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December 12, 2016
The C40, a global coalition of 90 cities, recently released a roadmap for mitigating city-wide carbon emissions. The United States has 12 C40 members, including Boston. Image courtesy of Bill Damon via flickr.com.
On December 8, President-elect Trump selected Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the EPA. Pruitt is one of 27 attorneys general suing the federal government in an effort to block the Clean Power Plan and is part of a separate suit to roll back the Obama administration's regulation of methane emissions in the fossil fuel sector. Pruitt built his political career around advocacy on behalf of the fossil fuel industry and bills himself as a "leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda." In defending his deep ties to the energy industry while attorney general, he has stated that the position empowered him to "[protect] Oklahoma’s economy from … federal overreach by agencies like the EPA.” A 2014 investigation by the New York Times found that letters criticizing environmental protection rules were written by energy lobbyists, but signed by Pruitt and delivered as official state correspondence to federal agencies. Pruitt's appointment came on the heels of a November 5 meeting where former Vice President Al Gore met with President-elect Trump to discuss climate change at the invitation of his daughter, Ivanka Trump.
For more information see:
Washington Post, New York Times, Guardian
According to an internal Department of Energy (DOE) document obtained by the press, the Trump administration's transition team is requesting a list of employees and contractors who were involved in climate-related work during their time at the agency. The information requests were detailed in a transition memo featuring a lengthy questionnaire on DOE programs, actions, and analytical methods. Of note, is the transition team's request for individuals who have participated in international climate talks and "which programs within DOE are essential to meeting the goals of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan." In addition, the questionnaire requested "a list of department employees or contractors who attended interagency meetings, the dates of the meetings, and emails and other materials associated" with the social cost of carbon, an institutionalized method of calculating the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions. Energy Department employees have characterized the questionnaire as "intrusive" and unsettling. Officials are concerned the transition team's tactics are part of an effort to intentionally target civil servants who helped carry out the Obama administration's climate change policies. DOE is still considering how it may respond to the questionnaires' targeting of climate activities.
Washington Post, Bloomberg
The appointment of Thomas Pyle to lead the Department of Energy (DOE) transition team seems to confirm the fears of climate and clean energy advocates. Pyle, the former president of the Institute for Energy Research (IER), is a longtime skeptic of climate science and has pledged to "reset" the Obama administration's energy and environmental policies. IER is funded by the Koch brothers and is one of many conservative think tanks pursuing a coordinated assault on state-level renewable energy initiatives. According to Robert Maguire of the Center for Responsive Politics, "IER [funds] research and citable material that fits with the Koch network ideology, and which can be used for its political goals." IER has made an impact on state governments, including a successful campaign to roll back mandatory renewable energy quotas in Ohio in 2014. DOE has been instrumental in funding state efforts to ramp up renewable energy deployment, and a reversal could negatively affect state climate mitigation efforts.
Los Angeles Times
After the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rejected an application for the Dakota Access Pipeline to tunnel under Lake Oahe in North Dakota on December 4, Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault asked protestors to celebrate their victory by returning home. The protest site has become particularly harsh after a blizzard with strong winds hit the protestors' camp earlier this week. Despite the federal government halting construction, tribe leaders are requesting a meeting with Trump’s incoming administration to discuss a permanent end to the pipeline. Energy Transfer Partners, the company building the pipeline, have stated that they have no plans to re-route the pipeline and expect the pipeline to be completed in due time. The one-mile segment planned for Lake Oahe was the final piece of the 1,172 mile (1,885 km) oil pipeline. Many opponents of the pipeline worry the stoppage will be temporary. President-elect Trump holds investments in Energy Transfer Partners and Phillips 66, which is also party to the project.
Reuters
On average, cities across the globe account for approximately 75 percent of energy-related CO2 emissions. A growing concern among these cities is their vulnerability to the effects of climate change, with 90 percent located in coastal areas that may be at risk from sea level rise. The C40, a global coalition of 90 cities representing a quarter of the world's GDP, held its Mayors Summit in Mexico City from November 30 to December 2. A roadmap for mitigating city-wide carbon emissions was announced during the summit, with the greatest cuts to be undertaken by developed cities. The plan stated that immediate mitigation actions must be taken by cities over the next four years to keep global average temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit. However, such action could cost $1 trillion in collective investments from C40 members, with expenses concentrated in Europe and East Asia. C40 membership includes twelve U.S. cities: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Chicago, New Orleans, Houston, Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle.
Vox, Report
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently approved two major oil pipeline expansions, sparking outcry from environmental groups accusing his administration of not staying true to his party’s platform. Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline and Enbridge's Line 3 expansion join the Pacific Northwest liquefied natural gas project as projects of concern for climate hawks. The announcement precedes a meeting between Trudeau and provincial leaders to finalize a national climate strategy intended to fulfill its commitment under the Paris Agreement to reduce emissions 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Federal actions such as the reduction of methane through a U.S.-Canada partnership and the phasing-out of coal-fired electricity will purportedly offset the emissions that may result from the pipelines, per government analyses. However, Ian Bruce of the David Suzuki Foundation warns, "If [Canada] did expand heavy oil pipelines, it puts such a tremendous burden on other sectors to reduce emissions that [the plan] becomes unfeasible.”
CBC News
The United Nations' bi-annual Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) conference convened this week in Cancun, Mexico to try and devise solutions to an oft overlooked aspect of climate change. Defending biodiversity can translate into healthier forests, which serve as carbon sinks, and the restoration of wetlands, which protect against storm surges. A key policy goal of the conference is ecosystem-based adaptation, which leverages sustainable landscapes as a buffer against climate impacts. Since 1970, fish, reptile, mammal, and bird populations have decreased 58 percent. Marco Lambertini, head of WWF International, painted a stark picture: “Lose biodiversity and the natural world, including the life support systems as we know them, will collapse.” CBD seeks to reverse this trend, but is expected to face significant funding challenges moving forward. CBD is primarily financed through the Global Environment Facility, which in turn receives most of its funds from the United States. Negotiations to replenish the fund begin in 2017, with the United Nations seeking over $8.5 billion through 2023.
Climate Change News
New research on public attitudes toward climate change have revealed a deep generational divide within Japan regarding climate policies. A recent government survey revealed that 75 percent of people in Japan aged 18 to 29 expressed an interest in the issue of climate change, however this is down from 90 percent just a few years ago. When asked whether climate change posed a serious threat, 75 percent of people over 50 agreed, while only 59 percent of people aged 18 to 34 said climate change was a serious threat. Young people in Japan cite issues such as the economy, energy security, and rising tensions in East Asia as priorities to be addressed before climate change. According to Midori Aoyagi at the National Institute for Environmental Studies, “Japanese millennials have a sense of hopelessness about their everyday lives, careers, and social issues," likely due to growing up in a period of prolonged economic recession.
New York Times
As President-elect Trump and his advisers continue to signal a jarring shift away from President Obama's climate and environmental policies, many of the deeply Republican regions who carried Trump to the White House are among the "most vulnerable" to the impacts of climate change. According to a 2015 report by the Risky Business Project, southeastern states will experience a significant increase in temperatures over the next several decades. For instance, Mississippi currently averages 13 days of 95-plus degree Fahrenheit heat annually, but is projected to have 85 such days by 2050. Florida is expected to have 5,080 additional heat-related deaths by 2050, 90 percent of which would be among its vulnerable elderly populations. The high temperatures can also burden state energy grids, as air conditioning usage rises, and the agricultural industry. For instance, Tennessee could see a 31 percent decline in soybean yields and a 47 percent decline in corn yields unless adaptation measures are adopted. Sea level rise is projected to submerge $152 billion worth of waterfront properties in Florida by 2050, while low-lying states like Louisiana and South Carolina will face catastrophic losses due to rising waters.
The Atlantic
A coalition of prominent American business leaders released their latest report outlining a path for the United States to grow its economy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The report, titled "From Risk to Return: Investing in a Clean Energy Economy," is an update of the 2014 report published by the Risky Business Project. The group is co-chaired by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and philanthropist Tom Steyer. The report advises President-elect Trump to look beyond the coal industry and instead support cleaner forms of energy, invest in the electricity grid, and incentivize low-emission vehicles. According to the report, in order for the United States to reach its goal of an 80 percent emission reduction by 2050, the nation will need to make an annual investment of $220 billion into non-fossil fuel technologies over the next decade, with a surge to $410 billion annually in the 2030s. The ambitious emission cuts are central to the U.S. Mid-Century Strategy announced at the Marrakech climate conference in November 2016.
Climate Change News, Report
An impending regulation from EPA is causing the U.S. auto industry to appeal to Congress to prevent the rule's finalization until the new administration takes power in January. The regulation would require automakers to double their fuel efficiencies fleet-wide to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. The industry is opposed to the more stringent requirements, citing high costs and a conflict with consumer preferences. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a major trade group representing General Motors, Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen, and Daimler, has been lobbying legislators to adopt language in a short-term budget resolution that would prevent the Obama administration from finalizing the regulation before leaving office. The EPA, under law, had until April 2018 to decide whether to alter the fuel efficiency requirements for model year 2025, but drew criticism from the industry when it moved to end the public comment period by December 2016 and finalize the measure before the White House transition occurs. Following a comprehensive assessment, EPA determined automakers had the capacity to meet the standard by 2025.
On December 6, Google announced that all its data centers will be powered entirely by renewable energy within the next year. To put this feat in perspective, the global conglomerate consumed as much energy as the city of San Francisco in 2016. The U.S. information technology sector has become increasingly hungry for electricity, with Google alone consuming roughly 2 percent of all electricity delivered to businesses in the country. Google serves billions of customers through its globally distributed network of 13 data centers. According to Joe Kava, Google's senior vice president of technical infrastructure, solar and wind prices are more stable than carbon-based fuels, in addition to being cheaper than fossil fuels in some areas, such as Chile. Jonathan Koomey of Stanford University says the sheer scale of one company purchasing so much renewable energy "is a very big deal" and that similar companies "will feel pressure to move" toward investment in renewables.
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Update from the Marrakech Climate Change Summit
Monday, December 12
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Room G11 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Constitution Avenue and 1st Street, NE
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing discussing the outcomes of the recently concluded international climate change summit (COP22) in Marrakech, Morocco. The summit drew representatives from more than 190 countries to discuss the implementation of the historic Paris Climate Agreement, making it a vital discussion that will impact everything from global commerce and foreign relations to electricity generation and agriculture.
The United States remains a key leader in advancing climate solutions on the international stage. During COP22, it announced a cross-cutting domestic plan for meeting its obligations under the Paris Agreement. The presentation will delve into core components of America's long-term climate strategy, how the proceedings at COP22 may influence that strategy, and the important ongoing partnerships between the United States and other nations to pursue climate-related goals.
The featured speaker will be Christo Artusio, Director of the Office of Global Change at the U.S. Department of State. The Office of Global Change focuses on addressing a variety of international climate change issues by pursuing collaborative solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions both domestically and internationally.
This event is free and open to the public.
Please RSVP here
Writers: Tyler Smith, Sasha Galbreath, and Brian La Shier Editor: Brian La Shier
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