CLIMATE: The head of the United Nations says five years after the Paris Agreement “we are still not going in the right direction” on climate change. (The Hill)

ALSO:
• Annual global carbon emissions do appear to be leveling off, but now they need to rapidly decline to avert catastrophic climate change, experts say. (Discover)
• U.S. carbon emissions increased surprisingly little under President Trump, whose climate legacy may be four wasted years of inaction. (National Geographic)

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OVERSIGHT:
• The Trump administration is using an obscure procedural tool to solidify its environmental rollbacks before President-elect Biden takes office. (E&E News)
• A former deputy secretary under President Obama is seen as a leading candidate for Energy secretary in the Biden administration. (E&E News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Charging stations are so far concentrated in Chicago’s affluent neighborhoods, which advocates say poses an impediment to the city’s clean energy transition. (Energy News Network)
• A prototype of Amazon’s new electric delivery van has been spotted testing near the company’s Irvine, California facility. (Electrek)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• A recently announced industrial park in Nevada would be the largest in the U.S. completely powered by local renewable energy. (Associated Press)
• Midwest renewable energy developers continue to pursue projects despite challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Telegraph Herald)

OFFSHORE WIND: Federal officials tell Vineyard Wind that its decision to pause its application for an offshore wind development in Massachusetts will require a new application and will delay it by at least a year. (Bloomberg)

SOLAR: A Sunrun official says Honolulu’s new ordinance aiming to automate and expedite the city’s solar and storage permitting process “can stimulate the economy with zero funds.” (PV Magazine)

OIL & GAS:
• Indigenous land defenders are increasingly pressuring banks, insurance companies and asset managers to abandon fossil fuel projects. (The Intercept)
• An industry group’s “Women for Natural Gas” website is using fake testimonials along with stock photos that appear to be changed regularly. (Mother Jones)

PIPELINES:
• A Boston Globe investigation shows that a six-year fight by community residents against a compressor station had little chance of success before state and federal authorities.
• The U.S. Forest Service releases a draft environmental impact statement endorsing the passage of the Mountain Valley Pipeline across 3.5 miles of national forest near the Virginia/West Virginia state line. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Memphis activists rally against a proposed oil pipeline planned to run through Boxtown, a largely Black neighborhood. (MLK50)

PUBLIC LANDS:
• Western ranchers are split over the Trump administration’s decision to move the Bureau of Land Management to Grand Junction, Colorado, with one noting the remote city is “darn hard to get to.” (The Guardian)
• Native American groups say a new official portrait of former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wearing what appears to be beadwork on his hatband “is the last gasp of a fading swamp creature” who has disregarded their land rights. (HuffPost)

COAL: As bankrupt coal company Blackjewel liquidates its mines and other facilities, the company sues former CEO Jeff Hoops for allegedly using his position to extract millions of dollars for himself and his family. (Bristol Herald Courier, Wall Street Journal)

GRID: Consumer advocates in several states consider legislative options to oppose federal regulators’ recent minimum offer price rule. (Utility Dive)

OHIO: Some state lawmakers want to delay yet preserve subsidies for two nuclear plants for their carbon free and “baseload” power. (WKSU)

COMMENTARY:
• A group of “stealth climate villains” is pouring money into the re-election campaigns of Georgia’s Republican U.S. senators, Emily Atkin writes. (Heated)
• The U.S. EPA’s rejection of stricter coal regulations last week may put more people at risk of death from COVID-19, a physician writes. (Common Dreams)

Dan has two decades' experience working in print, digital and broadcast media. Prior to joining the Energy News Network as managing editor in December 2017, he oversaw watchdog reporting at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, part of the USA Today Network, and before that spent several years as a freelance journalist covering energy, business and technology. Dan is a former Midwest Energy News journalism fellow and a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and mass communications from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.