TECHNOLOGY: President Biden’s economic council says the U.S. is trailing global competitors on clean technology development, noting that the country is spending a smaller portion of GDP on emissions-cutting research than it did planning the moon landing. (New York Times)
PIPELINES:
• A federal appeals court declines to rehear the Dakota Access pipeline’s challenge to a previous court ruling that axed its permit, though the fight may continue to the Supreme Court. (The Hill)
• Canadian officials are using several diplomatic tactics to oppose Michigan’s attempt to shut down the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. (Reuters)
• A company behind the controversial Byhalia Connection pipeline asks for a “mutual pause” in its dispute with the Memphis City Council, offering to suspend construction if the city pauses its consideration of an ordinance that could make it harder to build. (Associated Press)
• Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says Native American rights should be considered amid the Line 3 pipeline debate and that the administration prefers pipelines used to move hydrogen or carbon emissions. (E&E News, subscription)
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OIL & GAS
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state will stop issuing fracking permits by 2024 and end all drilling in the state by 2045. (Associated Press)
• President Biden’s infrastructure plan could help shore up Pennsylvania’s chronically underfunded program to plug abandoned oil wells. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• The EPA and other officials are investigating after a Virgin Islands oil refinery emitted fumes that closed schools and a vaccination site Friday, months after the facility showered oil on the surrounding community. (Washington Post)
COAL: The Department of Energy announces $109.5 million in funding to spur job creation in coal communities as the Biden administration identifies $38 billion in unspent funds the regions can use. (WV Metro News, Associated Press)
CLIMATE:
• President Biden closes the White House climate summit with a call for major investments in emissions reductions, as climate envoy John Kerry says major financial institutions are seeing the value of the investments. (ABC News, Bloomberg)
• The U.N. is preparing to release a report emphasizing the importance of cutting methane emissions to prevent the worst effects of climate change, calling the fossil fuel industry and expansion of natural gas incompatible with Paris climate goals. (New York Times)
CARBON CAPTURE: The Department of Energy opens applications for $75 million in grants to fund research and development of carbon capture and storage technology for power and industrial plants. (news release)
POLITICS:
• West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, a key vote in Biden’s clean-energy agenda, says states should start lining up infrastructure projects for likely funding but nods toward a much smaller GOP package. (Ohio Valley ReSource, WV Metro News, CNBC)
• New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says activists have “deeply influenced” how Democratic leadership approaches climate change. (The Hill)
TRANSPORTATION: Ohio public transit services face short- and long-term challenges after pandemic-related ridership declines and ongoing underfunding. (Energy News Network)
GRID: Changes in federal leadership could help resolve market issues in New England that limit clean energy adoption. (CT Mirror)
COMMENTARY:
• Health policy and environmental health experts, including Chelsea Clinton, call for the end of fracking to protect both people and the planet. (STAT)
• A columnist greets an acknowledgement by the United Mine Workers of the clean energy transition as a positive step toward “realism.” (New York Times)