• On Wednesday, 285 companies agreed to meet science-based targets for lower emissions — a commitment that could beget a projected $18 billion in climate mitigation funding and 90 terawatt hours of renewable generation each year, according to the group of firms. The Science Based Targets Initiative, whose participants include Microsoft Corp., Coca-Cola Co. and McDonald’s Corp., aims to reduce emissions commensurate with the current goals of the Paris climate accord. (S&P Global Platts)

• The Nuclear Fuel Working Group has recommended that President Donald Trump call on the federal government to purchase more uranium from U.S. producers and possibly create a new national uranium reserve, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Trump has not yet been briefed on the report, whose findings have not been made public. (Bloomberg)

• A subsidiary of LG Chem said it plans to invest $916 million over four years for a future joint venture for vehicle battery production with General Motors Co., according to a securities filing. GM has set a target to sell 1 million electric vehicles worldwide by 2026, and LG Chem is a top seller of lithium-ion batteries. (The New York TImes)

Rick Perry mentioned more than 50 times in Dems’ report
George Cahlink and Lesley Clark, E&E News

No new allegations surrounding Perry’s role emerge in the 300-page report House Intelligence Democrats released yesterday.

House Dem: Moving BLM out of DC could result in lawsuits, decrease in diversity
Miranda Green, The Hill

In a letter to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) warned that by failing to study how a forced relocation of staff could affect the agency’s diversity, the BLM was opening itself up to a legal challenge.

Ex-Trump adviser: ‘Brainwashed’ aides killed climate review
Scott Waldman, E&E News

William Happer, who proposed the failed effort to question the conclusions of scientists on climate change, said he spoke with Trump several times about climate change while working for the National Security Council.

States slashed 4,400 environmental agency jobs in past decade: study
Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill

A new report warns that spending cutbacks at state environmental protection agencies have led to thousands of job cuts at a time when the federal government is rolling back regulations.

EPA’s Public Disclosure of PFAS Regulation Plan Delayed
David Schultz, Bloomberg Environment

The agency announced that its Office of Water sent a document to the White House on Dec. 3 that lays out its decision. But the document isn’t public during review, and Jennifer McLain, the office’s top drinking water regulator, said this final White House review process likely will take months.

Oil rises as OPEC weighs deeper output cuts
Ron Bousso, Reuters

Oil prices rose on Thursday ahead of an OPEC meeting where members are expected to agree on deeper output cuts in an effort to prop up prices and prevent a glut next year.

OPEC and allies prepare to deepen oil output cuts
Rania El Gamal et al., Reuters

OPEC and its allies led by Russia on Thursday were moving closer to agreeing one of the deepest output cuts this decade to support crude prices and prevent a glut, sources from OPEC and its allied producers said.

Voluntary evacuation order issued in Texas city after blast
The Associated Press

Concerns over air quality have prompted a voluntary evacuation order that was in effect Thursday for a Texas Gulf Coast city where a pair of chemical plant explosions occurred last week. Port Neches issued the voluntary order for its 50,000 residents late Wednesday after elevated levels of the chemical butadiene were detected.

Chesapeake Debt Deal Staves Off Bankruptcy But Outlook Still Dim
Allison McNeely, Bloomberg

Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s move to tame its $10 billion debt load alleviates immediate concerns about the oil and gas producer’s viability, yet fundamental issues threatening the company’s long-term outlook remain.

An Exxon-Owned Firm Figured Out How to Curb CO2 in 1991
Eric Roston, Bloomberg

Calgary-based Imperial Oil Ltd., which has ties to Exxon’s predecessors going back to the end of the 19th century, hired an outside research firm to look at how environmental taxes might affect both CO2 pollution and the Canadian economy. 

After 2 court losses, DOE signals it will publish 4 appliance efficiency standards
Robert Walton, Utility Dive

The U.S. Department of Energy plans to comply with a court order to publish four delayed appliance efficiency standards, an agency spokesperson told Utility Dive Tuesday.

PG&E urges judge to approve key settlement, faces resistance
Michael Liedtke, The Associated Press

Pacific Gas & Electric on Wednesday urged a federal bankruptcy judge to approve a key insurance settlement as it struggles to regain its financial footing and cover at least $20 billion in losses stemming from catastrophic wildfires in California tied to its equipment.

Senators urge FERC to protect critical infrastructure from Huawei threats
Chris Mills Rodrigo, The Hill

Huawei announced in June that it would exit the American solar market, but the Republican lawmakers and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) expressed some skepticism.

Overpowered: In Virginia, Dominion faces challenges to its reign
Darren Sweeney et al., S&P Global Market Intelligence

When Dominion Energy Virginia decided in 2012 to convert two units of its coal-fired Bremo Bluff power station to burn natural gas, it pledged that the conversion at the Fluvanna County plant would save customers $32 million compared to the cost of building new gas-fired generation and $155 million compared to continued operation on coal.

Solar Industry Girds for New Fight as Trump’s Tariffs Get Review
Ari Natter, Bloomberg

Tariffs on solar panels imposed nearly two years ago by President Donald Trump to protect U.S. manufacturers from competitors in China and elsewhere are now the focus of a battle in Washington over whether the measures should be amended.

Rivers could generate thousands of nuclear power plants worth of energy, thanks to a new ‘blue’ membrane
Robert F. Service, Science Magazine

Green energy advocates may soon be turning blue. A new membrane could unlock the potential of “blue energy,” which uses chemical differences between fresh- and saltwater to generate electricity

EPA ignores health benefits of coal rule it plans to weaken: economists
Timothy Gardner, Reuters

A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposal to weaken a rule on coal plant pollution fails to consider billions of dollars in health benefits for Americans, economists from universities including Harvard and Yale said on Wednesday.

Davis-Besse, Perry and Beaver Valley nukes will get operating licenses transferred, NRC says
Tom Henry, The Toledo Blade

Operating licenses for the Davis-Besse, Perry, and Beaver Valley 1 and 2 nuclear plants will be transferred to a new company being established to run and maintain the facilities once bankruptcy proceedings for FirstEnergy Solutions is completed, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday.

ECB’s Lagarde will struggle to fulfill self-imposed climate mission
Balazs Koranyi and Francesco Canepa, Reuters

While the ECB will be able to use its platform to highlight the financial risks associated with climate change, its narrowly defined mandate of fighting inflation will limit what Lagarde can actually do.

Climate models have accurately predicted global heating, study finds
Dana Nuccitelli, The Guardian

The findings confirm that since as early as 1970, climate scientists have had a solid fundamental understanding of the Earth’s climate system and the ability to project how it will respond to continued increases in the greenhouse effect.

Freak storms of 2019 Atlantic hurricane season left trail of destruction and revealed climate change fingerprints
Matthew Cappucci, The Washington Post

We break down how deceptively destructive the season was, which ended Saturday, and how it stacks up against previous years.

UN climate talks aim to pave way for global carbon market
Frank Jordans, The Associated Press

Negotiators at a U.N. meeting in Madrid this month are aiming to finally tackle the issue, after last year agreeing on almost all other parts of the rulebook governing the 2015 Paris climate accord.

California lawmakers fear wildfires will be left out of FCC emergency guidelines
Kate Irby, McClatchy DC

The FCC is currently updating its emergency guidelines and has asked for public input on updates needed for emergencies, only specifying hurricanes.

Florida Keys Deliver a Hard Message: As Seas Rise, Some Places Can’t Be Saved
Christopher Flavelle and Patricia Mazzei, The New York Times

Officials in the Florida Keys announced what many coastal governments nationwide have long feared, but few have been willing to admit: As seas rise and flooding gets worse, not everyone can be saved. And in some places, it doesn’t even make sense to try.

Timely Drilling Needed Off the East Coast
J. Winston Porter, Morning Consult

Now is the time to recognize the value of offshore drilling and the substantial revenue and thousands of jobs it supports. We should accept the idea that properly managed oil and natural gas production on the Outer Continental Shelf is essential for our economic well-being and security.

The EPA’s Pernicious Attack on Science
Carl Pope, Bloomberg

Andrew Wheeler, President Donald Trump’s EPA administrator, is working to demolish the edifice that Ruckelshaus built by destroying the scientific foundation on which it stands.

The Adverse Impact of Section 201 Tariffs: Lost Jobs, Lost Deployment and Lost Investments
Solar Energy Industries Association

In early 2017, a domestic cell and module manufacturer submitted a petition to the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) seeking protection from imports.