** President Joe Biden on Friday brought back John Podesta, a behind-the-scenes veteran at getting things done on climate in past Democratic administrations, to put into place an ambitious U.S. climate program newly revived by $375 billion from Congress.
** Centennial Resource Development Inc. and Colgate Energy Partners II LLC completed their merger on Sept. 1, marking the debut of Permian Resources Corp.—the largest pure-play E&P company in the Delaware Basin.
** General Motors Co said Friday it will offer all of its estimated 2,000 U.S. Buick franchise dealers buyouts as it moves to make the brand all-electric by 2030 in the United States.
** After grabbing the No. 2 spot in the U.S. electric vehicle market with stylish, long-range models, Hyundai Motor and Kia are the automakers with the most to lose from new rules that halt subsidies for EVs made outside North America.
** Tougher clean energy goals, a ban on new oil and gas wells near homes and schools, and establishing guidelines for capturing carbon and storing it underground are among the climate proposals California Democrats advanced in the final days of the legislative session.
** The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that domestic natural-gas supplies rose by 61 billion cubic feet for the week ended Aug. 26. That compared to an average forecast for an increase of 56 billion cubic feet from analysts polled by S&P Global Commodity Insights.
** The Biden administration is expected to announce a rule this year that would detail annual biofuel blending mandates for the refining industry for a three-year period instead of just for one, three sources familiar with the discussions said.
** Exxon Mobil Corp and Shell Plc confirmed the sale of their California oil joint-venture Aera to German asset manager IKAV for $4 billion, ending a 25-year-long partnership that was one of the state’s largest oil producers.
** The head of the U.S. Environment Protection Agency said Friday that advanced nuclear technology will be “critical” for both the United States and Japan as they step up cooperation to meet decarbonization goals.
** Hawaii quits coal in bid to fight climate change. The last coal shipment arrived in the islands at the end of July, and the AES Corporation coal plant closed Thursday after 30 years in operation.
World
** Israel will ban Boeing 747 and similar aircraft with four engines as of March 31, 2023 to reduce noise and air pollution, its airports authority said on Sunday.
** Ukraine’s state-owned energy company Naftogaz is working hard to increase natural gas production, and could supply gas to European countries in time for next year’s heating season, chief executive Yuriy Vitrenko told Reuters.
** President Emmanuel Macron will make the case for greater investment in renewable sources of energy during a trip next week to an offshore wind turbine site in western France.
** South Korea plans to scale down its reliance on renewable energy sources and boost nuclear generation to meet its tougher climate goal.
** Uranium stocks soared following Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s announcement last week that his country would restart idled nuclear plants, and focus on the development of next-generation reactors.
** California’s move to ban the sale of gasoline powered cars by 2035 came after the European Union made a similar announcement, effectively ending sales of new internal-combustion-engine vehicles across the entire 27-country bloc that’s home to 448 million Europeans, starting that same year.
** The German government plans to charter another floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal for winter 2023/24, bringing the total number to five, as part of its strategy to diversify away from Russian energy.
** A new U.S. tax credit aimed at encouraging Americans to buy electric vehicles may backfire and limit choices for consumers because of concerns it’s weighed against European Union manufacturers, the EU trade chief said Thursday.