GOP VERSUS IEA: Republicans are furthering their probe into the International Energy Agency, criticizing the organization’s focus on renewable energy in its energy forecasts – going as far as to blame the IEA for contributing to the energy crisis in Europe.
The latest: House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers and subcommittee Chairman Jeff Duncan sent letters to both IEA executive director Fatih Birol and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, hitting the IEA for publishing projections that forecast fossil demand decreasing over the coming years while highlighting the increased use of renewables.
“We are concerned that the IEA has lost focus of its energy security mission and has instead shifted attention and resources to climate policy advocacy—to the detriment of its core mission,” Rodgers and Duncan write.
The lawmakers make the case that the IEA’s projections have contributed to the ongoing energy crisis in Europe – ignited by the Russian invasion of Ukraine – by “failing to provide participating governments with accurate and impartial data to make decisions.”
“Government decision makers and energy sector users of the IEA’s reports have been unable to weigh the cost and benefits of policy and investment decisions when IEA’s fictional scenarios skew demand forecasts,” the lawmakers wrote.
The pair also outlined how the IEA’s projections may have influenced policy in the U.S. – highlighting testimony from DOE Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he cited IEA reports to defend the agency’s pause on liquified natural gas export terminals.
What they’re requesting: The lawmakers are looking into the DOE’s engagements with the IEA, requesting information on funding, personnel, and technical assistance provided by the agency to the organization. The Republicans are also looking into any influence DOE may have on the IEA’s projections and reports.
But this isn’t the only GOP pressure on the IEA: In late March, Rodgers, along with GOP Sen. John Barrasso, sent a letter to Birol questioning the IEA’s decision-making and forecasts. Read the letter here.
An ongoing debate: The IEA’s projections have come under fire within recent years from fossil fuel groups for publishing case scenarios projecting that fossil fuel demand would peak within the decade – clashing with reports from groups like the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which projects that demand for fossil fuels is expected to grow to 2045. We’ve written extensively about the contrasting reports and the tension it caused between the different organizations – read about it here.
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BIDEN TO SURVEY BRIDGE COLLAPSE IN BALTIMORE: President Joe Biden will travel to Baltimore today to the site of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, where he will meet with families of workers who died in the disaster and receive a briefing from federal and state officials on current recovery efforts and plans to reopen capacity at the crucial port.
The visit comes after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened two temporary channels near the disaster site to help clear ship traffic, and announced plans yesterday to reopen a third channel for larger vessels which it hopes to open by the end of the month.
Biden officials also reiterated their request for the federal government to foot the entire cost of reconstruction: The director of the Office of Management and Budget, Shalanda Young, sent a letter to Congress today asking lawmakers to authorize “100 percent [of the] federal cost” for rebuilding, in addition to the $60 million in “quick relief” emergency funds authorized by Transportation Secretary Pette Buttigieg last week.
Biden will also deliver remarks “reaffirming his commitment to the people of Baltimore and to the reopening of the key economic port,” White House officials said.
RUSSIA ACCUSED OF TRYING TO SABOTAGE EUROPEAN RAILWAYS: Speaking to the Financial Times in an interview, Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka said that Moscow is believed to have made “thousands of attempts” to interfere with European Union rail systems in the two years since the start of its war in Ukraine, including attempted attacks on its rail signaling systems and on its national rail operator, České dráhy.
The EU’s Agency for Cybersecurity warned of this threat last spring, citing an uptick in attempted attacks on rail systems in Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Estonia, which it said were “primarily due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
In the Czech Republic, Kupka told the FT, Russian hackers have actually managed to take some ticketing systems offline—prompting concerns that Russia could interfere with their rail signals to cause serious accidents.
Why it matters: The effort to destabilize the EU’s rail system comes as some member states, including the Czech Republic, are lobbying to make expensive upgrades to their aging rail systems to cope with higher demand. Leaders are also planning a series of high-speed rail projects in Europe intended to eventually link Ukraine, Moldova, and the western Balkans to central Europe—giving the Kremlin an outsize interest in attempting to stop it.
Bigger picture: Russia has a long history of hacking—or attempting to hack—critical infrastructure in Europe and other Western countries. Prior to its invasion of Ukraine, Russia launched a series of state-backed attacks on Kyiv’s power grid, including a 2015 breach that triggered blackouts for some 230,000 residents. And a 2022 Microsoft report concluded that Russian hackers have launched so-called “strategic espionage” against governments and private sector groups in some 42 countries supporting Kyiv since the war began.
Russian interference in the transportation sector, however, is less well-documented—and therefore potentially more alarming as leaders scramble to defend against the threats. Read more from the interview here.
SEC STAYS NEW CLIMATE DISCLOSURE RULE PENDING JUDICIAL REVIEW: The Securities and Exchange Commission announced yesterday that it has stayed its new climate risk disclosure rule pending review from a federal judge—a move that comes as the agency pushes to consolidate the legal challenges that have already been filed attempting to overturn it.
More than 20 Republican-led states, industry groups, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have filed lawsuits seeking to overturn the rule, arguing the disclosure requirements reach beyond the SEC’s legal authority,
The SEC said late yesterday that it believes that staying the rule will “facilitate the orderly judicial resolution of those challenges and allow the court of appeals to focus on deciding the merits.”
Reaction: Industry groups that had filed lawsuits to halt the new rule praised the SEC’s decision. American Petroleum Institute vice president and general counsel Ryan Meyers said in a statement that the group agrees with the SEC’s decision to hold off on advancing the “flawed” rule, which he said would “confuse investors rather than advance the dialogue on climate that has been occurring for many years between businesses and their shareholders.”
“We agree with the SEC’s decision to stay this flawed rule and not burden companies with significant compliance costs before courts can adjudicate its legality,” Meyers added.
TESLA DITCHES LOW-COST CAR AMID FIERCE COMPETITION FROM BEIJING: Tesla has scrapped its plans to build an inexpensive EV, reneging on a long-promised affordable vehicle option that investors had eyed as a gateway car to help incentivize broader EV adoption.
According to Reuters, the reversal comes as Tesla faces mounting competition from EV makers in China, which have been mass-producing lower-cost EVs and flooding global markets with cars priced as cheaply as $10,000—far lower than Tesla’s cheapest offering.
Still, the news represents a stark 180 from Tesla founder Elon Musk, who has long said that the primary mission of his company is the production of affordable EVs— a goal he cited as recently as January, when he told investors that production of the cheaper models could begin as early as 2025.
Early planning documents underscore Musk’s vision for this as well. A 2006 “master plan” from Musk outlines Tesla’s goal to first release higher-end luxury models before shifting to use company profits to build out an electric “low cost” family car.
Tesla shares dropped 4% on the news. Read more from Reuters here.
RUNDOWN
Bloomberg US homes face costly retrofits for induction stoves, EV chargers
Financial Times The Steve Jobs of China turns car salesman in Xiaomi’s EV evolution