Overnight Energy & Environment — Presented by the American Petroleum Institute — Intelligence report warns of climate threats in all countries

Welcome to Wednesday’s Overnight Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. Subscribe here: digital-staging.thehill.com/newsletter-signup.

Today we’re looking at an intelligence community report on climate security challenges, some pushback on hopes for global net-zero and the latest on the spending bill’s timeline. 

For The Hill, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk. Write to us with tips: rfrazin@digital-staging.thehill.com and zbudryk@digital-staging.thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @RachelFrazin and @BudrykZack.

Let’s jump in.

Intelligence community: ‘No country will be spared’ from climate-related challenges 

The intelligence community is warning of threats to national security posed by climate change in new reports announced by the White House on Thursday. 

The White House said in a fact sheet that the first-ever National Intelligence Estimate on Climate Change represents the consensus of all 18 intelligence community elements, which includes military intelligence, the CIA and other government departments. 

So what are the risks? The report says that risks come from climate-effects straining countries’ stability in certain regions, as well as geopolitical tension as countries argue over who should be taking action on climate and how quickly to act, and cross-border issues as countries try to secure their interests from climate threats. 

“No country will be spared from challenges directly related to climate change,” the fact sheet said. 

The report itself warns that physical impacts of climate change will hit developing countries worst — and that these countries will be least likely to adapt to the changes, increasing the possibility for political instability and internal conflict.

Migration link: The administration also released a report recognizing the link between climate and migration, the first time the federal government is officially recognizing the link. 

It notes that while climate is not usually the sole reason for migration, moving can be an important way for people to respond to climate threats and to address their well-being.  

It calls for humanitarian assistance programs to help address underlying causes and says that in “limited instances” people fleeing climate impacts may have valid claims for refugee status. 

Read more about the reports released today here.

A MESSAGE FROM API

Europe’s ongoing energy crisis should make U.S. policymakers rethink pushing for a future where Americans’ daily lives and the U.S. economy will be virtually dependent on intermittent energy sources. Read more.

NET-ZERO SETBACK

A coalition of countries accused western economies of eliding their own responsibility for climate change by calling on all countries to reach net-zero emissions.

Ministers for 24 developing and emerging economies, including China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam, said in a joint statement that wealthier western economies are “pushing to shift the goalposts of the Paris Agreement” by calling for worldwide net-zero by 2050.

“Demands for ‘Net zero’ emissions for all countries by 2050 will exacerbate further the existing inequities between developed and developing countries,” they wrote. “This new ‘goal’ which is being advanced runs counter to the Paris Agreement and is anti-equity and against climate justice.”

The goals of the Paris agreement, they added, mean that “the historical responsibility for the predominant majority of cumulative anthropogenic emissions since the Industrial Revolution among developed countries must be fully recognized as a key element in determining how such global aspiration will be achieved equitably.”

The ministers also faulted what they called a lack of financial support by developed nations.

It comes ahead of the COP26 negotiations, where the U.S. has expressed hope that several countries will raise their levels of ambition on climate change. 

Read more about what they had to say here.

Manchin: Negotiators to miss Friday target for reconciliation deal

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said he does not believe negotiators will be able to meet a goal laid out earlier in the week by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to reach a deal on the framework of the budget reconciliation package by Friday.

“This is not going to happen anytime soon, guys,” Manchin told reporters Thursday afternoon.

Manchin, who doesn’t want to spend much more than the $1.5 trillion on the social spending package, said there’s still a massive amount of work to be done.

“There’s a lot of work to do, everybody’s working hard, everybody’s communicating, working hard. A lot of meetings going on,” he said.  

Asked if the talks will drag past Friday, despite an effort by Schumer to get a framework deal wrapped up this week, Manchin said, “I believe so, yes.”

But, there was some optimism too: He added that it will take longer than this week to reach a deal but stated, “I believe they’re making good progress.”

Read more about what he and others had to say here.

DO YOU LIKE EVENTS?

Next week, The Hill is putting on an event titled “Securing Energy Networks from Cyber Threats.” It will take place on Thursday, Oct. 28 at 2:00PM ET/11:00AM PT

As part of The Hill’s A More Perfect Union festival, lawmakers, security experts and energy leaders explore how to proactively safeguard water, power, gas, and other systems from next-generation digital threats and prevent disruptions to everyday life. 

Intelligence Committee Chairman Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), FERC Commissioner Allison Clements and CSIS’s Suzanne Spaulding join The Hill’s Steve Clemons. RSVP today.

A MESSAGE FROM API

Europe’s ongoing energy crisis should make U.S. policymakers rethink pushing for a future where Americans’ daily lives and the U.S. economy will be virtually dependent on intermittent energy sources. Read more.

 

WHAT WE’RE READING

COP26: Document leak reveals nations lobbying to change key climate report, the BBC reports

How Chemical Companies Avoid Paying for Pollution, The New York Times reports

Environmental group boycotts voting rights rally over inclusion of Zionist groups, The Forward reports

India PM Modi to attend Glasgow climate meet, environment minister says, Reuters India reports 

How the environmental offsets scheme is failing the Australian wildlife it is meant to protect, The Guardian reports

ICYMI

• House climate panel chair: ‘We just don’t have any more time to waste’
• Only Michigan official fired in Flint water scandal was wrongfully terminated: arbitrator
• Greenpeace chief warns against efforts to ‘greenwash’ pollution
• Study warns of extreme heat in growing cities
• Millions of lives could be saved by aggressive efforts to cut emissions: doctors

• And finally, something offbeat and off-beat: That’s bull

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s energy & environment page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.