director of government affairs at Citizens Climate Lobby, whose group backs a carbon tax. “We’re just not at the point where the majority of Republicans are saying, ‘this is what we will do about it.’ This report shows us we need to be moving much faster to create change.”
TRUMP BLASTS CALIFORNIA FOR DIRTY AIR: The latest in the battle between the Environmental Protection Agency and California centers around the Golden State’s air quality. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler has often criticized California’s air, sometimes in the same breath as urging the state to focus less on aggressive climate change policy.
Now the EPA is taking action. In a letter to California Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols on Tuesday, Wheeler said the EPA wants the state to withdraw more than 100 backlogged state plans to comply with federal air quality requirements and commit to redo them. If California doesn’t, the EPA is threatening to withhold highway funds and permit approvals.
Former Obama officials, however, said the Trump administration’s move was ironic because California has the most stringent air programs in the country. And the Trump EPA is attacking some of climate and air programs — namely California’s zero-emissions vehicle rules — that the state says are critical to reducing smog.
CALIFORNIA HITS BACK ON WATER: The Golden State’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, took his own shot on Tuesday, bringing the EPA to court in northern California over failing to protect the state’s waters.
The lawsuit challenges the EPA’s decision that nearly 1,400 acres of salt ponds in Redwood City don’t qualify as “waters of the U.S.” granting them protections under the Clean Water Act. The Redwood City salt ponds are adjacent to the San Francisco Bay and protecting them is critical to restoring the bay’s ecosystem, California says.
“This unlawful proposal is simply an attempt by the EPA to overlook its obligation to protect our nation’s waters in order to fast track development,” Becerra said in a statement.
JOHN DELANEY IS THE STRONGEST 2020 DEMOCRAT — HE CAN DEADLIFT 350 LBS: Check out Josh’s new offbeat profile on John Delaney, who is the strongest Democratic presidential candidate — literally.
Daily on Energy readers might recognize Delaney, 56, for his long-time support of a carbon tax.
But he’s also a 6 feet tall, 200 pounds gym buff who can notch 350 pounds on the deadlift.
“I don’t think I am particularly fit,” Delaney told Josh in an interview this month on his fitness routine at a gym in his campaign headquarters. “I work out because it makes me feel good. I don’t think it’s something people should vote on, let me put it that way.”
Read more here about Delaney’s workout regimen on the campaign trail, which brings him to gyms in hotels across Iowa, and even inside a Las Vegas airport.
SENATE ENERGY COMMITTEE PASSES BILL TO REDUCE MANUFACTURING EMISSIONS: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved a bill Wednesday morning that seeks to reduce emissions from industrial manufacturing sources.
The Clean Industrial Technology Act would create a new program within the Energy Department to research and develop technologies that could be used as non-carbon alternatives in industrial manufacturing, which is responsible for about 22% of U.S. emissions.
Sponsors of the bill include Republican Senators Mike Braun of Indiana and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, along with Democrats Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
ROMNEY TO CALL FOR ‘MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH’ IN INNOVATION DURING CLEAN ENERGY WEEK: Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah will call for a “major breakthrough” in technological innovation but stop short of endorsing carbon pricing — which he has flirted with supporting — in an address Thursday recognizing National Clean Energy Week.
Josh obtained a preview of Romney’s planned address at the Clean Energy Week Policymakers Symposium from his staff.
“There’s no question that we are experiencing climate change and that humans are a significant contributor to that,” Romney will say. “The course forward is going to require a major breakthrough in innovation and technology, and any solution must be global in scope. We should also look at greater efficiency standards in cars, trucks, and factories to reduce energy consumption and pollution.”
Romney has taken on a leading role in pushing Republicans to address climate change, noting the importance of reaching young people who care about the issue. This summer, he said he’s “looking” at the benefits a carbon tax — which supporters say would drive innovation by encouraging producers to switch away from fossil fuels to invest in cleaner energy. But Romney has stopped short of endorsing a bill.
Along with Romney, speakers at the symposium will include Senator Mike Braun, Republican of Indiana, GOP Representatives Garret Graves of Louisiana and Matt Gaetz of Florida, along with Democrats Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, and Representatives Paul Tonko of New York and Scott Peters of California.
CONSERVATIVE GROUP HOSTS CARBON TAX BRIEFING WITH FRANCIS ROONEY: The conservative group Alliance for Market Solutions is on Capitol Hill Wednesday making the fiscal case for a carbon tax.
The group is hosting its second briefing for congressional staff this year focused on its preferred approach to carbon pricing, in which the revenue of the tax goes to reduce payroll taxes.
Republican Representative Francis Rooney of Florida will speak at the briefing. He has introduced a carbon tax bill that largely mirrors Alliance for Market Solutions’ approach.
“Today’s event is in response to increased interest in a carbon tax, particularly its ability to enable tax reform,” Alex Flint, executive director of the conservative group, told Josh. “Ambassador Rooney and the rest of the panel will demonstrate why it’s a pro-growth and pro-environment approach.”
SENATE CONFIRMS TOP INTERIOR LAWYER: The Senate confirmed Daniel Jorjani to be the top lawyer at the Interior Department on a party-line vote Tuesday, with only one Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, breaking ranks to oppose him.
Jorjani will be Interior’s solicitor after being deputy solicitor since May 2017.
“He will continue to distinguish himself with his integrity, his work ethic, his humility, and his sincere dedication to the Department’s mission,” said Interior Secretary David Bernhardt.
Environmental groups had pushed Congress to oppose Jorjani because of his role as deputy solicitor authoring legal opinions defending controversial Interior decisions, such as expanding oil and drilling on public lands, rolling back the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and shrinking the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.
Interior’s inspector general is currently investigating Jorjani for his role in a policy in which agency political appointees were allowed to review Freedom of Information public records requests.
The Rundown
S&P Global: How Seattle stakeholders put the brakes on the city’s proposed gas ban
Bloomberg: U.S. Chamber to re-examine climate policy that cost it members
Wall Street Journal Saudi Arabia considers doubling stakes in Aramco public offering
Los Angeles Times California could face power shortages if these gas plants shut down, officials say
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 25
6 p.m. to 9 p.m. 1127 Connecticut Ave NW. National Clean Energy Week VIP Reception & Banquet.
THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 26
9 a.m. to 7 p.m. 529 14th Street Northwest 13th Floor. National Clean Energy Week Policy Makers Symposium. Keynote speakers include Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Reps. Garret Graves, R-La., Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., and more.
2 p.m. Room HVC-210 of the House Visitor Center. The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis holds a hearing on “Solving the Climate Crisis: Reducing Industrial Emissions Through U.S. Innovation.”
