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Politico
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- Politico
Where EVs go after the megabill
Now that President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have slammed the door on federal support for electric vehicles, EV advocates face a tough question. 'Where do we go?' said Joel Levin, the executive director of nonprofit Plug In America. Interest groups could still advance the EV cause, though none have Uncle Sam's unique power to tax and spend. States, cities, electric utilities, private companies and automakers all have their own reasons to want EVs to succeed. 'We're going to be looking for those little openings where we see interest and opportunity,' said Anne Blair, the head of policy for the nonprofit Electrification Coalition. They may find a blueprint in how climate and clean energy groups responded the first time Trump took office. The federal government's withdrawal from climate goals spurred the creation of the U.S. Climate Alliance, a coalition of states that sought to retain the nation's commitments to reduce greenhouse gases, as well as Drive EV Fleets, a collective of local government agencies that promote EVs as fleet vehicles. Since then, EVs have risen from bit player to a centerpiece of presidential politics — with former President Joe Biden making EV support a key plank of his agenda, and then Trump vowing in last year's election to tear that project down. 'The wind in both directions is much stronger than it was then,' Levin said. More at stake: With EVs now firmly established, more entities have a stake in the outcome. The liberal states that kept the EV flame alive during the first Trump administration are reconstituting themselves and could — just maybe — see their ranks grow with states that have significant battery and EV factory investments, such as Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Automakers may also pick up the torch. When Trump last left office, General Motors had exactly one EV model, the Chevy Bolt. The company now has at least nine models and, according to Cox Automotive, has doubled its EV sales in the last year, making it a firm second in the U.S. market behind Tesla. Furthermore, it is achingly apparent to U.S. automakers that they are going to be squeezed out of global markets if they don't seriously compete with China on EVs. 'That may be what it takes' to get carmakers to supersize EV sales on their home turf, said Albert Gore, the executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association, an EV trade group. California remains a beacon. After Congress in May killed the state's effort to phase out sales of new gasoline cars by 2035, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered regulators to try again. In general, this year's stinging losses have persuaded EV advocates they need to expand well beyond the climate argument to persuade Republicans and doubtful consumers that EVs are the future. 'It is just a transportation solution that allows us to get from point A to point B better, cheaper and cleaner,' said Stan Cross, the electric transportation director at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. 'It is not a political hot potato.' It's Tuesday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, David Ferris. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to dferris@ Today in POLITICO Energy's podcast: Gloria Gonzalez breaks down why Congress is getting behind nuclear energy. Power Centers Trump in PittsburghTrump, members of his Cabinet, Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick (R) and a slew of tech executives and investors were in Pittsburgh on Tuesday to showcase their commitment to Pennsylvania. Google announced a plan to spend $25 billion on energy and AI infrastructure across the regional power grid serving Pennsylvania and much of the mid-Atlantic region. As part of that announcement, Google said it would spend $3 billion to revive two hydropower plants in the state. Trump arrived in the midafternoon to Carnegie Mellon University for the tightly choreographed conference organized through McCormick's office. Speakers made the case that Pennsylvania's prolific Marcellus natural gas formation and the nuclear power industry could power data centers. In total, Trump said more than $50 billion in energy investments would be announced. A nuclear milestone approachesA mothballed nuclear power plant in Michigan is on the verge of restarting — the first shuttered commercial reactor in the U.S. to do so as the energy source gets a surge of support, Francisco 'A.J.' Camacho and Daviel Schulman write. The Palisades nuclear generating station in Covert Township got a $1.5 billion loan guarantee from the Biden administration, and disbursements have continued under Trump ahead of the plant's October restart. 'We've got two administrations with very different philosophies on energy, both saying this makes sense to move ahead with bringing Palisades back,' said Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), who represents Covert's congressional district. Climate suit looks to terror caseA climate lawsuit against an oil and gas company is invoking a Supreme Court decision that allows Americans injured by terrorism acts to sue Palestinian groups, Lesley Clark writes. The justice's ruling centered on personal jurisdiction, a legal technicality that's used to determine a court's jurisdiction. Lawyers for Puerto Rico are urging a judge to adopt a similarly broad standard in their case. More cuts to EPAHouse Appropriations subcommittees approved three fiscal 2026 bills Tuesday with significant cuts to energy, environment and climate initiatives. The House Appropriations Interior-Environment Subcommittee passed its bill on a party-line 8-5 vote. The legislation would slash funding for the Interior Department, Environmental Protection Agency and other environmental agencies, though not as deeply as proposed by the White House, Kevin Bogardus, Daniel Cusick and Manuel Quiñones report. Democrats decried its cuts to EPA's efforts to combat climate change. The agency would receive $7 billion in fiscal 2026, a 23 percent drop. In Other News Solar setback: A program that helped rural farmers install solar and make efficiency upgrades has faced troubles in the Trump administration. Another exit: Troy Jones, Tesla's top sales executive in North America, has left the company after 15 years. Hold steady: OPEC did not change its oil demand forecast because it expects global trade tensions to ease. Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. AI is showing promise as a tool for weather forecasting, but federal cuts could slow its ability to predict storms like the deadly floods in Texas. EPA asked Maryland to fix an error it found in its application for an offshore wind project. ConocoPhillips asks to drill more wells in Alaska. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.
Japan Today
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
Governors leading fight against climate change and deforestation around the world, filling a void left by presidents
Forests like the Amazon play vital roles in balancing the environment, from storing carbon to releasing oxygen. By Mary Nichols When the annual U.N. climate conference descends on the small Brazilian rainforest city of Belém in November, it will be tempting to focus on the drama and disunity among major nations. Only 21 countries had even submitted their updated plans for managing climate change by the 2025 deadline required under the Paris Agreement. The U.S. is pulling out of the agreement altogether. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Chinese President Xi Jinping and the likely absence of – or potential stonewalling by – a U.S. delegation will take up much of the oxygen in the negotiating hall. You can tune them out. Trust me, I've been there. As chair of the California Air Resources Board for nearly 20 years, I attended the annual conferences from Bali in 2007 to Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, in 2023. That included the exhilarating success in 2015, when nearly 200 nations committed to keep global warming in check by signing the Paris Agreement. In recent years, however, the real progress has been outside the rooms where the official U.N. negotiations are held, not inside. In these meetings, the leaders of states and provinces talk about what they are doing to reduce greenhouse gases and prepare for worsening climate disasters. Many bilateral and multilateral agreements have sprung up like mushrooms from these side conversations. This week, for example, the leaders of several state-level governments are meeting in Brazil to discuss ways to protect tropical rainforests that restore ecosystems while creating jobs and boosting local economies. What states and provinces are doing now The real action in 2025 will come from the leaders of states and provinces, places like Pastaza, Ecuador; Acre and Pará, Brazil; and East Kalimantan, Indonesia. While some national political leaders are backing off their climate commitments, these subnational governments know they have to live with increasing fires, floods and deadly heat waves. So, they're stepping up and sharing advice for what works. State, province and local governments often have jurisdiction over energy generation, land-use planning, housing policies and waste management, all of which play a role in increasing or reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Their leaders have been finding ways to use that authority to reduce deforestation, increase the use of renewable energy and cap and cut greenhouse gas emissions that are pushing the planet toward dangerous tipping points. They have teamed up to link carbon markets and share knowledge in many areas. In the U.S., governors are working together in the U.S. Climate Alliance to fill the vacuum left by the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle U.S. climate policies and programs. Despite intense pressure from fossil fuel industry lobbyists, the governors of 22 states and two territories are creating policies that take steps to reduce emissions from buildings, power generation and transportation. Together, they represent more than half the U.S. population and nearly 60% of its economy. Tactics for fighting deforestation In Ecuador, provinces like Morona Santiago, Pastaza, and Zamora Chinchipe are designing management and financing partnerships with Indigenous territories for protecting more than 4 million hectares of forests through a unique collaboration called the Plataforma Amazonica. Brazilian states, including Mato Grosso, have been using remote-sensing technologies to crack down on illegal land clearing, while states like Amapá and Amazonas are developing community-engaged bioeconomy plans – think increased jobs through sustainable local fisheries and producing super fruits like acaí. Acre, Pará and Tocantins have programs that allow communities to sell carbon credits for forest preservation to companies. States in Mexico, including Jalisco, Yucatán and Oaxaca, have developed sustainable supply chain certification programs to help reduce deforestation. Programs like these can increase the economic value in some of foods and beverages, from avocados to honey to agave for tequila. There are real signs of success: Deforestation has dropped significantly in Indonesia compared with previous decades, thanks in large part to provincially led sustainable forest management efforts. In East Kalimantan, officials have been pursuing policy reforms and working with plantation and forestry companies to reduce forests destruction to protect habitat for orangutans. It's no wonder that philanthropic and business leaders from many sectors are turning to state and provincial policymakers, rather than national governments. These subnational governments have the ability to take timely and effective action. Working together to find solutions Backing many of these efforts to slow deforestation is the Governors' Climate and Forests Task Force, which California's then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger helped launch in 2008. It is the world's only subnational governmental network dedicated to protecting forests, reducing emissions and making people's lives better across the tropics. Today, the task force includes 43 states and provinces from 11 countries. They cover more than one-third of the world's tropical forests. That includes all of Brazil's Legal Amazon region, more than 85% of the Peruvian Amazon, 65% of Mexico's tropical forests and over 60% of Indonesia's forests. From a purely environmental perspective, subnational governments and governors must balance competing interests that do not always align with environmentalists' ideals. Pará state, for example, is building a 13 kilometer road to ease traffic that cuts through rainforest. California's investments in its Lithium Valley, where lithium used to make batteries is being extracted near the Salton Sea, may result in economic benefits within California and the U.S., while also generating potential environmental risks to air and water quality. Each governor has to balance the needs of farmers, ranchers and other industries with protecting the forests and other ecosystems, but those in the task force are finding pragmatic solutions. This week, two dozen or more subnational leaders from Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia and elsewhere gathered in Rio Branco, Brazil, for a conference on protecting tropical rainforests. They'll also be ironing out some important details for developing what they call a 'new forest economy' for protecting and restoring ecosystems while creating jobs and boosting economies. Protecting tropical forest habitat while also creating jobs and economic opportunities is not easy. In 2023, data show the planet was losing rainforest equivalent to 10 soccer fields a minute, and had lost more than 7% since 2000. But states and cities are taking big steps while many national governments can't even agree on which direction to head. It's time to pay attention more to the states. Mary Nichols is a Distinguished Counsel for the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, University of California, Los Angeles. The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. External Link © The Conversation
Epoch Times
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Epoch Times
Blue-State Governors Form ‘Clean Cars' Coalition After Congress Blocks California's Strict Emissions Rules
Governors from 11 Democrat-led states said on May 23 that they're launching an 'affordable clean cars' coalition to promote non-fossil-fuel-powered vehicles after Congress voted to block California from setting stricter car emission standards than federal rules. 'The Affordable Clean Cars Coalition—led by the U.S. Climate Alliance—will sustain America's transition to cleaner and more affordable cars, support U.S. automotive manufacturers and workers, and preserve states' clean air authority,' California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said in a Friday The climate alliance Governors from California, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington—all states that have adopted California-style low-emission vehicle rules or similar programs—are part of the coalition. 'We will continue collaborating as states and leveraging our longstanding authority under the Clean Air Act, including through state programs that keep communities safe from pollution, create good-paying jobs, increase consumer choice, and help Americans access cleaner and more affordable cars,' the 11 governors said in a joint statement, after Congress on May 22 voted to rescind California's latest federal waiver allowing it to set tougher emissions standards than national rules. California has long received federal waivers allowing it to set tougher standards under the Clean Air Act, influencing national vehicle design due to its large market. Republicans have long said that the rules are too costly and burdensome for automakers. Related Stories 4/24/2025 5/21/2025 Advocating for greater consumer choice and fewer regulatory burdens on businesses, Republicans proposed a The Senate Rep. John Joyce (R-Pa.), the resolution's sponsor, said that the initiative will protect consumer choice by ensuring all Americans can access vehicles that suit their needs, preferences, and budgets. 'American consumers, not out-of-touch politicians, should decide what vehicle best fits their individual needs,' Joyce said in a May 1 At the time, Joyce urged his Senate colleagues to support the measure 'to save our auto industry and protect the freedom of the open road.' The resolution drew controversy because it aimed to overturn a waiver—rather than a regulation—which the Government Accountability Office Newsom 'Republicans went around their own parliamentarian to defy decades of precedent,' Newsom said in a statement. 'We won't stand by as Trump Republicans make America smoggy again.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
California launching multistate coalition to advance clean cars
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced his intentions Friday to help launch a multistate, clean-car coalition after the Senate voted to upend the Golden State's stricter-than-federal emissions rules the previous day. The Affordable Clean Cars Coalition will work on sustaining the country's transition to cleaner and more affordable cars, while also supporting U.S. automotive manufacturers and preserving the authority of states to control their air quality, according to the announcement. The 11-state coalition will be housed under the umbrella of the U.S. Climate Alliance — a bipartisan initiative of 24 governors founded in 2017 — and consists of California, Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington. 'The federal government and Congress are putting polluters over people and creating needless chaos for consumers and the market,' the governors of the 11 states said in a joint statement. 'But our commitment to safeguarding Americans' fundamental right to clean air is resolute,' they continued, adding that they would leverage their authorities to keep communities safe and create good-paying jobs. The formation of the new coalition comes a day after the U.S. Senate passed a measure to repeal California's phaseout of new gas-powered car sales. Golden State officials responded to the decision by declaring their intentions to file a 23rd lawsuit against the Trump administration. The 11 states participating in the Affordable Clean Cars Coalition vowed to work together on developing solutions that make vehicles cleaner, more affordable and accessible to all Americans who want to purchase them. They said they would do so by decreasing cost barriers, increasing choices, expanding accessible charging and fueling infrastructure. 'As we consider next steps for our clean vehicle programs, our states will engage stakeholders and industry to provide the regulatory certainty needed while redoubling our efforts to build a cleaner and healthier future,' the governors added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Hill
California launching multistate coalition to advance clean cars
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced his intentions on Friday to help launch a multistate, clean car-focused coalition after the Senate voted to upend the Golden State's stricter-than-federal emissions rules the previous day. The Affordable Clean Cars Coalition will work on sustaining the country's transition to cleaner and more affordable cars, while also supporting U.S. automotive manufacturers and preserving the authority of states to control their air quality, according to the announcement. The 11-state coalition will be housed under the umbrella of the U.S. Climate Alliance — a bipartisan initiative of 24 governors founded in 2017 — and includes California, Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington. 'The federal government and Congress are putting polluters over people and creating needless chaos for consumers and the market,' the governors of the 11 states said in a joint statement. 'But our commitment to safeguarding Americans' fundamental right to clean air is resolute,' they continued, adding that they would leverage their authorities keep communities safe and create good-paying jobs. The formation of the new coalition comes a day after the U.S. Senate passed a measure to repeal California's phaseout of gas-powered cars. Golden State officials then responded to this decision by declaring their intentions to file a 23rd lawsuit against the Trump administration. The 11 states participating in the Affordable Clean Cars Coalition vowed to work together on developing solutions that make vehicles cleaner, more affordable and accessible to all Americans who want to purchase them. They said they would do so by decreasing cost barriers, increasing choices, expanding accessible charging and fueling infrastructure. 'As we consider next steps for our clean vehicle programs, our states will engage stakeholders and industry to provide the regulatory certainty needed while redoubling our efforts to build a cleaner and healthier future,' the governors added.
