| | | | |  | | By Joel Kirkland | | Presented by |  | | | |  An officer directs traffic at Love Field Airport in Dallas. | LM Otero/AP | The White House’s retreat Friday from a more dramatic rise in fuel economy standards for SUVs could drive another wedge between President Joe Biden and many of the climate activists he’ll need in November. It comes as Biden is defending his policies to progressives, including the young Democrats whose views on climate served as catalysts for his aggressive efforts to shift the U.S. to a net-zero-carbon economy. Now, they’re increasingly criticizing his administration for decisions that would extend the life of fossil fuels. The new rule on car and truck fuel efficiency standards is part of a pattern, as Alex Guillén writes: Democrats and other liberal politicians are getting an earful in Washington, in big American cities and in Europe. And that’s had an effect on policy. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul just halted a congestion pricing proposal that was supposed to lessen traffic in parts of Manhattan — a progressive policy viewed as a threat to Democrats in competitive House races. Across Europe, populist candidates have blamed green policies for rising fuel and electricity prices that occurred in part as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, creating the risk of a retreat from European Union climate policies after this week’s elections. Enter the detour
Today’s decision by the Biden Department of Transportation came amid pushback from automakers and slowing sales of electric cars. The new rule will force light cars and trucks to be more fuel-efficient — but the increase for SUVs and pickups will be significantly less than DOT had once proposed. The decision to effectively live with more tailpipe pollution in the short and medium term got a mixed reaction from environmental groups: The tightened standards “will improve gas mileage, ease the burden of high gas prices at the pump for American families, and slash our nation’s oil consumption,” the Sierra Club’s Katherine García told Alex. But Dan Becker of the Center for Biological Diversity alleged that DOT had “caved to automaker pressure” by not going higher. Large SUVs that U.S. automakers rely on to boost sales and profits will have to get an average of 45 miles per gallon in 2031. That’s up from the 35 mpg they get now, but less than the previous proposal of 52.2 mpg. Not the end of the road?
Biden is building on President Barack Obama’s efforts to boost fuel efficiency requirements— increases that were ditched when Donald Trump entered the West Wing. The auto industry hasn’t held a monolithic position. Leaders of Ford and General Motors have acknowledged that the industry is moving toward electric cars, in part to address transportation’s outsize role as the nation’s largest source of climate pollution. Others, notably Toyota, have been less eager. Under Biden, car companies have argued that easing off such high standards for gasoline-fueled SUVs means the companies can spend more of their capital budgets on developing electric vehicles. | | | | It's Friday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Joel Kirkland. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to jkirkland@eenews.net.
| | | | A message from Southern Environmental Law Center: Burning trees for energy devastates forests, harms nearby communities, which are disproportionately Black and low-income, and makes climate change worse. An upcoming Treasury Department decision on clean energy tax credits for the biomass industry could undermine President Biden’s climate agenda and environmental justice commitment. Redirecting tax credits to truly clean energy industries like solar, wind, and storage will accelerate our energy transition, combat climate change, and create stable jobs. Learn more here. | | | | | | Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Host Josh Siegel and reporter James Bikales discuss the biggest takeaways from this week's POLITICO Energy Summit.
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This combination of photos shows former President Donald Trump during rally at the Minden Tahoe Airport in Minden, Nev., Oct. 8, 2022, left, and Elon Musk in Wilmington, Del., July 12, 2021. | AP | 'I'm a fan of Elon'
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump reportedly talk on the phone a few times a month, and Musk may become one of Trump’s advisers if he wins reelection, The Wall Street Journal reported last week. But it would be hard to find another candidate for high office who has heaped as much criticism on the electric vehicle technology that Tesla dominates and the federal subsidies that stand to benefit Musk's company, Scott Waldman writes. For months, Trump has made false claims about EVs, including that President Joe Biden has mandated the use of electric cars. But Trump is mercurial on policy and his outlook for EVs. At a rally in Arizona on Thursday, he made it a point to compliment both Musk and Tesla's product. Calling the "electric mandate" a "green new scam," he added, “By the way, I’m a big fan of electric cars, I’m a fan of Elon. I like Elon, but, you know, I like him. I think a lot of people are going to want to buy electric cars." The relationship between Musk and Trump comes at a pivotal time for Tesla. The company is by far the largest EV maker in the U.S. But sales of Tesla models have dropped amid competition from other automakers. Fusion 'momentum'
The Department of Energy reached grant agreements with eight pioneering technology companies seeking to show that fusion energy can be delivered to the nation’s power grid. Fusion reactors promise to produce carbon-free power by slamming hydrogen atoms together under enormous heat and pressure, writes Peter Behr. The $46 million in grants is the first round in a congressionally authorized Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program. It aims to develop pilot plants to demonstrate the commercial viability of fusion reactors. The agreements were announced at a White House conference that brought fusion experts together. The Biden administration’s big show of support for a source of power that requires extraordinary scientific progress is partly targeted at members of Congress who control future funding. “We have had remarkable breakthroughs in fusion research,” said DOE Deputy Secretary David Turk. “We need to build on that momentum.” Biden and Macron return to the table
President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron meet on Saturday to build on an ill-fitted, occasionally chaotic, but solid relationship, writes Eli Stokols. Macron wants to again raise the fraught trade relations between the U.S. and Europe, according to a French presidency official. During his state visit in 2022, he slammed the Inflation Reduction Act and its clean energy subsidies as "super aggressive." He also lashed out at Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), telling the lawmaker whose tough protectionist positions have focused on clean energy technology, "You’re hurting my country."
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| | | | A message from Southern Environmental Law Center: Burning trees for energy devastates forests, harms the health of nearby communities, which are disproportionately Black and low-income, and makes climate change worse. An upcoming Treasury Department decision on whether the biomass industry should receive clean energy tax credits could significantly undermine President Biden’s climate agenda and environmental justice commitment. Ensuring tax credits go toward truly clean energy industries, such as solar, wind and storage will accelerate our energy transition, combat climate change and create stable jobs. Learn more here. | | | | | A showcase of some of our best subscriber content.
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Birds fly over a billboard advertisement for Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco. | Amr Nabil/AP | United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on world leaders to ban advertising for fossil fuels. A nationwide ban in the United States and elsewhere would be tricky to implement. The U.S. International Trade Commission provided an initial green light for the Biden administration to investigate a complaint from U.S. solar manufacturers that could lead to new tariffs on solar cells and modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. After sustaining huge losses from disasters starting in 2020, property insurers imposed unprecedented premium hikes and withdrew from risky parts of California, Florida and elsewhere. But the moves helped the industry turn a $9.3 billion profit in the first quarter of 2024 compared with an $8.5 billion loss a year ago. The grid operator for much of the central U.S. is seeking federal approval to become the first regional grid to bridge two of the country’s three electric grids. That's it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend! | | | | JOIN US ON 6/12 FOR A TALK ON THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY: As air travel soars again, policymakers and airlines are grappling with a series of contemporary challenges to the industry's future. Join POLITICO on June 12 for a topical and timely conversation with government leaders and aviation stakeholders about the state of the airline industry. From what passengers want to what airlines need amid the high demand for air traffic, workers and technology solutions. What can Washington do to ensure passengers and providers are equipped to fly right? REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
