HB 22-14: The Red-Green New Deal (Passed)

[Fmr. Representative Encke]

Regarding Blair's amendment: make sure to change all references to Section IV.1.a to Section V.1.a to remain consistent with the new numbering.

Regarding Section V: Utility Ownership:
Since no one seems to have done a cost analysis on this yet, I went through and looked at the top 25 publicly traded energy companies (to be generous, I only looked at companies that would fall into the category 'oil and gas').

Results:

Name	HQ	Mark. Cap ($bil, 11/2019)	*0.51
Exxon Mobil	USA	308.91	157.5441
Royal Dutch Shell	Netherlands	234.59	119.6409
Chevron	USA	231.4	118.014
Total S.A.	France	146.38	74.6538
PetroChina	China	144.66	73.7766
BP P.L.C	UK	134.25	68.4675
Reliance Industries Ltd.	India	129.44	66.0144
Petrobras	Brazil	103.43	52.7493
Gazprom	Russia	91.73	46.7823
Sinopec	China	84.45	43.0695
Rosneft	Russia	75.57	38.5407
Enbridge Inc.	Canada	74.36	37.9236
CNOOC Limited	China	73.46	37.4646
PJSC Lukoil	Russia	70.46	35.9346
Equinor ASA	Norway	66.14	33.7314
Conocophillips	USA	65.33	33.3183
Novatek	Russia	64.7	32.997
Eni S.P.A	Italy	57.46	29.3046
Phillips 66	USA	53.13	27.0963
Schlumberger	USA	50.31	25.6581
Suncor Energy Inc.	Canada	49.62	25.3062
EOG Resources	USA	43.4	22.134
Marathon Petroleum Corporation	USA	43.02	21.9402
PTT Public Company Limited	Thailand	42.72	21.7872
Valero Energy Corporation	USA	42.02	21.4302
SUM			1265.2794 billion

[Fmr. Representative Encke]

Thanks for your effort here.

Are these numbers just for their US assets or global?

The wording in the bill is 'the top twenty five largest publicly traded energy companies.' If the author's intention was that this should be 'the top twenty five largest US-based publicly traded energy companies,' then that probably should have been specified.

After doing a bit of digging, I assume that this *was* the author's intention, as the Jacobin article from which this bill's ideas seem to be derived states as much:

What we should do instead is have the state buy a controlling stake in all major fossil fuel firms.

This could be quite costly — writers from The Democracy Collaborative recently estimated “the price tag to purchase outright the top 25 largest US-based publicly traded oil and gas companies, along with most of the remaining publicly traded coal companies” at $1.15 trillion. But there are ways to minimize this cost while still obtaining all of the benefits.

The mode for gaining public control of these companies should involve making the federal government’s final intentions well known to investors from the outset. Control over these shares would be given to a new Social Energy Fund, which would be chartered to use its stake in the firms to achieve key priorities, including national compliance with ambitious decarbonization targets and building up publicly owned renewable energy firms. This means stating from the outset that huge quantities of oil and gas will be left in the ground. The state would vote for resolutions and directors that will ensure its social goals are met.

Unfortunately, the actual 1.15 trillion cost estimate given here is behind a subscriber paywall so I can't see how those numbers were derived.

[Fmr. Representative Encke]

I do wonder how the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy will work in the context of nationalization, and I would like more specifics about the sponsor's vision for how this process will be carried out. Is the plan to change these former oil companies into renewable energy companies? Is the goal to just shut them down completely and transition displaced workers to the NPWA? What are the geographical implications of this for said workers?

I suppose the bill handles these issues by passing them off to a collection of NPCs (in this case, the Dep't of Internal Affairs), but I have never been a fan of this sort of 'legislating by NPC.'

Finally, I'd like the sponsor (or author, if necessary) to explain why each of the listed categories in the 'Public Works' (original section V, section VI under Blair's amedment) was included.

[Fmr. Representative Encke]

Will motion to table in 24 hours if I don't receive a proper response to my questions from this bill's proponents. It's been 11 days, folks!

[Fmr. Representative Encke]

Will motion to table in 24 hours if I don't receive a proper response to my questions from this bill's proponents. It's been 11 days, folks!

Motion to table.

[Fmr. Representative Encke]

Hi folks I'm currently working about 10 hours a day to deal with IRL sh**t & don't have time to check these boards every day- if you have a question that I haven't responded to send me a PM rather than tabling a bill you don't the votes to table.

I'm happy to answer and work on amendments with others if we can withdraw the motion.

Very well, withdrawing the motion to table. Will write up a more detailed set of questions tomorrow and PM you when that is finished. Although I suspect that if I had not introduced the motion to table in the first place, this bill would have sat dormant for another week.

rather than tabling a bill you don't the votes to table.

And I'd hope that tabling a bill that goes so long without debate, yet is clearly not ready for a final vote, would be a matter of common sense, not a matter of having or not having votes.

[Fmr. Representative Encke]

Aye.

[Fmr. Representative Encke]

Nay

I think an energy nationalisation makes sense if the goal is to move to cleaner energies. However, Section V of this bill as it is written has a lot of issues which I think need to be addressed before we go to a final vote. If it indeed costs 1.3 trillion, I think we have to either roll it back a bit or find a way to pay some of the cost.

Isn't this vote for the amendment that strikes Section V?

[Fmr. Representative Encke]

Introducing a small amendment here to specify that only Atlasian-based companies are being bought out.

The Red-Green New Deal

SENATE BILL

To address climate change in Atlasia

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled,

Section I: Title

1. This Act may be cited as the "Red-Green New Deal" or "RGND".

Section II: Resolution

1. We Recognize:

  a. The seriousness and urgency associated with climate change must be met with swift action in order to ensure the continued welfare and prosperity of all Atlasians.

  b. Those at fault must be held accountable, and the industries polluting our environment must be eliminated.

  c. We must aim for a total phase-out of fossil fuels by 2035.

  d. We can spark a green revolution in Atlasia and become a focal point in a new age of industry and technology.

Section III: Extraction

1. Offshore drilling within 25 miles of the Atlasian coastline shall be prohibited from January 1st, 2024.

2. The placing of new oil pipeline, other than for the use of repair or renovation of existing lines, is hereby prohibited.

  a. Any update, repair, or alteration to existing pipeline must comply with existing regulation and be reviewed by appropriate local and federal agencies.

Section IV: Hydraulic Fracking

1. No new leases shall be granted by any federal agency for new hydraulic fracturing operations, new pipelines, new liquefied natural gas or oil export terminals, new natural gas storage, new ethane cracker plants, new natural gas power generation plants, or other infrastructure intended to extract, transport, or burn natural gas or oil.

2. A tax of 10% shall be applied on the profits of any firm which operates any existing lease for hydraulic fracturing operations from the 1st June 2020.

 a. This tax shall increase to 15% from the 1st June 2021.

 b. This tax shall increase to 20% on the 1st June 2022[/b]

 c. Beginning on January 1, 2022, the practice of hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas is prohibited within 2,500 feet of a home, school, or other inhabited structure in Atlasia.

 d. Beginning on January 1, 2024, the practice of hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas is prohibited on all onshore and offshore land in Atlasia.

Section V: Utility Ownership

1. The Department of Internal Affairs shall be instructed to create a Social Energy Fund.

  a. The Fund shall receive an amount equivalent to gaining public control over the top twenty five largest publicly traded energy companies headquartered in Atlasia.

    i. "Public Control" is defined as at least 51% of total shares.

  b. The Fund shall offer to voluntarily purchase up to 51% of the total shares in the companies described in IV.1.a.
 
    i. With each offer, the Department of Internal Affairs shall release a statement declaring its aim to compulsorily purchase the shares required to acquire a majority within sixteen months.

  c. The Fund shall be chartered to utilize its stake in the companies described in IV.1.a to achieve the following.

    i. Compliance with international de-carbonization objectives.
   
    ii. The transition to an energy sector led by publicly owned renewable energy companies.
 
    iii. The gradual phase-out of fossil fuel extraction.

Section VI: Public Works

1. The Department Internal Affairs shall be instructed to create a New Public Works Administration

  a. The NPWA shall develop, administrate, maintain and oversee public building projects.

  b. The NPWA shall be led by the ranking officer for the Department of Internal Affairs.

    i. Shall there be no ranking officer for the Department Internal Affairs be vacant, these duties shall fall to the President of Atlasia.

2. The ranking officer for the Department Internal Affairs may appoint a board of NPCs to assist in the development of NPWA projects.

3. NPWA projects shall include

    a. Construction and Enginering

    b. Renewable Energy Development and Energy Efficiency Retrofitting

    c. Coding, Server Farms and Technological Development

    d. Sustainable Agriculture

    e. Civil Corps
 

4. All NPWA projects shall provide workers with the following.

  a. Pay equivalent to 10% above a "living wage" determined by residency.

  b. Full membership in a labor union.

  c. Employment benefits delegated per project.

5. The NPWA shall operate with an annual budget of $100 billion.

Section VII: Effective Date

1. This act takes effect on June 1st, 2020.

[Fmr. Representative Encke]

I have the following questions for the sponsor. I posed shorter versions of these questions to Blair earlier, but he had always intended on removing/seriously revising Section V anyway, so did not provide much of a response.

• How exactly are fossil fuels supposed to be 'phased out?' It seems that before we begin phasing out fossil fuels, the necessary renewable energy infrastructure needs to be in place, which means that the "publicly owned renewable energy companies" and the nationalized oil and gas companies will need to be operating at the same time, yes (not to mention that this renewable energy infrastructure could not be built without some level of fossil fuel extraction)? This raises questions about how the transfer of workers from fossil fuels to renewable energy, using the NPWA as a bridge, will work, as the renewable energy companies would have already employed workers before fossil fuel extraction ceases.
• Yankee asked this question in the other thread, but how will this affect products that are currently made using fossil fuels? (see: https://www.ranken-energy.com/index.php/products-made-from-petroleum/). Can all of these products be made using some alternative, or will we need to become entirely dependent on foreign countries to obtain these products?
• How many workers will be displaced by the process? During the so-called phase-out period, will workers that are no longer needed at the oil/gas plants be transitioned immediately to the NPWA? At the beginning of the phase-out, will there be enough workers to sustain NPWA projects? Will there be enough NPWA projects to cover all of the geographical areas affected by the shuttering of oil/gas plants throughout Atlasia?

To Thumb: You mentioned that you wanted to improve Section V in some way. Any ideas?