General
AP FACT CHECK: Trump didn’t set records on clean air in US
Hope Yen and Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press
The Obama administration set the records for clean air in 2016, and air quality under Trump has worsened since then.
Dem lawmakers blast Trump for opening door to mining in Grand Canyon
Miranda Green, The Hill
Democratic lawmakers are challenging a new Trump administration report they say is – along with other White House moves – a precursor to opening the Grand Canyon to uranium mining.
EPA Science Advisers Say Wheeler Is Limiting Their Role
Marianne Lavelle, InsideClimate News
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler vowed on Wednesday to make greater use of the agency’s official board of science advisers. But soon after he spoke, some of those advisers and other outside experts protested that the agency was instead limiting their role.
A Trump administration review of mining bans has green groups worried
Jacob Holzman, Roll Call
A Commerce Department report about U.S. reliance on foreign sources of minerals deemed essential for national security has stirred fears among environmental groups that the Trump administration may lift existing bans on new mining claims on public lands, including sites near the Grand Canyon.
EPA head accuses reporters, green group of ‘colluding’ on press coverage
Miranda Green, The Hill
Wheeler was referencing a tweet by Alexander Nazaryan, a national correspondent for Yahoo News, who was in attendance at the Monday meeting.
Russia’s Sechin accuses U.S. of using energy as a political weapon
Dmitry Zhdannikov et al., Reuters
Igor Sechin, CEO of Russian oil giant Rosneft, accused the United States of using energy as a political weapon and said on Thursday that the U.S. golden age of energy had become an “era of energy colonialism” for other countries.
Oil prices firm above January lows but concerns grow about demand
Ron Bousso, Reuters
Oil prices firmed on Thursday after falling to near five-month lows in the previous session, but sentiment stayed weak due to rising U.S. supply and a stalling global economy.
Oil and Natural Gas
Saudis, Russia Meet With Future of OPEC+ Cuts Unresolved
Dina Khrennikova and Olga Tanas, Bloomberg
This week, when Energy Ministers Alexander Novak and Khalid Al-Falih meet again in the northerly city that’s President Vladimir Putin’s hometown, resolving differences may not be so easy for the two architects of the OPEC+ agreement.
Opponents of pipeline argue land was improperly seized
Mark Gillispie, The Associated Press
Landowners in Ohio hope to convince a federal appeals court that they were forced by a federal agency to sell their property to a pipeline builder sending large quantities of natural gas to Canada.
2 More Tar Sands Oil Pipelines Run Into Trouble in the Midwest
Phil McKenna, InsideClimate News
The fate of two major tar sands crude oil pipelines has been called into question over environmental concerns as judges in Minnesota overturned a key approval for a proposed pipeline and Michigan’s attorney general threatened to shut down an aging pipeline under the Great Lakes.
Tillerson Says He ‘Probably Paid Too Much’ for XTO Energy as Exxon CEO
Kevin Crowley and Tina Davis, Bloomberg
Tillerson, who left Exxon to run the U.S. State Department under the Trump administration, defended what XTO has contributed to Exxon since the acquisition, which marked the super major’s entry into shale after decades of pursuing conventional resources overseas.
Utilities and Infrastructure
‘Not all batteries are made equal’ – APS battery fire highlights safety risks, lack of knowledge
HJ Mai, Utility Dive
The recent explosion at an Arizona battery storage facility that injured four firefighters has put a renewed spotlight on battery safety. While the cause of the April 19 incident at Arizona Public Service’s (APS) McMicken storage facility remains under investigation, the industry is trying to find the right balance between rapid expansion and safety.
Renewables
Starbucks taps Seattle startup LevelTen in first-of-its-kind clean energy deal
James Thorne, GeekWire
Starbucks has struck a first-of-its-kind clean energy deal that will generate enough power to run 3,000 of its stores by 2021. To pull it off, the coffee giant worked with green energy marketplace LevelTen Energy to purchase stakes in two solar and one wind project across North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.
Connecticut Is Set to Join in $70 Billion Offshore Wind Expansion
Chris Martin, Bloomberg
Connecticut is set to massively increase investment in offshore wind after the state Senate passed a bill to require utilities to buy as much as 2 gigawatts of the renewable energy source, equivalent to almost a third of the state’s electricity needs.
How can the US reduce battery costs and foreign dependence? Recycle, Argonne official tells senators
HJ Mai, Utility Dive
Figuring out a way to recycle lithium-ion batteries could significantly reduce the cost of battery storage and other applications, George Crabtree, director at Argonne National Laboratory’s Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee yesterday.
In Quest for Bigger Batteries, California Mulls Century-Old Idea
David R. Baker, Bloomberg
The huge system of reservoirs and turbines can store energy during the day and then crank out electricity for 900,000 homes, using just water and gravity.
GM Plans to Sell Electric Cars to ‘Joe Sixpack’ and Make Money Doing It
David Welch, Bloomberg
General Motors Co. is making a big claim about its future electric cars: The automaker will be able to sell them at “very average transaction prices” and be profitable, GM President Mark Reuss said in a presentation Wednesday.
Coal
Wyoming judge weighs process arguments in new coal mine case
Mead Gruver, The Associated Press
A review process that led to the rejection of a state permit for a proposed coal mine violated federal law, the mine developer told a judge Wednesday, while a landowner’s group argued that state officials correctly followed state law in assessing the project.
Nuclear
World’s Top Uranium Producer Is Gloomy About Nuclear Power
Will Wade, Bloomberg
With construction of nuclear power plants at a 10-year low, uranium demand remains weak. That’s holding prices so low that mining companies have been wary of increasing production.
Climate
US officials warn of climate risk as Trump dismisses it
Eric Tucker, The Associated Press
Senior U.S. officials warned Wednesday that climate change is an increasing threat to national security, a message at odds with a broader Trump administration effort to downplay the threat from global warming.
Can the Paris Climate Goals Save Lives? Yes, a Lot of Them, Researchers Say
Kendra Pierre-Louis, The New York Times
Summertime heat is forecast to become even deadlier without action to drastically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, according to a new study.
Dying from the Heat Can Be Reduced by Dialing Down Emissions
Jeremy Hodges, Bloomberg
Capping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) will save thousands of lives by reducing the frequency of extreme heatwaves, according to a landmark study.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
To protect our health, we must act on climate
U.S. Reps. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) and Kim Schrier (D-Wash.), The Hill
There is no denying it: climate change is one of the biggest public health threats facing our country and planet. From increased air pollution, to worsening extreme weather disasters, to greater risks for diseases, climate change impacts every aspect of our health and safety.
The revolt against energy taxes
J. Winston Porter, The Hill
North America and Western European greens are pushing climate policies largely focused on renewables such as wind and solar electric power. A major obstacle to climate policies is the perception that people are being asked to pay an early price for “carbon taxes.” Such taxes are often used to finance wind and solar power.
Jones Act? Not a Problem for US Offshore Wind Market, Avangrid Says
Kark-Erik Stromsta, Greentech Media
Avangrid may be one of the biggest developers of onshore renewables in the U.S., with a fleet of more than 50 wind farms, but these days it’s spending much of its time and development dollars on projects out to sea.
Research Reports
June 2019 Status Report
Task force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures
As part of its efforts to promote adoption of the recommendations, the Task Force prepared this status report to provide an overview of current disclosure practices as they relate to the Task Force’s recommendations, highlight key challenges associated with implementing the recommendations, and outline some of the efforts the Task Force will consider undertaking in coming months to help address some of the implementation challenges.
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