The impact: The study found that if the Pentagon, which oversees the U.S. military, were a nation, its emissions would rank it as the world's 55th largest contributor of greenhouse gases. The department has been responsible for some 80% of all U.S. government energy consumption since 2001.
Singapore has for decades been a premier refinery hub and gatekeeper between Asia and the Middle East, but its position is increasingly threatened as more Gulf nations expand their processing capacity and petrochemical production.
Why it matters: Oil and petrochemicals drive about one quarter of Singapore's net exports. Greater competition in the global oil and gas value chain could take a heavy toll on the city-state’s national budget and economic growth prospects.
A recent delivery of 200 electric buses from Chinese manufacturers BYD and Yutong, with more orders to come, is advancing Chile's goals for electric-powered public transit — 80% by 2022 and 100% by 2040.
Why it matters: Chile is electrifying transportation to help clean its air, reduce urban noise pollution, cut oil imports and add more renewables to its energy mix. Moving toward electric mobility is also a way for Chile to tighten its trade ties with China, the dominant player in the global electric bus market.
Bitcoin mining takes a 0.2% share of global electricity consumption, according to a new paper in the journal Joule described in this MIT Technology Review piece.
Why it matters: That's a lot of power, though James Temple's MIT piece notes other research that provides an even higher estimate.
The Atlantic's Robinson Meyer has behind-the-scenes info on a newly prominent think tank's effort to fill in the policy blanks of the Green New Deal.
Why it matters: The sweeping template pushed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is firmly in the Democratic conversation — even the party's 2020 frontrunner Joe Biden's climate plan praises it.
Oil producers around the world wasted as much natural gas in 2018 as South and Central America use in an entire year, according to new data from the World Bank.
Driving the news: Intentionally discarding natural gas by burning it off as carbon dioxide, a practice called “flaring,” increased 3% to 145 billion cubic meters last year compared to 2017. In the U.S., flaring rose by nearly 50%, driven by booming oil production and a relative lack of infrastructure to contain associated natural gas.
The crews of two oil tankers were evacuated and the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet told AP it's assisting after a "reported attack" on the vessels near the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday.
Details: The Bermuda-based Frontline Ltd. said its vessel Front Altair was on fire, per the Wall Street Journal. BSM Ship Management, which manages the other vessel, Kokuka Courageous, said in a statement that one crewman was "slightly injured" in the incident. International Tanker Management, which manages Front Altair, issued a statement saying it's "urging nations to defuse tension" after the "attacks."
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.
