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— Energy Secretary Rick Perry is closing out his final days of the Trump administration, and generating plenty of headlines.
— Democratic Sen. Ed Markey unveiled new legislation that would use the United States’ foreign policy tools to sanction companies that are making worse climate change.
— Energy industry players in New York have abandoned a proposal to limit press coverage of the grid operator’s meetings after POLITICO reported on the plan.
WELCOME TO TUESDAY! I’m your host, Kelsey Tamborrino. Check out the new POLITICO Energy podcast — all the energy and environmental politics and policy news you need to start your day, in just five minutes. Listen and subscribe for free at politico.com/energy-podcast.
Cheniere’s Khary Cauthen knew the first national Thanksgiving Day, proclaimed by President George Washington, took place on Nov. 26, 1789. For today: In what year was the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade? Send your tips, energy gossip and comments to ktamborrino@politico.com.
THE FINAL COUNTDOWN: Rick Perry is just days away from leaving the Trump administration. And while the Energy secretary has become enmeshed in the impeachment investigation because of his energy outreach in Ukraine and the pressure from U.S. officials on the country’s president to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, he generated a fresh round of headlines on Monday for praising President Donald Trump as the “chosen one.”
“God’s used imperfect people all through history,” the former Texas governor told Fox News. “King David wasn’t perfect, Saul wasn’t perfect, Solomon wasn’t perfect.” Perry said he gave Trump a “one-pager on those Old Testament kings about a month ago.” He added: “I said, ‘Mr. President, I know there are people that say you said you were the chosen one and I said, ‘You were.'” Perry added that he thought former President Barack Obama was also chosen by God.
The comments raised eyebrows on Monday, but it’s not the first time he’s discerned divine intent: While governor in 2010, Perry said the BP Deep Water Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico might have been an “act of God.”
The secretary has said his last day as secretary will be Dec. 1 and he finished up his last meeting at the White House on Monday. “Just finished my last official duties at the @WhiteHouse. What a great ride it has been!!” he said in a tweet. “Thanks to all. Happy Holidays & God Bless.”
A spokesperson for Perry told ME he was at the White House to participate in a bilateral meeting with Bulgaria — the Eastern European country that is working to complete its stretch of the TurkStream pipeline next year that would transport Russian gas around Ukraine and through Turkey. A joint statement from the White House and the prime minister of Bulgaria touted energy security. “We underline our common understanding that the diversification of energy sources is a guarantee of energy security, independence, and competitiveness for our economies,” it said.
COMING SOON: EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the agency will announce guidance in the coming weeks for how to clean up toxic PFAS chemicals in groundwater, as well as updates on safe levels for the “forever” chemicals in drinking water, according to ABC News. Wheeler said EPA is working “aggressively” to develop regulations around the chemicals. As part of EPA’s promised action plan, the agency could list two of the chemicals — PFOA and PFOS — as hazardous under the Superfund program. POLITICO reported last week however the Trump administration has been slow-walking efforts on the Superfund designation, which is raising concerns that the Defense Department is influencing the process.
Wheeler told ABC that EPA is still working on the Superfund step and is consulting other agencies. “The thing that I want to assure the American public, if it is a problem in their community, if we discover it’s a problem of their community, we’re going to make sure that it gets cleaned up so that everybody’s drinking water supply is safe and secure,” Wheeler said.
Also on Monday, EPA laid out potential approaches in an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that it may take to require public reporting on emissions of PFAS chemicals, an important step in helping environmental officials and communities locate areas of potential contamination, as Pro’s Annie Snider reported.
MARKEY UNVEILS CLIMATE SANCTIONS BILL: Massachusetts’ Markey, a co-author of the Green New Deal, introduced legislation on Monday that would allow for sanctions of individuals and companies responsible for exacerbating climate change. The bill, called the Targeting Environmental and Climate Recklessness Act, would expand the Global Magnitsky Act — a law that enables the U.S. government to punish foreigners for alleged human-rights abuses — and allow the United States to restrict access to its financial system for foreign individuals and companies involved in climate-linked corruption.
“Climate change has disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable communities around the world, and targeted measures to deter recklessness climate pollution would help ensure that urgent efforts to mitigate climate risk do not worsen global inequality,” Markey said in a statement. “This legislation would bring us closer to a complete U.S. global strategy that matches the magnitude of the climate crisis.”
INSIDE BLOOMBERG’S PRESIDENTIAL BID: Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg debuted his 2020 presidential campaign in Virginia on Monday. The billionaire has centered his campaign on gun violence and climate change, the same issues his organizations have helped other candidates with financially, POLITICO’s Maya King reports. But defeating Trump is something Bloomberg, who has spent millions on efforts to fight climate change, said he felt uniquely qualified to achieve. “If you remember at the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia in 2016, I said that Donald Trump was not suited to be president of the United States,” Bloomberg said on Monday. “Unfortunately, I guess not enough people listened to me. We have to do something about Donald Trump. I think I know how to beat him.”
Bloomberg is not planning to collect donations for his presidential campaign, POLITICO’s Zach Montellaro reports, which means he won’t appear in the next Democratic debate and risks missing debates planned for next year. The billionaire businessman’s long-standing policy of bankrolling his own political ambitions puts him in conflict with the Democratic National Committee’s requirements for participating in presidential primary debates — which he has signaled he won’t contest.
“It is up to the DNC. They can set the rules,” Bloomberg told reporters on Monday. “If they set the rules where I qualify, I would certainly debate. If they set the rules where I don’t qualify, then I won’t.”
NEVERMIND: Hours after POLITICO reported on a New York proposal to limit press coverage of the grid operator’s meetings, the plan was abandoned, POLITICO’s New York’s Marie J. French reports. Marie reported earlier on Monday that the New York Independent System Operator was considering a change in its bylaws that would effectively bar the press from reporting on early discussions of issues ranging from pricing carbon to valuing energy storage. The move would have required prior approval for quotes at some higher-level committees and bar coverage of discussions at lower-level working groups.
Alan Ackerman, chairman of the bylaws subcommittee, said in an emailed statement on Monday afternoon that “as Chair I recognize that the proposal does not have stakeholder support and it will not move forward.” NYISO also came out against the proposal, which was being discussed by market participants, after declining to take a firm stance earlier. “We believe any future changes to the by-laws must support media access. The proposal reported on by Politico was developed by stakeholders and intended for discussion purposes only. The NYISO does not support the proposal,” said Kevin Lanahan, vice president of external affairs and corporate communications.
RECORD COAL DECLINE EXPECTED: Global production of coal-fired electricity is slated to fall by about 3 percent this year, representing the largest drop on record, according to new analysis from Carbon Brief. The projected drop is due in part to a sharp turnaround in India, flattening generation growth in China and record decreases in developed countries like Germany that are unmatched by increases in other areas. The largest reduction is occurring in the United States, the analysis found, where large coal-fired power plants have closed.
From the analysis: “The record drop also raises the prospect of slowing global CO2 emissions growth in 2019. Nevertheless, global coal use and emissions remain far higher than the level required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.”
— The Carbon Capture Coalition announced its first full-time staff hire on Monday. Jessie Stolark will serve as the coalition’s public policy and member relations manager, beginning Dec. 2. Previously, she was a policy adviser at Third Way, managing the Climate and Energy Program’s carbon capture and industrial decarbonization portfolio.
— “Greenhouse gases hit another record high in 2018, U.N. agency says,” via CNBC.
— “The weather is big business, and it’s veering toward a collision with the federal government,” via The Washington Post.
— “Former Malheur occupier Ken Medenbach is running for Congress,” via Oregon Public Broadcasting.
— “Wireless’ next challenge is climate change,” via Axios.
— “Inside the mass-tort machine that powers thousands of Roundup lawsuits,” via The Wall Street Journal.
— “Pemex communications still spotty after crippling cyberattack,” via Bloomberg.
