UTILITIES: A coalition of investor groups with $60 trillion in assets calls on major utilities to decarbonize by 2035. (S&P Global)

ALSO:
• Newly revealed text messages show former FirstEnergy executives praising former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairperson Sam Randazzo for helping to overrule regulatory staff in favor of the utility. (Associated Press)
• A new report finds that Massachusetts’ municipal utilities are making uneven progress on clean energy when measured against the same standard expected of larger regulated utilities in the state. (Energy News Network)

POLITICS:
• In a CNN town hall, President Biden says Sen. Joe Manchin is open to using the $150 billion originally pegged to the Clean Electricity Performance Program on other policies to reduce emissions. (E&E News)
• Manchin says his reported plan to leave the Democratic party was an offer to avoid being an “embarrassment” and that he still would have caucused with Democrats. (Washington Post)

CLIMATE:
• A Treasury Department report warns that climate change is an “emerging threat” to U.S. economic stability; while a first-of-its-kind national intelligence assessment examines global climate risks. (E&E News, BBC News)
• House Republicans attending the upcoming Glasgow climate summit say they’re serious about cutting emissions but want to share “all perspectives from the United States.” (E&E News)
• A new report says plastic production will outpace coal as a source of greenhouse gas emissions within a decade. (E&E News)

COAL:
• A Western conservation group files legal action to obtain records from an Energy Department coal council that it says operated “out of the public eye” during the Trump administration. (Reuters)
• To ensure reliability, PJM Interconnection may restrict coal plants from operating if they have less than 10 days’ fuel supply available. (Reuters)

OIL & GAS:
• California regulators take preliminary steps toward banning new oil and gas wells within 3,200 feet of homes, schools and healthcare facilities and requiring emissions monitoring within the setbacks. (Los Angeles Times)
• Environmental groups sue Montana regulators for failing to consider climate change when issuing a permit for NorthWestern Energy’s proposed natural gas plant. (Reuters)

GRID: Texas regulators give power plant and transmission line operators until Dec. 1 to make their “best efforts” to winterize equipment — but they won’t be penalized if they suffer weather-related failures or outages. (Austin American-Statesman)

WIND: Offshore wind leaders say they need long-term commitments and support from Congress as they prepare for massive growth. (States Newsroom/Virginia Mercury)

TRANSPORTATION:
• A Toyota scientist says climate efforts shouldn’t focus exclusively on electric vehicles, saying a “diversity of drivetrains” can help cut emissions. (Reuters)
• As e-bicycles become more popular, Massachusetts lawmakers discuss whether to allow them on bicycle paths, debating the safety risks versus environmental benefits. (Boston Globe)

COMMENTARY:
• A former Clinton and Obama administration official calls for the creation of a tribal-led marine sanctuary off the California coast to avert future oil spills. (Los Angeles Times)
• A columnist warns we are heading for a global energy crisis. (Washington Post)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy, and has led the project from its inception as Midwest Energy News in 2009. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he held a variety of editing, production, and leadership roles, and played a key role in the newspaper's transition to digital-first publishing. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon.