POLITICS: White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy says the Biden administration may pursue a clean electricity standard through regulatory means if Congress fails to act. (Bloomberg)

ALSO:
• The European Union’s plan to tax imports from countries with weak emissions reduction policies threatens to derail President Biden’s hopes for international climate cooperation. (Politico)
• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says carbon taxes and border adjustments can encourage emissions reductions, but there needs to be more international discussion on how these policies would work. (Reuters)

CLIMATE:
• EPA scientist Allison Crimmins is named to lead the U.S. government’s National Climate Assessment, which in turn informs federal climate policy. (Washington Post)
• Environmental and progressive political groups reportedly asked the Senate Budget Committee to allocate $2.1 trillion in climate spending, including funding for clean energy tax credits and a clean energy standard. (Bloomberg)
• Former Vice President Al Gore warns greenwashing poses a “mounting threat” to the shift from fossil fuels. (Bloomberg)
• A study finds low-income neighborhoods with high proportions of people of color across the U.S. experience more urban heat than upper-income, predominantly white areas. (Times of San Diego)

COAL:
• While mining has become exponentially safer in recent decades, experts say a troubling number of black lung cases persist in Appalachia and Illinois coal mining regions. (Energy News Network)
• Environmental advocates in Northwest Indiana hope to force the complete removal of coal ash from a Michigan City coal plant where it’s contaminating groundwater and could be released into Lake Michigan. (Energy News Network)

GRID:
• The Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon, which forced the shutdown of a transmission line that ferries Northwest hydropower into California, grows to 200,000 acres. (KTVZ)
• Texas’ grid operator buys more reserve power as part of a plan to avoid catastrophic blackouts like those that brought the state to a standstill in February’s winter storm. (Bloomberg)
• Grid operator MISO says in a recent analysis that transportation, building and industrial electrification pose a threat to system reliability, though experts say the report ignores the potential of energy storage and states’ ongoing planning. (Utility Dive)

RENEWABLES:
• A new report finds the value of solar power in California decreases as more is added to the grid, undermining the economic case for new solar and threatening decarbonization efforts. (MIT Technology Review)
• Environmental groups sue Alabama regulators over Alabama Power’s fees on customers with rooftop or on-site solar panels. (Associated Press)
• An over 2 GW offshore wind farm proposed for the waters off New York should be operational by 2025, according to developers’ updated plans. (National Fisherman)

OIL & GAS: Undocumented migrant oilfield workers in southeastern New Mexico say they’re paid less than their non-immigrant counterparts and are otherwise treated unfairly. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: United Airlines and regional carrier Mesa Airlines will each buy 100 19-seat electric planes from a Swedish startup. (Reuters)

UTILITIES: Maine Gov. Janet Mills vetoes the state’s consumer-owned electric utility bill over concerns that the legislation was poorly crafted, but signals that she generally supports the movement. (Maine Public)

COMMENTARY: There technically is no written Green New Deal, making it impossible to compare climate and energy policies to the ambitious proposal, an environmental reporter writes. (The Atlantic)

Kathryn brings her extensive editorial background to the Energy News Network team, where she oversees the early-morning production of ENN’s five email digest newsletters as well as distribution of ENN’s original journalism with other media outlets. From documenting chronic illness’ effect on college students to following the inner workings of Congress, Kathryn has built a broad experience in her more than five years working at major publications including The Week Magazine. Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Science in magazine journalism and information management and technology from Syracuse University.