• President-elect Joe Biden said he would name John Kerry, one of the negotiators of the Paris climate accord, to a new cabinet-level position: special presidential envoy for climate. Kerry will be responsible for re-establishing the United States’ credibility as a leader in the global effort to slow and reverse the planet’s warming after President Donald Trump’s rejection of both the Paris agreement and climate science more broadly.  (The New York Times)

• General Motors Co. will no longer side with the Trump administration in its lawsuit against California over the state’s right to set its own clean air standards, Chief Executive Mary Barra said in a letter sent after her meeting with the head of California’s air pollution regulator. Fellow automaker Toyota Motor Corp. said it may also switch sides in the suit, potentially indicating that the auto sector is anticipating a policy sea change when Biden takes office in January. (The Associated Press)

• An annual report by the World Meteorological Organization indicates that greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere have continued to swell since hitting record highs in 2019, belying the expectation that shutdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic would result in a significant drop in carbon emissions. While emissions have indeed fallen slightly, the report said that “in the short-term the impact of the COVID-19 confinements cannot be distinguished from natural variability.” (Reuters)

• A group of 62 oil and gas companies known as the Oil and Methane Partnership has pledged to improve its methane reporting practices by measuring rather than estimating site-level emissions and sharing those numbers publicly, both from projects the companies operate themselves and those in which they act as partners, including those run by state-owned oil companies. The initiative’s goal is to reduce methane emissions by 45 percent by 2025 and by 60 to 75 percent by 2030. (Houston Chronicle)

Neal eyes massive coronavirus relief, climate and infrastructure package
Doug Sword, Roll Call

House Ways and Means Chairman Richard E. Neal’s attitude toward legislating under a Democratic-led White House might aptly be described as “never let a crisis go to waste.” 

The Heavy Toll of the Black Belt’s Wastewater Crisis
Alexis Okeowo, The New Yorker

Many rural households in America don’t have access to safe sewage systems. In Alabama, entrenched poverty and unusual geology have created a public-health disaster.

FAA to begin environmental review at SpaceX Texas launch site
David Shepardson, Reuters

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it is beginning an environmental review for planned SpaceX launches in Texas.

Oil Highest Since March on Vaccine Progress, Biden Transition
Alex Longley, Bloomberg

Oil traded at its highest level since March as markets broadly rallied on the start of the U.S. presidential transition process and with the demand outlook strengthening after a string of positive vaccine breakthroughs.

Saudi Aramco Says No One Hurt in Blast, Fire From Missile Strike
Matthew Martin et al., Bloomberg

Saudi Aramco needed about 40 minutes to put out the fire caused by a missile strike on a fuel depot in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, with evidence pointing to a sophisticated attack on Saudi Arabian energy infrastructure.

Interior Department contender says Biden would target Trump Arctic drilling push on first day
Valerie Volcovici and Nichola Groom, Reuters

President Donald Trump’s last-minute push to allow drilling in a pristine part of Alaska’s Arctic will be an early target for the next administration, according to Senator Tom Udall, a contender to lead the Interior Department under Joe Biden.

The fossil fuel industry wants you to believe it’s good for people of color
Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times

The letter to Mexico’s energy minister offered a glowing review of a fossil fuel project in Baja California. Writing in July, three U.S. governors and the chair of the Ute Indian Tribe praised the Energía Costa Azul project — which was seeking approval from the Mexican government — as “one of the most promising [liquefied natural gas] export facilities on the Pacific Coast.”

The expanding battle over oil-and-gas PR
Ben Geman, Axios

Climate activists just launched a campaign that could create bad PR for the PR industry. “Clean Creatives” aims to pressure PR firms and ad agencies to drop oil-and-gas industry clients. The campaign alleges they help those clients spread “misinformation.”

Army Corps of Engineers grants final federal Line 3 permit
Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday approved the final federal permit for Enbridge Energy’s planned Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement across northern Minnesota, bringing the project a step closer to construction.

U.S. regulator issues report on negative oil prices
Devika Krishna Kumar, Reuters

A U.S. regulator on Monday issued a report detailing events that led up to U.S. crude futures’ historic collapse into negative territory in April, but did not delve into the actions by individuals or firms that may have profited on the day.

Colorado regulators approve tougher rules for new oil and gas wells
Liz Hampton, Reuters

Colorado’s oil and gas regulator on Monday approved tougher permitting rules for new oil and gas wells, including requiring a 2,000-foot (610 meter) separation between wells and homes or public spaces, from the current 500-foot setback.

Trump Administration Backs Oil Industry in SCOTUS Climate Case
Ellen M. Gilmer, Bloomberg Law

The Trump administration threw its weight behind oil companies on Monday in a Supreme Court dispute that could affect climate litigation across the country. In a new amicus brief, Justice Department lawyers urged the high court to side with BP Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp., and others in a highly technical dispute involving appellate review of a jurisdictional fight in Baltimore’s climate case against the industry.

The US oil industry is flailing despite a $10 billion pandemic lifeline
Michael J. Coren, Quartz

The US oil and gas industry has received more than $10 billion from the federal government to cushion losses during the pandemic, according to a recent report analyzing federal financial data. That has offered a temporary reprieve even as the industries’ woes, which started well before the arrival of the coronavirus, have continued amid rock-bottom oil prices.

GOP lawmakers call out FERC for inaction on grid resilience, seek answers on next steps
Jasmin Melvin, S&P Global Platts

A recent push by Republican US lawmakers urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to finally define grid resilience and take action to ensure coal’s continued place in the energy mix is unlikely to spur any new policies this late in the game, a power industry observer said Nov. 23.

Pandemic, regional fuel shortages threaten winter grid operations in California, New England
Robert Walton, Utility Dive

“Extreme weather” could result in natural gas shortages and challenges to grid reliability in New England and California this winter, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) concluded in its 2020–2021 Winter Reliability Assessment issued Wednesday.

Investors plan major move into renewable energy infrastructure
Jillian Ambrose, The Guardian

Global investors managing nearly $7tn (£5.2bn) of assets plan to almost double their spending on renewable energy infrastructure over the next five years amid deepening concerns over the fossil fuel industry’s climate plans, according to a report.

Environmental group pushes new clean-energy tax credit
Amy Harder, Axios

The National Wildlife Federation is sharing with lawmakers a tax credit proposal to help bring cleaner electricity to parts of the country that are currently powering with coal and natural gas.

He’s bringing solar power to Puerto Rico — and political power to its people
Brianna Baker, Grist

Arturo Massol-Deyá believes solar panels will bring power to the people of Puerto Rico — in more ways than one. Massol-Deyá is associate director of Casa Pueblo, a nonprofit that, since 1991, has installed close to 1,000 solar panels on homes and businesses throughout Adjuntas, a small mountainside town southwest of San Juan.

Plug-In Cars Come Under Fire for Emitting More Than Advertised
William Wilkes and Niclas Rolander, Bloomberg

Plug-in hybrid cars put out far more CO2 in real-world driving than in tests that determine emissions compliance and ratings advertised to consumers, according to a group urging governments to roll back support for such models.

NYC-area nuclear plant sale gets federal approval
The Associated Press

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved sale of the Indian Point nuclear power plant to a dismantling company without granting requests by lawmakers and environmental groups for public hearings.

Coal remains a headwind for US rails despite optimism following rough Q3 results
Olivia Kalb, S&P Global Platts

Despite an overall optimistic view for the next year within the US railroad industry, coal remains a headwind, even as it is expected to recover somewhat from rough third quarter results.

Companies need to push Congress harder on climate legislation: Senator Whitehouse
Jared Anderson, S&P Global Platts

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat – Rhode Island, said Nov. 13 that “good guy” corporations with climate change reduction strategies need to be more active in pressing federal lawmakers to enact carbon pricing, specifically calling out technology companies to do more, while industry experts addressed other carbon pricing challenges.

“Direction of travel is set” in climate fight, says Paris accord architect
Axel Threlfall and Isla Binnie, Reuters

A slew of international commitments to cut carbon emissions including from U.S. President-elect Joe Biden point to a bright future for the fight to save the environment, former U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres said.

Coastal harm from invading saltwater ‘happening right now’
Bill Lambrecht and Gracie Todd, The Associated Press

Four Native American tribes on Louisiana’s Gulf Coast requested United Nations assistance this year to force action by the U.S. government on invading salt. Their formal complaint cited “climate-forced displacement” and said saltwater had poisoned their land, their crops and their medicinal plants.

General Motors’ parting shot at Trump bodes well for the Biden presidency
Greg Sargent, The Washington Post

It seems obvious enough that for the past few years, it has been suboptimal to have our approach to one of our biggest challenges — the threat to humanity’s future posed by global warming — shaped to no small degree around two of President Trump’s worst pathologies. We’re talking about the bottomless zeal to destroy former President Barack Obama’s legacy and the frequent denial of climate change’s very existence.

When IPCC graphs can foster or bias understanding: evidence among decision-makers from governmental and non-governmental institutions
Helen Fischer et al., Environmental Research Letters

To develop effective climate change policy, decision-makers need to have the best possible understanding of the available climate science. The IPCC Assessment Reports therefore aim to lay the foundation for informed political decision-making by providing policy-relevant information. But how successful are IPCC reports at communicating key findings? 

How PV-Plus Storage Will Compete With Gas Generation in the U.S.
BloombergNEF

Utilities across the U.S. are contracting more, and larger, PV-plus-storage assets. These hybrid projects can perform a wide range of roles and – along with renewables in general – represent a zero-emissions threat to gas, which is currently the workhorse of the U.S. power generation fleet. This will undermine the case for many proposed new-build gas power plants, and dramatically change the generation profiles and economics of others.