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FIVE COUNTRIES FORM PACT TO DEFY TRUMP ON OIL TRADE WITH IRAN: Five countries that are signatories to the Iran nuclear deal announced Monday night that they will create a financial mechanism to allow them to continue trade with Iran, including importing oil, as U.S. sanctions kick in this November.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini made the announcement to reporters at the United Nations in New York on the sidelines of the General Assembly.

She said “the initiative” to create the special mechanism will “facilitate payments related to Iran’s exports, including oil,” to “assist and reassure economic operators pursuing legitimate business with Iran.”

She made the remarks after a closed-door meeting with foreign ministers from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, China and Iran. The Iranian foreign minister accompanied Mogherini as she read the statement.

The plan would extend beyond the five countries: “In practical terms, this will mean that EU member states will set up a legal entity to facilitate legitimate financial transactions with Iran and this will allow European companies to continue to trade with Iran in accordance with European Union law,” Mogherini said. “And it will be open to other partners in the world.”

Iran nuclear deal will stay in place: Mogherini said creating the “Special Purpose Vehicle” to continue trade with Iran will enable signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal to keep it place, even as the U.S. has announced it is pulling out.

The initiative will also allow civil nuclear energy projects to continue in Iran.

Not going it alone: A common theme heard Tuesday during the U.N. general debate was to oppose “isolationism” and “unilateralism,” and support global pacts to address nuclear weapons proliferation and climate change.

MEANWHILE, TRUMP THREATENS OPEC AGAIN: Addressing the U.N. Tuesday, President Trump issued a new threat to the oil-exporting nations that make up OPEC, Iran included, saying that they are, “as usual, ripping off the rest of the world.”

“I don’t like it and nobody should like it,” Trump said. “We defend many of these nations for nothing and then they take advantage of us by giving us high oil prices…we are not going to put up with it, these horrible prices, much longer.”

Trump has previously had success jawboning OPEC, via Twitter, into lowering prices. But he faces an added challenge now in the possibility that his own Iran sanctions will limit oil supply and raise prices.

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A CHANGE IS COMING FOR ENERGY PRICES: Trump’s latest bout in the trade war with China — imposing tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods on Monday — could bring with it higher energy costs and slow the global economy, according to a report out of France released Tuesday morning.

If Trump moves ahead with his latest threat to impose tariffs on an additional $267 billion in Chinese goods, China would retaliate with greater tariffs on imports of U.S. natural gas; the cornerstone of Trump’s energy dominance agenda, according to the new report from IFRI, the French independent research and debate institution.

Four-fold effect on energy: First, the tariffs could lead to lower demand for oil, and reduce the price per-barrel of oil. This could hurt U.S. drillers.

Second, China could escalate retaliation against the U.S. by including oil, which would cut American energy firms out of the Asian market, the report says. China has kept oil out of the mix of retaliatory actions, but that could change if the U.S. moves forward on its latest threat.

Third, the cost of continuing tariffs on steel imports will drive up the cost of doing business for many U.S. energy firms, making it harder for the U.S. oil and natural gas boom to continue, according to the report.

Fourth, the market for renewable energy will begin to erode in the U.S., as higher prices take hold, making it harder to install new wind turbines.

Coal exports could also be hurt, hurting one of the only silver linings for the U.S. coal industry, as demand in the power sector has fallen, the report said.

OIL CEO AND TRUMP DONOR DAN EBERHART SAYS THE SHALE BOOM GIVES TRUMP AN EDGE: Dan Eberhart believes in President Trump’s agenda and its potential for economic growth, despite the tariffs and other policies that have proved to be a “hard pill” to swallow for some of his customers in the oil and natural gas industry.

Eberhart is the CEO of Canary, one of the nation’s largest privately-owned oil services firms. He is also an adamant supporter of the Republican Party, a Trump donor, and an active follower of the midterm fights for the House and Senate.

Eberhart sat down with the Washington Examiner’s John Siciliano for an exclusive interview to discuss some of the challenges in the energy industry, Trump’s trade policy and deregulation agenda, and the upcoming midterm elections.

What the U.S. gains in becoming a global energy leader: “I think the increase in U.S. production is what gives us the ability, for instance, to put sanctions on Iran, or to have a more robust foreign policy and worry a little bit less about production,” Eberhart said. “I also believe that the ability to export oil has been a resounding success for the U.S. industry, and gives us more economic gains from trading oil worldwide.”

The effect of continued steel tariffs: “I think the steel and aluminum tariffs are a negative for my industry and for consumers in the short term,” he said. “But I think Trump is absolutely right that these other countries, particularly China, are taking advantage of us, and the past two administrations, Obama and Bush, lacked the stomach and the intestinal fortitude to punch back and try to get us a better deal. So, I applaud Trump for that.”

Folks in the White House understand that the tariffs hurt: “I think they do hear that, and I was with Mick Mulvaney this morning and he definitely indicated that they’ve heard that and understood that,” Eberhart said of the White House’s acknowledgement that the tariffs are harmful to business in the short-term.

“I think the administration’s response is, ‘look, we’re all adults here. We’ve got to be tough through this…and rush through the tornado, or through the hurricane, because the other side is going to be better, and we’re going to get concessions that are going to be better for us in the long term,’” he said.

Read the entire interview, in Tuesday’s Washington Examiner magazine, available here.

COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE GOES AFTER KIGALI: The free-market Competitive Enterprise Institute launched a counter-strike Tuesday morning against business and environmental groups looking to keep the U.S. a part of the United Nations’ Kigali climate agreement that the Obama administration signed onto.

The libertarian think tank’s senior fellow Ben Lieberman issued a brief on Tuesday that seeks to debunk what proponents of the agreement say are its positive economic advantages.

Business groups “have joined forces with environmental activists to lobby for the Kigali Amendment’s ratification,” Lieberman writes. “In doing so, they have made a number of claims that do not stand up to scrutiny,” he says, referring to the claims as “myths.”

The long path to Kigali: The Kigali agreement amends the 1987 Montreal Protocol that was negotiated under President Ronald Reagan to eliminate chemicals found in aerosol sprays and other consumer products. The chemicals were found to be decimating the protective ozone layer of the atmosphere.

The chemicals that replaced the aerosols in the 1980s are now found in air conditioners and refrigerators, and are considered powerful greenhouse gases. The Kigali amendment seeks to phase out these chemicals, called hydrofluorocarbons, and replace them with new, alternative refrigerants that aren’t harmful to the climate.

It’s up to Trump: But President Trump still needs to send the agreement to the Senate for it to be ratified before it goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2019. Forty-six nations have currently ratified the agreement out of nearly 200, the U.N. said last week.

One of the central arguments that business and environmental groups are making to sway the administration and the Senate to get behind the deal is the fact that it will create jobs through the production of new, more competitive products. But Lieberman argues that the new replacement chemicals will instead raise product prices.

U.N.’S INITIAL DAY OF CLIMATE DISCUSSIONS BARELY MENTION TRUMP: Except for the Indonesian vice president saying the U.S.-China “trade war” could harm progress toward the U.N.’s development goals — including climate change — the first day of U.N. environmental talks did feature much Trump talk.

Most of the climate talks at the U.N. on Monday focused the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, which include energy and climate change, but also deal with immigration, education, and issues of equality.

The focus in meeting these goals had a lot to do with finding the money to do it. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said “businesses need to step up” and join the U.N. in meeting the goals. He said achieving the goals “will require a surge” in financing and investments.

Trudeau to the rescue: Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country is planning on opening an infrastructure investment hub to work with countries to tackle the challenges posed by climate change.

Trudeau has been talking to island countries on building “climate resilient infrastructure,” which “will make a huge difference” for those nations most adversely affected by rising sea levels and increased severity of storms that come with global warming, he said.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates addressed the sustainability talks, saying he will be “drawing attention to the need to mobilize” the business community.

CONGRESS TO RELEASE 50 MONARCH BUTTERFLIES INTO THE AIR TUESDAY: House lawmakers will release 50 butterflies outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday in the evening as part of an effort to alert the public of the decline in the monarch butterfly population.

The Congressional Pollinator Protection Caucus, comprising just seven lawmakers, will supply 50 of the black and orange butterflies for the first 50 guests. They will have the pleasure of setting the creatures — who live an average of two to six weeks — free into Washington, D.C.

The lawmakers are also giving away milkweed pods — which will grow into plants that these butterflies depend on — for fall planting to guests.

TRUMP’S PLAN TO SLASH ENDANGERED SPECIES PROTECTIONS: The lawmakers’ butterfly release comes just hours after the deadline for commenting on the Interior Department’s plan to revise key parts of the Endangered Species Act, which could include protections for the threatened monarch butterfly species.

The Interior Department’s plan, the deadline for which ended Monday night, includes three new regulations that environmentalists oppose as a threat to the federal endangered species program.

Pumping up the opposition: Environmentalists, as of Monday afternoon, had pumped the dockets for the proposed rules with thousands of comments, most of which were form letters sent by individuals, asking the agency not to move forward with revisions to the endangered species law.

More substantive arguments made: The Property and Environment Research Center points out, in more substantive comments, that the monarch butterfly is a species currently being assessed by Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service to determine whether it warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act. But uncertainty about future agency actions could undermine the steps already taken by the private sector to improve the insect’s habitat, the group said.

The research group said that a handful of organizations and investors are attempting to provide incentives to conserve the butterfly by establishing a habitat exchange.

“The program provides financial rewards to farmers and ranchers who restore and conserve monarch butterfly habitat,” the group says. “This type of market-based program has the potential to align incentives of landowners and the species, but uncertainty around future agency actions with respect to the Endangered Species Act could threaten conservation prospects.”

What the Trump rules do: The proposed Interior Department rules would change how the Fish and Wildlife Service identifies endangered species, how it designates critical habitats for threatened and endangered species, and how the agency collaborates with other agencies in implementing those protections.

SOUTH CAROLINA’S AG CANDIDATE SAYS SHE WILL PROSECUTE NUCLEAR UTILITIES: “Let’s hold the utility companies responsible for their actions and get ratepayers their money back,” said Constance Anastopoulo in tweeting out her first ad in running for attorney general in South Carolina.

The entire ad, aired on Monday, is focused on how the utility industry put ratepayers on the hook for the billions of dollars needed to build nuclear power plants in the state that aren’t expected to ever open.

“Then they abandoned the project, but you got stuck with the cost,” she says in the ad. The projects will cost each ratepayer in the state $27 on their utility bills for the next 43 years, the ad says.

“That’s what political corruption costs you,” she adds. “Unlike my opponent, I don’t take their money. I’ll prosecute their executives, and get your money back.”

OIL GROUP GETS NEW HEAD OF FEDERAL AFFAIRS: Bill Koetzle was named the new VP  of federal affairs for the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday.

“Bill’s experience working with the industry and on Capitol Hill will be crucial as we continue to advance our legislative strategy here in Washington,” said API President and CEO Mike Sommers. “Few people know our industry’s issues and policy priorities as well as Bill, and we’re excited to have him on board as we continue to pursue legislation and regulation that will benefit American consumers.”

TRUMP REVERSES SAFETY RULES FOR OIL TRAIN CARS: On Monday, the Department of Transportation finalized rules repealing safety rules for rail cars carrying oil.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration explained that the rules would require expensive new pneumatic braking systems that will drive up expense.

“The Department’s analysis shows that the expected costs of requiring ECP brakes would be significantly higher than the expected benefits of the requirement,” the agency said Monday.

The rule does not prohibit a railroad from using the brakes, it just no longer makes it a federal requirement. The braking rules took effect three years ago in the wake of a number of oil train derailments.

RUNDOWN

Washington Post The volume of gas from Esieh Lake could deliver a blow to the climate

WTOP Sinkhole threatens residents in Washington, D.C.

USA Today Climate change is causing Earth to wobble on its axis

Newsweek Weed killer is pushing honey bees to the brink

Oil Price Don’t underestimate the effect of the trade war on oil prices