• The United States and Japan struck a trade deal agreement on electric vehicle battery minerals – including lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and manganese – that aims to strengthen their respective battery supply chains, lessen reliance on China for critical minerals and potentially grant Japanese automakers access to the new $7,500 EV tax credit. The deal bans both countries from implementing bilateral export restrictions for critical EV minerals, according to senior Biden administration officials. (Reuters)
• President Joe Biden vowed to veto the House GOP energy package if it lands on his desk in its current form, as it contains measures that the White House said “would pad oil and gas company profits — already at record levels — and undercut our public health and environment.” The sweeping energy package, called the Lower Energy Costs Act, includes provisions to boost oil and gas drilling on federal lands, repeal parts of the Inflation Reduction Act and expedite permitting for energy projects, although the White House said it was open to working in a bipartisan manner to address energy costs and permitting reform. (The Hill) 
• PG&E Corp. has committed to investing $18 billion for wildfire prevention through 2025, with plans to bury more than 2,000 miles of wires, install stronger utility poles, repair equipment and trim trees, following back-to-back seasons of catastrophic wildfires in California that have resulted in criminal and civil liabilities for the company. (Bloomberg)

Happening today

• Resources for the Future will hold a webinar titled “The Global Energy Outlook 2023: Sowing the Seeds of an Energy Transition.” 

Bankers Bury ‘ESG’ in Pitch Books to Head Off Republican Attacks

Bloomberg

Bipartisan lawmakers pressure Treasury ahead of EV guidance

Timothy Cama and Hannah Northey, E&E News

Lawmakers from across the political spectrum are airing concerns ahead of an eagerly anticipated announcement from the Biden administration on who is eligible for electric vehicle tax incentives.

California Assembly advances Newsom’s ‘price gouging’ bill

Sharon Udasin, The Hill

California state assemblymembers voted on Monday to advance Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) landmark legislation that seeks to penalize oil companies for “price gouging” at the pump.

Mexican leader, US climate envoy plan next solar plants meeting

Reuters

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden’s climate envoy in two months to discuss plans to install more solar plants in northern Sonora state, the Mexican leader said Monday, as a major renewable energy park there nears completion.

EPA environmental justice office has cash, staff but no boss

Kevin Bogardus, E&E News

President Joe Biden still has not nominated a leader for EPA’s new national office for environmental justice, despite his agenda’s emphasis on addressing marginalized communities bearing the brunt of pollution.

Chamber of Commerce leads letter urging permitting reform action this year

Zack Budryk, The Hill

A coalition of influential lobbying groups called on Congress to act on the energy permitting reforms championed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) by the end of the summer in a letter Monday.

US plans ultimatum in Mexico energy dispute, raising threat of tariffs

Jarrett Renshaw and David Lawder, Reuters

The Biden administration plans to send Mexico an “act now or else” message in coming weeks in an attempt to break a stalemate in an energy trade dispute as bipartisan calls grow for the U.S. to get tougher with its southern neighbor, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Anti-ESG Investing Effort Pivots to New Republican-Backed Bill

Diego Areas Munhoz and Austin R. Ramsey, Bloomberg Law

House Republicans are continuing their crusade against a US Labor Department rule on environmental, social, and governance retirement investing despite failing to override President Joe Biden’s veto of a resolution to kill it.

Climate fights at European court may ripple across the globe

Lesley Clark, E&E News

A high-ranking international human rights court that only hears cases that raise a “serious question” will consider three challenges beginning this week that accuse European governments of not doing enough to curb greenhouse gas emissions — the first such lawsuits to be reviewed by the powerful bench.

Philadelphia officials to provide water safety update as some residents remain concerned about potential of contamination

Celina Tebor et al., CNN

Philadelphia officials are expected to provide an update on the city’s water quality Tuesday morning following a chemical spill upstream in the Delaware River that has left many residents concerned and scrambling to buy bottled water despite the city’s assurances that their tap water is currently safe to drink.

To help Earth’s future, people are getting buried like it’s 1860

Tara Bahrampour, The Washington Post

Simpler, greener burials were the American standard until the Civil War, when many soldiers were embalmed so their bodies could be returned home.

US lawsuit seeks to protect habitat of endangered corals

The Associated Press

An environmental group filed a lawsuit Monday accusing the U.S. government of failing to protect 12 endangered coral species across the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean that have been decimated by warming waters, pollution and overfishing.

Climate Change Is Making Allergy Season Last Longer

Ilena Peng, Bloomberg

The warming climate is causing a lengthier pollen season, worsening allergies and respiratory conditions.

Want to sequester carbon? Save wild animals

Gabriela Aoun Angueira, Grist

Gray wolves, elephants, wildebeests and sea otters are a few of the species that can help keep global warming below 1.5 degrees C.

Energy agency chief warns transition to renewables is way off track, issues warning on stranded assets

Sam Meredith, CNBC

The global energy transition is off track to prevent the worst impact of the climate emergency, according to the head of the International Renewable Energy Agency.

New US Wind Energy Capacity Fell 56% as Tax Relief Dwindled

Josh Saul, Bloomberg

The pace of US onshore wind-farm installations tumbled last year, in a sign that the industry’s struggles aren’t limited to the fledgling offshore sector.

U.S. renewable electricity surpassed coal in 2022

Isabella O’Malley, The Associated Press

Electricity generated from renewables surpassed coal in the United States for the first time in 2022, the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced Monday.

The great ​‘green hydrogen’ battle

Jeff St. John, Canary Media

A monthslong debate over the future of the U.S. clean hydrogen industry is about to reach the boiling point. 

Reuse of coal plants can cut small modular nuclear reactor development costs by 35%: report

Stephen Singer, Utility Dive

Nearly one-fourth of the current U.S. coal-fired fleet is scheduled to retire by 2029, providing opportunities to site advanced nuclear plants, specifically small modular reactors, or SMRs, a Washington, D.C. think tank says in a recent report.

Wind industry predicts bounceback and rapid growth in 2023

Jennifer McDermott, The Associated Press

The wind power industry on Monday projected growth to rapidly accelerate this year, with incentives and policy changes in key nations helping to overcome factors that led to a slowdown in 2022.

New Shell CEO Faces Big Dilemma: Should the Company Pump More Oil?

Jenny Strasburg, The Wall Street Journal

Wael Sawan says he expects criticism no matter how he decides to balance the demand for fossil fuels against climate risks.

Stop insuring carbon projects ‘immediately’, NGOs tell CEOs

Tom Sims and Simon Jessop, Reuters

A group of climate activists has called on 30 insurance company CEOs to “immediately” stop underwriting new fossil fuel projects in the wake of a stark climate warning from U.N. scientists, a letter, seen by Reuters, showed.

Report: Texas fracking is exacerbating the PFAS crisis

Amal Ahmed, Grist

A “staggering volume” of PFAS are being injected into fracked wells.

How the natural gas industry cozies up to utility regulators

Emily Pontecorvo, Grist

Sponsorships, stacked panels, dance parties: Inside utilities’ campaign to convince regulators of the bright future for natural gas.

EU countries poised to approve 2035 phaseout of CO2-emitting cars

Kate Abnett, Reuters

European Union countries’ energy ministers are set to give final approval on Tuesday to the bloc’s law to end sales of new CO2-emitting cars in 2035, after Germany won an exemption for cars running on e-fuels.

Nikola’s CFO Steps Down in Startups’ Latest High-Level Exit

Edward Ludlow and Dana Hull, Bloomberg

Nikola Corp.’s chief financial officer is stepping down next month in a shake up of the zero-emission vehicle startup’s top ranks. 

Train carrying hazardous materials derails in North Dakota

J. Oliver Conroy, The Guardian

A Canada Pacific train derailed on Sunday night, affecting 31 of its 70 cars, and spilling petroleum used to make asphalt.

Lucid Recalls Some Flagship Electric Vehicles at Risk of Losing Power

Keith Laing, Bloomberg

Lucid Group, Inc. is recalling several hundred electric vehicles due to a glitch that may cause its flagship model to lose power while being driven. 

How Decades of Lax Rules Enable Train Disasters

Kendra Pierre-Louis, The Atlantic

Not much is stopping a catastrophe like the one in East Palestine from happening again.

New York has a new plan to get all the grid batteries it needs

Julian Spector, Canary Media

After a slow start to building much-needed energy storage, the state says new rules will help it reach its 6-gigawatt target.

Deep freeze and data concerns test Southeast power market

Miranda Willson, E&E News

When several large electric utilities launched a first-of-its-kind energy trading platform in the Southeast last fall, the pitch was simple: Lower energy bills and deliver more solar power to customers.

The race for more battery materials could cause ‘irreversible’ damage under the sea

Justine Calma, The Verge

Mining the depths of the sea for battery materials could have devastating and irreversible consequences, research warns.

Supreme Court refuses appeal by lawyer jailed for contempt in $9.5 billion Chevron environmental case

Dan Mangan, CNBC

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of a lawyer jailed for contempt of court in connection with his representation of a group of people in Ecuador for their environmental damage lawsuit against oil and gas giant Chevron.