| | | | | | | Presented By Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA) | | | | Axios Generate | | By Ben Geman and Andrew Freedman ·Jul 14, 2021 | | Hi readers! Today's Smart Brevity count is 1,291 words, 5 minutes. 📊 Data point of the day: $8.7 billion. That's what South Korean industrial giant LG Chem plans to pour into "sustainable" sectors including batteries through 2025. Go deeper 🚨 Join Ben today at 12:30pm ET for a virtual conversation on zero-carbon with Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and other guests. Register here. 🎶 And at this moment in 1983, Mtume was atop Billboard's R&B charts on the strength of a legendary hook that animates today's intro tune... | | | | | | 1 big thing: Flagship U.S. climate report gets a makeover |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | The Biden administration has appointed a new head of the National Climate Assessment (NCA), a pivotal, congressionally-mandated report on how human-caused global warming is affecting the U.S., Andrew writes. Driving the news: The next NCA will be overseen by Allison Crimmins, an environmental scientist who has spent a decade at the EPA and has expertise in scientific communication. - Her appointment Tuesday comes after the administration reassigned the previous head of the NCA, Betsy Weatherhead, to the U.S. Geological Survey.
- Weatherhead, who has extensive research experience in mainstream climate science, had been appointed by the Trump administration.
Why it matters: The NCA is the most comprehensive and authoritative federal climate report that goes through the U.S. region by region, with specific projections for economic sectors and ecosystems. The intrigue: In an effort to make the report more accessible and actionable, the administration plans to make changes in how the Fifth edition of the NCA will be presented to the public, Crimmins told Axios. - Changes may include the development of visual or interactive features to show how climate change could affect local communities.
- "We're all facing increasing threats to our communities and livelihoods, as a result of the climate crisis," Crimmins said.
- "We're really focused on how to make this usable and useful to more people. We don't want this to be a report that's just for scientists to read, we want it to be a report that people feel belongs to them."
- She said they are exploring a tagging structure that will make it easier for people to follow threads of information throughout the massive document, and a greater focus on economics and social science as well.
- Part of Crimmins' job will be to stabilize the NCA process and ensure it's on track to be released close to the original timeline, which has now slipped to the fall of 2023.
How it works: The NCA is prepared by experts at the 13 federal agencies that conduct climate research, as well as outside scientists, all aimed at helping policymakers and the public to understand their changing climate and prepare for its consequences. Read more |     | | | | | | 2. Breaking: Europe gets specific on climate plans |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | European Union officials just unveiled sweeping and detailed legislative proposals meant to breathe life into the bloc's goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 55% from 1990 levels by 2030, Ben writes. Driving the news: The wide-ranging documents aim to strengthen policies around vehicle emissions, renewable power, emissions trading markets, land use, efficiency, and much more. You can find them here. Why it matters: While the world's biggest emitters all have gauzy long-term targets, the European plan is aimed at crafting granular, on-the-ground rules designed to meet the top-line aspirations. Yes, but: Today's unveiling means lots of difficult wrangling ahead among the bloc's powers. Reuters notes that the "Fit for 55" proposals "will face months of negotiations between the 27 EU countries and the European Parliament." The intrigue: Part of the plan is new import taxes on goods from nations that lack strong climate policies. - "That move has sparked fears that protectionism will derail hopes for a new era of international climate change cooperation ushered in by Biden's presidency," Politico reports.
- President Biden's campaign platform vowed "fees or quotas on carbon-intensive goods from countries that are failing to meet their climate...obligations." But the future of that effort is unclear.
| | | | | | | | 3. Also breaking! An apparent OPEC+ deal | | Via Reuters this morning... "Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have reached a compromise over OPEC+ oil policy, giving the UAE a higher production baseline and paving the way for extending a pact on remaining supply curbs to the end of 2022, an OPEC+ source said on Wednesday." Bloomberg is also reporting that the deadlock has been broken. Why it matters: Uncertainty over the future of the group's joint supply management has been among the drivers of recent price volatility. | | | | | | | | A message from Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA) | | How hydrogen could help decarbonize the globe | | |  | | | | Cutting carbon and creating jobs? Hydrogen can do that. Fueling urban and rural communities? Hydrogen can do that, too. What this means: No matter your point of view, hydrogen is an energy solution that won't fuel the divide. So, let's talk. | | | | | | 4. The next phase of Democrats' climate spending push |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | Senate Democrats' new deal on a budget outline sets the stage for their fraught effort to seek unprecedented clean energy spending and incentives, Ben writes. Driving the news: Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Budget Committee members last night announced an agreement to try to steer $3.5 trillion into Medicare, climate, education and other priorities. Why it matters: The preliminary deal is a precursor crafting a "reconciliation" package of programs — such as expanded tax breaks for renewable power, new electric vehicle incentives and more — that's immune from filibuster. The intrigue: The $3.5 trillion figure is lower than the $6 trillion Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders and other progressive Democrats wanted, Axios' Alayna Treene reports. Quick take: Initial comments last night from progressive Senate Democrats nonetheless praised the package — an early sign that the topline spending is enough to satisfy climate-focused Senate members. But specifics are still absent. What they're saying: Sanders pointed to extreme weather events in the west as he touted the compromise. - He warned that absent a transition from fossil fuels, "the planet we're going to be leaving our children and our grandchildren will be increasingly unhealthy, and uninhabitable."
- "Today, we begin the process of having this great country lead the world in transforming our energy system," Sanders added.
- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse signaled approval in a tweet that notes the combined tally for the Democrats' plan and the bipartisan infrastructure framework.
What's next: The uncertain process of getting moderate and progressive Democrats alike to vote for the budget outline and the substantive reconciliation package that will be crafted in multiple committees. | | | | | | | | 5. Unpacking the newest temperature data |  Data: NOAA; Chart: Will Chase/Axios June was the Earth's fifth-warmest such month on record, according to new data released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Andrew writes. The big picture: Land surface temperatures were the hottest they've been during the month, dating back 142 years of instrument record-keeping, but ocean temperatures didn't rank quite so highly. Why it matters: Monthly temperature reports may not mean much over the long term, but they add up over time to the trends climate scientists pay the closest attention to as the climate continues to warm due mainly to the burning of fossil fuels. The intrigue: Despite the cooling influence of a La Niña event in the tropical Pacific Ocean during parts of 2020 and the start of 2021, this year is still on course to be among the top six or seven warmest on record. - It's one indication that the natural brakes the climate system possesses, such as La Niña events, no longer work as well as they used to, given the increased influence of ever-higher levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
What we're watching: Whether a "double-dip" La Niña develops later this year, as some computer models project, may affect whether temperatures rebound more sharply late this year and early in 2022. | | | | | | | | 6. DOE's new storage goal | | The Energy Department this morning unveiled a target of cutting the costs for grid-scale, long-duration energy storage by 90% within this decade, Ben writes. Why it matters: Large-scale storage via long-duration batteries and other tech — such as thermal systems — is important for enabling very high levels of intermittent renewable power deployment. Driving the news: DOE is looking to cut costs for long-term storage — defined as systems with a capacity of 10 hours or more — via its recently launched "Energy Earthshots" program. Officials announced a sustainable hydrogen target in early June. The big picture: "The Long Duration Storage Shot will consider all types of technologies — whether electrochemical, mechanical, thermal, chemical carriers, or any combination that has the potential to meet the necessary duration and cost targets for grid flexibility," DOE said. Go deeper: Energy Department Targets Vastly Cheaper Batteries to Clean Up the Grid (NYT) | | | | | | | | A message from Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA) | | How hydrogen could help decarbonize the globe | | | | | | | | Cutting carbon and creating jobs? Hydrogen can do that. Fueling urban and rural communities? Hydrogen can do that, too. What this means: No matter your point of view, hydrogen is an energy solution that won't fuel the divide. So, let's talk. | | |  | | It'll help you deliver employee communications more effectively. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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