The state of play from Axios' Amy Harder, who argued last month that two factors might require a rewrite of the emissions regulations: Gasoline prices have dropped and revived Americans’ longstanding preference for pickup trucks and SUVs over smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, and the Obama administration also rushed a technical review of the standard in November 2016 after Trump’s surprise election victory.
U.K.-based global oil giant BP reported $2.6 billion in first quarter profits on the strength of higher oil prices and higher production, its biggest haul in three years and a rise of 71% from the same period in 2017.
Why it matters: BP is the latest Big Oil giant to report a jump in earnings as crude oil prices have climbed.
The American Petroleum Institute plans to soon name Mike Sommers, a former high-level Capitol Hill aide, as its next president and CEO, according to multiple industry sources.
Why it matters: API is the largest and most influential lobbying group representing all types of oil and gas companies. Sommers will take over a surprisingly rocky relationship between President Trump and the industry, who have tangled over biofuels, trade restrictions, and how far to roll back regulations.
In the wake of Earth Day 2018, Mike Allen interviewed former Vice President Al Gore on the future of sustainability.
1 big thing: They discussed the roles the private and public sector should play in addressing climate change, with Gore arguing that we're on the brink of a "Sustainability Revolution"—a revolution with the power of the industrial revolution and the speed of the digital revolution.
Australia is pledging $500 million to a restoration program for the Great Barrier Reef, reports CNN, after marine heatwaves killed off corals in 2016, as a result of global warming.
The details: The funds will go toward initiatives improving water quality and protecting species of endangered species, fish and coral native to the reef. This is the largest investment Australia has made to reef conservation.
When it comes to federal policy priorities, climate change rarely drives the agenda.
Why it matters: It's one of the biggest issues facing political and corporate leaders, yet it is almost always put behind more imminent priorities. The amorphous, long-term nature of the problem doesn’t fit well into political agendas, and companies respond in kind. This dynamic is kicking into high gear under President Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress.
