The Inflation Reduction Act ushered in a new era of climate politics, and this week we got a better picture of how the sausage was made with the help of chemical and fossil fuel interests.

Washington’s K Street lobbying firms spent unprecedented sums to influence the direction of the IRA. The American Chemical Council (ACC) shelled out $19.8 million in lobbying efforts in 2022, nearly 20% more than the previous year. Meanwhile a triumvirate of American oil interests, Occidental Petroleum Corp., ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil, together spent $27.2 million primarily on shaping the law.

The chemical industry’s interest were two-fold: curbing regulations on emissions and pollution, and including funds for carbon capture and infrastructure weatherization.

The lobbying dollars paid off with the inclusion of carbon capture funding in the IRA, despite several studies showing the dubious impact of CCS on reducing emissions when paired with fossil fuels.

Chemical and oil lobbyists didn’t get everything they wanted, however. In 2021, the ACC pushed hard against reinstating the Hazardous Substance Superfund. The Superfund was an expired 1980 tax on industries that use “taxable chemicals” to pay for the hazardous waste sites they produce. It came back in the 2021 Infrastructure bill, and in the 2022 IRA it was extended to include a tax on petroleum products.

Perhaps it’s unsurprising to see oil and chemical companies shell out to influence climate laws, but public utilities were not far behind. The Edison Electric Institute, which represents public utilities in all 50 states, spent $10.5 million on lobbying in 2022.

Utilities and energy companies are often lumped together, but there’s an important distinction to be drawn between the two sectors that makes lobbying by utilities particularly egregious.

Oil and gas companies are private entities that customers can choose between when buying gasoline or other petroleum products. Of course, one could dispute that characterization when you take into account the $20 billion in public subsidies oil companies received in the U.S. in 2022.

But power utilities are usually monopolies owned in whole or in part by public agencies.

In other words, consumers might have a choice between where to buy gas for their cars, or to not to buy it at all by taking public transportation, where available. But everyone has to pay their power bill, and in all but the 15 American states that have consumer choice, they do not get to choose which utility they buy it from.

The result is that ratepayers often are forced to pay utilities which in turn use some of that money to lobby Congress against climate action and lower power rates.

A study published this week offered a solution to this problem: ban ratepayer-funded lobbying completely.

Using ratepayer money for lobbying is technically illegal already under several state and federal regulations. But you will be shocked to learn that these rules are “riddled with loopholes,” as the report’s author David Pomerantz put it.

The biggest loophole is to funnel money through “trade associations”, like the Edison Electric Institute, to choose one example. The Edison Institute has successfully lobbied to block measures to promote rooftop solar and electrify buildings as recently as last year.

The good news is that obstruction at the highest levels of government is spurring action at the lowest levels. Climate activists are increasingly adapting their tactics to hold their local regulators accountable to decarbonization goals.

A story this week highlighted how climate activists from No Coal No Gas elected six members to the ISO-New England power utility’s governing committee last November. Utilities across the country have obscure committees that offer input for how to proceed with the technicalities of energy use and appropriation.

The ISO-New England committee seats don’t have any direct power in making policy, and the New England climate advocates readily admit that the move was a symbolic victory. The final rulemaking happens behind closed doors that committee members are not invited to.

But they emphasize that they are taking the power that they can, and even if utilities are going to act against the interests of ratepayers, they certainly won’t do so in the dark.

Climatebase LIVE

The career opportunities in climate tech are growing. Explore some of these opportunities by joining us online on February 2nd. Six climate tech companies working on solutions across energy, transportation, food & ag, and carbon removal will present their climate solutions, answer your questions and discuss their open job postings.

Save your spot to meet these exciting companies:

• TeraWatt Infrastructure
• EnergyHub
• Carbon Direct
• Remora
• Climate Robotics
• Aigen-Robotics

If you represent a climate-focused company and would like to be featured in one of our upcoming Climatebase Live hiring events, sign up here.

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To attend, please sign up here.

Apply to the Keeling Curve Prize

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🌎 Climate Jobs

Check out some of the latest featured jobs below. If you don't see anything that speaks to you, you can always go to Climatebase to explore thousands of other opportunities.

Pivot Bio

"Fueled by an innovative drive and a deep understanding of the soil microbiome, Pivot Bio is pioneering game-changing advances in agriculture. Our products harness the power of naturally occurring microbes to provide nutrients to crops and new sustainable ways for farmers to reduce the usage of fertilizers as they work to help feed the world’s growing population.  ..."

They are hiring in the following departments:

• Operations
• Sales Operations
• Marketing
• Project Management
• People Operations
• Microbial Engineering
• Business Development
• Internships
• Program Management
• Talent Management
  
• Data Science/ML
• Agronomy
• General Application
• IT
• Sales
• Software Engineering

Furbnow

"Furbnow is a retrofit service for homeowners looking to start their journey to reducing their energy bills and carbon emissions, and having a warmer home. Customers want impartial advice and clear information on what will work for their home and lifestyle, how they can stage the work to fit their budget and minimise disruption.  ..."

• Head of Growth (Remote (Birmingham, UK))
• Full stack software engineer (Remote (UK))

Sunstone Credit

"Sunstone Credit is democratizing access to solar for businesses. We provide flexible financing solutions for businesses and non-profits of all sizes, offering commercial solar loans with borrower-friendly terms and an efficient application process ..."

They are hiring across the following departments:

• Finance
• Operations
• Internships
• Software Engineering
• Business Development
• Product Management

ClimatePartner

ClimatePartner is a solution provider for corporate climate action: We combine individual consulting with a cloud-based software that is unique on the market. We help our customers calculate and reduce carbon emissions and offset residual emissions. This renders products and companies climate neutral, confirmed by our label. We offer carbon offset projects in different regions and with different technologies and standards. ...

They are hiring in the following departments:

• Office Administration
• Sales
• Climate & Sustainability
• Procurement
• Customer Support
• Project Developer
• Legal
• Finance & Accounting
• IT

Spherical

"Spherical is a strategic design and integrative research studio supporting projects regenerating the health and integrity of Earth’s living systems. Current Project Spherical is building a field kit of open-source tools to support community-driven climate resilience in Los Angeles. ..."

• Animator (contract) (Remote (Los Angeles, CA, USA))

TeraWatt Infrastructure

"TeraWatt Infrastructure was established, in the absence of anything like it, to provide solutions for the large scale electric vehicle charging infrastructure required to meet the rapid electrification of medium and heavy duty transport and fleets.  ..."

• EV Charging Field Service Coordinator (San Francisco, California)
• Accounts Payable Specialist (San Francisco, California)
• Strategy & Commercial Manager, Microgrids (Remote (San Francisco, Remote))
• Team Lead - Field Service Operations (Remote (San Francisco, Remote))
• EVSE Systems Validation Engineer (Remote (San Francisco, Remote))
• You would like to join TeraWatt but do not see a role - drop your resume here! (Remote (San Francisco, Remote))
• Project Engineer (Remote (San Francisco, Remote))
• Project Development Associate (San Francisco, California)

EnergyHub

"EnergyHub empowers utilities and their customers to create a clean, distributed energy future We’re working on accomplishing this vision by transforming complexity at the grid edge into reliable resources for utilities. ..."

They are hiring across the following departments:

• Operations
• Data Scientist
• Software Engineering
• Design
• Client Success
• Policy
• People & Talent
• Sales
• Marketing

Environmental Law Institute

"The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) makes law work for people, places, and the planet. ELI’s Vision is “a healthy environment, prosperous economies, and vibrant communities founded on the rule of law.”  ..."

• Project Manager, Climate Judiciary Project (1730 M Street Northwest, Washington, DC, USA)
• Director, Climate Judiciary Project (Washington D.C., DC, USA)
• Senior Manager, Attorney Education (Washington D.C., DC, USA)

Carbon Direct

"Carbon Direct is decarbonizing the global economy. What is Carbon Direct? We are a team of scientists, engineers, and innovators with a shared goal of reducing atmospheric CO2 by scaling carbon management. What do we do? We operate two distinct businesses: - Advisory & Software : We work with Fortune 500 corporate clients like Microsoft, Shopify, and Alaska Airlines to develop long-term carbon management plans. ..."

• Senior Technical Product Manager (Remote (San Francisco, Seattle,, Remote))
• Senior Product Manager (Remote (San Francisco, Seattle,, Remote))
• Engineering Manager (Remote (San Francisco, Seattle,, Remote))
• VP of Sales (New York, San Francisco,, Seattle)
• Senior Frontend Engineer (Seattle,Wa, Hybrid)
• Senior Backend Engineer (Seattle,Wa, Hybrid)
• Creative & Brand Director (Seattle, San Francisco,, Hybrid)
• DevOps Engineer (Seattle,Wa, Hybrid)
• General Application (Remote)

WAP Sustainability

"WAP Sustainability provides clients with the information and tools they need to create credible, measurable and attainable sustainability programs. Our services are driven by sound scientific data and an in-depth understanding of each client’s core business.  ..."

• Sustainability Analyst - Material Health (Remote)
• Carbon Services Manager (Remote)

EVmatch, Inc.

"EVmatch is an early-stage cleantech startup that is revolutionizing electric vehicle (EV) charging through a reservation-based EV charging network. EVmatch’s app-based service allows homeowners, businesses, and multi-family properties to rent out private charging stations and supports widespread EV adoption.  ..."

• Operations Manager (Redwood Shores, Redwood City, CA, USA)

Headway Cooperative

"Headway Cooperative is the world's first climate tech co-op. We are 100% developer owned and operated, providing mission-driven software development for data-centric businesses solving climate change. ..."

• Full Stack Developer (Denver, CO, USA)

OpenEarth Foundation

"Open Earth Foundation is a California-based research and deployment non-profit. We create Open Source technology to increase planetary resilience and avoid a catastrophic climate crisis. We operate at the intersection of emerging technology and climate science, with a special focus on distributed ledgers, open source Web3, and fueled by a restless environmental urgency.  ..."

• Product Owner: Building Climate Solutions (Remote)
• Lead Full-Stack Developer- Climate Solutions (Remote) (Remote)
• Development Manager- Climate Solutions (Remote)
• Inquiry Here for General Job Opportunities (Remote)

Brimstone Energy

"Cement is responsible for about the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as all of the cars on the road today worldwide. Cement has been widely considered one of the most difficult materials to decarbonize and has even been called out as the reason why we need point-source CCS.  ..."

• R&D Technician - Pyrometallurgy (Oakland, CA)
• Sr. Chemical Engineer (Pyro) (Oakland, CA)

Kara

"Kara is a software platform to empower investors and technology companies to achieve their climate and social goals. The problem that we are solving is that investors (LPs and GPs), governments, and a whole new generation of consumers are increasingly asking if their capital is building the world that they want to see: Are our investments helping solve our climate crisis? ..."

• Software Engineer (Remote (New York, New York, United States))
• Senior Software Engineer (Remote (New York, New York, United States))
• Head of Engineering (New York, New York, United States)

Sustaine

"Sustaine brings renewable energy to small-medium businesses, especially in disadvantaged communities, through our software-based service. ..."

• NY/MA Business Development Representative - Sustainable Energy (Massachusetts, USA)

GreenGrid, Inc.

"GreenGrid works at the intersection of Renewable Energy and Blockchain Technology. ..."

• Startup Cofounder with Background in the Solar Industry (Remote (Greater Boston, USA))
• Early-Stage Climate Focused Startup Seeking Senior Leader with Background in the Solar Industry (Remote (Greater Boston, USA))
• Early-Stage Climate Focused Startup Seeking Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) Lead (Remote (Greater Boston, USA))
• Early-Stage Climate Focused Startup Seeking Senior Leader with Background in Blockchain (Remote (Greater Boston, USA))

Elephant Energy

"We're building the SunRun for building electrification. We help customers upgrade their homes with the latest comfortable, energy-efficient technology: heat pumps, mini splits, EV chargers, induction ranges, etc.  ..."

• Chief of Staff (Denver, CO, USA)
• Field Sales Consultant (Denver, CO, USA)
• Project Manager (Denver, CO, USA)
• Home Comfort Advisor (Denver, CO, USA)
• Operations Ninja / Project Manager (Denver, CO, USA)
• Area Sales Manager (Denver, CO, USA)
• Product Marketing Lead (Denver, CO, USA)
• Product Lead (Denver, CO, USA)

That's it for this week! Remember, you can always view thousands of more jobs on Climatebase.org.

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