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WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Thursday readers! In today’s edition of Daily on Energy, we dive into the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest effort to protect the U.S. from cyberattacks on water systems.
Meanwhile, the agency is facing pressure from the oil and gas industry to not repeal the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, with several firms and industry groups warning the move could cause unnecessary uncertainty.
Plus, today’s newsletter also previews the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference next month as more than a dozen Republican states urge the U.S. to sit out this year.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
EPA UNVEILS NEW CYBERSECURITY TOOLS TO ADDRESS ATTACKS ON WATER SYSTEMS: The Environmental Protection Agency launched new and updated tools to help water and wastewater facilities respond and prevent cyberattacks amid growing concerns of potential attacks.
In the past year, there have been several incidents where water systems have been hijacked by foreign hackers from countries like Russia. Last year, Russian-linked hackers targeted a Texas water facility, causing a tank to overflow. They also attacked a wastewater treatment facility in Indiana the following April.
The Biden administration last year also warned that the Chinese hacker group known as Volt Typhoon had compromised information technology of drinking water systems.
Updated plans: The EPA updated its Emergency Response Plan Guide for Wastewater Utilities to enhance preparedness against cyberattacks. It offers strategies and resources for utilities to address natural or man-made incidents that threaten life, property, or the environment.
It has also updated its Template for Developing an Incident Response Plan to assist drinking water and wastewater systems with developing a Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan.
The agency also released Incident Action Checklists to help drinking water utilities prepare for emergencies such as natural disasters, power outages, and cybersecurity incidents. Additionally, a Cybersecurity Procurement Checklist has been introduced to help water utilities integrate cybersecurity into their procurement processes and evaluate suppliers’ practices.
Read more by Maydeen here.
ALASKA OPEN FOR DRILLING: The Trump administration has formally moved to open the entire coastal plain of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration and drilling.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced earlier today that the agency would be opening the roughly 1.56 million-acre area in the North Slope along the edge of the Beaufort Sea for fossil fuel leasing. The move, which we previewed in the newsletter last week, reverses Biden-era protections for the region.
“From day one, President Trump directed us to unlock Alaska’s energy and resource potential while honoring commitments to the state and local communities,” Burgum said. “By reopening the Coastal Plain and advancing key infrastructure, we are strengthening energy independence, creating jobs and supporting Alaska’s communities while driving economic growth across the state.”
Congress first authorized drilling in ANWR in 2017, though little movement has been seen since, in large part due to restrictions on land use and available acreage imposed under former President Joe Biden. President Donald Trump sought to approve drilling in the region during his first administration, but all nine lease sales were either suspended or canceled under Biden.
REPUBLICAN AGS CALL ON U.S. TO PULL OUT OF COP30: Attorneys general from more than a dozen Republican states are urging the Trump administration to completely pull out of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Brazil next month, in an effort to solidify the U.S.’s stance against green policies.
The details: The coalition of 17 states, led by West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey, has called on Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Interior Secretary Burgum, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to decline sending a declaration to the conference, known as COP30.
They claimed that if the administration were to send representation to the conference, it would "legitimize" what it called “unsound science and policies” aimed at combating climate change though reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
In a letter sent to the secretaries today, the attorneys general claimed that international meetings like COP30 have been used as justification to impose climate-related policies on a global scale. By refusing to participate, they insisted the U.S. will “safeguard” national security, energy independence and economic interests.
Key quote: “We should not permit international actors to dictate our energy and environmental choices; the federal government (alongside States) should be making those calls,” the attorneys general wrote. “And while we understand the hope that participating might allow for an “honest dialogue” about the realities of climate change, we’re less hopeful.”
EUROPE LOOKS TO FIRM UP EMISSIONS GOAL AHEAD OF COP30: With COP30 less than three weeks away, European Union leaders are hoping to come into the conference with firmed up emissions reduction targets for 2040.
Quick reminder: The EU has been repeatedly delayed in releasing its official emission targets for 2035 and 2040, missing the September deadline to submit the updated goals to the United Nations. Under the Paris Agreement, countries are required to send updated climate targets every five years. EU member states have for months failed to agree on emissions reductions as the bloc, broadly, wishes to hit net-zero by 2050.
New details: During the European leaders summit in Brussels today, the EU appears to have momentum to finalize the new goals, which would include slashing emissions by 90% by 2040, according to Reuters.
Draft documents reviewed by Reuters show that EU leaders would agree to the 2040 target, and finalize the terms during a November 4 meeting – just six days before COP30 begins. These targets would put the EU on track to meet its 2050 goal, as it has already committed to lowering emissions by 55% by 2030.
There are concerns that the new targets may be too lofty, particularly as Europe faces pressure to soften its broader climate policies. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof told Reuters that the bloc will need to keep these emission reduction goals "feasible for citizens and corporations.” Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has also said the EU will need flexibility as it works to achieve its climate goals.
FOSSIL FUEL FIRMS URGE EPA TO KEEP POLLUTING REPORTING PROGRAM: While the Trump administration is moving to end emission reporting obligations for large polluters, some of those polluters don’t want to see the requirements lifted.
The details: Major industry groups like the American Petroleum Institute and multiple oil and gas firms are publicly urging the administration to rethink its proposal to scrap the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, warning it will create significant uncertainty in the fossil fuel sector.
BKV Corporation, which produces and sells natural gas in the Barnett Shale and Marcellus Shale, defended the reporting program in public comments on the proposed rule this week, describing it as the “foundation of legal defensibility and market credibility” for domestic crude and natural gas producers.
With the EU moving to impose mandates to lower methane emissions throughout its supply chain, requiring polluters and importers to identify and report emission levels, BKV Corporation said repealing the program would put U.S. producers at a disadvantage.
“If EPA scales back GHGRP and, in particular, U.S. exporters would lose access to standardized, government-verified emissions data,” the natural gas firm said. “Without that backbone supporting methane-intensity calculations, importers could discount U.S. production and reduce its value on the global market. That would make it harder for U.S. LNG to compete for fair pricing against suppliers such as Norway that are working to provide emission certified cargos to EU countries already.”
Quick reminder: Last month the EPA said it was proposing a rule to repeal the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, claiming it is “bureaucratic red tape” that has not improved air quality. The program requires large pollution emissions to report greenhouse gas emissions publicly, and has collected data from nearly 8,000 large industrial facilities since 2011.
GOOGLE BUYS ENERGY FROM CARBON CAPTURE POWER PLANT: Google entered into a deal to purchase electricity from a carbon capture and storage power plant to help fuel its Midwest data centers.
The big tech company will work to support the Broadwing Energy project in Decatur, Illinois. The project is a 400-megawatt gas power plant with carbon capture storage technology. The plant is expected to open in the early 2030s and will use CCS technology to trap about 90% carbon emissions and store it underground.
The Broadwing Energy project will be constructed at an existing industrial site operated by agribusiness company Archer Daniels Midland, which has been using underground carbon dioxide from ethanol production since 2017.
The move by Google to purchase additional power supply comes as the U.S. energy grid is struggling to meet demand due to the rise in artificial intelligence and data centers.
Reaction: In a statement, executive director of the Carbon Capture Coalition, Jessie Stolark, said “After decades of flat electricity demand, the US power sector is poised for dramatic growth. Electricity demand is projected to rise between 35 and 40 percent by 2040, driven by demand from AI and data centers, manufacturing, and the continued electrification of the economy.”
“Due to these drivers, natural gas is expected to remain a central component of the US electricity mix through well into the next decade,” Stolark added.
Read more by Maydeen here.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE EMPLOYEES CALL FOR CLOSING NATIONAL PARKS AMID SHUTDOWN: Hundreds of National Park Service employees sent a letter to the Department of the Interior, calling for the closure of national parks due to the lack of staffing amid the government shutdown.
The government shutdown has entered day 23 with no end in sight, which has led NPS to furlough 9,296 of its 14,500 employees, according to its contingency plan.
The letter cited several incidents that have occurred at parks during the shutdown, including a wildfire that started near an unstaffed campground in Joshua Tree National Park. There have also been incidents of jumping and squatters at Yosemite National Park.
“Our parks don’t run by themselves. The dedicated staff of the National Park Service (NPS) keep them clean, safe, and functioning. And as these latest, and sadly predictable, incidents clearly demonstrate, our parks cannot operate without them,” the letter reads.
The letter was signed by more than 400 employees, including two former directors of the agency, Jon Jarvis and Robert Stanton, who served during the Obama and Clinton administrations.
Lawmakers warning: Republican Rep. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, yesterday warned the open parks “can’t continue indefinitely” without federal funding.
“Despite all the extraordinary efforts being made, at some point, without funding, the public lands will not be accessible to the public,” Westerman said at a House GOP press conference. “The longer this unnecessary shutdown lasts, the more negative consequences that we’ll start to see without regular staffing: Litter will pile up, and park ecosystems will be affected.”
The Department of the Interior has kept at least partially open about 80% of its 430 park units at this point in the government shutdown, it told the Washington Examiner.
Read more by Washington Examiner’s Molly Parks here.
TESLA’S PROFITS ARE DROPPING: Tesla has reported that its third-quarter earnings have dropped 37%, marking the fourth quarter in a row that profits have plunged.
Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company reported third-quarter earnings declined 37% to $1.4 billion, or 39 cents a share, The Associated Press reported. Earlier this year, earnings were at $2.2 billion, or 62 cents a share.
The third-quarter earnings drop occurs right after EV tax credits expired at the end of last month. The credits were slashed by Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which eliminated hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy tax credits.
Sales on EVs went up before the tax credits expired on Sept. 30. The credits offered consumers received up to $7,500 for purchasing a new EV and $4,000 for a used one as a means of encouraging consumers to buy battery-powered vehicles rather than gas-powered cars.
TRUMP PLANS TO PROPOSE NEW OIL DRILLING IN THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC: The Trump administration plans to propose new oil drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, according to two people familiar with the plan, Politico reported.
The proposal would be part of the Interior Department’s upcoming five-year offshore oil lease sales plan, the publication said. They added that the administration plans to offer acres off the southern coast of California and a small part of the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The people familiar with the matter told Politico that the Interior’s offshore lease plan could change before it becomes finalized.
There is no drilling taking place in the Atlantic Ocean but companies like Exxon Mobil have explored the option before. Drilling in the Pacific Ocean has declined due to California’s stringent regulations on transportation.
ICYMI – TRUMP UNVEILS NEW SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA: Ahead of a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House yesterday, the Trump administration unveiled new sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector, amid the president’s growing frustration over stalled peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
The new sanctions directly target Russia’s two largest oil companies, Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company and Lukoil OAO, as well as dozens of subsidiary companies.
“As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC,” an announcement from the Treasury Department reads.
Read more from the Examiner’s Mabinty Quarshie, Christian Datoc, and David Sivak here.
RUNDOWN
The Associated Press What Americans think about the environmental impact of AI, according to a new poll
Inside Climate News Ecuadorians to Vote on Constitutional Rewrite, Possibly Gutting Rights of Nature
Vox What scientists saw underwater in Florida left them “shocked” — and devastated
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