Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation
| | | | |  | | By Robin Bravender and Arianna Skibell | |  Climate activists rally against fossil fuels outside the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on April 14 in Washington. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | Climate protesters are coming for the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. As Washington’s political heavyweights, celebrities and journalists prepare for Saturday’s annual fete, protesters from across the country are writing their own speeches as part of what they are billing as a “mass turnout blockade” of the event. “The biggest goal is to make President Biden keep his promise: no new drilling on federal lands. He's broken that,” said Beaei Pardo, Midwest outreach organizer for Climate Defiance, the group organizing the protest. The activists are outraged that the Biden administration approved more federal drilling permits during its first two years in office than the Trump administration did. They’re also frustrated by Biden’s recent move to greenlight ConocoPhillips’ massive Willow drilling project in Alaska — notwithstanding the massive climate law he signed last year. The proposed oil project is on the nation’s largest swath of pristine land. It could produce more than 600 million barrels of crude over 30 years. That would release nearly 280 million metric tons of planet-warming pollution into the atmosphere, equivalent to an additional 2 million cars on the road every year. Climate Defiance has been staging protests around Washington in recent weeks, disrupting talks featuring senior White House climate advisers John Podesta and Ali Zaidi. Organizers see Saturday’s dinner as their big opportunity to get Biden’s attention — assuming they can get past the massive security that surrounds the gathering of A-list celebrities and the president. Protesters with another climate group, Declare Emergency, smeared paint on a case housing an Edgar Degas sculpture in the National Gallery of Art this week in a separate attempt to draw attention to their cause, The Washington Post reported. Climate Defiance’s organizers say they’re expecting more than 100 people at Saturday’s protest. “If it happens that the event shuts down because we blockaded the event, then that's what’s going to have to happen,” Pardo said.
| | | Thank goodness it's Friday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Big thanks to Robin Bravender for filling us in on this weekend's protests. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net.
| | | Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Josh Siegel and Zack Colman discuss why fossil fuel policies are a central part of the GOP’s 2024 campaign strategy, despite difficulty translating energy issues into campaign trail slogans.
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Two employees with the University of Texas, Austin's Bureau of Economic Geology take measurements of a sinkhole in Daisetta, Texas. | University of Texas,Austin's Bureau of Economic Geology | Sinkholes in Texas
The emergence of a new gaping sinkhole in southeast Texas is dredging up decades-old questions about how much of a role oil and gas production plays in causing the ground to open up, writes Shelby Webb. While not as well-documented as the link between oil and gas and earthquakes, the nexus between industry and sinkholes is of concern to some researchers who say drilling activity can help create gaping scars in the earth, posing risks to nearby communities. Solar tariff pause
The House approved legislation Friday morning to repeal President Joe Biden’s two-year pause on new tariffs for Chinese manufacturers routing panels through Southeast Asian countries, writes Nico Portuondo. Lawmakers from both parties have increasingly targeted Chinese imports of clean energy equipment to the U.S. as tensions between the two countries mount, writes Kelsey Tamborrino. Nord Stream sabotage
A Danish patrol boat detected a Russian vessel near the Nord Stream gas pipelines four days before they were sabotaged in multiple blasts, writes Nicolas Camut. The defense command confirmed it had 26 images of the SS-750 Russian navy ship, which carries a small submarine that is designed to carry out underwater operations, that were photographed from a Danish patrol boat in the vicinity of the pipelines on Sept. 22, 2022.
| | Heating up: Europe is experiencing the hottest April on record as Spain and Portugal swelter. Russia's war: Europe is moving toward cutting its last source of Russian energy.
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An electric Hyliion tractor-trailer on display in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 22. | Eric Gay/AP Photo | Battery-powered trucks could be cheaper to own and operate than diesel ones by decade's end, making them the most attractive option for lessening carbon pollution from the heavy-duty transportation sector. A global uptick in climate litigation grounded in claims of human rights violations may signal a new era of legal woes for companies in high-emitting and polluting sectors. The Biden administration said it will issue an emergency waiver to allow the sale of fuel blends with higher ethanol content during this summer’s driving season. That's it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!
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