The American Petroleum Institute responded today to Democrats’ probe of a meeting between oil executives and former president Donald Trump – and pushed back on claims that the meeting violated ethical or legal norms.
House Oversight Ranking Member Jamie Raskin had sent inquiries to nine oil groups following reports that Trump met with top oil and gas executives at his Mar-a-Lago Club and sought $1 billion in campaign contributions in exchange for rolling back the Biden administration’s environmental regulations. In his letters, Raskin called it a “quid pro quo” proposition that raised “significant potential, ethical, campaign finance, and legal issues.”
The API letter, addressed to Raskin, saw the meeting in a different light – characterizing the conversation as routine and uncontroversial, as the roundtable was “consistent with meetings that API routinely has with policymakers and candidates across the political spectrum.”
“It is unremarkable (and should not be controversial) that individuals and groups financially support candidates – be they Democrat, Republican or Independent – who share their policy priorities, or for a candidate to highlight policy alignment when soliciting such support,” Mike Sommers, the President and CEO of API, wrote in his letter. “Any assertion that policy discussions with a candidate are somehow inappropriate because that candidate may also be seeking a group’s electoral support is simply an attempt by political opponents to chill protected First Amendment speech with which they disagree.”
API also noted that it is engaged with the current administration on energy policy – and sent President Joe Biden a letter Friday requesting a meeting.
Why this is important: The oil executives’ meeting with the former president is at the forefront of election-year energy politics this cycle – and is providing Democrats with plenty of fodder to go after Trump with.
Raskin’s probe is just one of multiple Democratic investigations into the oil industry. Raskin led a multiple-year investigation into how oil companies have allegedly misled the public on their contributions to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming – a probe that has been referred to the Justice Department for further investigation.
Some more context: In his probe of the Trump oil groups meeting, Raskin had written to API – along with eight other groups – to request a number of materials that would paint a fuller picture of the meeting. The letter, however, stands as API’s sole response, as the group did not provide the requested materials.
In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for Oversight Democrats responded with a previous statement hitting committee Chairman James Comer for obstructing Democrats’ probe of the meeting.
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DARREN WOODS AND CALPERS SQUARE OFF BEFORE SHAREHOLDER MEETING: Ahead of tomorrow’s highly anticipated Exxon Mobil shareholder meeting, company CEO Darren Woods and CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost wrote dueling essays in the Financial Times over the company’s controversial lawsuit against climate activist shareholders, which we’ve written about extensively in recent editions of the newsletter.
Frost, whose fund has called for the removal of Woods and the rest of Exxon’s board, wrote that Exxon is trying to swing the balance of power toward the C-Suite and away from retail investors by pursuing a lawsuit against climate activist investors even after they withdrew their resolution
“Workers’ rights, reasonable and transparent executive compensation, and independent directors — all of these issues and more could be unilaterally sidestepped in years to come if shareholders ignore this legal fight and ExxonMobil prevails,” she wrote.
Woods, in response, wrote that the activist investors “want to financially hurt the company” and that CalPERS should “leave politics to the politicians.”
What to watch: Exxon’s shareholder meeting is slated for tomorrow at 10:30 Eastern Time. CalPERS and several financial officials from Democratic-run states have called for shareholders to vote against reappointing Exxon’s board as a means of pushing back against the lawsuit. A number of red-state officials, meanwhile, have pressured investors to do the opposite.
NEW RULES FOR VOLUNTARY CARBON CREDITS: This morning, the Biden administration officially outlined new rules for voluntary carbon credits, as previewed last week. The guidelines are meant to prevent “greenwashing” and ensure that credits represent actual net emissions reductions over the long term. Read more from Breanne here.
G7 MEETING TAKEAWAYS: The Group of Seven finance ministers met in Italy this past weekend to discuss a number of economic and security issues – and touched on policy initiatives that would aid a global transition towards a net-zero emissions economy.
Laid out in a communique released this past weekend, the group embraced a menu of policy options that focused on green investment, carbon pricing, and carbon mitigation.
However, the communique did not outline any new steps that would help the World Bank or other multilateral development banks to aid countries – specifically, developing countries – reach their climate goals.
Why this is important: The G7 meeting could also influence how conversations at the upcoming global climate summit in Azerbaijan – otherwise known as COP29 – will play out, especially as international climate groups call for more climate financing to flow to developing countries.
“The G7 Finance Ministers’ Meeting leaves us with frustration and disappointment – and in fact, astonished about their lack of action on climate finance. 2024 is a critical year that demands concrete action on climate finance, in particular by the wealthiest and biggest economies,” Andreas Sieber, an associate director for Global Policy at international green group 350.org, wrote in a statement following the meetings. “Simply labeling climate finance responsibilities as ‘very important’ during a press conference, without providing a substantial and credible response, fails to align with the G7’s pivotal role.”
JAPANESE AUTOMAKERS COMMIT TO ALTERNATIVE-FUEL CARS: The heads of Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru said today that they have committed to working on new engines that can integrate with electric drive units and also work with carbon-neutral fuels, such as biofuels and liquid nitrogen.
“As we continue to refine electrification technology, we will also enhance our horizontally-opposed engines with an aim to use carbon-neutral fuels in the future,” Subaru CEO Atsushi Osaki said in a press release from all three companies.
Toyota has for years taken a more cautious approach to electrification than other automakers. Its chief technology officer said that the investment in the new forms of internal combustion engines would be an order of magnitude smaller than spending on EVs and battery development, the Financial Times reported.
ICYMI – BUTTIGIEG ON LACK OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGERS: One moment that drew some attention online during the long weekend was Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg being confronted by CBS’s Margaret Brennan over the lack of electric vehicle chargers that have been built with the billions in federal funding granted by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.
“The Federal Highway Administration says only seven or eight charging stations have been produced with the $7.5 billion investment that taxpayers made back in 2021. Why isn’t that happening more quickly?” Brennan asked on Face the Nation.
Buttigieg did not challenge the number of chargers presented by Brennan, but explained that “it’s more than just plunking a small device into the ground. There’s utility work, and this is also, really, a new category of federal investment. But we’ve been working with each of the 50 states, every one of them is getting formula dollars to do this work…”
Pressed by Brennan on why only a handful of chargers have been built, Buttigieg said that it’s only the “absolute very, very beginning stages of the construction to come.” He also noted that most charging infrastructure is built by the private sector, and that the federal government is trying to fill in gaps where it’s not profitable for private companies to provide chargers.
Buttigieg also addressed questions about the effects of Biden’s tariffs on EV adoption. Read the whole interview here.
RUNDOWN
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