** A trusted FBI informant told agents in 2020 that Hunter Biden was hired by Burisma Holdings to use his father to help “protect” the Ukrainian gas firm from problems, including an effort to “take care of'” a Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating the company for corruption, according to an explosive document released by Sen. Charles Grassley on Thursday.
** Unprecedented heat and flooding around the world has former Vice President Al Gore more worried than ever about climate change, though he’s also hopeful about surging clean energy and electric vehicle deployment.
** As the U.S. Treasury Department prepares to issue guidance on applying for hydrogen funding, climate advocates want to ensure it doesn’t let the industry reap benefits for making hydrogen with fossil fuels.
** Sometime this summer, EPA is expected to rule on a petition by Louisiana for state authority to issue permits for carbon dioxide waste disposal wells that would allow petrochemical companies to capture the climate-warming pollutant from their smokestacks and bury it underground.
** General Motors, Meta, Walmart and other major corporations partner with think tank RMI on an effort to accelerate clean electricity deployment through transmission, virtual power plants and other methods.
** California regulators plan to begin capping 5,300 orphaned oil and gas wells across the state, including some in urban Los Angeles that have spurred health complaints for years.
** A majority of Americans believe that climate change will have a “significant negative effect” on the globe during their lifetime, according to a new poll.
World
** Russia took in millions of dollars worth of equipment from American firms in the year following its invasion of Ukraine, according to a report from the Associated Press. Russia purchased 5,500 items from the top five American oilfield services providers, the AP reported on Tuesday, citing data from the coalition B4Ukraine.
** China’s imports of key energy commodities from Russia surged to all-time highs last month, highlighting the growing interdependence of the two nations as the war in Ukraine drags on well into its second year.
** Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited gas-rich Qatar on Tuesday to wrap up a Gulf tour centred on energy security and cooperation with Tokyo’s main suppliers. He was making the first visit to Doha by a Japanese premier in 10 years.
** Shell plc SHEL signs a momentous 12-year deal with Morocco’s National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the country. This agreement is set to boost Morocco’s energy mix and support the nation’s transition toward low-carbon economy.
** The US, the European Commission, Japan, South Korea and Australia are collaborating to limit methane emissions from liquefied natural gas supply chains as concerns mount over the climate impact from leaks of the potent greenhouse gas.
** Venezuela has just one gasoline refinery operating as it struggles to repair two key plants, creating a shortage so severe drivers and truckers are queuing up for hours — even days — for fuel.