US candidate would ban new federal oil and gas leases
Katherine Schmidt, Upstream, April 15, 2019
Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren said that if elected she would immediately ban the issuance of new federal oil and gas leases both on land and in offshore waters. Warren is part of a crowded field of Democratic candidates who have pledged to be more aggressive on the environment and step up efforts to combat climate change but is one of few that has rolled out concrete policy proposals. “That’s why on my first day as president, I will sign an executive order that says no more drilling — a total moratorium on all new fossil fuel leases, including for drilling offshore and on public lands,” Warren said on Monday in a post on Medium. Warren’s piece did not discuss her outlook on existing oil and gas production and leases.
Our Take: A plan that kills 676,000 jobs and costs our economy $134 billion? Who wouldn’t support her for President…?
Related:
Elizabeth Warren Debuts New Plan To Decimate Energy Jobs
Pebble Mine opponents, supporters prepare for final public hearing on draft environmental impact statement
Derek Minemyer and Mike Ross, KTUU, April 15, 2019
Beginning Tuesday at 12 p.m., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold its final public hearing on the Pebble Mine Draft Environmental Impact Statement, and groups both opposed to and in support of the proposed project are gearing up to mobilize public testimony. Save Bristol Bay and Trout Unlimited Alaska are working with members of the public opposed to Pebble Mine to help refine their testimony. “We are encouraging our people to say no to Pebble Mine because of the risk it poses to the fishery,” Jenny Weiss with Trout Unlimited said.
The Pebble Partnership also spent Monday preparing for the public hearing, according to spokesperson Mike Heatwole. They will have a hospitality room on the third floor of the Dena’ina Center during the hearing, and a hotline to answer questions.
From the Washington Examiner Daily on Energy:
MICROSOFT COMMITS TO CARBON TAX: Tech giant Microsoft announced late Monday it is nearly doubling its internal carbon tax that funds the company’s sustainability efforts and is joining a GOP-led group advocating for Congress to pass a federal carbon tax.
Microsoft’s self-imposed carbon tax, first established in 2012, will rise from $8 to $15 per metric ton, as the key component of its goal to cut its carbon emissions 75 percent by 2030. It aims to run its data centers with more than 70 percent renewables by 2023.
The company is also turning its attention to federal policy, joining the Climate Leadership Council, a group led by two former Republican secretaries of state, James Baker III and George Shultz, calling for Congress to pass a carbon tax and dividend, where the proceeds of the levy are returned to the public.
Microsoft is the first tech company to join the Climate Leadership, which counts oil and gas companies such as ExxonMobil, BP, and Shell among its members.
