Axios

West Maui will expand its tourism reopening on Nov. 1, months after catastrophic wildfires in Lahaina killed about 100 people and displaced thousands.

The big picture: The August wildfires severely affected the tourism industry in the area, which is a large source of income for the island, where about 7,000 residents remain displaced, per the Maui County mayor.

The International Energy Agency has made very recent and very big cuts to their future global gas demand estimates.

State of play: Surging renewables, the Russia crisis speeding moves away from gas, and other forces led IEA to shake up their estimates.

A comprehensive look at ocean temperatures along West Antarctic coast shows that a faster melt of the region's ice shelves is all but "unavoidable" this century and implies a quicker rate of sea level rise.

Why it matters: The future of millions of coastal residents worldwide depends on the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. A more rapid loss of this ice threatens to send sea levels above existing projections of a one-to-three-foot rise by 2100.

Two mega oil mergers, combined with other recent industry moves, threaten to prolong high amounts of greenhouse gas emissions and endanger Paris climate targets, climate activists warn.

Why it matters: Chevron's $53 billion purchase of Hess announced on Monday — along with ExxonMobil's deal with Pioneer Natural Resources — signals that oil and gas firms foresee robust fossil fuel demand into the 2030s, despite government moves to slash greenhouse gas emissions and boost renewable energy.

More than 4,000 of you voted in the first round, setting up some heated monster matchups.

• The closest matchup: Snallygaster beat Champ by fewer than 50 votes.
• Most lopsided: Chupacabra overwhelmed Skunk Ape, 83%-17%.

At least seven people were killed and 25 injured in fiery wrecks Monday during "super fog" conditions in metro New Orleans, officials said.

• Super fog is formed when dense fog combines with wildfire smoke, according to the National Weather Service. It dropped visibility to near zero Monday.

Driving the news: At least 158 vehicles were involved in crashes on I-55 near Manchac, which is just outside New Orleans, Louisiana State Police say.

• First responders continued to search for victims as of 7pm, says Lt. Melissa Matey of the State Police.
• Matey said it's possible the death toll will grow.

The White House is launching new efforts to tout private sector investments in climate-friendly power generation — and make the information accessible at the project level.

Driving the news: Officials are today adding "clean" generation projects — like solar, wind and storage — to the Invest.gov site launched in June that maps various kinds of investments.

China will now limit how much battery metal it exports, potentially casting a cloud over the future of the globe's transition toward electric vehicles.

Why it matters: It's difficult to make an EV today without metal from China. Now, that country is using its mineral advantage to protect itself amidst escalating global conflicts.

Countries are struggling to agree to the basic workings of a fund that would direct money from industrialized countries to developing nations, helping to compensate them for the ravages of climate change already occurring.

Why it matters: Agreeing to the eventual formation of this so-called "loss and damage" fund was a major breakthrough at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh. But figuring out how to turn it into something functional is proving to be a tough slog ahead of November's COP28 summit in Dubai.