Trump administration

• The Trump administration announced that it will begin the process of leasing drilling rights in a region of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil companies, setting up a potential lease sale just before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. The Bureau of Land Management posted a “call for nominations” to the Federal Register, which essentially requests that oil companies specify which tracts of land in the refuge they would like to explore and potentially develop.

• The Trump administration finalized a rule allowing the U.S. Forest Service to use certain exemptions for environmental reviews for its projects, a move that Agriculture Department Secretary Sonny Perdue said “will ensure we do the appropriate level of environmental analysis to fit the work, locations and conditions.” Critics say the rule change weakens certain requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Electric vehicles

• Tesla Inc. will enter the S&P 500 index on Dec. 21 after five consecutive profitable quarters, even as the coronavirus pandemic has taken its toll on the U.S. economy. The company netted a record $331 million in the third quarter, due largely to the production of its Shanghai factory and to the nearly $400 million it garnered in regulatory credits.

• Tesla, Uber Technologies Inc. and major utilities including ConEdison, Duke Energy Corp. and PG&E Corp. launched a lobbying group called the Zero Emission Transportation Association that will advocate for more consumer electric vehicle incentives and push for the retirement of gas-powered automobiles. The group will also seek stricter emissions and performance standards that could lead the way for full electrification by the end of the decade.

Climate change

• A new BloombergNEF study projects that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions will decrease 9.2 percent this year to 5.9 billion metric tons, the lowest level since 1983, as a result of the stalled economy caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The report said the drop in emissions could be partially offset by an economic rebound next year, noting that 2020 emissions would have been just 1 percent lower than the previous year if not for the pandemic’s economic impact.

• Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world and founder and chief executive of Amazon.com Inc., announced the first grants from his $10 billion Earth Fund’s “commitment to fund scientists, activists, NGOs and others,” bestowing more than half of the initial $791 million to established environmental groups such as the Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council. He also gave money to groups focused on environmental justice such as Green for All and the Solutions Project.

Oil and gas

• At a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, the cartel seemed inclined to postpone an increase of 2 million barrels per day in oil production planned for January, according to internal sources. With the resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic, OPEC+ is grappling with weakening demand for fuel and considering extending its existing cuts of 7.7 million bpd for three to six months into 2021 or dialing back production even further, they said.

• Acting under a doctrine to protect the Great Lakes, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) decided to shut down Line 5, an underwater pipeline between her state and Canada. While the decision will require its operator Enbridge Inc. to stop operations by May 2021 in just one section of the pipeline, it will effectively halt its operations — running from Wisconsin to Ontario — entirely.

2021

• Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) is being vetted by the Biden transition team for the position of Interior Secretary after she dropped out of the race for vice chairwoman of the House Democratic Caucus, sources told a media outlet. Haaland, who would be the country’s  first Native American Cabinet secretary, has previously expressed interest in the role.

• Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said he plans to take on the role of chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress, potentially replacing Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who is stepping down and anticipated to lead the Indian Affairs committee. Barrasso, who is also GOP Conference Chairman, was a sharp critic of Obama-era climate policies.

Hydropower

• An agreement between the Yurok Tribe, the Karuk Tribe, PacifiCorp, the Klamath River Renewal Corp. and the states of California and Oregon will pave the way for the largest dam removal effort in U.S. history to proceed after months of negotiations. If finalized, the deal would prompt the removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River in the Pacific Northwest and allow an ambitious salmon restoration effort championed especially by local tribes to proceed.

• Both the Senate and House are scheduled to be in recess for the Thanksgiving holiday.

• On Monday at 2 p.m., the Columbia SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy will host a virtual event entitled “Demystifying Green Hydrogen.”

• The International Energy Agency, United Nations Environment Programme and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will host joint workshops on energy data for climate policy on Wednesday at 11 a.m. and Friday at 3:30 a.m.

1) Bezos makes first donations from $10 billion Earth Fund for fighting climate change
Steven Mufson, The Washington Post

2) Obama alumni considered top picks for Biden Energy secretary
Rachel Frazin, The Hill

3) Progressives urge Biden away from including Obama energy secretary in administration
Rachel Frazin, The Hill

4) Utilities, Tesla, Uber create U.S. lobbying group for electric vehicle industry
David Shepardson, Reuters

5) To batteries and beyond: The storage technologies poised to play a key role in the energy transition
Kavya Balaraman, Utility Dive

6) Time Runs Out for a U.S.-Canada Oil Pipeline
Veronica Penney, The New York Times

7) Klamath dam removal back on track
Alex Schwartz, Herald and News

8) The $36 Trillion Bill for Neglecting Climate and Free Trade
Tom Orlik et al., Bloomberg Businessweek

9) Haaland being vetted by Biden team for Interior secretary
Rebecca Beitsch and Scott Wong, The Hill

10) Shingle Mountain: How a pile of toxic pollution was dumped in a community of color
Darryl Fears, The Washington Post