EMISSIONS: After four years of Trump, U.S. world allies and rivals have been largely indifferent as the Biden administration pushes them to announce higher emissions reduction goals ahead of a climate summit. (Politico)

ALSO:
• The White House is considering a specific methane emission pledge as part of its greenhouse gas reduction goals, according to sources familiar with the matter. (Bloomberg)
• Environmental and agricultural groups press Congress to reject a bill that would let polluting companies pay farmers to offset their carbon emissions. (Inside Climate News)
• Environmentalists are on both sides of the debate over whether carbon offsets should have a place in the U.S.’s emissions reductions goals. (The Hill)
• A nonprofit with backing from the California government plans to launch satellites that will find and publicly disclose the sources of major methane and carbon emissions. (Axios)

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CLIMATE: The new U.S. trade representative names climate action one of her top priorities, saying international trade policy should be used to fight climate change. (New York Times)

SOLAR: The income gap between households with rooftop solar and U.S. homes in general is shrinking, a study shows, cutting into arguments that solar subsidies largely benefit wealthier people. (Inside Climate News)

OIL & GAS:
• The U.S.’s largest gas driller condemns a Trump administration rollback of emissions limits on new oil and gas wells as Democrats try to reverse the rule. (Bloomberg)
• The oil and gas industry is trying to discredit scientific studies that link fossil fuel companies to climate change as they try to avoid legal accountability for extreme weather. (E&E News, subscription)
• FERC Chair Richard Glick says the agency may take the uncommon step of adding mitigation measures for a Massachusetts compressor station even though it has already authorized the project. (S&P Global Platts)

UTILITIES:
• FERC proposes reducing financial incentives that encourage utilities to join regional transmission organizations, calling them a “handout” delivered at the expense of consumers. (S&P Global; E&E News, subscription)
• About a quarter of utilities were breached during the SolarWinds hack, an electricity regulator says, though there’s no evidence hackers took action to compromise the grid. (Utility Dive)

GRID:
• Analysts at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas find that weatherizing Texas’ power plants and natural gas system would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but would be worth the cost when measured against in losses from storm-related outages. (San Antonio Express-News)
• Grid operator MISO issues a long-term transmission roadmap that experts say could help unlock renewable energy projects in the central U.S. (E&E News, subscription)

EQUITY: The White House is reviving its Council on Native American Affairs, which has not met regularly since 2016. (The Hill)

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TRANSPORTATION:
• Following the passage of a landmark state climate bill, Rhode Island lawmakers are turning their attention toward legislation allowing the state to join a regional cap-and-invest program known as the Transportation and Climate Initiative. (Energy News Network)
• Elon Musk appears to be walking away from plans for car tunnels in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. (Bloomberg) 

COMMENTARY: “Mid-century deadlines may be too late” to curb global temperature rise, an environmental policy expert writes, meaning the U.S. needs to immediately lower emissions of super pollutants. (Washington Post)

Kathryn brings her extensive editorial background to the Energy News Network team, where she oversees the early-morning production of ENN’s five email digest newsletters as well as distribution of ENN’s original journalism with other media outlets. From documenting chronic illness’ effect on college students to following the inner workings of Congress, Kathryn has built a broad experience in her more than five years working at major publications including The Week Magazine. Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Science in magazine journalism and information management and technology from Syracuse University.