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| | | | | |  | | By Catherine Boudreau and Jordan Wolman | | | | | 
The waste oil from restaurants is increasingly in demand for transportation fuels. | Christopher Jue/Getty Images | COOKING OIL IS A HOT CLIMATE SOLUTION — Fuels made from plant and animal waste are in hot demand as companies that operate planes, trucks, trains and ships look for ways to lower their greenhouse gas emissions. Congress is considering giving extra tax credits to one sector in particular: sustainable aviation fuel. The proposal in Democrats’ Build Back Better Act is raising questions about whether there will be enough fats, oils and greases to go around. A coalition of truck stop owners and diesel retailers says there isn’t, so if SAF gets extra subsidies, the limited supply of these feedstocks could shift away from road fuels and toward aviation. Proponents of SAF say those fears are way overblown; clean aviation fuel is a nascent industry just playing catch up, your host reports. There is no clear-cut answer and a lot of uncertainty, according to Prashant Rao, Citigroup’s director of biofuels equity research. The main concern is how fast new renewable diesel and SAF projects come online. “Can the feedstock market keep pace with the amount of projects that have been announced? Rao said. “As with any large energy project, there is also the risk that some don’t get completed.” Kim Carnahan, senior director of net-zero fuels at sustainability consulting firm ENGIE Impact, had a different assessment. There is a limited supply of feedstocks, but it will be a decade or more before that market is saturated, she said. By then, road transport could be moving toward electrification or other technologies like hydrogen fuel, said Carnahan, who also manages the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance, which is creating a new carbon accounting system for SAF. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) co-authored the SAF tax credit. He said he worked with airlines, SAF and renewable diesel makers and environmental groups to ensure the policy would not cause market disruptions. Right now, SAF is the only viable solution to reduce emissions from aviation, whereas transportation has multiple pathways, he said. | 
Rep. Brad Schneider co-sponsored legislation that would give extra tax credits to sustainable aviation fuel, which Democrats included in their climate and social spending plan. | Getty Images | The policy would authorize a $1.25-per-gallon tax credit for fuel that reduces emissions by at least 50 percent compared with conventional jet fuel. For every additional percentage point in reduced emissions, the tax break would increase by 1 cent up to a maximum of $1.75. The subsidy would take effect in 2023. The sweetener is larger than the $1-per-gallon tax credit for bio-based diesel, which Build Back Better would extend for another five years. “Without parity between the biodiesel tax credit and sustainable aviation fuel, we are merely shifting carbon emission reductions away from the ground to the air with fewer benefits and a higher cost to taxpayers," said David Fialkov, a lobbyist for the National Association of Truck Stop Operators and Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America. Why it matters: Slashing U.S. emissions in half by 2030 requires targeting the transportation industry, which is the largest contributor. Aircraft contribute about 10 percent of the sector’s emissions, while medium- and heavy-duty trucking, rail and shipping combined contribute about 28 percent, according to the EPA. What’s next: Senate Democrats want to pass Build Back Better before Christmas. But a key holdout still hasn’t decided whether he’ll support the climate and social spending package. | | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we’ve got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don’t miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | | Any predictions for 2022? What should we be covering? Drop us a note at lwoellert@politico.com and cboudreau@politico.com. Find us on Twitter @ceboudreau and @Woellert . FOMO? Sign up for the Long Game. Thanks to Shayna Greene, Helena Bottemiller Evich and Eddy Waxman for their help this week. | | | DIVESTMENT COMING TO A STATE NEAR YOU — Legislatures in states including Colorado, Hawaii and Oregon could take up a flurry of bills next year that would require public funds to either disclose their fossil fuel assets or divest from the industry. In Oregon, lawmakers plan to introduce legislation in February that would require the state treasury to publicly reveal the assets in its $130 billion portfolio. Hawaii will consider whether to divest its pension fund from fossil fuels within five years, and a similar measure shot down in Colorado earlier this year could be reintroduced in 2022 with some revisions. There are already bills circulating in New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and California, too. Reminder: Maine in June became the first state to require that its $17 billion pension fund divest from coal, oil and gas companies by 2026. | 
Source: The Climate Safe Pensions Network and Stand.earth | The numbers: A recent analysis showed that 14 U.S. public pension funds have $81.6 billion in likely fossil fuel assets. The report by the Climate Safe Pensions Network and Stand.earth focused on funds in states like New York and Alaska because that’s where there are active divestment campaigns, said Richard Brooks, climate finance director at Stand.earth. The investments span the fossil fuel sector, from oil and gas producers to midstream companies like refineries. Brooks said divestment is the best strategy because engaging with fossil fuel companies has not been successful. “Unfortunately, there is no positive record of engagement with fossil fuel companies leading to a decrease in emissions at those companies,” Brooks said in an interview. The bigger picture: There are now more than 1,500 different institutions committed to some form of fossil fuel divestment in 71 countries around the world, representing a total of $39.8 trillion in assets under management, according to the report. | | | | 
An overturned tree sits in front of a tornado damaged home in Mayfield, Ky., Dec. 11. | Mark Humphrey/AP Photo | THE NEW ABNORMAL — The deadly tornadoes that tore through six states are part of our “new normal” caused by climate change, FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. Criswell said that while tornadoes in December aren’t unheard of, the magnitude of the dozens that struck Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri and Mississippi was. President Joe Biden said he will ask the EPA and other federal agencies to study the ties between tornadoes and climate change, and he plans to travel to Kentucky on Wednesday to survey the damage. The exact link between climate change and tornadoes is uncertain, unlike other historic weather events such as drought and flooding that made headlines this year. Scientists told media outlets including The Washington Post, NPR and The Associated Press that they know warm weather is a key ingredient in the latest tornado outbreak. But directly connecting the dots to climate change isn’t possible because there isn’t enough research. | | | It’s a meaty roundup this week. Do Good Food is launching “carbon-reduced” chicken at major national retailers in February. The birds are partially raised on food waste diverted from grocery stores, and could be a sign of things to come as the food industry tries to appeal to climate-conscious consumers. The startup has substantial financial backing and worked with the Agriculture Department to get approval for its labeling, which will say that each chicken saves four pounds of food waste from going into landfills and avoids three pounds of emissions. TBD on how much it will cost. Sam Kass , chief strategy officer for the company, said the chicken will be “priced for the many, not for the few” and cost less than organic but more than conventional poultry. Tyson Foods, Inc. will hire an independent third party to study whether its business practices contribute to racial inequality under an agreement with shareholders, Bloomberg reports . The coronavirus outbreak killed hundreds of meat-plant workers, with minorities hit the hardest, according to the CDC. At least 12,536 Tyson employees contracted Covid-19, according to the Food and Environment Reporting Network. Half of Europe’s 20 largest meat and dairy companies don’t have any climate plans, according to a new analysis by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. Of the 10 that do, only four — Arla, Danone, Nestlé and FrieslandCampina — disclose the entire carbon footprint of their own operations and supply chains. None intend to reduce the number of livestock in their supply chains, and instead will reduce methane emissions through new feed additives and converting manure into biogas. | | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | — Increasing flood risks could cause U.S. businesses to lose more than 3.1 million days of work next year and $13.5 billion in structural damage annually, according to a new analysis by the nonprofit First Street Foundation and engineering firm Arup. — In with the old. Resale has taken off among people looking to save the planet and spend less on gifts during the holidays, which can be the most wasteful time of year, the AP reports. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
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