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Your weekly intelligence on Decarbonization Policy and Impacts
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The case before the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 17 was about Commerce Department regulations for herring fishing, but according to NetZero Insider’s James Downing and Rich Heidorn Jr., the 1984 precedent at stake – known as the Chevron rule – could have significant implications for a range of federal policies, including clean energy. The court could overturn or narrow federal agencies’ ability to impose regulations in situations where congressional intent on their authority is not clear.  


The Environmental Protection Agency says it has clear authorization in the Inflation Reduction Act for setting penalties for major oil and gas producers with high levels of methane emissions. John Cropley reports that EPA’s proposed regulations that would charge major waste methane emitters $900 per metric ton beginning this year, rising to $1,500/MT by 2026. 


In other federal headlines, James writes that FERC Chair Willie Phillips is confident that the commission will approve its NOPR on transmission planning and cost allocation this year. Phillips’ comments came after 21 Senate Democrats and 113 House Dems sent letters urging the commission to approve rules that include “a long-term, forward-looking, 20-year planning horizon that addresses the changing circumstances and the evolution of our energy system.” 


Changes to permitting and siting of clean energy projects is on the legislative agenda in Massachusetts, where lawmakers are hoping to pass an omnibus energy bill, New England correspondent Jon Lamson reports. The bill could also include provisions to improve transmission planning and promote electrification of home heating and cooling. 


Meanwhile, our John Stang says Washington’s  legislature is considering a controversial bill that would create a new state agency tasked with collecting massive amounts of financial and industrial data on the oil industry to ensure that consumers are not getting gouged with high prices. Another bill would link Washington’s cap-and-trade program with the California-Quebec combined system, Stang reports. The proposed merger could take some of the sting out of the higher gas prices triggered by Washington’s cap-and-invest program.  


Our curated content this week leads with Politico’s sharp analysis of John Kerry’s long record as a U.S. climate envoy following the announcement that the 80-year-old veteran diplomat and lawmaker will retire. Kerry “was no white knight. Rather he represented self-interested U.S. power and sought to paper over the political shortcomings of the biggest carbon polluter in history, even as he urged the world to do much more to cut carbon.” 


Implementing clean energy policies also depends on providing workers with “green” skills, a significant but underappreciated challenge for the U.S. and other countries, according to a Reuters article. A survey of 1,000 business executives found only 55% have or are planning to start training programs in clean energy. A clean energy transition could create 30 million new jobs worldwide by 2030 versus the 13 million that could be lost in the turn away from fossil fuels. 


An article in the West Virginia Register-Herald details how the skills shortage is shaking out on the local level. Younger workers are leaving the state; older, undereducated workers are left behind, and businesses like solar installer Solar Holler must build their workforce from the ground up. The company is now training high school students in solar installation, while installing 10,000 solar panels on school buildings. 


NetZero Insider is working hard to keep you up to date on all the clean energy news that matters. Read on for the full Policy and Impacts Intelligence Report! 


Jump To

Equity & Economics
Finance & Investing
Impact & Adaptation
Policy & Politics

 
 

Equity & Economics

U.S.

As Utility Bills Rise, Low-Income Americans Struggle for Access to Clean Energy

The Biden administration has deployed various programs to try to increase access to clean energy. But systems that could help lower bills are still out of reach for many low-income households. New York Times


Environmental Justice

Michigan

Michigan hopes community groups can get piece of $2B climate justice fund

Michigan officials hope a new federal program will help community groups tackle climate and environmental justice projects. EPA recently launched the Community Change Grant program. It's made $2 billion in grants available for organizations across the country. Michigan Advance


Workforce Development

International

Businesses aren't doing enough to address green skills shortages - report

As the world transitions away from fossil fuels, a global lack of skills is emerging as a major hurdle holding back the development of greener industries. Reuters


West Virginia

Clean energy jobs are coming to W.Va., but who's going to work them?

Growth is hampered by a number of factors, including a lack of policies supporting smaller community-scale projects that could create additional jobs and a labor force participation rate that lags behind the national average. The Register Herald


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Finance & Investing

International

Cubico buys out UK renewables joint venture partner

Cubico Sustainable Investments has acquired Peel NRE's 50% stake in Peel Cubico Renewables and with it, the joint venture's development pipeline. It comprises more than 350MW of utility-scale wind and solar projects across England and Scotland, plus a 1.7GW feasibility pipeline. The joint venture was launched in April 2021. Windpower Monthly


International

Renewables professional launches Gateway Zero to develop ports and infrastructure for the energy transition

Former Principle Power CEO Joao Metelo has launched a new venture, development and investment company Gateway Zero, dedicated to the development of next-generation energy ports infrastructure. Renewable Energy Magazine


U.S.

Solar companies raised $34.3 billion in corporate funding in 2023

Total corporate funding in 160 deals, including venture capital funding, public market, and debt financing into the solar sector, increased 42% year-over-year, the largest amount raised in over a decade. Solar Builder


U.S.

U.S. energy tax credit trading grows to as much as $9 billion, study finds

Developers of renewable energy projects selling unused U.S. tax credits to other companies now account for a market worth between $7 billion and $9 billion, buoyed by legislation in 2022 that made these trades possible, a new study, opens new tab shows. Reuters


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Impact & Adaptation

International

Greenland's Ice Sheet May Be Losing 20% More Ice Than Previously Measured

Greenland's expansive ice sheet is known to be shrinking, especially since the 1990s, because of warming from climate change. It's a fate shared by the Antarctic Ice Sheet as well as glaciers around the world. Now, a new study reveals that about 20 percent more of the Greenland ice sheet has disappeared than previous estimates show. The missing ice has been breaking and melting from the ends of glaciers around Greenland's perimeter. The new research, published Jan. 17 in the journal Nature, provides a detailed accounting of a process that scientists knew was happening but had struggled to measure comprehensively. The New York Times


International

Winter Without Snow Is Devastating Indian Kashmir's Ski Tourism

Each winter, Gulmarg, one of Asia's largest and highest ski resort towns, attracts thousands of skiers, many from as far away as Europe and the Americas, drawn by perfect powder, cheap hotels and breathtaking views of the Himalayas. At 8,500 feet, this scrappy ski town's miles of slopes are usually blanketed by snow from December to March and packed with snowboarders and skiers. But this year, there is no snow: Like much of South Asia, Kashmir is experiencing extreme weather patterns, including record summer heat waves that lead to rapid melting of glaciers that are a major water source for the region's eight million people. The New York Times


Vermont

Barre's 'cliffhangers' in limbo as city considers landslide buyouts

Their homes declared uninhabitable, Barre landslide victims have been shunted into a murky legal ground between the feds, the city and the state. Vermont Digger


Drought & Flooding

International

Climate change isn't producing expected increase in atmospheric moisture over dry regions

The laws of thermodynamics dictate that a warmer atmosphere can hold more water vapor, but new research has found that atmospheric moisture has not increased as expected over arid and semi-arid regions of the world as the climate has warmed. Space Daily


Sea Level Rise

International

Greenland Losing 30 Million Tonnes Of Ice An Hour, Study Reveals

The total is 20% higher than thought and may have implications for collapse of globally important north Atlantic ocean currents. The Guardian


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Policy & Politics

California

Los Angeles' renewable energy plan won't tank the economy, study finds

The findings, published in Climate Policy, showed that some scenarios may result in slight job gains or losses, but any potential changes would be minuscule in relation to the city's 3.9 million jobs and $700 billion in GDP. TechXplore


New York

The Role Of Fossil Gas Utilities In The Era Of Clean Energy Gets Tested In New York

Fossil gas utilities have a vested interest in continuing their business model, which brings them substantial profits. Clean Technica


U.S.

States with big climate goals strip local power to block green projects

Michigan and more than a dozen other states are seeking to upend the decision-making process by grabbing the power to supersede local restrictions and allow state authorities to approve or disapprove locations for utility-scale projects. The Associated Press


U.S.

Most U.S. cities falling short of 2050 energy goals, study finds

The race to mitigate climate change has many U.S. communities pledging to curb greenhouse gases with renewable energy sources in the next several decades. The reality of those goals isn't looking so good, researchers say. Courthouse New Service


U.S.

John Kerry's America First climate legacy

For those who have felt the hard edge of US climate diplomacy, Kerry was no white knight. Politico


U.S.

Companies are hiding their climate progress. A new report explains why.

The practice of "greenhushing" is now widespread, according to a new report released on Tuesday by South Pole. Some 70 percent of sustainability-minded companies around the world are deliberately hiding their climate goals to comply with new regulations and avoid public scrutiny. Grist


U.S.

A Potentially Huge Supreme Court Case Has a Hidden Conservative Backer

The Supreme Court was set to hear arguments that, on paper, are about a group of commercial fishermen who oppose a government fee that they consider unreasonable. But the lawyers who have helped to propel their case to the nation's highest court have a far more powerful backer: the petrochemicals billionaire Charles Koch. The New York Times


Ohio

Ohio Supreme Court: Ex-regulator's assets can be frozen in connection with FirstEnergy case

The Ohio Supreme Court unanimously ruled Jan. 16 that assets owned by the former head of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio can be frozen in connection with a federal public corruption case. Sam Randazzo's bank accounts and brokerage accounts can now be frozen, according to a ruling by the state's highest court that reversed an appeals court decision. This keeps Randazzo from moving money out of his accounts as the state's civil action continues to recover proceeds from an alleged bribe given by FirstEnergy Corp. Ohio Capital Journal


New Mexico

State of the State: Here's what Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said on environment

When Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the words "climate change" it came in off-the-cuff responses to protesters disrupting the address to both chambers at the opening ceremony of the 30-day legislative session Jan. 16. Those two words were not in the prepared remarks issued by the governor's office ahead of the New Mexico State of the State. Source NM


California

Newsom's budget cuts threaten to delay California's new environmental disclosure laws

Businesses were required to start reporting emissions and risks in 2026. GreenBiz.com


Maryland

Energy companies gear up for fight on electric regulation bill

As top lawmakers move to strengthen consumer protections for utility customers who shop for electricity suppliers, large national energy companies are countering with a poll showing an overwhelming majority of voters want to retain robust competition in the marketplace. They are also charging that the proposed legislation would decimate the state's 25-year-old competitive marketplace for electricity suppliers. And they're arguing that recent controversy over Baltimore Gas & Electric rate increases illustrates the need for more checks on the utility companies. Maryland Matters


Maryland

Energy companies gear up for fight on electric regulation bill

As top lawmakers move to strengthen consumer protections for utility customers who shop for electricity suppliers, large national energy companies are countering with a poll showing an overwhelming majority of voters want to retain robust competition in the marketplace. Maryland Matters


Kentucky

Kentucky's largest cities are seeking public input to develop climate plans

Kentucky's largest cities -- Louisville, Lexington and Bowling Green -- are vying for millions of federal dollars aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and are turning to residents of surrounding communities for help. The plans, due to EPA by March 1, will include an inventory of local greenhouse gas emission sources such as transportation and industry, an analysis of how the plan benefits low-income and disadvantaged communities in their metro area and a list of "near-term, high-priority, implementation ready measures" to lower local emissions. Kentucky Lantern


International

Third of UK teenagers believe climate change exaggerated, report shows

A third of UK teenagers believe climate change is "exaggerated," a report has found, as YouTube videos promoting a new kind of climate denial aimed at young people proliferate on the platform. The Guardian


International

How YouTube's climate deniers turned into climate doomers

A new report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit based in London and Washington, D.C., working to stop the spread of disinformation, analyzed 12,000 videos from channels that promoted lies about climate change on YouTube over the last six years. The report found a dramatic shift from "old denial" arguments -- that global warming isn't real and isn't caused by humans -- to new arguments bent on undermining trust in climate solutions. Grist


International

Companies are hiding their climate progress. A new report explains why.

The practice of "greenhushing" is now widespread, according to a new report released Jan. 16 by South Pole, a Switzerland-based climate consultancy and carbon offset developer. Some 70% of sustainability-minded companies around the world are deliberately hiding their climate goals to comply with new regulations and avoid public scrutiny. Grist


Connecticut

Connecticut program aims to alleviate cost barriers to utility oversight process, but challenges remain

Connecticut's utilities commission is the latest to begin offering payments to help environmental justice and ratepayer groups participate in regulatory proceedings. The Stakeholder Group Compensation Program was required to take effect this month as part of an energy consumer protection bill passed by the state legislature last year. It seeks to encourage more diverse engagement in proceedings on utility regulation, which can set direction for grid resiliency, rate relief, clean energy development, corporate accountability, storm response and more. Energy News Network


U.S.

The IRA turns two this year. What's working and what isn't?

Some bottlenecks still need to be worked out if we are to see the full optimization of the law's incentives. Renewable Energy World


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