Why it matters: Ominous forecasts about the impact of climate change serve as the backdrop for the world — led by U.S. lawmakers and companies — to debate big action on the problem, which could upend energy systems and our way of life.
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President Trump is slated to meet Friday with top executives of large oil companies to discuss potential ways to help the sector that's facing strong economic headwinds as prices and demand have collapsed, according to industry sources familiar with the plan.
Driving the news: The White House is inviting the heads of Exxon, Chevron and the big independent Occidental Petroleum, and Continental Resources executive chairman Harold Hamm, per the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the plan.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
A landmark United Nations climate change summit, originally scheduled for November in Glasgow, Scotland, is being delayed until next year.
Why it matters: This isn't just another major convention scuttled by coronavirus. This is a make-or-break moment as countries face pressure to increase their ambitions to tackle climate change.
A drill of Whiting Petroleum. Photo: AFP / Stringer/Getty Images
The oil-and-gas producer Whiting Petroleum said Wednesday that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing the "severe downturn" in prices stemming from the Saudi-Russia price war and the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Why it matters: The Wall Street Journal notes that Whiting, a substantial producer in North Dakota's prolific shale regions, is the "first sizable fracking company to succumb to the crash in oil prices."
Photo: David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
The response to the Trump administration's final rules weakening vehicle mileage and emissions standards through the mid-2020s offers a hint of the shifting plates in the industry and the battles ahead.
Why it matters: The prior rules were a pillar of the Obama-era climate agenda, and transportation is the nation's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
The consultancy Wood Mackenzie has tallied how much U.S. oil producers are cutting back spending as the industry moves to crisis footing.
The big picture: What's already announced — from both independent producers and global giants like Chevron and BP — is eye-popping.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
The renewable energy sector is pressing for the "phase 4" coronavirus response bill to provide the aid that was omitted from the recent $2 trillion rescue package — and they might have a wider opening this time around.
Why it matters: Wind and solar developers are warning of project cancelations and layoffs as activity is frozen, supply chains are disrupted, and companies risk missing deadlines to use tax credits.