Summary: In a series of major wins for the environmental community, three multibillion-dollar pipeline projects — the Dakota Access Pipeline, the Keystone XL Pipeline and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline — were recently delivered devastating setbacks. The business and legal decisions undermine President Trump’s multiyear effort to ease environmental regulations and expand oil and gas development in the U.S. Meanwhile, the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force has released its roadmap on combating the climate crisis that calls for immediate action “to reverse the Trump Administration’s dangerous and destructive rollbacks of critical climate and environmental protections.” On this week’s episode of Political Climate, we dig deeper into the pipeline project defeats and their implications for the energy sector in an interview with Steven Mufson, renowned reporter covering the business of climate change for The Washington Post. We discuss the environmental movement’s strategy and recent success in the courtroom, against the backdrop of President Trump’s deregulation agenda. Plus, we address how these developments are playing politically ahead of the 2020 election. Steven Mufson joined the Washington Post in 1989. This year, he shared the Pulitzer Prize for the climate change series "2C: Beyond the Limit." He’s also the author of “Keystone XL: Down the Line.” Recommended reading:WaPo: Major oil and gas pipeline projects, backed by Trump, flounder as opponents prevail in courtGTM: As Fossil Fuel Pipelines Fall to Opposition, Utilities See Renewable Energy as Safe BetWaPo: Citing an economic emergency, Trump directs agencies across government to waive federal regulationsBiden-Sanders Unity Task Force Recommendations Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! Have a moment? Please leave us a review! Find us on Twitter @Poli_Climate.
