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WASHINGTON (AP) The Republican-controlled Congress has voted to repeal a federal fee on oil and gas producers who release high levels of methane, undoing a major piece of former President Joe Biden’s climate policy aimed at controlling the planet-warming super pollutant.” The fee, which had not gone into effect, was expected to bring in billions of dollars. The Senate on Thursday voted along party lines 52-47 to repeal the fee, following a similar House vote on Wednesday. The measure now goes to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it. Methane is a much stronger global warming gas than carbon dioxide, especially in the short term, and is to blame for about one-third of the worlds warming so far. Oil and gas producers are among the biggest U.S. methane emitters and controlling it is critical to address climate change. Most major oil and gas companies do not release enough methane to trigger the fee, which is $900 per ton, an amount that would increase to $1,500 by 2026. The measure was part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, but the Environmental Protection Agency didnt formally set rules until late last year. That timing made it vulnerable to the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to pass a resolution to undo rules that are finalized toward the end of a president’s term. If those resolutions pass and the president signs them, the rule is terminated and agencies cant issue a similar one again. Its a sorry testament to the influence of Big Oil on Capitol Hill that one of the top priorities of Congress is a blatant handout to the worst actors in the fossil fuel industry,” said Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizens energy program. The American Petroleum Institute, the largest lobbying group for the oil and gas industry, applauded the move, calling the fee a duplicative, punitive tax on American energy production that stifles innovation.” Thanks to industry action, methane emissions continue to decline as production increases, and we support building on this progress through smart and effective regulation, said Amanda Eversole, the executive vice president and chief advocacy officer at API. Globally, methane concentrations in the atmosphere have been steadily climbing. Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, who chairs the Senate’s Environment and Public Works committee, spoke in favor of repeal on the Senate floor. We should be expanding natural gas production, not restricting it. Instead, the natural gas tax will constrain American natural gas production, leading to increased energy prices and providing a boost to the production of natural gas in Russia, she said. Repeal of the methane fee is the latest of several pro-oil and gas moves Republicans have taken since the start of Trump’s term. On his first day, he declared a national energy emergency, calling for more oil and gas production, and fewer environmental reviews. Democrats failed to overturn that declaration yesterday. Trump has also lifted a pause on new applications for liquified natural gas export terminals, removed the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement, and moved to open up more areas of public lands and waters for oil and gas drilling. The fee on methane releases was aimed at pushing companies to adopt better practices to curb emissions and make their operations more efficient. Technology exists to prevent leaks and to fix them. The EPA had said the fee was expected to reduce 1.2 million metric tons of methane emissions by 2035thats about the same as removing 8 million cars from the road for a year. The Biden administration had also implemented methane regulations on existing oil and gas wells, after addressing methane escaping from new wells. The EPA at the time meant for the fee to complement that rule and focus on the worst polluters. About half of all methane emissions from wells are from just 6% that are smaller producers, according to a recent study. Michael Phillis and Matthew Daly, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
A grassroots organization is encouraging U.S. residents not to spend any money Friday as an act of economic resistance to protest what the group’s founder sees as the malign influence of billionaires, big corporations and both major political parties on the lives of working Americans. The People’s Union USA calls the 24 hours of spending abstinence set to start at midnight an economic blackout, a term that has since been shared and debated on social media. The activist movement said it also plans to promote weeklong consumer boycotts of particular companies, including Walmart and Amazon. Other activists, faith-based leaders and consumers already are organizing boycotts to protest companies that have scaled back their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and to oppose President Donald Trump’s moves to abolish all federal DEI programs and policies. Some faith leaders are encouraging their congregations to refrain from shopping at Target, one of the companies backing off DEI efforts, during the 40 days of Lent that begin Wednesday. Here are some details about the various events and experts’ thoughts on whether having consumers keep their wallets closed is an effective tool for influencing the positions corporations take. Who’s behind the 24-hour Economic Blackout? The People’s Union USA, which takes credit for initiating the no-spend day, was founded by John Schwarz, a meditation teacher who lives near the Chicago area, according to his social media accounts. The organization’s website said it’s not tied to a political party but stands for all people. Requests for comment sent to the group’s email address this week did not receive a reply. The planned blackout is scheduled to run from 12 a.m. EST through 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday. The activist group advised customers to abstain from making any purchases, whether in store or online, but particularly not from big retailers or chains. It wants participants to avoid fast food and filling their car gas tanks, and says shoppers with emergencies or in need of essentials should support a local small business and try not to use a credit or debit card. People’s Union plans another broad-based economic blackout on March 28, but it’s also organizing boycotts targeting specific retailers Walmart and Amazon as well as global food giants Nestle and General Mills. For the boycott against Amazon, the organization is encouraging people to refrain from buying anything from Whole Foods, which the e-commerce company owns. What other boycotts are being planned? There are a number of boycotts being planned, particularly aimed at Target. The discounter, which has backed diversity and inclusion efforts aimed at uplifting Black and LGBTQ+ people in the past, announced in January it was rolling back its DEI initiatives. A labor advocacy group called We Are Somebody, led by Nina Turner, launched a boycott of Target on February 1 to coincide with Black History Month. Meanwhile, an Atlanta-area pastor, the Rev. Jamal Bryant, organized a website called targetfast.org to recruit Christians for a a 40-day Target boycott starting March 5, which marks Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Other faith leaders have endorsed the protest. The Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, a civil rights organization, announced in late January it would identify two companies in the next 90 days that will be boycotted for abandoning their diversity, equity and inclusion pledges. The organization formed a commission to identify potential candidates. “Donald Trump can cut federal DEI programs to the bone, he can claw back federal money to expand diversity, but he cannot tell us what grocery store we shop at, Sharpton said in a statement posted on the National Action Network’s website. Will the events have any impact? Some retailers may feel a slight pinch from Friday’s broad blackout, which is taking place in a tough economic environment, experts said. Renewed inflation worries and Trump’s threat of tariffs on imported goods already have had an effect on consumer sentiment. The (market share) pie is just so big, Marshal Cohen, chief retail advisor at market research firm Circana, said. You cant afford to have your slices get smaller. Consumers are spending more money on food. And that means theres more pressure on general merchandise or discretionary products. Still, Cohen thinks the overall impact may be limited, with any meaningful sales declines more likely to surface in liberal-leaning coastal regions and big cities. Anna Tuchman, a marketing professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, said she thinks the economic blackout will likely make a dent in daily retail sales but won’t be sustainable. I think this is an opportunity for consumers to show that they have a voice on a single day,” she said. I think its unlikely that we would see long-run sustained decreases in economic activity supported by this boycott. Other boycotts have produced different results. Target saw a drop in sales in the spring and summer quarter of 2023 that the discounter attributed in part to customer backlash over a collection honoring LGBTQ+ communities for Pride Month. As a result, Target didnt carry Pride merchandise in all of its stores the following year. Tuchman studied the impact of a boycott against Goya Foods during the summer of 2020 after the company’s CEO praised Trump. But her study, based on sales from research firm Numerator, found the brand saw a sales increase driven by first-time Goya buyers who were disproportionately from heavily Republican areas. However, the revenue bump proved temporary; Goya had no detectable sales increase after three weeks, Tuchman said. It was a different story for Bud Light, which spent decades as Americas bestselling beer. Sales plummeted in 2023 after the brand sent a commemorative can to a transgender influencer. Bud Lights sales still havent fully recovered, according to alcohl consulting company Bump Williams. Tuchman thinks a reason is because there were plenty of other beers that the brands mostly conservative customer base could buy to replace Bud Light. Afya Evans, a political and image consultant in Atlanta, said she would make a point of shopping on Friday but will focus on small businesses and Black-owned brands. Evans is aware of other boycotts but she said she liked this one because she believes it could have some effect on sales. Its a broader thing, she said. We want to see what the impact is. Let everybody participate. And plan from there. Anne D’innocenzio and Haleluya Hadero, AP business writers AP Business Writer Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit contributed to this report.
Category:
E-Commerce
Love Warby Parker glasses, but not the high price tags? This one’s for you. Target is partnering with Warby Parker to bring designer-quality, affordable eyewear to customers, opening five “shop-in-shops” in 2025, the retailers announced on Thursday. Warby Parker staff will run the shops within Target locations, which will offer glasses, sunglasses, contacts, eye exams, and vision screenings, consistent with the eyewear brand’s own stores. Prices will start at $95, including prescription lenses. The first five locations will open in the second half of 2025 at the following Target stores: Willowbrook, IL Bloomington, MN Brick, NJ Columbus, OH (Polaris) Exton, PA Warby Parker at Target will also debut online at Target.com with the opening of the first location. More Warby Parker shops are slated to open in 2026. “Warby Parker at Target reflects both brands’ commitment to style, affordability, quality and convenience,” Christina Hennington, executive vice president of Target said in a statement. “As we test and learn with this new partnershipbringing Warby Parker’s expertise into select storeswe’re enticing new consumers to discover more of Target.” The new partnership will complement, not replace the Minneapolis-based retailer’s growing Target Optical business, which offers a range of products and services at more than 500 of Target’s 2,000 stores nationwide. The Warby Parker shops are the latest addition to Target’s growing number of in-store partnerships, which already include Starbucks, Apple, and Ulta. The news comes after Target announced it was rolling back its DEI efforts, ending its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and investments. The move has angered activists, who are calling for customers to boycott the brand as part of both the Target Fast and “Feb. 28 Economic Blackout” movements.
Category:
E-Commerce
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