Overnight Energy: Exxon lobbyist in secret recording | Biden nixes more Trump rules | Also announces new steps on wildfires

IT IS WEDNESDAY, MY DUDES. Welcome to Overnight Energy, your source for the day’s energy and environment news. Please send tips and comments to Rachel Frazin at rfrazin@digital-staging.thehill.com . Follow her on Twitter: @RachelFrazin . Reach Zack Budryk at zbudryk@digital-staging.thehill.com or follow him at @BudrykZack . 

Today we’re looking at a recording of an ExxonMobil lobbyist released by an activist group, the Biden administration’s use of the Congressional Review Act and White House action on western wildfires.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Exxon lobbyist concedes company fought ‘against some of the science’ in secret recording

A lobbyist for ExxonMobil conceded the energy giant “aggressively [fought] against some of the science” behind climate change and describes their work against climate efforts with “shadow groups” in undercover footage filmed by an activist group called Unearthed.

The footage by Unearthed, which is affiliated with Greenpeace, shows lobbyist Keith McCoy also describing the company’s carbon tax stance as simply a “talking point,” and said he speaks with Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) office weekly.

After the reports, Exxon distanced itself from McCoy’s comments, saying that he wasn’t involved in developing its positions on the issues and stands by its climate commitments.

The footage was first shared with the British TV program Channel 4 News. Audio of the conversations was later obtained by The Hill, which verified the content. 

What does the recording say?: McCoy denies that the company engaged in any illegal activity in its lobbying, depicting its tactics as standard activity. At one point, he specifically addresses litigation against the company that alleges it has known about climate change driven by carbon emissions for decades.

“Did we aggressively fight against some of the science? Yes. Did we hide our science? Absolutely not. Did we join some of these shadow groups to work against some of the early efforts? Yes that’s true,” McCoy says in the recording. “But there’s nothing illegal about that.”

He goes on to say the company was acting in the interest of investors and shareholders. “Did we at some point figure out climate change and then decided to bury the evidence? No,” he says.

Asked whether the company had information suggesting humans were contributing to warming as early as the 1980s, McCoy responds, “I think there was recognition that the earth was getting warmer [but] I would argue that there was no clear evidence in terms of how or why.”

“There is not an appetite for a carbon tax,… from [an] elected official perspective that’s a losing proposition,” McCoy said. 

Read more about the recording here

 

GO CRA-ZY: Biden nixes Trump rules on methane emissions, lending, employment discrimination

President Biden on Wednesday eliminated three Trump-era rules governing climate change, finance and employment discrimination claims, signing Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions passed by the House and Senate to get rid of the rules.

“I’m about to sign into law three bills … protecting our planet from climate disturbing greenhouse gas, particularly methane, which is devastating, protecting consumers from predatory lenders and protecting workers from employment discrimination,” Biden said.

“Each of these bills reflects a return to common sense and commitment to the common good,” he added. 

His signature makes it the first time that Democrats have successfully used the CRA, which needs a simple majority vote in both chambers and presidential approval, to get rid of recently-passed rules.

The story so far: The CRA was successfully used just once before 2017, but at the start of Trump’s presidency Republicans were able to eliminate more than a dozen Obama-era regulations since they controlled both the House and Senate.

The climate rule that Biden got rid of weakened regulation on a powerful greenhouse gas called methane. 

Specifically, it eliminated standards aimed at limiting methane emissions from oil and gas production, processing transmission and storage. 

Biden’s action restored 2016 Obama-era regulations that required companies to capture methane leaks.

Read more about the signatures here

 

FIRE WHEN READY: Biden announces new steps on wildfires: US must ‘act fast’

President Biden announced a series of steps in response to intensifying wildfires in the western U.S. on Wednesday, calling the fires “a problem for all of us” and saying the U.S. must act “fast” during a meeting with western governors.

“We know this is becoming a regular cycle and we know it’s getting worse,” Biden said in a briefing. “The truth is, we’re playing catch-up. This is an area that’s been under-resourced, but that’s going to change if we have anything to do with it.”

Biden said his administration would hold annual briefings to coincide with the start of the wildfire season.

“Wildfires are not a partisan phenomenon,” Biden added. “We need a coordinated, comprehensive response … and we want to know what you, the states and localities and tribal governments, those on the front lines, are facing in this danger, and what you think would help the most.”

The president emphasized the urgency of working to prevent large fires amid a historic heat wave hitting the West and Pacific Northwest, fueling drought conditions and wildfires.

“Right now we have to act and act fast. We’re late in the game here,” Biden said.

What are the announcements?: Biden said the federal government would increase the minimum wage for federal firefighters to $15 an hour, calling the current $13 wage “unacceptable.” During a visit last week to the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters, Biden called the rate “ridiculously low.”

The president further said the government is taking action to make more federal firefighter positions permanent rather than seasonal, “so that when fires aren’t burning, we have a workforce of experienced hands enhancing our forest management, reducing the risks of future fire seasons.”

The administration also announced increased air capacity for wildfire response, and pointed to wildfire protection provisions in the White House’s budget request for fiscal 2022. The request includes more than $30 billion for wildfire management and relief and a 62 percent increase in hazardous fuels treatment funding.

Read more about the announcement here

 

WHAT WE’RE READING:

U.S. Chamber official warned of climate danger in 1989, E&E News reports

3 Environmental Activists Arrested After Occupying Mass. Energy Company Offices Overnight, WBUR reports

OPEC+ may extend oil supply cuts amid warning of glut, sources say, Reuters reports

Textile, Environment Advocates Speak Against NC Energy Bill, The Associated Press reports

 

FROM THE HILL’S OPINION PAGES: ‘The worst of COVID-19 may be over, but it’s still a factor in the price of oil’ by Simon Henderson of the Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy

 

ICYMI: Stories from Wednesday…

Exxon lobbyist concedes company fought ‘against some of the science’ in activist recording

Biden nixes Trump rules on methane emissions, lending, employment discrimination

California AG wants SEC to ‘use its regulatory authority‘ on climate change

EPA chief defends infrastructure plan after climate protests: ‘This is a historic investment’

Buttigieg: ‘There’s no time to argue‘ over climate change

Biden announces new steps on wildfires: US must ‘act fast’

White House: Clean energy tax credits, electricity standard are priorities for reconciliation package

Biden to raise federal firefighter pay to $15 per hour

Scientists warn of climate change intensifying heat waves

 

OFFBEAT AND OFF-BEAT: Good for them