The debate that's panicking Democrats over President Biden's lack of energy was also very low on energy and climate policy.

Why it matters: I'll get to the lone direct question that arrived at minute 57, but overall, Biden didn't use the election's biggest stage to stitch "clean" energy infrastructure into his economic appeals throughout the night.

• Whether by design or not, the lack of emphasis came despite White House and campaign efforts to cast the 2021 infrastructure law and 2022 climate law as job drivers.

Democrats appeared especially dismayed that Biden didn't bring up a meeting that Donald Trump held with oil executives in which he reportedly promised to reverse environmental rules but wanted them to give $1 billion to his campaign.

Meanwhile, Trump didn't focus much on his pro-drilling message or re-up his constant attacks on Biden's EV policies.

• He flicked at this by hitting the "green new scam" and claiming he made the U.S. "energy independent" and briefly touted the "liquid gold under our feet" — but it was all just in passing.

The intrigue: Neither candidate even stayed on topic when asked point-blank about climate change.

• Trump immediately pivoted back to a prior question about struggles facing Black Americans.

Zoom in: Here's what unfolded when CNN's Dana Bash asked Trump whether he'd take action to "slow the climate crisis."

• Trump claimed he had the "best environmental numbers ever" and said the Paris Agreement that he abandoned (Biden re-entered the U.S.) "was going to cost us a trillion dollars."
• Biden riposted: "I don't know where the hell he's been."

Reality check: The claims are dicey. For instance, air quality trends were mixed under Trump and his environmental approach was deregulatory, and who knows where the trillion claim comes from.

• The NYT has a bit more on Trump's environmental and Paris Agreement claims, which the paper called "misleading."

The other side: "I've passed the most extensive ... climate change legislation in history," Biden said.

• He said Trump "didn't do a damn thing" about climate change and "wants to undo all that I've done."

Before the debate, Trump reposted on Truth Social a series of talking points that he said came from Andrew Wheeler, his former EPA administrator.

• "Under my administration we will continue to reduce CO2 and focus on American made energy," one of them read.

The bottom line: If voters are looking for in-depth exchanges on energy, they'll have to wait for September's debate — if it happens.

The Supreme Court may freeze more big environmental rules while lower court challenges play out — if a key ruling yesterday is any indication.

State of play: The high court stayed EPA's "good neighbor" rule designed to cut smog-forming power plant and industrial pollution that blows into other states.

What they're saying: Capital Alpha Partners says it's only the second time SCOTUS has stayed an EPA regulation still under litigation in lower courts.

• The first was the Obama-era Clean Power Plan in 2016. But now Capital Alpha sees a 50% chance that EPA's recent CO2 standards for power plants will meet a similar fate.
• "We also see problems ahead for EV regulations," their note adds.

Catch up quick: Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the 5-4 decision on the "good neighbor" rule.

• It focused on questions about carrying out the plan when implementation had already been frozen in 12 of 23 states amid legal battles.
• Conservative justice Amy Coney Barrett penned a dissent joined by the court's three liberal jurists. The Washington Post and AP have much more.

What we're watching: "As the courts next turn to the legality of [the] power plant rule under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act, today's action will be on their mind," Bracewell partner Jeff Holmstead, whose firm represents utility clients, said in a statement.

Let's check in on Rivian as the dust settles on VW's plan to inject up to $5 billion into the EV maker alongside new tech collaboration.

State of play: The startup's share price is still enjoying a bounce but remains down on the year (see above), let alone the initial valuation when it went public.

Driving the news: In an investor presentation yesterday, Rivian reaffirmed guidance on producing 57,000 vehicles this year.

• It also offers details on plans to cut per-vehicle production costs at the company that's operating at a multibillion-dollar loss.

The intrigue: Reuters has nice details on how the VW deal came together without attracting notice, including camouflaged Audis arriving at a Rivian facility for testing with the startup's tech.

What we're watching: Rivian's next quarterly earnings call could bring more details on its plans with VW.

Climate activists and LNG developer Venture Global agree on only one thing: The ball is in President Biden's court on the nation's most closely watched fossil fuel project.

Why it matters: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in a 2-1 vote, yesterday approved Venture's CP2 project in Louisiana.

• That puts all eyes on the White House-led pause on new export licenses to major markets, which are key for projects to proceed.

The big picture: The project is very large in its own right — and a symbol of wider battles over LNG.

• LNG backers say exports give the U.S. geopolitical leverage and help displace overseas use of coal, the most CO2-emitting fuel.
• Former Senate Energy chair Mary Landrieu, who's working with Venture on the project, called FERC's decision "a significant win for American infrastructure and energy security."

The other side: Paris Agreement targets require getting off all fossil fuels, and activists fear LNG projects lock in emissions for decades.

• And methane releases in the supply chain erode the advantage over coal, though how much is hotly debated.
• Leah Donahey, the League of Conservation Voters' senior federal advocacy campaigns director, called it "the most dangerous and controversial LNG export project ever proposed in the U.S.,'' adding that FERC's action "underscores why the Department of Energy's role reviewing LNG exports is essential."

Catch up quick: U.S. exports are slated to grow regardless, thanks to new projects already taking shape, but many other plans still await final decisions.

The pause and study of new permits is slated to continue past the election, and Donald Trump has pledged to end the policy.

What we're watching: What happens if Biden wins is hard to game out as DOE officials review the economics and climate effects of LNG approvals.

• "[E]ven if Biden allows permitting to resume upon clinching a second term, he's expected to impose higher hurdles that some projects can't clear," Bloomberg notes.

"My takeaway is that using one or more of the available trade and national security mechanisms available to the U.S. government, the U.S. will be successful in excluding Mexican/Chinese EVs."