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| #BILLYPENNGRAM OF THE DAY Old City Philadelphia in full effect (Photo by @suzyq825) |
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#BILLYPENNGRAM-Feb. 6, 2023 Read More »
| BY ARIANNA SKIBELL, Politico |
| Presented by Evergreen Collaborative and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) |
 House Speaker Kevin McCarthy talks with reporters outside the White House. |
| The rebellion against President Joe Biden’s energy and climate agenda has begun in a House emboldened by its new conservative majority. GOP lawmakers rebuked Biden’s use of oil reserves, pilloried his climate envoy John Kerry as an unaccountable diplomat, and erased the term “environmental justice” from congressional documents. Republicans in the House and Senate also introduced resolutions to nix a Labor Department rule that permits asset managers to consider social and environmental factors in making retirement investments for workers, write POLITICO’s E&E News reporters Emma Dumain and Hannah Northey. Conservative critics say the practice amounts to “woke capitalism” designed to drive dollars away from fossil fuels. Investors and companies have also jumped into the fray. The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering softening a planned rule that would require companies to disclose their climate risks after the plan got industry pushback, The Wall Street Journal reported. Dialing back that rule has also been a rallying cry for GOP critics, including Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, now chair of the House Financial Services Committee. Odds of success: Because Republicans introduced the resolutions through the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers to overturn recent rules with a simple majority, they have a fair shot at getting their Labor Department proposal to Biden’s desk — though he would be certain to veto it. The 1996 law (which Congress used only once before the statute enjoyed a renaissance under the Trump administration) requires Senate Democrats to schedule votes on proposed resolutions. No death by floor inaction. With a slim Democratic majority in the Senate, Republicans would need to peel off just two lawmakers to secure passage. (Joe Manchin, anyone?) A win in the House is more of a given. Less likely to advance is a provision that a major caucus of Republicans included in its debt limit demands. This one would implement “common-sense guardrails” for future regulations, such as a law that would require Congress to vote up or down on major rules before they take effect. The “REINS Act” has long been on the GOP’s regulation wish list — and would be a major blow to any president trying to cut climate pollution in a divided Congress. If you liked this post, you’ll love our daily EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation. |
Republicans take aim at Biden’s climate agenda Read More »
By Joel Mitnick, Partner, Cadwalader
Recently, there have been rumblings of antitrust enforcement in response to the increasing prominence of corporate policies furthering environmental, social, and governance (‘ESG’) goals.
The ESG moniker has been used as shorthand for a broad range of initiatives by private actors, including collaborative efforts to issue industry-wide “best practices,” adherence to environmentally conscious production processes, and commitments to sustainable investing.
Despite the arguably laudable objectives of the ESG movement, there are indications that multi-firm ESG initiatives have fallen in the crosshairs of antitrust enforcers. Most notably, elected representatives of U.S. oil and gas constituents have threatened antitrust liability against financial institutions that have adopted lending or investing policies aimed at climate change, particularly those favoring net-zero growth for carbon emissions.
This article traces the growing likelihood of antitrust challenges to ESG policies and explains why the threat of enforcement actions does not necessarily equate to an increased risk of liability. We also discuss how firms can mitigate their exposure to potential antitrust liability by refraining from forms of concerted conduct that have been deemed per se unlawful under antitrust law, and identify which types of coordinated activity are typically permitted where reasonable safeguards to competition exist.
If you liked this post, you’ll love our daily EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.
Antitrust Risks of ESG: Rhetoric vs. Reality Read More »
Neighbors heard at least 6 shots, saw her SUV roll into parked cars
Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour was shot to death Wednesday night, Feb. 1, 2023, in her car outside her home in the Camelot at La Mer luxury rental complex.
By Keith Sargeant and Camille Furst, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Neighbors of slain Sayreville councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour said they heard six shots ring out Wednesday night and saw her SUV roll down a hill in the townhouse development and stop after hitting multiple parked vehicles.
“I heard three shots and a pause, and three more shots,” said Pete Tresch, who lives in the Camelot at La Mer townhome complex in the Parlin section of the borough.
Authorities said Dwumfour, 30, was struck multiple times while in her car in the area of Samuel Circle at about 7:20 p.m. and pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.
Tresch said he called 911 as soon as heard the shots.
“I knew right away and I was on the phone with 911 as I was going down the stairs,” he said. “I came over and another neighbor came out at the same time. I saw the vehicle and I knew.”
Tresch said he didn’t know Dwumfour.
Another neighbor saw gunshots on the driver’s side and windshield of the SUV before it was towed away Wednesday night. Neighbors said the shooting appeared to be targeted as the shooter stopped, opened fire and then drove away.
A different neighbor she regularly saw Dwumfour at the townhouse complex
If you liked this post, you’ll love our daily EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.
NJ councilwoman shot dead outside her apartment Read More »
From the federal Office of ENERGY EFFICIENCY & RENEWABLE ENERGY
As more distributed energy resources (DERs) like solar and wind come online, the power grid is becoming more dispersed and complex. Each new entity connected to the grid provides a potential entry point for hackers.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Operant Networks $350,000 in 2016 to address this problem. The team at Operant demonstrated a new technology that provides security and intelligence to every piece of data and can be used on any size, or type, of equipment.
At the time, grid cybersecurity was an emerging field, and Operant was a startup company working out of a garage. With no industrywide standards in place to govern DER cybersecurity, device manufacturers were securing their own devices but not collaborating with industry partners.
“Only DOE had the perspective across multiple stakeholders to understand that cybersecurity would be required across the industry,” said Operant CEO Keith Rose.
National DER capacity is expected to quadruple by 2025, increasing the need for a coordinated cybersecurity approach across the energy industry. For the country to transition to a secure and reliable clean power grid, DERs must be able to securely communicate with each other and protect against external threats.
Traditional, centralized systems of communication and cybersecurity are becoming increasingly vulnerable to cybersecurity threats, as they were originally designed for employees working in office buildings. DERs, which are machines operating outdoors and often in remote locations, can be difficult to secure because they frequently connect to the grid via the internet, and there are multiple points at which they could be compromised. Operant’s novel networking software uses encrypted communication techniques to secure data on distributed edge networks, which are made up of many devices acting as a single system.
DOE subsequently awarded Operant a total of $5 million over the next four years, including $2.6 million in 2019 to develop and deploy a communications technology that securely shares information about DERs with multiple parties across multiple connections. The platform combines cybersecurity and network access functions to address the multi-stakeholder nature of distributed renewables. It connects to existing utility software platforms, allowing utilities to comply with new regulations, control access, and improve cybersecurity overall. Manufacturers, utilities, and grid managers using the platform no longer need to choose between security, reliability, and cost.
Operant built its platform on zero trust architecture, which enables security by assuming that the network is potentially compromised and needs protection when absorbing information. DOE called the solution a “game-changing” technology in its Solar Futures Study.
Beyond sharing information, this project will allow system operators and asset owners to grant permission to access and control DERs securely. This process, known as authentication, is a critical aspect of zero-trust architecture.
If you liked this post, you’ll love our daily EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.
Clean energy networking tech aims to close the door to electric grid hackers Read More »
By Tennyson Donyéa, WHYY News
Jay Watson says you can tell the quality of a neighborhood just by counting the trees.
“Clean green streets really have a major impact on how people feel about their community and their lives,” Watson said.
The Ewing native is co-executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, a nonprofit organization that recently received more than $1.3 million in state grant funding to plant trees and cultivate green spaces in environmentally overburdened communities (EOCs) in Trenton.
The money is provided by the Natural Climate Solutions grant program funded by “Treasure Our Trees” license plate sales and New Jersey Forest Service No Net Loss Compensatory Reforestation Program. Watson said his organization will collaborate with the city to plant hundreds of oak, red maple, ginkgo, and sycamore trees at a corridor along East State Street and nearby parks.
According to experts, tree canopies have a myriad of physical and mental health benefits. Canopies also reduce urban heat by providing shade and absorbing harmful greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide. Watson argues that neighborhoods lacking canopies tend to experience more quality-of-life-related issues including a disproportionate amount of crime.
“Data shows that a 10% increase in tree canopies on the street reduces crime by 12%,” Watson said.
If you liked this post, you’ll love our daily EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.
What are the trees saying about your town? Read More »
