The House Oversight Committee has voted 24-15 to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt for refusing to turn over subpoenaed materials related to the Census citizenship question.
The big picture: Earlier Wednesday, President Trump asserted executive privilege over the subpoenaed documents on the advice of the Justice Department. The committee is investigating whether the Trump administration's decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census was politically motivated, a controversy that could have major implications for future federal funding and redistricting.
Outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday floated a proposal to require the country to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Why it matters: The plan would make the U.K. the first G7 nation to "legislate for net zero emissions," her office said in announcing the legally binding proposal.
Carbon pricing and investment transparency top the agenda of a meeting later this week between leaders of the world’s biggest oil and investment firms and Vatican officials, according to multiple people close to the event and a draft agenda viewed by Axios.
Driving the news: The meeting, first reported by Bloomberg in April, comes almost exactly a year after the first gathering with Pope Francis. This time, organizers hope to produce a first-time joint statement with the Vatican supporting a price on carbon emissions and investment transparency relating to climate change, according to these sources.
The Democratic head of a powerful House committee is probing reports of White House interference with a State Department analyst's written testimony prepared for a recent hearing on climate change and national security.
Why it matters: Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff's inquiry could disclose new information about White House challenges to widely recognized scientific findings on global warming and its effects.
Driving the news: Schiff, in a new letter to State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), asks for a suite of documents and communications about preparation of State analyst Rod Schoonover's submission for the June 5 hearing.
The letter says he has "profound concerns" about efforts to "suppress" independent analysis.
Joe Biden will use a speech in Davenport, Iowa on Tuesday to attack President Trump on climate change during a day that both men are in the state.
Why it matters: The remarks represent Biden's highest-profile attack on Trump on the issue since the early Democratic frontrunner unveiled his climate plan last week. Iowa, like much of the Midwest and Plains, has been hard hit by floods this spring.
Several states, including California, Vermont and Arizona, are considering requiring electric vehicle charging stations to accept physical, magnetic stripe credit cards rather than other payment options. A new report outlines how that will be a dramatic downgrade in security.
A recent World Bank report offers a very mixed bag for anyone hoping the spread of carbon pricing — via taxes or permit trading — could help bring steep cuts in worldwide emissions.
Reproduced from a World Bank report. Chart: Axios Visuals
Why it matters: The bank's latest look at pricing trends follows global CO2 emissions increases in 2017 and 2018 that ended a 3-year plateau.
Existing natural gas capacity could replace up to half of the European Union’s coal-fired electricity, according to a forthcoming International Energy Agency study described to Axios.
Why it matters: While still a fossil fuel and thus controversial, natural gas emits 50% less carbon than coal. So in cases where gas is displacing coal, overall CO2 emissions go down.
