** The Interior Department said it plans to cut rents and fees for solar and wind projects on public lands by about 50% as the Biden administration aims to bolster renewable projects. The administration will also increase the number of staff members who process environmental reviews and permits by establishing five coordinating offices in Washington, Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah.
** The Department of Health and Human Services will create an Office of Environmental Justice aimed at alleviating environmental health issues in “disadvantaged communities and vulnerable populations on the frontlines of pollution.” The announcement comes after the Department of Justice created a similar Office of Environmental Justice.
** The League of Conservation Voters is out with a new $75,000 ad buy in Washington DC calling for the Biden administration to reject the ConocoPhillips Willow Project, which is currently pending before the Interior Department. The advocacy group has been submitting comments urging the department not to grant approvals for the project.
** U.S. climate envoy John Kerry is in the magical kingdom of ABBA and surströmming for Stockholm+50 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the UN Conference on the Human Environment.
** Friends of the Earth sued the State Department over its public records request related to energy adviser Amos Hochstein. As reported last month, environmentalists are not happy with Hochstein’s past work in the liquefied natural gas industry.
** A California congressman introduces a bill that would suspend the federal gasoline tax and offset lost revenue with a tax on oil company profits.
** Rystad forecasts that U.S. oil and gas employment is expected to recover this year, rebound in the coming years and surpass pre-pandemic figures to an oilfield workforce of almost 1.1 million by the end of 2027. By the end of this year, U.S. oil and gas employment is expected to expand 12.5% to almost 971,000, Rystad said.
** The nation’s first electric fire truck goes into service in California.
** The only oil company that bought a single lease in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge early last year has canceled its lease, according to the U.S. Interior Department. The move by Regenerate Alaska is the latest example of the industry stepping away from possible oil and gas development in the 19-million-acre refuge.
World
** Some members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are looking into possibly suspending Russia’s participation in an oil production agreement as Western sanctions and a partial European Union embargo begin to undermine the nation’s ability to boost production, though it is unclear whether Russia would sign off on an exemption.
** Electric vehicle sales are expected to more than triple by 2025 to 20.6 million globally, mainly due to an accelerated EV uptake in China, according to a new report from BloombergNEF.