Your weekly resource to learn what the environmental movement is saying about the news of the day and the political fight of our generation. Be sure to follow LCV on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK:

“The Biden administration made the right call for our climate, our communities and our future.”

— Tiernan Sittenfeld, LCV Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, in a letter to the editor pushing back an opinion piece published by the Washington Post on President Biden’s pause on new LNG exports. 

“LNG exports are an environmental injustice and a climate disaster.”

– Representative Nanette Barragán (CA-44) speaking at the Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on President Biden’s pause on new LNG exports.  

“The clean energy economy is coming. The speed and justice with which it comes depends on our advocacy.”

— John Reuter, Vice President of State and Local Strategies, on LCV’s role in President Biden’s affordable clean energy plan. 

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IN NATIONAL NEWS: 

CONGRESS HOLDS HEARINGS ON BIDEN’S LNG EXPORT PAUSE: The House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held hearings this week on President Biden’s decision to pause new exports of liquefied methane gas (LNG). 

OUR TAKE: Vice President of Government Affairs Sara Chieffo said, “We applaud the Biden administration’s pause on LNG exports because it is the right thing to do for consumers, our communities, and our environment. We know Big Polluters and their friends in Congress will continue to spread disinformation and outright lies this week to protect their bottom lines — at the expense of our health and our future. We urge Congress to listen to frontline communities, reject the harmful lies and wishlists of Big Polluters, and let the Biden administration do their job to analyze the harmful impacts of LNG exports.”

EPA FINALIZES SOOT POLLUTION STANDARD: This week, the EPA finalized a tightened annual standard for the primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter (or PM2.5 NAAQS). 

OUR TAKE: LCV Vice President of Federal Policy Matthew Davis said, “We applaud the Biden-Harris administration’s new, tougher annual standard to cut deadly soot pollution and build a more clean and equitable energy future. For the second time in just two weeks, President Biden and his administration is delivering big for environmental justice, public health, climate, and science. Communities of color and low wealth communities too often experience disproportionate health impacts and environmental injustices due to exposure to soot pollution from Big Polluters and heavy traffic. While we still need to strengthen the daily standard for soot, cutting the annual standard by a quarter is a significant step forward. The administration must swiftly work with states and local air districts to implement these much improved standards.”

CHISPA TAKE: Chispa National Senior Director Estefany Carrasco-Gonzalez said, “Our communities depend on the strongest federal protections against toxic pollution for the health of our air and our communities. Our children and our families have the right to breathe clean air free from soot pollution and for Big Polluters to be held to higher standards. These finalized standards for soot must be implemented quickly by the Biden-Harris administration, and EPA must continue to strive for the strongest federal standards to address environmental injustice for all communities across the country.”  

LCVAF ANNOUNCES NEW U.S. HOUSE CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENTS: LCV Action Fund has announced a new round of U.S. House endorsements, including incumbents Raul Ruiz (CA-25), Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Bill Pascrell (NJ-09), and Judy Chu (CA-28), in addition to candidate Luz Rivas (CA-29).

OUR TAKE LCV Action Fund Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld said, “LCV Action Fund is proud to endorse these pro-environment and pro-democracy champions who put people over polluters at every step. We need a majority in the U.S. House to prioritize all of our communities, especially communities that have historically faced barriers to the ballot box and are most impacted by extreme weather and toxic pollution. LCV Action Fund is proud to support these candidates who are all in to fight for the future of our planet, clean air and water, and a more free and fair democracy for all.”

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE STATES:

CALIFORNIA’S LANDMARK CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY LAWS FACE OBSTACLES: California’s groundbreaking climate disclosure laws are facing challenges to implementation after Governor Gavin Newsom left them out of his proposed budget and business groups – including the state Chamber of Commerce and the US Chamber of Commerce – filed a lawsuit challenging them last week. The bills passed last year require corporations with more than $1 billion in annual revenue to disclose their direct and indirect climate emissions, and require businesses with more than $500 million in annual revenue to report their climate-related financial risks and identify mitigation measures. The legislation initially set a target date for reporting to begin in 2026, but current challenges to implementation may mean that deadline is delayed.

ENVIROVOTERS TAKE: In response to the lawsuit against the climate disclosure laws, Mary Creasman, California Environmental Voters Chief Executive Officer, said, “It’s no surprise that corporate polluters are fighting against being held accountable for their contributions to the climate crisis, they’ve been doing it for decades. Many corporations are already stepping up and tracking their emissions, and the bad actors are becoming more and more isolated. It’s way past time for transparency, and corporations like Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others have signed on to support emissions disclosure. Scientists tell us it’s now or never, and we are proud that California is stepping up and saying now is the time.”

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NEW ON THE POWER SOURCE BLOG AND SOCIALS:

ON THE BLOG: Check out this week’s round up of Good Climate News on the Power Source Blog!

ON OUR SOCIALS: This Democracy Tuesday, we celebrated the 154th anniversary of the 15th amendment which banned racial discrimination in voting. 

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COMING UP:

FEBRUARY 21: Ohio v. EPA SCOTUS oral arguments.

MARCH 1: First government funding deadline.

MARCH 7: President Biden to deliver State of the Union Address.

MARCH 8: Second government funding deadline.