Energy & Sustainability

The Supreme Court partially upheld and partially rejected June 23 a set of Environmental Protection Agency greenhouse gas regulations for major pollution sources, following a legal challenge from the utility industry.

With most of the energy sector’s attention focused this month on what the Environmental Protection Agency is doing with its proposed 111(d) rule regulating carbon emissions, less was said about what the agency did not do: release the long-awaited 2014 volume obligations for the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).

We shared with you last week details of the Environmental Protection Agency’s June 2 proposed CO2 standards for existing power plants, as well as a broad set of initial reactions.

The Environmental Protection Agency proposed today CO2 standards for existing power plants under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. The proposed rule would require the nation’s fleet of existing power plants to reduce CO2 emissions 30 percent by 2030 from a 2005 baseline.

Following an ongoing dispute over amendments, the Senate fell short May 15 of the 60 votes needed to limit debate on the Senate Finance Committee-approved tax extenders package (H.R. 3474).

The federal government released May 6 the Third National Climate Assessment, a comprehensive examination of peer-reviewed science on climate change impacts in the United States.

The Senate is scheduled to take up the much-anticipated Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency legislation (S. 2262) early this week, potentially coupled with another vote on the Keystone XL pipeline.

While it has been several years since the apex of federal clean energy funding, the Administration continues to utilize its executive authority – leveraging existing agency programs and initiatives to develop, commercialize, and deploy clean energy technologies both domestically and internationally.

Recent surveys offer revealing insights into voter attitudes in the northeast U.S. toward state policies that expand the use of clean and renewable energy. There is also intriguing data about voters’ willingness to pay for those policies.

Congress is increasingly likely to complete the appropriations process this year, in part because committee leaders in both houses, led by Senate Appropriations Chair Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and House Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers (R-KY), are determined to finalize the bills before the 2015 fiscal year begins in the fall.

Energy issues garnered attention on the international front as well as here at home last week.

With the reintroduction of energy efficiency legislation and a first move on comprehensive tax reform, energy issues received significant attention in Washington last week.

Energy issues will take center stage this week as the Supreme Court addresses the Environmental Protection Agency’s greenhouse gas regulations and Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-OH) reintroduce their energy efficiency package.

With Senator Max Baucus’ (D-MT) confirmation as ambassador to China, Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Mary Landrieu (D-CA) assumed the chairmanship of the Senate Finance and Energy and Natural Resources Committees, respectively, last week.

With Senator Max Baucus’ (D-MT) confirmation February 6 to be the next Ambassador to China, the committee leadership shuffle begins.

President Obama used his annual State of the Union address January 28 to call for a year of action on a broad array of issues, highlighting energy efforts and his climate action plan amongst 12 executive actions he hopes to undertake this year to increase “opportunit[ies] for all.”

While Congress was in recess last week, many Obama Administration and Congressional officials traveled to Davos, Switzerland, to participate in the annual World Economic Forum.

After approving a three-day continuing resolution through January 18 to buy time for debate, Congress sent a bipartisan $1.1 trillion omnibus Fiscal Year 2014 spending bill (H.R. 3547) to President Obama January 16.

Following a week during which energy and climate issues garnered significant national attention, via both Senator Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) energy export white paper and the Environmental Protection Agency’s release of greenhouse gas rules for new power plants, Washington will focus on budget and tax issues this week, while policymakers also nod toward a continued focus on energy issues.

As Congress wrapped up the first session of the 113th Congress, the House and Senate came together to finalize several pieces of legislation, and policymakers prepared the way for changes to come in 2014.