OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Keystone pipeline push ramps up, tussle over climate models, and more

The intensifying pro-Keystone PR push arrives as House Republicans are planning to tether provisions to approve the proposed oil pipeline to debt ceiling legislation.

More of Thursday’s agenda: Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, the Senate Commerce Committee will vet nominees for senior roles with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

{mosads}The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will mark up the Water Resources Reform and Development Act.

And a House Science, Space and Technology Committee panel will explore “Dysfunction in Management of Weather and Climate Satellites.”

WEDNESDAY’S ENERGY ACTION:

FERC nomination in doubt as Manchin refuses support

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) won’t back President Obama’s pick to run the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, putting nominee Ron Binz’s path forward in doubt.

Check out our story here.

And check out these other stories that ran on E2-Wire on Wednesday:

– Republicans push new checks on nuclear regulator
– House votes to streamline mining permits
– Obama threatens to veto GOP forest bill
– House majority whip pushes Keystone link to debt ceiling
– Murkowski pleads with Reid not to ‘throw in the towel’ on energy bill
– Senate GOP leader offers bill to thwart EPA climate rules
– Senate Majority Leader Reid threatens to pull energy bill
– Energy secretary says ‘the basic science behind climate change is simple’

NEWS BITES:

Moniz, Rep. McKinley spar on climate models, warming

Much of Wednesday’s big House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on climate change featured tussles over whether the White House global warming plan would hurt the economy.

But it veered into climate science and modeling when Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) sparred with Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

McKinley, who disputes the scientific consensus on human-induced climate change, pointed out that recent warming hasn’t kept pace with modeling predictions.

“These models are key components of developing climate change policy,” he said.

The West Virginia Republican alleged White House plans would be “crushing” to the U.S. economy while doing very little to affect global emissions.

“The rest of the world is not listening. The president’s energy policy is not being followed. China, India, Russia and Europe are all expanding their use of coal,” he said.

Lower than expected levels of surface warming – the record-warm 2010 was just barely hotter than 1998, the prior champ – has given ammunition to climate skeptics and prompted fresh research into what some are calling a temperature “hiatus.”

But Moniz parried McKinley on models.

“The issues in terms of the risks of climate change are not based just upon models,” he said, addressing the warming hiatus by noting the decade-over-decade trend.

“This decade is the warmest decade in recorded history. So, it is not exactly like it has been cooling off,” he said, noting that changes in the rate of increase are “fully expected.”

“The statement stands that anthropogenic CO2 emissions and other greenhouse emissions are a driver at the level of multiple degrees centigrade in this century … and that is very consequential,” Moniz said.

Moniz noted that earlier models did not take into account certain factors, such as deep-ocean warming and other issues. 

Moniz also pointed to a recent study in the journal Nature on the effect of La Nina-like conditions, titled, “Recent global-warming hiatus tied to equatorial Pacific surface cooling.”

The study finds: “Although similar decadal hiatus events may occur in the future, the multi-decadal warming trend is very likely to continue with greenhouse gas increase.”

Check out the McKinley-Moniz exchange at the two-hour, one-minute mark of the hearing video here.

Court upholds California’s low-carbon fuel rule

The Associated Press reports:

A panel of federal judges on Wednesday upheld California’s first-in-the-nation mandate requiring fuel producers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Check out the whole story here.

Pebble mine project alive despite backer’s pullout

Reuters reports on a controversial Alaskan mining project:

Supporters and opponents of a giant mine to tap Alaska’s gold and copper wealth have found a rare point of agreement: The Pebble project remains alive even without its heavyweight financial backer.

Click here for the whole story.

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