California fires

• In light of the state’s record-setting heat wave and hundreds of wildfires, California utility PG&E Corp. instituted rolling blackouts in the first part of the week for more than 500,000 customers in an attempt to stave off more blazes from wind storms and downed power lines. The Trump administration declared a power emergency as a consequence, allowing power plants to operate at full capacity, regardless of environmental restrictions.

• While the blackouts were resolved by mid-week, the scale and destruction of the fires in California increased drastically as the week continued, spreading to Oregon and even to usually damp Washington, destroying several towns and killing at least 14 people. They brought orange skies deemed “apocalyptic” to the Bay Area on Wednesday and left much of the state with hazardous air quality by Thursday. The fire hazard has been heightened by climate change, and the blazes have already consumed at least 3 million acres in California this year — setting a yearly record even though the West Coast has not yet hit peak fire season. 

Utilities

• According to an analysis by a media company, the U.S. power industry would likely be unable to meet Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s mandate of carbon-free power by 2035 without some major developments in renewables and other technologies, such as battery storage, carbon capture and advanced nuclear power. In a survey of many of the country’s largest power producers, most reported that these technologies are either not yet commercially viable or are too costly to deploy.

• According to a report from the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, communities of color spend significantly more on utilities than white people, with Black, Hispanic and Native American households spending 43 percent more, 20 percent more and 45 percent more, respectively. Low-income households spend three times a share of their total income on energy than others, the report said, making them particularly vulnerable to utility shutoffs.

Trump administration

• In a surprise move reversing his earlier pledge to open Atlantic waters to drilling exploration, President Donald Trump said he is banning oil drilling off the coast of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina for 10 years, a move that will likely come via a binding presidential memorandum, according to an administration official. Announced at a campaign event in Jupiter, Fla., the ban amounts to a victory for the many who are worried that oil slicks could mar beaches in the swing state, but comes as an “ambush” for industry officials hoping to expand drilling, who said the decision came out of nowhere.

• Fifteen blue states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its plan to open about 1.6 million acres of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drillers. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D) called the administration’s move “rushed” and “incredibly flawed.” 

Climate change

• A report commissioned by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission found that climate change poses a major threat to U.S. financial markets, saying “a world wracked by frequent and devastating shocks from climate change cannot sustain the fundamental conditions supporting our financial system.” The report — written by dozens of analysts from investment firms, oil companies, the agricultural trader Cargill, academic experts and environmental groups — is the first federal study covering a broad swath of climate change’s impacts on Wall Street, and it recommends new corporate regulations and the reversal of at least one Trump administration policy.

• The United Nations found that concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have hit record levels, despite the coronavirus pandemic-fueled dip in emissions earlier in 2020. The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide hit 414.38 parts per million in July, up from 411.74 ppm at the same point in 2019.

• Two Senate Republicans crossed the aisle to join Democrats in backing a proposed phaseout of hydrofluorocarbons, chemicals used as refrigerants and in air conditioners that have a potent impact on climate change. HFCs proved a sticking point in passing a bipartisan energy bill earlier in the year, and the proposal would be offered as an amendment to the previously stalled bill.

Oil and gas

• Delaware became the latest state to sue oil and gas companies — namely ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp., BP PLC, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and the trade association the American Petroleum Institute — over allegations that the entities misled the public for decades about climate change through a “campaign of deception.” 

• BP agreed to buy a 50 percent stake in two U.S. offshore wind power projects from Norway’s Equinor ASA, part of the oil giant’s latest move to boost its low-carbon investments to nearly $5 billion annually. The deal involves the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind assets and is expected to close early next year.

• Activist investor Elliott Management Corp., run by billionaire Paul Singer, has taken a stake in Noble Energy Inc. and plans to push the company to abandon its planned sale to Chevron, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Elliott argues that Noble is better positioned to weather the recovery in oil prices on a stand-alone basis and thinks the deal would undervalue the oil and gas producer, they said.

• The Ukrainian state-owned gas company Naftogaz, which was involved in Trump’s impeachment investigation, appointed the U.S. oil and gas executive Robert Bensh to its board, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry pushed the pick of Bensh, prompting questions about Perry’s role in Ukraine’s energy politics.

• The Senate and House are both in session.

• The International Energy Agency will release its September Oil Market Report on Tuesday.

• The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled “Building a 100 Percent Clean Economy: Opportunities for an Equitable, Low-Carbon Recovery” on Wednesday at 10 a.m. 

1) U.S. utilities say Biden plan to cut C02 hinges on breakthroughs
Nichola Groom and Valerie Volcovici, Reuters

2) Federal Report Warns of Financial Havoc From Climate Change
Coral Davenport and Jeanna Smialek, The New York Times

3) Trump expands oil drilling moratorium for Florida
Ben LeFebvre and Zack Colman, Politico

4) In rare bipartisan climate agreement, senators forge plan to slash use of potent greenhouse gas
Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson, The Washington Post

5) It’s a Race Against Heat, and Humanity Is Losing
Laura Millan Lombrana et al., Bloomberg

6) Illegal devices that bypass vehicle emissions controls spread across US
Eli Wolfe and Alexandra Tempus, The Guardian and FairWarning

7) Orange Skies Blanket California as Fires, Blackouts Persist
David R. Baker and Mark Chediak, Bloomberg

8) Why does California’s power grid keep flirting with disaster? We’ve got answers
Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times

9) How America can leave fossil fuels behind
Danush Parvaneh and David Roberts, Vox

10) EPA chief criticizes Democratic governors, vows to concentrate on cleaning up vulnerable communities in a second Trump term
Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis, The Washington Post