Biden expected to ramp up emissions reduction goals

EMISSIONS: President Joe Biden is expected to announce within the next month a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 50% by 2030. (Washington Post; E&E News, subscription)

ALSO: An analysis from the Rhodium Group maps a model tax incentive that could cut emissions by as much as 74% by 2035 without raising consumers’ energy bills. (Axios)

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PUBLIC LANDS:
• The Biden administration withdraws its nomination of Elizabeth Klein to become the Interior Department’s deputy secretary after objections from moderate senators in fossil fuel-producing states. (Washington Post)
• New Mexico’s Democratic Congress members prepare legislation aimed at satisfying environmentalists and fossil fuel workers concerned about a moratorium on federal oil and gas leasing. (E&E News)
• A Democrat accuses the GOP of spreading ​“a false narrative that you can either protect public lands or have job creation” during the House Natural Resources subcommittee’s first hearing of the year. (Arizona Mirror)

CLIMATE:
• The Federal Reserve announces it’s forming a Financial Stability Climate Committee to examine how climate change will affect the global financial system. (The Hill)
• The Rhode Island House passes a major climate bill that would legally hold the state government accountable for meeting a net-zero emissions goal in 2050. (Providence Journal)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Georgia Republicans press President Biden to veto an international trade ruling that threatens to shut down a Korean electric battery maker’s planned factory in the state. (HuffPost)
• Jeep reveals an all-electric concept version of its Wrangler, though the company still hasn’t publicly revealed if the model will become reality. (CNBC)

OFFSHORE WIND: House members from both parties and coasts launch an offshore wind caucus focused on boosting the industry and ​“making the United States a clean energy leader.” (WAVY)

SOLAR: Minnesota solar developers say a state law requiring community solar subscribers to live near projects is limiting growth. (Energy News Network)

NATURAL GAS: Proposals to phase out or reduce the use of natural gas in Nevada homes and businesses are raising questions about equity and energy costs. (E&E News)

UTILITIES: A climate-focused investment group finds 159 of the world’s biggest carbon-emitting companies, including many major U.S. utilities, are falling far short of Paris Climate Agreement goals and investors’ expectations. (Reuters, Energy and Policy)

INFRASTRUCTURE: A high-ranking Republicans senator says the party won’t work with Democrats on infrastructure if the majority advances more controversial pieces through reconciliation. (E&E News, subscription)

PIPELINES:
• A Gulf Coast liquid natural gas terminal cancels a planned pipeline and fracking network at Texas’ Port of Brownsville amid an unstable global market and stout community opposition. (KVEO; E&E News, subscription)
• A federal appeals court overrules New York environmental officials and clears the way for a pipeline to carry natural gas from Pennsylvania to Ontario. (Buffalo News)

COAL: A judge approves a plan for bankrupt coal operator Blackjewel to sell more than 200 mining permits, raising concerns that many may be abandoned and left to states for clean-up. (Ohio Valley ReSource)

COMMENTARY
• A former vice chair of Texas’ Electric Reliability Council suggests five improvements for the state’s electricity market to avoid another blackout crisis. (Utility Dive)
• Promises for substantive fixes to Texas’ electric grid after last month’s outages are falling by the wayside as lawmakers slowly consider bills that make only minor changes, writes a columnist. (Houston Chronicle)
• The oil and gas industries are overreacting to President Biden’s pause on new leases, as companies are preparing to let millions of acres of leased land expire anyway, a policy analyst and researcher write. (Center for American Progress)