WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Monday, readers. We’re kicking off another week with the Dodgers up by two in the World Series, but their luck could change in favor of the Yankees as the series moves to New York today. 

In today’s edition of Daily on Energy, Callie and Maydeen take a look around the globe, starting with oil prices after Israel’s retaliatory strike on Iran and new accusations against Russia from NATO. We’ll also be covering what is thought to be one of the world’s first greenwashing cases as well as an update on the United Nations’ climate goals as carbon levels are reaching record highs. Plus, an update on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s investigation into RFK Jr. 

Our election countdown details some of the hurdles a Trump administration could face in walking back climate funding as just one week remains until the Nov. 5 election. 

Be sure to keep reading to the end to see what holidays and energy and environment events are going on this week. 

Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.

OIL DROPS FOLLOWING ISRAEL’S RESTRAINT: Oil prices saw a sharp drop two days after Israel carried out a retaliatory strike against Iran that was far more restrained than many analysts feared, giving investors added confidence that oil supply will not be disrupted by the conflict in the Middle East. 

International and U.S. benchmarks both fell on Monday, with Brent Crude dropping by at least 5.6% to $71.37 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate falling by 6% to $67.50, per Barron’s. By 10 a.m. ET, prices appeared to slowly crawl back up.

The sudden dip in prices came after Israel attacked 20 military targets in Iran that were primarily air defense and weapons production facilities. While further escalation could still threaten worldwide oil supply, traders appeared confident in the market on Monday. 

Key quote: “Israel’s response appears to have been measured with only Iranian air defense and missile production facilities targeted,” ING analysts said, according to the Wall Street Journal. “The more targeted response leaves the door open for de-escalation and clearly the price action in oil this morning suggests the market is of the same view.”

Read more from Callie here. 

RUSSIA RADIO SILENCE: NATO is reportedly now claiming that Russia is withholding key climate data used to report changes within the Arctic.

The details: A senior NATO official told the Financial Times that the nation is “withholding some of the important information that is needed for the [climate] reporting” in the region. The senior official said that by withholding the information, NATO’s climate modeling is put at risk. The modeling is traditionally used in policy decisions as world leaders look to reduce emissions. 

“It’s a quite nasty game where climate is now a hostage also in this relationship,” the official told the outlet. 

Moscow controls nearly two dozen out of a network of 95 field bases that gather and report data on the impacts of climate change in the Arctic. Currently, 21 field bases are “on pause.” Russia has reportedly failed to share data from Arctic field bases since the start of its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. 

GREENWASHING TROUBLE DOWN-UNDER FOR OIL AND GAS GIANT: Australian oil and gas company Santos is in hot water as it reportedly faces what is thought to be one of the world’s first greenwashing lawsuits filed by one of its own shareholders.

The details: The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) is suing Santos for claiming it had the ability to reduce emissions to 30% by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions just 10 years later, according to The Guardian. The trial began Monday and is expected to last until Nov. 15. 

ACCR has said Santos did not actually have a plan to reach these climate targets and instead had a “series of speculations…cobbled together in a matter of weeks.” ACCR has also accused Santos of being aware that its hydrogen production would in fact increase its emissions and claimed that wasn’t reflected in its climate goals. 

The defense: Santos has disputed the claims, saying the 2040 net-zero goals were not a prediction or vow. The company has reportedly also insisted that its investors should have understood that not everything detailed in its plan to reach those targets were set-in-stone projects. 

A reminder: Greenwashing is when corporations, advertising companies, investment firms or other businesses make false or misleading statements about their environmental impacts in order to reap the benefits of environmental or social movements. 

SAVING (GREEN) BIG BUCKS: Switching to green energy sources like wind and solar can take convincing for some. In Britain, some companies are reportedly looking to draw people in with big savings. 

The details: Renewable electricity company Octopus Energy operates and manages at least nine wind turbines in West Yorkshire, England, according to the New York Times. When large gusts of wind blow through, customers in the area will be notified of major discounts as high as 50% off their typical rates. One family told the outlet that with the discounts, they can save upwards of $517 each year. 

“We’ve got these famously bleak, windy hills,” CEO Greg Jackson told the outlet. “We wanted to demonstrate to people that wind electricity is cheaper, but only when you use it when it’s windy.”

Another startup, Ripple Energy, is looking to provide energy at no cost for new homeowners. The company is reportedly partnering with Octopus to sell 100% electricity dependent homes, by offering free electricity for at least five years to the buyers. 

What’s the catch? While it might seem like a bad deal for the utility provider, Octopus is actually making money as the homes generate more electricity than is used. Though if the homeowners are looking to charge any electric vehicles, they will need to cough up cash for that. The company is looking to have 100,000 “zero-bill” homes built by 2030. 

“You’ve now got a highly variable system of electricity — wind, solar — replacing the old world,” Jackson said. “But we don’t have a pricing system to reflect this.”

RFK IS SWIMMING FREE: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will not be facing federal charges over the allegations that claimed he sawed off a whale’s head and strapped it to his car to bring home. 

The details: A spokesperson for NOAA confirmed to Politico on Monday that the agency closed its investigation into the claim on Oct. 16. Authorities reportedly determined that the allegation was “unfounded.” The former presidential candidate has insisted the claims weren’t true, despite them first being made by his own daughter Kick Kennedy in a 2012 Town & Country article. 

Kennedy claimed her father sawed off the head of a whale with a chainsaw, strapped it to the roof of their family’s car, and drove it across state lines from Massachusetts back to their home in New York. RFK’s daughter claimed that the family wore plastic bags over their heads with mouth holes cut out due to the smell and whale juice that supposedly poured into the car. 

GOVERNMENTS FALLING SHORT ON CLIMATE GOALS: Ahead of the next round of climate negotiations, the United Nations said the world is not on track to reach its carbon emissions reduction goals this decade, raising the threat of more climate-related disasters. 

The UN Climate Change 2024 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Synthesis Report said total CO2 emissions into the atmosphere in 2030 will only be 2.6% lower than in 2019. The UN said these emission levels will “guarantee a human and economic trainwreck for every country, without exception.”

The Paris Agreement set a goal of limiting global heating to below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels but in order to achieve that goal, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said emissions would have to fall by 43% by 2030.

In November, countries are set to negotiate climate plans at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

“Greenhouse gas pollution at these levels will guarantee a human and economic trainwreck for every country, without exception,” said Simon Stiell, executive secretary of UN Climate Change. “Every fraction of a degree matters, as climate disasters get rapidly worse.”

CO2 CONCENTRATIONS REACH RECORD HIGH LEVELS IN 2023: Carbon dioxide levels reached a new record high in 2023, the World Meteorological Organization reported.

In 2004, the carbon dioxide level was 377.1 parts per million (ppm), but in 2023, it was 420.0 ppm, an increase of 42.9 ppm, or 11.4%, the WMO’s annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin said. It added that the annual increase of 2.3ppm marked the 12th consecutive year with an increase greater than 2 ppm. Still, 2023 was the largest increase, of 2.8ppm.

“Another year. Another record,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. “We are clearly off track to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global heating to below 2°C and aiming for 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”

Read more from Maydeen here.

ELECTION COUNTDOWN: If re-elected to office, Donald Trump has vowed to “terminate” climate funds authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act. However, the former president will likely face some hurdles to keep good on the campaign promise, according to an Axios report. 

Unspent IRA funds are primarily the ones under threat in a new Trump administration. However, much of this unspent money is already under contract. White House senior officials told Axios that, so far, the administration has approved $92.5 billion in grants. Legal experts told the outlet that it would be very difficult for Trump to rescind this funding. 

At the same time, Trump may not have the staunch support in Congress he may have had when the IRA passed. While no Republicans voted for the bill, around $161 billion of IRA funding is reportedly going to Republican districts, compared to only $42 billion going to Democratic districts. House Speaker Mike Johnson has also vowed to keep some climate IRA tax credits in place. This may result in a future Trump administration only doing away with some IRA funds rather than the law as a whole. 

“There’s a growing interest in looking at the provisions of the IRA individually and approaching it with a scalpel rather than an ax,” Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told Axios. 

Additionally, under the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, it is illegal for a president to refuse to spend money already appropriated by Congress based on ideological reasons. Trump (who was accused by the U.S. Government Accountability Office of violating this law during his first presidency regarding aid to Ukraine) has vowed to challenge and overturn the 50-year-old law. 

“When I return to the White House, I will do everything I can to challenge the Impoundment Control Act in court, and if necessary, get Congress to overturn it,” Trump said in a June 2023 campaign video. “We will overturn it.”

There are seven days until Election Day.

A LOOK AHEAD: 

• Oct. 28 The Solar Energy Industries Association is holding a 2-hour virtual symposium on solar thermal energy. 
• Oct. 28 – 30 is the Offshore WINDPOWER Conference and Exhibition in Atlantic City featuring New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, American Clean Power CEO Jason Grumet, and Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Elizabeth Klein. 
• Oct. 29 Decarb connect is hosting a free webinar on innovative decarbonization solutions, highlighting alternative fuels and manufacturing of green metals.
• Oct. 29 The Federalist Society is holding a virtual discussion on the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Chevron ruling and its impact on agency actions. 
• Oct. 30 the American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webinar on legal mechanics used to advance environmental justice.
• Oct. 31 is Halloween. 
• Oct. 31 will also see Diwali celebrations.  
• Oct. 31 Heatmap will be hosting its inaugural webinar on the state of clean energy opposition. 
• Oct. 31 the Environmental Law Institute will host a panel on the potential for permitting reform.
• Nov. 2 is Harvard Business School’s Climate Symposium, organized by the Energy & Environment, Food & Agriculture, and Sustainability Clubs. 
• Nov. 3 Daylight Saving Time ends, those clocks fall back one hour! 

RUNDOWN 

The Washington Post Twenty master gardeners have collected 25,000 bees. Here’s why.

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The New York Times How Are the World’s Trees Doing? A New Assessment Has Answers.