THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM: Democrats are out with their party’s platform ahead of the DNC this week, as green groups and clean energy advocates descend on Chicago to make their case for their priorities.
What the party platform contains: Much of the platform touts various laws that were passed under the Biden administration, such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act.
The finalized agenda, which is non-binding, has a chapter outlining how the party plans to tackle climate change while lowering costs and shoring up energy security.
Why this is important: This lays out the vision of the party – and by extension, of Vice President Kamala Harris – who hasn’t released a climate-specific policy platform since announcing her run for the White House.
Zoom in here: The DNC states that the party will look to advance a Biden campaign promise of launching a research agency for climate, otherwise known as the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Climate (ARPA-C). President Joe Biden had promised to launch the hub in 2020 – modeled after the defense research agency that’s responsible for breakthrough technologies – with a focus on investing in clean energy technologies to help the U.S. reach its clean energy target by 2050.
However, Biden hasn’t been able to claim success in launching ARPA-C. While Biden’s fiscal year 2022 budget request outlined a proposal to invest $200 million from the Department of Energy into the new agency, the funds were never allocated.
More about the DNC platform: The party also pledges to go after the fossil fuel industry – promising to eliminate tens of billions of dollars in “unfair oil and gas subsidies.” If prices were to spike at the pump, Democrats promised to release domestic supplies through the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to keep costs down.
The main difference between the 2020 and 2024 platform: The latest policy vision for Democrats doesn’t mention the goal of banning new oil and gas permitting on federal lands, compared to the 2020 platform . This comes after the Harris campaign clarified the vice president would not ban fracking if elected to the White House.
What to expect: A number of environmental groups have descended upon Chicago this week. The League of Conservation Voters, Climate Power, Environmental Defense Fund, and the Natural Resources Defense Council are just some of the groups that will be spotted at the DNC.
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$55M FROM GREEN GROUPS TO BOOST HARRIS : A bloc of climate groups is pouring $55 million into campaign ads portraying Vice President Kamala Harris ’ as taking on Big Oil and tying her policy platform to lowering energy costs and creating jobs in clean energy manufacturing.
Here’s what to know : The ad blitz is expected to reach a number of battleground states, such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, along with Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District. The groups involved include the LCV Victory Fund, Climate Power Action, EDF Action Votes, and Future Forward PAC.
Why this is important: This is a significant amount of money to come from green groups. But Harris will have to toe the line between being hard on fossil fuel groups in energy states, such as Pennsylvania, and courting green groups while promising to increase energy production.
"There is only one climate champion in this race, Kamala Harris; and only one candidate who's begged Big Oil to fund his campaign, Donald Trump ," said Lori Lodes , President of Climate Power Action. "Our new campaign will show voters how Harris has put the health and well-being of hardworking people over Big Oil and corporate polluters her entire career."
The ads: The first ad, titled “ Our Side, ” will look to highlight her record as a California prosecutor taking legal action against oil companies for polluting the environment. “ Vulnerable, ” the second ad, states that Harris will “triple America’s clean energy production” to lower energy costs while taking on price gouging. “Defining Goal ,” the third ad, asserts that clean energy manufacturing jobs will strengthen the economy.
DRONE STRIKES UKRAINE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT: Safety at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is deteriorating following a drone strike near the facility, according to a statement issued Saturday by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s director.
An explosive carried by the drone was dropped 100 meters from a power line providing power supply to the plant.
“Yet again we see an escalation of the nuclear safety and security dangers facing the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a written statement. “I remain extremely concerned and reiterate my call for maximum restraint from all sides and for strict observance of the five concrete principles established for the protection of the plant.”
While the explosion did not cause any casualties or destroy any equipment, there was damage to the road between the two main gates of the plant.
Russia has been in control of the Zaporizhzhya site – Europe’s largest power plant – since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The group also detailed that military activity in the area had been intense for the last week, with frequent explosions and repeated heavy machine gun and artillery fire near the plant. Earlier this month, artillery struck the local power and water substation in a nearby city home to most ZNPP staff – causing the failure of two transformers and leading to a citywide power outage.
A fire at one of the cooling towers earlier this week resulted in “considerable damage,” but the group stated there was no immediate threat to nuclear safety. Read more here.
AI WATER CONSUMPTION IN VIRGINIA: Water consumption by a number of data centers in Virginia has increased by almost two thirds since 2019, amid concerns from environmental advocates about the sustainability of maintaining data centers in water-stressed environments, the Financial Times reports.
Some of the largest data centers used by Big Tech companies – such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft – are located in Virginia. But these facilities use large amounts of water to cool computing equipment and for fuel and power generation – at least 1.85 billion gallons of water in 2023, according to records obtained by the Financial Times. The amount has since increased since 2019, which saw 1.13 billion used in certain counties.
Why this is important: Some of these facilities are located in drought-filled areas, and their water use poses a complication as Big Tech invests billions into data centers to develop AI.
The trend in Virginia “raises questions about how sustainable this is,” given the “explosive growth [in data centres] we’re expecting in the next few years,” Julie Bolthouse , director of land use at the Piedmont Environmental Council, told the publication. Read more on that here.
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