1) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., may need to convince the liberal members of his caucus to support an energy-only bill or risk losing even that (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Democrats are running out of time to pass a climate and energy bill (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription). Moderates from both parties still aren't budging (Politico). Utilities and environmentalists have big hurdles to jump in order to come to an agreement on a carbon pricing system (The Hill).

3) A House committee could mark up as soon as next week a $22 billion-plus package of energy taxes, including an extension of the ethanol tax credit (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

4) Senate Democrats are seeking to eliminate billions of dollars' worth of tax breaks to the oil and natural gas sector, but Republicans and the industry are lobbying hard against it (Politico).

5) BP's damaged oil well has now stopped leaking, the British oil giant said Thursday (New York Times). The well leaked an estimated 2.3 million to 4.5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico for nearly 90 days (Washington Post).

1) Moderate Democrats must support a climate and energy bill in order for it to pass, yet they seem increasingly opposed to it (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). President Obama's top energy and climate aide, Carol Browner, indicated the White House would support a carbon price on power plants only (New York Times).

2) The utility industry and environmentalists can't agree on a utility-only approach to capping emissions, which could derail the talks (Politico). Utilities, which are wary of being singled out anyway, say a system that targets their sector would result in higher energy costs (The Hill).

3) A House committee is set to approve an oil spill bill this morning that, among many things, creates a congressional commission to investigate the Gulf of Mexico disaster and prohibits oil companies with bad safety records from obtaining permits (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). Meanwhile, BP is working to repair a faulty valve on the new cap it placed over its leaking well (AP).

4) Citing a new Congressional Budget Office report, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., indicated Wednesday that he may not support extending tax credits for ethanol blenders (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

5) President Obama travels to Michigan today to tout the stimulus's benefits to the electric battery industry, but so far those don't seem to be happening (Washington Post).

1) Senate Democrats have little chance of passing even a slimmed-down climate and energy bill before the August recess due to, among other things, lack of floor time (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., continues to push legislation that prices carbon emissions despite not having the 60 votes necessary (The Hill). Support from the utility sector will be key for passage, but the top association for the industry has not seen a draft bill yet (Politico).

3) Two draft proposals that price utilities' carbon emissions surfaced Tuesday, but it's still unclear what Reid plans to include in his package. Several senators are also pushing other energy measures, including Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Tim Johnson, D-S.D., (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription) and Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and George Voinovich, R-Ohio (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

4) BP postponed testing the new containment cap for its leaking oil well; it was scheduled to begin Tuesday. Federal and company officials say more analysis is needed (Wall Street Journal).

5) The Congressional Budget Office "is expected to release a report today finding that the current tax credit for biofuels may be a waste of money" (Politico).

1) Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., this week will start circulating a scaled-back carbon pricing system plan that focuses on the utility sector (The Hill). Utilities are mixed on the idea, while Republicans maintain there isn't the time and there aren't the votes for a bill pricing carbon (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription)

2) The Senate also faces a challenge passing measures related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, even though lawmakers agree on their importance (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). Hoping to ease passage in the House, top Democrats are urging colleagues to limit the number of amendments they offer during markup Wednesday (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

3) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued a new deepwater drilling moratorium Monday that largely resembles the one federal courts struck down twice (Bloomberg). The co-chairs of the president's newly formed oil spill commission were stunned to hear Salazar say he was looking to them for advice on the moratorium (Wall Street Journal).

4) President Obama continues to plug his clean energy initiatives as job creators, but experts are skeptical and the industry has had a rocky start (Washington Post).

5) BP has installed a new cap on its leaking well and will start testing it today (Bloomberg). The British oil giant has had a history of taking risks and cutting corners (New York Times).

1) In climate and energy bill discussions, senators are split on their support for a renewable energy standard versus a "diverse" standard that would also incorporate nuclear power and "clean coal." Either could become the core piece of a bill (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) The fate of the bill lies with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. (The Hill). He will meet this week with committee chairs who have jurisdiction over energy (Politico).

3) EPA regulation of greenhouse gas emissions would take center stage in Congress and the courts if a bill passes this summer with no price on carbon (Politico).

4) President Obama's oil spill commission begins its work this week, with two hearings scheduled in New Orleans. It still doesn't have subpoena power or a budget of its own, and some of its staff positions are still open (Washington Post).

5) BP is considering selling its stake in Alaskan oil fields (New York Times). Apache and Exxon Mobil are rumored as possible buyers (Bloomberg).

1) A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected the Obama administration's efforts to reinstate its deepwater drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico (Wall Street Journal). The Interior Department is expected to issue a new moratorium as early as today (New York Times).

2) If the two relief wells being drilled don't stop the leak in the gulf, BP may transfer the oil to other wells nearby. It's an easy process but not quick, according to one expert (AP). BP has a lot of complicated tasks to do before the relief wells are finished (Washington Post).

3) Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday that the Justice Department's investigation into the oil spill is focusing on more companies and individuals than just BP and its employees (CNN). If criminal neglect is found on the part of BP, CEO Tony Hayward may lose his job after all (The Guardian).

4) Manufacturing and business groups, along with the state of Texas, are challenging EPA's new emissions standards for cars and light-duty trucks (Greenwire -- subscription).

5) There seems to be a growing consensus that the Senate will move forward with an energy-only bill and that a renewable electricity standard will be the core of it (Politico).

1) The Obama administration will argue in federal court today that its ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico should be reinstated (Bloomberg) The Interior Department is expected to issue new guidelines this week that could allow some drilling to resume (New York Times).

2) The Congressional Budget Office's analysis of climate legislation sponsored by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., found that the bill would reduce the deficit by $19 billion over 10 years (Politico). Meanwhile, manufacturing groups say an EPA cost analysis fails to properly consider their industries (The Hill).

3) The Energy Department is coming up short on energy efficiency, according to an internal audit released Wednesday (New York Times).

4) BP is aiming to complete a relief well by late July, weeks ahead of schedule (Wall Street Journal). Meanwhile, BP CEO Tony Hayward is working to maintain ties with the company's other foreign partners, including Russia and the United Arab Emirates (Washington Post).

5) Climate scientists who had been accused of manipulating global warming data were cleared of those charges by a British panel on Wednesday. But the independent commission also rebuked the scientists for their behavior and the way they interpreted data (New York Times).

1) The Obama administration on Tuesday asked a federal judge to reinstate its deepwater drilling moratorium for the Gulf of Mexico (Wall Street Journal). Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said his department "had to take immediate action to minimize the risk of another spill," especially during hurricane season (Bloomberg).

2) The administration is hearing growing concerns from lawmakers who don't want it to approve a proposed pipeline that would bring Canadian oil to the U.S. (New York Times).

3) EPA on Tuesday announced new regulations aimed at cutting power plant emissions that cross state lines (CongressDaily -- subscription). Industry sources may push Congress to override these EPA regulations and others in its climate and energy legislation (Politico). The new rules may cause companies to shut down some coal power plants (Bloomberg).

4) Nearly 100 members of Congress sent a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Tuesday urging him to not abandon the nuclear waste repository site at Yucca Mountain (Las Vegas Review-Journal).

5) The administration will be pushing clean energy initiatives this week, but it likely won't be making any announcements about President Obama's preference for a climate and energy bill (Politico).

1) The Obama administration has embraced Bush-era offshore drilling policies it once criticized (Wall Street Journal).

2) Since the beginning of its oil spill cleanup efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, "BP has skimmed or burned about 60 percent of the amount it promised regulators it could remove in a single day" (Washington Post). The oil spill has cost the company more than $3 billion so far (The Hill).

3) The federal Fish and Wildlife Service signed off on the Minerals Management Service's finding that deepwater drilling in the gulf "posed no significant risk to wildlife" (New York Times). Oil has now been found on all five gulf states' coasts (AP).

4) The House last week approved $18 billion in loan guarantees for nuclear, renewable and energy efficiency projects (Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) American Values Network, Operation Free and Clean Energy Works are running ads in support of comprehensive energy and climate legislation. The Democratic National Committee is running ads on House Republican Joe Barton's apology to BP. And the American Petroleum Institute is running ads against new taxes and fees oil companies could face if offshore drilling legislation passes (Politico).

1) Some experts in the manufacturing sector are worried about how a utilities cap on carbon emissions could hurt their industry (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

2) Climate and energy legislation appears to be in "no man's land" as senators leave for the Independence Day recess (Politico). One problem is that moderate senators whose votes are essential for passage favor a variety of options, leaving no bill with enough support (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

3) The Obama administration will issue a new moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in the next few days (The Hill). If the moratorium is extended, the International Energy Agency's top chief says oil rigs idled in the gulf should move elsewhere (Reuters). Meanwhile, a Spanish oil company has plans to drill off Cuba, about 60 miles from Florida's coast (Wall Street Journal).

4) BP could reap nearly $600 million in federal tax credits this year for blending gasoline with corn ethanol (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

5) The Coast Guard and EPA ramped up their oversight of BP's trash disposal related to the cleanup efforts in the gulf. The disaster has generated almost 4,000 tons of solid waste so far (AP).

1) Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, has been working for months behind the scenes on a utilities-only cap on greenhouse gas emissions (ClimateWire).

2) Hopes for climate and energy legislation may hinge on bills written by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., namely the energy-only bill passed out of his committee last year; the utilities cap he is working on now; and oil spill legislation he sponsored with committee ranking member Lisa Murkowski of Alaska (Politico).

3) The Senate ENR panel on Wednesday passed Bingaman's oil spill bill, which reforms offshore drilling regulations (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). One amendment creates a bipartisan oil spill commission that would "effectively compete" with the one President Obama has created (The Hill). The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved legislation that removes the liability limit for oil spills (Wall Street Journal -- subscription).

4) The Gulf of Mexico oil spill could boost the ethanol industry's role in U.S. energy policy (Los Angeles Times).

5) EPA said in a report Wednesday that the chemical dispersant being used in the gulf to break up the oil -- and seven alternatives -- are all "practically non-toxic" or "slightly toxic" (Los Angeles Times).

1) Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., is writing a bill that would cap greenhouse gas emissions of utilities only (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription). Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has asked utilities to come up with a cap they can "live with" (Politico).

2) Administration officials say that President Obama's meeting today with 23 senators will focus on the "vehicle" for a bill and who will take the lead (Politico). Graham won't be going (The Hill).

3) Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, will have a chance to push their "cap-and-dividend" bill at the meeting (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

4) Top Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter to major oil companies Monday asking for more information about their oil spill response plans (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

5) BP will continue to send oil to other platforms if the relief wells it's drilling don't work (Bloomberg Businessweek). Tropical Storm Alex may delay the efforts to plug the leak by a week (Wall Street Journal).

1) Republican opposition to legislation that prices greenhouse gas emissions is irking some industry officials who say a price on carbon is key to spurring private investment (Politico).

2) Lawmakers could strengthen a climate and energy bill when the legislation goes to conference, bringing an economy-wide cap-and-trade bill back into play (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is expected to issue a new deepwater drilling moratorium for the gulf this week and seek more funding from Congress to ramp up the department's inspection and enforcement activities (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

4) Senate and House committees have one more week to hash out oil spill legislation before the July 4 recess, a deadline imposed by leadership in both chambers (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) The gulf spill is creating repercussions for BP's trading unit on Wall Street (New York Times). The spill has cost the oil giant $2.65 billion so far (Bloomberg Businessweek).

1) After caucusing Thursday on climate and energy legislation, Senate Democrats rallied behind the message that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill made a bill necessary. But many moderates key to passage were not there (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Democrats may create a group of 10 to hash out a plan, like they did on health care reform (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will soon ask Congress to fund a more than fivefold increase in the number of inspectors enforcing offshore drilling rules (CongressDaily -- subscription).

4) The federal judge who struck down the administration's deepwater drilling ban earlier this week has rejected the administration's request to delay that decision (New York Times).

5) Oil spill cleanup technology has not advanced much since the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 (New York Times). Meanwhile, there is a 60 percent chance that the first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season could enter the gulf and hinder cleanup efforts this weekend (Bloomberg News).

1) Energy-only bills may have a lot of support in the Senate but their sponsors are grappling with how to pay for them (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Some supporters of a carbon cap that only targets utilities say that should be just the first step (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) The administration on Wednesday appealed a federal judge's order lifting the six-month drilling moratorium (Bloomberg News). Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told lawmakers Wednesday the new ban he will issue could be tweaked to allow certain drilling to resume sooner (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

4) Major oil companies including BP have based their oil spill response plans on faulty government data (Wall Street Journal). Oil companies will likely now find it harder to get insurance coverage to drill offshore (Bloomberg News).

1) Despite mounting challenges, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., continues the search for 60 votes on his climate and energy legislation (Roll Call -- subscription). His relentless push on the bill is irking some of his colleagues (Politico).

2) EPA will push Congress to reimpose the "superfund" tax on oil and chemical companies, which would help fund the clean up of hazardous chemical waste sites around the country (Washington Post).

3) BP managed to dodge some of the political hits it could have endured last week (Wall Street Journal). Meanwhile, BP and the other companies involved in the oil spill are ramping up their Washington lobbying teams (Washington Post).

4) Several oil service companies are seeking to block the Interior Department from enforcing the six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling (AP).

5) Lax oversight of a portion of the well's blowout preventor is believed to have been the ultimate cause of the explosion and subsequent sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig (New York Times).

1) "Senate Democrats failed to reach consensus on climate change legislation after hearing three different presentations Thursday" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). It has become increasingly clear that a cap-and-trade price mechanism is not politically viable (Energy & Environment Daily -- subscription).

2) BP CEO Tony Hayward apologized Thursday to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but he maintained that he was not involved in the decisions leading up to the accident (Wall Street Journal).

3) House Republican Joe Barton's apology to BP over an administration "shakedown" -- and his subsequent retraction after several hours of attacks from all sides -- have touched off a new political battle (New York Times).

4) White House climate adviser Carol Browner suggested that BP may eventually have to pay more than the $20 billion it has set aside to cover the costs of the spill (Bloomberg).

5) "Senate Democrats" on Thursday "failed in their attempt to cut off debate on a tax extenders package that includes a 49-cent-per-barrel oil tax to boost the oil spill liability fund and an extension for several energy tax credits," (Energy & Environment Daily -- subscription).

6) "The Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday that it would wait until September to decide whether car engines can handle higher concentrations of ethanol in gasoline" (AP).

1) BP has canceled shareholder dividends for the first three quarters of this year to offset the cost of a $20 billion escrow account for victims of the oil spill (Wall Street Journal).

2) The Senate Democratic Caucus will convene today to discuss the way forward on climate and energy legislation. Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts, Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Maria Cantwell of Washington will each present a legislative roadmap to their colleagues (Politico). President Obama will meet with a bipartisan group of senators next week (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

3) BP CEO Tony Hayward will appear before a House subcommittee today. According to his advance testimony, he will describe the oil spill as "a complex accident, caused by an unprecedented combination of failures" (Los Angeles Times).

4) Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, a moderate Republican and potential swing vote, told the president on Wednesday that he would not support a price on carbon or a cap on greenhouse gas emissions (The Hill).

5) "In two separate meetings Wednesday, Gulf Coast lawmakers pushed" Interior Secretary Ken Salazar "to shorten the moratorium on deep-water oil drilling" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

1) In his first Oval Office address Tuesday, President Obama seized on the oil spill to advocate sweeping reforms to U.S. energy policy (New York Times).

2) The president assumed an aggressive posture, casting the cleanup effort in military terms (New York Times). He assured viewers that BP would underwrite the cleanup effort and announced the appointment of former Mississippi governor Ray Mabus to develop a restoration plan, but his demands on the oil company may encounter legal challenges (Wall Street Journal).

3) Executives from BP's rivals defended their plans for dealing with a spill -- while conceding the flaws in those plans -- before a House panel on Tuesday (Wall Street Journal). All of the plans were written by the same Texas subcontractor (Washington Post). But the executives insisted that their companies would not have been as reckless as BP (New York Times).

4) Amid government reports that up to 60,000 gallons of oil may be escaping into the Gulf of Mexico daily (Christian Science Monitor), BP suspended its oil recovery and containment operation for several hours Tuesday to extinguish a fire (Wall Street Journal).

5) At a policy lunch Tuesday, Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., cited two recent polls in arguing that "the public is not making the connection between making BP pay and revamping how the industry drills" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

1) President Obama's address to the nation tonight on the oil spill could be pivotal for the prospects of climate and energy legislation (Politico). Garnering support for a bill that includes a price on carbon is proving more difficult by the day (Roll Call -- subscription). Even still, a new poll shows that a majority of Americans favor protecting the environment over keeping energy prices low (NationalJournal.com).

2) At a House subcommittee hearing this morning, top oil executives will have their first opportunity to either stand with or distance themselves from BP (The Hill). A series of pre-hearing questions bears out what's at stake for them (Politico).

3) Democratic senators and the White House continue to push BP to set up an escrow account to compensate Gulf of Mexico residents and businesses. A few Democrats are wary of demanding a $20 billion down payment, and the administration won't endorse that number just yet. Republicans, meanwhile, remain aligned against an unlimited liability cap (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

4) A small island nation in the Pacific Ocean, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, actually holds responsibility for the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded in the gulf (Los Angeles Times). Meanwhile, documents released by a congressional panel Monday show that BP "made a series of cost-conscious decisions that ran counter to the advice of key contractors" prior to the explosion (Wall Street Journal).

5) "At least two dozen lawmakers own investments in the three companies" involved in the spill: BP, Halliburton and Transocean. The investments range from $1,000 to $150,000 (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

1) Tuesday night in his first Oval Office speech, President Obama will push for BP to create a fund administered by a third party to compensate gulf residents and businesses for losses related to the oil spill (New York Times). The speech will come hours after top executives from five oil companies, including BP, testify at a House hearing (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) The oil spill is triggering a flurry of legislative proposals, including ones directly related to the disaster and broader energy plans (The Hill). For the time being, at least, environmental groups are holding their fire about Obama's reaction to the spill (Politico).

3) BP said today the oil spill has cost it $1.6 billion so far, and more than 51,000 claims have been submitted (Wall Street Journal). The government has begun to take up other countries' offers for help, including equipment to stop the oil leak (Washington Post).

4) Industry experts say BP may lose control of its oil and natural gas wells in the U.S. and be banned from working with the government (Bloomberg News). Meanwhile, the oil spill and the forthcoming tighter drilling regulations may hurt the Alaska Pipeline, which provides one-quarter of the West Coast's oil (Wall Street Journal).

5) The International Energy Agency said in a report that governments and industry should ramp up their efforts on carbon, capture and storage projects, dubbed as "clean coal" technology, to help cut greenhouse gas emissions (Bloomberg News).

1) The Senate on Thursday rejected a resolution that would have prevented the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). The narrow margin by which the measure failed reveals the extent to which Congress remains divided on how to address climate change (Washington Post).

2) The Flow Rate Technical Group, the government panel monitoring the volume of oil escaping into the Gulf of Mexico, doubled its estimate of how much oil was escaping before BP cut a riser last week. Some scientists say that cutting the riser is likely to have increased the rate of flow (New York Times).

3) After visiting the White House on Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters that he has not decided whether the energy bill to be brought to the floor next month will include "carbon pricing" or focus on the oil spill, energy efficiency and a renewable standard (Energy & Environment Daily -- subscription).

4) "Ending days of speculation and criticism about why the president has not met or spoken with top officials of the company responsible for the oil spill off the Gulf Coast, the White House Thursday invited BP's chairman of the board and other senior managers to meet with Barack Obama in Washington next week" (Politico)

5) BP CEO Tony Hayward said Thursday that his company may cut or defer its second-quarter dividend (Wall Street Journal).

1) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will meet today with key committee chairs to discuss the best way forward on climate and energy legislation (Politico).

2) Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, "is expected to fall short of the majority support she would need today" to pass a resolution disapproving of the EPA regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act (CongressDaily -- subscription).

3) Construction is about to begin on miles of sand berms, but the EPA has voiced concerns that the barriers could cause unintended ecological problems (Wall Street Journal).

4) David Cameron will be discussing BP's tumbling trading value with President Obama this weekend, a spokesman for the British prime minister said. BP shares have fallen more than 40 percent since the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig (New York Times). The oil giant said today that the precipitous drop is unjustified (Wall Street Journal -- subscription).

5) "Journalists struggling to document the impact of the oil rig explosion have repeatedly found themselves turned away from public areas affected by the spill, and not only by BP and its contractors, but by local law enforcement, the Coast Guard and government officials" (New York Times).

1) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., "said Tuesday the votes should be there to defeat a resolution from Energy and Natural Resources ranking member" Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, "disapproving of EPA greenhouse gas regulations" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said in a statement Tuesday that he will vote for the resolution, but the White House has threatened to veto it if it passes (NationalJournal.com).

2) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., "on Tuesday set a July 4 deadline for House committees to have their spill-related legislation ready for consideration" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

3) Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., chairman of the House committee investigating the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, "sent a letter Monday to rig owner Transocean Ltd. asking the company to explain company records submitted to his committee that he said suggested there was 'a shortage of technical personnel' on duty at the time" the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20 (Wall Street Journal).

4) "U.S. officials said Tuesday that BP PLC was collecting so much oil from its broken well a mile under the Gulf of Mexico that it didn't have a big enough boat to hold it" (Wall Street Journal).

5) BP CEO Tony Hayward will appear before a House panel investigating the spill next Thursday (The Hill).

1) The White House on Monday expressed its support for eliminating the liability cap for offshore drilling accidents (Wall Street Journal).

2) Administration officials also said that the Minerals Management Service would release new safety requirements for drilling in shallow waters as soon as today (Wall Street Journal).

3) Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y, will meet this week to discuss legislative vehicles for a comprehensive energy and climate bill prior to sitting down with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday (CongressDailyAM). At issue is whether climate and energy legislation should be offered as a floor amendment to the Senate's initial response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (Energy & Environment Daily -- subscription).

4) "A series of internal investigations over the past decade warned senior BP managers that the oil company repeatedly disregarded safety and environmental rules and risked a serious accident if it did not change its ways" (ProPublica).

5) BP said Monday that a cap on its ruptured well was collecting 11,000 barrels of oil a day. But "it is difficult -- if not impossible -- to assess the containment cap's effectiveness" given conflicting estimates of how much oil is spewing out (New York Times).

1) BP is collecting 10,000 barrels a day from its ruptured well, but it could take well into the fall and maybe longer to clean up the spill (New York Times). The oil giant has so far spent $1.25 billion on its cleanup effort (AP).

2) The oil and natural gas industry is confronting a wave of bad news in the wake of the administration's six-month moratorium on deepwater offshore drilling (Wall Street Journal).

3) BP is moving forward with a major ad campaign attempting to repair its reputation (Wall Street Journal -- subscription). And the Obama administration is underscoring its own efforts in several separate events today (The Hill).

4) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., meets with committee chairs this week to hash out a floor strategy for climate and energy legislation (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription). Obama and Reid have been using the oil spill as a means to push for passage of such a bill, but it may be too late (Roll Call -- subscription).

5) Thursday's vote on a resolution from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, that would strip EPA of its regulatory power over carbon emissions could serve as a precursor for debate on a climate bill (The Hill).

1) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., instructed his committee chairmen Thursday to develop new recommendations for energy legislation that would "reduce our vulnerability" to disasters such as the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (Roll Call -- subscription).

2) BP engineers have installed a cap atop the ruptured well in an effort to reduce the volume of oil spewing into the gulf until a permanent solution can be realized (Los Angeles Times).

3) President Obama vowed on Thursday to hold BP "accountable" (CNN). The president has canceled a trip to Australia, Indonesia and Guam, but the White House has not confirmed whether the oil spill was the reason for the change in schedule (New York Times).

4) "Coast Guard officials grasped the potential threat of a catastrophic spill within hours of the explosion on board the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig... according to Coast Guard logs" (Center for Public Integrity).

5) The EPA on Thursday "shifted the way it measures sulfur dioxide emissions, zeroing in on short-term spikes in the air pollutant rather than recording only daily and annual pollution levels" (NationalJournal.com).

1) President Obama on Wednesday called for an end to tax breaks for oil companies (CongressDailyPM -- subscription) and pushed for a climate and energy bill (Washington Post).

2) "The new presidential commission investigating the Gulf oil spill will include two experts who have been active on the subject of global warming" (AP).

3) As more oil washes ashore and threats the region's tourism and fishing industries (Washington Post), BP continues its attempts to plug the leak (Reuters). Some observers are suggesting nuking the well (New York Times).

4) A Greenwire analysis (subscription) indicates that the Interior Department took oil companies at their word when they said they had proven technology to deal with oil spills the size of the one in the gulf (New York Times).

5) Conservative politicians who normally oppose a larger government role are calling upon the feds to be more active in the oil spill cleanup efforts (AP).

1) The Obama administration has launched a criminal investigation into the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The companies involved in the accident may have violated a number of statutes, including the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act (New York Times).

2) BP lost 15 percent of its market value yesterday (Washington Post).

3) Tension between the Obama administration and Louisiana officials has crystallized around the issue of sand berms (Time).

4) "Crude has already been reported along barrier islands in Alabama and Mississippi, and it has impacted some 125 miles of Louisiana coastline" (AP).

5) The Dutch government has dispatched six "sweeping arm" systems, along with a six-member crew to administer the equipment, to assist BP in the cleanup effort (Christian Science Monitor).

1) BP has given up the "top kill" method to contain the gulf oil spill and is readying a containment dome to siphon oil to vessels on the surface. A similar attempt was made three weeks ago (New York Times).

2) The White House is ratcheting up its involvement in the cleanup effort. President Obama has dispatched Attorney General Eric Holder to survey the Gulf Coast, and Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen will give daily televised briefings -- without the participation of BP (Wall Street Journal -- subscription).

3) "A federally convened group of scientists is set to recommend that BP PLC and the government continue spraying chemicals into the Gulf of Mexico to help prevent leaking oil from washing ashore, even though the scientists have serious concerns about the potential long-term damage to sea life" (Wall Street Journal).

4) With the hurricane season now officially underway, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned that high winds could push oil from the spill toward the Mississippi and Alabama coastlines (Bloomberg News).

5) White House energy liaison Carol Browner said over the weekend that the ruptured well may continue to spew oil into the gulf until relief wells are completed in August (NPR).

1) President Obama visits the Gulf of Mexico today to survey the oil spill cleanup efforts, his second trip to the region since BP's Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20 (Reuters).

2) His visit comes after a day of big developments in the disaster, including new flow rate estimates indicating the spill is the worst in U.S. history (Washington Post), the suspension of new drilling projects in deep water (NationalJournal.com), the resignation of the Minerals Management Service's director (CongressDailyPM -- subscription) and a slew of hearings on the oil spill (Roll Call).

3) BP resumed its latest effort to plug the oil leak -- a method called a "top kill" -- late Thursday after facing a setback earlier in the day (New York Times), while questions are mounting whether BP and Transocean rushed on safety measures that could have prevented the explosion in the first place (Washington Post).

4) The Wall Street Journal analyzes the events immediately before and after the oil rig exploded.

5) In other energy news, senators introduced a bill Thursday that would incentivize the use of electric vehicles (Detroit News) and China says it will likely set up a domestic trading market for greenhouse gas emissions by 2014 (Bloomberg News).

1) President Obama today "will suspend planned exploratory oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska until at least 2011, a casualty of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill" (McClatchy Newspapers).

2) The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will likely hold a hearing after the Memorial Day recess on legislation eliminating the oil spill liability cap. Senate Republicans have accused the bill's sponsor, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., of "grandstanding" and proceeding in an "arbitrary" fashion (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

3) At a hearing of the House Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar assured lawmakers he would purge the Minerals Management Service of "bad apples" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

4) BP has been dogged by reports of risky or dangerous actions leading up to the accident, including an argument about shutdown procedures aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig the day it exploded (Wall Street Journal) and use of a well casing more vulnerable to leaks (New York Times).

5) The EPA "will gather information about factory farms to determine whether more should be regulated as part of a settlement with environmental groups concerned about water pollution" (AP).

1) Sen. David Vitter, R-La., blocked an attempt by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., to impose an unlimited liability cap on oil companies, but he joined with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, in pushing a bill that would formally put BP on the hook for all costs associated with cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) "Sen. John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va., expressed frustration Tuesday that he does not have more supporters for his proposal to delay for two years EPA regulation of greenhouse gas emissions" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

3) Faced with a political maelstrom, President Obama on Thursday will announce more stringent safety requirements for offshore drilling. He will fly to the gulf on Friday (Wall Street Journal).

4) As BP prepared for its most ambitious effort yet to stop its leak, company officials emphasized that the procedure known as a top kill had never been tried so far underwater, that determining its success could take a few days and that it might not succeed at all (New York Times).

5) EPA chief Lisa Jackson has withdrawn from a fundraiser for Senate Democrats in New York next week after Republicans argued that her appearance would be "inappropriate in the midst of the ongoing environmental crisis along the Louisiana coast" (Politico).

1) Democrats are hoping to deliver a $200 billion tax extender bill to President Obama's desk by Memorial Day (Energy & Environment Daily -- subscription). The bill would increase a tax on the oil industry from 8 cents per barrel to 32 cents per barrel, as well as raise the oil spill liability cap from $1 billion to $5 billion (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen acknowledged Sunday that the federal government must defer to the oil industry because it lacks the expertise to seal the ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico (Politico). Still, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar expressed dissatisfaction with BP's failure to contain the spill and suggested that the government may assume control of the cleanup effort (The Hill).

3) Louisiana officials, meanwhile, vowed to take action themselves if BP and federal agencies can't stop the spill (New York Times).

4) "In the days since President Obama announced a moratorium on permits for drilling new offshore oil wells and a halt to a controversial type of environmental waiver that was given to the Deepwater Horizon rig, at least seven new permits for various types of drilling and five environmental waivers have been granted, according to records" (New York Times).

5) A new study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will seek to provide a concrete index for "energy security" (Wall Street Journal).

1) The Minerals Management Service approved permits to drill in the Arctic Ocean while "federal auditors were questioning the office about its environmental review process" (New York Times). That report comes out a day after Interior Secretary Ken Salazar split MMS into three separate agencies (NationalJournal.com).

2) Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., will announce legislation today that would allow gulf states to receive 37.5 percent of the revenue generated from oil and natural gas drilling off their coasts (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) Scientists say the government has not done an adequate scientific analysis of the damage caused by the gulf oil spill and have allowed BP to "obscure the spill's true scope" (New York Times). The Coast Guard has come under particular scrutiny for its handling of the spill (Wall Street Journal).

4) The White House is expected to announce new nuclear loan guarantees and renewable energy projects worth millions of dollars that would be funded by the pending war appropriations bill (Politico).

5) Most Americans want Congress to pass energy legislation, but not necessarily a bill addressing climate change, according to a new poll (National Journal).

1) President Obama blasted Republicans for their opposition to legislation that would increase the liability cap for oil companies in the wake of an oil spill. But at a hearing Tuesday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar seemed sympathetic to the argument that a cap should be worked out by the administration and Congress (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Senate Democrats appear to be moving toward an unlimited cap for oil companies, with Senate Majority Harry Reid, D-Nev., throwing his support behind the proposal Tuesday (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). But oil industry groups say that having no cap could push even the biggest oil companies out of the Gulf of Mexico (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration nearly doubled the scope of its fishing ban in the gulf on Tuesday, expanding it to 19 percent of the area (New York Times).

4) The oil reached Louisiana's coastal marshes on Tuesday, but the damage to wildlife and shores still appears to be less costly than the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 (Washington Post). Scientists say the damage is hard to measure given much of the wildlife is out at sea (Los Angeles Times).

5) Reid plans to meet with Senate committee leaders the week of June 7, and with the entire Democratic caucus the following week, to determine a path forward on climate and energy policy. But it appears that at least for now, the Kerry-Lieberman climate bill is in "no man's land without any clear consensus on who is responsible for collecting 60 votes" (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

1) "President Obama will establish an independent commission to investigate the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico through an executive order.... Before news of the commission spread Monday, Senate Environment and Public Works Democrats requested a Justice Department inquiry into whether BP violated civil and criminal law" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will testify for the first time today on the oil spill. He is scheduled to appear before both the Senate Energy and Natural Resources and Environment and Public Works committees (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

3) Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano testified at a hearing Monday that the federal government had "extensive plans" to cope with a spill. But she also described a widespread assumption that the rig's fail-safe blowout preventer would never fail (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) Reports that BP had installed a tube to siphon oil from the ruptured well were dampened by warnings that oil was quickly moving toward a "loop current" that would take it to the Florida Keys and beyond (New York Times).

5) "Without adequately planning for trouble, the oil business has focused on developing experimental equipment and techniques to drill in ever deeper waters, according to a Wall Street Journal examination of previous deepwater accidents."

6) "The climate bill unveiled in the U.S. Senate last week cuts funds to projects protecting tropical forests that also are inexpensive ways to reduce global pollution and keep U.S. power bills affordable, environmentalists and electric utilities said on Monday" (Reuters).

1) Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar are among the administration officials set to testify this week in front of Congress for the first time since the gulf oil spill began (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) After two failed attempts to stop the leak, BP has successfully siphoned the oil into a narrow tube and diverted it from the gulf onto a ship (New York Times). But the oil may have already entered the loop current, which would send some of it around Florida and up the East Coast (AP).

3) Massey Energy Co. CEO Don Blankenship will testify before Congress for the first time since his company's Upper Big Branch coal mine exploded on April 5 and killed 29 workers (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) Manufacturers of fridge-sized nuclear reactors will seek approval for small nuclear plants from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission within a year (Bloomberg News).

5) U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to select Costa Rican climate negotiator Christiana Figueres as the organization's new climate chief (Reuters).

1) "Lawmakers are considering quadrupling the per-barrel tax companies pay to a trust fund covering liability costs for oil spills" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, blocked legislation that would have increased liability caps on oil companies (Politico).

2) A Senate committee approved $68 million for assistance in the gulf (Reuters).

3) The Minerals Management System allowed BP and dozens of other oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without needed permits. Current and former scientists at MMS also say their warnings of what impact drilling could have on the gulf's ecosystem have been stifled (New York Times).

4) Speculation abounds about how much oil is really spewing from the gulf floor (Washington Post). Some scientists say the spill is vastly underestimated (New York Times). Meanwhile, BP looks to siphon the leak today in its latest attempt to contain the spill (AP).

5) A court on Thursday rejected lawsuits challenging the MMS approval of Shell's exploratory drilling plans off the coast of Alaska (AP).

6) EPA finalized its "tailoring rule" for greenhouse gas emissions on Thursday, ratcheting up pressure on the Senate to act on climate and energy legislation. Murkowski still plans to seek a vote on her resolution stripping the agency of its regulatory power over carbon emissions (NationalJournal.com).

1) Stakeholders have begun to examine the 987-page climate and energy proposal introduced Wednesday by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Conservative groups have already mounted a counteroffensive, labeling the proposal a "gas tax" (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) Energy Secretary Steven Chu expressed confidence Wednesday that BP was nearing a solution to the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico (New York Times).

4) An investigation by the House Energy and Commerce Committee has found multiple defects in the blowout preventer that failed to stop the Deepwater Horizon spill (Washington Post).

5) "Transocean Ltd., the owner and operator of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig... will Thursday file in federal court a petition to limit its liability to just under $27 million" (Wall Street Journal).

1) Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., will unveil their climate and energy proposal later today. According to a summary of the plan, states will be empowered to veto drilling off their shores "if they stand to suffer significant adverse impacts in the event of an accident" (NationalJournal.com).

2) Some analysts fear that price caps and floors in the Kerry-Lieberman proposal will hamper trading of pollution rights (Bloomberg News).

3) Representatives of BP and Transocean tried to deflect the indignation of lawmakers onto each other while testifying before a Senate committee Tuesday. The hearing afforded Democratic Sens. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Bill Nelson of Florida an opportunity to reiterate their opposition to expanding offshore drilling (Washington Post).

4) Following reports last week that the Minerals Management Service had not properly overseen offshore wells, the Obama administration announced on Tuesday that it would split up the agency in order to preserve the integrity of its policing function (New York Times).

5) "The Pentagon, alarmed that Beijing controls 97 percent of the world's supply, has begun combing the globe for rare earth minerals to add to its stockpile" (NationalJournal.com).

1) According to prepared testimony, BP, Transocean and Halliburton officials will seek to cast blame on each other for the gulf oil spill in today's Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing (NationalJournal.com).

2) Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., will call for stricter restrictions on the oil industry at today's Environment and Public Works hearing on the spill (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) The White House is expected to formally request lifting the caps on the Oil Spill Liability Act today (Politico).

4) Lawmakers are scrutinizing the relationship between the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service and the oil companies it regulates (Bloomberg News). Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will make a major announcement this afternoon on "toughening" offshore oil and natural gas operations (release).

5) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., signaled that he might move forward with a "smaller" energy-only bill in lieu of a comprehensive climate and energy package (Bloomberg News).

1) With the containment dome failing to contain the leak spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend (Wall Street Journal), other options include sand bags along the shore (AP) and using chemical dispersants to break up the oil (Washington Post).

2) The gulf oil spill has cost BP $350 million so far (Reuters).

3) Officials from BP, Transocean and Halliburton will testify on the Hill in three hearings this week (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

4) The oil spill has divided two coastal state Democrats -- Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Bill Nelson of Florida (The Hill).

5) Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., are expected to release their climate and energy legislation on Wednesday without Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Industry groups are holding off on taking a position until more details come out (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). White House top energy and climate adviser Carol Browner says the oil spill could rally support for the bill (Bloomberg News).

1) The House passed Home Star on Thursday, advancing a federal initiative that promotes energy efficiency and may create as many as 170,000 jobs over the next two years, supporters say (AP).

2) BP is lowering a 98-ton container to the sea floor in order to capture oil gushing from a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico. Company officials told reporters that they were embarking on an experimental procedure (New York Times).

3) The Minerals Management Service, the federal agency responsible for overseeing offshore drilling, has ceded responsibilities to the oil industry over the course of the last decade, according to a Wall Street Journal examination.

4) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday that even increasing the liability cap for offshore drilling disasters to $10 billion (from $75 million) might not cover BP's liability in the gulf (The Hill).

5) Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Thursday that climate and energy legislation faces a significant setback from the current catastrophe (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

1) Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., plan to release their climate and energy bill next week without Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., according to Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. (Greenwire).

2) But a top aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said that bipartisanship is vital to the legislation. And he signaled that Reid may not bring the bill to the floor if it doesn't have a good chance of passing (NationalJournal.com).

3) The White House, Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., threw their support behind legislation that would raise oil companies' liability cap for disasters to $10 billion (The Hill). But Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., fears the bill could hamper small operations in the Gulf of Mexico (Politico).

4) The administration is aggressively warding off comparisons between the oil spill disaster and the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina (Bloomberg News). Oil industry trade groups could find themselves in a tight spot, too (Roll Call -- subscription).

5) The House will vote today on a $6 billion Home Star bill. Lawmakers are sparring over the cost of the legislation, which Republicans say should include a measure that requires the bill to be deficit-neutral. That amendment was struck down Wednesday in committee (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

1) Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., signaled Tuesday that they may move the climate and energy bill without Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. (The Hill).

2) Lieberman said there are no plans to scale back the offshore drilling measures in the bill, despite concerns being expressed from fellow senators in light of the gulf oil spill (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

3) Congress could help fund the oil spill cleanup through the upcoming supplemental war funding bill (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). BP chief Tony Hayward privately balked at paying all claims for economic damage from the spill (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) The Interior Department exempted BP's gulf drilling operation from an environmental impact analysis last year because three reviews of the area "concluded that a massive oil spill was unlikely." But in light of the current disaster, some key senators and representatives want more stringent safety rules (Washington Post).

5) Environmental groups were disappointed EPA did not go further in its proposal to regulate coal ash, a toxic by-product coal energy (New York Times).

1) BP is attempting to seal the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico with a 70-ton dome (New York Times). Even though rain has thwarted recent attempts at a controlled burn, slackening winds will give crews additional time to contain a massive oil slick as it approaches the Louisiana coastline (Wall Street Journal).

2) Environmental groups are urging the framers of climate and energy legislation to remove language authorizing an expansion of offshore drilling (The Hill). Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., signaled last week that the oil spill could prompt some revisions (Environment and Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., has called upon the Interior Department's acting inspector general to investigate whether oil and gas companies exercised undue influence on the rulemaking process for undersea backup systems. Other Florida lawmakers are urging President Obama to reconsider the expansion of offshore drilling he announced last month (NationalJournal.com).

4) A BP representative will testify before a Senate committee next Tuesday (CongressDaily -- subscription).

5) California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has withdrawn his support for expanding drilling off California's coast (NPR).

Updated at 10:45 a.m. on April 3.

1) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Sunday that the administration does not plan to scale back current oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, but it has signaled it will not issue new leases without increased safeguards (The Hill).

2) The gulf oil spill is already causing some nearby natural gas refineries to halt production, while other refineries could be threatened as well (Bloomberg News).

3) Senate lawmakers will probe the oil spill in a hearing Thursday, while House Global Warming Chairman Edward Markey, D-Mass., has asked top oil company chiefs to testify before his committee soon (CongressDailyAM). BP said today it will pay for the cleanup (NPR).

4) Certification of environmentally friendly products is becoming more common but also more confusing and more contested as both private businesses and the federal government become more involved (Washington Post).

5) The top United Nations climate negotiator said today there won't be a legally binding international deal on climate change this year (AP).

1) Senate Majority Harry Reid, D-Nev., is poised to move climate and energy legislation without Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. on board (NationalJournal.com).

2) Despite the growing stalemate, veterans groups (NationalJournal.com) and environmental groups are urging Congress to pass a bill (Washington Post).

3) The White House won't authorize more offshore oil drilling until it's determined what caused the explosion and subsequent oil spill of a rig in the Gulf of Mexico (Wall Street Journal). The administration signaled Thursday that the spill could cause President Obama to rethink his decision to expand offshore drilling (Washington Post).

4) Lawmakers are stepping up their efforts to investigate the spill. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., is introducing legislation that would block expanded offshore drilling (NationalJournal.com). And Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., is calling the CEOs of major oil companies to the Hill for a hearing (The Hill).

5) Lawmakers will consider Home Star legislation on the House floor next week (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

1) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Tuesday he's likely to move a climate and energy bill before immigration. But that still won't please Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who wants immigration completely off the table this year (NationalJournal.com).

2) Democratic lobbyists and lawmakers are floating ways of getting around the stalemate, including procedural ways to fast-track immigration or punting it until after the midterm elections (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription). Others have suggested the Senate move forward on an energy-only bill instead (The Hill).

3) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will announce today whether Cape Wind will go forward or not (New York Times). Kerry gave conditional support for the offshore wind farm project Tuesday (NationalJournal.com).

4) Republican and Democrats hailing from states with large reserves of natural gas sent letters to EPA and the House Energy and Commerce Committee urging them to leave regulation of hydraulic fracturing to the states (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) Lawmakers are inquiring into the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico and subsequent leak that is nearing the Louisiana shoreline (Wall Street Journal). The spill is complicating matters for the climate and energy bill, which includes provisions for expanded offshore drilling (New York Times).

1) Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Monday that immigration must be off the table or else he walks away from the climate and energy negotiations. Democratic leaders counter that he is caving to GOP pressure (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Key Republican senators say they prefer to address climate and energy before immigration reform, and some senators are pushing for the chamber to consider an energy-only bill in wake of the stalled negotiations (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) Industry business groups say that the delay in producing a bill is hampering investments in clean energy (Wall Street Journal).

4) As of Monday afternoon, the bill crafted by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., and Graham was still expected to be sent to EPA for its economic analysis so it can come to the floor this summer (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

5) The oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico is raising questions about the politics of offshore drilling, including how far out to sea the rigs should be placed (Washington Post).

1) Sen. Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., expects to meet today with Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., following Graham's threat on Saturday to abandon efforts on a climate and energy bill (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription). He said in a separate interview that the bill will move forward "as soon as we can get Lindsey on board" (AP).

2) Graham "technically remains at the bargaining table" (ClimateWire). But with or without him, it appears unlikely Congress will consider a climate and energy bill this year (Politico).

3) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is expected to decide by Friday whether Cape Wind, a controversial wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts, will go forward or not (New York Times).

4) The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could continue for months before the flow can be stopped (New York Times).

5) Environmental leaders of developing nations said Sunday that a legally binding global deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions must be completed by 2011, but confidence that it could happen is waning (Reuters).

Updated at 11 a.m. on April 23.

1) The Senate trio is confident they have addressed the transportation sector issue in their bill, which they will roll out on Monday as planned. Representatives from Edison Electric Institute and three major oil companies will join the senators for the unveiling (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Bloomberg News highlights several of the bill's proposals, including pre-emption of state and EPA regulation, protections for energy- and trade-sensitive industries and subjecting oil companies to emissions allowances. Mother Jones broke the story with the bill details Thursday afternoon.

3) Environmental groups are planning on praising the legislation when it's first unveiled but then calling for a more stringent bill after that (Washington Post).

4) A budget blueprint approved by the Senate Budget Committee Thursday would strip the chamber's ability to pass major pieces of legislation, including a climate and energy bill, through reconciliation (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) The oil rig that sank into the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday has "the potential to be a major spill," according to a BP official (New York Times).

1) Sen. Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., said the climate trio's forthcoming legislation will pre-empt state and EPA greenhouse gas regulations. The issue "might remain a major sticking point" in Senate negotiations (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, has draft language that would override both EPA and the states (NationalJournal.com), while states are calling on lawmakers to ensure their ability to regulate emissions is protected (Reuters).

3) Senate and House leadership may push immigration reform over a climate and energy bill, but Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a key vote on both issues, maintains that immigration should wait until the next Congress (Reuters).

4) House lawmakers are readying election-year talking points about how climate and energy policies will affect the economy (Roll Call). Meanwhile, moderate Democrats could face a tough balancing act on the issue (NationalJournal.com).

5) While industry groups representing traditional energies like coal, oil and nuclear have a big hand in the climate and energy debate (Politico), the lobbying efforts of renewable groups have been ramping up substantially in the last several years (Politico).

1) Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the climate and energy bill emerging in the Senate will pre-empt the EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, expand offshore drilling, triple government-backed loan guarantees for the nuclear industry, and revamp the permitting process (Politico).

2) The Senate trio writing the bill is expected to award electric utilities more free allowances than they got in last year's Waxman-Markey bill (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) "Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Mark Udall, D-Colo., signaled their support" on Tuesday "to bring an energy-only bill to the Senate floor and then hold a debate on legislation that prices carbon emissions" (NationalJournal.com).

4) "Three Senate Democrats are denouncing a proposal that would direct a portion of revenues from offshore drilling to coastal states, highlighting another potential fault line in the delicate effort to piece together votes for a bipartisan compromise on climate legislation" (Politico).

5) Vice President Joe Biden is expected to award $452 million in "Retrofit Ramp-up" grants to 25 communities today to kick off five days of Earth Day celebrations (Washington Post).

1) Todd Stern, President Obama's chief climate negotiator, said yesterday at an international climate change summit in Washington that expectations should not "outstrip what can be done" at talks later this year in Cancun, Mexico (Bloomberg News).

2) Indian environmental minister Jairam Ramesh urged the summit's participants to heal "the huge trust deficit" between rich and poor nations (Politico).

3) The possibility of a stand-alone energy bill has divided the Democratic Caucus (The Hill).

4) Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., "will unveil legislation tomorrow that would again attempt to give new teeth to the Clean Water Act by extending its reach across all of the nation's fresh waters" (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) Saudi Arabia and China have established closer diplomatic and commercial ties as Asia's demand for oil spikes (Bloomberg News).

1) President Obama said Friday that he expects the Senate to take up energy and climate legislation after financial regulatory reform (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

2) "The chances of passage for a draft Senate climate and energy plan might depend as much on messaging as substance" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

3) Top White House officials have invited U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobbyists to the White House on Tuesday to discuss climate and energy legislation (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

4) Cities across the country have pegged themselves as the future for a green economy, but progress has been slow to actually create a good number of clean technology jobs (Wall Street Journal).

5) In light of the explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine that killed 29 workers earlier this month, West Virginia lawmakers are grappling with how to support -- or criticize -- the coal industry (Washington Post).

1) "Rejecting a Republican bid to scale back the cost of the program, the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday backed" Home Star, "a two-year $6 billion plan to create jobs by providing tax rebates for the installation of energy-efficient home improvements" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif.; Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill.; and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., on Thursday unveiled a new bill requiring manufacturers to provide information about each chemical in their products (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) President Obama accused the mining industry on Thursday of "filing endless appeals instead of paying fines and fixing safety problems" (The Hill).

4) Former EPA administrator William Ruckelshaus on Thursday criticized congressional efforts to preempt the environmental agency's authority to regulate greenhouse gases (NationalJournal.com).

5) China will "vigorously" develop renewable energy sources to try to ward off an economic cataclysm comparable "to that of the two world wars and the Great Depression combined," which would arise if global temperatures rose 3-4 degrees Celsius, a Chinese official said recently (Bloomberg News).

1) A group of Midwestern Democrats led by Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio will present the three senators drafting energy and climate legislation with a rundown of trade and manufacturing provisions crucial to the Midwesterners' support (CongressDailyAM -- subcription).

2) The ETA for the climate trio's bill remains unclear, but it will not coincide with Earth Day (NationalJournal.com).

3) Coal-company executives testified before a House committee on Wednesday, urging carbon capture and sequestration as alternatives to a price on carbon (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., introduced Home Star legislation in a press conference Wednesday, casting the bill as a "legislative triple play" that would create over 150,000 jobs, ease residential energy costs and address America's energy crisis in an environmentally responsible way (NationalJournal.com).

5) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will decide later this month whether or not to scrap Cape Wind, a proposal to install 130 wind-powered turbines in Nantucket Sound, over protests that it poses a risk to historic sites in Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard (Bloomberg News).

1) The climate trio expects Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to shepherd climate and energy legislation through Congress (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

2) Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., "said Tuesday that he is unlikely to support upcoming Senate climate and energy legislation unless it alters Obama administration plans that open the Atlantic coast to oil-and-gas leasing" (The Hill).

3) Washington state has sued the Obama administration to prevent the termination of the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain (release).

4) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar confirmed yesterday that President Obama never considered drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (NationalJournal.com).

5) A Senate committee will probe last week's deadly explosion in a West Virginia coal mine later this month (Wall Street Journal).

1) Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says the Supreme Court nomination could make or break the chances for climate and energy legislation (CongressDaily -- subscription). But Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., doesn't think so (Bloomberg News).

2) To determine whether the U.S. could increase money collected from oil and natural gas leases, the Interior Department will study how other countries collect energy royalties (AP). Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will also announce today how his department is working to ensure drilling off the shore of Alaska is done in an environmentally sound way (release).

3) Climate negotiators are focusing on forging an international deal on a few top priorities, such as preserving rain forests, amid consensus that a comprehensive agreement on climate change isn't possible this year (Washington Post).

4) The "Buy American" debate over renewable energy is growing, fueling efforts by a group of Senate Democrats to include such a provision on all renewable energy initiatives (Bloomberg News).

5) The corn and sugar ethanol industries are ramping up their advertising battle (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

1) The Supreme Court nomination process will likely hinder the Senate trio's efforts at getting a climate and energy bill this year. Lawmakers and lobbyists say the best time to bring legislation to the floor would probably be June (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) The first global talks on climate change since December's U.N. summit ended Sunday with little hope that negotiators will continue forging ahead with the Copenhagen Accord, drawing harsh comment from U.S. negotiator Jonathan Pershing (Bloomberg News).

3) The Energy Department will ask the Nuclear Regulatory Commission today to "overturn a decision by a panel of agency judges to delay its review of DOE's proposal to yank its Yucca Mountain license application until the courts decide on various legal challenges to the department's request" (The Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) The military's efforts to be more energy efficient will save $1.6 billion, according to the Defense Department (USA Today).

5) A new type of laser-based technology that is intended to make fuel for nuclear plants could be used to make weapons, raising concerns among experts (NPR).

1) Fourteen Senators, including six from New England, have signed on to letters urging the climate trio to jettison language that could require states to scale back their clean energy programs (Boston Globe). Of particular concern to New England lawmakers is the future of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a coalition of 10 states that auctions carbon allowances to power plants and devotes the proceeds to improving energy efficiency.

2) Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., plan to introduce an "electrification bill" that would spur development of the infrastructure needed to make electric cars feasible (The Hill).

3) The U.S., the U.K. and the Netherlands abstained from a vote by the World Bank to loan $3.75 billion to help build a coal-fired plant in South Africa, a country dogged by electricity shortages in recent years (Financial Times -- subcription).

4) "After growing steadily since 2004, wind energy's share of new U.S. production capacity decreased in 2009," NationalJournal.com reports, citing the American Wind Energy Association's annual report.

5) Al Gore on Wednesday commended Maggie Fox, CEO of the Alliance for Climate Protection, for writing on NationalJournal.com's Expert Blog that the proposed expansion of offshore drilling "will simply continue our reliance on dirty fossil fuels."

1) Attorneys general from several coastal states are urging the Senate climate trio to ensure legislation doesn't preempt EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions and also doesn't override state efforts to cut emissions (NationalJournal.com).

2) Making good on a request by Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday "asked the National Academy of Sciences to study whether nuclear power plants present a cancer risk to people living nearby" (The Hill).

3) Only about 7 percent of U.S. mines have wireless-communications systems in place since a law was passed in 2006 mandating companies install them within three years. The West Virginia mine where the explosion occurred Monday didn't have the two-way system installed in the portion where the miners were working (Wall Street Journal -- subscription).

4) The U.S. has the largest installed base of wind power in the world, but competition is heating up from other countries, most notably from China, who "became the top market for wind power last year," according to a new report (Wall Street Journal -- subscription).

5) A group of Texas oil firms have raised just under $1 million in an effort to block California's cap-and-trade system, which became law in 2006 (New York Times).

1) Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, has dispatched two aides to West Virginia to investigate Monday's deadly mine explosion (The Hill).

2) The Raleigh County mine had seen a dramatic increase in safety violations along with a big boost in coal production (Charleston Gazette).

3) Energy Secretary Stephen Chu reaffirmed on Tuesday that he has not been deterred by congressional resistance to the administration's decision to close the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

4) The Chinese freighter that ran aground far off course on the Great Barrier Reef last weekend has infuriated Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (New York Times).

5) "Green" issues may figure prominently in Britain's May 6 general election, which is expected to be close (London Guardian).

1) Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., said today he will call for an investigation into a mine explosion that killed at least 25 workers in his state on Monday (Charleston Gazette). AP has a list of other fatal mine disasters.

2) The Nuclear Energy Institute and 16 utilities sued the Energy Department on Monday to stop it from collecting $750 million in nuclear waste fees originally intended to finance a now-derailed waste depository at Yucca Mountain (New York Times).

3) The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, two attorneys general and a South Carolina county are also challenging DOE on its decision to scuttle Yucca (The Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) In a letter last week, more than two dozen transportation groups pressed the three senators working on climate and energy legislation to direct money raised from a carbon fee toward road and transit projects (The Hill).

5) For the first time since the Copenhagen climate summit, negotiators from the U.S. and almost 200 other countries will meet this week in Germany to continue hashing out a global climate deal (ClimateWire -- subscription).

1) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., last week that he and the other two senators working on climate and energy legislation must introduce a bill in the next couple weeks or Reid will bring to the floor the energy-only bill the Energy and Natural Resources Committee passed last year (Washington Post).

2) Oil companies are leading the way on a ballot petition to delay a California law that would create the country's first-ever economy-wide cap on greenhouse gas emissions. If successful, the efforts could have negative repercussions for Congress' efforts to pass a climate bill (AP).

3) In light of the Obama administration's decision to terminate the nuclear waste repository site at Yucca Mountain, the Nuclear Regulatory Agency is considering new rules that would "allow storage at existing sites for more than 120 years" (The Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) The Energy Information Administration has been overstating its figures on natural gas production in the U.S. and is preparing to overhaul its methodology (Wall Street Journal -- subscription).

5) Los Angeles utilities will likely have to increase energy prices substantially in order to meet the city's goal of getting 20 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by the end of this year (Wall Street Journal -- subscription).

1) EPA's finalized fuel-economy regulations will hinder growth in the electric car industry, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers says (NationalJournal.com). Automakers are likely to make smaller tweaks to their fleets -- rather than shifting to electric cars -- to meet the standards (Wall Street Journal).

2) Democrats in Florida and Virginia are mixed on the administration's decision to expand oil drilling off their states' coasts (The Hill). Californians, meanwhile, are happy their state is not included in the expansion (NationalJournal.com).

3) EPA "has approved clean air permits for Shell Oil to drill exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska's northwest coast," but the company has other regulatory hurdles to overcome before it gets a green light to drill (AP).

4) EPA on Thursday announced stronger environmental controls for mountaintop mining and other surface coal mining techniques (NationalJournal.com). The proposals, which apply to Appalachian states, will be both far-reaching and harmful for the region's economy, according to local coal associations (Washington Post).

5) Liberals on and off the Hill fear the administration will ultimately abandon its plans for a cap on greenhouse gas emissions, similar to how it dropped the public option in the health care debate (The Hill).

1) The Obama administration will issue new fuel-efficiency rules for automobiles today, and they may thwart the marketing claim that electric cars are "zero emission" (Wall Street Journal -- subscription).

2) Wednesday's announcement by President Obama that broad expanses of water in the outer continental shelf will be opened for oil exploration and drilling may be intended to win Republican votes on a comprehensive climate and energy bill (Bloomberg News).

3) The announcement also may put the administration at odds with the environmental community (New York Times).

4) The U.S. oil and natural gas industry welcomed the announcement, even though the proposed expansion is more limited than some in the industry would prefer (Wall Street Journal).

5) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will travel to an offshore energy services company in Louisiana today to announce the next offshore lease sale.

6) Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. climate change secretariat, said Wednesday that a new legal agreement requiring nations around the globe to cut emissions is unlikely before the end of 2011 (AP).

Updated at 11:02 a.m. on March 31.

1) In a speech this morning at Andrews Air Force Base, President Obama is expected to sanction oil drilling and exploration in the Gulf of Mexico and a vast expanse off the coast of Middle and Southern Atlantic states. The administration is not expected to authorize drilling in Bristol Bay, Alaska (New York Times).

2) The U.S. and France may "put some pressure" on countries that do not undertake measures to battle climate change, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said yesterday after meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy (AFP).

3) Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Richard Lugar, R-Ind., is circulating a climate strategy that does not center on a cap-and-trade mechanism (NationalJournal.com).

4) A British parliamentary panel has found that the scientists implicated in "Climategate" did not in fact cook the books (AP).

5) Greenpeace published a report yesterday attacking Koch Industries for pouring tens of millions of dollars into lobbying, public relations and research campaigns designed to undermine confidence in the science of climate change (NationalJournal.com).

1) Sen. Lisa Murkowski claims EPA chief Lisa Jackson has failed to fully answer questions about the agency's planned greenhouse gas regulations sent to her more than three weeks ago. The Alaska Republican has requested a tête-à-tête with Jackson during the week of April 12 (NationalJournal.com).

2) Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., wrote Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., expressing "deep disappointment" with the climate outline circulated earlier this month (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

3) The EPA won't require large industrial plants and other stationary emissions sources to obtain pollution permits until January of next year, the agency announced Monday (Bloomberg News).

4) The agency also announced it would review the environmental effects of bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical commonly used in plastic bottles and food packaging, as well as its potential impact on human health (New York Times).

5) State legislators in 17 states have introduced measures to countervail the EPA's climate rules (Greenwire).

6) The United States struck deals with two countries in Southeastern Asia today. The U.S. and India reached an agreement that would allow India to reprocess spent nuclear fuel (Washington Post), and Vietnam has agreed to let U.S. firms build nuclear plants on its soil (AP).

1) Rajendra Pachauri, the embattled chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, "has been cleared of allegations of financial irregularity by an independently conducted review" (Financial Times -- subscription).

2) President Obama on Saturday appointed Islam Siddiqui to a post in the office of the U.S. trade representative, prompting an outcry from environmental groups concerned by Siddiqui's ties to the pesticide industry.

3) "The U.S., China and Germany are among the most attractive markets for developers of renewable energy technologies," according to an index put out today by Ernst & Young (Bloomberg News).

4) China's wind industry boomed in 2009, becoming the world's top turbine market and producing three of the world's top 10 turbine manufacturers, Danish consultants say (Reuters).

5) J. Bennett Johnston, who chaired the Senate Energy Committee as a Democratic senator from Louisiana, expressed doubts Sunday that Congress would pass a climate and energy bill this year given other legislative priorities and the coming midterm elections (Platts Energy Week).

1) The three senators working on climate and energy legislation plan to release their bill by the week of Earth Day, which is April 22 (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) The bill will likely send about 60 percent of the revenue raised by the government back to consumers. What remains to be decided -- and likely won't be until many other parts of the legislation are crafted -- is how to divide the emission allocations among the different industries (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said he has reached an agreement with the trio on offshore drilling. Nelson led a group of 10 coastal state Democrats this week threatening to oppose the bill if it expands offshore drilling too much (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

4) President Obama's nuclear waste panel, which met for the first time Thursday, is weighing several disposal options, including interim storage and reprocessing. It won't examine alternative locations to the now-terminated nuclear waste repository site at Yucca Mountain (Wall Street Journal -- subscription).

5) The EnergyStar program is "highly vulnerable to fraud," according to a study by the Government Accountability Office. The report, requested by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, found more than a dozen bogus products were given the energy efficiency label (New York Times).

1) Two of President Obama's top aides met Wednesday evening with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Democratic committee chairs. Their goal is to release a climate and energy bill after the two-week recess (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

2) Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, are skeptical of the plan being put together by a trio of senators and may "threaten to siphon much-needed support" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

3) Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., used Wednesday's meeting to encourage leaders to get his panel's energy-only bill to the floor regardless of the trio's legislation (The Hill).

4) Lawmakers grilled Energy Secretary Steven Chu at a hearing Wednesday about numerous aspects related to his decision to end the nuclear waste repository site at Yucca Mountain, including withdrawing the license application, yanking funds and forbidding a waste commission from considering Yucca as an option (Las Vegas Review-Journal).

5) China has spent more money than any other country on clean energy, besting the United States for the first time in five years, according to a new study (USA Today).

1) EPA wants to require the oil and natural gas sector to report its greenhouse emissions to the government (New York Times).

2) A bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced a resolution Tuesday that would stop the Energy Department from shuttering the nuclear waste repository site at Yucca Mountain. The legislators represent districts or states that store nuclear waste (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) After meeting Tuesday evening with a group of mostly centrist Democrats, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., said he and Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., want feedback from their colleagues soon so they can complete the draft climate and energy bill over the spring recess (The Hill).

4) The bill would allow states to opt in or out of offshore drilling, a measure Graham has long advocated (NationalJournal.com).

5) A new report by California's clean air agency says the state's economy won't suffer -- and could actually thrive -- under the state's global warming law (Los Angeles Times). Meanwhile, France is abandoning its plans to introduce a carbon tax (New York Times).

1) Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., will keep working on a climate and energy bill, despite expressing discontent over Democrats' push on health care. But he also said passing a climate bill will be harder following the health care debate (Bloomberg News).

2) Twenty-two moderate and liberal Senate Democrats sent Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., a letter urging him to get a climate and energy bill passed this year (NationalJournal.com).

3) BP and two other oil and gas companies are pushing to leave regulation of hydraulic fracturing -- a controversial method of extracting shale gas -- to the states, not the federal government (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) A coalition including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a top utility commissioners group is urging Congress to continue funding for the nuclear waste repository site at Yucca Mountain (Las Vegas Sun).

5 EPA announced Monday it is overhauling drinking water regulations, which could raise water rates and would likely require some water systems to use more effective cleaning technologies (New York Times).

1) The Senate trio crafting climate and energy legislation plan to circulate an outline of the bill this week. They also hope to send a draft to EPA for analysis by the end of the week (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Industry officials and environmentalists are sparring over whether the bill would pre-empt EPA and state regulation of greenhouse gas emissions (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

3) Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and George Voinovich, R-Ohio, will introduce draft legislation today that gives $850 million over 15 years to develop carbon capture and sequestration technology (Washington Post).

4) Energy Secretary Steven Chu will likely face questions about his department's decision to terminate the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste facility at a House hearing Wednesday (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription). And a House subcommittee will examine nuclear loan guarantees at a hearing on Tuesday (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) Global investments in renewable energy, especially wind, are expected to reach $200 billion this year, almost $40 billion more than 2009. Companies based in China, Spain and the U.S. are leading the way on wind energy (Bloomberg News).

1) According to a draft of the Senate trio's climate and energy bill, a quarter of the revenue from offshore drilling would go to the states, and 65 percent would go to the Treasury for deficit reduction (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

2) After meeting with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., Thursday evening, environmental leaders sounded upbeat about the coming climate and energy bill but wouldn't elaborate on the meeting (The Hill).

3) Yet hopes that the bill could pass this year are waning, the European Union's climate chief Connie Hedegaard said after meetings this week with top administration officials (NationalJournal.com).

4) EPA said Thursday it will study the environmental and health impacts of hydraulic fracturing, a controversial method of extracting shale natural gas (Reuters).

5) The U.N. "soundly defeated American-supported proposals on Thursday to ban international trade in bluefin tuna and to protect polar bears" (New York Times).

1) The Senate trio crafting climate and energy legislation offered industry and business officials new details of their bill Wednesday and said they aim to have a draft released to the public by April 15 (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) The bill would pre-empt EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions (Reuters).

3) Despite the trio's efforts, their Democratic colleagues are still pushing hard for the Senate to take up an energy-only bill (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers are sparring over EPA emissions regulations (The Hill).

5) Negotiators consider a global climate treaty a lost cause for 2010, nine months before the next round of talks begins in Mexico (Bloomberg News).

1) The Senate's environmental options this year include adding a climate component to the energy bill passed by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee last year, Majority Leader Harry Reid said (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) The Senate trio crafting climate and energy legislation is courting the Alliance for Energy and Economic Growth, the largest umbrella group representing business interests. The senators are meeting with several of its members today (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) The prospect of a carbon tax for the transportation sector is gaining momentum as oil companies and moderate senators alike throw their support behind it (Politico).

4) The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners on Tuesday joined several states to challenge the Energy Department's decision to terminate the nuclear waste repository site at Yucca Mountain (Wall Street Journal -- subscription).

5) For the first time in five years, China is the biggest investor in renewable energy, not the U.S. (Bloomberg News).

1) The Senate trio working on a climate and energy bill will not release a draft this week (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) The senators crafting the legislation may end up cutting deals in order to get a bill passed, a politically touchy scenario (Politico).

3) A White House report due out today says that the federal government has "significant gaps" in its strategy to combat climate change (Los Angeles Times).

4) At the request of the Agriculture Department, "the EPA is revising its model for forecasting how a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions would impact agriculture" (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

5) The bipartisan, 29-member Governors' Wind Energy Coalition is urging Congress to set a national renewable electricity standard so it can replace the mishmash of state laws in place now (Bloomberg News).

1) The Senate trio working on climate and energy legislation may circulate an outline with colleagues and interest groups this week (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday that if Democrats push health care legislation through with no GOP support, it could "poison the well" for future business, including climate and energy legislation (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) Environmental groups and business groups are sparring over a tax break for energy efficiency home retrofits (The Hill).

4) Federal rebates for energy-efficient appliances are having hot-and-cold responses around the country, with larger rebates seeming to attract more interest (USA Today).

5) The United Arab Emirates is ramping up its nuclear energy efforts, despite "sitting on one of world's largest oil and gas reserves" (Wall Street Journal).

1) Once the health care reform push is over, the White House will turn to financial reform, jobs measures and the Supreme Court's campaign finance ruling, signaling that climate and energy legislation is not a top priority (The Hill).

2) A new poll released Thursday shows much less public concern about global warming (NationalJournal.com).

3) Renewable energy companies don't want a renewable energy standard to include nuclear and natural gas (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) Natural gas groups are supporting efforts by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, to strip EPA of its regulatory power over greenhouse gas emissions (Dow Jones -- subscription).

5) Murkowski said Thursday she is tabling her disapproval resolution to see what Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., will do with his legislation seeking a two-year delay on EPA involvement (The Hill).

1) A group of nearly 20 governors -- mostly Republicans -- sent a letter to Congress urging them to stop the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions (The Hill).

2) Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., may become the first co-sponsor of Sen. Jay Rockefeller's bill to impose a two-year delay on EPA emissions regulation (NationalJournal.com).

3) "Obama's goals of boosting U.S. exports and combating climate change are colliding as the U.S. Export-Import Bank expands financing for oil, gas, mining and power-plant projects" (Bloomberg News).

4) The U.N.'s outside review of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will examine its policies and procedures but not its science (Washington Post). Some U.N. experts say the IPCC needs funding and restructuring to do a better job (NationalJournal.com).

5) Shell has stopped selling gasoline to Iran, "becoming the latest European energy company to scale back ties with Tehran as the threat of tougher U.S. sanctions against the country looms larger" (Wall Street Journal -- subscription).

1) President Obama's meeting with senators Tuesday was longer on promise than progress, but supporters "say it could quicken momentum toward a deal this year." The trio of senators crafting legislation say an outline could be released next week and a draft bill the first week of April (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) In the meeting, Obama reiterated his support for a cap on greenhouse gas emissions, but Republicans such as Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are still pushing for an energy-only bill (Bloomberg News).

3) Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., on Tuesday released a bill outline that includes a clean energy mandate and efficiency measures but no cap on emissions (NationalJournal.com).

4) China and India officially agreed to the Copenhagen Accord, "the last two major economies" to do so (New York Times). But China won't add new policies on emissions cuts anytime soon (Bloomberg News).

5) The U.N. will announce today that the InterAcademy Council, a Dutch group made up of scientists around the world, will review the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Wall Street Journal).

1) President Obama will meet this afternoon with 14 key senators to discuss climate and energy legislation (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). Three Cabinet secretaries and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson will also attend (AP).

2) An Environment & Energy Daily (subscription) analysis identifies the 30 senators still on the fence about energy bill, from coal-state Democrats to boosters of nuclear energy.

3) Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, wants Jackson to give her a prompt reply to an inquiry she sent Friday after Jackson responded to the concerns of eight coal-state Democrats (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

4) Jackson on Monday deflected questions about responding to the letter (NationalJournal.com).

5) Israel and Syria both announced today they will pursue nuclear energy (AP).

1) Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., are reaching out to skeptical business groups and utilities to garner support for their climate and energy plan, despite not having introduced any actual legislation yet (The Hill).

2) Two congressional committees will hold hearings this week on Home Star, the energy efficiency rebate program touted last week by President Obama (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) "The head of the International Monetary Fund on Monday proposed a plan for the world's governments to pool together to raise money needed to adapt to climate change" (AP).

4) French President Nicolas Sarkozy said today that international development banks should finance nuclear plants in developing countries (Reuters).

1) Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will not be included in the climate and energy bill Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., are crafting (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has said ANWR must be "on the table" for her to vote for the bill (The Hill).

2) EPA didn't immediately criticize legislation introduced Thursday by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., that would prevent the agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions for two years. EPA drew contrasts with Murkowski's efforts to strip it of that regulatory power (The Hill).

3) Rockefeller doesn't have any Democratic support for his bill so far. Some moderates, including Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska, have indicated they may be open to it. Fellow West Virginian Robert Byrd confirmed he won't (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., became the first Senate Democrat to openly challenge the administration on its decision to drop its application for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository site in Nevada when she grilled Energy Secretary Steven Chu on the matter in a hearing Thursday (Las Vegas Sun).

5) The Energy Department said Thursday that halting renewable energy grants -- a move four Democratic senators are pushing for because they fear clean energy jobs are going overseas -- would "hurt domestic job creation" (Greenwire -- subscription).

1) Four Democratic senators, including Charles Schumer of New York and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, want the administration to halt stimulus funding for renewable energy projects until they can add a "Buy American" rule into the program (New York Times).

2) The Energy Department filed the legal document Wednesday to withdraw the license application of the nuclear waste repository site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada (Las Vegas Sun).

3) For Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, to support climate legislation, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge must be a possibility (The Hill).

4) Key senators, including Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., worry that the long and arduous health care debate will leave the climate debate an afterthought (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) A study last year that found wind energy subsidies cost more jobs than they create is still making waves (Chicago Tribune).

1) Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., are receiving cautious support from moderates in both parties for their proposal that includes a more limited cap-and-trade system (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) The trio is weighing a request from major oil companies like Exxon Mobil Corporation and ConocoPhillips to tax the transportation sector instead of including it in a cap-and-trade system (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said Tuesday he will introduce legislation delaying EPA regulation of greenhouse gas emissions this week (The Hill). Administrator Lisa Jackson will likely face questions about the efforts of Rockefeller and others when she testifies to Congress this week (Bloomberg News).

4) Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said he hopes to move quickly on legislation that would provide rebates for people who make their homes more energy efficient (The Hill). President Obama touted the program, dubbed "cash for caulkers," Tuesday (Washington Post).

5) The EPA has been slow to enforce regulations on pollutants, according to a recent report published by the agency (Wall Street Journal).

1) President Obama will announce today $6 billion in incentives to make homes more energy-efficient, a program informally dubbed "cash for caulkers" (Reuters).

2) GOP House lawmakers will introduce a disapproval resolution today on EPA's endangerment finding, echoing efforts in the Senate by Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

3) The head scientist at the climate research center involved in the hacked e-mail controversy defended his work to members of the British Parliament on Monday (London Guardian).

4) Ratepayers and businesses are crying foul over recent plans to help pay for nuclear plant construction with electricity consumers' money (Washington Post).

5) Natural gas and wind producers around the country, most notably Texas and the Midwest, are sparring over how to strike a balance (Wall Street Journal -- subscription).

1) A draft climate and energy proposal crafted by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., will be circulated this week. It will include a carbon pricing mechanism that targets different parts of the economy in different ways (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

2) Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander of Tennessee signaled Sunday that he is open to supporting the climate and energy plan Kerry, Graham and Lieberman are proposing (The Hill).

3) EPA and state regulators are grappling with repercussions from two recent Supreme Court cases that have left unclear what waterways are protected by the Clean Water Act. As a result of the cases, thousands of polluters are not being prosecuted (New York Times).

4) The U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said over the weekend it is appointing an independent committee to review how it conducts its reports (Wall Street Journal). The U.N. made a similar announcement Friday (Reuters).

5) "China is starting to prepare for the commercial and strategic opportunities arising as global warming melts the polar ice cover in the Arctic, an international peace research group said" today (AP).

1) The U.N. said today it will appoint an independent board of scientists to review the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The panel is part of a broader review of the IPCC that the U.N. will announce next week (Reuters).

2) Efforts led by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, to block EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions would harm the auto industry, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

3) In letter dated Thursday, Reps. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Edward Markey, D-Mass., criticized the American Public Power Association, an electric utility trade group, for supporting Murkowski's efforts (The Hill).

4) Three California state regulators wrote a letter to three top congressional Democrats from the state defending EPA's right to regulate emissions (Washington Post).

5) Wal-Mart said Thursday it would cut its emissions by 20 million metric tons in the next five years, "equivalent to taking 3.8 million cars off the road for a year" (Washington Post).

1) The Vermont state Senate voted on Wednesday to close the state's only nuclear plant, Vermont Yankee (NationalJournal.com). "Unless the chamber reverses itself, it will be the first time in more than 20 years that the public or its representatives has decided to close a reactor" (New York Times).

2) President Obama on Wednesday explicitly endorsed a price on carbon but fell short of saying what type of policy the administration would support (NationalJournal.com).

3) Congress could still pass an economy-wide cap-and-trade bill this year, said Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., on Wednesday (Bloomberg News).

4) House Republicans on Wednesday "lashed out against the Obama administration's proposal to ramp up funding next year for research on the effects of global warming on farmers" (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) The U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said it's "working on a strategy to better police the experts who produce its high-profile reports, to try to ensure they adhere to rigorous scientific standards" (Wall Street Journal).

1) President Obama is expected to announce today a "proposal meant to incentivize coal-burning power plants to switch to cleaner-burning natural gas" (ClimateWire).

2) EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said Tuesday that her agency will continue to roll out its greenhouse gas regulations, despite opposition from Sen. John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va. (NationalJournal.com).

3) Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., on Tuesday accused Jackson of changing her stance on whether small businesses would be exempt from the emissions regulations (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) Many of the nation's largest states haven't even come close to meeting the goals of the administration's plan to weatherize homes, the Energy Department inspector general said in a report Tuesday (New York Times).

5) "Delegates at a climate change forum in Turkey agreed to establish an open panel of experts to focus on climate data management and monitoring" (United Press International).

1) In a letter dated Monday, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson "assured coal-state Democratic senators the agency will not regulate any power plants or other major stationary sources this year for their greenhouse gas emissions, but the agency will begin issuing permits to these major emitters starting next year" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Several moderate senators, including Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Richard Lugar, R-Ind., doubt that a comprehensive climate and energy bill will see floor action this year (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) In the coming months, three dozen states will launch federally funded rebate programs similar to "cash for clunkers" for people who buy energy-efficient appliances (USA Today).

4) The Energy Department on Monday doled out the largest loan guarantee to a solar energy project yet -- $1.37 billion to BrightSource Energy of California (New York Times).

5) The U.N. said today that the emissions cuts countries pledged to in the Copenhagen Accord "will not be enough to keep the average global temperature rise at 2 degrees Celsius or less" (Reuters).

1) Republicans will likely grill EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson on her plans to regulate greenhouse gas emissions when she testifies about the agency's FY2011 budget proposal at two hearings this week (The Hill) (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

2) Aides to the three senators spearheading a bipartisan climate and energy bill -- Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn. -- will present policy options to the lawmakers this week (Reuters).

3) Lawmakers will have their first chance to ask questions about the administration's commitment to the Copenhagen Accord this week when Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton testifies about her department's FY2011 budget request. It includes hundreds of millions of dollars for global climate and energy policy (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) In a letter released today by the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, the State Department underscored the United States' commitment to reaching a legally binding treaty at the next climate change summit in December (Bloomberg News).

5) EPA on Sunday announced a plan to clean up the Great Lakes (AP).

1) Reps. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Edward Markey, D-Mass., sent letters on Thursday to eight oil and natural gas companies inquiring about health and safety issues surrounding hydraulic fracturing, a controversial drilling technique (The Hill).

2) The Obama administration has announced new guidelines that will "require study of the greenhouse gas emissions of any project expected to emit at least 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year" (Los Angeles Times).

3) The first lawsuit was filed Thursday over the government's decision to shut down the nuclear waste repository site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada (Tacoma, Wash., News Tribune).

4) Experts say that prospects for a global climate treaty are dwindling after the resignation of Yvo de Boer, the U.N.'s top climate official (Washington Post).

5) The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved Google's request to "become an electricity marketer, allowing the Internet giant to buy and sell bulk power like a utility" (Wall Street Journal -- subscription).

1) U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer announced today he is resigning from his post as the executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (AP).

2) A draft bill crafted by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., proposes a national "clean energy" production mandate that includes not only renewables but also nuclear energy and clean coal (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

3) Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., have not yet agreed to include Graham's draft in the trio's comprehensive package (Greenwire).

4) Environmental groups are becoming disenchanted with President Obama, given his recent vocal support for nuclear energy and offshore drilling (New York Times).

5) Small reactors could be the key to reviving the nuclear industry, but for now larger reactors are still the main choice for utilities (Wall Street Journal).

1) Following President Obama's announcement Tuesday of loan guarantees for a pair of nuclear power plants, energy experts warned of the challenges that remain to reviving the industry (Washington Post).

2) Shell is the only remaining oil company in the United States Climate Action Partnership after ConocoPhillips and BP announced their departures from the alliance Tuesday (Roll call -- subscription).

3) ConocoPhillips, BP and Caterpillar, which also left the climate coalition, together spent more than $36 million lobbying in 2009 (NationalJournal.com).

4) Obama's FY2011 budget "calls for an array of regulations, subsidies and taxes aimed at cutting emissions of greenhouse gases." But the administration hasn't yet released the overall cost of the budget's climate proposals (Wall Street Journal).

5) Energy company mergers are expected to increase after a two-year lull, spurred in part by newly expanded natural gas reserves (New York Times).

1) The Energy Department will announce Southern Co. as the recipient of its first conditional nuclear loan guarantee today (Greenwire -- subscription).

2) "Restrictions on oil and gas drilling will cost the U.S. economy $2.36 trillion through 2029, according to a study requested by state utility regulators and paid for in part by industry-sponsored groups" (Bloomberg News).

3) The U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced on Friday it was filing a petition against EPA's endangerment finding, becoming the latest in a string of critics to do so. The deadline is today (Greenwire -- subscription).

4) A study by the International Energy Agency reports that the pledges countries made in the Copenhagen Accord to cut their greenhouse gas emissions "fall short" (Wall Street Journal).

5) In response to skeptics who say record snowfall is an argument against climate change, Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, stressed that "weather is not the same thing as climate" (The Hill).

1) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., "stripped extensions of several energy tax incentives" out of the compromise jobs bill Thursday, including the biodiesel tax credit extension (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

2) Reid's decision is already drawing ire from Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and the biodiesel industry (The Hill).

3) Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, charged in a floor speech Thursday that President Obama's rhetoric on energy is at odds with his administration's FY2011 budget proposal (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) is pulling her state out of the Western Climate Initiative's cap-and-trade program, saying the system would cripple Arizona's economy (New York Times).

5) "FirstEnergy said Thursday that it plans to acquire Allegheny Energy in a $4.7 billion stock deal that will bring together two neighboring rivals to form one of the biggest power companies in the country" (AP).

1) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Monday proposed a new climate change service, modeled after the National Weather Service, that would "consolidate and improve long-range data and predictions, including rises in sea levels, droughts and other adverse effects." It requires congressional approval (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

2) The change is "essentially a reorganization of NOAA, and would bring the agency's climate research arm together with its more consumer-oriented services. It would not come with a boost in funding" (Washington Post).

3) An environmental group and a faith-based group are running radio ads targeting eight senators, mostly moderate Democrats, for an upcoming Senate vote on whether Congress should block EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) "Clean-tech companies raked in just $564.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, a 45% plunge from the previous quarter, according to research released Monday" (Los Angeles Times).

5) The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and its chairman, Rajendra K. Pachauri, are "facing accusations of scientific sloppiness and potential financial conflicts of interest from climate skeptics, right-leaning politicians and even some mainstream scientists" (New York Times).

1) Energy Secretary Steven Chu faced scrutiny from senators on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee Thursday for his department's nuclear energy budget (NationalJournal.com) and for proposed cuts to oil and natural gas industry subsidies (Greenwire).

2) Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del. and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., on Thursday unveiled legislation amending the Clean Air Act to require cuts in emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury (The Energy Daily -- subscription -- and Reuters).

3) A new report by Navigant Consulting firm says that a renewable energy standard of 20 to 25 percent could create up to 274,000 clean-energy jobs (Wall Street Journal).

4) More than 20 utilities are pushing back against the administration's plans to "give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission more power over transmission siting and cost allocation" (The Energy Daily -- subscription).

1) EPA on Wednesday finalized a rule for the renewable fuel standard program, concluding that "corn-based ethanol will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 21 percent when it replaces gasoline." The ruling stems from a 2007 law requiring EPA to develop a plan boosting renewable fuels (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) While most of the ethanol industry cheered the new rule, some are disappointed EPA included a provision that considers international land use issues, such as clearing forests, as part of the emissions calculation (The Hill).

3) EPA "expects the biofuels industry to produce 6.5 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol this year, a fraction of the volume anticipated by Congress" (Wall Street Journal).

4) The administration also announced other energy proposals on Wednesday, including plans to accelerate clean coal technology and biomass production (Washington Post).

5) Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del, and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., introduced a bill Wednesday that would set up a cap-and-trade system for three traditional pollutants but not carbon dioxide, which is already prompting questions (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

1) President Obama on Tuesday said for the first time that Congress may end up splitting apart energy and climate legislation (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Obama will discuss energy policy with governors from coal-producing states today and deliver remarks about clean-coal technology. The administration will also announce "new steps to increase the role of biofuels in powering the nation" and release a report on investing in green technologies (AP).

3) The Energy Department's FY2011 budget calls for a 13.4 percent increase in funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration, the biggest increase of all government agencies (Washington Post). DOE is requesting $11.2 billion for NNSA out of its $28.4 billion budget (NationalJournal.com).

4) While touring the site of the controversial Cape Wind farm project in Nantucket Sound, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday that the farm -- whether it's built or not -- will not determine the future of the U.S. wind industry (New York Times).

5) "California is preparing to introduce the first statewide system of monitoring devices to detect global-warming emissions" (New York Times), just as the oil, chemical and trucking industries sue the state for its carbon regulations (Los Angeles Times).

1) Unlike last year's budget, the administration isn't including a specific number for estimated revenue from a market-based climate change bill (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

2) The budget requests $56 million for EPA and state programs that would cut greenhouse gas emissions through regulation (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) The Energy Department's budget boosted R&D funding for renewables and energy efficiency by 5 percent and cut it for fossil fuels by 12.6 percent (Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) The budget also eliminated tax breaks for oil and natural gas companies, drawing ire from the industry (The Hill).

(Subscribers to CongressDaily can read more about the budget here.)

5) "While much of the oil industry contracted last year, Exxon Mobil expanded its oil and gas operations in the United States and around the world" (New York Times). Still, its $19.3 billion profit last year is a drop of nearly 60 percent from 2008 (Washington Post).

1) The Obama administration's fiscal 2011 budget, to be released today, would "eliminate subsidies for fossil fuels, invest more money in clean energy projects and cut funding for" some programs at the Interior Department. The budget "also includes a placeholder for revenue from a cap-and-trade climate bill" (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

2) The budget will triple funding for nuclear loan guarantees and eliminate funding for the proposed nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada (Greenwire).

3) The nuclear industry also wants to be considered a "clean-energy" part of any Renewable Electricity Standard (The Hill).

4) Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., is criticizing the Securities and Exchange Commission's party-line vote to "have companies disclose information on climate-related risks and opportunities" (The Hill).

5) China and Indonesia have both officially agreed to the Copenhagen Accord. Meanwhile, the U.N. is facing pressure to change the way the talks are structured after U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the Copenhagen summit failed (Bloomberg News).

1) President Obama will likely triple the loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors in his 2011 budget, from $18.5 billion to $54 billion. The Energy Department is expected today to announce a commission to address nuclear waste (Bloomberg News).

2) The United States on Thursday formally agreed to the Copenhagen Accord. U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern said the country will aim to cut its emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 (Reuters).

3) House Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., has joined the Congressional Coal Caucus, which has grown from six members to 43 since launching Monday, according to a co-founder's office (The Hill).

4) More than 30 environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and Friends of the Earth, released their annual "green budget" of measures they are calling on the government to adopt (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) Arkansas Democrat Blanche Lincoln is the first senator the League of Conservation Voters has dubbed one of its "Dirty Dozen" candidates it will work to defeat this year (Politico).

1) When talking about energy and climate change in his State of the Union speech Wednesday night, President Obama was careful to say "comprehensive" but not "cap-and-trade." He also expressed support for nuclear energy and domestic drilling for oil and natural gas (The Hill).

2) Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said Wednesday that senators are not "scaling back" their efforts on a climate bill that includes a price on carbon (NationalJournal.com). Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said some Republicans would sign on to a bill with greenhouse gas emissions control if it also includes robust offshore drilling and nuclear provisions (NationalJournal.com).

3) Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., whose committee is key to climate legislation, said he does not plan on marking up a climate bill in the near future (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday added risks from climate change to the list of things public companies need to disclose to investors (New York Times).

5) EPA is getting criticism from both the coal industry and environmentalists for cracking down on "mountaintop" coal mining (Washington Post).

1) Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, are pushing back against efforts to inject energy provisions into a jobs bill. And the trio working on bipartisan climate legislation -- Kerry, Graham and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn. -- say they don't want to forgo a climate and energy bill for an energy-only one (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) In his State of the Union address tonight, President Obama will "restate his commitment to a bill that addresses global warming along with" clean energy measures (New York Times).

3) In three major lawsuits around the country, environmental groups, state officials and private lawyers are accusing big producers of greenhouse gas emissions, like ExxonMobil and Shell, of causing climate change (New York Times).

4) Obama on Tuesday talked energy and economy with chiefs of major companies including ExxonMobil and Anadarko Petroleum (Houston Chronicle). This meeting came amid calls from the oil and natural gas industry to step up domestic development of these fuels in order to create jobs (Greenwire).

5) The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to announce as early as today how or whether companies "should disclose the risks that climate change poses to their businesses" (Bloomberg News).

1) A bipartisan group of six House lawmakers announced Monday they're creating a Congressional Coal Caucus, "an organization dedicated to representing the embattled fossil fuel's role in national energy policy" (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

2) The EPA announced Monday "stricter limits on the amount of nitrogen dioxide in the air for short periods of time along busy roads and is requiring states to install monitoring equipment in big urban areas in an effort to crack down on pollution during periods of high traffic" (Wall Street Journal).

3) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will soon start an environmental analysis of the Atlantic Ocean to see how offshore drilling could affect the ocean floor (AP).

4) The domestic wind industry grew nearly 40 percent in 2009, according to a new report out today by the American Wind Energy Association (New York Times).

5) Another renewables group -- the Geothermal Energy Association -- said Monday that the U.S. will triple its electricity generation from geothermal within the next five years (Bloomberg News).

1) The success of climate change legislation hinges on whether or not Democrats can shape the debate around green jobs (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) On that note, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is holding a hearing Thursday focusing on solar energy jobs (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) Energy companies in both fossil fuels and renewables increased their lobbying expenditures last year compared to 2008 (The Hill).

4) "China, Brazil, South Africa and India will disclose the voluntary steps the countries will take to help reduce global warming by the Jan. 31 deadline set during negotiations in Copenhagen" (Bloomberg News).

5) Federal and Texas state officials are investigating an oil spill that dumped more than 10,000 barrels of crude into a waterway near the Louisiana border on Saturday. Fuel prices and refining are not expected to be affected (Wall Street Journal).

1) The administration And Senate Democrats are mulling a scaled-back version of a climate bill for this year (New York Times). Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Wednesday there is "minimal enthusiasm, and that's putting it mildly" for cap-and-trade (Reuters).

2) Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is expected to announce a disapproval resolution today on the EPA's plans to regulate carbon emissions (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

3) Energy Secretary Steven Chu told the White House Office of Management and Budget last month that it's offering more money than the department needs for renewable energy and hybrid plug-in vehicles (The Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) A top U.N. official signaled Wednesday that countries are already in danger of missing deadlines established by the climate change accord they agreed to in Copenhagen (New York Times).

5) The chiefs of ExxonMobil and XTO Energy sought to defend a controversial method to extract natural gas on Wednesday before skeptical House lawmakers (NationalJournal.com).

1) Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, "is likely to introduce a resolution disapproving of EPA regulating greenhouse gas emissions Thursday" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) The political arms of two environmental groups -- National Wildlife Federation and Friends of the Earth -- launched ad campaigns Tuesday targeting Murkowski and Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., for their efforts to stop the EPA from regulating carbon emissions (NaitonalJournal.com).

3) Citing the ongoing health care debate, retiring Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said Tuesday that the Senate will probably not take up cap-and-trade legislation in 2010 and will instead pass an energy-only bill (NationalJournal.com).

4) Republican Scott Brown's upset victory in the Massachusetts Senate race Tuesday has made passing comprehensive climate change legislation even tougher (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) This last decade has been the warmest one on record, the Department of Commerce's National Climatic Data Center said in a report Tuesday (AP).

1) "A much-publicized estimate from a United Nations panel about the rapid melting of Himalayan glaciers from climate change is coming under fire as a gross exaggeration" (New York Times).

2) A group of companies led by Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell gained final approval on Monday from Iraq's Ministry of Oil to develop an oil field in that country (Wall Street Journal).

3) The office of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has announced that at least one Democrat is backing her effort to curb the EPA's regulatory power over greenhouse gas emissions (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) "Energy provider Williams Cos. is restructuring its operations to merge two of its natural gas pipeline and energy-processing affiliates to create one of the largest natural-gas partnerships in the country" (Wall Street Journal).

5) "The growth of carbon emissions trading markets has stagnated amid the economic downturn," according to a financial research report that also predicted the global market would improve starting in 2011 (The Hill).

1) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday that there is time to "address comprehensive energy and climate legislation" this year, despite a busy legislative agenda (CongressDaily -- subscription).

2) In the aftermath of the massive Copenhagen summit, U.S. climate negotiator Todd Stern said he would prefer smaller meetings (CongressDailyPM -- subscription). He also said, though, that the accord struck in Copenhagen could be beneficial (New York Times).

3) GOP lawmakers have sent two letters to the EPA this week: one asking the agency to halt its forthcoming greenhouse gas emissions regulations and another asking for more information about the hacked e-mails controversy from last year (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) "The White House has proposed barring Energy Department research on fast reactor recycling of nuclear waste and technical support for licensing of small, modular light-water reactors," a move that could hurt the nuclear industry (The Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) The Commodities Future Trading Commission on Thursday approved a rule aimed at preventing "excessive speculation by financial traders from driving up the cost of oil" (Washington Post). "The CFTC said the rule would affect only 10 large traders, but it still sparked debate" (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

1) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar pledged Wednesday that the "nine-year permitting saga of the Nantucket Sound wind farm would be over by the end of April" (Boston Globe).

2) Power utilities expressed opposing views on cap-and-trade legislation at an energy conference Wednesday (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) "Energy Secretary Steven Chu and White House Budget Director Peter Orszag are wrestling over how quickly to slash funding for a proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste repository in Nevada" (Wall Street Journal).

4) "In the face of analyses showing its plan would force massive job cuts at several Energy Department sites," the Office of Management and Budget has restored $800 million for a DOE cleanup program, after initially planning on slashing the funding by $1 billion below fiscal 2010 levels (The Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) "President Obama was able to squeak out a 'robust' political climate change agreement in Copenhagen last month despite an unwieldy conference," U.S. Deputy Envoy for Climate Change Jonathan Pershing said Wednesday (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

1) "A midterm election, limited supply of White House political chits and a mixed review of the impact of last month's Copenhagen talks have clouded predictions of the Senate acting on a broad climate and energy plan this year" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) The American Farm Bureau Federation approved a resolution Tuesday "calling on Congress to kill climate legislation and block" the "EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions" (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) In a letter dated Monday, Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee are urging other senators to oppose efforts by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, to block EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

4) Murkowski is considering several legislative options to block the agency's regulatory power. But the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee isn't revealing her plans yet (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) "The White House budget office recently rejected" the Energy Department's "request for $46 million to terminate the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository project in fiscal 2011, a decision that if finalized might anger Hill appropriators by forcing DOE to divert fiscal 2010 Yucca funding for that purpose" (The Energy Daily -- subscription).

1) Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, may wait a little longer to introduce her amendment preventing the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports it's confirmed that two industry lobbyists who worked in the Bush EPA "helped craft the original amendment Murkowski planned to offer on the floor last fall."

2) One of the lobbyists, Jeff Holmstead, said it's a "wild exaggeration to say that I was somehow involved in drafting" Murkowski's amendment (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., "who supported the climate change bill passed by the House last summer, now says he will vote against a conference report if it is similar to the House version" (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

4) "With a 30-day 'grace period' on enforcement by the agency expiring Friday, the Energy Department has received an avalanche of data submissions from appliance manufacturers anxious to avoid running afoul of a DOE probe into whether their products are as energy-efficient as claimed in their official certifications to the agency" (Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) Under a new proposal from a California advisory panel, 75 percent of the money that the state raises from fees on greenhouse gas emissions would be "returned to consumers in the form of annual dividend checks" (Wall Street Journal).

1) "A growing number of state regulators are urging the Obama administration to slow the rollout of proposed federal rules curbing industrial greenhouse-gas emissions, saying the administration's approach could overwhelm them with paperwork, delay construction projects and undercut their own efforts to fight climate change" (Wall Street Journal).

2) American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman said Sunday that his group will "aggressively" fight back against regulations that would negatively affect American agriculture (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) All House offices that belong to members, officers and committees will have "green" consultations by the end of 2010, according to a report from the chamber's chief administrative officer (The Hill).

4) The Obama administration will announce today $187 million for fuel efficiency projects. More than half of the money will come from the stimulus package and the rest from the Energy Department (AP).

5) "Pope Benedict XVI has denounced the failure of world leaders to agree to a new climate change treaty by saying world peace depends on the responsible safeguarding of God's creation," AP reports.

1) The EPA "proposed tightening Bush administration smog standards that have been targeted by health and environmental groups as too weak" (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

2) The stricter rules could "more than double the number of counties across the country that are in violation of clean air standards" (AP).

3) A group of scientists is urging the Obama administration to stop mountaintop coal mining -- blowing up mountain peaks to get the coal inside -- because they say it threatens the environment and public health (Los Angeles Times).

4) President Obama will announce new funding for clean energy jobs today (Wall Street Journal).

5) The Senate jobs bill in the works may include include a program, dubbed "cash for caulkers," that provides incentives for homeowners to retrofit their homes (The Hill).

1) The Interior Department on Wednesday announced tightened drilling regulations that will require stricter environmental reviews and more public comment before oil and natural gas developers are leased federal lands (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

2) The new regulations would "probably increase the time needed to make leasing decisions but would not necessarily result in less oil and gas exploration beneath public lands" (New York Times).

3) Scientists say that the cold snap hitting much of the world right now doesn't mean global warming isn't happening (AP).

4) Retiring Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who has been hesitant to support cap-and-trade, will free up a spot on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and chairmanship of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water (Greenwire -- subscription).

5) Investments in clean technology have dropped more than 30 percent since 2008 -- $8.5 billion to $5.6 billion -- due to the economic recession, according to a new report by two energy consulting groups (New York Times).

1) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is expected to announce today "that his agency will require oil and natural-gas companies to clear more regulatory hurdles before they are allowed to drill on federal lands" (Wall Street Journal).

2) The Interior Department is speeding up the approval process for more than 30 proposed renewable energy and power transmission projects in order to qualify them for stimulus funding (New York Times).

3) Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Tuesday asking how the $3 billion for the "cash for clunkers" program was spent (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

4) Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was rebuked Monday by South Carolina Republicans unhappy with his work with Democrats on climate legislation. The Lexington County GOP passed a resolution -- the second one since November -- censuring Graham's efforts on climate change as well as other issues (Greenwire -- subscription).

5) China's energy consumption increased 6 percent in 2009 and its power investment rose by almost 20 percent, especially in the nuclear and wind power sectors. Analysts say the increases are largely due to the nation's nearly $600 billion stimulus package (Bloomberg News).

1) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Monday that he is ready to "take the steps necessary" to conclude the permitting process for the nation's first planned offshore wind farm in Nantucket Sound if stakeholders can't come to an agreement (The Energy Daily -- subscription).

2) An oil dispute between Belarus and Russia has been escalating since a pricing deal between the two countries expired Dec. 31 and Russia began cutting supplies to Belarus (Wall Street Journal -- subscription).

3) The CIA is using its intelligence assets to help the scientific community assess the effects of climate change. "The collaboration restarts an effort the Bush administration shut down" (New York Times).

4) As more offshore oil fields become off-limits, companies like Chevron are moving farther out. "That quest is paying off as these companies discover unexpectedly large quantities of oil" (Wall Street Journal -- subscription).

5) Cold weather is causing a spike in natural gas and crude oil prices (Greenwire -- subscription).

1) Nearly 20 percent of the 84,000 chemicals used commercially in the United States are kept secret by law, according to the EPA. The policy, designed 33 years ago to protect trade secrets, could be changed this year when Congress is slated to rewrite chemical regulations (Washington Post).

2) "Smart grid" development could help spur the electricity competition that has failed to materialize since states began deregulating their power markets 10 years ago, according to a new report by deregulation advocates (The Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) French oil company Total SA announced a joint venture with U.S. natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp. today. "They're the last major to enter the U.S. non conventional gas business," said an unnamed oil analyst (Wall Street Journal -- subscription).

4) China's largest oil company, China National Petroleum Corp., said it has stopped a diesel fuel leak that contaminated the Yellow River. The leak, which spilled more than 100 metric tons of diesel into the water, was found on Wednesday (Bloomberg News).

5) The Houston Chronicle summarizes the major U.S. climate change and energy policy options the administration and Congress are considering.

1) President Obama arrived in Copenhagen today to meet with world leaders and speak about the need for swift action on climate change (New York Times). For more coverage of the Copenhagen conference, check out our Copenhagen Insider blog. Complete text of his remarks is available here.

2) A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows support is waning for Obama's handling of climate change. It also highlighted growing doubt among the public about the certainty of climate change science (Washington Post).

3) Business leaders in coal-dependent West Virginia expressed shock at Sen. Robert Byrd's statement signaling his support for climate change legislation and opposition to mountaintop removal mining (Politico).

4) Low natural gas prices and the recession are weighing heavily on the budgets of energy-producing states, which "have been losing jobs at a faster pace than the rest of the U.S., a trend some economists say is unlikely to reverse quickly" (Wall Street Journal).

5) "Senate Finance ranking member Charles Grassley and American Soybean Association officials said Thursday that the Senate's failure to extend the biodiesel tax credit beyond Dec. 31 means that biodiesel plants will shut down and begin laying off workers early in 2010" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

1) As part of the White House's jobs push, Vice President Joe Biden's office released a plan to "expand by $5 billion a clean energy tax credit" that "would raise the cap of the present program... to $7.3 billion from $2.3 billion" (New York Times).

2) The disarray in Copenhagen continues as Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., arrives to play spoiler, but Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has also arrived with a proposal for helping poor countries (Wall Street Journal). For more coverage of the conference, check out our Copenhagen Insider blog.

3) "In what would appear to be a slowdown in key federal aid for new reactors," Biden "said this week the administration plans to issue only two nuclear plant loan guarantees by January 2011 -- even though four companies are currently negotiating final terms of loan guarantees with the Energy Department" (Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) "In the debate over global warming, some historical meteorologists in China pose a contrarian view. Their theory, in a nutshell? Some like it hot" (Los Angeles Times).

1) "With the talks so clearly deadlocked, Connie Hedegaard, former Danish climate minister, resigned from the conference presidency to allow her boss, Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, to preside as world leaders from 115 nations streamed into Copenhagen" (AP).

2) Oh, and Al Gore would like to take back what he said the other day about the polar ice cap disappearing. His flub is being played by some headline writers as an "inconvenient truth" (AP). For more coverage of the conference, check out our Copenhagen Insider blog.

3) "China is preparing to build three times as many nuclear power plants in the coming decade as the rest of the world combined," and concerns about safety are on the rise (New York Times).

4) "The nation's green-building industry is awaiting billions of dollars in economic-stimulus funding earmarked to make government buildings more energy efficient. But based on the slow pace of allocations thus far, it could take months or years for spending to trickle down to contractors" (Wall Street Journal).

5) "We were at the roundtable and somebody said installation is not sexy. I disagree. Here's what's sexy about it: saving money," said President Obama while pitching the need for more energy efficient homes on Tuesday (Washington Times).

1) "Right under the noses of the industry's biggest players" some companies "discovered huge amounts of natural gas in fields stretching from Texas to Pennsylvania," which is why Exxon Mobil bought XTO Energy for $31 billion (New York Times).

2) "With the turn of a ceremonial valve, China's president, Hu Jintao, opened a big natural gas pipeline from central Asia to China on Monday, significantly increasing China's access to the fuel and providing the first major alternative to exporting the region's gas through Russia" (New York Times).

3) With more than 100 heads of state set to arrive on Wednesday, U.S. climate delegate Todd Stern said "there's still a long way to go if we're going to reach the kind of agreement" that major players would back (CongressDaily). For more coverage of the conference, check out our Copenhagen Insider blog.

4) President Obama "planned to visit a Home Depot store in Northern Virginia on Tuesday to make the case that outfitting houses to be more energy-efficient will create jobs and save families money on their energy bills," which is part of a push for his plans in Congress (AP).

5) Vice President Joe Biden backed up that message by issuing a new report claiming stimulus projects are contributing to "unprecedented growth" in renewable energy (Bloomberg News).

1) Pressure is mounting to adopt a nonbinding international agreement on climate change by the end of the final week of the U.N. conference in Copenhagen (CongressDaily AM -- subscription). For more coverage of the conference, check out our Copenhagen Insider blog.

2) A climate bill introduced by Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, last week has attracted support from critics of the other major climate bills because it is more "climate-friendly and consumer-friendly." But it could alienate key parts of the business community (The Hill).

3) Energy Secretary Steven Chu will announce a plan today to promote clean technology in developing countries by making "energy-saving technology that already exists cheap enough to penetrate markets in India, parts of Africa and elsewhere" (Washington Post).

4) The U.S. government has become the "biggest venture capitalist of all" in clean tech, and the Department of Energy hopes to invest nearly $40 billion to stimulate the sector. DOE has already invested $13 billion this year, compared with just $2.68 billion coming from private venture capital firms (Wall Street Journal).

5) The switch to the "smart grid," by which utilities and customers can track detailed energy usage hour-by-hour, has been hailed as the next step in electricity but is sparking revolt among some customers (New York Times).

6) Bolivia, whose citizens face water shortages as mountain glaciers disappear, has become a major voice for small and developing countries in the climate change debate (Times).

1) Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., released a broad outline "of a climate change and energy bill on Thursday afternoon that they believe can win the 60 votes needed to push the bill through next year" (New York Times). But environmental groups expressed dismay that the plan would expand drilling for oil and gas (The Hill).

2) Aides for Kerry, Lieberman and Graham will arrive at the U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen this weekend. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said her chamber will likely finish on Wednesday, which would let members make the end of the conference (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). For more coverage of the conference, check out our Copenhagen Insider blog.

3) Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, will introduce a measure today that would require energy producers for pay for the carbon in fossil fuels. Seventy-five percent of the revenue from the auctions for "carbon shares" will be returned to consumers to offset higher energy costs (Energy & Environment Daily -- subscription).

4) A bipartisan group on the Senate Finance Committee wants to more than double the stimulus' cap on tax credits for investments in alternative energy manufacturing. In their new bill, Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Richard Lugar R-Ind., would raise the cap to $4.8 billion. Applications have already exceeded the original $2.3 billion allocated (The Hill).

5) Royal Dutch Shell and Malaysia's Petronas are part of a a consortium that won the bid to develop Iraq's Majnoon oil field, one of the world's largest, which "represents an important foothold in a country that potentially has massive untapped oil resources" (Wall Street Journal -- subscription).

1) "China will receive no significant funding from the US to combat climate change, the US delegation leader at the Copenhagen conference vowed on Wednesday" (Financial Times). For more coverage of the Copenhagen conference, check out our Copenhagen Insider blog.

2) General Electric won a contract to build what will be the world's largest wind farm in Oregon. The farm will "supply a tenth of Southern California Edison's renewable energy" (Bloomberg News). Back East, New York-area politicians are working on building what would be the nation's largest offshore wind farm off the coast of Queens (Wall Street Journal).

3) "Over 1,700 scientists in Britain have signed a statement defending the evidence for human-made climate change in the wake of hacked e-mails that emboldened climate skeptics" (AP).

4) Over the objections of anti-nuclear groups, the Department of Energy loosened restrictions on a loan guarantee program, making it easier for nuclear power plants to be financed and built (Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) DOE's Energy Star building program marks its 10th anniversary. The program has certified 8,400 buildings around the country, including the Amazon.com headquarters in Seattle and the Chrysler Building in New York (Los Angeles Times).

6) The electricity industry, which accounts for one-third of world carbon dioxide emissions, will outline plans on Tuesday about how it plans to combat global warming (Financial Times).

1) Speaking at the Copenhagen conference, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson reiterated that her agency's new authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act will complement a legislative climate solution, not replace it (New York Times). For more coverage of the Copenhagen conference, check out our new Copenhagen Insider blog.

2) "House and Senate conferees last night rejected an attempt to block" the EPA's work "on regulations to curb greenhouse gas emissions" by rejecting an amendment to an omnibus spending bill that would have cut funding for the Clean Air Act (Energy & Environment Daily -- subscription). But some lawmakers and industry groups are still wary of the EPA's new authority (The Hill).

3) "The head of American Electric Power Co., the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide in the U.S., said advances in technology would allow the company to eliminate the emissions from its coal-fired power plants by 2025" using carbon capture methods (Wall Street Journal).

4) Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., says the Senate will take on climate change after it finishes with the financial reform bill next year (The Hill).

5) Despite 13 years of drought and failing crops, farmers in Australia "simply do not buy the notion that southern Australia's climate is changing in a way that is probably irreversible" (Washington Post).

1) Soon after the EPA's announcement of an "endangerment finding" on greenhouse gases, the Competitive Enterprise Institute immediately said "it will file a federal lawsuit challenging the finding as unsubstantiated and unwarranted" (CongressDaily AM -- subscription).

2) Opening day of the climate talks in Copenhagen underscored the challenges of reaching international agreements on climate change (Politico), even as the U.N. announced that this decade could be the warmest on record (New York Times). For more coverage on the conference, check out our new Copenhagen Insider blog.

3) "The controversy surrounding the hacked e-mails of climate scientists has given new life to the skeptic camp that had been largely relegated to the sidelines during this year's legislative fight" and shifted the opposition's argument from the economy to the science (Energy & Environment Daily -- subscription).

4) The Minerals Management Service approved offshore drilling in Alaska's Chukchi Sea (Washington Post). In Papua New Guinea, Exxon approved a liquefied natural gas venture that would provide cleaner power to China, Japan and Taiwan (Bloomberg).

5) "More than 20 percent of the nation's water treatment systems have violated key provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act over the last five years," but fewer than 6 percent of these facilities were fined or punished, according to a New York Times analysis.

1) Copenhagen's organizers are warning that the talks, which begin today, "could be the best, last chance for a deal to protect the world from calamitous global warming" (AP). But a new poll shows that citizens of the world's top five greenhouse-gas emitters have wildly different perceptions of the threat posed by global warming (Gallup).

2) The EPA is expected to announce today that carbon dioxide is a dangerous pollutant, paving the way for the agency to regulate emissions (Bloomberg). Business leaders worry that the endangerment finding will require costly changes for carbon-emitting businesses (Wall Street Journal).

3) "A Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee will consider nine energy and climate policy bills this week" (Energy & Environment Daily -- subscription).

4) Discoveries of large oil reserves off the coast of Brazil could turn the country into a global oil power with state-controlled energy company Petrobras at the helm. The Brazilian government is seeking passage of a law that would grant future discoveries in the area to Petrobras, limiting the influence of foreign companies (Washington Post).

5) While plug-in electric cars are making waves at the Los Angeles Auto Show, "a lot has to change in policy, practice and public attitude for plug-ins to reach critical mass in the U.S. private fleet" (Los Angeles Times).

1) Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., introduced a bill Thursday "that he said will serve as the 'foundation' of the U.S. financial package headed into U.N.-sponsored negotiations next week" (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription). Meanwhile, the U.N. doesn't expect rich countries "to come up with specific offers of financial assistance to the developing world" (Financial Times).

2) India on Thursday offered to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent to 25 percent relative to the size of its economy, joining other key countries like the U.S., China and Brazil in offering specific reduction targets before the climate talks. The cuts, however, won't be legally binding or subject to international verification (Washington Post).

3) The U.N. will investigate the hacked e-mails that suggest prominent climate change scientists tried to stifle the views of skeptical researchers (AP).

4) Nine Senate Democrats led by Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania sent President Obama a letter outlining a list of 10 principles they "believe would be constructive in advancing an international agreement to reduce dangerous greenhouse gas emissions" in the climate talks next week (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

5) A band of NGOs, including the Environmental Defense Fund, World Wildlife Fund and Natural Resources Defense Council, are leading the charge in Copenhagen on the negotiations over deforestation, "which accounts for up to 20 percent of the world's annual carbon emissions" (Politico).

1) White House science adviser John Holdren rebuffed House Republicans' claims that e-mails hacked from a climate research center cast doubt on the science behind global warming. While the e-mails should be investigated, Holdren said, mankind's involvement in warming is "beyond any reasonable doubt" (Wall Street Journal).

2) Citing the e-mail controversy, House Republicans urged the EPA to hold off on regulating greenhouse gas emissions until it "can demonstrate the science underlying these regulatory decisions has not been compromised" (Los Angeles Times).

3) Carbon polluters may be overburdening forests' and oceans' ability to soak up their waste, a group of conservation biologists warns. The scientists want deeper emissions cuts to ease the strain (Washington Post).

4) For the U.N. climate change talks to be a success, world leaders must agree on three things, according to Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and U.N. climate official Yvo de Boer: clear emissions targets from developed nations (and corresponding commitments from developing ones), immediate action when the conference is over, and a short-term finance package to help poorer nations (NationalJournal.com).

5) New technology could unlock vast amounts of natural gas reserves found in shale (Washington Post). But it's causing concern about damage to "some of the country's most scenic areas" (Washington Post).

1) Phil Jones, director of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in England, temporarily stepped down from his post Tuesday amid an investigation of hacked e-mails that suggest Jones and other prominent scientists tried to stifle the views of skeptical researchers. Meanwhile, Penn State said it will review the work of a faculty member who "is cited prominently" in the e-mails (New York Times).

2) The EPA announced Tuesday that "it is delaying until mid-2010 a decision on whether to allow higher blends of ethanol in gasoline, but said preliminary testing suggests newer engines can handle more of the additive" (CongressDailyPM -- subscription). Meanwhile, "critics of the fuel are concerned Congress might step in to set its own mandates for higher ethanol usage" (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., differ on when they might release an outline for a bipartisan climate change deal. Graham sounds more pessimistic, saying that they won't have "anything concrete" before the U.N. climate change talks next week. Kerry gave a somewhat brighter outlook but still didn't definitively say what they could have by the negotiations (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

4) More and more Republican candidates are "flip-flopping away from cap and trade as they stare down more-conservative primary challengers. Republicans who once" flaunted "their green bona fides are tacking right, to the point of questioning the science behind global warming, believing it's politically toxic within the conservative base to favor anything Democrats want to do about the climate" (Politico).

5) With the U.S. and China putting forth specific targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, India is facing growing pressure to offer a commitment of its own to curb its emissions (Washington Post).

1) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., plans to meet "later this week with key Senate committee leaders for a pre-Copenhagen strategy session" (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

2) Experts say that the near-term emissions targets the U.S. and China offered last week are "quantitatively comparable." China says it will reduce its emissions by 40 to 45 percent by 2020 relative to the size of its economy. The U.S. offered an absolute reduction: 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 (The Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) Major industrial companies, including Dow Chemical and Siemens, are expressing concern over the EPA and individual states regulating greenhouse gas emissions if Congress fails to act on climate change legislation (Financial Times).

4) "The controversy over private e-mails that were hacked from computers at a leading climate research center is expected to be a focal point for Republicans" on Wednesday during a House hearing. White House science adviser John Holdren, who exchanged some of the hacked e-mails, is set to testify (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) Last month two American oil companies, Exxon Mobil and Occidental Petroleum, reached production agreements with Iraq for the first time since the U.S. invasion of the country in 2003 (New York Times).

1) Both the United States and China offered specific emissions targets for 2020 last week: The U.S. said it would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent from 2005 levels and China said it would lower its emissions relative to the size of its economy by 40 percent to 45 percent (Washington Post). While these announcements give new life to the U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen next week, key details have yet to be resolved, including how much money industrialized countries would give poorer ones (Post).

2) Russia's insistence that it get credit for its emissions reductions under the Kyoto Protocol could complicate a new agreement. Some experts say that Russia's cuts from 1990 levels shouldn't count because they're attributable more to the 1991 collapse of the Soviet economy than to any particular green policies (Washington Post).

3) The battle over a peat swamp forest in Indonesia is emblematic of the challenges world leaders will face in Copenhagen when discussing ways to save forests. The peat forest is one of the world's biggest repositories of carbon dioxide; canals from surrounding rivers are draining and drying the land, which releases carbon into the atmosphere (New York Times).

4) Iran announced Sunday that it "plans to build 10 more nuclear facilities for enriching uranium." President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said "they would produce nuclear fuel to provide 20,000 megawatts of energy by 2020, though Western officials suspect that Iran wants to build an atomic bomb" (Wall Street Journal).

5) "A crude oil and natural gas pipeline spilled an unknown amount of fuel at BP Plc's Prudhoe Bay field in Alaska, the state regulator said. The spill has affected 8,400 square feet (780 square meters) of tundra" (Bloomberg News).

1) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Tuesday fired back at recent charges from the oil and gas industry that the administration isn't promoting domestic energy development. His comments came after he announced that his agency has scheduled 38 onshore oil and gas lease sales for 2010. Salazar maintained that the previous administration took "shortcuts" and that the agency is now working to improve the leasing process so it doesn't take as long -- one of the key complaints of the oil and gas industry. (Reuters)

2) "California officials on Tuesday issued the nation's first blueprint for a broad-based cap-and-trade plan," which would target the greenhouse gas emissions of more than 600 power plants, refineries and other large factories. The plan, which aims to reduce emissions by 15 percent below today's levels by 2020, is missing key details, including how many emission allowances to auction off and how to spend the revenue (Los Angeles Times). California joins a number of other states moving ahead with regional cap-and-trade systems. (New York Times)

3) Looking to bolster their argument against climate legislation, senior Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are asking a federal court in California to unseal documents in a 2005 conviction surrounding a California pollution credit trading program. Reps. Joe Barton of Texas and Greg Walden of Oregon say the wire fraud case is evidence of the dangers of a nationwide cap-and-trade system. (The Hill)

4) China's climate change envoy, Yu Qingtai, "blamed a 'lack of good faith' on the part of developed countries for hampering talks on a treaty to fight global warming less than two weeks before the start of the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen." (Bloomberg News)

5) A new poll shows that the number of Republicans who believe global warming is happening has dropped sharply in the last few years, suggesting an "increasing political polarization around the issue." Today, 54 percent of Republicans believe global warming is happening, compared to 76 percent three and a half years ago. The number has dropped among Independents too -- 86 to 71 percent. The drop was less steep among Democrats: 92 to 86 percent. (Washington Post)

1) The White House will propose a near-term target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions before the U.N. climate change negotiations next month in Copenhagen, according to a senior administration official. The target is contingent upon domestic climate legislation that is currently stalled behind health care. Thus, the administration may "present a range of possible reductions rather than a single figure" (New York Times).

2) With a floor debate on health care scheduled and key votes expected after Thanksgiving, senators who want to travel to Copenhagen for the U.N. talks Dec. 7-18 are finding themselves in a bind. Senators who will have an especially difficult decision to make include John Kerry, D-Mass., who is slated to speak at the conference, and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., whose committee has jurisdiction over the Senate climate change bill (The Hill). The White House said Monday that President Obama will decide whether he is going to Copenhagen "in the coming days" (Washington Post).

3) With federal action on climate change legislation stalled, states are moving forward with what some experts have dubbed "Plan B": regional cap-and-trade systems. Numerous statewide and regional systems either already exist or will in the next few years, regulating greenhouse gas emissions of power plants and other pollution sources (Bloomberg News).

4) "Congressional Republicans have started investigating climate scientists whose hacked emails suggest they tried to squelch dissenting views about global warming." One of the scientists drawing attention is White House science adviser John Holdren. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., the ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, also said he would start an investigation if his panel didn't act soon (Wall Street Journal).

5) "Nuclear power -- long considered environmentally hazardous -- is emerging as perhaps the world's most unlikely weapon against climate change, with the backing of even some green activists who once campaigned against it." While it has been 13 years since the last nuclear plant opened in the U.S., 53 plants are now under construction around the world (Washington Post).

1) Among the thousands of e-mails and documents hacked from a climate change research center last week are missives that suggest some scientists have attempted to stifle rivals who don't agree that humans are causing global warming (Wall Street Journal). These files "provide a rare glimpse into the behind-the-scenes battle to shape the public perception of global warming" (Washington Post).

2) The promise of a green-energy economic boost from this year's stimulus package is so far unrealized, some economists say. The administration has said 5 million green jobs would be created over the next decade by spending $150 billion on green technologies, but so far only about 100,000 jobs have been created and several green industries remain in development (Washington Times).

3) "Since the 1997 international accord to fight global warming, climate change has worsened and accelerated -- beyond some of the grimmest of warnings made back then." Since the Kyoto Protocol was signed in December 1997, "the level of carbon dioxide in the air has increased 6.5 percent" (AP).

4) The World Wildlife Fund and Allianz SE, Europe's biggest insurer, said in a joint statement today that "changes related to global warming are likely to be much more abrupt and unpredictable, and they could create huge social and environmental problems and cost the world hundreds of billions of dollars" (Bloomberg News).

5) Hundreds of farmers in Brazil are taking part in a project aimed at reducing deforestation. The farmers' goal is to set aside one-third of their land for native vegetation. The initiative "comes as the government considers proposals to dramatically reduce the rainforest destruction that has made Brazil a leading producer of greenhouse gases" (Washington Post).

1) With less than three weeks until the U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen, "a rapid-fire succession of countries are unveiling national plans" to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions. A top U.N. official said the organization has plans from every industrialized country except the United States. U.S. climate change envoy Todd Stern said the administration was still deciding whether to release a proposal (New York Times).

2) Shell Oil's request to drill in Alaska's Chukchi Sea is on hold while the company responds to public criticism of the plan. Shell President Marvin Odum denied that his company asked for a delay, but a letter from an Interior Department agency suggests otherwise (AP). Odum's comments came after a congressional hearing that focused on whether Congress or the Interior Department should have authority over setting buffer zones for offshore oil and gas drilling (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) The "unlikely partnership" between Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on climate change legislation goes back years, to when the senators first got to know each other. They have since worked on numerous pieces of legislation together (The Hill).

4) Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who was among the first lawmakers to spearhead efforts on climate change legislation, has "emerged as a vocal opponent of the climate bill." The senator maintains that the efforts in both the administration and Congress are too partisan. Others speculate that senior staff changes or Arizona politics could be playing a role in his thinking (Politico).

5) Almost no major Republican Senate candidate in the 2010 midterm elections is in favor of cap-and-trade legislation. Experts say climate change has "become part of a litmus" test "for GOP candidates and those who had previously supported such a policy have had trouble selling their candidacy to the conservative voters." Republicans facing pressure over their previous support include Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Delaware Rep. Mike Castle (Greenwire).

1) President Obama's top adviser on climate and energy issues, Carol Browner, maintained Wednesday that the administration is sticking to its goal of passing comprehensive climate change legislation that includes a cap-and-trade system, despite staunch resistance from Republicans and some Democrats in Congress (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription). Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of senators is researching another option that would cap emissions of power plants only (Greenwire).

2) "The United States and China have agreed to cooperate on developing an inventory of China's greenhouse gas emissions." Environmental groups see this as a step forward, but some conservatives argue that it's not realistic to expect an accurate report from China, even if the U.S. does help (Washington Post).

3) "Wind turbines, solar panels and hydropower stations won't be built fast enough to keep pace with global electricity demand through 2030," according to an International Energy Agency forecast. Consequently, coal-fired plants will increase their share of the energy mix, the agency said (Bloomberg News).

4) Identical bills recently introduced in both chambers of Congress would give more tax credits to the solar industry, on top of the subsidies in this year's stimulus package. The bills' sponsors say that the legislation would create more domestic manufacturing jobs (The Hill).

5) Scientists and evangelical leaders are taking to the Hill this week to urge senators to support action on climate change. Their top targets include Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., who said last week he couldn't vote for the climate bill currently on the table (The Guardian).

1) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Tuesday that Democrats will try to pass a climate change bill in spring, after financial regulatory reform and a jobs bill (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., want to move even more cautiously (The Hill).

2) If China comes to the U.N. climate negotiations with a proposal to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, then the Obama administration may offer a reduction target as well (Washington Post).

3) The declaration also includes initiatives "aimed at boosting renewable energy, energy efficiency and the use of electric vehicles and launching a U.S.-China clean energy research center" (Greenwire -- subscription).

4) The Senate's failure to pass climate change legislation "should not be blamed for a failure to reach a global agreement" in Copenhagen, said Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and ranking member Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on Tuesday (Greenwire -- subscription).

5) Vestas Wind Systems, the world's biggest turbine manufacturer, plans to double its production capacity in India (Bloomberg News), and Europe's largest producer of renewable energy, Statkraft SF, is "seeking partners for wind and tidal power projects as it expands beyond hydroelectricity" (Bloomberg News). Meanwhile, EDP Renewables, a major player in wind energy worldwide, is announcing today a multibillion-dollar investment in wind projects in the U.S. (release).

1) Senate Democrats are aiming to pass climate change legislation by early spring, after finishing work on health care and financial regulatory reform, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said Monday after a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and other committee leaders (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). Kerry wouldn't guarantee that the "framework" of legislation would be ready before the U.N. climate negotiations next month (Reuters).

2) "Forget the debate over green jobs, wind farms and solar power. In the Senate, all deals on climate change run through coal country" (Politico).

3) Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., introduced a bipartisan-minded alternative energy bill Monday that would give substantially more federal support to the nuclear industry than any other bill on the table. "The proposal would look to double nuclear power production in 20 years by increasing loan guarantees by $100 billion on top of the $18.5 billion currently available" (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

4) "Environmental groups are split over how to respond to the Obama administration's decision to go along with a Danish proposal not to push for a binding global climate agreement at" the U.N. talks next month. Greenpeace blasted the administration, while the Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council "were more muted" (Politico).

5) China's largest solar panel manufacturer is expected to begin production next year at what experts call the first Chinese solar plant in the U.S. Suntech Power will import solar cells from China to its plant near Phoenix, but those cells will contain material produced in Texas (New York Times).

1) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is meeting with committee leaders today to discuss timelines and strategy for advancing climate change legislation next year. But Senate Democrats are hesitant to impose any hard deadlines for passage (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

2) President Obama is, "at least for now, as unlikely to spearhead an international effort to combat global warming as his predecessor -- if for different reasons" (New York Times).

3) Rifts are emerging in Congress over the importance of the Copenhagen climate negotiations. Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and James Inhofe, R-Okla., are all planning on attending the summit (Politico).

4) "There can not be food security without climate security," U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said today, emphasizing "the links between the World Food Summit in Rome and the Copenhagen summit next month" (Financial Times).

5) The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee meets Thursday to hear "diverging views on environmental policies related to offshore energy production from the heads of major oil companies, environmental activists and the Obama administration" (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription). The discussion comes in the wake of a proposal from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Friday to revise the agency's oil and gas lease terms for offshore drillers (Energy Daily -- subscription).

1) With the U.N. climate negotiations less than a month away and domestic priorities such as health care reform dominating the congressional agenda, the "Obama administration is considering endorsing a limited short-term climate pact and deferring more ambitious action until next year." Countries would sign on to "political agreements" that outline their targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the amount of money richer countries give to poorer ones to help combat climate change (Washington Post).

2) Meeting in Japan today, President Obama and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama are calling to reduce their countries' emissions by 80 percent by 2050 and are endorsing a global goal of reducing emissions by 50 percent by that year (Reuters). Obama administration officials are also meeting with Indian leaders today. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said that clean energy development is central to the U.S.-Indian relationship (Bloomberg News).

3) Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham's attempt to help forge bipartisan climate change legislation appears to have been the tipping point for South Carolina Republicans frustrated with their senior senator's positions on several issues, and energy groups are running ads attacking him over his cap-and-trade position (Politico).

4) Consumer advocates charge that Congress hasn't given them enough of a voice in various House and Senate hearings on climate change legislation. According to a tally by one consumer group, the energy industry has the most representation, with 33 people. Schools or think tanks and government are next with 25 each (Greenwire -- subscription).

5) The size and scope of the natural gas industry's role in climate change legislation is creating rifts among the industry, environmentalists and other energy experts. Proponents say natural gas is abundant, and cleaner than any other fossil fuel. Critics charge that extracting it from shale could be dangerous and that history has disproven predictions about the amount of natural gas reserves (Washington Times).

1) When President Obama travels to China next week, he "will try to salvage fading hopes for a deal" on climate change with the country's leaders. A week later, Obama will meet with Indian leaders in Washington. Energy Secretary Steven Chu will travel to both China and India before the U.N. climate talks next month in Copenhagen (Agence France-Presse).

2) A conference hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday reflects the divisions likely to surface in Copenhagen. Those rifts separate poor and rich countries; Democrats and Republicans; and, notably, the U.S. and China (New York Times).

3) Higher oil prices could prevent the global economy from recovering, the International Energy Agency said today (AP). On top of that, the agency's World Energy Outlook report predicts that lower investment in oil and gas drilling, new power plants and renewables could "raise the prospect of supply constraints -- and resulting price increases for oil and electricity" (Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) Also in the outlook report, the IEA predictions suggest wind and natural gas are poised to come out on top for the next two decades. On the other hand, clean coal and nuclear power could play a smaller role, the agency said (Wall Street Journal).

5) It's still not known what caused more than half of Brazil to lose electricity for several hours Tuesday night, but "there was no suggestion" the blackout was "caused by a lack of generating capacity, which the government has sought to increase by auctioning concessions to develop alternative-energy projects such as thermal power stations" (Washington Post).

1) Senate Finance Committee ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., focused on the economic impact of climate change legislation at a hearing Tuesday (Roll Call -- subscription). Senators also discussed the potential for job creation -- and the threat of jobs being exported (Reuters).

2) Baucus "is not guaranteeing his panel can take up climate change legislation this year." Senate Majority Harry Reid, D-Nev., plans to meet with committee chairmen Monday to discuss a timeline (CongressDailyPM -- subscription). For his part, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., signaled that the full Senate could take up climate change after health care and financial regulation reform (Politico).

3) Following a bipartisan meeting with senators Tuesday, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said he hopes the Senate can draft broad principles to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions but recognizes that lawmakers are unlikely to pass a bill before the Copenhagen negotiations in December (Politico). Both Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I/D-Conn. (Bloomberg News), and Kerry said they hope to forge the framework for a bipartisan bill before December (Reuters).

4) Whether President Obama travels to Copenhagen hinges on his upcoming trip to China, Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said Tuesday at a conference hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations. The U.S. and China must work together to fight climate change, Markey said (NationalJournal.com).

5) "Governments must act now to ward off catastrophic climate change or face additional costs of $500 billion per year of delay, according to a report released Tuesday by the International Energy Agency" (Los Angeles Times).

1) The EPA says it's "not censoring two of its California-based attorneys who posted a YouTube video criticizing the Obama administration's backing of a House-passed climate bill. But the two attorneys were asked to either take down the video or edit out references to their work with EPA because they violated government ethics standards" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) On Monday, the EPA sent the Office of Management and Budget its endangerment finding on greenhouse gas emissions, which is the "legal precursor to regulating such gases under the Clean Air Act" (Wall Street Journal). The EPA released its draft finding in April, followed by a public comment period (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

3) President Obama said Monday "that he'd be willing to attend an international climate summit in Copenhagen next month if it appears a deal is in the offing and his presence there would help clinch it." This was the president's "strongest statement to date that he may attend" the talks (AP).

4) "The International Energy Agency warned today that the world's use of fossil fuels will have to peak by 2020 if it is to escape a dangerous spike in global temperatures." In order to do that, the IEA says, the world must become more energy-efficient and increase its use of renewable energies and nuclear power. "The greatest responsibility lies with the US, but the greatest scope for change will be in China" (Financial Times).

5) Veterans groups "have become a key weapon for environmentalists in their bid to win over swing votes" on Kerry-Boxer. Groups such as VoteVets.org are ramping up their climate change lobbying efforts, targeting key senators in states like Arkansas and Pennsylvania (Politico).

1) Industry and environmental groups alike are ramping up their lobbying efforts. Groups that have recently filled advocacy positions include the American Petroleum Institute, America's Natural Gas Alliance and the Natural Resources Defense Council (The Hill).

2) Groups are targeting a handful of key senators, including the trio hoping to forge a bipartisan compromise on climate change: Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn. Other senators facing pressure from energy groups include Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., chairwoman of the Agriculture Committee, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, ranking member on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee (Roll Call -- subscription).

3) Executives at some of the country's biggest utilities, including Duke Energy and Exelon, "are stepping up calls for legislation to cap greenhouse-gas emissions, fearing that if Congress doesn't act, the EPA will establish rules that would be costlier and less effective" (Wall Street Journal).

4) Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., wants the licensing process for new nuclear reactors changed so the government does not give loan guarantees to reactors that have not received a combined construction and operating license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Markey, co-sponsor of the House climate change bill, raised his concerns in a recent letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) "Oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico are evacuating workers and halting some output as Hurricane Ida blows through the region" (Bloomberg News). "A quarter of U.S. oil and 15 percent of its natural gas are produced from fields in the Gulf and the coast is home to 40 percent of the nation's refining capacity" (Reuters).

1) Sen. Max Baucus' opposition in the Environment and Public Works Committee's 11-1 vote to advance Kerry-Boxer on Thursday "highlights how much further Democratic leaders need to travel before a bill can be vetted on the floor." The moderate Montana Democrat said he's trying for a bill that will get 60 votes. He said he hopes his Finance Committee will mark up the bill this year, but he expressed doubts the Senate would move it soon enough (CongressDailyPM -- subscription).

2) "Potential Senate Republican backers of climate legislation," including Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, said the EPW panel's decision to move the bill with no GOP input "might have essentially killed it" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). The move does, though, open the door for more senators to explore different options (Politico).

3) Environmental groups are in a tight spot: While they're lobbying for the strongest climate change bill possible, many have softened their stances against provisions they traditionally oppose, such as offshore drilling and nuclear energy, in the name of getting a bill passed (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

4) These groups are also facing a parallel challenge: convincing Americans that saving the planet -- for the environment's sake -- is important in and of itself. Some say environmental groups should instead focus more on the economic benefits of climate change legislation (Washington Post).

5) A $1.5 billion joint Chinese-American wind farm that will be built in Texas does not involve any federal stimulus money, the company responsible for the project said Thursday. The announcement comes after Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., urged the administration not to aid in the construction since most of the wind turbines would be built in China (Bloomberg News).

1) Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., could pass Kerry-Boxer out of committee this morning "under an expedited fashion without considering any amendments" (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription). But pressure from four potential swing votes, including Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Maine Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, could slow the bill's progress (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Outside the EPW panel, Sens., John Kerry, D-Mass., Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., and Graham are emerging as the climate negotiators. The senators said Wednesday that they're trying to forge a "dual track" for a climate bill (Politico). It wasn't clear, though, whether they would craft their own piece of formal legislation (The Hill).

3) Environmentalists are growing increasingly wary about nuclear energy and offshore drilling provisions in the climate bill (The Hill). Senators say these incentives would be added in hopes of attracting GOP votes, but if Republicans don't show interest, Democrats may forgo those provisions (NationalJournal.com).

4) Kerry said in an interview Wednesday that world leaders should not attempt to forge an official global treaty on climate change next month in Copenhagen. Instead, the senator wants leaders to sign onto a "political agreement" that sets up the framework for a treaty (NationalJournal.com).

5) Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., is urging the administration to "reject an expected request for federal economic stimulus money as part of a $1.5 billion West Texas wind energy project because he says it will generate Chinese, not American, jobs" (AP). Kerry also warned of China's ambition in the renewables energy race -- especially wind (NationalJournal.com).

1) Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., might amend and approve Kerry-Boxer without any support or input from the panel's boycotting Republicans, drawing warnings of repercussions from ranking member James Inhofe, R-Okla. Senate leaders off the panel are also split along partisan lines about how to move forward (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Republicans are boycotting the markup because they want the EPA to complete a full-fledged study on the bill, similar to what it did with Waxman-Markey. Boxer maintained that that would cost $140,000 and take five weeks. She also said that Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada will have a full study of the final bill (Politico).

3) The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has been critical of any climate change legislation, endorsed the broad bipartisan outline that Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have laid out. Boxer called the chamber's letter a "game changer" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

4) Congress could wait until after the 2010 midterm elections to consider climate change legislation, Jay Rockfeller, D-W.Va., said Tuesday. Reid and Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, also signaled that the issue could be tabled longer than some think. Kerry is still hopeful a deal can be struck by Christmas (Politico).

5) President Obama said Tuesday that it was "imperative for us to redouble our efforts in the weeks between now and" the U.N.'s Copenhagen conference in December. His remarks came after a meeting with several European leaders (Reuters). German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking to a joint session of Congress after the meeting, urged bold steps to address climate change (Washington Post).

1) Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., "has extended an olive branch to Republicans by temporarily suspending today's markup after opening statements this morning, in order to allow panel members from both parties to question EPA officials starting this afternoon" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) Boxer "did not back down from her warning that the markup will proceed with or without Republicans, although she declined to discuss how she would work around the committee rules" (Roll Call -- subscription). It is still unclear whether Republicans plan to lift their boycott on today's markup (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

3) Meanwhile, bill co-sponsor Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., "has emerged as the power broker on climate change." Democratic aides say Kerry has sought to distance himself from the EPW panel, instead focusing his time working on a bipartisan compromise with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and White House officials (Politico).

4) In a "rare honor," German Chancellor Angela Merkel will address a joint session of Congress today, urging lawmakers to take the lead on forging a global climate change accord. Merkel is also expected to discuss the issue when she meets with President Obama (AP).

5) "African countries boycotted meetings at U.N. climate talks" today in Barcelona, "saying industrial countries had set carbon-cutting targets too low for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions" (AP).

1) The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's "two most moderate Republicans, Sens. George Voinovich of Ohio and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee," are leading a GOP boycott of Tuesday's markup on Kerry-Boxer (Politico). All seven panel Republicans will sit out, but that won't be enough to defeat the bill if it comes up for a final vote since Democrats have a majority. "Their only leverage is to prevent a quorum" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription).

2) "With Democrats deeply divided on" Kerry-Boxer, "unless some Republican lawmakers risk the backlash for signing on to the legislation, there is almost no hope for passage." Democrats are trying to "sway at least half a dozen Republicans by offering amendments" to build new nuclear plants. Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., will meet with Energy Secretary Steven Chu, White House climate adviser Carol Browner and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday to discuss a compromise (Washington Post).

3) In Barcelona this week, U.N. climate negotiators may urge developing countries, including China and India, "only to adopt measures to limit emissions growth, such as building wind-energy farms," rather than accept binding emissions targets. Industrialized countries, including the United States, have said they won't sign a treaty without the commitment of the fastest-developing countries (Bloomberg News).

4) More than 80 percent "of the $1.05 billion in clean-energy grants distributed by the government since Sept. 1 has gone to foreign renewable energy companies," specifically wind, according to a report by a nonprofit investigative journalism project at American University. The report was released on the same day a consortium of Chinese and American companies announced a first: a new wind farm in west Texas will use Chinese turbines (New York Times).

5) Two bills that have recently passed Senate and House committees include sanctions on Iranian gasoline imports that aim to put pressure on the country's nuclear program. Experts caution, though, that targeting gas imports won't work and could even strengthen the Iranian government (NationalJournal.com).

1) "Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer intends to start marking up climate legislation Tuesday, although panel Republicans might still prevent that from occurring" (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). EPW ranking Republican James Inhofe "signaled that he has unanimous support among the panel's minority members to boycott the session until they get more data on the legislation" (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

2) At a House hearing Thursday, Democratic lawmakers condemned the lobbying tactics of a coal trade group that sent fake climate change letters to Congress (NationalJournal.com). Democrats investigating the letters are using the scandal to "build momentum for Senate passage of" climate change "legislation and perhaps weaken the voice of critics" (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

3) A company's plan to drill for natural gas in a Colorado plateau -- and the resistance its plan is facing -- "could influence the fate of thousands of acres in the high country known as the intermountain West." (New York Times)

4) "A consortium of Chinese and American companies announced a joint venture on Thursday to build a 600-megawatt wind farm in West Texas, using turbines made in China." The farm, which will cost $1.5 billion to build, marks the first time a Chinese manufacturer will export wind turbines to the U.S. (New York Times).

5) A coal-powered plant in West Virginia is the first in the country to employ carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology -- the process of injecting carbon into the ground rather than the atmosphere. The project "may show emissions from existing coal-fired power plants can be reduced enough to meet limits set in" climate change legislation (Bloomberg News).

1) During the second day of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's hearings on Kerry-Boxer, an oil refinery executive said the bill would cripple the domestic oil industry and shift greenhouse gas emissions from the United States overseas. EPW Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., countered that the opposite is true (Greenwire).

2) The EPW hearings have exposed the rifts between the liberal Boxer and Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., who is more moderate. Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del., and bill co-sponsor John Kerry, D-Mass., "have tried to serve as go-betweens for liberals and moderates" in the Senate (Roll Call -- subscription).

3) The White House met with business executives Wednesday to solicit their support for climate change legislation (Greenwire).

4) Kerry-Boxer is distributing greenhouse gas emissions allowances from a smaller pie than its House counterpart, Waxman-Markey. This is due in part to a Senate rule that prevents bills from adding more than $5 billion to the federal deficit. Rules for House bills aren't as strict (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

5) Saudi Arabia's decision on Wednesday "to drop the widely used West Texas Intermediate oil contract as the benchmark for pricing its oil, dealing a serious blow to the New York Mercantile Exchange," could "encourage other producers to abandon the benchmark and threatens the dominance of the world's most heavily traded oil futures contract" (Financial Times).

1) Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Arlen Specter, D-Pa., expressed concerns about Kerry-Boxer on day one of the Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on the bill Tuesday, exposing the "tensions between the liberal and moderate wings of the Democratic Party over climate change legislation" (CongressDailyPM -- subscription). While Baucus' vote is not necessary for committee passage since Democrats have a 12-7 majority on the EPW panel, "his centrist voice carries tremendous weight in the party's leadership ranks" (Greenwire).

2) During the hearing, EPW Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., sparred with Specter and Baucus over what kind of role EPA should fill in regulating greenhouse gases (CongressDailyAM -- subscription). Baucus wants to add language to Kerry-Boxer that would stop the agency from setting new standards for emissions (Greenwire).

3) Economics took front and center at the EPW hearings, with senators citing various reports and studies that show wide-ranging estimates of what a climate change bill could cost American consumers. "The cost-benefit analysis of acting on global warming might be the question that matters to most lawmakers" (Washington Post).

4) The White House elevated its profile in the climate change debate Tuesday, with "coordinated appearances" by President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at a solar energy plant and a revamped GM plant, respectively (New York Times). Other top administration officials who testified at the EPW hearings, including Energy Secretary Steven Chu, emphasized the need for action on domestic legislation (AP).

5) The House and Senate approved a natural resources bill Tuesday that could -- if signed by Obama -- be a "double blow" to his climate change and clean air agenda. The bill limits the EPA's regulatory authority over greenhouse gas emissions generated by large livestock producers and exempts a proposed rule that would have required ships in the Great Lakes region and along the coasts to use lower-sulfur fuel to reduce emissions (Politico).

1) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., on Monday "punted on whether to set deadlines for several committees that still have work to do on" Kerry-Boxer. (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription) Reid plans to gather committee chairman -- at a date yet to be determined -- to discuss "what might be feasible for them to do this year." (CongressDailyAM -- subscription)

2) The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee today begins three days of hearings on Kerry-Boxer "in a bid to further convince an international summit in December that Washington is serious about tackling global warming." (Reuters) On Monday, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon emphasized to Reid the "urgency" of moving the bill through the Senate before Copenhagen. (CongressDailyAM -- subscription)

3) Senators hailing from coal-dependent states are expressing concerns about Kerry-Boxer. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, sent a draft letter to Kerry and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., saying that both the House and Senate climate change bills "put coal at a disadvantage and that he wants to revise how free pollution permits would be distributed." (Bloomberg News)

4) Groups such as the American Association of Blacks in Energy, the Intertribal Council on Utility Policy and the NAACP are looking to make the debate on climate change legislation a civil rights issue. Several groups that support Kerry-Boxer are holding a press conference today to coincide with the EPW hearings. (The Hill)

5) In a visit to a solar energy facility today in Florida, President Obama will announce $3.4 billion in government grants to help build a smart electric grid, which is "the largest award made in a single day from the $787 billion stimulus package." (Reuters) The White House said a more modern grid will spur renewable energy development and help help consumers save money on energy bills by giving them more control over their electricity usage. (AP)

1) Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., will meet today with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to talk strategy for Kerry-Boxer and with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to discuss ways to get bipartisan support for the bill. (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription) These meetings come a day before the start of a series of hearings by the Environment and Public Works Committee on Kerry-Boxer, which "mark the first phase in what is likely to be a months-long undertaking by Senate Democrats to try to pass a climate bill." (Wall Street Journal)

2) The chairman's mark, released late Friday, "details for the first time" how to distribute emission allocations. The new draft resembles the House-passed Waxman-Markey. The Environmental Protection Agency also completed its analysis of Kerry-Boxer, which said that the "House and Senate bills are close enough in scope that their models would find roughly the same price tag," about $100 a year for the average household. (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription)

3) The draft also "includes big benefits for farmers, provisions for deficit reduction and a ceiling on carbon prices" (Washington Post) and "a cushion to energy-intensive manufacturing companies to ease the transition to a lower-carbon economy and to help them compete internationally." (New York Times)

4) President Obama is most likely not going to Copenhagen for the U.N. climate talks in December. He will "instead use his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech to set out US environmental goals," which is scheduled around the same time in Oslo, Norway. (Times of London)

5) The Energy Department will announce new grants today for "radical" energy proposals, such as "bacteria that will make gasoline" and "enzymes that will capture carbon dioxide to counter global warming." There will be 37 grants, totaling $151 million, "mostly going to small businesses and educational institutions." (New York Times)

1) Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., will attend President Obama's energy speech today at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, pushing back his strategy meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., until Monday. Kerry and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., are releasing a revised draft of their bill today. (CongressDailyAM -- subscription)

2) "Political breakdowns" in a new poll on global warming "underscore how tough it could be to enact a law limiting pollution emissions blamed for warming." (AP) The group "most likely to have heard of cap-and-trade legislation is also the most likely to oppose it: conservative Republicans." (NationalJournal.com)

3)The EPA is caught up in a fight between shipping companies and environmental groups over new clean air rules for ships -- especially in the Great Lakes region. The companies assert that rules expected in December would "cost them tens of millions of dollars a year," but environmentalists say they will help stop pollution that's causing illnesses. (The Hill) The battle's outcome "has implications for a region battered by unemployment and one of the Obama's administration's key environmental strategies." (Washington Post)

4) Some companies that are members of the Chamber of Commerce, such as Toyota and Royal Dutch Shell, are facing pressure to explain why they remain members despite the Chamber's opposition to climate legislation. (Politico)

5) "The Interior Department on Thursday proposed designating more than 200,000 square miles of land, sea and ice along the northern coast of Alaska as critical habitat for" a polar bear population that officials say is shrinking due to global warming. (New York Times)

1) The Senate may set a Thanksgiving deadline for committees to act on the Kerry-Boxer bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., will talk strategy Friday. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., whose Finance Committee has jurisdiction over key parts of the bill, "has been noncommittal on whether he will hold a markup before Thanksgiving." (CongressDailyAM -- subscription)

2) In a Senate hearing Wednesday, several swing Republicans criticized a vital component of climate change legislation that decides how greenhouse gas emissions permits will be allocated. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska objected to giving away "essentially decades-long earmarks" for free; Bob Corker of Tennessee wanted an auction that put the money in taxpayers' pockets. (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription)

3) Republican Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and Christopher (Kit) Bond of Missouri launched a campaign Wednesday that attempts "to rebrand congressional climate change legislation as a '$3.6 trillion gas tax' that could harm the pocketbooks of American families." (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription)

4) According to a new study, total state spending on energy-efficiency programs is expected to grow from $3.1 billion in 2008 to a "medium case" estimate of $7.5 billion by 2020. Another new report by the advocacy group American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ranks states for their efforts in energy efficiency. California, Massachusetts and Connecticut ranked at the top; the lowest three are Wyoming, North Dakota and Mississippi. (Wall Street Journal)

5) "China and India's joint plan to cut greenhouse-gas emissions gives the developing world an alternative to the climate treaty that wealthier nations want them to sign in Copenhagen, analysts said." It could also prompt more countries to strike regional deals in lieu of an international accord, which U.N. officials and other leaders have signaled is becoming less likely. (Bloomberg News)

1) President Obama's energy speech on Friday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology comes "just days before the start of a marathon series of hearings" on the Kerry-Boxer bill and on the same day the EPA plans to release its analysis on the bill. (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription)

2) With the uncertainty surrounding U.S. climate change legislation and disagreement over the financial structure of an international accord, the Copenhagen talks are now more likely to end in leaders agreeing to take interim steps rather than producing a new treaty. (New York Times) India and China, though, have signed a bilateral agreement to tackle climate change. (Bloomberg News)

3) Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is questioning a recent administration decision that would allow the EPA and the Energy Department to set standards for Energy Star, a federal program aimed at increasing the energy efficiency of appliances. (Politico)

4) On Tuesday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar asked his department's inspector general to investigate a "last-minute move by the Bush administration to lock in favorable royalty rates and lenient environmental regulations for a series of oil shale leases on federal land in Colorado and Utah." (Los Angeles Times) He also announced new research, development and demonstration leases for oil shale on terms the industry criticized. (Washington Post)

5) Lawmakers are "lukewarm about formalizing" the Green the Capitol Initiative introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., which aims to make the Capitol more energy efficient. (Roll Call -- subscription)

1) "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is seeking law enforcement help in investigating Monday's hoax by pranksters posing as the business group and claiming it supported" the Kerry-Boxer bill. The spoof, by the group Yes Men, involved a staged news conference at the National Press Club and a fake press release. (CongressDailyAM -- subscription)

2) Speaking at a meeting of the world's major polluters in London, U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern said Monday that President Obama may attend the December U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen. (Bloomberg News)

3) According to a statement from that same meeting, there was "substantial accord" among the leaders regarding how much aid industrialized countries should give to poorer ones in order to combat climate change. (Bloomberg News) Developed countries are also "preparing to relent on their demand that developing countries agree to long-term cuts in greenhouse gas emissions." (Financial Times)

4) On Monday, the Interior Department approved Shell's plan to drill oil exploration wells in the Beaufort Sea, "which could lead to the first drilling in more than a decade in this area off the north coast of Alaska." (Washington Post) Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, "applauded" the decision, saying that it "brings us one step closer to environmentally-responsible development offshore of Alaska." (Los Angeles Times)

5) The number of senators whose votes are not guaranteed one way or another on a climate change bill is growing. According to an analysis from Environment & Energy Daily (subscription), 24 senators belong in this "fence sitter" category, including eight Republicans.

1) Climate change legislation is becoming less and less likely in the Senate this year. Some senators say that tackling another major reform effort right after health care is not realistic, while others are predicting financial regulation -- which could "move very quickly" -- will be up next. (CongressDailyAM -- subscription)

2) "The nation's energy producers, once united, are battling one another over" climate change legislation, specifically the costs related to a cap-and-trade system that industries could incur. Energy producers spent $200 million lobbying in the first half of this year, $26 million more than the same period last year. (New York Times) The fossil fuel industry is proving to be especially hard to win over. (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription) Hunting and fishing groups are making their voices heard, too. (Reuters)

3) The debate over how to distribute greenhouse gas emissions allowances among regulated industries is a "central component of cap-and-trade legislation." The House-passed bill would auction off 15 percent while the Kerry-Boxer legislation increases that to 25 percent. The specific language on allocation, though, is largely blank right now, since the Finance Committee has jurisdiction over this area. (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription)

4) An internal audit of the Energy Department has found that the agency has not properly tracked "whether manufacturers that give their appliances an Energy Star label have met the required specifications for energy efficiency." The new audit echoes similar concerns expressed in an Environmental Protection Agency released last December. (New York Times)

5) A new report shows that "the U.S., China and major economies around the world are still holding about 91 percent of the $177 billion in stimulus money promised for clean-energy development because most projects haven't been evaluated." The U.S. has spent 12 percent, while countries in the European Union have moved faster. (Bloomberg News)

1) Speaking in New Orleans on Thursday, President Obama voiced his support for increasing domestic production of nuclear energy and oil and natural gas. (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription)

2) In an 18-page report, Republicans are accusing the Environmental Protection Agency of "a rush to judgment in deciding to regulate greenhouse gases in order to 'fulfill the Obama administration's political agenda.'" The report partly rehashes claims made by GOP lawmakers and conservative commentators "that EPA leaders suppressed the views" of a dissenting staff economist. (The Hill)

3) EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told a congressional panel Thursday that her agency is working to overhaul enforcement of the Clean Water Act, "as lawmakers sharply criticized the agency's decade-long lapses in punishing polluters." The agency will likely target "mining companies, large livestock farms, municipal wastewater treatment plants and construction companies that operate sites where polluted stormwater has run into nearby lakes and rivers." (New York Times)

4) The Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejected a design by a reactor manufacturer "because a key component might not withstand" natural disasters. The rejection, which could delay 14 planned reactors in the U.S., illustrates the difficulties the nuclear industry faces in overcoming licensing challenges. (New York Times) Meanwhile, Japan is moving right along in its nuclear development. (Bloomberg News)

5) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is pushing the EPA to increase the amount of ethanol allowed in gasoline. The biofuels industry has requested the ratio be increased from 10.2 percent to 15 percent. EPA is expected to answer that request in December. (Bloomberg News)

1) Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf told a congressional panel Wednesday that cap-and-trade legislation would slow the nation's economic growth slightly over the next few decades and would hit the fossil fuel industries particularly hard. (The Hill) His message "contrasted sharply with those of President Obama and congressional Democratic leaders, who have suggested that a cap on carbon emissions would help revive" the economy. (Washington Post)

2) Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., joined key Republicans on Wednesday in calling for a nuclear title to be included in the Senate climate change legislation. Carper wants more manpower at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission but stopped short of supporting a smoother licensing process for new reactors. (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription) Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Steven Chu signaled his faith in the nuclear industry at a recent International Energy Agency meeting. (Bloomberg News)

3) The American Farm Bureau is launching a new campaign opposing climate change legislation. The group will make a concerted effort to ensure the campaign, known as "Don't CAP Our Future," sidesteps Washington to target areas that will be most directly affected by the legislation, the bureau said. (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription)

4) The American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy spent nearly $10 million over the past year and a half on lobbying efforts supervised by the Hawthorne Group, the PR firm "currently under congressional investigation for its involvement in sending forged letters opposing the" House climate bill. (Politico) The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming will hold a hearing this morning on the matter.

5) Paying for a global climate treaty may be the hardest part, with the price tag estimated at a "staggering $100 billion a year by 2020." Aid to help fast-developing countries like Brazil and India convert to new technologies makes up a sizable part of that money. "Equally contentious is the issue of which countries should give, and which should receive" -- for instance, what about China, a "rapidly developing" but "increasingly wealthy" polluter? (New York Times)

1) Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., announced Tuesday that her committee will hold hearings the week of Oct. 26 on the legislation she and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., introduced last month. The hearings will follow an analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency, Boxer said. (CongressDailyAM -- subscription)

2) The top officials from the Energy, Interior and Transportation departments, as well as the EPA and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, will testify Oct. 27. (CongressDailyAM -- subscription) "Boxer did not indicate" when the bill "would appear on the Senate floor." (Roll Call -- subscription)

3) "Several Democrats who oppose expanded offshore drilling" on Tuesday "declined to say its addition to global warming legislation would cost their support, a sign that advocates of emissions caps may accept wider leasing as the price of an overall climate deal." The Sunday op-ed by Kerry and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., helped prompt more discussion of including drilling in a cap-and-trade bill. (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription)

4) "Climate-legislation supporters are increasingly turning to national security to bolster their pitch for a bill this year." Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been reaching out to senators with a focus on U.S. security, such as John McCain, R-Ariz. Military groups are running ads linking the two issues and the CIA recently opened a center focused on climate change. (Politico)

5) The EPA on Tuesday released the "controversial e-mail message" sent to the Bush White House in December 2007 that shows the agency issued an "endangerment finding" on six greenhouse gases "and wanted to take steps to regulate their release from automobiles and the burning of gasoline." But "that finding was rejected by the Bush White House." (AP) The finding and the Bush administration's refusal to make it public were already known, but the e-mail itself had never been made public until Tuesday. (Los Angeles Times)

1) "The pairing of Democrat John Kerry and Republican Lindsey Graham on global warming, even if only to pen an op-ed column and not actual legislation, is a step forward for the climate bill." (The Hill) Environmentalists and industry representatives alike say the partnership is a good sign for the energy debate. (Greenwire -- subscription)

2) Bill co-sponsor Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., predicted that the "Obama administration should be able to adopt firm greenhouse gas reduction targets" during the U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen whether or not a bill is ready by December. (Greenwire) Energy Secretary Steven Chu also sounded optimistic, saying that he hopes a bill can be passed by then. (Reuters)

3) In a new report out today, the International Energy Agency says "businesses and governments need to invest at least $2.4 trillion between now and 2050" in carbon capture and sequestration technology. (Bloomberg News) The report also found that "developing countries need more than 2,000" CCS plants "by midcentury." (ClimateWire) Chu said the U.S. wants to have CCS technology ready within a decade. (Financial Times)

4) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is "urging the Interior Department to drastically reduce plans to open the coast to offshore oil and gas drilling, citing threats to marine life and potentially devastating effects of oil spills in Arctic waters." These recommendations "highlight the competing pressures on Interior Secretary Ken Salazar as he weighs whether to amend the Bush-era leasing plan." (Los Angeles Times)

1) "Environmental groups are trying to discredit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce by persuading companies to quit the business group over its stance on greenhouse-gas regulation, chamber President Tom Donohue said" Thursday. (Bloomberg News) Donohue did, however, back off the chamber's earlier stance that any legislation should require "full international participation." (NationalJournal.com)

2) "The Department of the Interior has frozen oil and gas development on 60 of 77 contested drilling sites in Utah, saying the process of leasing the land was rushed and badly flawed." (New York Times) "Oil companies and environmentalists have been battling over development in Utah.... But now, oil companies feel increasingly on the losing end of" that battle. (Dow Jones -- subscription)

3) The Bangkok "U.N. climate talks ended in a whimper" today "without progress on the pressing issues of emission cuts for wealthy nations or financing for the developing ones, both of which are crucial to reaching a global warming pact." (AP) With "no domestic law setting a framework," the U.S. may not agree to cut greenhouse gas emissions by a specific amount for that pact. (Bloomberg News)

4) President Obama's "so-called green team" has doubled since the administration took over in January. (AP)

5) "A group of timber and paper supply companies and environmental organizations announced Thursday a pilot project to allow landowners who selectively log their forests to earn carbon credits they can trade on the open market. Such a trading system is part of legislation before Congress that would cap greenhouse gases nationwide." (Washington Post)

1) How quickly the Environmental Protection Agency finishes an economic analysis of the Kerry-Boxer climate change legislation will largely determine the bill's timetable. The agency took five weeks to analyze the House-passed bill, but Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said it won't take as long this time. Republican aides say a hearing won't take place until the end of October at the earliest, which would push markup into November. (CongressDailyAM -- subscription)

2) Reports that Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., is "talking to Senate Republicans about expanding drilling access and providing new subsidies for the nuclear power industry" may exacerbate environmentalists' concerns about including offshore drilling and nuclear power in the Senate energy bill. (The Hill)

3) The White House used a meeting Wednesday "with business supporters of climate-change legislation to try to rally a broader skeptical business community behind" climate change legislation. (CongressDailyPM -- subscription) Clean-energy company executives and investors who were present at the meeting reiterated the importance of passing a bill by the Copenhagen talks in December. (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription)

4) A senior European climate negotiator said President Obama faces "more than an embarrassment" if the United States doesn't lead on climate talks in Copenhagen. Negotiators wrapping up intermediary talks in Bangkok are not optimistic about striking an international accord when they meet again in December. (Bloomberg News)

1) Key Senate Democrats have signaled "they are willing to negotiate with Republicans on nuclear power and expanded domestic oil and gas development if it helps" get to 60 votes. (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription) Sen. Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., and several GOP senators are "crafting a nuclear energy amendment." (Roll Call -- subscription)

2) In a letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue "looked to stanch the bleeding of recent defections over differences on climate change." (CongressDailyAM -- subscription) Apple announced it's leaving the Chamber on Monday.

3) The bipartisan Commission on Climate and Tropical Forests "is asking the Senate to make deforestation a centerpiece of the climate bill by allocating billions to fund tropical forest preservation programs in developing nations." (Politico) The group's new report "estimates that if American companies invest about $9 billion by 2020 in preserving tropical forests in developing countries, they can save about $50 billion that they would have had to spend on cleaning up their own" emissions. (Los Angeles Times)

4) "The United States came under pressure to show leadership in U.N. climate talks" today "with Mexico saying its neighbor is a stumbling block in efforts to try to craft a tough global climate agreement by December." Developing countries want the U.S. to more drastically reduce its emissions by 2020, rather than 2050. (Reuters)

5) A new report out by the International Energy Agency finds that "China will be able to slow the growth of its emissions much faster than commonly assumed because of its rising investment in wind and nuclear energy." (New York Times) Meanwhile, a top Chinese official said climate change is a "more formidable" challenge "than the global recession." (Bloomberg News)

1) "The federal government will require each agency to measure its greenhouse-gas emissions for the first time and set targets to reduce them by 2020, under an executive order signed by President Obama Monday" (Washington Post). This order is a "way for the White House to show much-needed progress toward reducing greenhouse gases before more than 180 nations meet in Copenhagen in December to hammer out a new international treaty to slow global warming." (AP)

2) "Two major farm groups are staking out different positions on the Senate climate change bill, signaling that the treatment of corn-based ethanol will be a critical issue." (CongressDailyPM -- subscription)

3) Several staff members of the Senate Environment Public Works Committee, chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., are jumping ship just as the debate unfolds. These departures "come during a particularly tough stretch for Boxer, the three-term senator who is up for re-election next year. Boxer has repeatedly come under fire from Republicans and some moderate Democrats for how she has handled the drafting of the climate bill." (ClimateWire)

4) In a letter to U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue Monday, Apple Inc. announced it is terminating its membership because "we strongly object to the Chamber's recent comments opposing the EPA's efforts to reduce greenhouse gases." The technology company "is the first non-utility to back out of the group." (The Hill)

5) "The US and other developed countries are attempting to 'fundamentally sabotage' the Kyoto protocol and all-important international negotiations over its next phase, according to coordinated statements by China and 130 developing countries at UN climate talks in Bangkok" Monday. "The angry statements follow a revelation by" Obama's "energy adviser, Carol Browner, that she did not expect the US Senate to vote on its crucial global warming bill before the Copenhagen talks" (The Guardian).

6) A new report presented in Bangkok by the International Energy Agency finds that the "economic crisis has made it easier to halt the growth in greenhouse gases released by power plants, factories and cars." (Bloomberg News)

1) With the Kyoto Protocol still dominating U.N. talks on climate, Copenhagen "will at best signal the start of a new global approach to tackling climate change, rather than its successful conclusion." (Washington Post) Environmentalists are urging President Obama to come to Copenhagen for those talks since he went there to push for Chicago's Olympic bid. (Bloomberg News)

2) Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said on a Sunday talk show that the climate change legislation she and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., introduced last week could add billions of dollars to the economy. (The Hill)

3) "Two coalitions of top U.S. corporations are using Washington visits and more than $1 million in advertising to prod the Senate and White House to accelerate work on an energy and climate bill." The companies include Pacific Gas and Electric, Exelon, GE and Johnson & Johnson. (Politico)

4) White House energy and climate change czar Carol Browner said Friday that she doesn't think a bill will be passed by Copenhagen (NationalJournal.com), the "first definitive statement by the administration that it saw little chance of Congressional passage this fall." (New York Times) Meanwhile, Browner could likely be a target during a congressional hearing this week on the "history and legality" of White House "czar" positions. (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription)

1) The Kerry-Boxer bill would "initially devote 70 percent of the pollution allowances" to making it "easier for people to pay their energy bills." (Washington Post) Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., say they will not get into specifics "over how to distribute emission allocations." Those decisions will be made in a closer markup in the Environment and Public Works Committee. (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription) Click here for the C-SPAN interview where Boxer made her comments.

2) Kerry's billing as the legislation's lead sponsor could speak "to how the lawmakers are trying to frame the climate debate around national security." Kerry chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription)

3) "Efforts to convince rich nations to toughen emissions cuts have failed to make much headway at climate talks in the Thai capital, the U.N. said on Friday." (Reuters) Meanwhile, "top White House science officials emphasized the importance of countries crafting their own national policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions" ahead of December's climate talks in Copenhagen. (NationalJournal.com)

4) One report finds that the "drought that gripped the Southeast from 2005 to 2007" was not caused by global warming (New York Times), and another report says U.S. national parks face their "'greatest threat ever' from 'human disruption of the climate.'" (Wall Street Journal)

1) The EPA announced Wednesday that it is "moving forward on new rules to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from hundreds of power plants and large industrial facilities," which could "goad lawmakers into" passing climate change legislation. (New York Times) "The EPA's move is significant, because under the Clean Air Act, any facility emitting more than 250 tons per year of a regulated pollutant must meet federal requirements. The agency is seeking to modify that requirement to target the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases." (Washington Post)

2) "The prospect of E.P.A. regulation of greenhouse gas emissions has generated fear and deep divisions within American industry." (New York Times) "Industry groups immediately questioned the agency's" move. "They charged that the EPA was skirting the law, since the Clean Air Act typically covers any facility releasing more than 250 tons a year of a recognized pollutant. That threshold would require more facilities to fall under the new regulations." (AP)

3) EPA's proposed rules could "provide evidence of the United States' seriousness as negotiators prepare for" the Copenhagen climate talks in December. (New York Times) These rules, combined with the energy bill introduced Wednesday by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., "could influence the outcome of" those talks. (Washington Post)

4) Senate Democrats "face an uncertain road to the 60 votes needed to beat a filibuster" in order to pass energy legislation. (CongressDailyAM --- subscription) Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, "holds the key to delivering a bloc of Midwestern senators crucial to passing" the bill. (The Hill)

5) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was "noncommittal when asked whether" the bill "could be squeezed into the Senate's crowded calendar this year." (The Hill) "Kerry, while generally optimistic of the bill's chances, even appeared to caution that the bill's timing either before or after international climate change talks in mid-December will be based upon whether they have the 60 votes." (CongressDailyAM -- subscription)

1) "Senators in both parties cited concern over" the 20 percent emissions reduction being proposed today by Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and John Kerry, D-Mass. In the bill the House passed this year, the target was 17 percent. Committee markup is tentatively scheduled for late October. (CongressDailyAM -- subscription)

2) The bill "leaves a number of crucial questions unanswered, chief among them how the permits to emit carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases would be distributed to utilities, manufacturers, agribusiness and other interests." (New York Times) "The bill will have placeholder titles on controversial issues like carbon markets oversight and international trade... because other committees have jurisdiction." (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription)

3) Republicans are "already poking at differences within the Democratic ranks in an effort to put some constraints on" the energy legislation. (Roll Call -- subscription)

4) "Environmentalists are ratcheting up the pressure on General Electric, Caterpillar and Nike to... quit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to protest its stance against climate change legislation." (Politico) Nike announced today it is leaving the chamber's board of directors but staying on as a member. (Company statement)

1) Exelon's announcement Monday that it's leaving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the latest indication that "climate-change legislation is splitting the U.S. business community as few initiatives have in recent years." (Bloomberg News) But some say the recent wave of resignations is "just a sign that businesses will have varied positions depending on whether they will be winners or losers from the legislation." (New York Times) Meanwhile, U.S. Chamber COO David Chavern said Exelon's exit is "just part of the business." (NationalJournal.com)

2) The Senate bill slated to be announced Wednesday by Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and John Kerry, D-Mass., could "leave some big questions unanswered, including the biggest: how to divvy up carbon allowances." (The Hill)

3) The Obama administration "is planning to push for new sanctions against Iran, targeting its energy, financial and telecommunications sectors if it does not comply with international demands to come clean about its nuclear program." (AP) Iran said today that it "would soon offer a timetable for international inspectors to visit a hitherto secret nuclear enrichment facility." (New York Times)

4) The draft agreement of a "new global agreement on climate change" is "long, confusing and contradictory." (The Guardian) The Copenhagen talks are less than 70 days away, and the draft "being thrashed out by officials in Bangkok gives a vivid sense of just how far there is to go." (Financial Times) The text is available at the Web site of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. Meanwhile, the "vaguely worded" plan proposed by Group of 20 leaders "last week to phase out fossil fuel subsidies... has raised a multitude of questions about its scope and implementation." (Greenwire -- subscription)

1) The bill Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and John Kerry, D-Mass., are set to introduce Wednesday is expected to increase the greenhouse emissions reductions target from 17 to 20 percent (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription). How the bill structures a "price collar" -- a mechanism aimed at constraining the cost of carbon under a cap-and-trade system -- is raising eyebrows on K Street. (The Hill) Meanwhile, it's "increasingly likely" that the administration won't have the bill ready by Copenhagen. (Houston Chronicle)

2) Meeting today in Bangkok, U.N. negotiators warned that time "has almost run out" to address climate change. After this week's talks, there will be one more round in Barcelona before Copenhagen. (Bloomberg) Last week's G20 meetings, meanwhile, have "dimmed" the chances of "securing a global agreement this year." (Wall Street Journal)

3) The European Union may propose reducing emissions of its shipping and airline industries by "as much as 20 percent over the next decade as part of a new United Nations accord." (Bloomberg) But don't expect the EU's carbon trading scheme to serve as a model for an international cap-and-trade system. (New York Times)

4) In light of the news that Iran is developing a uranium enrichment facility (AP), lawmakers have "renewed calls for sanctions targeting" the country's gas imports. (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription)

1) Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer of California and John Kerry of Massachusetts said Thursday that they will introduce their climate change bill next Wednesday (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription). But that piece of legislation will likely face an "uphill battle" (Newsweek) as "lawmakers tussle over the economic impact of controlling global warming." (Reuters)

2) On Thursday, the Senate approved a $32.1 billion spending bill to fund the Interior Department and EPA for fiscal 2010 (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription). Democrats blocked Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski's amendment to that bill, which would have limited EPA's regulatory authority over carbon dioxide -- one more indication of the "volatility surrounding the larger upcoming climate change debate." (CongressDailyAM -- subscription)

3) Just as a new U.N. report predicts the planet will warm by more than 6 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century (Washington Post), a new group opposed to climate legislation argues that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. (Washington Post)

4) Amid the "furor" over EPA scientist Alan Carlin's "contrarian views" on climate change, internal agency documents "paint a more complicated picture." (New York Times)

5) An independent panel urged Congress on Thursday to increase spending on National Parks by at least $700 million (AP). The Senate also confirmed Jonathan Jarvis as director of the National Park Service. (CongressDailyAM -- subscription)

1) Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, "plans to introduce an amendment" this morning "banning the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating carbon dioxide." (Politico)

2) "The Senate on Wednesday voted against an attempt by Republicans to keep in place a plan by the Bush administration to allow oil and gas drilling along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts." (AP)

3) "Executives at small oil refiners who broke with the industry to support the House climate bill now oppose it advancing in the Senate, illustrating the stiffening resistance to the sweeping legislation." (The Hill)

4) "Trying to burnish its international reputation as it prepares for a major climate conference, India is considering adoption of curbs on carbon emissions that it has long resisted." (Washington Post)

5) "Officials and climate specialists from India and Mexico said" Wednesday "that while they're making substantial strides to curb their own greenhouse gas emissions, the success of global efforts still rests ultimately with the U.S." (NationalJournal.com)

1) "Recent announcements by China, Japan and other nations" suggest that in lieu of a global treaty on climate change, countries could strike a "political deal that would establish global federalism on climate policy, with each nation pledging to take steps domestically." (Washington Post)

2) "Analysts and green groups gave cautious praise to China and Japan" at the U.N. conference on climate change Tuesday but said President Obama's speech "was long on rhetoric but short on specific pledges of U.S. action." (Reuters)

3) "In a shift of emphasis, Mr. Obama divided developing nations into two categories" -- industrial nations like China that should accept emissions limits and the poorest countries that need aid to combat climate change and develop green technology. (New York Times)

4) Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on Tuesday "defended her draft amendment that would limit the EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse emissions from stationary sources like power plants and industrial facilities." (NationalJournal.com)

5) "Former Vice President Al Gore and current White House climate change czar Carol Browner are warning companies and lawmakers that the courts will step in to regulate greenhouse gases if Congress fails to act." (Politico)

1) World leaders meeting at the United Nations today to discuss climate change are "faced with an intricate challenge: building momentum for an international climate treaty at a time when global temperatures have been stable for a decade and may even drop in the next few years." (New York Times)

2) A global agreement on climate change could take a back seat to individual countries' domestic policies, U.N. officials say. (Washington Post)

3) "The Senate Monday resumed consideration of the $32.1 billion, FY10 Interior-Environment Appropriations bill, with lawmakers filing several more amendments to the measure, including a proposal by Sen. David Vitter, R-La., to provide for the approval of a leasing program for Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas for the years 2010 to 2015." (CongressDailyAM -- subscription)

4) "A possible amendment from Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) has the potential to handcuff U.S. EPA from exercising its full regulatory power, a scenario that has sent shockwaves through the environmental community. (Energy & Environment Daily -- subscription)

5) "A two-judge panel of a federal appeals court has ruled that big power companies can be sued by states and land trusts for emitting carbon dioxide. The decision, issued Monday, overturns a 2005 District Court decision that the question was political, not judicial." (New York Times)

1) "After months of almost single-minded focus on healthcare, President Obama is about to shift the White House spotlight to global warming -- first with a speech to the United Nations in New York on Tuesday, then later in the week at the G-20 economic conference in Pittsburgh." (Los Angeles Times)

2) "European leaders are expressing growing unease about the United States' stance in international talks aimed at reaching a global agreement in Copenhagen in December." (New York Times)

3) "In an effort to resuscitate some version of the House climate change bill in the Senate," Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I/D-Conn., "is trying to get Republicans and moderate Democrats on board by adding money for coal power and nuclear plants -- changes that would infuriate many of the bill's liberal supporters." (Politico)

4) "Several controversial amendments aimed at limiting the Obama administration's authority over climate change and energy policies may be introduced this week as the Senate resumes debate on the annual spending bill for environmental agencies." (Energy & Environment Daily -- subscription)

5) "The cap-and-trade movement, spooked by the pounding health care reform took over the August break, is scrambling to persuade nervous Democrats they won't suffer politically for taking another tough vote this year." (Politico)

1) Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the top Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, might try to "handcuff" the Environmental Protection Agency's "ability to regulate stationary sources of greenhouse gases with an amendment to the agency's annual spending bill." (Greenwire)

2) The energy bill that passed the House in June would reduce the GDP by "as much as 3.5 percent in 2050, the Congressional Budget Office estimates." (Reuters)

3) John Bruton, head of the European Commission delegation to the U.S., "issued a statement" Thursday "critical of Senate Democratic leaders as they struggle to pass a cap-and-trade bill by the time U.N. negotiations resume this December in Copenhagen." (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription)

4) "Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Dipu Moni warned Thursday that rising oceans from climate change could swallow up to a third of her low-lying country and urged other nations to take action." (The Washington Times)

1) "Senate Democratic aides have interpreted the White House's relative silence" on climate change legislation "as a sign the administration does not want to expend much political capital on a global warming bill this year." (Politico)

2) Treasury Department memos released this week by the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute sparked debate between the parties about the cost of a cap-and-trade system. (Washington Post)

3) Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Tuesday his department is ending the royalty-in-kind program, which allowed the government to accept oil and natural gas instead of cash from producers using federal land. The secretary said the program "has been a blemish, in my view, on this department." (Greenwire)

4) Duke Energy CEO and Chairman Jim Rogers said Wednesday that "the world may no longer be burning coal by midcentury." (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription)

5) "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said China will invest $16 billion to boost oil production in the country, as part of a strategy to reduce dependence on the U.S. and strengthen oil ties with other nations." (Bloomberg)

1) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., "suggested that... global warming legislation could be tossed to the sidelines" until next year because of health care reform and financial regulation. (ClimateWire)

2) On Tuesday, Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., "for the first time since the summer break" met with "swing-vote senators on a cap-and-trade strategy." (CongressDailyAM -- subscription)

3) The Obama administration's new fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks, formally announced Tuesday, are the "first federal limits on greenhouse-gas pollution." (Washington Post)

4) These standards add "another pillar" to a "climate portfolio already under the international microscope" leading up to the December climate change talks in Copenhagen. (Greenwire )

5) Also on Tuesday, the administration "affirmed basic elements" of a recovery plan for endangered Pacific Northwest salmon that the Bush administration set forth last year. (The New York Times)

1) The Interior Department launched the administration's "first coordinated response to the impacts of climate change Monday." The department will create eight "regional climate change response centers" and "explore methods to sequester carbon by storing it underground and by absorbing it through forests and rangelands." (Washington Post)

2) Hawaii has "the most diverse array of alternative energy potential of any state in the nation" and has "set out to become a living laboratory for the rest of the country, hoping it can slash its dependence on fossil fuels while keeping the lights on." (New York Times)

3) President Obama will speak to General Motors plant workers today in Ohio and is expected to underscore how important federal programs like Cash For Clunkers have been in ensuring the auto industry stayed afloat last year. (AP)

4) The city of Pittsburgh, the Secret Service and groups hoping to protest the G-20 economic summit next week are in a "political and legal tussle" over where and how demonstrations can occur. (Politico)

5) Some key U.S allies on climate change, including Britain, Germany, France and Italy, were "conspicuously absent from a recent global climate conference" in Geneva. The Obama administration sent more than 40 officials to the event. (Washington Times)