General
Schiff demands intelligence agencies provide documents on White House’s suppression of climate testimony
Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis, The Washington Post
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) demanded Tuesday that the heads of two federal intelligence agencies provide documents detailing how White House officials sought to edit — and then suppress — written testimony saying that human activities are warming the planet and that the climate changes underway pose a grave national security threat.
Former Interior chief Jewell: Nature Conservancy needs to be ‘stabilized’
Zack Colman, Politico
Sally Jewell, the former Obama administration Interior secretary who was tapped to run The Nature Conservancy, said she is playing “the long game” to restore morale at the green group that has been rattled by reports of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct.
Biden joins the call for a Democratic candidates’ debate on climate change
David Weigel, The Washington Post
Joe Biden told a climate change activist Tuesday he supported the idea of a presidential candidates’ debate focused on climate change, an idea pushed by climate activists that so far has been rejected by the Democratic Party.
Some Republican Lawmakers Break With Party on Climate Change
Arian Campo-Flores, The Wall Street Journal
A small but growing number of Republican lawmakers are urging action on climate change, driven by shifting sentiment among GOP voters and the effects of global warming, from stronger hurricanes to more-destructive wildfires.
Former EPA administrators blast Trump admin on science, regulation rollbacks
Devan Cole, CNN
Several former Environmental Protection Agency administrators on Tuesday offered strong rebukes of the Trump administration’s approach to environmental policy and commitment to science, saying its handling of the EPA will have negative consequences for Americans.
U.S. Hurricane Season Is Unnecessarily Dangerous
Eric Roston, Bloomberg
Forecasters are expecting this year’s North Atlantic hurricane season to be roughly average, with about 14 named storms including six full-fledged hurricanes. Last week, the government finally dealt with the fallout from 2018, enacting a $19.1 billion relief package to help U.S. towns and cities still recovering from last year’s natural disasters.
Oil Prices Stumble on Fears of Falling Demand
David Hodari, The Wall Street Journal
Brent crude, the global benchmark, was down 2.7% at $60.61 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures fell 3% to $51.70 a barrel.
Oil and Natural Gas
Saudi Aramco reports 2018 net income of $111.1 billion
Maher Chmayetlli and Aziz El Yaakoubi, Reuters
Saudi Aramco reported on Wednesday a net income attributable to shareholders of $111.1 billion in 2018, up from $75.9 billion the year before, according to a statement from the company.
Trump says E15 expansion will curb US oil import dependence
Meghan Gordon, S&P Global Platts
“Quite simply it means more energy, and what can be wrong with that? And it’s very good energy,” Trump said in televised comments after touring the Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy plant in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
How Trump (and Iowa) Changed How You Fuel Your Car
Mario Parker and Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Bloomberg
Ethanol is corrosive, and some critics believe that E15, with its 15% ethanol, can cause damage to cars. (E10, by contrast, with its 10% ethanol, is widely accepted and available in the U.S.)
Fracking Companies Lost on Trespassing, but a Court Just Gave Them a Different Win
Ken Ward Jr., Charleston Gazette-Mail
A week after the West Virginia Supreme Court unanimously upheld the property rights of landowners battling one natural gas giant, the same court tossed out a challenge filed by another group of landowners against a different natural gas company.
Utilities and Infrastructure
Dominion confident it will win Atlantic Coast Pipeline legal challenges
Harry Weber, S&P Global Platts
Dominion Energy expects to win one of two legal challenges its Atlantic Coast Pipeline faces within the next four to six weeks and be able to resume construction on a portion of the 600-mile route after that, an executive said Tuesday.
He Tried to Plug a Wasp Nest. He Ended Up Sparking California’s Biggest Wildfire.
Thomas Fuller, The New York Times
It was a fire that crossed mountain ranges and valleys, that spanned multiple counties and shocked Californians by its sheer scale — by far the biggest wildfire in modern state history. And yet a newly disclosed investigation suggests it was probably started by a single man and a single spark.
Renewables
Volkswagen breaks with Silicon Valley self-driving start-up Aurora
Patrick McGee, Financial Times
Volkswagen has ended its relationship with Aurora, the Silicon Valley self-driving start-up backed by Amazon, paving the way for the world’s largest carmaker to enter into partnership with Ford’s autonomous unit Argo AI. The move follows VW and Ford’s launch of a new global alliance in January to develop some future vehicles together as they prepare for a new age of electric and self-driving cars.
Coal
Operator: 2 units of Montana coal plant to close this year
Matt Volz and Matthew Brown, The Associated Press
The company that operates a coal-fired power plant in eastern Montana said Tuesday it will close two of the plant’s four units about 30 months ahead of schedule because of the high cost of running them and the unwillingness of its coal supplier to lower prices.
FERC infrastructure report reveals phantom 850 MW coal plant, renewables surpassing coal
Robert Walton, Utility Dive
A monthly infrastructure report compiled by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission indicates a new 850 MW coal-fired plant the commission says is expected online in April 2022. But the actual status of the plant is unclear, and its development would contrast with more than 13 GW of coal retirements the federal regulator expects in the same time frame.
Nuclear
Trump administration signals support for uranium mining that could touch Grand Canyon
Miranda Green, The Hill
The Trump administration is signaling a renewed push to consider uranium near the Grand Canyon, a move that would undoubtedly ignite a political fight involving environmentalists and the mining industry.
Climate
Britain to become first G7 country with net zero emissions target
Susanna Twidale, Matthew Green, Reuters
Britain has announced it will enshrine a new commitment to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 into law, marking a first among G7 nations facing increasingly severe impacts from the climate crisis.
Military bases unprepared for gathering climate change storm
Elvina Nawaguna and Benjamin J. Hulac, Roll Call
With a presence in all 50 states, seven American territories, at least 40 foreign nations and more than 300,000 buildings globally, the U.S. military will not be able to escape climate change or its byproducts of hurricanes, droughts, wildfires and rising oceans.
In hot water? Study says warming may reduce sea life by 17%
Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press
Every degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) that the world’s oceans warm, the total mass of sea animals is projected to drop by 5%, according to a comprehensive computer-based study by an international team of marine biologists. And that does not include effects of fishing.
U.S. House committee to hold hearing on proposed fuel efficiency freeze
David Shepardson, Reuters
The House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee said on Tuesday it planned a June 20 hearing on the Trump administration’s proposal to freeze fuel efficiency standards at 2020 levels through 2026.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
Joe Biden’s climate change revolution plan shows he’s not moderate material
Mandy Gunasekara, USA Today
It has only been weeks since Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez chided former Vice President Joe Biden for embracing “middle of the road” climate policies. He not only heard her but quickly fell in line.
Why Audi’s small electric vehicle recall matters
Ben Geman, Axios
Yes, recalls happen in the car industry. But it’s coming at a sensitive time as the EV market is still getting off the ground.
Climate Change Is the Symptom. Consumer Culture Is the Disease.
Emily Atkin, The New Republic
These industries are spouting carbon because customers demand their products: travel, electronics, entertainment, food, all sorts of stuff. So what if, instead of solely measuring emissions by economic sector, we looked at consumer demand within those sectors?
A Climate Plan Even Exxon Could Love
Amy Westervelt, HuffPost
A few years ago, putting a price on carbon was a non-starter for Republicans, but things have changed. Now there are multiple bipartisan proposals to do just that ― but only one has the backing of both automotive and fossil fuel companies, and it could put in place a permanent loophole eliminating any responsibility for their role in delaying action on climate.
Research Reports
Deloitte Resources 2019 Study: Energy Management: Balancing Climate, Cost, and Choice
Deloitte Insights
The findings of the Deloitte Resources 2019 Study (“2019 Study” or “Study”) indicate that majorities of both the residential consumer and business segments continue to be concerned about climate change and reducing their carbon footprints. And both segments are interested in new and evolving technologies and applications to help them manage resources and use cleaner energy sources.
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