Trump’s Order Undoing EPA Climate Regs Isn’t Anti-Environment: It’s Pro Jobs & Pro African/Hispanic-American

by Jeff Dunetz | Mar 28, 2017 | Climate, Economy

Sometime on Tuesday, President Trump will sign an executive order directing the EPA to begin dismantling Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan. Liberal politicians and the mainstream media (that’s redundant isn’t it?) will call it a blatantly anti-environment move, the truth is the order is another pro-job action by the new president, that will also support America’s minority communities

The Clean Power Plan was the centerpiece of Obama’s Climate Action Plan. It was announced in June 2013, and complies with his more recent pledge to the U.N. that the U.S. will cut its carbon emissions by as much as 28 percent from 2005 levels by 2025.

The plan, which places heavy restrictions on coal-burning power plants, has served to depress the coal industry, but it effects much more than the coal economy.

 

The plan is a disaster on so many levels, the most important of which is that it will kill jobs from all industries (and the U.S. labor participation rates already at disastrous low levels), the US economy will find it hard recover from these regulations.  The EPA rule is looking to replace cheap energy with more expensive alternate energy, it not only raises the cost of energy for the individual households, but will raise the cost of goods for companies marketing their products resulting in higher costs for all products, but especially staple goods. The Obama created rise in the price of energy and resulting rise in the price of consumer goods, will place the heaviest burden on middle and lower economic class families. And that doesn’t take into account that the rule deals another Obama blow against  business resulting in more unemployment, higher government costs, and energy price inflation.

Fmr. UN climate chief Christina Figueres to Vatican – ‘We need to be clear that Fossil Fuels Kill’

 |  Eco Catholic
VATICAN CITY
In late January, I had the opportunity to attend a small conference at the Pontifical Lateran University on Catholic actions, financial and otherwise, to resolve the climate crisis.

The tagline for the Jan. 27 conference — titled “Laudato Si’ & Catholic Investing: Clean Energy for our Common Home” — came by way of the October 2015 statement issued by the heads of Catholic continental bishops’ conferences ahead of the COP 21 international climate change summit in Paris: “Put an end to the fossil fuel era, phasing out fossil fuel emissions and providing affordable, reliable and safe renewable energy access for all.”

Among the leaders who spoke were Cardinal Peter Turkson, head of the Vatican’s new dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, and Christina Figueres, the former executive secretary for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, along with:

  • Mark Campanale, founder of the Carbon Tracker Initiative;
  • Franciscan Sr. Sheila Kinsey, executive co-secretary for justice, peace and integrity of creation commission of the International Union of Superiors General;
  • Lutheran Rev. Henrik Grape of Sweden from the World Council of Churches;
  • Papua New Guinea Cardinal John Ribat, president of the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania.

The experience of attending as a participant left me feeling surprised to see how far we have come in a few years, in our understanding and willingness to speak to the grave urgency of the climate crisis. Figueres was definitive on the need to ween the world off fossil fuels in the next few years. Though not often seen first as a Catholic, her call to metanoia was the sharpest and clearest of any of the speakers.

“This is a moral responsibility that we all share,” she said. “That moral responsibility, how are we going to ensure that it is achieved before it is too late for the most vulnerable? We need to align our moral compass … we need to be clear that fossil fuels kill.”

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Other speakers were also compelling with their words.

Cardinal Ribat said those on Pacific islands are facing rising seas on all sides. They are helpless in the face of this challenge, so even while

China’s Electric Cars Sales Plunge After Subsidy Cuts

China’s Electric Cars Sales Plunge After Subsidy Cuts

http://www.thegwpf.com/chinas-electric-cars-sales-plunge-after-subsidy-cuts/

Electric vehicle sales in China plunged 75% in January after the government cut subsidies by more than a fifth starting this year, raising the question of whether the country can sustain demand for green cars without generous grants. China is considering dialing back or delaying proposed measures aimed at pushing automakers to produce more electric vehicles, after industry feedback that the targets are overly ambitious. Under draft rules released in September for public consultation, automakers will be required to obtain a new-energy vehicle credit score of 8 percent next year, derived from different weightings assigned to various types of zero- and low-emission vehicles. Companies that fail to meet the requirement face fines or have to buy credits from those that exceeded the minimum. Average production of new-energy vehicles last year may have contributed only about 3 percent of the score required, 5 percentage points short of the proposed 2018 target, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel told German media in November that he expressed the view to his Chinese counterpart that the 2018 targets were not attainable. Miao Wei, China’s minister of industry and information technology, told Bloomberg News in an interview in Beijing on Sunday that his ministry is considering either lowering the credit requirement in percentage terms or delaying the implementation date. “We are still working on the regulation,” Miao said on the sidelines of the opening of the annual session of the National People’s Congress. “It may be finalized around May or June.” Government Subsidies Electric vehicle sales plunged in China in January after the government cut subsidies by more than a fifth starting this year, raising the question of whether the country can sustain demand for green cars without generous grants. Sales of new-energy vehicles, the term China uses to refer to battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell cars, dropped 74 percent in January from a year earlier to 5,682 units, according to data released by the auto association. Full story

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U.S. Shale Production Growing At An Unprecedented Pace

U.S. Shale Production Growing At An Unprecedented Pace

http://www.thegwpf.com/u-s-shale-production-growing-at-an-unprecedented-pace/

The oil markets have long expected that U.S. shale production would rebound once oil prices started to rise. But the comeback of shale could be much faster and stronger than many once anticipated. As Bloomberg Gadfly points out, the rise in U.S. oil production since output bottomed out at the end of last summer has been swift. Since September, U.S. production has climbed roughly 125,000 bpd on average each month, pushing total production above 9 million barrels per day. That is a much faster pace of growth than the original shale boom that began years ago. The corresponding period for the 2011-2014 shale boom saw monthly growth of just 93,000 bpd. There are a few reasons for this. First, the industry is leaner than it once was, with some of the least efficient companies forced out of the market and the consolidated sector is now moving quickly with oil prices stabilized in the $50s per barrel range. Second, oil drillers have a lot more experience in shale than they did years ago. Improved drilling techniques, which include longer laterals, more wells per wellpad and stronger fracking processes are yielding more oil per rig and per well. Third, instead of drilling everywhere, companies are focusing on the best spots this time around. Finally, it isn’t just the small companies drilling in U.S. shale – the oil majors are increasingly getting into the shale game. Relatedly, low oil prices have paradoxically made shale more attractive. With all but the most profitable large-scale projects off of the table, everyone is trying to get into relatively low-risk shale. Even though shale has famously suffered from higher breakeven costs, the upfront costs are low and returns are quick, making shale wells a safe bet. ExxonMobil has decided to allocate more than $5 billion to shale drilling in Texas and North Dakota this year, a dramatic shift from the megaproject-focus that the company has had for decades. That all means that U.S. shale is now one of the most highly-prized areas for new oil investment. “North American oil companies are going to increase their spending by 25 percent in 2017 compared to last year,” Daniel Yergin, oil historian and Vice Chairman of IHS Markit, told Bloomberg. “The increase reflects the magnetism of U.S. shale.” More rigs and more investment could mean stronger gains in shale production this time around compared to the …

Brexit Could ‘Derail’ EU Attempts To Fight Climate Change, MEPs Warn

Brexit Could ‘Derail’ EU Attempts To Fight Climate Change, MEPs Warn

http://www.thegwpf.com/brexit-could-derail-eu-attempts-to-fight-climate-change-meps-warn/

European Carbon Trading Scheme (ETS) could lose £1.7bn worth of UK funding once Britain exits the trade bloc. The United Kingdom is committed to providing almost €2bn (£1.7bn) worth of funding for the scheme, without which it is not yet clear how the system will survive. Through ETS a cap is placed on total emissions and allowances are provided to member states. Companies which fall under the remit of the scheme have to hand in an allowance for every tonne of carbon they release. They are allowed to buy and sell these allowances, which are priced to incentivise a reduction in emissions. Ian Duncan MEP, who is the Conservatives’ European spokesman on energy and climate change and also the lead lawmaker on reforming the ETS, said there was a “serious risk” Brexit could stop the functioning of the scheme, leading to “disastrous” consequences. “In order for ETS to work a number of funds were created to help Eastern European nations to address the challenges of modernising their Soviet-era energy generators and manufacturing companies. “The UK is one of the major contributors to this fund and after it leaves the finance for this fund will not be there,” Mr Duncan told The Independent. “Without it, there is a serious risk not only that the ETS stops functioning post-Brexit, but that the EU loses support for its climate change targets altogether. With Donald Trump in the White House, the consequences of this could be disastrous for global efforts to tackle climate change.” Full post

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Trump Preparing To Reverse Obama’s EPA Fuel Economy Mandate

 

By MICHAEL BASTASCH – The Daily Caller

The Trump administration is preparing to reverse a last-minute Obama administration decision to keep in place regulations to increase fuel economy for new cars to the equivalent of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

A source told InsideEPA “action on the mid-term review” is expected for “next week, essentially to put the EPA back on the original schedule.”

The decision will reopen a mid-term review of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Transportation Department (DOT) fuel economy standards meant to tackle global warming.

The Obama administration released its determination to keep the fuel economy mandate ahead of schedule, surprising the auto industry and sparking criticism from the right. EPA issued its decision on Jan. 13, days before the Senate held a confirmation hearing for Elaine Chao, the future transportation secretary.

 …

Automakers petitioned President Donald Trump to reverse the fuel mandate. A high mandate would “threaten future production levels, putting hundreds of thousands and perhaps as many as a million jobs at risk” auto executives wrote in a letter sent to Trump in January.

In 2012, EPA and DOT pushed a fuel economy regulation requiring cars built in 2025 get 54.5 miles per gallon. The Obama administration said the rule would cut American fuel costs and global warming emissions.

Fuel economy, or CAFE, standards were put in place by Congress in 1975 to increase fuel efficiency, but former President Barack Obama unilaterally increased the mandate to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. Obama previously set a standard of 35 miles per gallon for cars built between 2012 and 2016.

The draft mid-term review released by EPA and DOT in July found cars would likely fall short of Obama’s 54.5 miles per gallon mandate. The Obama administration responded by saying 54.5 miles per gallon was a goal, not a requirement.

Climate scientists have pointed out the fuel economy standards will do little for global warming — one of the stated goals of the program. Cato Institute climate scientists estimated — using EPA models — fuel efficiency standards would avert 0.016 degrees Celsius of projected warming.

Automakers say the accelerated fuel economy mandates add $3,000 to the price of a new car, outweighing projected fuel savings. The conservative Heritage Foundation found fuel economy mandates have added $6,200 to the price of a new car.

In total, EPA and DOT fuel standards for light-duty vehicles