Axios

Exxon on Wednesday said the company sees a $2 trillion "addressable market" in carbon capture and storage by 2040, and argues the company has strong expertise that positions it well.

The big picture: Exxon is vowing increased spending to expand its carbon capture efforts in coming years and looking into other areas, though it has eschewed the renewable power efforts of European peers.

Researchers keep finding new ways to reveal that nations are together showing very few signs of getting on track to meet the Paris Agreement's goals.

One big question: That's whether a spate of recent analyses to that effect, and scientific reports coming later this year, will move the needle on meaningful new policies (not just targets).

Electric Reliability Council of Texas CEO Bill Magness, who heads the independent nonprofit entity that operates and manages the electricity grid for much of Texas, was fired Wednesday night, the Texas Tribune reports.

Why it matters: It's the latest fallout from last month's fatal power outages after extremely low temperatures that caused multiple types of generation to fail.

The Interior Department rescinded a Trump-era policy that the Biden administration says "improperly restricted" the use of science and data, and ordered a review of its "scientific integrity policies," effective immediately, the acting Interior secretary announced Wednesday.

Why it matters: The action is part of an effort to ensure the Interior Department remains a "leader in scientific integrity." The American public's divided trust in science was deemed a foundational crisis that President Biden would need to address to tackle other challenges awaiting him on Day 1 of his presidency, including the pandemic and climate change.

Gas prices are hitting new post-pandemic highs across the country, but this isn't a story of America reopening. It's really just a function of the price of oil going up.

• By the numbers: Gasoline cost $2.71 on average as of Monday, per the EIA. The highest average price was $3.59 in Los Angeles, while the lowest was $2.33 in Houston.
• All of these prices represent the highest level seen since 2019.

The big picture: The price of crude oil reflects more than half of the cost of a gallon of gasoline. (The rest is refinery costs, distribution costs, and taxes.)

• Demand for oil has actually been declining, per the New York Fed, but supply has been falling even faster, with the result that prices have now topped $64 for a barrel of Brent crude.

Package giant FedEx said on Wednesday it hopes to become carbon-neutral across operations by 2040 and pledged $2 billion of "initial investments" toward the goal.

Why it matters: Flying and driving heavy stuff all over the place — FedEx says it's the world's largest cargo airline — has a substantial carbon footprint.

Senior House Democrats are floating a big climate bill that's consistent with President Biden's agenda, but it's more of a statement of goals than anything likely to become law as written.

Driving the news: One key pillar is a "clean electricity standard" (CES) that requires utilities to supply 100% of their power from zero-carbon sources by 2035.

U.S. additions of energy storage capacity shattered their previous records in the fourth quarter of 2020, per new data from the consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

Why it matters: It signals the growing mainstreaming of technologies that help integrate more renewables onto power grids, provide backup energy and other benefits.

ExxonMobil said Wednesday that its oil-and-gas development plans will create good returns even at modest oil prices as the company looks to win back investor confidence after several rocky years.

Driving the news: The company, just ahead of an investor presentation this morning, said its investments are designed to generate returns of over 30% and touted its spending reductions.