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Energy & Environment
Energy & Environment
The Big Story
Raskin calls Republican senator ‘climate fatalist’
The Senate Budget Committee’s Democratic majority and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) took aim at the oil industry Wednesday for historically minimizing the impacts of fossil fuels on the climate in a hearing on the results of a bicameral investigation into the industry’s efforts.
© Greg Nash for The Hill
In perhaps the most contentious exchange of the hearing, during which senators from both parties were cordial with Raskin, the Maryland Democrat also turned his criticism on a Republican committee member, calling Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) a “climate fatalist.”
In testimony before the committee in the first half of the hearing, Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, told the panel that “instead of telling the world about the perils of global warming and working to change their business model, the companies suppressed relevant scientific findings for decades and came to challenge and contradict urgent calls by scientists to take climate change seriously as a global threat.”
“As the experts told us, this pattern of lying and evasion set the country back decades in our ability to seriously address and manage climate change,” Raskin added.
Raskin’s testimony echoes the report issued Tuesday by the Senate Budget Committee and Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.
The report, the continuation of an investigation that began while the latter committee was under Democratic control, alleges the oil industry knowingly suppressed scientific evidence of the relationship between fossil fuels and climate change. It further claims the industry publicly supported efforts to reduce emissions while privately working against them or relying on front groups and trade organizations to oppose them.
Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee largely did not address the material in the report, with ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) calling it an inappropriate matter for the panel to review, saying “this committee doesn’t legislate climate policy.”
Johnson invoked a declaration by more than 1,800 scientists that “there is no climate emergency.” Johnson has frequently touted the document, which critics have noted is signed by numerous experts in fields unrelated to climatology, such as engineering. One of its highest-profile signatories, Nobel laureate Ivar Giaever, won the prize for research relating to electrical superconductors.
Johnson, who was recorded calling human-caused climate change “bullshit” in 2021, said he was a “climate realist” rather than a climate change denier, with Raskin countering that the Wisconsin senator was a “climate fatalist.”
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.
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Essential Reads
How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future:
House approves bill to bolster drilling in contentious Arctic wildlife refuge
The House on Wednesday approved legislation that would reinstate rights to drill in a contentious wildlife refuge that were overturned by the Biden administration.
Full Story Congressional Republicans announce resolution to overturn Biden tailpipe rule
Congressional Republicans, led by Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and Rep. John James (R-Mich.), introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution Wednesday that would undo the Biden administration’s rules regulating tailpipe emissions.
Full Story DOJ should prosecute Big Oil like it did tobacco industry, former federal litigator tells Senate
The federal government should take legal action against the petroleum industry, as it once did against Big Tobacco, a former federal litigator told the Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday.
Full Story Senate sends Russian uranium ban to Biden’s desk
The Senate late Tuesday approved legislation that would bar uranium imports from Russia — sending it to Biden’s desk.
The bill passed unanimously and is likely to garner Biden’s signature.
It would make it illegal to import low-enriched uranium, which is used in nuclear fuel, 90 days after the bill becomes law.
It already passed the House in December. It was stalled in the Senate after a hold from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) over provisions that were stripped out of the National Defense Authorization Act.
Members of both parties touted the legislation as bolstering domestic uranium mining as well as reducing reliance on Russia in the wake of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Wyoming has the uranium to replace Russian imports, and we’re ready to use it,” said a written statement from Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) adding that the bill “will help defund Russia’s war machine, revive American uranium production, and jumpstart investments in America’s nuclear fuel supply chain.”
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) similarly stated: “Banning imports of Russian uranium will strengthen our nation’s energy security, reduce our reliance on Russia for nuclear fuels, and prevent American dollars from funding Vladimir Putin’s unjustified war in Ukraine.”
The majority of uranium that powers U.S. nuclear plants is imported, and about 12 percent of those imports came from Russia in 2022.
In Other News
Branch out with a different read on The Hill:
Strange blob-like sea creatures washing ashore across Southern California coast
(KTLA) – Bizarre sea creatures that resemble jellyfish have returned to Southern California waters a year after millions were spotted between Ventura and San Diego counties and beyond.
Full Story On Our Radar
Upcoming news themes and events we're watching:
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold hearings Thursday to examine the White House budget request for fiscal year 2025 for the Interior Department.
The House Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries will hold an oversight field hearing in Sandstone, Minn., on removing protections for the gray wolf.
What We're Reading
News we've flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics:
Nuclear reactor now online in Georgia, completing expansion (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Minnesota’s biggest solar project will help replace a huge coal plant (Canary Media)
North Atlantic Ocean record hot streak ends (for now) (Axios)
What Others are Reading
Two key stories on The Hill right now:
Trump confirms he wanted to go to Capitol on Jan. 6
Former President Trump on Wednesday confirmed he told Secret Service agents he wanted to go to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, while he mocked the claim that he lunged at officers in his vehicle when they refused. Read more
Arizona Legislature repeals 1864 abortion ban after two GOP senators rebel
Arizona lawmakers on Wednesday voted to repeal a Civil War-era law that banned nearly all abortions, after a pair of Republican senators joined with all Democrats. Read more
You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!
Check out The Hill's Energy & Environment page for the latest coverage.
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