Top Stories

  • Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden today is expected to release his long-awaited plans for clean energy and infrastructure, which include spending $2 trillion over four years and setting the goal of 100 percent clean power by 2035, according to people briefed on the proposals. This represents a stronger approach on climate than his initial plan, rolled out last summer, which called for $1.7 trillion in spending over 10 years and set a zero-emissions target of 2050. (Bloomberg)
  • After “a review of the scientific literature and a recommendation from” its science advisers, the Environmental Protection Agency will maintain 2015 limits on fine particulate matter, despite calls from advocates to strengthen them. The agency’s own scientists recommended lowering the amount of soot allowed in the air in a 2019 draft report, though EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the majority of the agency’s outside advisers recommended retaining existing limits on the substance, which can come from cars, trucks, industrial operations and other sources and can cause lung inflammation and other illnesses. (The Washington Post)
  • A Government Accountability Office report set for release today has found that the Trump administration is facilitating environmental deregulation by undervaluing the cost of damage caused by greenhouse gas emissions. The report said that the administration’s estimation of the impacts of climate change — or the “social cost of carbon” — is seven times lower than previous federal estimates, which has skewed cost-benefit analyses especially for power plant and vehicle emissions rules. (The New York Times)
  • BlackRock Inc. said in January that it would get tough on companies too slow in taking on climate change, and in a report today the asset manager said it has placed 244 companies “on watch” for their inaction and has already taken voting action at annual meetings for 53 companies, mostly through voting against director re-elections. St. Louis-based coal miner Peabody Energy Corp. is among the companies on BlackRock’s watch list. (Financial Times)

Chart Review

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

07/14/2020
Environmental and Energy Study Institute webinar: The Climate Crisis Report in Focus 12:00 pm
House Energy and Commerce Committee Hearing: Oversight of DOE During the Covid-19 Pandemic 12:00 pm
CSIS online event: Innovation in Advanced Nuclear Energy 1:00 pm
House Natural Resources Committee – Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee hearing: “Energy Infrastructure and Environmental Justice: Lessons for a Sustainable Future” 1:00 pm
Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment event: A Conversation with Gloria Dittus 2:00 pm
07/15/2020
OurEnergyPolicy webinar: Building Electrification: the Politics, Economics, and Infrastructure Around Converting America’s Building Stock 12:00 pm
AU and American Lung Association event: Air Quality and COVID-19: Connections, Health Impacts, and Racial Disparities 4:00 pm
07/18/2020
Climate Reality Leadership Corps: Global Training
07/19/2020
Climate Reality Leadership Corps: Global Training
View full calendar

New Report: How the Pandemic Has Altered Expectations of Remote Work

COVID-19 is reshaping the future of work more rapidly than employers could have planned for.

As balancing business and safety needs becomes more complex and talent expectations evolve, employee work preferences and habits are also changing. Download the full report to learn what employers can do and expect as the new norm takes place.

General

House Panel Advances FY21 Energy-Water Funding Bill
Kellie Lunney, Bloomberg Law

House Appropriations Cmte approves a $49.6b spending measure for energy and water infrastructure that would boost funding for renewable energy but would prohibit money for a White House plan to resurrect underground nuclear weapons testing.

Canadian firms warn over Mexico energy policy at dawn of trade deal
Dave Graham and David Ljunggren, Reuters

As Mexico celebrated a new trade deal with the United States and Canada on July 1, a group of Canadian energy investors warned their government that Mexico could already be violating the agreement for failing to respect contracts.

False Choice Between Profit, Good Seen in Social Investing Rules
Ralph Chapoco, Bloomberg Law

A U.S. Department of Labor proposed rule on when retirement-plan fiduciaries can consider socially responsible investments represents a return to a time when maximizing returns or altruism was considered an either-or choice, advocates say.

Oil Drops as the World’s Emergence From Virus Lockdown Slows
Low De Wei and Alex Longley

Oil slipped for a second day on signs of a slower emergence from lockdown in some corners of the globe.

Oil and Natural Gas

Steyer: For a Biden Administration, ‘the Time for Subsidizing Fossil Fuels Is Long Passed’
Lisa Martine Jenkins, Morning Consult

Businessman and former Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer anticipates subsidies for oil and gas would be “off the table” in a potential Biden administration, noting that meeting the former vice president’s clean energy goals would involve a “pretty darn big change.” 

Diesel Engines Latest to Get EPA Rules Respite Due to Virus
Alexandra Yetter, Bloomberg Law

The EPA is giving diesel engine makers a break from meeting certain Clean Air Act requirements because of challenges from the coronavirus pandemic. Public health and legal concerns may have hindered manufacturers’ ability to adhere to certification and compliance activities for engines, vehicles, and other equipment, according to a Monday letter from the agency.

Environmental Groups Seek to Halt Building of Duke LNG Project
Mark Chediak, Bloomberg Law

Friends of the Earth and Lumber Riverkeeper are asking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to order construction be halted on a liquefied natural gas project owned by Duke Energy’s Piedmont Natural Gas.

Forward markets point to potential fall US LNG output rebound from current lows
Harry Weber and Ross Wyeno, S&P Global Platts

Forecasts for healthier netbacks could spur a rebound in US LNG export activity in the fall, following a sustained period of significantly reduced terminal utilization driven by cargo cancellations due to weak prices in end-user markets, according to S&P Global Platts Analytics data.

Dakota Access Gets Trump Administration Support Over Shutdown
Ellen M. Gilmer, Bloomberg Law

The Trump administration is joining Dakota Access in appealing a court order requiring the oil pipeline to shut down next month.

OPEC chief sees oil market moving closer to balance before key meeting
Alex Lawler and Rania El Gamal, Reuters

The oil market is getting closer to balance as demand gradually rises, OPEC’s secretary general said on Monday, two days before the group and ally Russia meet to decide whether to ease output curbs from August.

Environmental groups question Enbridge pipeline hearing
The Associated Press

Environmentalists contend the state Department of Natural Resources held a public hearing on Enbridge Inc.’s plans to reroute a northern Wisconsin pipeline prematurely.

Utilities and Infrastructure

Biggest U.S. Battery System Connects to California’s Grid
Anthony Robledo, Bloomberg

The biggest battery storage system in the U.S. connected to California’s electricity grid, giving the state more flexibility to bank excess solar power generated during the hottest parts of the day and deploy it later.

Renewables

Colossal Six Months for Offshore Wind Support Renewable Energy Investment in First Half of 2020
BloombergNEF

Renewable energy capacity investment showed great resilience in the first half of 2020, in the face of the unprecedented economic shock caused by the coronavirus, according to the latest figures from research company BloombergNEF (BNEF).

Coal

Only two coal-fired power plants in Colorado are set to operate past 2030 after Craig Station shutdown date is unveiled
Lauren Irwin, The Colorado Sun

Xcel is the only utility in Colorado with large, coal-fired power plants set to operate past 2030.

Nuclear

House Appropriators Spar Over Yucca Mountain at Spending Markup
Kellie Lunney, Bloomberg Law

The decades-long quest to figure out storing nuclear waste at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain dominated discussion during Monday’s Appropriations Committee markup of the energy and water spending bill.

Democrats split on Trump plan to use development funds for nuclear projects
Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill

Democratic lawmakers are split over a Trump administration proposal that would allow international development funds to be used for overseas nuclear projects. The U.S. International Development Finance Corp. (DFC), a fledgling government fund with an aim to alleviate poverty, has proposed lifting the longtime ban it inherited from its predecessor that bars funding for any nuclear projects.

Climate

Factbox: On climate, it’s Biden’s green revolution versus Trump’s war on red tape
Timothy Gardner, Reuters

The U.S. presidential election pits a politician who supports environmental regulation and diplomacy to tackle climate change against another determined to dismantle such policies.

Climate change, COVID-19 stoke wildfire’s economic risk, Fed says
Ann Saphir, Reuters

Wildfires threaten the economy of the western United States to a greater extent than the rest of the country, and the coronavirus pandemic and climate change will only make that worse, according to research from the San Francisco Fed on Monday.

This Solution to Runaway Emissions Starts With Crushed Rocks
Akshat Rathi, Bloomberg

‘Enhanced rock weathering’ would also boost agricultural yields while sucking up greenhouse gases.

Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives

When Central Banks Go Green
The Editorial Board, The Wall Street Journal

Modern central banks jealously guard their independence—unless it comes to the environment. Witness monetary maestros’ growing enthusiasm for using central-bank balance sheets to pursue green-policy goals.

Don’t trade domestic energy independence for dependence on foreign lithium
Rep. David McKinley, Washington Examiner

Over the past few months, people have become acutely aware of the problems with relying on foreign countries for vital products. The global pandemic has demonstrated that America depends on foreign suppliers far too much for products vital to our health, from masks to testing swabs to pharmaceuticals.

Local energy production is the sustainable choice
Dan Haley, The Colorado Sun

Recent news stories highlight the need not only for American energy security, but for domestic energy that is produced cleaner, better and safer than anywhere on the planet, which is exactly what we’re doing here in Colorado.

Research Reports

Solar Climate Intervention: Options for International Assessment and Decision-Making
Daniel Bodansky and Susan Biniaz, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions

There is a growing risk that the global response to climate change will be inadequate to avoid an unsafe global climate. There is corresponding interest in exploring the potential need for, and feasibility of, rapid responses to avoid dangerous climate change – such as solar climate intervention (SCI). At the same time, there is concern that such intervention, if any, be implemented as safely as possible. This paper posits a scenario in which a group of countries seeks a cooperative, science-based approach to decision-making regarding the potential use of SCI, in the context of increasingly dangerous climate conditions, taking into account “two safeties:” the safety of the global climate, and the safety of SCI, if any, in response.

Expectations for Renewable Energy Finance in 2020-2023: Survey of Leading Financial Institutions and Developers: $1T 2030 Campaign Progress Report
American Council on Renewable Energy

This analysis presents the results of a new survey of prominent financial institutions and renewable energy development companies on their confidence in the sector amid the ongoing impacts of COVID-19. This report also tracks progress on the $1T 2030: American Renewable Investment Goal, which is an initiative ACORE launched in 2018 to help secure $1 trillion in private sector investment in renewable energy and enabling grid technologies by 2030. One trillion dollars of investment over 2018-2030 would represent more than two times the historic investment in the U.S. renewable sector before the campaign and more than double our existing renewable capacity, bringing us closer to meeting climate goals.

Morning Consult