Microsoft is unveiling plans for a new digital platform for environmental data and committing to conserve more land than it operates on in the next five years.
The big picture: The pursuits, a follow-up to the tech giant’s big climate change goal earlier this year, is one of the first major corporate announcements on environmental issues since the coronavirus pandemic erupted, causing many such initiatives to be put on hold.
New polling shows an immense partisan divide on the threat of climate change, one that contrasts sharply with widespread agreement on the risks of spreading infectious disease.
What they found: Check out the chart above, showing some of the results from Pew Research Center polling conducted March 3–29.
Apple released data Tuesday from nations and cities worldwide that help to show the stunning reductions in travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Why it matters: Stay-at-home policies and closures of schools, offices and more are among the forces driving the collapse in oil demand — so is the decline of flying, which is not directly captured here.
There's simply nothing policymakers can do that will quickly fix the oil sector's woes, and events on Wednesday show why the path ahead is so difficult and will overwhelm some companies.
The state of play: The International Energy Agency issued an immense downward revision of its 2020 estimates for global oil demand, immediately putting even more downward pressure on oil prices, which have already been falling again this week.
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed Tuesday to keep air quality standards for soot pollution unchanged from 2012.
Why it matters: This action has relevance to today's pandemic, according to Axios energy reporter Amy Harder. Scientists say soot air pollution exacerbates the effects of respiratory diseases, like the one caused by the coronavirus.
The Energy Information Administration sees U.S. oil production from shale formations falling from roughly 8.71 million barrels per day this month to less than 8.53 million in May.
Why it matters: The latest estimates published Monday show how the price and demand collapse is taking hold as producers scale back operations in the saturated and coronavirus-stricken market.
Part of Bernie Sanders' endorsement of presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden is a new plan for them to form joint "task forces" on six big topics, including climate change.
Why it matters: Time will tell, but I'll be watching to see if it leads to substantial changes in Biden's climate platform, which has disappointed the left even though it goes far beyond Obama-era policies.
President Trump's re-election campaign is wasting no time touting his role in brokering the new global oil-cutting pact, which featured days of direct talks with leaders from Russia, Saudi Arabia and Mexico.
Reality check: Trump's petro-diplomacy was important, yet just one of many forces that pushed Saudi Arabia and Russia toward reviving their cooperation on supply management, analysts say.
