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1 big thing: A partial reckoning with Biden's green moves | Thursday, January 21, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By ExxonMobil   Generate By Ben Geman ·Jan 21, 2021 Welcome back. Today's Smart Brevity count: 1,185 words, 4.5 minutes. 🚨Breaking: President Biden has named Richard Glick as chairman of the powerful Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Glick, a Democratic FERC member, vowed to seek "significant progress on the transition to a clean energy future." 🚗Join Axios' Joann Muller tomorrow at 12:30pm ET for a virtual event on the future of electric vehicles in the U.S., with Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Robbie Diamond, CEO of Securing America's Future Energy. Register here. 🎶And at this moment 45 years ago, Earth, Wind & Fire were atop the Billboard album charts with "Gratitude," which provides today's intro tune...     1 big thing: A partial reckoning with Biden's green moves Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   The first day of the Biden era showed how powerful K Street interests recognize they need to adapt to the new regime — and where they're drawing battle lines. Driving the news: Two of Washington's biggest lobbying groups say they support Biden's intent to regulate methane emissions from oil and gas wells, Axios' Amy Harder reports. Why it matters: The new posture of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute signals growing willingness to accept regulation in the face of pressure from investors, politicians and the public. Catch up quick: The groups had long opposed any direct regulation of methane, the highly potent planet-warming gas released from wells and related infrastructure. Investors have increasingly called on oil and gas producers to cut methane emissions, and President Biden has vowed to regulate them no matter what the industry thinks. What they're saying: "We support the direct regulation of methane for new and existing sources in accordance with the Clean Air Act," API President Mike Sommers told Axios. The Chamber updated its website Wednesday to say it supports cutting methane, including "by direct regulation under the Clean Air Act." Yes, but: The groups are couching support around an additional Clean Air Act process that could add many months to writing a regulation. Environmental advocates dispute that this process is needed. Amy's got more here. The big picture: There are other signs of a shifting landscape. Late last night, the Edison Electric Institute, the lobbying group for investor-owned utilities, issued its own statement backing EPA regulation of methane "throughout the natural gas supply chain for new and existing sources." It's also one of the many groups and companies to hit my inbox with statements supporting Biden's move to quickly rejoin the Paris climate agreement. Where it stands: The other big message from a bunch of industry groups yesterday — like the Chamber and the National Association of Manufacturers — was criticism of Biden's intent to nix plans for the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline. Biden yanked the permit yesterday in what may be a death knell for a project after a decade-plus battle. Quick take: Biden telegraphed his plans to scuttle Keystone — a project to carry oil from Alberta into the U.S. — a long time ago. But the intense reaction is about more than just that one famous pipeline. The Financial Times sums it up nicely this morning: "It doesn't just kill a project that had become a front line in the climate battles, it signals to the oil and gas industry that the new administration will take a tough stance on all new infrastructure." Go deeper     Bonus: What they're saying about Keystone Bloomberg's Liam Denning has a smart column about what Keystone's demise says about oil markets and where U.S. policy is heading. He notes Biden scuttled it despite developer TC Energy's work to build a "political buffer" via union agreements and indigenous group participation, and their pledge to power pipeline operations with renewables. The big picture: "That Biden brushed all this aside without even going through the motions of a review is telling, suggesting he is prepared to move aggressively on delivering his climate agenda," Denning writes. "Certainly, it suggests executive action will continue to play a prominent role, especially in the context of a finely balanced Senate, with implications for such things as fracking on federal lands and that other totemic project now on life support, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge."     2. The starting place for Biden's EV charging push Data: Department of Energy; Chart: Axios Visuals President Biden hopes to oversee a huge build-out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure to help boost EV deployment and create jobs, and recently released data shows there's plenty of room to grow. Driving the news: The chart above is adapted from this Energy Department note on public charging stations per 100,000 residents of different states. California, the biggest EV market by far, is the only state that ranks in the top 10 in both population (#1) and chargers per capita (#3). Several other states atop the list of chargers per capita are pretty small population-wise. Vermont is way out front, then D.C. (not truly a state, I know), then California, then Hawaii and Colorado. Utah, Rhode Island, Washington, Oregon and Massachusetts round out the top 10. Why it matters: Greater charging availability is one factor — but hardly the only one — that would help widen consumer adoption of cars with a plug. Biden's energy platform calls for the construction of 500,000 new public charging stations by the end of 2030. What we're watching: What kind of funding and programs around EV charging he'll seek in the economic recovery package he'll look to steer through Congress after more immediate COVID-19 relief measures. * * * Speaking of EV charging, TechCrunch reports: "Volta, the developer of a network of electric vehicle charging stations that monetize using advertising, has raised $125 million in new funding in a process managed by Goldman Sachs."     A message from ExxonMobil ExxonMobil sets emission reduction plans for 2025     As part of our ongoing commitment to help mitigate the risks of climate change, we've announced plans to further reduce emissions in our operations by 2025. It's something we're working on every day. Learn more about our plan to reduce our emissions.     3. Falling solar prices give Biden a head start Data: Wood Mackenzie; Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios We've written plenty about the big institutional and political headwinds facing Biden's agenda, so here's one of the tailwinds: falling prices for zero-carbon power tech. Driving the news: A new analysis looking at one of them finds that utility-scale solar is already the cheapest form of new power generation in 16 states. It's heading for that status nationwide by the late 2020s, the analysis from the consultancy Wood Mackenzie finds. "Faster technological advancement could even speed up the process," it concludes. "[S]olar's rapid ascent as the cheapest form of power generation comes at a time when federal support for solar capacity in the form of investment tax credits is winding down," it notes. Why it matters: The report isn't about Biden's platform or U.S. politics. But it's worth noting that one of his more aggressive and challenging goals is 100% carbon-free power generation in the U.S. by 2035. The big picture: Wood Mackenzie sees solar becoming the lowest-cost form of new generation in China, Canada and 14 other nations by 2030. Overall, it sees solar costs falling another 15%-25% over the next decade. The intrigue: The report's cost decline estimates may be conservative. That estimate is "based solely on the technological improvements already in the early to mid-stage commercial pipeline and taking into account the likely phaseout of subsidies."     4. On my screen: climate finance and "soft power" Over at The Conversation, climate finance expert Rachel Kyte has a look at various domestic and international tools that Treasury nominee Janet Yellen could wield as she looks to boost the agency's role. The big picture: "Financing climate-friendly projects could help the U.S. reclaim both soft power overseas and its international climate leadership," writes Kyte, a former World Bank climate official, in her summary of one of those tools. How it works. Kyte — now dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University — notes that Yellen can wield influence with U.S. agencies including the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. "In the right hands, the tools of the DFC can help channel funding to green and resilient infrastructure in low-income countries," she writes. Kyte also sees opportunities for Yellen via collaboration with USAID; the Millennium Challenge Corp., the Export-Import Bank that helps boost U.S. exports; and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency that connects U.S. companies with infrastructure projects abroad.     5. Quote of the day "They are important, but we're going to need legislation for a lot of the things we're going to do." Who said it: President Biden, speaking yesterday as he signed a bunch of executive orders — including directives to begin implementing his energy and climate agenda. Why it matters: Because he's right. Biden's got some running room via executive powers, but some key parts of his plan — like huge spending increases on low-carbon infrastructure — need Congress.     A message from ExxonMobil ExxonMobil sets emission reduction plans for 2025     As part of our ongoing commitment to help mitigate the risks of climate change, we've announced plans to further reduce emissions in our operations by 2025. It's something we're working on every day. Learn more about our plan to reduce our emissions.     Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. 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