After taking a backseaton Washington’s priority list for most of the past decade, climate and energy policy are set to be in the limelight with the start of the new Congress.
Between the lines: It's probable that energy and climate issues will further divide the parties, at least for now. If so, that would be driven in part by Trump’s refusal to acknowledge climate change as a problem and also by Democrats moving further to the left.
In an effort to shield itself from billions of dollars in potential liability costs for its role in California's deadly wildfires, utility company PG&E is considering filing for bankruptcy protection for parts or all of its business, Reuters reports.
Background: The company's equipment was linked to 17 wildfires in 2017, and PG&E has been in crisis mode since it disclosed an outage minutes before last year's Camp fire began. PG&E said on Friday that it's shaking up its board of directors and is reportedly looking to sell its natural gas division to raise cash, according to NPR. With Friday's losses, PG&E's share price has dropped 60% since the Camp fire broke out. A spokesperson told Axios that PG&E "does not comment on market rumor or speculation."
Beto O’Rourke is "supportive of the concept" of a Green New Deal and "is looking forward to engaging more on the issue," a spokesperson told HuffPost.
Why it matters: O’Rourke is the latest potential presidential candidate to back the general concept of a progressive climate proposal that aims for zero carbon emissions and more green jobs. An aide for Sen. Elizabeth Warren told Axios earlier this week that she also supports the "idea" of a Green New Deal.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said in a 60 Minutes interview scheduled to air Sunday that it may be necessary to impose tax rates as high as 70% on the wealthiest Americans in order to fund the climate change policies proposed in the Green New Deal.
The big picture: Ocasio-Cortez admitted this is an "ambitious" goal, and her spokesperson, Corbin Trent, told Axios she was referring to "more of a general, progressive taxation policy" than any concrete tax proposal. Progressive wealth taxes are likely dead-on-arrival in the Senate, where Republicans control the agenda.
A D.C. district judge has extended the federal grand jury being used by special counsel Robert Mueller up to another 6 months, as its 18-month term was set to expire in the coming days, reports CNN's Katelyn Polantz.
Why it matters: Media outlets have speculated throughout the investigation of the Trump campaign's ties to Russia that the special counsel may soon be wrapping up his probe. The extension of the grand jury suggests otherwise.
Dan and Axios' Amy Harder discuss The Green New Deal, a proposal by progressive Democrats that would simultaneously address climate change and income inequality. What it is, its prospects and how it will play into the 2020 presidential race.
Democrats still have almost no power to make policy in Washington, but what they do next matters a lot.
The big picture: Two overlapping events — the soft launch of the 2020 White House race and Democrats assuming House control this week — open a crucial period in deciding what kind of policy they will push if they regain White House and perhaps Senate control.
The big picture: According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest report, OECD countries must eliminate coal by 2030 in order to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius. Now that global coal consumption may have peaked, the question is how fast OECD countries will move from this plateau to absolute declines.
