The Biden administration is facing a critical legal test of its authority to enact climate policy, as Republicans plan attacks on new EPA regulations as costly and overstepping the boundaries of the executive branch. Buoyed by recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions striking down Obama-era regulations designed to reduce emissions from the power sector, conservative lawyers plan to push the “major questions doctrine.” The Houston Chronicle has details.
Houston Chronicle: Lawsuit Accuses Gas Companies of Manipulating the Market During Winter Storm Uri
A former Enron trader is suing some of the nation’s largest energy and financial firms, claiming they diverted natural gas supplies and cut off production in a scheme to artificially drive up prices ahead of Winter Storm Uri in 2021. CirclesX Recovery claims firms including Energy Transfer, Kinder Morgan, BP, Conoco Phillips and CenterPoint Energy engaged in an Enron-style scheme to cut off gas production or divert supplies into storage days ahead of freezing temperatures that would eventually cripple the Texas power grid.
Houston Chronicle: SEC to Release New Climate Disclosure Rules
The SEC is expected to create a standardized reporting protocol to provide investors with a clear picture of different industries’ emissions and their progress in adapting their business to a warming planet, according to observers closely tracking the process.
Houston Chronicle: Exxon Sues Cuba Over Seized Assets by Castro
Exxon Mobil, Standard’s successor, filed a federal lawsuit last Thursday against Cuba’s national oil company and a state-owned industrial conglomerate for approximately $280 million, seeking compensation for the value of the assets plus almost six decades of interest. James Osborne of the Houston Chronicle reports.