Axios

President-elect Joe Biden will name Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) as Interior secretary, according to a source with direct knowledge of the decision, a history-making move that also will test Biden's resolve on energy policy.

Why it matters: Haaland, 60, would be the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary, leading the department that oversees the federal government's relationship with 567 federally recognized tribes and 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives.

President-elect Joe Biden will nominate Michael Regan, the top environmental regulator in North Carolina, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, a source familiar with the decision confirmed to Axios.

Why it matters: If confirmed by the Senate, Regan would be the first Black man to head the agency, which will be tasked with strengthening environmental standards after four years of the Trump administration's aggressive efforts to undo Obama-era protections.

This week brought a new and maybe decisive turn in a high-stakes fight over how much oil and mining companies should reveal about payments to foreign governments.

Driving the news: The Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3-2 Wednesday to finalize disclosure rules required under the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial law. But the panel's Democrats and human rights groups called it too weak.

The ongoing cost declines for lithium-ion battery tech is helping to make electric vehicles competitive against internal combustion models, per new analysis from the research firm BloombergNEF.

Why it matters: The annual study sees 2023 as the point where automakers "should be able to produce and sell mass market EVs at the same price (and with the same margin) as comparable internal combustion vehicles in some markets."

Some Democratic senators are threatening to obstruct President-elect Joe Biden’s nominees if he’s not aggressive enough on climate change, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) told Axios.

Why it matters: Whitehouse is a leader on climate change in his party, but he has also shown to be a bipartisan dealmaker when he wants to be. So, what he says suggests broader support among other Democrats.

A growing number of climate-conscious cities — from San Francisco to Brookline, Massachusetts — have voted to ban natural gas hookups in newly-built apartment and commercial buildings, putting an end to gas-powered stoves, water heaters and clothes dryers.

Why it matters: As more liberal-tilting cities like Seattle follow suit, the push toward "electrification" is likely to play out on the national stage, sparking debate over the merits of electricity vs. gas.

At least three people have died as a monster snowstorm that's left over 60 million people under winter weather alerts pummels the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

The big picture: The National Weather Service warned the storm would cause "major" travel disruption and power outages. 6.5 inches of snow and sleet fell over New York's Central Park by midnight — exceeding the total for last winter, when 4.8 inches fell. Boston was set to get hit with up to 12 inches of snow by Thursday morning.

Oil giant BP said this morning that it has taken a majority stake in Finite Carbon, a U.S.-based company that according to BP is the country's largest developer of forest carbon offsets.

Why it matters: BP, which made a $5 million investment in the firm's parent last year, said the new deal would help the company expand and reach new markets. The size of the deal was not disclosed.

ZeroAvia, a startup looking to commercialize hydrogen fuel cell-powered aviation, secured over $21 million from backers including the Bill Gates-led Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Amazon and Shell.

Why it matters: Aviation is a substantial source of carbon emissions and finding ways to wring emissions from the sector is a big challenge, so these efforts are worth watching.

The incoming Joe Biden administration just filled in some of the biggest blanks on its energy and climate team, and the decisions say plenty about its approach.

Catch up fast: Obama-era EPA boss Gina McCarthy is slated to be named Biden's White House domestic climate policy adviser to lead a government-wide policy push.

President-elect Joe Biden will tap Gina McCarthy, who led the Environmental Protection Agency under former President Obama, as White House climate czar, according to a person familiar with the news and multiple reports.

Driving the news: McCarthy will manage domestic climate policy alongside her deputy, Ali Zaidi, New York's current deputy secretary for energy and environment, as first reported by the Washington Post.