Biden hones climate focus with recent slate of expected energy post picks

President-elect Joe Biden continued to make choices for top officials in his cabinet that underscore his emphasis on combatting climate change and accelerating the move toward a clean energy transition, introducing South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg Dec. 16 as his choice to lead the Department of Transportation.

Biden's pick for transportation secretary has been a vocal proponent of decarbonizing the electric and transportation sectors.

"This administration can deliver policies and resources that will create jobs, rise to the climate challenge and equitably serve all Americans all while continuing to ensure the safety of travelers and workers alike," Buttigieg said in a speech Dec. 16. If confirmed, he would be in charge of coordinating federal transportation projects as well as safety regulations including those for pipelines.

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Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, the expected pick for energy secretary, championed renewable energy development while leading the state during the Great Recession and amid recovery of the auto industry, and has fostered policies that promote development of renewables as a source of US jobs.

She also sought to spur development of lithium-ion advanced battery technology for electric cars and advocated for building electric vehicles in the US.

Biden also is expected to name Gina McCarthy, former Environmental Protection Agency administrator and current CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council, to serve as White House advisor on climate change with responsibility for coordinating the cross-government actions to combat global warming.

McCarthy stands as the architect behind the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which was held up in legal battles and ultimately scuttled by the Trump administration. She also advanced ambitious fuel efficiency standards and issued methane emissions regulations extending to the oil and gas sector.

Electric vehicle focus

Tapping Buttigieg for transportation secretary was in line with the Biden campaign pledge to accelerate deployment of electric vehicles and help add more than 500,000 new charging stations by 2030.

S&P Global Platts Analytics has estimated that Biden policy goals on electric vehicles and auto fuel efficiency standards, if implemented, could increase the number of light duty electric vehicles on the road in the US in 2040 by over 10%. This larger light duty fleet of plug-in EVs would ramp up the call on power by nearly 30 TWh a year in 2040, while presenting a downside risk to refined product of less than 240,000 b/d of oil equivalent, according to Platts Analytics.

During his 2020 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Buttigieg backed a mandate for net-zero emissions for all heavy-duty vehicles, buses, rail, ships and aircraft by 2040 and a plan to achieve net-zero industrial emissions by 2050.

In his speech Dec. 16, Buttigieg mentioned that while mayor he added electric vehicle charging infrastructure in South Bend to "help prepare for a more sustainable future."

Early responses

Scott Segal, co-head of Bracewell's Policy Resolution Group, described Granholm as a "leader in the clean energy transition back in Michigan, addressing some of the same key issues that will confront development and implementation of the Biden plan."

One gas trade group was optimistic about working with Granholm given her experience leading a cold weather state.

Daphne Magnuson, a spokeswoman for the Natural Gas Supply Association, said Granholm's experience as governor of a state that relies on natural gas for 80% of its space heating needs, 30% of its electricity and a major fuel for auto manufacturing "gives us a solid foundation for a dialogue on natural gas issues."

Granholm "appreciates the importance of affordability and reliability to consumers, which are two hallmarks of natural gas," Magnuson said.

However, Tom Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research and former head of Trump's 2016 Department of Energy transition team, was not impressed with Biden's picks, calling it a third Obama term.

"The whole orientation of the administration will shift back to an emphasis on using the levers of government to basically try to hamstring conventional energy resources and give a financial and regulatory leg up to their preferred energy sources," he said.

Climate activist view

The expected Biden choices won praise from liberal climate activists who campaigned to discourage the choice of former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

"These selections are a major victory for the broad and diverse movement pushing Joe Biden to keep top contenders with dangerous fossil fuel ties out of his cabinet and administration," said Collin Rees, senior campaigner at Oil Change US.

Such groups also cheered Granholm's prior opposition to the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines, and pointed to a 2016 statement she made favoring doing everything possible to keep fossil fuel energy in the ground and developing renewable energy.

In Michigan, Granholm signed legislation in 2008 that established a renewable portfolio standard that mandated 10% of the state's energy come from renewable sources by 2015 and a requirement that utilities meet an added 5.5% of Michigan's annual power demands through energy efficiency by 2015.

Adding to the incoming administration's climate-focused energy team, New York State energy and climate official Ali Zaidi is seen as the likely pick to fill the deputy domestic climate policy adviser position, and North Carolina top environmental regulator Michael Regan has emerged as a potential frontrunner to lead the EPA.