HAPPY THURSDAY!!!! Welcome to Overnight Energy, your source for the day’s energy and environment news.
Please send tips and comments to Rachel Frazin at rfrazin@thehill.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachelFrazin. Reach Zack Budryk at zbudryk@thehill.com or follow him at @BudrykZack.
Today we’re looking at the Biden administration’s new clean car goals and some additional money flowing to resilience efforts.
ADVERTISEMENT
DRIVING CHANGE: Biden administration rolls out clean car goals
The Biden administration on Thursday set a goal of making half of new vehicle sales in this country electric by 2030 and released new details on shorter-term proposals intended to push the market toward emission-free vehicles.
In the short term, the administration is proposing to increase the stringency of standards for vehicle mileage and greenhouse gas emissions.
But the executive order outlining the 50 percent goal also directs the Transportation Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to pursue longer-term standards.
The EPA standards: The short-term greenhouse gas emissions standard from the EPA would require a 10 percent year-over-year stringency increase in model year 2023, followed by 5 percent increases each model year from 2024 through 2026.
By comparison, the Trump administration required increasing the stringency by about 1.5 percent year-over-year, while the Obama administration required about 5 percent.
ADVERTISEMENT
The EPA estimated that the greenhouse gas emissions standard would prevent the emissions of 2.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide through 2050.
Even more numbers: The EPA estimated that for 2026, its greenhouse gas standards would be equivalent to standards requiring vehicle mileage of 52 miles per gallon in test conditions or 38.2 miles per gallon in real-world conditions.
The agency said those levels would be stronger than both the Trump and Obama standards, which would’ve been equal to about 32.2 miles per gallon and 36.8 miles per gallon in real-world road conditions, respectively.
And what about DOT? The Transportation Department standards would require efficiency increases of 8 percent annually from 2024 through 2026 and would boost the estimated fleetwide average by 12 miles per gallon compared to the 2021 average, according to an agency statement.
Read more here.
PROJECTING MORE PROJECTS: White House unveils extra $3 billion in local disaster funding
The White House on Thursday announced more than $3 billion in extra funding for projects to increase state and local resilience to storms and other climate-related disasters.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki Jen PsakiThe Memo: DeSantis-Biden sniping underscores COVID-19 frustration DeSantis hits back at Biden criticism: 'Why don't you do your job?' Biden called Shontel Brown to congratulate her after Ohio primary win MORE told reporters there would be more than $3.46 billion in new funding through the hazard mitigation grant program, which funds projects that mitigate disaster risks to people and property.
The Department of Homeland Security later confirmed that under the program, any state, tribe or territory that received a federal disaster declaration during the COVID-19 pandemic will have access to 4 percent of the disaster costs to put toward climate change resilience and mitigation efforts.
Potential mitigation projects that could receive funding through the program include: protection against climate-related or environmental disasters such as wildfire, flooding, drought or coastal erosion, as well as adapting critical facilities or utilities to better withstand environmental risks, according to the statement.
Read more about the announcement here.
THE CURRENT NEWS: New report warns of climate change threat to system driving Atlantic currents
A scientific report published Thursday is warning of looming threats against the system that regulates Atlantic Ocean currents, including a potential collapse due the impacts of human-induced climate change.
The study, published in the Nature Climate Change scientific journal, found that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which transports warm salt water from the tropics into the North Atlantic, is at its weakest point in more than 1,000 years.
Niklas Boers, the study’s author, wrote that the “AMOC could be close to a critical transition to its weak circulation mode,” with a potential collapse of the system threatening to bring extremely cold temperatures to Europe and parts of North America, as well as raise sea levels along the U.S. East Coast and cause changes to monsoon patterns.
The report warned that with a warming atmosphere caused by a surge in greenhouse gases, the ocean surface is retaining more heat, potentially disrupting the AMOC, which serves as a primary component regulating the Northern Hemisphere’s climate.
Read more about the study here.
WHAT WE’RE READING:
Amid corruption scandal, energy money continues to flow to state lawmakers, The Ohio Capital Journal reports
Production impact from strike worse than height of pandemic, Warrior Coal says, S&P Global reports
ADVERTISEMENT
Haaland’s role in Izembek appeal irks 9th Circuit judges, E&E News report
Environmental impact of bottled water ‘up to 3,500 times greater than tap water’, The Guardian reports
Europe Faces an Energy Shock After Gas and Power Prices Rocket, Bloomberg reports
ICYMI: Stories from Thursday...
New report warns of climate change threat to system driving Atlantic currents
Biden administration rolls out clean car goals
ADVERTISEMENT
White House unveils extra $3 billion in local disaster funding
Wildfire leaves California town in ashes: 'We lost Greenville'
Site of ancient Olympics saved as Greek firefighters battle flames
Exxon Mobil eyes 'net-zero' carbon by 2050: report
Thousands evacuate in California as wildfire advances
Biden to strengthen vehicle mileage standards, set 50 percent EV goal
FROM THE HILL’S OPINION PAGES Deadly extreme heat has arrived: here's how policymakers can save lives, writes Panama Bartholomy, director of the Building Decarbonization Coalition
OFFBEAT AND OFF-BEAT: Jailhouse rock