Geopolitics trump climate ‘inferno’ at U.N. – POLITICO – POLITICO

Climate Week in New York offered the fight against global warming a megaphone ahead of this fall’s United Nations-led climate negotiations in the United Arab Emirates.

But the rounds of speeches and panels this week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting exposed how slowly countries are moving to cut greenhouse gas emissions tied to rising temperatures, writes Sara Schonhardt.

While some countries made new commitments, none came from the world’s biggest atmospheric polluters. In fact, heads of government from the United States, China, France and Great Britain didn’t participate in a climate summit organized by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres because they either failed to offer strengthened climate plans or to RSVP (awkward). President Joe Biden had a scheduling conflict.

“They’re like trying to put out an inferno with a leaking hose,” said David Waskow, director of the World Resources Institute’s international climate initiative.

The 2023 climate story — so far — is about record heat, deadly floods and suffocating wildfires. Experts say far stronger commitments are needed to blunt the worst of climate change. Global emissions are at their highest level in history, and they continue to rise as many countries — including the U.S., Norway and Australia — expand fossil fuel drilling.

This summer smashed a critical temperature threshold, exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming above preindustrial levels in July, the warmest month on record. Bill Hare, a senior scientist and founder of Climate Analytics, told Sara that doesn’t mean the Paris climate agreement and its 1.5 C goal are doomed, but it does come as a strong warning.

“Everything that has happened this year has really reinforced the wisdom, strength and potency of that goal,” he said.

Climate Week may also offer a window into countries’ appetites for increasing emission reduction targets during the annual U.N. climate talks in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE’s economy is heavily reliant on oil and natural gas exports — a source of tension ahead of the talks.

Even if countries agree to phase out fossil fuels, it’s an open question whether they will follow through. For example, countries agreed to move away from coal two years ago during U.N. climate talks in Scotland, but some, including China, the world’s biggest carbon dioxide emitter, are still building coal-fired power plants.

Thank goodness it’s Friday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO’s Power Switch. I’m your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy.

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Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Mike Soraghan breaks down the internal tension within the Republican Party over pipelines carrying carbon dioxide and how the fight has intensified.

UAW expand strike
Thousands more workers at Detroit’s Big Three auto companies are walking off the job this afternoon, in an escalation of the United Auto Workers’ week-old strike, writes Nick Niedzwiadek. The move is a setback for President Joe Biden’s hope of quickly resolving the labor dispute.

Workers at more than three dozen Stellantis and General Motors facilities across 20 states will join the roughly 12,700 union members taking part in the initial three-plant strike, according to UAW President Shawn Fain.

Texas judge sides with Biden
A federal judge has upheld one of the Biden administration’s more unconventional efforts to tackle climate change, writes Lesley Clark.

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo rejected a Republican-led challenge to a Labor Department rule that makes it easier for retirement plan sponsors to account for climate risks with environmental, social and governance investing.

Electric grid in trouble
The nation’s top energy regulators are preparing to release a report highlighting the ways in which the country’s electric and gas systems are not reliable amid severe weather made more frequent by climate change, writes Miranda Willson.

One problem is that unlike the electric grid, there are no mandatory federal reliability standards for the nation’s natural gas system, which is the largest source of electric power in the country.

The youths: Gen Zers turn up the heat on Biden. They want climate action, not words.

Backslide: Many of the world’s largest food companies have made zero progress toward meeting their climate goals, and a number are producing more greenhouse gas emissions.

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Policymakers are sorting through a series of decisions that could determine if millions of diesel trucks are replaced with ones that use hydrogen fuel cells, electric batteries or some other technology.

Four federal agencies have reached a deal with coastal states to collaborate on building an offshore wind supply chain, aiding the Biden administration’s goals for the nascent industry.

The federal government is hurtling toward a shutdown at the end of the month, and it could wreak havoc with Biden’s energy and climate agenda — as well as some top GOP priorities.

That’s it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!