 | | Maxine Joselow | | | Good morning and welcome to The Climate 202! Below, we dive into President Biden's announcement yesterday about banning oil imports from Russia. But first: | Biden finally taps head of Environmental Protection Agency's air office |  Joseph Goffman, the principal deputy assistant administrator in the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Air and Radiation. (Mead Gruver/AP) | | | President Biden on Tuesday nominated Joseph Goffman to head the Environmental Protection Agency's air office, elevating a seasoned expert on the nation's environmental laws to a top climate post at the agency, Maxine reports. The White House announcement came after months of speculation. Goffman had been leading the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation on an acting basis since January 2021, leading some observers to wonder when — and whether — he would be tapped for the permanent, Senate-confirmed position. The delay might be related to the fact that Goffman, a veteran of the EPA under Barack Obama, will probably face a tough confirmation battle in the 50-50 Senate. Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which vets EPA nominees, will probably denounce Goffman's writings from his time at Harvard Law School in between stints at the agency. The writings were often critical of the EPA's efforts to dismantle environmental regulations under Donald Trump. With Democrats' razor-thin majority in the Senate, Goffman could still win confirmation if every Democrat supports him. But the timeline for moving the nomination is unclear, given a packed congressional agenda that includes passing a deal to fund the federal government, delivering aid to Ukraine after Russia's invasion, and holding confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. "Being tapped by the president to serve the public and make a contribution is really the privilege of a lifetime," Goffman said in an interview with Maxine. "It was a privilege to be appointed as the principal deputy assistant administrator in January of last year, and it's that much more of a privilege to be offered this opportunity by the president." While word of Goffman's nomination largely was buried yesterday under Ukraine-related news, here's what to know about his expected confirmation battle: | | When Trump took office in January 2017, Goffman left the EPA to become executive director of Harvard's energy and environmental law program. As an academic, he penned a 2019 paper that asserted the Trump administration had made "dubious arguments" to justify a less stringent rule on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Those assertions could resurface in Goffman's confirmation hearings. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), the top Republican on the Environment and Public Works panel, championed the Trump administration's power plant rule as a boon for West Virginia and other coal-rich states. Capito has already opposed three of Biden's other nominees to top EPA posts because of concerns with the president's climate agenda. In a letter yesterday to both EPA Administrator Michael Regan and Goffman, Capito also demanded information on the agency's efforts to develop estimates of the social cost of carbon after a federal judge in Louisiana blocked the Biden administration from raising the key climate metric. "After setting the record for any incoming administration by taking 412 days to announce a nominee to this critical position, President Biden has chosen to nominate Joe Goffman," Capito said in a statement Tuesday. "Mr. Goffman has served in the Biden administration in an unconfirmed role this entire time and is a familiar name from his tenure in the Obama administration as a key architect of the illegal Clean Power Plan. As always, I will judge this nominee like any other — based upon a holistic look at his professional record, writings and answers to my hearing questions." However, at least one well-known conservative industry voice on environmental regulations praised Goffman's qualifications to lead the air office in an interview with Maxine yesterday. "It's a big job, but he has the expertise and experience as well as the collaboration and problem-solving skills to be very successful," said Paul Noe, vice president for public policy at the American Forest & Paper Association. "And Joe has demonstrated his ability to work with industry to find sustainable solutions." Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.) in a statement called for Goffman's swift confirmation despite some expected pushback. "With clear eyes, I acknowledge that his nomination will likely face opposition by some in the Senate, but I look forward to working with my colleagues, sharing Joe's qualifications and getting him confirmed," Carper said. | | |  | International climate | | Biden bans oil imports from Russia, seeks alternatives to ease economic fallout |  President Biden announces a ban on U.S. imports of Russian oil and gas. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images) | | | President Biden on Tuesday said the United States would no longer receive energy imports from Russia, an attempt to economically isolate the Kremlin following its invasion of Ukraine, despite the potential to bring even higher gas prices to consumers in America and across the globe, The Washington Post's Jeff Stein, Tyler Pager and Anna Phillips report. | | "This is a step that we're taking to inflict further pain on Putin, but there will be costs as well here in the United States," Biden said Tuesday. The announcement came amid growing bipartisan support in Congress for sanctioning Russia's energy sector. Russian oil accounts for roughly 3 percent of U.S. imports, and Republicans have broadly called for new domestic drilling as a replacement, while Democrats have called for transitioning toward clean energy and away from dependence on fossil fuels. As they moved closer to announcing the ban in recent days, White House aides studied plans to shore up U.S. production of energy-efficient heat pumps that could be used in Europe if European leaders decide to ban imports of Russian oil, according to three people with knowledge of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Some advocates close to the effort have compared the idea to the "Lend-Lease Act" program through which the United States sent critical supplies to Allied nations that were invaded by Germany in World War II. | E.U. plans to curb Russian energy shipments by two-thirds, stops short of boycott |  A worker passes an oil-drilling rig operated by Rosneft in Russia in 2017. (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg News) | | | The European Commission on Tuesday unveiled a plan to cut Russian gas imports by two-thirds this year, steeply reducing — but not severing — energy ties to the Kremlin, The Post's Emily Rauhala reports. The proposal, to be discussed by leaders at a summit in Paris this week, marks a dramatic shift for a bloc that is heavily dependent on Russian energy. Europe imports about 40 percent of its gas and more than a quarter of its oil from Russia. The United States and Britain import far less. Ahead of Tuesday's announcement, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak threatened to cut gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in response to Western sanctions. "A rejection of Russian oil," he said, "would lead to catastrophic consequences for the global market." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Novak's words demonstrated the need to become independent from Russian fossil fuels. "We simply cannot rely on a supplier who explicitly threatens us," she said. | Chernobyl nuclear plant disconnected from Ukraine's power grid |  A general view of Chernobyl nuclear power plant and giant protective dome built over the sarcophagus of the destroyed fourth reactor. (Photo by GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images) | | | Russian forces have disconnected Ukraine's closed Chernobyl nuclear power plant from the nation's power grid, Ukraine's state-owned grid operator Ukrenergo said Wednesday, Adela Suliman and David L. Stern report for The Post. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba demanded a cease-fire with Russia to allow repairs today, while Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak called it an "extremely dangerous situation." | Here's where Russian oil ends up in the world |  The Gazprom Chayandinskoye oil, gas and condensate field in Russia. (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg News) | | | Our Post colleagues created some handy graphics to help visualize where Russian oil and other petroleum products end up in the world. Russia ships about 7 million barrels of oil products daily, mostly through pipelines and tankers. Of that number, The Post determined that about 4.8 million barrels per day go to countries supporting sanctions against Russia, while 2.3 million barrels per day go to nations not backing the sanctions. | | |  | On the Hill | | Lawmakers release spending deal with modest increases for environmental agencies |  Senate Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) speaks with House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) at the Capitol on March 1. (Graeme Sloan/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) | | | Congressional negotiators released a $1.5 trillion deal to fund the federal government early this morning. While the spending bill would provide notable increases for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy and Interior departments, it falls short of Democratic ambitions for major environmental and clean energy spending, E&E News's George Cahlink, Manuel Quiñones, Jeremy Dillon and Emma Dumain report. For instance, the EPA would receive $9.5 billion — about 3 percent over last year's number but $1.6 below the Biden administration's request. House Democrats are hoping to vote on the measure today before Democrats leave for their retreat in Philadelphia. | Manchin delays vote on Interior nominee, citing energy crisis |  Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) speaks with reporters at the Capitol. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) | | | Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) yesterday delayed a vote on Laura Daniel-Davis, Biden's pick to be assistant interior secretary for land and minerals management, citing the current energy crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine, The Hill's Zack Budryk reports. Manchin spokeswoman Sam Runyon said it was because the senator wants Interior to lift perceived restrictions on oil and gas leasing and production on federal lands. | Stalled climate provisions could help curb U.S. reliance on Russian oil, modeling suggests |  Turbines at the San Gorgonio Pass wind farm in California. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg News) | | | The climate provisions in Biden's stalled reconciliation bill, formerly known as the Build Back Better Act, would reduce oil demand in the United States enough to offset Russian imports, according to modeling released Tuesday by Energy Innovation, an energy and climate policy research firm. Analysts found that the provisions could reduce annual U.S. oil consumption by 180 million barrels per year by 2030, amounting to roughly twice the country's current shipments of Russian oil. "With the Biden administration banning Russian oil imports, America needs a long term plan to make up that shortfall and protect consumers from volatile fossil fuel prices," Robbie Orvis, lead analyst and senior director of energy policy at Energy Innovation, said in an email to The Climate 202. "Reducing demand, as the tax credits and other provisions do, is a smarter long-term energy security solution than trying to increase supply." | | |  | Environmental justice | | 50 years later, redlining still causes 45 million Americans to breathe dirtier air |  A view of Buford Highway in Doraville, Georgia, a majority Latinx town northeast of Atlanta, on Jan. 30, 2021. (Andrea Morales for The Washington Post) | | | More than 50 years after redlining ended, it continues to cause 45 million marginalized Americans to breathe highly polluted air, according to a study released Wednesday in the journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters, The Post's Darryl Fears reports. Researchers looked at air quality data in 202 cities and found that compared to White people, Black and Latino Americans live with more smog from vehicles on nearby highways and industrial plants in areas that were redlined, largely because of a long history of systemic racism. Those pollutants have been tied to reduced lung function, heart damage and asthma. The disparities were the most stark in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago and Newark, according to the study. | | |  | Viral | | | Our colleagues on The Post's TikTok team clearly don't own electric vehicles. 🚗😂 |  | | | | |
