IT’S WEDNESDAY! Welcome to Overnight Energy, The Hill’s roundup of the latest energy and environment news. Please send tips and comments to Rebecca Beitsch at rbeitsch@thehill.com. Follow her on Twitter: @rebeccabeitsch. Reach Rachel Frazin at rfrazin@thehill.com or follow her on Twitter: @RachelFrazin.
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KEY RACES: While the results of the presidential race remain unclear, several races have been decided that have been rooted in, and have major implications for energy and environment issues
In the Senate: While it’s also not totally clear which party will control the Senate yet, this chamber had several notable environment races. For one, the results for the Republican sponsors of the Great American Outdoors Act, a major conservation bill, were mixed. Sen. Steve Daines
Steven (Steve) David DainesSenate control in flux as counting goes forward in key states Daines fends off challenge to win second Montana Senate term Live updates: Democrats fight to take control of the Senate MORE (R-Mont.) managed to fend off a challenge from Montana Gov. Steve Bullock
Steve BullockSenate control in flux as counting goes forward in key states Daines fends off challenge to win second Montana Senate term Live updates: Democrats fight to take control of the Senate MORE (D). Sen. Cory Gardner
Cory Scott GardnerSenate control in flux as counting goes forward in key states On The Trail: Deeply divided nation shows blue islands in a red sea Race for White House appears to be coming down to ‘blue wall’ MORE (R-Colo.) didn’t fare quite as well, losing his seat to ex-Gov. John Hickenlooper
John HickenlooperOn The Trail: Deeply divided nation shows blue islands in a red sea Race for White House appears to be coming down to ‘blue wall’ Hickenlooper ousts Gardner in Colorado, handing Democrats vital pickup MORE (D). Also notable was a victory for Sen. Joni Ernst
Joni Kay ErnstSenate control in flux as counting goes forward in key states Ernst holds Iowa Senate seat, fending off challenge from Greenfield Trump notches win in battleground Iowa MORE (R-Iowa), a vocal advocate for biofuels whose races was considered a “toss-up” by the Cook Political Report.
In the House: Democrats are poised to retain the House, albeit by a smaller margin as they lost several swing-district seats to Republicans .
Wins for the GOP:
Wins for the Dems:
Around the states:
- Republican Jim Wright beat out Democrat Chrysta Castañeda for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas in the state.
More of The Hill’s full coverage of the presidential contest here, the Senate races here and the House here.
UNITED STATES, PARTY OF ONE: The U.S. has officially left the Paris climate accord.
The withdrawal, set in motion by a letter from President Trump
Donald John Trump Chris Wallace condemns Trump claims that he won the election ‘Squad’ member Rashida Tlaib wins reelection in Michigan Biden campaign blasts Trump victory claim as ‘outrageous, unprecedented, and incorrect’ MORE exactly one year ago, caps a long-promised move from the president and leaves the U.S. as the only country in the world to withdraw from the landmark climate agreement.
Trump campaigned on leaving the accord and announced that he was doing so far before the parameters of the agreement allowed.
“The Paris Climate Accord is simply the latest example of Washington entering into an agreement that disadvantages the United States to the exclusive benefit of other countries, leaving American workers — who I love — and taxpayers to absorb the cost in terms of lost jobs, lower wages, shuttered factories and vastly diminished economic production,” Trump said at a speech in the Rose Garden in June 2017.
The move was celebrated by many in Republican circles, even as Democrats and environmentalists lament the implications the U.S. exit will have for the climate and the American economy.
“The decision to exit the Paris Agreement leaves the United States globally isolated in its defiance of scientific realities, and causes real harm to people, the planet and the economy. However, the nearly 200 other nations of the world will continue moving full steam ahead toward realizing the goals of the agreement,” the Union of Concerned Scientists said in a statement.
“The United States is the second largest emitter of carbon emissions from fossil fuels annually and the largest source of cumulative emissions to date,” it continued. “It’s well past time for our nation to pivot away from being part of the problem and toward contributing to a leading share of the solutions.”
Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, however, said the deal “would have disadvantaged the U.S. economy and compromised American competitiveness.”
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden
Joe Biden Chris Wallace condemns Trump claims that he won the election Biden campaign blasts Trump victory claim as ‘outrageous, unprecedented, and incorrect’ Bipartisan lawmakers condemn Trump for declaring victory prematurely MORE has pledged to rejoin the Paris agreement on Day 1 in office if elected, a move that would leave the U.S. out of the deal for a little more than three months.
“I will bring us back into the Paris Agreement. I will put us back in the business of leading the world on climate change. And I will challenge everyone to up the ante on their climate commitments,” Biden said in a September speech on climate change as wildfires ravaged California.
Biden has already laid out some goals in his own climate plan. The electricity sector would go to net-zero emissions by 2035 — a timeline ahead of many of the efforts already underway in climate-conscious states.
More broadly, he said he is committed to net-zero emissions by 2050, a plan that would require mostly transitioning away from fossil fuels while promoting carbon capture technology that could store excess pollution.
Read more about the exit here.
OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY:
Plastic bags banned in N.J. as governor signs new law, NJ.com reports
Columbus voters approve green-energy aggregation plan, The Columbus Dispatch reports
Denver voters approve taxes for homeless, environment, The Denver Post reports
ICYMI: Stories from Wednesday…
Hurricane Eta makes landfall in Nicaragua as Category 4 storm
US officially exits Paris climate accord
Giant iceberg floating toward island in the Atlantic Ocean, could endanger wildlife
