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CLIMATE: Exxon’s climate research in the 1980s confirmed the emerging scientific consensus on climate change — company executives would later dismiss the science as unreliable. (InsideClimate News)
ALSO:
• Senate Democrats are expected to unveil today a sweeping climate change proposal with even tougher emissions reductions than what President Obama has proposed. (New York Times)
• New rules in Washington state target emissions from the state’s largest polluters. (Spokane Spokesman-Review)
• The University of Notre Dame announces it will stop burning coal in response to Pope Francis’ call for action on climate change. (USA Today)
• The number of companies placing an internal price on carbon continues to grow. (ClimateWire)
FRACKING: Colorado’s Supreme Court agrees to decide whether cities have the authority to regulate fracking. (Longmont Times-Call)
POLITICS: Emails show Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin was pressed by fossil fuel executives to pay more attention to oil and coal in recent public remarks. (Greenwire)
SOLAR:
• The number of rate cases in which utilities seek to recover costs from net metering or distributed generation customers has doubled over the past year. Experts push for compromise. (Utility Dive)
• Solar installers in San Diego are worried they’ll hit a net metering cap before new terms are defined. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Rochester, New York approves legislation allowing solar farms on industrial brownfields. (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle)
• A Pennsylvania court sides with a solar farm operator in a dispute with a utility over net metering. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
ELECTRIC CARS: Apple says it will release an electric car in 2019. (Wall Street Journal)
CLEAN POWER PLAN: Minnesota lawmakers seek public input on what to do with the state’s largest and most polluting coal plant as it complies with federal rules. (Midwest Energy News)
OHIO: Advocates say resuming the state’s clean energy standards will bring major health benefits statewide — an issue that a legislative study committee tasked with reviewing the policy did not discuss. (Midwest Energy News)
UTILITIES: Duke Energy ranks among the most obstructive major corporations on climate change policy, says a new report by a British nonprofit. (Charlotte Business Journal)
OIL AND GAS: Advocates push North Dakota to get tough on flaring of natural gas from the state’s oil fields. (Grand Forks Herald)
COAL:
• A group of Appalachian coal mines recently sold for zero dollars. (Bloomberg)
• A Montana tribal council unanimously opposes a proposed railroad spur that would help develop coal reserves for export to Asia. (Billings Gazette)
POLLUTION: Investigations into Volkswagen’s alleged manipulation of U.S. emissions tests should widen to include the entire auto industry, officials say. (Wall Street Journal)
COMMENTARY: Is Pope Francis changing minds on climate change? (Vox)