The Department of Energy said Friday it will ask all "personnel, contracted scientists and future grant recipients" to discloses ties to programs in countries it considers "sensitive," and that those employees will be asked to either give up those ties or resign, the WSJ reports.
The big picture: The move to ban foreign talent-recruitment programs sponsored by countries like China, Russia, Iran and North Korea was deemed a matter of "U.S. national security and scientific integrity," as the department oversees 17 national laboratories that conduct research in sensitive fields like nuclear physics. The ban is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to fend off economic espionage and intellectual property theft, which senior Energy Department officials have said often stems from these types of recruitment programs.
BP is supporting a proposal by activist investors that calls on the multinational giant to disclose how its spending and strategies sync up with the Paris climate agreement. In a related move, BP said progress on greenhouse gas cuts will factor into the pay of 36,000 employees, including executive directors.
Why it matters: Friday's move is the latest sign of how some of the world's biggest fossil fuel producers are responding to pressure from advocates — including some large investors — on global warming.
