After the new Republican-majority House of Representatives is sworn in in January, climate change activists and experts fear that the United States may lose its ability to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The United States can meet its pledge if the Biden administration can protect its signature achievement, the Inflation Reduction Act, which will spend $369 billion over 10 years on deployment of electric vehicles and clean energy.
According to the executive director of a climate policy advocacy group, Republican control means we are at the end of climate legislating for the first term of the Biden Administration. The inflation reduction act is the most bold and vast climate investment in American history.
The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis will be eliminated by the new Republican majority, according to a report. Graves, who was the highest ranking member of the committee, said Republicans will focus on increasing U.S. fossil fuel production and exportation.
The fact that every single Republican voted against the Inflation Reduction Act tells you a lot about where Republicans stand.
Some congressional Republicans believe that their energy policies will lower greenhouse gas emissions by producing and burning fossil fuels through cleaner processes than other countries.
The founder of the Conservative Climate Caucus told Yahoo News that Republicans will ask questions and push for practicality in responding to climate change. It's a mistake to think that you have to give up your energy independence just to reduce emissions. Reducing emissions and reducing energy prices is possible.
Remove carbon from the atmosphere is one of the solutions supported by the company. The bill that was introduced last week would expand research, testing, and public-private partnerships to advance carbon removal technologies.
GOP colleagues reject his premise that reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a worthy goal, casting doubt on the chances of a Republican majority moving such measures. Roughly half of the GOP caucus in the Senate and the House don't agree with the scientific consensus that greenhouse gases are causing global warming.
Increasing U.S. fossil fuel production and exportation is one of the party's top priorities. Kevin McCarthy, who is the odds-on favorite to become speaker of the House next January, included climate change or energy in the Republican congressional campaign platform in order to make sure that theymaximize production of reliable, cleaner, American.
McCarthy's office did not reply to an inquiry from Yahoo News for this story, but other congressional Republicans are following his example.
"House Republicans will fight to unleash American energy production, protect our energy security so that we are not reliant on hostile foreign nations, and ensure that our energy sources are clean, affordable, and reliable for American families." Policies that invest in clean energy and use all energy sources, including natural gas, nuclear energy, hydrogen, solar, wind, and clean coal, will be advanced by a Republican-controlled House.
The ranking Republican on the House Energy Committee is Rep. McMorris Rodgers. She is a member of the Conservative Climate Caucus and an advocate of hydropower, which provides the majority of electricity in her home state, but her lifetime environmental voting record is just 5% out of a possible 100.
McMorris Rodgers' office declined to make her available for an interview or to comment on the record for this story, but it noted that Republicans on the Energy Committee have introduced a number of bills to promote cleaner American energy production The bill to approve the oil line is meant to increase fossil fuel production. The Department of Energy loan programs for capturing and storing carbon dioxide emissions from coal-burning power plants and for the creation of green hydrogen are some of the cleaner technologies included in the bills. The retiring congressman introduced a bill to reduce emissions of methane in the oil and gas industry.
With new climate laws or spending unlikely, the Biden administration is expected to focus its emissions- reduction efforts over the next two years on writing regulations limiting pollution from fossil fuels. The legal authority to regulate pollution comes from existing laws such as the Clean Air Act. The conservative majority on the Supreme Court has begun to limit that authority, including in a June ruling that threw out a more ambitious approach to regulating climate pollution.
They may use control of congressional committees to try to rein in what they see as overreach by the executive branch, such as by holding hearings that may embarrassment agencies such as the EPA. In a September interview with the trade publication E&E News, McMorris Rodgers said, "Where agencies are going beyond their authority, it's very important that we hold them accountable"
There is a chance that House Republicans will refuse to pass budgets that include funding for the Inflation Reduction Act. One big question is whether Republicans will allow the new subsidies to go forward. If you have Republican control and a Democratic president, there will be some big fights about budgeting.
Observers aren't sure if Republicans will want to fight that battle with just one chamber of congress. Most of the inflation reduction act's spending is on tax credits for buying electric vehicles, electric heat pumps, solar panels and so on, and Republicans tend to be less opposed to tax credits than direct government spending
The senior director of modeling and analysis at Energy Innovation said that Republicans haven't historically supported repeal of clean energy tax credits. They have been extended in a bipartisan way over the last ten years.
The cornerstone of Biden's legacy is his policies on climate change.
International climate finance is probably going to fall by the wayside. At the United Nations climate change conference that just ended in Sharm-el Sheikh, Egypt, Biden reiterated a pledge to contribute $11.4 billion by 2024 for aid to developing nations trying to reduce their emissions and adapt to climate change The Democratic Congress only appropriated $1 billion after the Biden administration requested $3.1 billion for climate assistance.
It is not likely that Republicans will agree to increase that amount. ClarenceEdwards, an environmental advocate with the non-profit Friends Committee on National Legislation, told Climate Home News that he didn't expect any interest or support in international climate finance.
Biden promised to keep his climate promises. Biden said in a press conference that he wouldn't walk away from the historic commitments he made to take on the climate crisis. I won't allow it to happen, they're not compromise-able issues to me.
The president said in the press conference that he is prepared to work with Republicans. Permit reform is ripe for bipartisan legislation in the House and Senate. The process for obtaining the necessary federal permits for building new energy infrastructure, both for fossil fuels and for clean energy projects, is long and complicated. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed to try to advance a Manchin-written bill to streamline the process, but the bill failed due to opposition from both Republicans and progressive.
Conservatives and party leaders in Congress want to pass their own version of permitting reform. The permitting reform bill could pass with bipartisan support as it would benefit the fossil fuel industry and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by easing the expansion of cleaner energy sources.
I would like to see a harder look at permitting. I don't believe that Republicans want to skip all the safety and environmental regulations. I think we should be asking for more certainty in the environmental process and quicker timelines for answers. I don't think those things are unreasonable and don't mean we have to stop protecting the environment.
Many of my Democratic colleagues would ask for permitting reform for wind and solar, but I think it's also important to ask for the oil and gas industry." H2O is going to have to be carried around the country. Natural gas can be carried on pipes. Natural gas is being trucked in many scenarios which is creating more greenhouse gas emissions. Permit reform involves all of those things.
Climate activists are skeptical that a GOP-written bill along the lines of Manchin's will be green enough to win their support.
Any bill that locks in fossil fuel production is going to be hard for any climate group to support. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission could make it easier for clean energy projects to get built by changing their approach to reviewing permit applications. We should use the power of the states to speed up the transition to clean energy on the executive side. I don't think Republicans are going to find a solution to this problem that doesn't make fossil fuels worse.
Most climate activists and experts don't agree with Republicans that fossil fuel production should be increased, so any major climate legislation is unlikely in the next Congress.
The era of fossil fuels needs to come to an end.
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