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Politico
10 hours ago
- Business
- Politico
The California climate export catching fire in Trump's D.C.
With help from Alex Nieves and Jordan Wolman CATCHING FIRE: California's wildfire tech companies are seizing their D.C. moment as Congress and President Donald Trump eye sweeping fire reforms. Representatives from Truckee-based forest mapping company Vibrant Planet and Earth Fire Alliance, a nonprofit coalition working on wildfire-tracking satellites that includes Google and MuonSpace, backed the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act in a House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing in Washington D.C. on Thursday focused on wildfire policy and technology. They had a receptive audience, with both Rep. Bruce Westerman, the Republican chair of the committee, and Rep. Jared Huffman, the Democratic ranking member, enthusiastically encouraging everything from drones to artificial intelligence to mapping software. 'There is no downside to scaling new technologies across the federal government, especially innovative technologies that improve wildfire suppression and response and facilitate more proactive land management,' said Westerman. To be sure, there are still cracks. Though the bill passed the House, it's cooling its heels in the Senate, where Sen. Alex Padilla is co-sponsoring it, amid broader budget talks. And on Thursday, while Westerman praised Trump's executive order seeking to consolidate federal wildfire agencies and encourage the use of privately developed technology, Huffman lambasted the Trump administration's jobs cuts that are hampering those same wildfire agencies ('This is where I feel like sometimes we must be living on different planets,' Huffman told his Republican counterparts.) But the growing bipartisan embrace of fire technology gives California's climate exports an easy and rare win in the age of Trump — and the companies that stand to benefit are leaning in. They engaged 'from the very start' to shape provisions of the bill, including a fire intelligence center and a pilot tech-testing program, said Matt Weiner, the CEO of nonprofit Megafire Action, which has allied with tech companies. 'This is an industry that was largely grown in California, and that's expanding nationwide now,' said Weiner. 'What you're seeing is policymakers nationwide seeing the potential and the need here…it's an exciting time.' They might actually be having more success in D.C. than at home. The Los Angeles fires triggered a wave of state legislative proposals focused primarily on immediate financial relief for victims and boosting Cal Fire staffing, but tech input has been sparse (the exception being Vibrant Planet's support for Sen. Josh Becker's SB 326, which bolsters wildfire planning and coordination among state agencies and utilities.) And last month, a bill by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris to set up an autonomous firefighting helicopter pilot stalled in the appropriations committee amid the broader budget deficit. Part of the D.C.-Sacramento split-screen is because California's been taking small bites out of wildfire policy as wildfires began shattering records over the past seven years, spending billions to boost its firefighting force — including more than $4 billion for Cal Fire in this year's budget — and tweaking laws to improve prescribed burning and forest management. And partly it's because no one in Sacramento has attempted the type of sweeping reform gaining traction in D.C. Dan Munsey, the San Bernardino County fire chief, testified at Thursday's hearing that he liked the spending on Cal Fire. But he also said that local agencies like his are ahead of the rest of government in embracing technology like firefighting drones. And he said tech can only go so far. 'The answer to this isn't the technology that is broadly available. The answer is leadership,' Munsey said. 'We lack interagency department collaboration. It's very bifurcated. I fully support President Trump's creation of the U.S. wildfire agency. We have to break down the barriers. We're slowly innovating. We are burdened by the regulatory process.' — CvK Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here! GRID GAMES: Everyone from Microsoft to Rivian to IBEW is trying to save a proposal to create a West-wide electricity grid after state lawmakers tried to wrestle back control for California. A broad coalition of business, environmental and utility groups urged state lawmakers to pass legislation to set up the regional grid in a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Speaker Robert Rivas on Wednesday. Their fear is that amendments taken earlier this month to Sen. Josh Becker's SB 540 could alienate utilities in other states. The amendments aim to give state lawmakers more oversight of the regionalization effort, but according to the companies and groups, they risk turning off other states that fear giving California too much control over a unified grid. 'Without California's collaborative action on this policy, its partners will leave the current markets, making energy more expensive, less reliable, and making the state's climate goals more challenging and expensive to achieve,' they wrote. Opponents of the bill, including some environmental groups and ratepayer advocates, fear regionalizing California's grid will cede control over its clean energy goals to less environmentally friendly forces. The bill is still waiting for its first policy hearing in the Assembly. — CvK START NEGOTIATING: The clock is ticking for the seven Western states fighting over their share of the dwindling Colorado River. The Trump administration has told the states that border the critical water source that they have until November 11 to reach an 'agreement in principle,' or tell the Interior Department that a deal is unlikely, POLITICO's Annie Snider reports. Scott Cameron, acting assistant secretary for Water and Science at the Interior Department, told state negotiators during a meeting of the Upper Colorado River Commission Thursday that the federal government prefers a state-led deal, but isn't afraid to impose unilateral cuts. States have struggled for more than a year to agree on new rules governing water deliveries to replace those set to expire at the end of 2026. The fight has pitted California, Arizona and Nevada against the Upper Basin states of Colorado, New Mexico and Utah over how to divvy up water from a river that has shrunk by 20 percent over the past quarter century thanks to drought and climate change. — AN RARE EARTH TROUBLE: The Trump administration's fight with China over rare earth minerals is sending a shock through automakers' electric vehicle supply chains. China's tightening restrictions on the critical minerals used in electronics and heavy-duty motors found in electric vehicles and hybrids are already causing reduced parts supply for car companies, Hannah Northey and Mike Lee report for POLITICO's E&E news. Not all automakers are in the same tenuous position. Ford was forced to shut down a plant in Chicago that makes Explorer SUVs for a week, while BMW and Suzuki have reported disruptions. General Motors, meanwhile, has found itself buffered from the growing trade war after stocking up on rare earth minerals early. The disruption to rare earth supply chains comes as automakers warn that Trump's 25 percent tariff on imported cars and parts — and his threat to increase that levy — will lead to shortages and higher prices at dealerships. — AN — 2024 was the hottest year on record, but it's only likely to get hotter this year. — Longtime Elon Musk ally and top Tesla executive Omead Afshar has left the struggling automaker. — Malaysia, a top destination for California plastic waste, says it will no longer accept shipments from the U.S.
Politico
a day ago
- Business
- Politico
The California climate export catching fire in Trump's DC
California's wildfire tech companies are seizing their D.C. moment as Congress and President Donald Trump eye sweeping fire reforms. Representatives from Truckee, Calif.-based forest mapping company Vibrant Planet and Earth Fire Alliance, a nonprofit coalition working on wildfire-tracking satellites that includes Google and Muon Space, backed the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act in a House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C. on Thursday focused on wildfire policy and technology. They had a receptive audience, with both Rep. Bruce Westerman, the Republican chair of the committee, and Rep. Jared Huffman, the Democratic ranking member, enthusiastically encouraging everything from drones to artificial intelligence to mapping software. 'There is no downside to scaling new technologies across the federal government, especially innovative technologies that improve wildfire suppression and response and facilitate more proactive land management,' said Westerman. To be sure, there are still cracks. Though the bill passed the House, it's cooling its heels in the Senate, where California Sen. Alex Padilla is co-sponsoring it, amid broader budget talks. And on Thursday, while Westerman praised Trump's executive order seeking to consolidate federal wildfire agencies and encourage the use of privately developed technology, Huffman lambasted the Trump administration's jobs cuts that are hampering those same wildfire agencies ('This is where I feel like sometimes we must be living on different planets,' Huffman told his Republican counterparts.) But the growing bipartisan embrace of fire technology gives California's climate exports an easy and rare win in the age of Trump — and the companies that stand to benefit are leaning in. They engaged 'from the very start' to shape provisions of the bill, including a fire intelligence center and a pilot tech-testing program, said Matt Weiner, the CEO of nonprofit Megafire Action, which has allied with tech companies. 'This is an industry that was largely grown in California, and that's expanding nationwide now,' said Weiner. 'What you're seeing is policymakers nationwide seeing the potential and the need here…it's an exciting time.' They might actually be having more success in D.C. than at home. The Los Angeles fires triggered a wave of state legislative proposals focused primarily on immediate financial relief for victims and boosting Cal Fire staffing, but tech input has been sparse (the exception being Vibrant Planet's support for state Sen. Josh Becker's SB 326, which bolsters wildfire planning and coordination among state agencies and utilities.) And last month, a bill by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris to set up an autonomous firefighting helicopter pilot stalled in the appropriations committee amid the broader budget deficit. Part of the D.C.-Sacramento split-screen is because California's been taking small bites out of wildfire policy as wildfires began shattering records over the past seven years, spending billions to boost its firefighting force — including over $4 billion in this year's budget for Cal Fire — and tweaking laws to improve prescribed burning and forest management. And partly it's because no one in Sacramento has attempted the type of sweeping reform gaining traction in D.C. Dan Munsey, the San Bernardino County fire chief, testified at Thursday's hearing that he liked the spending on Cal Fire. But he also said that local agencies like his are ahead of the rest of government in embracing technology like firefighting drones. And he said tech can only go so far. 'The answer to this isn't the technology that is broadly available. The answer is leadership,' Munsey said. 'We lack interagency department collaboration. It's very bifurcated. I fully support President Trump's creation of the U.S. wildfire agency. We have to break down the barriers. We're slowly innovating. We are burdened by the regulatory process.' Like this content? Consider signing up for POLITICO's California Climate newsletter.
