Climate disasters displacing millions in the U.S.

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Feb 06, 2023 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell Natural disasters worsened by a changing climate are displacing millions of people in the U.S. That’s according to a new Census Bureau report, which found that more than 3 million adults were forced to evacuate their homes in the past year because of hurricanes, floods and other events, writes POLITICO’s E&E News reporter Thomas Frank. That amounted to 1.4 percent of the U.S. adult population — and included 11 percent of adults in Louisiana. The tally marks a rare federal effort to assess the uprooting caused by the climate emergency. The Census Bureau estimate far exceeds other counts of U.S. evacuees, suggesting that previous data and reporting on internally displaced persons underestimate this ongoing crisis. For example, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, which tracks people displaced within their own country for any reason, estimated that disasters displaced an average of 800,000 U.S. residents a year from 2008 through 2021. That includes the center’s estimate that 1.7 million were displaced in 2017 — the year of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, three of the most destructive storms in U.S. history. While most displacements documented by the Census Bureau were short-term, roughly 16 percent of the displaced adults never returned home, and 12 percent were out of their homes for more than six months. Evacuation rates were highest for the poorest households, those earning less than $25,000 a year. Globally, 20 million people are displaced every year by climate-fueled events, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. And that number is only expected to grow. The Institute for Economics & Peace, an international think tank, predicted that climate disruptions — such as sea-level rise, water shortages and crop failure — could displace as many as 1.2 billion people by midcentury. State of the Union preview President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address last year. | Julia Nikhinson/Pool via AP The havoc wrought by climate change is one topic ripe for discussion in President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday evening. Biden is likely to use the speech to emphasize what his administration is doing to tackle the issue — and as a victory lap for the landmark climate law he and congressional Democrats enacted last year, write Timothy Cama, Emma Dumain and Jeremy Dillon. The bipartisan infrastructure law of 2021 could also get a shout-out, along with the billions of dollars of investments that are flowing in low-carbon energy projects (including into Republican-controlled states), not to mention increased U.S. involvement in global climate negotiations and Washington’s agreement to help developing countries fortify against climate change. But Biden and Congress certainly need to do a lot more if the nation is to accomplish its climate goals. For one, the country is not on a path to cut enough carbon to meet global reduction targets, and it remains unclear where the U.S. will get the mass supply of critical minerals — or the vast expansion of electrical transmission capacity — it needs for the energy transition. Addressing these concerns ahead of the next presidential election could be an uphill battle for Biden. Opposition from the new GOP-controlled House means passing new climate laws is unlikely. And the conservative Supreme Court could further kneecap Biden’s regulatory powers. What else? Let us know what you think Biden should talk about on Tuesday by emailing askibell@eenews.net or tweeting @AriannaSkibell.   It's Monday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy.   JOIN POLITICO ON 2/9 TO HEAR FROM AMERICA’S GOVERNORS: In a divided Congress, more legislative and policy enforcement will shift to the states, meaning governors will take a leading role in setting the agenda for the nation. Join POLITICO on Thursday, Feb. 9 at World Wide Technology's D.C. Innovation Center for The Fifty: America's Governors, where we will examine where innovations are taking shape and new regulatory red lines, the future of reproductive health, and how climate change is being addressed across a series of one-on-one interviews. REGISTER HERE.     Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Samuel Stolton breaks down the Green Deal Industrial Plan that the European Commission unveiled last week and why it's already facing major criticisms. Power Centers An Amtrak train emerges from the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel in Baltimore. | Patrick Semansky/AP Photo Grid attack Federal authorities announced today that they’ve foiled an attempt by racially motivated extremists to use assault weapons to bring down Baltimore’s electrical grid, writes Josh Gerstein. Sarah Beth Clendaniel of North East, Md., and Brandon Russell of Orlando, Fla., were arrested late last week on federal charges that they planned to attack electrical substations in order to try to cause chaos in Maryland’s largest city. Playing catch-up Energy companies are racing to build new energy infrastructure that could have a major influence on emissions and the Biden administration’s agenda, but there’s a catch: Regulators can’t keep up, writes Mike Soraghan. New liquefied natural gas export terminals and hydrogen projects — as well as thousands of miles of carbon dioxide pipelines — could be built before many federal regulations overseeing them are updated or put into place. More beef with China Chinese state-owned firms are building up their presence near the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East, raising the risks of a future clash with U.S. interests in one of the world’s busiest oil transitways, write Ben Lefebvre and Phelim Kine. The growing footprint of Chinese commercial activity in the area, including billions of dollars in investments in oil pipelines and storage terminals alongside the Persian Gulf, is fueling worries from U.S. national security hawks. in other news This is climate change: Chile wildfires spread amid a heat wave as the death toll rises. Cybersecurity: Vulnerabilities could let hackers remotely shut down electric vehicle chargers and steal electricity.   LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today.     Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Workers drilling near a geothermal energy plant to tap deep underground heat. | David McNew/Getty Images Texas has enough geothermal potential to decarbonize 100 percent of its grid and foster a new energy industry in the state. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler is considering scaling back a potentially groundbreaking climate-risk disclosure rule that has drawn intense opposition from corporations. Republican antipathy to green investing has a new target: the National Association of Attorneys General, a nonpartisan group that represents top law enforcement officials. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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