CNN on Tuesday released new details for what will be a first-of-its-kind 7-hour town hall focused on climate change on Sept. 4.
Why it matters: Climate activists were enraged at the Democratic National Committee last week for voting down a proposed presidential debate centered solely on climate change. While the town hall will not offer the head-to-head format activists have sought, it does offer some platform for an issue that spent much of the 2016 campaign on the back burner. An April CNN poll showed that 96% of Democrats favor taking "aggressive action" to combat the issue.
BP is selling its oil-and-gas assets in Alaska to Hilcorp Alaska in a $5.6 billion deal that will end its decades-long run as a huge player in the state.
Why it matters: It's a stark sign of the oil giant's repositioning, including its increasing presence in the shale patch in the Lower 48. BP bought BHP's Billiton's U.S. shale assets last year in a $10.5 billion deal.
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has said he will only accept a $20 million aid package from G7 nations to fight fires in the Amazon rainforest if French President Emmanuel Macron apologizes, according to the AP.
The big picture: Macron and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have traded barbs on Twitter over the fate of the Amazon, which has seen an 84% increase in wildfires this year compared to 2018. Bolsonaro has described the offer of international help as a “colonialist mentality," while Macron has questioned the Brazilian president's commitment to environmentalism. Per the AP, Bolsonaro says Macron must take back some of his comments "and then we can speak."
Toyota, which has a partnership with Tokyo's 2020 Summer Olympics, has announced the slate of electric vehicles that will be used to move fans, athletes and others around the games.
By the numbers: The auto giant said that it's providing 3,700 "mobility products and/or vehicles" for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 90% will be electrified in some way, including roughly 850 fully battery-powered vehicles and 500 fuel-cell vehicles, the automaker said Friday. The "e-Palette" will "support transportation needs of staff and athletes, with a dozen or more running on a continuous loop within the Olympic and Paralympic Village."
Editor's note: The headline in this story has been updated to reflect that Toyota plans to release an electric vehicle fleet for the 2020 Olympics, not an autonomous fleet.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) will analyze the climate change and economic costs of the world’s coal plants in its 2019 world energy outlook, set for release in November, the agency's top official told Axios in a recent interview.
Why it matters: "There is an important problem here," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. "The existing infrastructure provides a lifeline to people in developing countries, but at the same time, it’s the single most important driver of global carbon dioxide emissions."
The Amazon rainforest has been ravaged by hundreds of fires for the past 3 weeks, and the Brazilian government has deployed 44,000 troops to battle the blazes.
Why it matters: World leaders at the G7 summit have pledged a $20 million aid package to help affected South American countries fight the blazes. The BBC notes that from 1980 to 2010, the rainforest's trees are estimated to have pulled in carbon dioxide equivalent to the fossil fuel emissions of most of the 9 countries that own or border it.
The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed former Trump administration aide Rob Porter on Monday to testify in its probe regarding possible obstruction of justice by President Trump.
Why it matters: Porter was a key witness for the obstruction portion of former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. He resigned from the White House last year after his 2 ex-wives came forward with abuse allegations. Porter may never have to face the committee as the White House has moved to block other former surrogates from testifying before the House Judiciary.
World leaders at the G7 summit agreed Monday to a $20 million aid package to help Brazil and neighboring South American countries fight fires in the Amazon rainforest, according to an announcement from French President Emmanuel Macron and Chilean President Sebastián Piñera.
Why it matters: Macron has been a main driver in ensuring world leaders address the severe climate impact of deforestation in the Amazon despite Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's refusal of any foreign aid.
To adequately address climate change on the level scientists say we must, the world would need to slash its use of oil, natural gas and coal within 30 years, a Herculean task given our deep dependence.
Driving the news: Democrats on the presidential campaign trail and international leaders preparing for a United Nations summit next month say urgent action is needed, but few actually have viable plans for how and when to cut our fossil-fuel use.
Democratic presidential candidate and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock told a CNN town hall in New York Sunday that it's possible to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040 "or even earlier."
Details: That's much faster than UN goals for world leaders to commit to net zero emissions by 2050. Bullock pledged at the town hall to start tackling the climate crisis by rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, which President Trump announced in 2017 he would withdraw the U.S from.
