IRAN SANCTIONS BACK ON: The Trump administration will not renew waivers that allowed eight foreign governments to buy Iranian oil without getting sanctioned, it announced Monday.
“President Donald J. Trump has decided not to reissue Significant Reduction Exceptions (SREs) when they expire in early May,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. “This decision is intended to bring Iran’s oil exports to zero, denying the regime its principal source of revenue.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a short time later also made the announcement from the State Department’s press briefing room.
{mosads}”We’re going to zero across the board,” Pompeo said. “With the announcement today we have made clear our seriousness of purposes. We are going to zero. How long we remain there at zero depends solely on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s senior leaders.”
In doing so, Pompeo, an Iran hard-liner, bowed to pressure from others inside and outside the administration who wanted to squeeze Iran even harder despite concerns about causing a spike in oil prices.
Sanctions on Iranian oil purchases were reimposed in November as part of Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.
The 2015 accord between the United States, Iran, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Russia and China gave Tehran billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
Amid concerns over roiling the international oil market, the Trump administration in November granted sanctions waivers to eight governments: China, India, Japan, Turkey, Italy, Greece, South Korea and Taiwan.
The waivers are due for renewal May 2.
But meanwhile, Trump’s actions on Iran are driving up oil prices. Oil prices on Monday spiked to their highest levels since October after President Trump announced the U.S. would not renew sanction waivers that had allowed eight countries to buy Iranian oil.
Brent crude rocketed past $74 a barrel, its highest point this year, and American consumers may soon see the price increase at gas stations nationwide.
The administration’s move was designed to ratchet up pressure on Iran almost a year after Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by former President Obama.
The White House said Monday it had struck agreements with oil-producing allies such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates “to take timely action to assure that global demand is met as all Iranian oil is removed from the market.”
Read more on the fallout here.
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DRILL VS. SPILL: A bipartisan group of House lawmakers from Florida introduced a bill Monday that would ban offshore drilling along their state’s coast.
Spearheaded by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the legislation comes ahead of a new five-year plan from the Trump administration that is expected to expand offshore drilling along the Atlantic Coast.
Oil and gas industry sources have said those plans include Florida, despite a much-publicized exception for the Sunshine State from former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
“The Sunshine State’s coasts provide abundant marine life habitat and a destination for beach-lovers worldwide. They are an irreplaceable treasure and ecological necessity – risking our coasts for dangerous oil and gas drilling is unacceptable,” Wasserman Schultz said in a release.
Who is on board: Offshore drilling is deeply unpopular among Florida politicians of both parties, and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who often aligns himself with President Trump, and Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.) have agreed to co-sponsor the bill.
New Interior chief: Newly confirmed Interior Secretary David Bernhardt was asked about his position on offshore drilling by a number of senators from coastal states, though unlike his predecessor, he offered no exemptions from offshore drilling.
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said Bernhardt made it clear his and other senators’ opposition to offshore drilling would be a consideration going forward.
“They’re not guarantees, but he gave me some assurances,” King said shortly after Bernhardt’s confirmation vote.
Environmental groups have long argued that offshore drilling poses a major risk to coastal ecosystems and that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the agency responsible for overseeing offshore drilling, is ill-equipped to monitor and regulate the practice.
Wasserman Shultz’s bill would require a review of NOAA’s capacity to respond to oil spills while expanding oil companies’ responsibility for cleanup in the event of a spill.
Read more on the legislation here.
BLOOMBERG DONATES TO PARIS CLIMATE EFFORT: Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will donate $5.5 million to the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat, the second year in a row he has provided funding to make up for lapsed commitments under the Trump administration.
Bloomberg, who earlier decided against running for the White House, used Earth Day to announce that he would offer support for the secretariat’s operations. The program helps countries meet carbon emission reduction commitments under the landmark 2015 Paris climate deal, a global deal negotiated by the Obama administration that President Trump rejected.
Trump announced in 2017 that he plans to pull the U.S. out of the agreement, arguing it was a bad deal.
The U.S. committed $15 million over two years to the program under former President Obama, but only transferred $2.5 million last year. It was expected to provide another $2.5 million this year.
This is the second year Bloomberg has donated millions to the program. Last year he donated $4.5 million.
Read more on Bloomberg’s efforts here.
OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY:
Nevada passes bill for 50 percent renewables by 2030, 100 percent carbon free by 2050, Utility Dive reports.
Public meetings on permitting for long-term operations of the California State Water Project planned, the Sierra Sun Times reports.
Judge delivers major setback to Trump policy to increase coal mining on federal land, The New York Times reports.
These states are not so chill about air conditioners’ hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Stateline reports.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
A lot to catch up on from Monday and over the weekend…
Obama honors youth climate activists to mark Earth Day
Oil spikes to 6-month high after Trump crackdown on Iran
Inslee urges 2020 rivals to join push for debate focused on climate change
Dem senators launch Environmental Justice Caucus
Florida lawmakers offer bill to ban drilling off state’s coast
Bloomberg donates $5.5 million to fill in Paris agreement gap
Trump: ‘Iran is being given very bad advice by John Kerry‘
Trump removes sanctions waivers on countries buying oil from Iran
Poll: Two-thirds of Republicans believe climate change should be taught in schools
Climate change concerns highest in Northeast, Western US: poll
Earth Day founder’s daughter: Most Republican leaders believe in climate change in private
700 arrested amid climate protests in London, police say
Tlaib rallies in support of Green New Deal at Detroit town hall