Overnight Energy: Bernie Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez to headline climate town hall | Poll finds two thirds of GOP believe in climate change | EPA to boost biofuel mandate

OCASIO-CORTEZ TO JOIN BERNIE SANDERS AT CLIMATE CHANGE TOWN HALL: Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) will join Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) next week for a town hall on climate change.

Sanders is hosting the town hall on Monday in partnership with a number of progressive media outlets, including NowThis and The Young Turks. The event is also partnered with The Guardian news outlet.

The town hall, which will be held at the U.S. Capitol and live-streamed online nationally, is “aimed at addressing the global threat of climate change and exploring solutions that can protect the planet from devastation and create tens of millions of good-paying jobs,” according to the Facebook event posting.

“Fight for the planet, fight for our lives,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “Let’s do this.”

Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez will be joined by actor and activist Shailene Woodley, CNN host Van Jones and other climate activists, scientists and officials.

Ocasio-Cortez, who ran for office calling herself a Democratic socialist, has vowed to make climate change a key issue during her time in office.

Read more here.

 

And in other climate change news…

 

NEW POLL FINDS NEARLY TWO THIRDS OF GOP BELIEVE IN CLIMATE CHANGE: Nearly two-thirds of Republicans and a majority of all Americans now acknowledge climate change, according to a Monmouth University Poll released Thursday.

The poll found that 64 percent of Republican respondents said they believe that Earth’s climate is changing, up from 49 percent in 2015.

According to the poll, 92 percent of Democrats and 78 percent of independents also said they acknowledge climate change. Eighty-five percent of Democrats and 74 percent of independents polled acknowledged climate change three years ago.

Just over half of Americans surveyed — 54 percent — said climate change is “very serious,” while 17 percent say the problem is “somewhat” serious,” according to the poll. In Monmouth’s 2015 poll, 41 percent said climate change was “very serious.”

One-quarter of Republicans surveyed said climate change is a “very serious problem,” compared to 82 percent of Democrats and about 51 percent of independents who said the same.

The poll also found that 16 percent of Americans said climate change is not happening, while 5 percent of those surveyed said they are unsure if it is occurring.

Geography, according to the poll, also plays a role in Americans’ views of the seriousness of climate change. Residents of coastal areas were 17 percent more likely to say that climate change was a “very serious” problem, compared to their inland neighbors.

Thirty-seven percent of Americans polled said the environment and human activity contribute equally to a changing climate, while 29 percent place greater blame on human activity and 10 percent blame natural environmental changes.

Majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents said they do not think it is likely that Congress will take action on climate change in the coming years.

Read more here.

 

Happy Thursday! Welcome to Overnight Energy, The Hill’s roundup of the latest energy and environment news.

Please send tips and comments to Timothy Cama, tcama@digital-stage.thehill.com, and Miranda Green, mgreen@digital-stage.thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Timothy_Cama, @mirandacgreen, @thehill.

CLICK HERE to subscribe to our newsletter.

 

EPA TO BOOST MANDATE FOR SOME BIOFUELS: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to increase the federal mandate for certain biofuels.

The mandate for fuel refiners to use advanced biofuels, which can be made from waste products such as woody biomass, is going up to 4.92 billion gallons, a 15 percent increase from the current year, in an EPA regulation covering 2019 that is set to be released Friday, Reuters reported.

But the overall ethanol mandate — which can be fulfilled using fuels made from corn, soy and many other sources — will stay at 15 billion gallons, the same level as 2018, Reuters reported, citing an agency document.

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requires oil refiners making gasoline and diesel to blend certain amounts of biofuels into the products they sell or to buy credits from other companies to demonstrate compliance.

Read more here.

 

OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY:

Plan to leave buried nuclear bomb waste underground draws fire

Montana tribe rejects bison transfer deal

Volkswagen planning a new North American factory for electric cars

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Check out Thursday’s stories …

-Ocasio-Cortez to join Bernie Sanders for climate change town hall

-EPA to boost mandate for some biofuels: report

-Poll: Nearly two-thirds of Republicans now acknowledge climate change

-Al Gore rips Trump as the face of ‘climate denial’

-Trump officials attack science in dire climate change report