Top Stories

  • In order to hit the goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, global economies will need to invest up to $55 trillion in the coming decades, according to a report released by the Energy Transitions Commission — a group of executives from energy giants such as ArcelorMittal SA, BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC. The group has found that this investment would allow for projects that are vital in reaching the emissions goal, including large-scale electrification, the expanded use of hydrogen and biofuels and building renewable power plants. (Bloomberg)
  • The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies have scheduled a meeting for later today to discuss compliance with their agreed-upon production cuts, though the group is unlikely to recommend changes to its current target of 7.7 million barrels per day. OPEC+ is also set to discuss demand trends and oil prices, according to an internal document seen by a media outlet, warning that an uptick in coronavirus cases could limit oil demand recovery. (Reuters)
  • A group of senators from both sides of the aisle have introduced a bill that would provide tax relief to individuals and businesses impacted by natural disasters, including August’s derecho in the Midwest, recent West Coast wildfires and hurricanes in the Gulf states. The legislation would apply to individuals and businesses in areas deemed disaster areas by the president from July 1 through 60 days after the bill’s enactment. (The Hill)

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Events Calendar (All Times Local)

09/17/2020
Bloomberg Green Virtual Festival
Third Way Fastest Path to Zero Summit II 9:00 am
USEA 2nd Annual Advanced Energy Technology Forum 9:00 am
USAID/USEA webinar: Cybersecurity Standards and Best Practices (Part 1) 9:30 am
The Washington Post Live: Infrastructure and Innovation 11:00 am
Statista webinar: Climate Change: Objectives, Challenges and Innovations 11:30 am
DOE 2002 Natural Gas Summit, hosted by Secretary Brouillette and Larry Kudlow 12:00 pm
NARUC webinar: Leveraging Behavioral Strategies for Building Decarbonization 3:00 pm
09/18/2020
Duke Law event: Managing Climate Risk in the U.S. Financial System 10:00 am
World Resources Institute webinar: Industrial Innovation and Economic Recovery in the U.S. 10:30 am
WIEB + NARUC Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage Workshop Series 1:00 pm
09/21/2020
Climate Week NYC
National Clean Energy Week
UN International Conference on Sustainable Development
Columbia SIPA virtual event: The Impact of the Energy Transition on Global Health and Economic Prosperity 12:00 pm
09/22/2020
Climate Week NYC
National Clean Energy Week
Columbia SIPA virtual event: Achieving a Net Zero Emissions Economy: Returning Carbon to the Earth 9:00 am
CSIS webinar: bp Energy Outlook 2020 11:30 am
Third Way event: Fastest Path to Zero 12:00 pm
Columbia SIPA virtual event: Green Recovery from COVID-19: Perspectives From Across the Globe 12:00 pm
NYT virtual event: From Experiment to Everyday: The New Zero-Carbon Normal for Cities 1:30 pm
Rocky Mountain Institute virtual event: Climate Intelligence for the Oil and Gas Industries 5:00 pm
View full calendar

Watch the Webinar On Demand – The Gen Z Threat

Recently, Morning Consult hosted a webinar breaking down our latest report, Gen Z’s Most Loved Brands of 2020.

You can access a recording of the webinar here for insight into how the pandemic is transforming Gen Z’s relationship with brands, and how brands should adapt to meet the changing expectations of this generation of the future.

General

In contentious vote, Pennsylvania takes formal step towards joining regional cap and trade market
Robert Walton, Utility Dive

The Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB) on Tuesday voted 13-6 to launch a formal rulemaking process required for the state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a carbon cap and trade program among 10 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.

Water company withdraws desalination proposal as battle over environmental justice heats up
Rosanna Xia, Los Angeles Times

Amid mounting controversy and concerns over environmental justice, California American Water on Wednesday withdrew its application for a desalination project in the small Monterey Bay town of Marina.

Oil Steadies Before OPEC+ Review Meeting on Tackling Oversupply
Sharon Cho and Grant Smith, Bloomberg

Oil steadied after its biggest surge since June as the OPEC cartel and its partners prepared to assess a downbeat outlook for the crude market.

Oil and Natural Gas

Oil Producers’ Best Customers Are in Trouble
Jinjoo Lee, The Wall Street Journal

Oil-producing nations have shown remarkable discipline so far in making sure the global supply will be somewhat predictable. Demand, however, is proving much more elusive.

Gas Companies Are Abandoning Their Wells, Leaving Them to Leak Methane Forever
Mya Frazier, Bloomberg

Just one orphaned site in California could have emitted more than 30 tons of methane. There are millions more like it.

An Oil Giant’s Case for Peak Demand, Even Without Climate Heroics
Nathaniel Bullard, Bloomberg

BP’s annual energy outlook sees consumption topping out in the next decade even in its most likely scenarios.

Climate policies, curbs on oil drilling central to Ventura County’s adopted General Plan
Kathleen Wilson, Ventura County Star

County supervisors on Tuesday adopted a general plan for the next 20 years with measures to slow down climate change and increase restrictions on oil drilling near homes and schools in unincorporated areas.  

Green groups sue EPA over methane rollbacks
Rachel Frazin, The Hill

A coalition of environmental and tribal groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its rollback of two rules meant to limit the amount of methane emitted by the oil and gas sector. 

Dakota Access Oil Pipe Likely Safe From Shutdown Through 2020
Ellen Gilmer, Bloomberg Law

The Dakota Access oil pipeline is poised to stay in service at least through December under a new court schedule, assuming the Trump administration doesn’t force a shutdown.

Utilities and Infrastructure

FERC Nominees Pledge Open Mind on Climate Science, Carbon Tax
Kellie Lunney, Bloomberg Law

The Democratic and Republican nominees for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission told senators that if confirmed they’ll follow the law and facts of individual cases that come before them without favoring any specific energy source.

Renewables

New York State Looks to Fast-Track Renewable Energy Projects
Keshia Clukey, Bloomberg Law

New York state is aiming to speed up renewable energy project siting and construction as it aims to meet its climate change goals, according to proposed regulations released Wednesday.

BP’s renewable energy plans come into focus
Ben Geman, Axios

BP is providing more info this week about its decades-long plan to diversify away from its dominant fossil fuel business — including expectations for the first few years.

World’s Top Electric-Car Battery Business Moves Toward IPO
Kyunghee Park, Bloomberg

South Korean petrochemicals maker LG Chem Ltd. will split off its electric-vehicle battery business into a separate entity, seeking to carve out value as global EV demand increases.

Coal/Nuclear

Trump’s Promise to Revive Coal Thwarted by Falling Demand, Cheaper Alternatives
Rebecca Elliott and Jonathan Randles, The Wall Street Journal

Production is declining at a faster rate than under Obama; still, many in the industry fear things would be even worse under Biden,

BP outlines the path for coal in annual outlook
Ben Geman, Axios

The biggest takeaway from BP’s annual long-term outlook was about peak oil demand, but there are other interesting points in the report as well— including its take on coal’s future.

Climate

As Wildfires Rage, California Presses Insurers to Cut Rates
Christopher Flavelle, The New York Times

Faced with the twin climate crises of historic wildfires and spiraling insurance costs, California on Wednesday laid out new rules to make insurance more affordable in fire-prone areas. But the changes could backfire, experts say — pushing insurers to stop offering insurance in those areas and further imperiling communities on the front lines of climate change.

What Trump’s Environmental Rollbacks Mean for Global Warming
Nadja Popovich and Brad Plumer, The New York Times

President Trump has made dismantling federal climate policies a centerpiece of his administration. A new analysis from the Rhodium Group finds those rollbacks add up to a lot more planet-warming emissions.

Hurricane Sally’s Fierce Rain Shows How Climate Change Raises Storm Risks
Henry Fountain and John Schwartz, The New York Times

Staggering rain totals, fueled by a warming atmosphere that can hold more moisture, are being recorded from the storm.

It’s Not Just the West. These Places Are Also on Fire.
Veronica Penney, The New York Times

Extreme temperatures and more severe droughts, the result of human-caused climate change, have created a world that’s ready to burn.

Trump’s plan for managing forests won’t save us in a more flammable world, experts say
Sarah Kaplan and Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post

In California, smoke plumes spun into twisters made out of soot and flame, prompting the first-ever “fire tornado” warning. In Oregon, blazes advanced on towns so rapidly that even fire crews had to flee. Never in memory have so many fires burned so much land in so many places over such a short span of time. The smoke has enveloped the whole continent, dimming the sun in cities 2,000 miles away.

Vermont governor vetoes global warming solutions act
The Associated Press

Republican Gov. Phil Scott has vetoed a bill that would have required Vermont to meet certain greenhouse gas emissions targets in the coming years and allowed the state to be sued if it didn’t.

These Scientists Are Studying Why California Keeps Burning
Eric Roston, Bloomberg

Residents of fire-ravaged Western states, and an entire world of observers looking on in horror, have asked themselves, “How can this be happening?”

Smoke from U.S. fires reaches Europe
Rebecca Falconer, Axios

Smoke from the historic wildfires ravaging the U.S. West was observed over the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe this week, and it will return to the continent this weekend, per European scientists’ research.

Bill Gates Warns Climate Change Is an Even Harder Problem Than the Pandemic
Erik Schatzker, Bloomberg

The world could use some big breakthroughs—a vaccine to combat coronavirus and innovations to mitigate climate change among them. The Microsoft Corp. co-founder speaks with Bloomberg’s Erik Schatzker about his passion for both, the nightmare that is misinformation, and the difference between Elon Musk and Steve Jobs.

Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives

Activists Threaten Tens of Billions in Investment that Could Aid COVID-19 Economic Recovery
David Holt, Morning Consult

Attacks on traditional (and, increasingly, renewable) energy projects remain a confounding and troubling trend in the United States, and it’s one that puts particular special interests of a few activists and their ideological, political and commercial allies above the needs of ordinary families and small businesses.

After Oil: Throwing Money at Green Energy Isn’t Enough
Meghan L. O’Sullivan, Bloomberg

Lots of stimulus funds are being directed to renewable technologies, but government policies will be more important.

Research Reports

Electric Vehicle Report: The Road to Clean Air
American Lung Association

The transportation sector is a leading contributor to both climate change and air pollution. With nearly half of Americans living with unhealthy air, and climate change making it harder to protect public health today, “The Road to Clean Air” report highlights the potential for major public health and climate change benefits through a robust nationwide transition to electric vehicles.

Morning Consult