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TRUMP SITS DOWN WITH TOP OPEC MEMBER: President Trump meets Wednesday with the leader of Kuwait, the fifth largest producer of oil in OPEC.

Trump hasn’t mentioned OPEC on Twitter since the middle of the summer. One might recall him berating the oil cartel for sending prices higher.

But these days, falling oil supplies from Iran are forcing the price upward. And it’s happening months ahead of U.S. sanctions on the country’s oil kicking in this November.

Show me the oil: It is unclear whether oil will factor into Wednesday’s conversations at the White House, but it is fairly clear that Iran will.

Tiff with Qatar could top the agenda: Kuwait is serving as mediator in settling a year-long row between big OPEC oil producers and the natural gas-giant of Qatar.

The dispute occurred after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism with Iran. Reuters reports that Trump officials have been quietly pushing for the Mideast nations to come together to form a strategic hedge against Iran.

Oil comes up on the sidelines: But that doesn’t mean oil prices and energy won’t be part of the talks between Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, and Trump later Wednesday afternoon.

Kuwait’s emir met with U.S. CEOs in Washington Tuesday night to discuss increased investments in the small Gulf country’s oil infrastructure, according to the country’s official news service. Kuwait also signed agreements with the Department of Energy on stopping nuclear materials from getting into the hands of terrorists.

Talking Turkey: The emir also received a call from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey Tuesday evening, according to the Saudi government’s official news agency.

Turkey has vowed to defy U.S. sanctions on Iran, and continue to buy its oil. Erdogan and Trump are also engaged in a sparring match over detained American pastor Andrew Brunson. Trump has imposed sanctions against members of Erdogan’s cabinet. The Turkish president may want the Kuwaiti emir to send a message to Trump.

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TRUMP COULD PLAY THE LNG CARD WITH NATURAL GAS-HUNGRY KUWAIT: Trump hasn’t said if liquefied natural gas exports will be part of the talks with the emir, although the subject is ripe for discussion.  

Kuwait needs more natural gas: Although it is one of the largest oil exporters in OPEC, Kuwait is dependent on natural gas imports, according to the Department of Energy.

It did sign a major deal last year with Shell to increase supply, but that shouldn’t preclude Trump from at least discussing the prospect with the emir.

Making LNG part of the discussion: Trump the dealmaker has recently made restoring trade relations with Europe contingent on the EU buying more U.S. LNG. And he often raises buying more U.S. natural gas with just about any foreign leader that visits the White House.

About last night: Kuwait’s government news agency did not provide much detail on the oil investment it is looking to secure from U.S. firms at Tuesday’s meetings with CEOs at the Kuwaiti residence in Washington. However, it is possible that natural gas is part of the discussion, as well.

Cyber, Windows, and Prime: There were also agreements to work with the Trump administration on cybersecurity, along with other agreements penned with Microsoft and Amazon.

THE ENERGY MINIBUS CHARTS A COURSE FORWARD BEFORE SEPT. 30 DEADLINE: The Senate and House conference committee meets Wednesday to discuss H.R. 5895, the so-called “minibus” appropriations package, which includes fiscal 2019 Energy and Water Development spending, along with military construction, Veterans Affairs, and legislative branch appropriations bills.

President plans to talk about moving the bills soon: House and Senate Republicans also plan to huddle with President Trump Wednesday to plan a September agenda that centers on passing the fiscal 2019 government spending bills.

Shutdown just weeks away: The House is in session just a few weeks before the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year, when government funding must be renewed to avoid a partial shutdown.

“Speaker Ryan and other congressional GOP leaders are scheduled to meet with the president tomorrow to discuss the upcoming legislative agenda, including appropriations,” said AshLee Strong, a spokesperson for Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

… MEANWHILE, THERE IS A FARM BILL BATTLE ENSUING: A Senate and House conference committee is also meeting Wednesday to hash out a number of differences between the two chambers’ versions of the Farm Bill.

The House version has a number of riders that the Senate version does not, which looks to be a sticking point before the lawmakers can work out a deal to get the bill to the president’s desk.

The big rider is one that repeals the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Rule, otherwise known as the Waters of the United States rule, which expanded the agency’s jurisdiction over waterways to include ditches and livestock watering holes.

A court recently forced EPA to rescind a delay in enforcing the regulation, making it the law of the land, even though killing the rule is a top Trump administration priority.

PENCE AND PERDUE MEET TO TALK AGRICULTURE: Vice President Mike Pence and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue are set to meet this afternoon to talk about how Trump’s trade policies are impacting U.S. farmers.

Retaliation by China and other countries to Trump’s tariffs is causing major heartburn for American farmers, who have been suffering from low crop commodity prices.

The ethanol question: One of ways Trump wants to help the farmers is to allow year-round blending of 15-percent ethanol blends, which would drive up demand for more corn. But there has been little movement by the EPA to move forward on the plan, despite the president’s endorsement of it.

SOLAR INDUSTRY WRAPS UP MAJOR ADVOCACY ‘BLITZ’: The lead trade group for the U.S. solar industry said it wrapped up its summer lobbying “blitz” on Wednesday.

The Solar Energy Industries Association said it concluded its summer advocacy push by announcing it met with members of the House of Representatives from the top 100 solar congressional districts across the United States.

Education is the key: “Many Members of Congress do not know what a robust solar industry they have in their district, making this advocacy blitz to educate representatives and staff a critical step in continuing our industry’s growth across the country,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, the solar group’s president and CEO. “We have long said that solar is a bipartisan economic engine and visiting the top 100 solar districts this summer was a clear indicator that that is the case.”

Lucky 107: The group reached out to exactly 107 congressional districts, which included 42 Republican and 65 Democratic members. The group said the districts are an example of the apolitical nature of the solar industry.

From McCarthy to Pelosi: “Illustrative of this is the fact the top congressional district for solar capacity is represented by House Republican Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), with more than 2,400 megawatts installed, and the top district for solar employment is represented by House Democratic Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), with more than 10,000 jobs in her district,” according to the solar industry group.

US ELECTRICITY SECTOR EMISSIONS FELL IN 2017 DRIVEN BY SHIFT AWAY FROM COAL, EIA SAYS: U.S. electricity sector emissions fell 4.6 percent in 2017, driven by a shift away from coal generation to natural gas and renewables, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday morning.

Both coal and natural gas consumption fell in the U.S. last year, and as a result, carbon emissions from those energy sources decreased 2.6 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

Natural gas emits half as much carbon as coal.

The reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from electricity offset increases in all other sectors. Transportation recently became the most carbon-emitting sector.

Electricity emissions also fell last year because of less demand for energy. The decline in carbon emissions in the residential and commercial sectors was largely attributable to milder weather, the EIA said.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SCRUBBED CLIMATE CHANGE REFERENCES FROM COAL RULE: The Trump administration removed language from its proposed coal plant regulation that warned about the consequences of climate change, according to internal documents from the White House interagency review posted online Tuesday.

Climate warnings were deleted: A previous iteration of the proposal warned “the climate has continued to change, with new records being set” for global average surface temperatures, carbon dioxide concentrations, and sea level rise.

The final proposal also took out a reference in earlier drafts to “major scientific assessments” that “strengthen the case that [greenhouse gases] endanger public health and welfare both for current and future generations.”

Trump’s rule is a modest response to climate change: The EPA released its proposed rule Aug. 21 to replace President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan — his signature climate change initiative, targeting carbon pollution from coal plants — with a more modest measure designed to encourage plants to invest in efficiency upgrades that would allow them to burn less pollution, and exist longer.

EPA’s Affordable Clean Energy rule, which is subject to public comment before being finalized, does not set a specific target to reduce carbon emissions, or force a shift in the electricity sector away from coal plants to natural gas and zero-carbon renewable energy, as the Clean Power Plan did.

Instead, it gives states the authority to regulate power plants individually.

Environmentalists say Obama intended the Clean Power Plan to be just the first step in a broader policy to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, and that the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy rule does not seriously address the problem.

GOLDEN STATE’S UNIVERSITIES SIGN 100-PERCENT RENEWABLES PACT:  California’s public university system, which includes 10 campuses, agreed to run completely on renewable energy by 2025, the University of California’s leadership announced on Tuesday.

One week before the big show: The move comes just one week before Gov. Jerry Brown (D) holds a major global climate summit on meeting the goals of the Paris climate deal in the wake of Trump’s decision to exit from it.

Greens mark the occasion: Environmentalists, who are holding their own national climate rally ahead of Brown’s meeting, welcomed the decision by the nation’s largest public education system.

“Today’s announcement shows that colleges and universities in California and across the country aren’t just preparing students for the future, they’re preparing their communities for the future with plans to replace dirty fossil fuels with clean, renewable energy,” said Bronte Payne,  director of a campus campaign with the large coalition Environment America.

INNOVATION FORUM PREVIEWS U.N.’S FOURTH ENERGY ASSEMBLY NEXT YEAR: The Estonian government is holding a “high-level” international environment conference beginning on Wednesday that will preview the technological innovation that will be discussed next spring at the Fourth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly.

The U.N. meeting will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, March 11-15. Estonian Minister of the Environment Siim Kiisler will serve as the president of the United Nations Environment Assembly.

It is unclear if the Trump administration will be participating in the U.N. meeting.

The focus will be innovation: Wednesday’s event, called “The Earth Innovation Forum,” will survey global environmental trends and challenges with a “view towards how innovative solutions could provide an answer in moving towards sustainable societies,” according to an official release.

Planning for the U.N. assembly: The “main aim” of the conference is to feed into preparations for the U.N. assembly next year, which will have as its overarching theme “Innovative Solutions for Environmental Challenges and Sustainable Consumption and Production.”

“Under this aim, the conference will seek to identify strategic innovative solutions for environmental challenges that could have far-reaching positive impacts if implemented at national, regional or global levels,” according to the release.

SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES TRUMP’S SCIENCE ADVISER NOMINEE: The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Wednesday morning approved by voice vote Kelvin Droegemeier as Trump’s science director.

He’s supportive of climate science: Senators of both parties hailed Droegemeier as a strong advocate for climate change science.

“I was especially pleased to hear in his confirmation hearing he is eager to work on climate change and committed to ensuring science is free of politics,” said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

The full Senate will now vote on Droegemeier’s nomination.

His bipartisan resume:  Droegemeier has bipartisan credentials to take the helm of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, a White House agency that helps set policy on issues involving innovations in medical research, self-driving cars, artificial intelligence — and climate change. Supporters say he accepts the established science of climate change.

A practicing scientist, Droegemeier is a research meteorologist at the University of Oklahoma. Droegemeier served two six-year terms on the National Science Board, under former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

STORM GORDON HALTS ENERGY PRODUCTION IN GULF COAST: Three major oil producers evacuated employees and shuttered several platforms in the eastern Gulf of Mexico Tuesday in advance of Tropical Storm Gordon’s expected landfall.

Exxon, Chevron, and Talos Energy were among the companies that evacuated 54 offshore platforms and halted 156,907 barrels per day of oil production and 232 million cubic feet per day of natural gas output, according to estimates by the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Together, companies cut 9 percent of oil and gas production on Tuesday in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Reuters reported.

The decisions by these companies came after Anadarko Petroleum’s move on Monday to  evacuate staff and stop production at two oil platforms in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Other major oil producers, including ConocoPhillips, BP and Shell, said they plan to continue operations while monitoring the storm.

Tropical Storm Gordon made landfall near the Alabama-Mississippi border late Tuesday night, without yet gathering hurricane strength, the New York Times reported.

RUNDOWN

E&E News ‘America First’ or coal first? LNG groups want to know

Associated Press Trump’s rollback of pollution rules to hit coal country hard

Wall Street Journal Banks stick with this year’s oil-price forecast but lower 2019 projection

Axios Amid frustration, battery startups claim reason for hope

CNN Trump to name climate change skeptic as adviser on emerging technologies

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