Senators weigh future of methane fee in spending bill

The future of another key climate provision, a fee on methane emissions from oil and gas development, is being negotiated on Capitol Hill. 

Leaving a meeting of Senate committee chairs with jurisdiction over climate provisions, Sen. Tom CarperThomas (Tom) Richard CarperDemocrats say they’re committed to reducing emissions in Biden plan Is the Biden administration afraid of trade? Congress sends 30-day highway funding patch to Biden after infrastructure stalls MORE (D-Del.) said he hopes the fee will be included in a massive spending bill Democrats are negotiating. 

“My hope is going to be in,” said Carper, who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. 

“We’ve negotiated a methane fee. We’ve tried to do it in a way that Senator [Joe] Manchin and his folks will be more receptive of it and we’re still talking,” he added, saying in the meeting that lawmakers discussed a “broad range” of climate provisions.

His comments came after Reuters reported, citing two anonymous sources, that the methane fee was likely out of the multitrillion-dollar human infrastructure package. 

But, Manchin, the centrist West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee, told reporters that nothing had been agreed to. 

Also seen leaving the Democratic meeting were Senate Majority Leader Chuck SchumerChuck SchumerManchin meeting with Biden, Schumer in Delaware Progressives’ optimism for large reforms dwindles Democratic frustration with Sinema rises MORE (N.Y.), Finance Committee Chair Ron WydenRonald (Ron) Lee WydenClimate advocates turn sights on Wall Street Democrats scramble to reach deal on taxes Pelosi open to scrapping key components in spending package MORE (Ore.), Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie StabenowDeborah (Debbie) Ann StabenowSenate Democrats dial down the Manchin tension Democrats surprised, caught off guard by ‘framework’ deal Congress facing shutdown, debt crisis with no plan B MORE (Mich.) and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Gary PetersGary PetersHillicon Valley — Presented by Xerox — The Facebook Oversight Board is not pleased New Senate bill would take steps to protect AI-collected data Sinema fundraising in Europe as reconciliation talks ‘ongoing’: report MORE (Mich.). 

According to Schumer’s office, the methane fee is expected to be responsible for about 9 percent of the climate benefits from both the Democratic human and climate infrastructure package and the bipartisan infrastructure bill. 

If the fee is cut from the bill, it would be the second major climate provision to be eliminated in recent weeks from the spending proposal.

The Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP) — which would have sought to shift the country’s electricity towards clean sources through grants for and fines on utilities — is also now expected to be cut amid opposition from Manchin. 

A recent analysis from think tank Energy Innovation found that this program could have been responsible for a third of all of the emissions cuts from both infrastructure bills. 

But Democrats have expressed a desire to repurpose the $150 billion that would have been devoted to that program for other climate-cutting provisions.