** Wall Street’s top regulator will vote on March 6 on whether to adopt rules requiring U.S.-listed companies to report climate-related risks, the agency said in a notice on Wednesday, in a potentially major overhaul of U.S. disclosure rules.
** Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) decision to step down as Senate GOP leader, which he announced Wednesday, opens up a fierce battle to lead the Republican conference. One name near the top of the list: Sen. John Barrasso (Wyo.), the No. 3 Senate Republican and one of the chamber’s most vocal critics of Biden administration energy policy.
** A coalition of environmental advocacy groups will petition the Biden administration to propose rules that require stricter enforcement for cleaning up leftover infrastructure for offshore drilling.
** The world isn’t on track to meet its climate goals — and it’s the public’s fault, a leading oil company CEO told journalists. Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO Darren Woods told editors from Fortune that the world has “waited too long” to begin investing in a broader suite of technologies to slow planetary heating.
** Grease-proof food wrappers being sold in the U.S. will no longer contain toxic “forever chemicals” the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Wednesday.
** New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is suing JBS Foods, a major beef producer, accusing the company of misleading the public about the environmental impact of its products.
** A secretive nonprofit with financial backing from liberal billionaire George Soros and linked to the Biden administration is calling for the federal government to resurrect a 1970s law to crack down on gas-powered lawn equipment. Governing for Impact (GFI), founded in 2019 to help craft and guide implementation of federal regulations, quietly issued a memo late last month.
World
** The African nation of Congo became the latest exporter of liquified natural gas on Tuesday as it launched production of the first cargo load a year after Italian energy company ENI launched the Congo LNG project with local partners.
** Algeria is looking to cast itself as a critical supplier of natural gas for European countries seeking to lessen their dependence on Russia as it welcomed Thursday envoys from energy rich nations to a key summit.
** Germans are beginning to discuss whether the country will eventually need its own nuclear weapons amid fears of U.S. disengagement with Europe, even as Germany continues to spurn nuclear power.
** Guyana will accept whatever decision emerges from discussions between U.S. oil firms over the sale of Hess Corp in the dispute between Exxon Mobil and Chevron, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said on Wednesday.