Latest news with #ClimateMayors
Politico
5 days ago
- Business
- Politico
Trump's cuts spur a scramble for expiring energy credits
In case you haven't noticed the messaging ads from environmental groups, plenty of analysts project that the new Republican megalaw will increase electricity prices by slashing low-cost renewables. The law could also make it harder for homeowners and businesses to reduce their own power use to avoid potential bill increases. The cuts are spurring anxiety in communities that were already looking at big jumps in their electricity costs — including the presidential swing state of Arizona. Kilowatts vs. food Take Shirley Ross, who spoke to me for a story focused on the megalaw's potential cost effects in the sun-baked desert state. When she and her husband moved to an unincorporated community in the state's southeast, they saw an ad for a nonprofit promising to reduce their power bills. The group gave them direct financial support and funded efficiency upgrades. Leaky windows were sealed, the air conditioning was replaced and a decades-old avocado green refrigerator was swapped out. Ross' electricity bills have doubled in the 15 years since they moved in, but she says they'd be much higher without that early work. 'I know we wouldn't be eating as well as we do,' she said. President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, however, phases out tax credits to cover similar upgrades. Credits of up to $1,200 on weatherization and insulation, for example, will expire at the end of this year, as will credits of up to $150 for a home energy audit. Incentives for solar panels, home battery system and electric panels will also run out early. Bill backers say the cuts were necessary to avoid tax increases that would have further hurt households. The White House says it's working to lower energy costs elsewhere. Democrats jump inBlue states are making hay, however. Climate Mayors and the U.S. Climate Alliance today launched a nationwide campaign to encourage Americans to take advantage of the credits before they expire, POLITICO's Zack Colman reported. 'We have a narrow window to get the word out and help our communities benefit from these proven, popular credits which are making clean energy more affordable and accessible across the country,' Climate Mayors chair and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said in a statement. Some states and utilities will continue to offer their own assistance to homeowners. After all, energy efficiency is a way to ease the looming power supply crunch. But advocates for low-income families say they're worried, especially when electricity prices are already rising faster than inflation. Also of note: The federal LIHEAP utility assistance program has its own fund to weatherize homes. Trump's proposed budget would zero out LIHEAP, further scrambling the prospects for groups like the one that helped Ross. Kelly McGown, who heads an Arizona nonprofit that distributes LIHEAP funds, said it's not the time to cut federal protections. 'We're putting families in a position where they're choosing between paying for electricity, food or housing with no backstop,' she said. It's Thursday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Jason Plautz. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to jplautz@ Today in POLITICO Energy's podcast: Alex Guillén breaks down why the Trump administration is moving to cancel the $7 billion Solar for All program. Power Centers International Energy Agency under fireTrump officials are looking to replace the second-in-command at the International Energy Agency, in the latest sign of the administration's frustration with the Paris-based body, Brian Dabbs and Sara Schonhardt write. Mary Warlick, a retired State Department official, is the administration's top target, according to multiple energy industry insiders and former U.S. officials. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and some Republicans have expressed frustration with the IEA's outlook that demand for oil will peak by the end of this decade. The White House has championed the use of fossil fuels. 'The product that the IEA produces is not generally accepted by everybody. It's just not,' said Mark Menezes, who was deputy Energy secretary during Trump's first term. 'And the political context has changed.' California dreamingThe Trump administration is making plans to terminate the Inflation Reduction Act's Solar for All program as soon as this week. In California, almost none of the $250 million that California received from the program has made it out the door yet, Noah Baustin and Camille von Kaenel report. Solar companies fear they're on the cusp of losing their best shot at setting up a thriving community solar program that would give renters and electricity customers who can't afford to put panels on their rooftops the chance to draw from nearby midsize solar installations. Climate's information gapIn its first six months in office, the Trump administration 'has significantly altered the federal environmental information landscape,' according to a new report issued by the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative, a nonprofit research group. One example, writes Robin Bravender, citing the report, is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In 2024, the United States experienced 27 weather and climate disasters that each topped $1 billion in damages, according to a NOAA website that maps costly disasters. That website won't be updated with this year's data. The administration has moved quickly to torpedo environmental justice and climate work done by the prior administration. The day after Trump took office, the White House Council on Environmental Quality took down a screening tool aimed at funneling federal spending toward communities that faced high levels of pollution. Outsourcing carbon goalsEuropean Union officials didn't examine the effects of a plan to pay poorer countries to cut pollution for the purpose of meeting Europe's climate targets, Karl Mathiesen and Zia Weise write. European officials excluded the bloc's climate department when it crafted a European Commission proposal that includes the use of global carbon credits to meet the bloc's 2040 goals. Climate advocates have warned that the proposal could undermine the bloc's carbon trading system and emissions reduction goals. In Other News Coal cash: An Ohio law set to take effect next week ends the subsidies for two coal plants that have cost utility customers over $500 million. Crowdsourcing power: Pacific Gas & Electric successfully tested a virtual power plant using the solar and batteries of 1,000 homes. Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. A South Carolina judge dismissed the city of Charleston's lawsuit against fossil fuel companies over the effects of climate change. Turkey will not help the European Union in its bid to end imports of Russian natural gas. Energy Transfer announced plans to build a new $5.3 billion gas pipeline from West Texas to Arizona. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.
Los Angeles Times
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
The West's Climate Mayors call for federal help as Colorado River flows decline
A group of mayors representing cities across the West is calling for the federal government and state leaders to rally around efforts to help the region address water scarcity as climate change takes a toll on the Colorado River and other vital water sources. The bipartisan group Climate Mayors outlined a series of proposals for the Trump administration and state governments in a document released this week, saying federal and state involvement and financial support will be essential as cities seek to advance solutions including new infrastructure and water-saving initiatives. 'The Colorado River was allocated in a much wetter time period than now,' said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, the current chair of Climate Mayors. 'Every part of the river system has been impacted by climate change, and so we need to talk about what's the best way to address those changes, and how to spread the impact most intelligently,' Gallego said in an interview. 'Our group of Western mayors thinks this really needs to be a local, state and federal priority.' The group urged the federal government to support additional funding for infrastructure projects, including efforts to recycle wastewater and capture stormwater locally, and to maintain funding for various federal water programs. The mayors noted that drought-related disasters are on the rise. The Colorado River's average flow has declined dramatically since 2000, and research has shown that human-caused climate change is a major contributor. 'This region is facing severe challenges with charting a new future and will need regional collaboration to move forward,' the group said in the document. 'Current water use levels and patterns across all sectors cannot be maintained in the face of increasing water scarcity due to climate change.' Nearly 350 mayors across the country are part of Climate Mayors. The policy proposals were developed by a Western regional group of mayors and their representatives, among them officials from Los Angeles, Culver City, Irvine and San Diego. The mayors called for the Interior Department and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to 'ensure sustainable management of the Colorado River system,' saying that ongoing negotiations on new rules for addressing shortages after 2026 'must be based on the concept of permanent and proportionate measures for all sectors of water use.' The Colorado River provides water for cities from Denver to Los Angeles, as well as 30 Native tribes and farmlands from the Rocky Mountains to northern Mexico. Representatives of seven states that rely on the river have been negotiating new rules for managing the river after 2026, when the current guidelines expire. But the talks have been at an impasse, as competing proposals have created a rift between the three states in the river's lower basin — California, Arizona and Nevada — and the four states in the river's upper basin — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico. Gallego, a Democrat, said water efforts in the Colorado River Basin have largely been bipartisan, and mayors hope to see bipartisan cooperation continue. 'We're very hopeful to see Washington, D.C., make this a big priority,' Gallego said. 'We need to do everything we can to stretch existing supplies further.' Failing to reach an accord, she said, could lead to 'extensive litigation and a lot of paralysis along the river system.' The federal government has previously been helpful in providing funds to support water conservation efforts, as well as scientific and legal expertise to help the region manage the river, Gallego said. The Trump administration has recently cut the staff of the Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees water management in the West. President Trump has nominated Ted Cooke, who previously led the Central Arizona Project, to be the Bureau of Reclamation's new commissioner. 'I hope he'll work hard to bring all the stakeholders together so that we can get a lot of progress on Colorado River negotiations,' Gallego said. The federal government declared the Colorado River's first water shortage in 2021. A series of subsequent agreements, supported with federal funds, have helped secure temporary water savings. (Some farmers in California's Imperial Valley, for example, have volunteered to participate in a federally funded program that pays growers who leave some hay fields unwatered for part of the year.) The meager snowpack in the Rocky Mountains this winter has again shrunk the amount of runoff, increasing the risks the river's depleted reservoirs could decline to critically low levels. The water level of Lake Powell, on the Utah-Arizona border, now sits at 34% of capacity. Downstream near Las Vegas, Lake Mead is about 31% full. Presenting their proposals, the Climate Mayors touted the progress of cities including Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas in reducing water use through conservation, recycling water and becoming more locally self-sufficient. Cities have also reduced water use by offering cash rebates to customers who remove thirsty lawns, and by targeting the elimination of purely decorative grass. While the Colorado River supplies growing cities in Southern California and across the Southwest, agriculture remains the dominant user of the river's water, accounting for about three-fourths of the water that is diverted. Among their recommendations, the group of mayors called for state leaders to regularly convene representatives of agricultural water agencies, as well as tribes and other entities, to discuss goals and potential solutions. 'We think there is opportunity for collaboration in a variety of areas that allow agriculture to still succeed, but provide opportunities for cities as well,' Gallego said. Mark Gold, director of water scarcity solutions for the Natural Resources Defense Council, provided advice to the group that prepared the recommendations. He said the substantial reductions in water use that cities have achieved in recent years shows they are 'leading when it comes to sustainable water management, and agriculture is way behind.' An implicit message behind the cities' proposals, Gold said, is a call for those representing agricultural water agencies to take part in collaborative efforts to address the region's water shortfall. 'Success can't be achieved without agriculture coming up with sustainable, durable solutions,' he said. It's also important that the federal government begin to play a bigger role to help break the long impasse in the negotiations among the states, Gold said. 'I think anybody who has been a student of what's going on in the Colorado River system would say that the federal government has not been exerting their authority,' he said. 'And that leadership is just hugely important.' The proposals also underline city leaders' interest in seeing federal funding for water projects not be eliminated, Gold said. 'The transformation to a sustainable water management future is not going to be cheap,' he said, 'and it can't all fall on ratepayers, or you're going to have incredibly difficult affordability problems.'
