General
Without Trump’s help, America’s other leaders go it alone in the fight against climate change Drew Kann, CNN
President Donald Trump’s move to begin pulling out of the Paris Agreement last month signaled to world leaders that the US government is stepping away from the global push to stop the climate crisis.
Kavanaugh opens door to carbon rule challenge Niina H. Farah, E&E News
Some legal experts say that question could become a focus for the Supreme Court’s conservative majority now that Justice Brett Kavanaugh has signaled interest in reconsidering the scope of agency powers.
Nations around the world take cues from U.S. climate insurgents Zack Colman, Politico
They’re taking a cue from the climate split inside the United States, where states like California and New York and more than 2,200 businesses and investors are pledging their support for the 2015 Paris pact despite President Donald Trump’s plan to abandon it.
Bloomberg shows up as climate UN talks get into tough phase Frank Jordans and Aritz Parra, The Associated Press
American billionaire and Democratic presidential contender Michael Bloomberg says that the next U.S. president should halt fossil fuel subsidies altogether.
Government Website for Federal Rules Input Shuts Off Alan Levin and Todd Shields, Bloomberg
Regulations.gov — normally a vast hive of U.S. regulatory activity and the portal for making comments in response — lost its security certificate, according to a man who answered the site’s help line and declined to provide his full name. The website returned to service on Monday night after being out for much of the day.
How PFAS negotiations fell apart Ariana Figueroa, E&E News
The compromise that lawmakers were nearing would have required EPA to designate two types of PFAS as hazardous and would have tasked EPA with setting strict drinking standard to regulate the chemicals.
Oil Steady Near 12-Week High Amid Stockpile Drop, Trade Anxiety Sharon Cho and Grant Smith, Bloomberg
West Texas Intermediate futures were little changed, after briefly surging on signs of economic confidence in Germany. U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 2.5 million barrels last week, a Bloomberg survey showed before government data due Wednesday.
Oil and Natural Gas
Move over, coal: Gas now emits more CO2 in U.S. Benjamin Storrow, E&E News
Those findings, reported last week in a study by the Global Carbon Project, add more fuel to an already smoldering debate about the role of natural gas in a carbon-constrained world. They also raise questions about its ability to serve as a “bridge fuel.”
No major impacts on Lake Superior found from Line 3 pipeline Steve Karnowsi, The Associated Press
An updated environmental review released by a state agency Monday found no serious threat to Lake Superior if crude oil ever leaked from a new pipeline to replace Enbridge Energy’s aging Line 3 across northern Minnesota.
Saudi Arabia to Spend ‘a Lot’ of Its Aramco IPO Proceeds Locally Vivian Nereim, Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund expects to spend “a lot” of the $26 billion in proceeds from the sale of a stake in Aramco in the domestic economy, Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said.
Utilities and Infrastructure
PG&E’s $13.5B deal with fire victims removes huge obstacles Michael Liedtke, The Associated Press
Pacific Gas and Electric will be able to avoid two legal obstacles that could have tripped up its efforts to bounce back from bankruptcy if California Gov. Gavin Newsom and a federal judge approve a $13.5 billion settlement with victims of catastrophic fires blamed on the utility’s equipment.
Renewables
US wind capacity hits 100 gigawatts; Texas is No. 1 wind state L.M. Sixel, Houston Chronicle
The nation has reached a milestone of 100 gigawatts of installed wind energy capacity, with more than half of that installed in the past seven years, according to the Department of Energy. One gigawatt provides enough power for about 700,000 homes.
Coal
Gordon still undecided over legal response to blocked coal export terminal Camille Erickson, Casper Star Tribune
Gov. Mark Gordon continues to mull an original lawsuit against Washington after the state blocked the construction of the largest coal export terminal on the West Coast, he said in an interview with the Star-Tribune.
Nuclear
Nuclear Power, a Low-Carbon Energy Source, Is Shunned by the West David Hodari, The Wall Street Journal
In the U.S., nuclear-reactor designer Westinghouse Electric Co. and utilities company FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. have emerged from chapter 11 status over the past year, after struggling with plant construction and battling to compete with declining natural-gas and renewable-energy prices, respectively.
DOJ Nixing of Battelle Energy Nuclear Contract Fraud Suit Upheld Daniel Seiden, Bloomberg Environment
False claims whistleblower Douglas Toomer couldn’t show that an interlocutory appeal is needed to challenge the dismissal of False Claims Act claims against Terra Power LLC and Battelle Energy Alliance LLC, two Energy Department contractors, an Idaho federal court said.
Climate
Climate On Track to Warm at Least 3 Degrees Without Action Jeremy Hodges and Demetrios Pogkas, Bloomberg
The world is on track to warm by almost 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century, double the rate scientists have identified as needed to constrain the worst impacts of climate change.
Companies Say They Want to Save the Planet—but They Can’t Agree How Saabira Chaudhuri, The Wall Street Journal
Companies increasingly talk about being climate positive, but they disagree on what that means and how to measure it—a problem business leaders plan to start hashing out this week.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
Don’t Let China Win the Green Race John Kerry and U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), The New York Times
We should not be spectators in shaping our own future, or the world’s. We should pledge that by the end of the next decade, America will surpass China and win the clean energy race.
Life after Yucca Mountain: The time has come to reset US nuclear waste policy David Klaus and Rod Ewing, The Hill
After decades of inaction and stalemate, there are small but significant signs that the U.S. government may finally be ready to meet its legal commitment to manage and dispose of the more than 80,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel at 74 operating and shut-down commercial nuclear reactors sites in 35 states across the country.
Next Oil Rally May Be Made in Texas, Not Vienna Spencer Jakab, The Wall Street Journal
Last week’s meeting of OPEC+—the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus its noncartel allies—lighted a temporary fire under crude prices. The effect gave the historic initial public offering of Saudi Arabian Oil Co. a boost.
Research Reports
Climate variability reduces employment in New England fisheries Kimberly L. Oremus, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
This paper provides empirical evidence that fluctuations in a regional climate index reduced county-level fishing employment in New England by an average of 16% between 1996 and 2017. The findings cannot be extrapolated to other regions without further study, but they demonstrate how climate can be linked to fishing employment at a regional level via a biophysical pathway.
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