** New York City’s chief financial officer Brad Lander has announced plans to divest from fossil fuel stocks in the two largest city retirement funds. The funds have pension contributions and assets worth more than $170 billion. It may also lead to NYC pension bankruptcies. The highest performing stocks by industry in 2022 were oil and gas companies.
** A number of renewable energy tax credits are targeted in the proposal released by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to increase the federal debt limit. In addition to repealing green tax credits, including some included in the Inflation Reduction Act, the measure incorporates the Republican H.R. 1 energy bill, an industry-friendly package that the GOP has cast as vital to reducing energy costs.
** A coalition of environmental organizations warned in a report Wednesday of potential health risks in replacing lead pipes with polyvinyl chloride (PVC). PVC, a low-cost plastic, is commonly used as an alternative material for older metal pipes, which is particularly relevant as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Biden includes a provision to replace the U.S.’ lead service lines.
** The Biden administration said concerns of Republican lawmakers that last year’s record drawdown of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve damaged the system’s delicate salt caverns were unfounded, a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday showed.
** Seagate Technology Holdings PLC has agreed to pay a $300 million penalty in a settlement with U.S. authorities for shipping over $1.1 billion worth of hard disk drives to China’s Huawei in violation of U.S. export control laws, the Department of Commerce said on Wednesday.
** Louisiana likely will receive permitting authority over wells designed to capture and store greenhouse gases by the end of the year, U.S. Congressman Garret Graves, who represents a southern section of the state, said on Tuesday.
** The Biden administration’s plan to allow year-round sales of higher blends of ethanol in eight Midwestern states likely won’t go into effect until summer of 2024.
World
** The European Parliament on Tuesday approved the world’s first “carbon tax” for imported goods, imposing tariffs based on the amount of emissions generated in their production.
** Chinese auto maker Changan Auto will invest $285 million in a facility in Thailand to produce 100,000 electric vehicles (EVs) annually, Thailand’s Board of Investment said on Thursday.
** A group of 40 European Union lawmakers have called on UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to scrap plans to develop the Rosebank oil and gas field ahead of an energy summit next week.
** Expanding coal-fired power is China’s “only real option in the short term” to meet rising electricity demand, including from new energy vehicles, according to ANZ Group.
** Turkey will start natural gas production from the biggest field in the Black Sea on Thursday, giving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an opportunity to slash consumer energy prices less than a month ahead of elections.
