| | | | | |  | | By Kelsey Tamborrino | Presented by POET | With help from Alex Guillén, Annie Snider and Eric Wolff Editor's Note: Morning Energy is a free version of POLITICO Pro Energy's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro . | | | | | | | — Last week's deadly siege of the Capitol by Trump supporters is tarnishing the resumes of energy staffers in the administration who had hoped to parlay their government experience into lucrative jobs in the energy industry. — EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is poised to discuss a controversial flood project today in Mississippi. — The Supreme Court will review a January 2020 decision that limited EPA's authority to grant small refinery exemptions under the Renewable Fuel Standard. WELCOME TO MONDAY! I'm your host, Kelsey Tamborrino. The trivia win goes to Stephen Myrow of Beacon Policy Advisors LLC for correctly identifying the two Zodiac signs — Scorpio and Aquarius — that represent the most presidents, with five each. But Joe Biden, with a Nov. 20 birthday, will break the tie and give the lead to Scorpios. For today: How many president have been left-handed? Send your tips and trivia answers to ktamborrino@politico.com. Check out the POLITICO Energy podcast — all the energy and environmental politics and policy news you need to start your day, in just five minutes. Listen and subscribe for free at politico.com/energy-podcast. On today's episode: NOAA's 2020 climate report | | | INDUSTRY WARY OF HIRING TRUMP STAFF: Government officials and industry executives say President Donald Trump's goading his supporters to attack the Capitol to stop the certification of Joe Biden's victory has tarnished many of his energy staffers' resumes — even among oil and gas companies long accustomed to taking heat from Democrats, climate change activists and investor groups, Pro's Ben Lefebvre and Zack Colman report. | 
President Donald Trump speaks at the "Stop The Steal" Rally on Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. | Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images | "We have discussed this explicitly," said one executive at an oil and gas company who requested anonymity to discuss personnel policy. "We're not going to hire any Trump people. We're just not going to do it." The outlook for finding a job in the energy industry was already bleak, but last week's violence may have put a stain on people who chose to remain with the administration, the executive said. And, even before that, there were concerns that Trump staff would not be a good bridge to an incoming Biden administration, or even to join the staffs of Hill Republicans who blame Trump for the loss of two GOP seats in the Georgia elections that handed control of the Senate to Democrats. Even companies that don't put in a blanket ban on hiring Trump officials will be scrubbing resumes to see how high a former official flew their MAGA flags, said one person at an energy investment firm who requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to the media. The scenes from the Capitol last week will be felt in hiring decisions for years to come, the person said. "The energy industry is big , but it's also close knit. Everyone knows everybody," the person said. "The 'I-would-die-for-him, MAGA-all-night-long people,' they can't hide it. [Jan. 6] may have been the straw that broke the camel's back. Nobody is going to cater to the president anymore or his people. No one is going to hold their nose and look the other way." | | | | SET THE GLOBAL ENERGY AGENDA: POLITICO is a proud partner of the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Forum, the premier international gathering of government, industry, and thought leaders. Join us virtually January 19-22 to explore the post-pandemic energy system, emerging net-zero carbon goals, the Middle East's role in the energy transition, and what America's energy priorities will look like in the Biden administration. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | YAZOO HULLABALOO: Fresh off his trip to Costa Rica, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler will be in Mississippi today, along with the state's Republican senators and governor and the Army Corps' regional leader, for a presser on a controversial flood project that was vetoed by the George W. Bush administration but is poised for approval in the Trump administration's final days. The Yazoo Backwater Area pumps project has been a top priority for the region's Republican power players, particularly following damaging floods in 2018 along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, and the Trump administration has worked at lightning speed to finalize a slightly reconfigured version of the project which, in late November, EPA said was sufficiently different from the vetoed version so as to be allowed to advance. The Corps could issue its final Record of Decision as soon as this week. But environmental groups say the project would still be massively destructive to tens of thousands of acres of wetlands and is fundamentally aimed at draining wetlands for agriculture rather than protecting homes and infrastructure. They have already signaled their intent to sue, and are asking the incoming Biden administration to swiftly reverse course on the project. "The Biden-Harris administration can immediately and publicly walk back EPA's veto decision, and they can do that cert by issuing a letter and they can also reconfirm that the veto applies to the Corps' plan," said Jill Mastrototaro, policy director for Audubon Mississippi. BARANWAL OUT: Energy Assistant Secretary for nuclear power Rita Baranwal departed her job on Friday. In a series of tweets, Baranwal did not link her exit to the mob attack on the Capitol. "It has been an absolute honor to serve in this capacity to help advance our U.S. nuclear energy R&D," she said in her tweets. Baranwal took office in July 2019. AIRPLANE RULE IS OFFICIAL: EPA today published a final rule governing greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft engines, marking a rare occasion in which the Trump administration enacted a regulation to limit greenhouse gases. U.S. aircraft makers, primarily Boeing, needed the rule in order to get their engines certified for use in countries that will abide by a 2016 International Civil Aviation Organization agreement intended to reduce the climate impact from aircraft. D.C. MAYOR CALLS ON NPS TO DENY PERMITS: In a letter released Sunday to Chad Wolf , the acting secretary of Homeland Security, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called on the Trump administration to change its approach to this month's inauguration given the deadly chaos that occurred at the Capitol last week, including calling on the Interior secretary to cancel and deny "any and all" public gathering permits in D.C. from Jan. 11–24. "We have made this request repeatedly since June 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this week demonstrated the National Park Service's willingness to approve last minute permits and major adjustments," Bowser wrote, referring to permits for last week granted by the NPS. | | A message from POET: Our planet is warming faster, and as we witness the devastating impacts of climate change first-hand, Americans are looking for solutions. Making E15 America's fuel can help President Biden build back better by jumpstarting his climate agenda while improving public health and strengthening the economy. Net-zero emissions will take time, but with E15, the new administration can begin fueling the shift to a greener economy on Day One. Here's how we can get started. | | | | | | HIGH COURT TAKES SMALL REFINERY EXEMPTION CASE: The Supreme Court on Friday said it would hear arguments over whether small refiners had to receive exemptions to the biofuel blending requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard program every year since 2011 in order to be eligible for new exemptions. The justices will deconstruct the January 2020 ruling by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals case won by corn and ethanol groups that had challenged the Trump EPA's approval of the new waivers that essentially reduced the universe of potential candidates for exemptions from dozens of small refineries to less than five. The appeal brought by HollyFrontier and Wynwood Refining, which is owned by billionaire Carl Icahn, did not get any support from the administration. The Trump EPA had greatly expanded the number of exemptions it issued in 2017, but has now left exemption requests for compliance in 2019 or 2020 in limbo, almost certainly leaving the incoming Biden administration to make those calls. Refiners who spoke to ME on background were pleasantly surprised by the news that the court granted cert, and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, a refiners trade association, said in a statement: "We're encouraged that the Supreme Court sees the merit in this case and the need for clarification around the plain text of the RFS statute." Biofuels producers were not happy. "We are disappointed in the Supreme Court's decision to review the case but will continue to vigorously pursue a resolution to the damage that small refinery exemptions do to the biodiesel industry," Kurt Kovarik, vice president of Federal Affairs for the National Biodiesel Board, a trade association, said in a statement. TRUMP TO BACK OIL COMPANIES ON CLIMATE SUITS: On its last full day in office, the Trump administration will stand beside oil companies at the Supreme Court to argue that climate change lawsuits brought by states and localities against fossil fuel companies belong in federal — not state — courts. The justices on Friday granted the Justice Department's request to support the oil companies during Jan. 19 oral arguments in BP v. Baltimore. The case could determine whether more than a dozen public nuisance suits brought under state laws will survive, especially since the oil companies in November urged the justices to go a step beyond the otherwise dry legal conundrum at the heart of the case and effectively kill the lawsuits immediately rather than let lower courts consider them. Worth noting: Justice Samuel Alito continues to recuse himself from this case, likely because he holds stock in ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66, two of the companies involved, per his most recent financial disclosure. DOWN IN THE DUMPS: The Supreme Court further agreed to settle whether the Navy or Guam is responsible for a $160 million Superfund cleanup of an old Naval landfill in the Pacific territory. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled last year that Guam has to foot the bill. Arguments will be sometime this spring with a ruling likely by June. The case is Guam v. United States, 20-382. | | | | A message from POET:   | | | | | | KERRY'S CLIMATE TEAM TAKES SHAPE: The contours of John Kerry's White House climate change office are beginning to emerge, Zack reports for Pros . The staffers under Kerry's purview will reside at already existing State Department climate offices, according to people familiar with the design of the new role in President-elect Joe Biden's National Security Council. Kerry will also have a staff of direct reports within the NSC structure. | 
John Kerry speaks at the Queen Theatre on Nov. 24, 2020 in Wilmington, Del. | Mark Makela/Getty Images | The former secretary of State is also drawing heavily on Obama administration alumni and Foggy Bottom personnel to fill out his staff, Zack reports. Sue Biniaz, a longtime career State Department climate official, already has accepted a job to work on Kerry's staff, according to a person familiar with the move. Jonathan Pershing, who was the State Department special climate envoy under Obama, is also in discussions for a top role with Kerry's team, according to three people familiar. Several people familiar with the transition team's thinking suggested Kerry would install a deputy to coordinate activities at State, while Kerry himself focuses on bigger-picture items. Kerry's portfolio is likely to include pushing for more aggressive international climate policies, gearing agencies to implement climate policies with global partners, reworking bilateral and multilateral agreements, adding teeth to global climate finance efforts, and working with groups like multilateral development banks, corporations, cities and states. Related: Biden named additional members Friday to his National Security Council, including Melanie Nakagawa, senior director for climate and energy. Nakagawa was appointed deputy assistant secretary for energy transformation at the State Department under Obama and served as a strategic adviser on climate change to Kerry on the policy planning staff. Most recently, she was director of climate strategy at Princeville Capital. | | | | KEEP UP WITH THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WITH TRANSITION PLAYBOOK: It was a dark week in American history, and a new administration will have to pick up the pieces. Transition Playbook brings you inside the last days of this crucial transfer of power, tracking the latest from President-elect Biden and his growing administration. Written for political insiders, this scoop-filled newsletter breaks big news and analyzes the appointments, people, and the emerging power centers of the new administration. Track the transition and the first 100 days of the incoming Biden administration. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | | LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN: Senate Democrats are planning to draw up a new surface transportation bill that contains more aggressive proposals on climate issues and other key Democratic priorities, essentially scrapping the bipartisan bill the committee approved in the last Congress, Pro's Tanya Snyder reports. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), who is poised to take over as chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, told POLITICO through a spokesperson Friday that he will not use the bipartisan bill, S. 2302 (116), as a starting point in negotiating a new bill, noting that Senate control gives Democrats the opportunity to significantly build on that bill's climate title and other key priorities. | | | NOAA: RECORD BILLION-DOLLAR CLIMATE DISASTERS IN 2020: One of the warmest years on record in the U.S. contributed to a record 22 weather and climate-related disasters that each inflicted damages of more than $1 billion, NOAA said Friday. In total, those disasters accounted for $95 billion in damages and killed 262 people and injured many more, NOAA said. | | A message from POET: During COVID-19, we saw miles of empty roadways create clear skies in cities across the globe, but it also exposed the heavy toll of tailpipe pollution on the health of America's fenceline communities. As the incoming Biden Administration elevates environmental justice issues as part of its climate agenda, Americans need solutions that will benefit communities across the country. E15 is a renewable fuel blend that can reduce the harmful emissions and pollutants that are poisoning the air and warming our planet, making communities healthier by replacing harmful carcinogens and toxic additives in gasoline. E15 is homegrown, cleaner, and less expensive than petroleum, compatible with 95% of existing vehicles on the road, making it accessible and affordable to everyone. It's time to equitably fuel America's shift to a green economy with E15. | | | | | | — Michael Lehmann has joined DEPLOY/US as director of communications programs. Lehmann most recently served as the communications director for the minority side of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. — Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.)'s communications director Rebekah Hoshiko and his senior legislative assistant Will Layden are leaving his personal office to join the House Natural Resources Committee, where Westerman is now ranking member. Claire Nance is taking the communications director role and Janet Rossi is taking the legislative director role. — Marathon Oil Corporation appointed Kimberly Warnica senior vice president and general counsel. Warnica has been executive vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and secretary at Alta Mesa Resources, Inc. since 2018. | | | — "Kamala Harris gains prominent new role thanks to Democrats' Senate majority," via POLITICO. — "Oil companies lock in drilling, challenging Biden on climate," via Associated Press. — " NYC mayoral front-runner, embracing climate activists' demands, vows to ban fossil fuels," via Huffington Post. — "Newsom unveils budget with billions for the environment, publishes wildfire action plan," via Desert Sun. — " UK appoints business minister Alok Sharma as full-time COP26 president," via Reuters. — "Hyundai Motor says it's in early talks with Apple to develop a car, sends shares soaring 19%," via CNBC. THAT'S ALL FOR ME! | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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