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Climate

The LNG Lawsuit Everyone Saw Coming

On Biden’s big legal challenge, the Ukraine war, and sea levels

Briefing image.
The WMO Just Issued a Climate ‘Red Alert’
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Current conditions: The air quality in Birmingham, Alabama, is “moderate” due to smoke from planned fires • Tourists in drought-stricken Barcelona are being asked to conserve water • It’s 103 degrees Fahrenheit in South Sudan. Tomorrow will be even hotter.

THE TOP FIVE

1. 16 states sue Biden administration over LNG pause

Sixteen Republican-led states are suing the Biden administration over its pause on approvals for new liquified natural gas export terminals. The White House announced the pause in January, saying it wanted the Energy Department to first study the effect LNG projects have on the climate. The lawsuit claims this move was illegal and that there should have been a regulatory process giving key stakeholders a voice in the final decision. The U.S. is the biggest exporter of LNG in the world. Gas is “cleaner” to burn than coal, but the emissions footprint of transporting LNG is potentially massive, which is why climate activists celebrated the pause. But the decision was slammed by the fossil fuel industry and some advocates who say gas is “crucial for discouraging coal use in developing nations,” Bloombergexplained, adding: “The White House’s move struck at the heart of the debate over the future of energy.”

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  • 2. White House tells Ukraine to stop targeting Russian oil refineries

    Washington has told Ukraine to stop targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure because its attacks could cause global oil prices to rise and push the Kremlin to retaliate, the Financial Times reported. A military intelligence official told the paper that there have been at least 12 attacks on Russian oil refineries since 2022, nine of which occurred this year. There have also been attacks on terminals and storage infrastructure. “Russia remains one of the world’s most important energy exporters despite western sanctions on its oil and gas sector,” the FT said. Gas prices have risen almost 15% already this year, putting pressure on President Biden leading into the November election.

    3. NASA: Sea levels saw ‘relatively large jump’ last year

    The global average sea level rose by about 0.3 inches between 2022 and 2023, according to NASA. This is a “relatively large jump,” the agency said, driven by climate change and El Niño. Since 1993, the global average sea level has risen by 4 inches and the rate of rise is accelerating. In 1993, sea levels rose by about .07 inches per year.

    NASA

    “Current rates of acceleration mean that we are on track to add another 20 centimeters [nearly 8 inches] of global mean sea level by 2050, doubling the amount of change in the next three decades compared to the previous 100 years and increasing the frequency and impacts of floods across the world,” said Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, director for the NASA sea level change team and the ocean physics program in Washington.

    4. Countries pledge to double down on nuclear energy expansion

    A group of 35 countries have pledged to “work to fully unlock the potential of nuclear energy” in the quest for energy security and emissions reductions. The relatively vague commitment, cosigned by the U.S., China, Britain, and Saudi Arabia, emerged from the first-ever Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels yesterday. It says countries will help extend the lives of existing nuclear reactors, construct new ones, and support deployment of advanced reactors. “Generating electricity using nuclear fission remains a divisive issue that cuts across partisan lines,” wrote Nicole Pollack at Heatmap. Some environmental groups see the risk of nuclear disasters as too high, while others see it as a reliable low-carbon energy resource that’s available to us right now. “Without the support of nuclear power, we have no chance to reach our climate targets on time,” said International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol.

    5. Biden administration to award $6.3 billion for projects to decarbonize heavy industries

    In the coming days, the Biden administration is expected to announce which projects will receive a cut of some $6.3 billion in funding to help decarbonize the U.S. industrial sector, Bloombergreported. Heavy industry contributes nearly one third of the nation’s primary energy-related carbon dioxide, according to the Department of Energy, so slashing emissions here without hurting the economy is a priority. The Industrial Demonstrations Program aims to kickstart the process by focusing on the big emitters, like iron, steel, cement and concrete, chemicals, food and drink, aluminum, and paper products. “We hear every day about industrial companies that are interested in decarbonizing their plants, but the initial costs can be daunting,” Nora Esram, a senior director for research with the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy nonprofit, told Bloomberg. “The federal funds are geared to enable them to invest in new technologies to cut emissions while supporting community development.” The announcement could come as soon as Monday.

    THE KICKER

    New York’s JFK airport is getting a large EV charging station that will be open to the public 24/7.

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    Energy

    AM Briefing: Power Hungry

    On the IEAs latest report, flooding in LA, and Bill Gates’ bad news

    Global Electricity Use Is Expected to Soar
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

    Current conditions: Severe thunderstorms tomorrow could spawn tornadoes in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama • A massive wildfire on a biodiverse island in the Indian Ocean has been burning for nearly a month, threatening wildlife • Tropical Cyclone Zelia has made landfall in Western Australia with winds up to 180mph.

    THE TOP FIVE

    1. Breakthrough Energy to slash climate grantmaking budget

    Bill Gates’ climate tech advocacy organization has told its partners that it will slash its grantmaking budget this year, dealing a blow to climate-focused policy and advocacy groups that relied on the Microsoft founder, Heatmap’s Katie Brigham has learned. Breakthrough Energy, the umbrella organization for Gates’ various climate-focused programs, alerted many nonprofit grantees earlier this month that it would not be renewing its support for them. This pullback will not affect Breakthrough’s $3.5 billion climate-focused venture capital arm, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which funds an extensive portfolio of climate tech companies. Breakthrough’s fellowship program, which provides early-stage climate tech leaders with funding and assistance, will also remain intact, a spokesperson confirmed. They would not comment on whether this change will lead to layoffs at Breakthrough Energy.

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    Yellow
    Climate Tech

    Breakthrough Energy Is Slashing Its Climate Grantmaking Budget

    Grantees told Heatmap they were informed that Bill Gates’ climate funding organization would not renew its support.

    Bill Gates.
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

    Bill Gates’ climate tech advocacy organization has told its partners that it will slash its grantmaking budget this year, dealing a blow to climate-focused policy and advocacy groups that relied on the Microsoft founder, Heatmap has learned.

    Breakthrough Energy, the umbrella organization for Gates’ various climate-focused programs, alerted many nonprofit grantees earlier this month that it would not be renewing its support for them. This pullback will not affect Breakthrough’s $3.5 billion climate-focused venture capital arm, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which funds an extensive portfolio of climate tech companies. Breakthrough’s fellowship program, which provides early-stage climate tech leaders with funding and assistance, will also remain intact, a spokesperson confirmed. They would not comment on whether this change will lead to layoffs at Breakthrough Energy.

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    Spotlight

    Anti-Wind Activists Have a Big Ask for the Big Man

    The Trump administration is now being lobbied to nix offshore wind projects already under construction.

    Trump and offshore wind.
    Getty Images / Heatmap Illustration

    Anti-wind activists have joined with well-connected figures in conservative legal and energy circles to privately lobby the Trump administration to undo permitting decisions by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to documents obtained by Heatmap.

    Representatives of conservative think tanks and legal nonprofits — including the Caesar Rodney Institute, the Heartland Institute and Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, or CFACT — sent a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum dated February 11 requesting that the Trump administration “immediately revoke” letters from NOAA to 11 offshore wind projects authorizing “incidental takes,” a term of regulatory art referencing accidental and permissible harassment, injury, or potential deaths under federal endangered species and mammal protection laws. The letter lays out a number of perceived issues with how those approvals have historically been issued for offshore wind companies and claims the government has improperly analyzed the cumulative effects of adding offshore wind to the ocean’s existing industrialization. NOAA oversees marine species protection.

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