A federal judge'srecent ruling that blocks regulators from using a key estimate of the harms from carbon emissions is delaying drilling permits, lease sales and environmental rules, federal officials say.
Driving the news: Administration lawyers are asking the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana to stay its sweeping preliminary injunction that prevents using the White House's social cost of carbon (SCC) in decision-making.
Liquefied natural gas markets grew last year amid increased U.S. exports and Chinese import growth, part of the wider worldwide gas demand recovery from COVID-19, per new Shell data.
The big picture: Global LNG trade grew by 6% over 2020, with Chinese imports rising almost 18%. Shell also confirms other analyses showing the U.S. moving past Qatar and Australia to become the world's largest annual exporter this year.
Crude oil prices are moving closer to $100-per-barrel after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into eastern Ukraine and recognized the independence of two Kremlin-backed separatist regions.
Why it matters: Further escalation would push prices higher and shake energy markets more broadly as tensions with Russia — the main oil and natural gas supplier to Europe — reach their highest levels since the Cold War.
New EPA data shows the long-term decline in emissions of key electricity sector pollutants, but also a recent uptick and the long road ahead to deeply decarbonizing the sector.
Driving the news: The figures show that last year sulfur dioxide emissions rose 20% compared to 2020, while nitrogen oxides rose 6% and CO2 climbed 7%.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Tuesday that the certification process for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will be halted, saying that "the situation has fundamentally changed" after the Kremlin ordered troops into eastern Ukraine.
Why it matters: It's a stunning turn of events for the $11 billion, Russia-to-Germany natural gas pipeline, which Scholz had long resisted naming as a potential sanctions target if Russia invaded Ukraine.
