• During President Donald Trump’s visit to a wildfire-plagued California, he rejected that climate change is at the root of the West Coast’s ongoing state of disaster and instead blamed poor forest management, saying “I don’t think science knows” what is actually happening in the state. Meanwhile, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden gave a speech in Wilmington, Del., calling for the curbing of greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change. (The New York Times)

• The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies said that the coronavirus pandemic will take a longer toll on global energy demand than previously suspected, reducing projected demand by 9.5 million barrels per day and marking a 9.5 percent fall as compared with 2019. (The Wall Street Journal)

• The automaker Daimler AG — of which Mercedes-Benz USA is a subsidiary — is set to pay $1.5 billion to the federal government and state of California to resolve emissions cheating allegations, as well as $700 million to settle U.S. consumer lawsuits. The regulators accused Daimler of skirting environmental laws by using “defeat device software” to avoid detection by emissions testing and selling some 250,000 diesel cars and vans that did not comply with U.S. and state laws. (The Associated Press)

• Two major glaciers in Antarctica are breaking away from their restraints and threatening to speed sea-level rise substantially, according to a satellite image analysis published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers already contribute to about 5 percent of sea-level rise globally, and their loss could prompt the West Antarctic ice sheet to collapse, potentially causing up to 10 feet of sea level rise. (The Washington Post)

EPA, in limiting guidance, undermines past administration policy, critics say
Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday finalized a rule that gives the public the ability to weigh in on guidance documents from the agency that further outline how it is implementing various rules — something critics say is a new avenue for gutting the work of prior administrations.

Democrat asks for probe of EPA’s use of politically appointed lawyers
Rachel Frazin, The Hill

Sen. Tom Carper on Tuesday called for an investigation into the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) use of political officials instead of career employees to defend some of its rules in court. 

Oil Rises With China Economic Data Countering Demand Fears
Sharon Cho and Grant Smith, Bloomberg

Oil rose as data showed China’s economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis is gathering strength, offsetting a bleak assessment of demand by another top energy organization.

IEA Says Oil Market More Fragile as Resurgent Virus Hurts Demand
Grant Smith, Bloomberg

The outlook for global oil markets has grown “even more fragile” as a resurgent pandemic derails the recovery in demand, the International Energy Agency said.

California, 19 other states, sue Trump administration for weakening methane rules
Valerie Volcovici and Richard Valdmanis, Reuters

California and 19 other states on Monday filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s decision to weaken curbs on methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, saying the widespread West Coast wildfires should be a reminder of the dangers posed by climate change.

Connecticut sues Exxon for deceiving consumers about climate change
Valerie Volcovici, Reuters

Connecticut filed a lawsuit on Monday against oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp for misleading the public over the impacts of climate change, becoming the latest state to target the fossil fuel industry for violating state consumer protection laws.

Trump Administration Denies Refiners’ Retroactive Biofuel Exemptions in Boost for Iowa
Lindsay Wise and Andrew Restuccia, The Wall Street Journal

The Trump administration will deny oil refiners’ retroactive requests for exemptions from U.S. biofuel laws, a major boon for Iowa, the leading producer of biofuels and a crucial state that could help determine which party wins the presidency and control of the Senate.

How to Fireproof California’s Electric Grid
Dharna Noor, Earther

California isn’t equipped to handle the emerging hotter, drier climate. That includes its electric grid.

Solar, wind will grow fastest as power sources this year
L.M. Sixel, Houston Chronicle

Renewable energy will be the fastest growing source of electricity generation in the United States this year, according to a new report.

SEC Examining Nikola Over Short Seller’s Fraud Allegations
Matt Robinson and Edward Ludlow, Bloomberg

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is examining Nikola Corp. to assess the merits of a short-seller’s allegations that the electric-truck maker deceived investors about its business prospects, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Solar-Powered Future Is Being Assembled in China
Bloomberg

On a recent morning in central China, workers in blue jumpsuits and white masks placed clamps around a bar of shiny metal and fed it into a powerful cutting machine. The bar was an ingot made of polysilicon, a heavily refined cousin of the same material that makes up sand. 

Coal’s Rebound on Hold in Europe as Bearish Headwinds Persist
Ronan Martin, Bloomberg

Coal prices in Europe show little sign of getting the usual uplift into the winter heating season thanks to a groundswell of rising pollution costs, cheap natural gas and high renewables output.

Bankruptcy settlement could pay coal workers $17.3 million
The Associated Press

Some 1,700 employees of a bankrupt coal mining company would get up to $17.3 million in back pay under a proposed class-action settlement.

The Arctic Is Shifting to a New Climate Because of Global Warming
Henry Fountain, The New York Times

Open water and rain, rather than ice and snow, are becoming typical of the region, a new study has found.

How Climate Migration Will Reshape America
Abrahm Lustgarten, The New York Times Magazine and ProPublica

August besieged California with a heat unseen in generations. A surge in air-conditioning broke the state’s electrical grid, leaving a population already ravaged by the coronavirus to work remotely by the dim light of their cellphones. By midmonth, the state had recorded possibly the hottest temperature ever measured on earth — 130 degrees in Death Valley — and an otherworldly storm of lightning had cracked open the sky.

A storm warning in Biloxi — ‘Don’t let your guard down’ — as Hurricane Sally churns near the coast
Darryl Fears et al., The Washington Post

Hurricane Sally continued to gather strength as it meandered off the Gulf Coast, an oaf of a storm that could linger with hard rain and 100-mph winds threatening to shove massive amounts of storm water onto the shores of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.

New Climate Maps Show a Transformed United States
Al Shaw et al., ProPublica

According to new data from the Rhodium Group analyzed by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, warming temperatures and changing rainfall will drive agriculture and temperate climates northward, while sea level rise will consume coastlines and dangerous levels of humidity will swamp the Mississippi River valley.

The Trump Team Has a Plan to Not Fight Climate Change
Adam Federman, WIRED

It may take decades to see the worst effects of global warming. Yet Jim Reilly, the director of the US Geological Survey, is committed to short-term thinking.

Facebook vows tougher climate change efforts but remains under fire over misinformation
Ben Geman, Axios

Facebook is vowing new steps to provide users with accurate climate change information and cut emissions, but activists say it’s doing too little to confront the spread of false claims on its platform.

For Prisoners in the West, the Virus and the Wildfires Are Colliding Threats
Tim Arango and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, The New York Times

Prisoners are more vulnerable than ever to the twin crises of the pandemic and a historic wildfire season.

After Oil: U.S.-China Split Will Hurt Clean Energy
Meghan L. O’Sullivan, Bloomberg

The search for silver linings to the coronavirus pandemic has come up woefully short. But one hopeful — and much talked of — prospect is that the disruption will accelerate the global shift to a more sustainable energy future.

From fires to pollution, smog has been California’s dark companion for centuries
Maria L. La Ganga, Los Angeles Times

When I close my eyes and think about that day in the late 1970s, I’m struck by the colors. The bright red of my favorite shirt. The silvery gray of smog sifting through the trees. The leaves, bleached by chemicals in the air, were soft-edged blobs of an indiscriminate dark hue.

The Economic Case for Greening the Global Recovery through Cities: 7 priorities for national governments
Manisha Gulati et al., Coalition for Urban Transitions

Cities have been at the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they also offer an opportunity to accelerate the transition to a resilient, equitable and low-carbon future. This paper explores seven priorities for national governments, as well as three cross-cutting measures, which can yield substantial economic dividends, rapidly create and protect millions of jobs for vulnerable populations and deliver quick and durable health and environmental benefits for citizens, all whilst contributing to long-term urban resilience.

Delivering on America’s Pledge
America’s Pledge and Bloomberg Philanthropies

Our US sector-by-sector assessment increases our confidence that bottom-up action is driving climate and clean energy ambition, despite the challenges posed by COVID-19. Increased and lower-cost emissions reduction opportunities are laying the foundation for an “all in” climate strategy that includes ambitious federal re-engagement. Accelerated market transformation and increasing social and political mobilization will be key to enable the comprehensive strategy that can put the country onto a 1.5°C-aligned emissions reduction pathway