CLIMATE: After making climate change a central pillar of his inaugural address, President Joe Biden directs the U.S. to rejoin the Paris Agreement and revokes the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline as part of 17 executive orders on his first day in office. (E&E News, New York Times)

ALSO:
• Climate adviser Gina McCarthy says rejoining the international climate accord is an important first step but “we know rejoining [Paris] won’t be enough.” (E&E News)
• A group of Republicans submit a resolution calling for rejoining the Paris accord to be subject to approval by two-thirds of the Senate. (Reuters)
• Supreme Court justices did not seem moved by oil company arguments in a case that will determine whether climate lawsuits should be heard in state or federal courts. (E&E News)

PUBLIC LANDS: Conflict over a plan to remove conservation protections from California public lands in favor of renewable energy development could be a harbinger of battles to come throughout the West for the Biden administration. (Los Angeles Times)

WIND:
• The developer of a Massachusetts offshore project says it will reapply for a federal permit “very, very soon” after it withdrew its application during the final days of the Trump administration. (Reuters)
• A Texas company hired by Dominion Energy begins to build a $500 million ship to install offshore wind turbines. (San Antonio Business Journal)

TRANSPORTATION:
• Emissions data shows that American drivers’ preference for SUVs is wiping out climate gains from electric vehicles. (New Scientist)
• Arkansas uses $2 million from its Volkswagen settlement to launch programs that will provide more than 200 electric vehicle charging stations around the state. (KUAR)

OIL & GAS:
• Advocates file a legal challenge to 890 oil and gas leases in the West, arguing the Bureau of Land Management failed to account for climate impacts. (Reuters)
• A new study finds the U.S. and Canada are vastly underestimating methane emissions from abandoned oil and gas wells. (Reuters)

COAL:
• Workers at Oregon’s first and last coal-fired power plant in interviews discuss their work, energy industry changes, and the personal impact of the plant’s closure. (High Energy News)
• The large and relatively new Prairie State coal plant in southern Illinois poses a challenge to President Biden’s carbon-free electricity goal. (Chicago Tribune)

EFFICIENCY: Two key lawmakers in Minnesota’s divided legislature seek to advance energy efficiency legislation in a session likely to be dominated by the state’s pandemic response. (Energy News Network)

COMMENTARY:
• Bill McKibben says President Biden’s rejection of Keystone XL is a landmark moment in the climate fight. (New Yorker)
• Utility regulators from ten states call on FERC to improve coordination between federal and state issues. (Utility Dive)
• Two young conservative activists from Alaska say “we simply cannot afford inaction” on climate change. (Anchorage Daily News)

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Ken Paulman

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. 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 worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. 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. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.