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| | | | |  | | By Ryan Heath and Lorraine Woellert | | | | | 
The French Fire comes close to destroying homes on Aug. 24, 2021, in Wofford Heights, Calif. | (David McNew/Getty Images) | DAMNING OPINIONS— So, how’s everyone feeling? About climate change, we mean. POLITICO and our pollsters at Morning Consult put that question to people in 13 countries, and they told us that they’re worried. In every country we surveyed, most adults said they were very or somewhat concerned about climate change and its impacts. Large majorities said they had experienced the effects of climate change firsthand. Our survey, released Tuesday, also reveals that people have damning opinions of their political leaders. They want corporations to do more. And they want fossil fuel companies to be held accountable. Here are some takeaways from POLITICO’s first global sustainability poll: President Joe Biden gets poor marks Fewer than 1 in 5 people in the U.S. say the country is doing “the right amount to combat climate change.” The disappointment cuts across ideological lines, with 26 percent of adults who identify as right-leaning giving the Biden administration props for doing the right amount, compared with just 10 percent of those who declare themselves to be left-leaning. Climate might be the only issue where Biden gets higher marks from the right than from the left. That's not necessarily because Republicans are concerned that he should do more, but because they’re satisfied that he is legislatively constrained. The president’s base, conversely, isn’t happy. Though the administration has made climate action a centerpiece of its agenda, 64 percent of Democrats said Biden is doing too little to arrest climate change.
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| In the U.S., partisanship divides That’s not news, we know, but look at this data: Among Americans, 97 percent of self-identified liberals expressed concern about climate change, compared with 51 percent of right-leaning adults. It was the largest ideological divide we found. The ideological gap was narrowest in countries where people are most concerned about climate change: Brazil, South Africa and Mexico. Fossil fuel companies have few fans In every country, large majorities of people we surveyed support holding fossil fuel companies accountable for their climate impact. Russia topped the list, with 90 percent of respondents agreeing that fossil fuel companies should “definitely” or “probably” be held responsible. China doesn’t have fans, either People worldwide believe that China is no longer a poor country and needs to follow the same climate targets and timeline as wealthy nations. The view was consistent across every population we surveyed — except China. Clear majorities want wealthier countries to financially support poorer countries in the transition to a green economy, but they don’t want that generosity extended to China. For more, check out Ryan’s story here.
| | | BIG NEWS! The Long Game is expanding. Starting next week, the newsletter will hit your inbox Tuesday through Friday. We’ll have data-driven storytelling, compelling interviews with industry and political leaders, and more news to keep you in the loop on sustainability. Our team is growing! Sustainability editor Greg Mott and deputy editor Debra Kahn are taking the lead and Jordan Wolman joins us as a digital producer. Reach them at gmott@politico.com, dkahn@politico.com and jwolman@politico.com. As always, you can find Lorraine and Catherine at lwoellert@politico.com and cboudreau@politico.com, or on Twitter @Woellert and @ceboudreau. Thanks to Jordan Wolman, Scott Waldman and Ariel Wittenberg for their contributions this week. FOMO? Sign up for the Long Game. It’s free, people.
| | | | HAPPENING THURSDAY – A LONG GAME CONVERSATION ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS : Join POLITICO for back-to-back conversations on climate and sustainability action, starting with a panel led by Global Insider author Ryan Heath focused on insights gleaned from our POLITICO/Morning Consult Global Sustainability Poll of citizens from 13 countries on five continents about how their governments should respond to climate change. Following the panel, join a discussion with POLITICO White House Correspondent Laura Barrón-López and Gina McCarthy, White House national climate advisor, about the Biden administration’s climate and sustainability agenda. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | | 
Gov. Glenn Youngkin waves to the crowd at his inauguration ceremony, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, in Richmond, Va. | (Julio Cortez/AP Photo) | RGGI REVERSAL — Virginia’s new Republican governor wants to pull out of a regional carbon pricing cooperative that the state joined just last year and he’s asked for legislative help to make sure his reversal can’t be reversed by a successor. Gov. Glenn Youngkin has begun action to quit the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, an 11-state group that he says has failed to deliver promised benefits and increased costs for businesses and households. A pair of bills moving through Virginia’s General Assembly could back him up if his order doesn’t pass legal muster. He stands a good chance of winning support in the GOP-led House, where a subcommittee advanced an exit proposal to the Appropriations Committee on Monday. But state Sen. Lynwood Lewis (D-Accomack), who pushed Virginia to join the compact, said the Democrat-led chamber will defeat the bill. Youngkin’s plan has caused market uncertainty and raised questions about the state’s ability to meet its climate goals. The Virginia Clean Economy Act signed into law by his Democratic predecessor requires coal-fired plants to close by the end of 2024 and for Dominion Energy, the state’s largest utility, to be carbon-free by 2045. Dominion is building a $9.8 billion wind project in the Hampton Roads region set to be complete by 2026. Meanwhile, in West Virginia: Sen. Joe Manchin is making a fortune on scrap coal. Our buddies at E&E have the details.
| | | TRAVELERS CHECK — Insurance giant Travelers earlier this year quietly adopted new restrictions on the coal and tar sands sectors. The company said it will stop insuring new coal-fired power plants. It also plans to phase out underwriting for companies that exceed 30 percent limits on earning revenue from coal mining, getting energy from coal or holding tar sands reserves. Travelers is one of the last major global insurers without limits on underwriting coal. Its move might pressure competitors such as Berkshire Hathaway and AIG to follow suit, according to Insure Our Future, an advocacy campaign that aims to hold the insurance industry accountable for its role in climate change. But … “We also found the proposal totally inadequate,” said Tom Swan, executive director of Connecticut Citizen Action Group, which is part of Insure Our Future. An analysis by the campaign found that the policy will still allow Travelers to support some coal expansion and doesn’t cover other fossil fuel activity, like natural gas and Arctic drilling. They say the company should divest its $3.5 billion in existing fossil fuel assets. Travelers spokesperson Courtney Garro said the company won’t comment beyond what's in its latest Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure report. The insurer in April promised to become carbon-neutral in its own operations by 2030, but the goal doesn’t cover its underwriting or investment portfolios. NET WHAT, EXACTLY? — Those corporate net-zero pledges? Don’t take them literally. That’s the message from folks at the New Climate Institute and Carbon Market Watch, two nonprofit groups that examined the promises of 25 companies. They found that net-zero targets aim to reduce aggregate emissions by 40 percent on average, not 100 percent as the phrase might suggest. Just three of the 25 companies – Maersk, Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom – clearly commit to “deep decarbonisation” of more than 90 percent of their full value chain emissions, the groups found.
| | | DOWNGRADING ON S — Environmental, social and governance factors were behind nearly 1 in 4 potential corporate credit downgrades in 2021, according to researchers at ratings giant S&P Global Corp. Health and safety considerations during the coronavirus pandemic made social metrics — part of the “S” in ESG — predominant, S&P found. Social factors were driving 85 percent of ESG-related potential downgrades as of Dec. 31. So what? A downgrade can increase borrowing costs and cause other headaches for companies. S&P concluded that ESG considerations “are more of a risk than an opportunity” right now. In other words, ESG missteps can be expensive.
| | | — Climate change — and the guilt that can come with it — is stoking anxiety. Eco-anxiety, to be exact. The New York Times has the story. — “Don’t we all wish we had stopped deforestation in West Africa so we wouldn’t have had HIV?” Conservation could be key to preventing the next pandemic, according to a paper from 20 public health experts around the globe. E&E has the story.
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