New Senate Climate Caucus Rooted in Industry Shift

November 05, 2019

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by Abby Smith (Washington Examiner) When the Senate's new bipartisan climate caucus meets for the first time this week, members will be joined by another group looking to engage more in climate policy discussions on Capitol Hill: industry CEOs.

The choice of guests reflects how the caucus formed. Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware and Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana, co-founders of the caucus, told the Washington Examiner in a joint interview on Capitol Hill that they initially bonded over their backgrounds in the manufacturing industry and their pragmatic approach to legislating.

It was companies' public push to become greener, led by the once Delaware-headquartered chemical major DuPont, that helped spur the creation of the caucus. Coons said the company told him there was a shift happening in how industry viewed its role in tackling climate change.

Companies were discovering they could improve their bottom line by cutting their environmental impact, but Republicans weren't exactly catching on, the Delaware senator added.

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Coons and Braun launched the Senate Climate Solutions Caucus on Oct. 23. The group is the first such bipartisan forum for senators to talk about climate policy, and its creation comes amid a rapidly shifting political landscape on the issue.

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At least three other Republicans — Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham — are joining Braun on the climate caucus, he said.

Braun said he got a lot of attention from his colleagues when he brought up the nascent caucus at a Republican political retreat a few weekends ago to "take some temperatures" on who might be interested.

The reaction was positive, along the lines of "glad you did it, we need to be in the conversation," Braun recalled. "That's all I wanted to do was be in the conversation."

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The House Climate Solutions Caucus was formed in 2016 by Florida Reps. Carlos Curbelo and Ted Deutch, and it now has 63 members — 22 Republicans and 41 Democrats.

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"The declaration of an interest isn't as important," Flint (Alex Flint, executive director of the Alliance for Market Solutions, a conservative climate group that advocates for a carbon price) said of the Senate group. "Today, the important thing is moving to a discussion of solutions."

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Thus, an important starting point for the caucus is a desire to find "science-informed, market-based solutions to climate," Coons added.

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Braun, who said his interest in climate and conservation comes from the 100 acres of land he owns and manages at home in Indiana, expressed optimism about policies such as reforestation, recycling, and getting plastic out of the oceans.

"I'd love to know who's against that," Braun said.

Moving any policy through the federal government "gets complicated," Braun added, "but I still think you can plow through some of this stuff, where it doesn't cost much and at least to where you're pulling away restrictions and opening up possibilities."

Coons, for his part, pointed to specific examples of climate and clean energy legislation where he's already found Republican partners. One example, he said, is a bill he has co-sponsored with Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran. It extends the favorable tax treatment of what are known as master limited partnerships to all forms of energy, not just oil, gas, and pipelines.

"I haven't seen or heard any significant opposition to it. It's just one of those things that everyone looks at it and says, 'Yeah, it's a nice idea,'" Coons said. "It would actually be the single-biggest new permanent tax advantage for renewables ever," as well as technologies such as combined heat and power and carbon capture and storage. READ MORE

CEO Climate Dialogue Affirms Formation of Senate Climate Solutions Caucus (CEO Climate Dialogue)

Excerpt from CEO Climate Dialogue: The CEO Climate Dialogue, a coalition of 18 companies with over $1.2 trillion in combined annual revenue and four environmental and climate NGOs committed to advancing bipartisan and market-based solutions to climate change, commends Senators Braun (R-IN) and Coons (D-DE) on their joint efforts to establish the Senate Climate Solutions Caucus.

The Caucus represents a promising avenue to have an honest dialogue that can lead to bipartisan solutions to climate change. Climate change is impacting the employees, customers, and communities of the CEO Climate Dialogue member organizations– regardless of their political affiliation. The Caucus presents a renewed opportunity for both political parties to engage in substantive dialogue on the risks and opportunities posed by climate change, and to establish public policies that can benefit citizens across the country.

Consistent with the six Guiding Principles found below, the CEO Climate Dialogue supports bipartisan development of legislation that will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions using market-based approaches that are durable, equitable, and supportive of the American economy. We believe a carefully crafted, economy-wide, market-based
approach could both strengthen the U.S. economy and reduce carbon emissions by encouraging technological innovation, stimulating new investments in infrastructure, and creating a level playing field for American businesses.

CEO CLIMATE DIALOGUE
MEMBERS

BASF Corporation
BP
Calpine
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
Citi
Dominion Energy
Dow
DSM North America
DTE Energy
DuPont
Environmental Defense Fund
Equinor
Exelon
Ford Motor Company
LafargeHolcim
PG&E Corporation
PSEG
Shell
The Nature Conservancy
Total
Unilever
World Resources Institute

In addition to generating vital greenhouse gas reductions, a price on carbon provides companies with much-needed certainty for making long-term investment decisions that can further mitigate climaterelated risks to businesses, supply chains, and American communities.

We very much look forward to engaging with the Caucus in the future to advance the enactment of federal climate solutions in accordance with our Guiding Principles.

It is urgent that the President and Congress put in place a long-term federal policy as soon as possible to protect against the worst impacts of climate change. Acting sooner rather than later allows us to meet the climate challenge at the least possible cost and put the necessary investments in place in time to meet our emissions targets. Adherence to the full set of the following principles can help ensure success:

1. Significantly reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions so that the U.S. is demonstrably a leader on global efforts to effectively limit climate change. Specifically, U.S. policy should ensure the country is on a path to achieve economy-wide emissions reductions of 80% or more by 2050 with aggressive near and mid-term emission reductions commensurate with this goal.

2. Effective: A key test of any climate policy is whether it will deliver timely emissions reductions across the economy and includes mechanisms that provide certainty that emission goals are met. The timeline for reductions must allow capital intensive industries to adjust in an economically rational manner. Policies must encourage investment and planning decisions consistent with the timeframes needed. Policies must focus on emissions reductions outcomes, not specific resources or technologies.

3. Market-based: An economy-wide price on carbon is the best way to use the power of the market to achieve carbon reduction goals, in a simple, coherent and efficient manner. We desire to do this at the least cost to the economy and households. Markets will also spur innovation, and create and preserve quality jobs in a growing low-carbon economy.

4. Durable and responsive: Well-designed and stable policies will deliver predictable results and increase public support over time, providing durability across time and political cycles. Policies should be adaptive over time in terms of pace and scope of reductions as our understanding of climate change, policy impact, and technological changes evolves.

5. Do no harm: Policies must support the competitiveness of the U.S. economy. Policies must address emissions leakage that can undermine climate objectives. Policies must also safeguard against negative impacts on biodiversity, land, and water.

6. Promote equity: Unabated climate change is a major threat to the U.S. economy. Therefore, policies to address climate change, which may also entail some cost, must provide transparency and promote affordability while distributing costs and benefits in such a way that promotes equity. Policies must include mechanisms to invest in American workers, and in disadvantaged communities that have the least resources to manage the costs of climate
change. READ MORE