World on track for 3° C of warming, UN warns

Editor’s note: U.S. Energy News is taking a break for the Thanksgiving holiday. We’ll be back Nov. 27.

CLIMATE: The world is on track for 3° C of warming by the end of the century, a degree above Paris climate agreement goals, a United Nations report finds as it calls for drastic emissions cuts. (Grist)

ALSO:

• Fossil fuel industry representatives have attended United Nations climate talks thousands of times, establishing a presence at summits meant to address the climate problems they helped create. (Washington Post)
• New Orleans is one of America’s most climate-vulnerable and poorest cities, yet low-income residents face numerous obstacles that include limited public transit, a lack of solar and electric vehicle tax incentives, and rising energy bills. (Guardian)

EMISSIONS: U.S. emissions are set to fall as much as 3% this year compared to the last, a positive turn after two years of rising emissions but a small step toward the 50% cut the country is aiming for by 2030. (E&E News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• After ratifying contracts with Ford, GM and Stellantis, UAW members will secure higher wages and benefits as the transportation sector electrifies, analysts say. (Grist)
• Los Angeles launches an effort to install electric vehicle fast-charging networks in underserved neighborhoods and increase rebates for used EV purchases. (L.A. Focus)

PIPELINES:

• The U.S.’s top pipeline regulatory position has sat empty for three years, raising questions about how serious the Biden administration is about industry oversight, observers say. (E&E News)
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials say public comment collected now, seven years after the Dakota Access pipeline protests, will help build a full environmental accounting of the project. (Grist)

SOLAR: A wave of door-to-door solar ​“sales bros” with little actual knowledge of the technology and a tendency to lie to close sales could threaten consumer confidence in the clean energy transition. (Time)

CLEAN ENERGY: Long known as the oil capital of the U.S., Texas has become the top producer of renewable energy in the U.S., ranking as the top wind power generator and second only to California for solar. (Business Insider)

GRID: Construction hasn’t yet started on a pair of community microgrid projects in Massachusetts, but they’re already inspiring similar projects across the state. (Energy News Network)

WIND: A lackluster August auction of wind energy leases in the Gulf of Mexico has prompted some companies to ease off their plans to enter the market. (Greater Baton Rouge Business Report)

OIL & GAS: Alaska’s congressional delegation introduces legislation that would reverse the Biden administration’s oil and gas drilling ban on 13 million acres of Alaska’s North Slope. (news release)

EQUITY: The U.S. EPA awards Colorado organizations $4 million for environmental justice programs, including bilingual climate education projects and energy efficiency upgrades for low-income households. (CPR)

COMMENTARY: A federal weatherization rebate program gives states a ​“historic opportunity” to help low-income renters while cutting emissions, a clean energy fellow writes. (Energy News Network)