BILLYPENNGRAM – August 14, 2022
 |
| #BILLYPENNGRAM OF THE DAY Anthropologie’s Rittenhouse twinkles (Photo by @gpatomk) Want to see your photo here? Tag #billypenngram on Instagram |
BILLYPENNGRAM – August 14, 2022 Read More »
Democrats bid goodbye to carbon pricing, hello to climate-change incentives
By Marianne Lavelle, Climate Change News
The nation’s first comprehensive climate law, sealed with a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, will not look anything like the program imagined by either climate economists or those in Washington and the environmental movement who had faith in bipartisan action.
From the time that the world first agreed to act on climate change 30 years ago at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, environmentalists talked about putting a “price” on carbon as a core element of any strategy for reducing fossil fuel pollution that was heating the planet.
Whether imposed by tax, fee, or cap-and-trade system—such a price would discourage carbon-based fuel pollution and encourage investment in and deployment of clean alternatives, said advocates of the idea. And because such a scheme would rely on the market, rather than government mandates, to decide the best approach to decarbonize, proponents argued it was an idea both Democrats and Republicans could get behind.
Instead, Democrats are advancing their climate bill with no Republican support, and their program is one of carrots, not sticks. The idea is that an unprecedented $370 billion federal investment in clean energy—largely in the form of tax credits to encourage its development, as opposed to taxes on carbon to discourage the use of fossil fuels—will be the push that transforms not only the economy but the politics of climate change.
Related environmental and energy news:
What’s in the Democrats’ Climate and Health Bill (NY Times)
Political shifts that produced the climate bill’s passage (Washington Post)
“I’ve always thought that this gives us a chance to get the greatest possible emission reductions and the largest savings possible and still get the votes,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee who shepherded through the tax credits at the heart of the Democrats’ climate plan.
The decision that the United States would spend rather than tax its way to a more sustainable future was in large part driven by political reality—Democrats had to win over the vote of a staunch fossil fuel industry supporter in their own party, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who opposed carbon taxes. But the plan also was influenced by a new generation of climate policy thinkers who argued that lawmakers had spent too much time listening to the economists, and as a result, had played into the hands of the powerful foes of climate action.
Previous climate proposals in Washington focused first on costs, not benefits. That made it easy for the fossil fuel industry and its allies to defeat the Clinton administration’s BTU tax proposal and the cap-and-trade plan that died in Congress under President Barack Obama, whereby carbon emissions would have been capped and polluting industries could have purchased credits from non-polluters.
If you liked this post you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.
Democrats bid goodbye to carbon pricing, hello to climate-change incentives Read More »
New Jersey DEP Commissioner LaTourette on actions needed to fight climate change
By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor
At a combined hearing of the state legislature’s Senate and Assembly environmental committees yesterday in Toms River, state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette warned:
“…climate risks facing New Jersey will only worsen in the years ahead, with devastating impacts to our communities, economy, public health, and the daily lives of our residents if we are not prepared. All levels of government must act with concerted urgency to help communities adapt to the realities of climate change.
LaTourette offered events within the last two months to show that New Jersey “is struggling to reckon with the reality of climate change: (1) sudden floods that struck Bergen County amid pre-drought conditions last month, (2) arid conditions that are diminishing crop yield in farm-rich Salem County right now, (3) the largest wildfire in over a decade that destroyed over 15,000 acres in the Pinelands this June, and (4) the nine-mile-long harmful algal bloom that is infecting the Millstone River and complicating drinking water supplies in Central Jersey.”
The commissioner said the state’s climate resilience efforts must focus on four key areas:
- Engineered & Natural Resilience Infrastructure.
- Climate Resilience Planning.
- Blue Acres Buyouts, and
- Modernizing Flood Standards and Stormwater Management.
Click here to read the details of his presentation
If you liked this post you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.
New Jersey DEP Commissioner LaTourette on actions needed to fight climate change Read More »
New leaders announced at New Jersey’s Office of Legislative Services
Maureen McMahon to Serve as Executive Director, Gabriel Neville as Legislative Counsel
From New Jersey State Legislature News
TRENTON – The four leaders of the New Jersey Legislature announced the appointment of Maureen McMahon, Esq. as Executive Director and Gabriel R. Neville, Esq. as Legislative Counsel of the Office of Legislative Services (OLS).
“I am honored and humbled by the support of the Legislative Services Commission in my appointment as Executive Director of the Office of Legislative Services,” said McMahon. “I look forward to serving the Legislature in this capacity and continuing to work with the dedicated and talented staff at OLS.”
“I am fortunate to have spent many years working with the great people at OLS,” said Neville. “I thank the Legislative Services Commission for the opportunity to serve the Legislature in the role of Legislative Counsel.”
McMahon, a graduate of Marist College and Rutgers University School of Law, has worked in the New Jersey Legislature since 2002. In her two decades with the OLS, she has served as Lead Counsel and Section Chief of the Utilities, Transportation and Communications Section, Acting Section Chief of the Human Services Section, and Assistant Director and Director of the Central Management Unit.
Neville, a graduate of Queens University of Charlotte and Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, has served since 2002 with the OLS, first as Deputy / Associate / Senior Counsel in the Central Management Unit, and most recently as Senior / Assistant Legislative Counsel in the Office of Legislative Counsel.
Both McMahon and Neville had been serving since January in their new roles in an acting capacity until their permanent appointments were approved by the Legislative Services Commission on Tuesday following a nationwide search.
“I congratulate Maureen and Gabe on their appointments,” said Senate President Nick Scutari (D-Union / Middlesex / Somerset). “The work of OLS is vital to the lawmaking process and to the success of the Legislature in serving the people of New Jersey. “
“The job and expertise of the entire Office of Legislative Services staff is critically important to us as legislators representing the interests of more than nine million New Jerseyans,” said Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin (D-Middlesex). “We are pleased to officially welcome Maureen and Gabe on board in their leadership roles.
The OLS is an agency of the Legislature that provides professional, nonpartisan staff support services to the Legislature and its officers, members, committees, and commissions.
Don’t miss political news like this Click for free updates
New leaders announced at New Jersey’s Office of Legislative Services Read More »
Enviros want NJ to ditch fossil-fuel energy faster but what’s the cost to ratepayers?
By Tom Johnson, NJ Spotlight
The state is debating whether to accelerate New Jersey’s transition to clean energy, a step advocates say is necessary due to a worsening climate crisis, but some fear it could boost already high energy bills for consumers.
A bill to speed that transition (S-2978), is one of two controversial measures discussed during a rare joint meeting of the two environmental committees at a hearing in Toms River on Thursday. It will probably be the primary focus of committee members during the final 17 months of this legislative term.
Related: Divesting from fossil fuels gets a first look
The other bill (S-416), which has been kicked around by lawmakers since 2018, aims to force the state pension fund to divest from fossil fuels, an issue long pushed by environmentalists and others, but so far resisted by the Murphy administration. Thursday’s hearing on the bill was its first despite 44 co-sponsors.
Both bills would sharply curtail the state’s reliance on fossil fuels, probably the most contested part of New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan, which aims to have the state rely 100% on clean energy by 2050. The plan has gotten increasing pushback from the fossil-fuel sector, which provides natural gas to heat more than 80% of the homes in New Jersey.
Get a move on
The other bill would ramp up the state’s reliance on clean energy, reflecting Sen. Bob Smith’s insistence the state is especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. New Jersey needs to transition to clean energy faster than its current pace, argued Smith (D-Middlesex) who heads the Senate Environment and Energy Committee.
His bill would speed the state’s transition to clean energy to 2045, instead of 2050. It also would require that 50% of power used by New Jersey companies by 2030 be generated in-state, a provision that sparked disputes about whether it would increase or lower costs to New Jersey ratepayers who subsidize renewable energy.
If you liked this post you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.
Enviros want NJ to ditch fossil-fuel energy faster but what’s the cost to ratepayers? Read More »
ISRI rejects ‘advanced recycling’ label, says plastic-to-fuel projects should not count as recycling
By Megan Quinn, Waste Dive
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries has recently announced its position on chemical recycling, saying its definition does not include plastics-to-fuel technology as recycling. It announced the position after adopting the language during its July board meeting.
In its first official policy position on the issue, ISRI says it does not recognize the term “advanced recycling,” a name more commonly used in the plastics industry, saying the term creates a “totally inappropriate and untruthful” distinction and does not adequately recognize advancements made in mechanical recycling technologies such as robotics and AI.
ISRI joined other recycling and plastic organizations in advocating for only using chemical recycling technologies for creating new feedstocks for manufacturing, such as “recycled resins and monomers.”
Disclosure: Brill Public Affairs, a sister organization to EnviroPolitics, provides consulting to ISRI
ISRI’s announcement comes as more industries are investing in chemical recycling technologies and some environmentalists decry the process as a potential source of pollution that relies too much on virgin plastics production.
At the same time, numerous states have passed laws reclassifying advanced recycling as a manufacturing process rather than solid waste management. The American Chemistry Council has backed such laws, now operational in more than 20 states, including recently in Mississippi and West Virginia. Matthew Kastner, director of media relations for ACC’s plastics division, said the organization will “definitely be advocating” for similar laws to pass in more states in 2023.
If you liked this post you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.