THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM: This week, Democrats are unveiling their platform ahead of the national convention, while environmental groups and clean energy advocates are coming to Chicago to lay out their priorities.
Contents of the party programme: Much of the platform touts various laws passed under the Biden administration, such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act.
The final, non-binding agenda includes a chapter outlining how the party plans to combat climate change while reducing costs and strengthening energy security.
Why this is important: This sets out the vision of the party – and more broadly of the Vice President Kamala Harris – who has not published a climate-specific policy program since announcing her candidacy for the White House.
Zoom in here: The DNC says the party will seek to implement one of Biden’s campaign promises, namely the creation of a climate research agency, also known as the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Climate (ARPA-C). President Joe Biden had promised to open the hub – modeled after the Defense Research Agency responsible for breakthrough technologies – in 2020. The focus will be on investments in clean energy technologies to help the US meet its clean energy goal by 2050.
However, Biden was unsuccessful in launching ARPA-C. Although Biden’s fiscal year 2022 budget request called for $200 million in Department of Energy funds to be invested in the new agency, the funds were never allocated.
More about the DNC platform: The party also promises to target the fossil fuel industry and eliminate billions of dollars in “unfair oil and gas subsidies.” If prices at the pump soar, Democrats will release domestic supplies through the Strategic Oil Reserve to keep costs down, the party says.
The main difference between the 2020 and 2024 platform: The Democrats’ latest policy vision does not mention the goal of banning new oil and gas permits on federal lands, unlike the 2020 platform. This came after the Harris campaign team made it clear that the vice president would not ban fracking if elected to the White House.
What you can expect: Numerous environmental groups have descended on Chicago this week. The League of Conservation Voters, Climate Power, Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council are just a few of the groups spotted at the DNC.
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$55 million from environmental groups to support Harris: A bloc of climate groups is investing $55 million in campaign ads featuring the Vice President Kamala HarrisIts goal is to fight the oil industry and links its political program to reducing energy costs and creating jobs in the production of clean energy.
What you should know: The ad campaign is expected to reach a number of swing states, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, as well as Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District. Groups involved include the LCV Victory Fund, Climate Power Action, EDF Action Votes and Future Forward PAC.
Why this is important: That’s a significant amount coming from environmental organizations. But Harris must walk a tightrope between taking a tough stance against fossil fuel organizations in energy states like Pennsylvania and courting environmental organizations while promising to increase energy production.
“There is only one climate champion in this race, Kamala Harris; and only one candidate who has begged the oil industry to fund his campaign, Donald Trump,” said Lori LodesPresident of Climate Power Action. “Our new campaign will show voters how, throughout her career, Harris has put the health and well-being of hardworking people above that of big oil and polluting corporations.”
The ads: The first ad, titled “Our Side,” is designed to highlight her record as a California prosecutor going after oil companies for pollution. “Vulnerable,” the second ad, claims Harris will “triple America’s clean energy production” to lower energy costs while cracking down on price gouging. “Defining Goal,” the third ad, claims jobs in clean energy production will strengthen the economy.
DRONE ATTACKS UKRAINIAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT: Security at Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is deteriorating following a drone attack near the plant, according to a statement released on Saturday by the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
An explosive device carried by the drone was dropped 100 meters from a power line that supplies electricity to the power plant.
“Once again we are witnessing an escalation of threats to nuclear safety and the protection of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant,” said the IAEA Director General. Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a written statement. “I remain extremely concerned and once again call on all sides to exercise maximum restraint and strictly adhere to the five concrete principles established to protect the work.”
Although the explosion caused no casualties or destroyed any equipment, the road between the plant’s two main gates was damaged.
Russia has controlled the Zaporizhia site – Europe’s largest nuclear power plant – since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The group also reported that the area has seen heavy military activity over the past week, with frequent explosions and repeated shelling by heavy machine guns and artillery near the power plant. Earlier this month, artillery hit the local electricity and water substation in a nearby town where most of ZNPP’s employees live, causing the failure of two transformers and a power outage across the town.
A fire in one of the cooling towers earlier this week caused “significant damage,” but the group said there was no immediate threat to nuclear safety. Read more here.
AI WATER CONSUMPTION IN VIRGINIA: Water use at a number of Virginia data centers has increased by nearly two-thirds since 2019 amid environmental concerns about the sustainability of maintaining data centers in water-scarce environments. Financial Times reports.
Some of the largest data centers of major technology companies – such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft – are located in Virginia. Yet these facilities use large amounts of water to cool computer equipment and generate fuel and electricity – at least 1.85 billion gallons of water in 2023, according to records provided to the Financial TimesThe amount has increased since 2019, when $1.13 billion was spent in certain counties.
Why this is important: Some of these facilities are located in drought-stricken areas, and their water consumption is a problem as major technology companies invest billions in data centers to develop artificial intelligence.
The trend in Virginia “raises questions about how sustainable it is,” given the “explosive growth (in data centers) we expect in the next few years,”Julie BolthouseDirector of Land Use at the Piedmont Environmental Council, told the publication. Read more here.
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