Will Climate Get a SOTU Shout Out?

Current conditions: Red flag fire warnings are in place across West Texas • Heavy rainfall caused extreme flooding in parts of West Java • Tourists in Morocco are disappointed to find the country’s public baths have been closed three days a week due to severe drought.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Biden urged to highlight climate wins in SOTU

Happy State of the Union day! President Biden will address Congress this evening, just as election season gets going in earnest, and some in his party are urging him to use the opportunity to make a Very Big Deal of his progress in the clean energy transition, reported E&E News. “We have a great story to tell,” Environment and Public Works Chair Tom Carper (D-Del.) said. “He has to tell it. We have to tell it. Eventually it will break through.” Some recent polls suggest that most Americans aren’t aware of Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and may consider Biden’s likely rival, former President Donald Trump, to be best positioned on issues like energy and economy. “Climate voters could make or break Joe Biden in 2024,” Nathaniel Stinnett, executive director of the nonprofit Environmental Voter Project, told The New York Times. The Natural Resources Defense Council said the speech is “a chance for Biden to rally the nation around the climate progress of the past three years and show the way to build on those gains going forward.” Will he make the most of it? TBD.

2. New SEC climate disclosure rules blasted as both too harsh and too weak

As expected, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved a rule yesterday that will require companies to disclose information about their climate-related risks to investors. But the final rule differs dramatically from the proposal the Commission released two years ago, explained Heatmap’s Emily Pontecorvo, with significantly weaker provisions that leave it up to companies to decide how much information to share. Most of the climate-related disclosures the rule covers are now mandatory only if they’re considered “material.” Further, only about 40% of domestic public companies will even be required to consider whether their emissions are material. Smaller companies and emerging growth businesses — generally companies with less than $1.2 billion in annual revenues — are exempt.

Though the final rules are weaker than the original draft, they’re still too stringent for some. At least 10 Republican-led states are suing the SEC, accusing the Biden administration of playing “puppeteer” in using states to further a climate agenda. Meanwhile the Sierra Club environmental group might sue the SEC because it thinks the rules aren’t strict enough. An SEC spokesperson said the agency will “vigorously defend” the rules in court.

Also yesterday, 25 states, along with industry groups, filed three lawsuits against the Environmental Protection Agency for its recent crackdown on soot pollution.

3. February warmth breaks records

Last month was the warmest February ever recorded, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service said today. This marks the 9th record-breaking month in a row, and the effects were felt world wide. Temperatures in Europe, for example, were 5.9 degrees Fahrenheit above averages seen between 1991 and 2020. But even more startling was the ocean temperature, which was higher last month than it was last August.

Copernicus Climate Change Service/ECMWF

“Sea surface temperatures are at record levels over regions far away from the centre of the El Niño action, such as the tropical Atlantic and Indian Ocean,” said climate scientist Richard Allan of the University of Reading, suggesting climate change was playing a big part in heating the ocean heat.

4. Strong global gusts could set new wind-power records

Wind speeds in China, Europe, and the U.S. are expected to hit seasonal peaks in the coming weeks, which could result in record wind-power output, Reuters reported. In both the U.S. and China, last year’s spring wind power hit new highs in terms of share of total electricity generation. In the months since, both countries have added more wind generation capacity, which means new records are likely. Wind’s share of global electricity generation peaked at 9.59% in November of last year, and could jump beyond 10% “easily” in 2024, Reuters said.

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5. Report: 1% of retail locations offer EV charging

Consumer Reports examined 270,000 retail and fast-food locations across the country and found just 1% of them offer EV charging. The report looked at 75 of the largest retailers, including Target, Walmart, Trader Joe’s, and 7-Eleven and found that charging is available on average at 1 out of every 14 big box store locations, 1 out of every 15 grocery stores, and 1 out of every 40 department stores. “These results show that there is no retail category where a driver can be confident that an EV charger will be available,” the report concludes. This is despite the fact that installing EV chargers has been shown to increase both foot traffic and revenue for retail shops. Here’s a look at how charging availability breaks down by big box brands:

Consumer Reports

THE KICKER

A new FEMA-backed video game called “Disaster Mind” is teaching teenagers how to stay calm during extreme weather events.