WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Thursday, readers! In today’s Daily on Energy, we continue to keep eyes on the Senate as lawmakers are slated to vote tonight to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Interior, Doug Burgum.
Meanwhile, Callie and Maydeen also take a look at global trends in investments in both climate technology and the transition toward clean energy.
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.
TRUMP’S BORDER TARIFF MAY NOT IMPACT OIL: A 25% tariff on all Canadian and Mexican imports may not apply to oil, Trump revealed from the Oval Office this afternoon.
The details: “Oil is going to have nothing to do with it, as far as I’m concerned,” the president said Thursday, adding that he had yet to make a final decision on the matter.
“We may or may not,” Trump said. “We’re going to make that determination probably tonight. It depends on what the price is. If the oil is properly priced, if they treat us properly, which they don’t.”
He also claimed that the U.S. doesn’t need Canadian imports of products like oil saying, “We have all the oil that you need. We have all the trees that you need.”
Trump had threatened a 25% tariff on both Canada and Mexico in an effort to curb illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl across the border. “We’re thinking in terms of 25% on Mexico and Canada because they’re allowing vast numbers of people” across the border Trump said on his first day in office. “I think we’ll do it Feb. 1.” He first made the threat late last year, prompting both countries to take greater action on cracking down on immigration and narcotics. Canada in particular has presented a billion-dollar plan to combat trafficking along the northern border of the U.S.
A reminder: For decades, the U.S. has imported millions of barrels of crude oil from Canada daily, reaching a record of 4.3 million barrels per day in July, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). While domestic production of crude dwarfs those numbers – averaging around 13.4 million barrels a day – tariffs on the imported oil are expected to raise local fuel prices.
BURGUM FACES CONFIRMATION VOTE: President Donald Trump’s nominee for Interior Secretary, Doug Burgum, is scheduled for a confirmation vote on the floor of the Senate late Thursday evening.
The Senate convened around noon today to discuss Burgum’s nomination and was poised to vote on the matter by 11 pm EST. If the majority of the upper chamber votes in favor, Burgum will be the eighth member of Trump’s cabinet to be confirmed. Hours before the vote, Republicans assured their confidence that Burgum would be confirmed as the former governor sailed smoothly through committee last week with bipartisan support.
“If confirmed, Mr. Burgum will play a critical role in balancing the importance of conserving our wildlife and natural resources while also assisting in the enhancement of domestic energy production,” Sen. Chuck Grassley said.
EPA DISMISSES CLIMATE-RELATED ADVISORY BOARDS: The Environmental Protection Agency dismissed staffers this week who worked on the agency’s science and clean air advisory committees, just one day before EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin was confirmed by the Senate.
The details: A Tuesday email obtained by The Hill from then-acting administrator James Payne revealed the EPA dismissed both the Science Advisory Board and Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee to “reset…and reestablish its current membership.”
“This action emphasizes the importance of SAB and CASAC to EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment,” the email reads. “EPA is working to update these federal advisory committees to ensure that the agency receives scientific advice consistent with its legal obligations to advance our core mission. A request for nominations to the SAB and CASAC will be announced in the coming weeks, and we encourage all members to reapply.”
An EPA spokesperson confirmed to the outlet that the agency dismissed current members as it seeks to “reverse the politicization” of the two advisory boards.
Some background: It is not uncommon for a new administration to remove appointees to these advisory boards, as both President Joe Biden’s EPA administrator Michael Regan and Trump’s first EPA administrator Scott Pruitt both dismissed several members.
Trump appeared to lay this pathway again during his slew of executive orders signed in his first week in office. In one of the orders, Trump provided instruction for those heading up key agencies like the EPA to walk back, suspend, or revise any actions “identified as unduly burdensome” on the energy industry, with particular focus on natural gas, oil, coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical minerals and nuclear power.
SCOTTISH COURT BLOCKS TWO OIL AND GAS PROJECTS IN UNITED KINGDOM: A court in Scotland has moved to revoke the licenses for two oil and gas projects in the North Sea, in a major blow to an already weakened fossil fuel industry in the United Kingdom.
The details: Today, the Court of Session in Edinburgh overturned previous approvals for the Jackdaw and Rosebank gasfield projects issued in 2022 and 2023. The court ruled the approvals had been unlawful and failed to fully assess the environmental impacts of the projects – such as the carbon emissions generated by the burning of any oil and gas produced, according to the Financial Times.
The court has requested that more detailed assessments be conducted before receiving new approvals. However, the court has allowed the developers of the projects, Shell and Equinor, to continue work like drilling wells as the government weighs any future oil and gas production.
The ruling has been widely celebrated by environmentalists and climate activists who have advocated for an accelerated phase out of fossil fuels. University of Cambridge law professor Harro van Asselt told the New York Times that the ruling may lead to new cases being launched with the focus on ending new fossil fuel infrastructure altogether.
Uncertain future: While the U.K.’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has vowed to issue revised guidance on taking more environmental impacts into account for oil and gas production projects, it remains unclear whether that will lead to new approvals for the two gas fields.
The ruling Labour party has said it is committed to not issuing any new oil and gas licenses in an effort to meet climate targets. However, the government has also noted it will not block exploration and drilling developments already in progress, according to the Financial Times.
The oil and gas industry has insisted that projects like Jackdaw and Rosebank are vital for energy security within the U.K. Shell CEO Wael Sawan told the Financial Times that the company plans to take the ruling to the UK’s highest court to secure project approval.
“Our conviction is this is the right project for the UK,” Sawan told the outlet.
INVESTMENT IN ENERGY TRANSITION EXCEEDED $2T LAST YEAR: In 2024, global investment in the transition to renewable energy grew 11% to $2.1 trillion, a new report by BloombergNEF said.
BloombergNEF’s “Energy Transition Investment Trends 2025” found that China invested the most in the transition toward clean energy. It added that investment growth was driven by electrified transport, renewable energy, power grids, and energy storage investment.
“Electrified transport remained the largest investment driver, reaching $757 billion in 2024,” the report reads. “Investments in renewable energy hit $728 billion, which includes investment in wind (both on- and offshore), solar, biofuels, biomass and waste, marine, geothermal and small hydro. Finally, investment in power grids totaled $390 billion, which includes investment in transmission and distribution lines, substation equipment, and the digitalization of the grid.”
U.S. investment was stagnant at $338 billion. Meanwhile, investment was down for the European Union, at $381 billion, and the United Kingdom, at $65.3 billion. China’s investment in the energy transition was greater than that of the U.S., U.K., and EU combined, at $818 billion.
“Our report shows just how much growth we’ve seen in the energy transition over the past few years, despite political uncertainty and high interest rates,” said Albert Cheung, Deputy CEO of BNEF.
“There is still much more that needs to be done, especially in emerging areas like industrial decarbonization, hydrogen and carbon capture, in order to reach global net-zero goals. True partnership between the private and public sectors is the only solution to unlock the potential of these technologies,” Cheung added.
BUT…CLIMATE TECH INVESTMENTS ON THE DOWNWARD TREND: Last year marked the third year that investments in climate-focused businesses dropped, while investments in artificial intelligence saw a huge bump, according to new data released this week.
The details: BloombergNEF found that there were only 1,200 deals totaling nearly $51 billion were made in 2024 related to climate tech, such as clean energy startups. This is a dramatic 40% lower than the $84 billion worth of deals made the year prior.
Experts have attributed the dip in investments to a number of reasons, including higher tariffs on Chinese solar products as well as increased attention on AI. In 2024, companies involved in AI advancements saw major investments totaling nearly $100 billion.
Key quote: “There isn’t an unlimited pool of capital to be invested in startups, and there’s really been a big uptick in AI,” BNEF technology and innovation lead Mark Daly said. “It’s definitely having some impact.”
UK SUBMITS PLANS TO CUT CARBON EMISSIONS TO THE UN: The U.K. submitted a plan to the United Nations outlining how it will significantly reduce its carbon emissions by 2035, Reuters reports.
Last year, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced at COP29 new ambitious targets for the U.K. to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by 81% by 2035, compared to 1990 levels. In its written submission to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the U.K. summarized its policies and proposals to reduce emissions. It added that the country will provide more details in the future.
“Making Britain a clean energy superpower is one of the five national missions of this government,” the submission reads.
“We are committed to delivering the benefits of the net zero transition. Looking ahead, we will deliver an updated cross-economy plan to meet our climate targets in due course, with full detail of policy packages for all sectors,” it added.
“The UK’s bold new climate plan means it is even better placed to cash in on the climate action boom,” UNFCCC chief Simon Stiell said. “Other countries, across the G20 and around the world, should follow suit. No one can afford to miss out.”
RUNDOWN
Inside Climate News DeepSeek’s Emergence Shows the Power Sector’s AI Dreams May Not Proceed as Expected
Washington Post Earthquake sensors could help track a different threat: Falling space debris
Canary Media Trump wants to end the $7.5B bipartisan EV charger buildout. Can he?
Nat Bullard Decarbonization: 2021, The Complex, Reagents