Where utility customers' climate payments really go - POLITICO

Where utility customers’ climate payments really go - POLITICO

Where utility customers’ climate payments really go

U.S. natural gas utilities are spending customer cash in a global financial market for clean energy projects — some of them half a world away, Jeffrey Tomich writes.

For a fee, a homeowner or business in Indiana, Michigan or North Carolina can buy into a program sold as a way for a utility to achieve its “net-zero” emissions goal.

The hitch: In some cases, almost all the money has gone to buy credits known as carbon offsets — not to do things to reduce greenhouse gas pollution at home. These offsets are financial instruments showing that the utility has indirectly helped develop a clean energy project, whose carbon reductions are then credited to the utility.

Carbon offsets are heavily scrutinized, but environmental and consumer advocates call them old-fashioned greenwashing — an end-run around taking steps such as using less fuel and addressing the root causes of climate change.

“There’s already a technologically feasible, cost-effective alternative to current fossil fuel heating,” said Kiki Velez, an advocate with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “And that’s building electrification and energy efficiency.”

Utilities’ embrace of offsets, an idea that has support from their trade association, the American Gas Association, comes with growing pressure to address climate pollution from gas furnaces, water heaters and stoves. Direct greenhouse gas emissions from residential and commercial buildings accounted for 13 percent of the U.S. total in 2021, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Nationwide, utilities have responded to pressure from investors by establishing “carbon neutral” or net-zero emissions climate goals, which in some cases lean partially on the purchase of carbon offsets.

NiSource’s northern Indiana utility bought offsets in December from a wind energy project that powers a textile mill in southern India.

In Michigan, DTE Energy customers can join the utility’s “Natural Gas Balance” for $4 to $16 a month. The utility promotes it as a way for customers to support “renewable natural gas,” in which methane from landfills and agriculture is trapped. In fact, though, 95 percent of the program’s cited environmental benefits comes from purchasing offsets, including those generated by a program to prevent more aggressive tree-harvesting in a Michigan forest.

“DTE recognizes there is not a single solution to the challenge of emission reduction, and we are committed to offering customers opportunities to manage their emissions that align with their values, lifestyle and budget,” spokesperson Dana St. Coeur told Jeffrey in an email response to questions.

But regulators in other states, including Pennsylvania and Kentucky, have rejected proposals for utilities to offer offset-based programs to consumers. And one utility dropped proposals in Ohio and Maryland after consumer advocates cried foul.

In a January 2023 filing, the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel dismissed a proposed program there as one “designed to make consumers feel better about actions with little actual environmental benefit.” This, Assistant People’s Counsel Michael Sammartino wrote, “is known as ‘greenwashing.’”

It’s Thursday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO’s Power Switch. I’m your host, Joel Kirkland. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to

Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Josh Siegel chats with Republican Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina about the Biden administration’s pause on new natural gas export permits and the exodus of GOP members from the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Rich nation problems, developing nation consequences

Wealthy countries are arguing over who gets to sit on the board of a new global fund to aid communities devastated by climate-fueled disasters, write Zia Weise and Sara Schonhardt.

Developing countries have named their representatives, but richer nations have not, amid disagreements such as a spat over whether the fund’s biggest donors should get extra seats. The fight among the European Union, the United States and other rich nations has delayed aid — leaving the world’s governments with little to show nearly three months after they reached a historic deal on a so-called loss and damage fund.

“There’s definitely not only one country to blame here,” said one senior negotiator from a European country. “Nobody’s happy about the situation.”

Power Centers

Doth protest too much?

Environmental leaders are wondering how much they can push President Joe Biden to more aggressively fight climate change without dooming his reelection campaign, writes Zack Colman.

Biden has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into clean energy and his administration is working on a suite of strict environmental regulations. But the president has also overseen a boom in oil and gas production, prompting protests from activists calling for a rapid transition away from the fossil fuels driving climate change.

On Monday, for example, the youth-led climate group Sunrise Movement protested at Biden’s campaign headquarters. Sunrise argues that the bar is high for the climate action needed to mobilize young voters.

But the group also acknowledges that protests could make Biden even more unpopular — which would benefit Donald Trump, who denies climate change and has pledged to undo Biden’s policies.

Climate drama at Europe’s top central bank

A top European Central Bank official said earlier this month that all the institution’s employees must support its green objectives, sparking criticism from staff who called the remarks “authoritarian,” writes Johanna Treeck.

“Why would we want to hire people who we have to reprogram?” Frank Elderson, one of six members of the ECB’s executive board, said in an internal meeting. “Because they came from the best universities, but they still don’t know how to spell the word ‘climate.’”

The remarks come as the the Frankfurt-based organization is embroiled in a debate over whether its policies should help make the economy “greener” or focus on the bank’s main goal of keeping eurozone prices stable.

A recent survey showed that most ECB staff support the central bank’s increased efforts to fight global warming. But in a private chatroom seen by POLITICO, some employees said Elderson’s comments risked fostering “groupthink.”

Natural gas as political football

The House voted on Thursday to strip the Department of Energy of its authority to grant natural gas exports, with nine Democrats joining Republicans in the rebuke of Biden’s decision to pause new permit approvals, writes Josh Siegel.

The Democrat-controlled Senate in unlikely to pick up the bill, which would hand the permitting authority to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. But the House vote provided an outlet for Democrats from energy-producing and swing districts to distance themselves from a policy that could prove unpopular among their constituents.

The White House has voiced its strong opposition, saying the legislation would undermine the country’s ability to ensure exports are consistent with economic and environmental interests.

In Other News

Encroaching seas: Louisiana’s coastal wetlands could be gone by 2070, as rapidly rising seas drown out the state’s natural buffer against hurricanes.

Plastic waste: California’s ban on single-use plastic bags isn’t working, with residents throwing away more plastic bags by weight last year than when the law first passed. The culprit: thick plastic bags marketed as reusable.

Subscriber Zone

A showcase of some of our best subscriber content.

Rep. Adam Schiff, a leading candidate for California’s open Senate seat, released a detailed climate plan Thursday that proposes ending federal subsidies for oil and gas production and offering federal wildfire insurance.

Democrats introduced a bill Wednesday that would force Texas to connect its grid to the rest of the U.S., three years after a major winter storm left millions without power. But the state’s grid operator warned the move could freeze development of new power plants.

EU countries are pushing back against the European Parliament’s pledge to achieve zero pollution by 2050, insisting they may need up to 10 extra years to achieve the goal.

That’s it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.

Follow Us