The Energy Department Thursday will award $135 million for 40 projects that help decarbonize heavy industries such as cement, metals and chemical production.
The big picture: While today's award isn't huge, it signals a wider recognition that heavy industry is a needed policy focus.
Industrial activities are big CO2 sources — together over a quarter of the U.S. total — and often lack solutions at a cost-effective commercial scale.
A pipeline here and a drilling approval there won't stop the largest and deep-pocketed environmental groups from endorsing President Biden's reelection bid.
Catch up fast: On Wednesday, Biden scored simultaneous backing from the political arms of the League of Conservation Voters and the Natural Resources Defense Council, as well as the Sierra Club and NextGen PAC.
Their joint announcement shouted out the Democrats' climate law — by far the biggest low-carbon energy boost in U.S. history — as well as White House environmental justice, regulatory and conservation initiatives.
What we're watching: Whether the groups and the Biden campaign's efforts can defuse a potential political problem for Biden — young, climate-focused voters angry about green lights for fossil fuel projects and permits.
The most high-profile fights have been over ConocoPhillips' Willow oil drilling project in Alaska and the Mountain Valley Pipeline, an Appalachian gas project advanced in the debt ceiling compromise.
The big picture: Biden's backing from these Democratic leadership-aligned green groups was never in doubt. But the joint endorsement goes out of its way to appeal to youth.
"By championing the most groundbreaking climate legislation ever witnessed in our nation's history, he has shown his attentiveness to the concerns of the younger generation," NextGen PAC president Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez said in a statement.
Quick take: The Sierra Club's endorsement is the most noteworthy.
Among heavyweight green groups with longevity, it's the one that most straddles work with mainstream Democrats while rolling with the more confrontational (and leftist) wing of the climate movement.
Of note: Biden, in remarks at a League of Conservation Voters dinner last night, touted his record but didn't wade into decisions that have riled some activists.
He made sure, though, to remind the audience that Republicans have sought to scuttle the climate law incentives.
The bottom line: Biden will have plenty of green group money, ads and organizing behind him. But the burst of endorsements didn't completely paper over recent tensions.
In a separate statement backing Biden, the Sierra Club said "[W]e will continue to hold this administration accountable when it falls short," and that "destructive" projects like Willow and Mountain Valley "must not move forward."
A jury in Oregon determined Wednesday that electric utility PacifiCorp must pay punitive damages over destructive wildfires in the state in 2020.
Why it matters: The case could see the utility that's owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway have to pay billions of dollars in damages in the class action lawsuit — though PacifiCorp said after a jury found it liable on Monday that it "plans to pursue appeals."
Fire weather days — featuring a volatile mix of low humidity, strong winds and high temperatures — have increased in number across much of the Lower 48 states during the past 50 years, a new analysis shows.
Shell is tapping the brakes on continued oil production curbs, the multinational giant said Wednesday, in a broader strategy update that will boost payouts to shareholders.
Driving the news: Here's what Shell said ahead of CEO Wael Sawan's investor presentation in New York City this morning...
It's boosting dividends by 15% beginning this quarter and buying back at least $5 billion in shares in the second half of 2023.
Now that General Motors and Ford have pledged to adopt Tesla's electric vehicle (EV) charging standard, other industry players are lining up behind it too — even faster than we predicted they would.
What's happening: Several major charging networks, including EVgo and ChargePoint, have jumped on board, saying they'll support the Tesla connector, too.
Most clothing brands are doing a lousy job on the environmental front, and most consumers aren't doing their part either, a new report from consulting firm Kearney concludes.
Why it matters: Despite much chin music about the environmental sins of the fashion industry — how it's a major polluter and carbon emitter but wants to do better — progress is slow toward the goal of "circularity," in which a garment is repeatedly reused, repaired and recycled before it's discarded.
