In the news today and from the weekend…
Mining:
- Utility Dive reports Biden took a two-part path on Thursday to addressing rising energy costs: releasing up to 1 million barrels a day for six months from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and using the DPA, a Cold War relic, to bolster domestic battery production.
- Forbes reports one sector of the commodities market where this has been especially true is in the array of minerals that are critical for the wind, solar and electric vehicles (EV) industries.
- Wall Street Journal carries an editorial which argues President Biden on Thursday invoked the Defense Production Act to subsidize the mining of certain minerals in the U.S. that his own Administration is using regulation to block.
Coal:
- Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports in a possible new use for coal, the U.S. Department of Energy is providing $3 million for a Bluefield-based project to test coal-derived building materials, including roof tiles, siding panels, bricks and blocks.
Climate:
- The Associated Press reports the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is set to release its latest report today on international efforts to address climate change after negotiations between governments and researchers on the report’s summary pushed back the publication of the report by several hours. The deadline for the report’s data was last fall, which means the effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine will not be included.