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Quick Fix
— China and the U.S. unveiled a joint statement signaling some cooperation in the final days of COP26. But the two countries have a lot of disputes to work out before reaching a final deal.
— The U.S. joined more than a dozen other countries in signing onto new agreements to curtail shipping and aviation emissions.
— The Commerce Department is demanding solar manufacturers petitioning for tariffs on Southeast Asian solar parts reveal themselves. Otherwise their request goes in the bin.
HAPPY THURSDAY! I’m your host, Matthew Choi. NRDC’s Ed Chen gets the trivia for knowing the Chinese Communist Party is housed in Zhongnanhai in Beijing (and extra points for actually going inside). For today: How many eggs can Cool Hand Luke eat? Send your tips and trivia answers to [email protected]. Find me on Twitter @matthewchoi2018.
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: The moment of truth for COP26.
Driving the Day
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE U.S. AND CHINA: The U.S. and China came out with an unexpected joint commitment at COP26, pledging to increase their efforts try to reach the Paris climate agreement's stretch goal of capping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. They also pledged to work with other nations “to strengthen and accelerate climate action and cooperation aimed at closing the gap, including accelerating the green and low-carbon transition and climate technology innovation.” China said it would also work toward curbing methane emissions and phasing out its coal generation, though it didn’t offer further details.
Throughout the Biden presidency, negotiators have tried to make climate a point of collaboration between the two countries even as tensions in other areas such as trade and human rights remain high.
“The United States and China have no shortage of differences. But on climate, cooperation is the only way to get this job done. This is not a discretionary thing, frankly. This is science,” US Special Climate Envoy John Kerry said at a press conference Wednesday.
"Cooperation is the only choice for both China and the United States,” said China’s climate envoy, Xie Zhenhua. “As two major powers in the world, China and the U.S. shoulder special international responsibilities and obligations. We need to think big and be responsible.”
The two countries promised to collaborate on regulations aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions this decade, the clean energy transition and methane mitigation, among other areas that Stuart Lau and Karl Mathiesen go into for Pros. The methane agreement was a huge win for the Biden administration, which had tried to court China to join the global methane pledge spearheaded by the U.S. and EU.
The agreement was a sort of climate truce between the two superpowers as countries enter the final quarter of negotiations, but it skimped on some of the biggest points of contention between the two countries, such as climate finance and their Nationally Determined Contributions. China, along with several other emerging economies, is pushing for revised language in the draft COP agreement concerning when countries would issue new emissions goals, and seeking additional climate finance from the developed world to help ferry them through an energy transition and adapt to climate change.
That includes a proposal to overhaul how international development banks issue financial packages to help poorer countries with clean energy and adaptation projects. Several developing countries argue the post-World War II rules written for organizations like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund aren’t equipped for the kinds of financing needed for current climate concerns.
But new climate finance commitments would be a seriously tall order for the U.S., where any talk of bailing out China’s energy will be a political cudgel for Republicans against Democrats heading into the midterm elections next year. And Congress’ annual budget authorizations could leave international climate finance in a variable position. But developing countries argue it will be impossible for them to adapt without help from rich countries.
A new draft for a COP deal is slated to land this morning, and Gabon's environment minister Lee White said COP26 “will be considered a failure by Africa” unless a climate finance program is set in stone.
POLITICO’s Glasgow team has more on the U.S.-China statement and what it portends as we enter the conference’s last days.
Related: “Biden-Xi virtual summit tentatively set for Monday,” via POLITICO’s Nahal Toosi and Phelim Kline.
IN TRANSPORTATION: The U.S. joined 18 other countries pledging to establish at least six zero-emission shipping lanes by 2025, and several more by the decade’s end. International shipping is responsible for 3 percent of the world’s emissions. Hanne Cokelaere has more for Pros.
Twenty countries also signed on to an agreement to take “ambitious actions” to bring down their aviation sector emissions. That includes working to support the International Civil Aviation Organization’s carbon offsetting system and collaborating across governments to set long-term goals. The U.S. already announced a target earlier this week to reach net-zero emissions in its aviation sector by 2050. Hanne has more for Pros.
And California is signing onto the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance, a global pledge to phase out fossil fuel production announced at COP26, Pro’s Colby Bermel reports.
Around the Agencies
REVEAL YOURSELVES: Speaking of tensions, the Commerce Department will toss a petition from anonymous solar manufacturers for additional tariffs on solar parts unless the companies out themselves, the department said in a letter Wednesday. The companies are vying to extend tariffs on Chinese-sourced solar parts to those imported from Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, arguing the countries are just a layover for parts made in China. But advocates for the solar industry argue extending the tariffs would be a death sentence for U.S. solar, which still relies overwhelmingly on an overseas supply chain.
The companies requested anonymity to protect themselves from retaliation, but Commerce retorted that anonymity “publicly hampers interested parties from fully commenting on the requests for circumvention inquiries and may hamper them from commenting on certain issues that could arise if Commerce were to initiate circumvention inquiries.” Gavin Bade has more for Pros.
REGAN IS KEEPING AT IT: EPA won’t be hitting the breaks on its aggressive climate regulations, even as it faces a major court challenge over the extent of its jurisdiction, EPA administrator Michael Regan told Pro's Zack Colman in Glasgow. The Supreme Court is set to determine if the agency can go outside the “fence line” in adopting schemes to control power plant pollution, but Regan told Zack that "there are lots of options within the fence line to leverage advanced technologies for energy efficiency and renewable energy and the like," he said. "And so we believe that we have a lot of options to regulate greenhouse gases from the power plant sector, and we're going to keep looking at all of our options." Read more from Zack and Alex Guillén.
Regan also told Bloomberg at the conference that the agency will strengthen its standards for tailpipe emissions after complaints that the standards unveiled over the summer were too weak.
MONDAY IS THE DAY: Biden plans to sign the bipartisan infrastructure bill into law on Monday. He’ll be joined by labor and business leaders, governors, mayors and lawmakers from both parties who worked to bring it to fruition. But don’t expect the administration to be slowing down its whirlwind national tour to tout the president’s domestic agenda. Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Cabinet members will continue to travel the country to talk about how the bill benefits working Americans. And with the reconciliation bill still on the line, they’ll need to keep momentum going to see that through to the end.
STAFFING UP: The Energy Department expects to add about 1,000 jobs to its ranks to help implement the new spending laid out in the bipartisan infrastructure deal. "Over the coming days, weeks [and] months, we are going to have to staff up and we're really excited about doing that," DOE chief of staff Tarak Shah told reporters Wednesday. "We anticipate somewhere around 1,000 new folks coming on board to help us spend this money efficiently and effectively for the American people." The legislation includes more than $62 billion for the department — investments that Shah said "represent the single-largest change to our agency since its founding in 1977." DOE currently has about 13,000 federal employees and tens of thousands more at its national labs, he added.
On the Hill
NO, CANADA: Democrats’ reconciliation tax credits for electric vehicles are getting some pushback up north. Canada’s International Trade Minister Mary Ng said the tax credits “didn't recognize the deeply integrated supply chain” and could have negative impacts on workers on both sides of the border. Ng said it will be a subject of conversation at the North American Leaders Summit next week.
The tax credits are meant to increase unionized EV production in the U.S., but ambassadors from over two dozen allies railed against the proposal as discriminating against their manufacturers. Zi-Ann Lum has more from Ottawa.
Beyond the Beltway
LUMA AND THE LAW: The private company operating Puerto Rico’s power grid since June 1 is coming under fresh fire after a judge on the island issued an order for its CEO’s arrest. Judge Anthony Cuevas found CEO Wayne Stensby in contempt of court for the firm’s failure to provide all documents requested by the territory’s House of Representatives. The order is renewing calls for the cancellation of LUMA’s 15-year contract to manage Puerto Rico’s grid, which has been plagued with numerous power outages.
The company alleged that the probe was politically motivated in a Tuesday statement, but softened its stance in a Wednesday statement from Stensby released after the arrest order. LUMA has shared more than 10,000 documents in compliance with the court's orders, including records of the total annual compensation of its president and top six executives, minutes of all meetings since the company took over the grid and information on the number of employees needed to operate the system in accordance with LUMA's contract, according to the new statement.
“We believe that the Puerto Rican people deserve full transparency by all parties regarding the actions that have been taken, are being taken, and will be taken to improve Puerto Rico's electrical system,” he said. Gloria Gonzalez has more for Pros.
IS PIPELINE A DIRTY WORD?: A Duke Energy gas subsidiary is proposing to build a pipeline in South Carolina, but you wouldn’t know it from the press release. The company managed to use every word except “pipe” or “line” to describe the “infrastructure” and “reliability” project. Navigate your way to the Piedmont Natural Gas infrastructure projects page and you’ll finally see it described as natural gas “transmission,” but you’ll have to scroll down to the FAQ section to confirm that the project is, indeed, a pipeline.
“Pipeline projects can include additional equipment and structures, such as regulator stations, etc.,” Duke spokesperson Jennifer Sharpe said in an email. “Using the term ‘infrastructure’ is a way to simply include everything.”
Last year, Duke took a $1.6 billion hit after cancelling its Atlantic Coast Pipeline, developed alongside Dominion Energy, following lengthy delays due to legal challenges from landowners and environmental groups. Construction on the “Greenville Reliability Project” will take place along a 12-mile stretch north of Greenville, South Carolina, and land surveys will begin early next year, according to the company.
DRAMA IN MISSOURI: St. Louis officials are starting to think pipeline company Spire has gone too far in messaging about potential gas shortages this winter. The company last week sent an email blast to its customers, warning they could face outages this winter if FERC does not extend the STL Pipeline’s temporary permit to operate, currently valid until Dec. 13. FERC granted the emergency waiver after the D.C. Circuit found the commission had ignored evidence of self-dealing in allowing the pipeline to be built.
Since Spire’s email, FERC has received around a dozen new comments from stakeholders, including individual customers who are afraid their heat will be cut off this winter as a result of the proceeding. During a hearing on Tuesday, St. Louis officials questioned whether Spire was fear mongering, given it seems unlikely FERC would shut down the pipeline if it’s needed for reliability.
“This feels a little bit like a manufactured catastrophe,” said St. Louis County Councilor Lisa Clancy, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. On Thursday, Clancy will hold a press conference alongside City Alderwoman Christine Ingrassia and Environmental Defense Fund Attorney Natalie Karas to clarify the risks. Spire Missouri President Scott Carter told POLITICO the company’s messaging “is not about creating excitement or inflaming customers, it's about keeping them informed.” The company hopes the likelihood of FERC shutting down its pipeline is “extremely low,” but wants customers to be prepared regardless, Carter said.
The Grid
— “How Much of GE’s Business Is Healthcare, Aviation and Energy?” via The Wall Street Journal.
— "Russia increases gas flows to Europe, and prices fall," via Reuters.
— “In France, the People the Climate Summit Forgot,” via The New York Times.
— "China’s Factory Inflation Grows at a Record Pace on Soaring Energy Prices," via The Wall Street Journal.
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