Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-manchin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Manchin</a> (D-WV) is poised to score a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oil-and-gas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">natural gas</a> pipeline victory with the bipartisan <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/debt-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bill to raise the debt ceiling</a>.
A provision in the <a href="https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20230529/BILLS-118hrPIH-fiscalresponsibility.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023</a>, which arose out of negotiations between the White House and Speaker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kevin-mccarthy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kevin McCarthy</a> (R-CA), aims to expedite the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), which stretches over 300 miles from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/west-virginia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">West Virginia</a> to southern Virginia.
&#8220;Last summer, I introduced legislation to complete the Mountain Valley Pipeline. I am pleased Speaker McCarthy and his leadership team see the tremendous value in completing the MVP to increase domestic energy production and drive down costs across America and especially in West Virginia,&#8221; <a href="https://www.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/icymi-manchin-secures-mvp-in-debt-ceiling-agreement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Manchin said</a> in a statement.
&#8220;I am proud to have fought for this critical project and to have secured the bipartisan support necessary to get it across the finish line,&#8221; he added.
Under the debt ceiling legislation, federal agencies are directed to authorize outstanding permits for the pipeline. The bill also dictates that no court shall have jurisdiction to review their actions. Any challenges to this provision would be decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a shift away from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit that has issued a ruling <a href="https://www.wboy.com/news/west-virginia/mountain-valley-pipelines-water-permit-blocked-by-federal-court/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">holding up constriction</a> of the pipeline.
The MVP website says total project work for the pipeline was <a href="https://www.mountainvalleypipeline.info/overview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">about 94% complete</a> as of spring 2023.
The White House agreed to include the pipeline language in the bill to make good on a commitment to accelerate energy infrastructure permitting as part of an arrangement with Manchin to secure his support for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-signs-740-billion-inflation-reduction-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">last year&#8217;s Inflation Reduction Act</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/05/31/debt-deal-mountain-valley-pipeline/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to The Washington Post</a>. &#8220;It was going to move forward with or without this bill,&#8221; White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday.
Environmental groups are unhappy with the MVP provision being tucked into the debt ceiling bill.
“The Sierra Club calls on Congress to reject this deal and swiftly pass a clean bill,&#8221; Sierra Club executive director Ben Jealous <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2023/05/sierra-club-calls-congress-reject-bad-debt-limit-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in a statement</a>. &#8220;Any deal that attempts to expedite the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline, that rolls back bedrock environmental protections, and makes life harder for workers and families already struggling is a bad deal for the country.&#8221;
The bill is expected to get a full House vote Wednesday evening, and if it passes, the legislation will head to the Senate for approval. But there is some opposition to the MVP provision among lawmakers, including Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who plans to offer an amendment to remove it, according to his office.
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“Senator Kaine is extremely disappointed by the provision of the bill to greenlight the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline in Virginia, bypassing the normal judicial and administrative review process every other energy project has to go through,” a Kaine spokesperson <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4026806-manchin-pipeline-in-debt-ceiling-deal-prompts-democratic-pushback/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told The Hill</a>.
&#8220;This provision is completely unrelated to the debt ceiling matter,&#8221; the spokesperson added. &#8220;He plans to file an amendment to remove this harmful Mountain Valley Pipeline provision.&#8221;

Sen. Joe Manchin

Debt Ceiling Bill Would Give Manchin A Gas Pipeline Win

Congress

Debt Ceiling

Energy

Joe Manchin

Natural gas

Oil and Gas

Politics

West Virginia

David Bahnsen, the founder and chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group, will prompt <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/exxonmobil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ExxonMobil</a> at the company’s annual shareholder meeting to fully embrace the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/oil-and-gas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fossil fuel</a> sector and disregard activists who push for <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decarbonization</a>.
The oil and gas behemoth’s annual meeting on Wednesday will feature a number of shareholder <a href="https://d1io3yog0oux5.cloudfront.net/_d1e4ab5f254a314903d16c85853eb81c/exxonmobil/db/2301/22049/proxy_statement/2023-Proxy-Statement.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolutions</a> that urge the company to report carbon emissions, pursue net zero emissions within the next few decades, or otherwise pivot away from primary business interests. Another resolution submitted by Bahnsen would ask the firm to establish a “Board Committee on Decarbonization Risk” to evaluate “responses to calls for ExxonMobil decarbonization on activist-established timelines” and detail possible impacts if such policies are pursued.
“Claims about the need for decarbonization at all, but especially by some activist-generated date certain, are based on a long series of assumptions that are either counterfactual or insufficiently examined,” the supporting statement for the resolution remarks. “If decarbonization is neither required nor technologically feasible, ExxonMobil will lose significant markets and revenues to private equity firms and less clean-producing state actors, thus harming shareholders while also harming the environment.”
Opponents of a managed transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wall-street-journal-blasts-joe-biden-john-kerry-for-pushing-self-destructive-green-energy-policies-while-china-burns-more-coal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that increased carbon emissions from China, as well as India and other developing countries, are outpacing emissions declines in the West. “ExxonMobil’s decarbonization will be meaningless if other countries do not follow the same decarbonization schedules, and there is abundant evidence that they will not,” the resolution from Bahnsen added.
Bahnsen said his intention is to remove politics from the company rather than advance separate political goals within the firm. “I do not use my influence as an investor to pull companies into various political or social causes, as is often done with these shareholder resolutions,” he commented. “I come here as a friend, not a critic, and I invite the company to do something which shareholder activists never do: to defend the business that you as a company are in. I believe that oil and gas resources have vastly increased the standard of living for the human race, and that our company has been part of that.”
ExxonMobil is a frequent target of the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as ESG, proponents of which contend that corporate power should be leveraged to achieve certain social goals. Skeptics of the movement say the philosophy risks distracting from or subverting obligations to maximize profits.
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Even as a considerable number of investors support executives using financial power to achieve certain objectives, a clear majority would prefer political neutrality and the sole emphasis on profits, according to an exclusive <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poll-by-two-to-one-margin-investors-reject-woke-companies-pushing-political-causes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> from The Daily Wire released last year. Bahnsen said the “silent majority” of shareholders would appreciate efforts from ExxonMobil to clarify the risks associated with decarbonization.
Bahnsen filed another shareholder resolution at JPMorgan Chase earlier this month after the company moved to end <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hedge-fund-manager-will-confront-jpmorgan-chase-shareholders-on-moves-to-de-bank-conservative-and-religious-groups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ties</a> with several entities with conservative or religious objectives. The investment bank filed a <a href="https://adfmedia.org/press-release/jpmorgan-chase-loses-sec-challenge-must-allow-shareholders-consider-viewpoint" target="_blank" rel="noopener">motion</a> with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year to exclude the resolution from the shareholder ballot, a move which the agency rejected.

Exxon Mobil

Portfolio Manager Will Encourage Major Oil Company To Ignore Activists, Embrace Fossil Fuel Sector

Portfolio Manager Will Encourage ExxonMobil To Ignore Activists, Embrace Fossil Fuels

Business

Climate Change

ExxonMobil

Social Issues

Anyone familiar with domestic energy policy knows the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is critical to our nation. But it seems Joe Biden saw the acronym S-P-R and thought, “Strategic Political Reserve.”
The Louisiana- and Texas-based series of subterranean, artificial caverns were created by Congress in 1975 as a response to OPEC’s oil embargoes in 1973-74. The caverns have a capacity for up to 714 million barrels of oil, equivalent to just over a month’s worth of daily U.S. imports. Think of it as a “break glass only in emergency” option, except with oil.
As of this month, however, the SPR held only 362 million barrels, a decrease of an incredible 34% of the reserve’s totals from just a year ago. That’s 550 million fewer barrels for those keeping track. Why the precipitous drop? Politics.
To offset the disgust from the American public over record-high gas prices that threatened household budgets for travel, food, transportation, and leisure from the end of 2021 and through last summer, President Biden directed sales of 260 million barrels from the SPR. These draw-downs – designed to increase supply and lower prices – were hailed as sound economic policy by those on the Left, and a threat to national energy security by Biden’s critics.
On second thought, with his approval at a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-BIDEN/POLL/nmopagnqapa/">dismal 38% last summer</a>, perhaps Biden thought SPR stands for “Sneaky Poll Rescue?”
Much like the administration&#8217;s outright disasters at the southern border, in Afghanistan, or the decimation of domestic energy independence, the draw-down plan was anything but successful. Sure, gas prices dropped, but so did consumer confidence in the administration, especially after it was revealed that one million barrels of SPR were sold to China. With the U.S. heavily dependent on Chinese-dominated supply chains for everything from pharmaceuticals to defense technologies, it made little sense to rational Americans to weaken our oil reserves while meeting Communist China&#8217;s energy needs.
Facing intense scrutiny, the Energy Department then announced that it would begin refilling the SPR once prices stabilized in the $65-72 per barrel range. It’s worth noting that president Trump proposed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-could-refill-strategic-oil-reserve-at-80-per-barrel-democrats-blocked-trump-when-oil-was-24">refilling the SPR</a> back when oil was $24 per barrel, but the Democrats blocked it.
To date, none of the promised repurchases have taken place, thanks to the continued bungling of the administration. This week, however, Biden’s Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm <a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/us-department-energy-announces-purchases-strategic-petroleum-reserve#:~:text=%E2%80%94%20The%20Department%20of%20Energy%20(DOE,the%20Big%20Hill%20SPR%20site.">announced the department</a> would try again. In a statement they said they plan to “repurchase up to three million barrels of crude at a lower price than the over $94 per barrel price it was sold for in 2022, while strengthening energy security by providing certainty to the industry in a way that helps encourage near-term supply.”
Only a Biden apologist would find their stance truthful or convincing. Record-high prices brought about by Biden’s eco-driven energy policies now bring a higher cost to the U.S. as it seeks to refill the Reserve. The refill cost in 2023 will be nearly triple that of the historical average cost to fill the SPR and over two times higher than the <a href="https://www.energy.gov/ceser/spr-quick-facts">average price per barrel</a> ($29.70).
Assuming the administration can find sellers willing to sell oil, and the repurchasing process goes smoothly, it will still only replenish less than 2% of what it drew down. At this rate, we may have to wait for the inauguration of the 58th President before we finish the job Joe Biden started.
It is another perfect example of the long-term damage Team Biden has inflicted on America. He was only supposed to break the glass in case of emergency, but instead Joe Biden has broken so much more.
Rick Whitbeck is the Alaska State Director for Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs and opportunities. Contact him at Rick@PowerTheFuture.com and follow him on Twitter @PTFAlaska.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Rise in gasoline prices concept with double exposure of digital screen with financial chart graphs and oil pumps on a field.

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve Isn’t Joe Biden’s Political Reservoir

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve Isn’t Joe Biden's Political Reservoir

Biden Administration

Communist China

Department of Energy

Readers Pass

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Carbon</a> dioxide emissions in <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a> soared to a record high in the first quarter of this year even as the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> moves to crack down on emissions at American <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">power</a> plants.
China witnessed a 4.0% year-over-year increase in carbon dioxide emissions in the first three months of 2023 relative to the same period in 2022, exceeding the previous peak in the first three months of 2021, according to a Friday <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-chinas-co2-emissions-hit-q1-record-high-after-4-rise-in-early-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from Carbon Brief. The phenomenon was driven by the continued rollback of lockdowns in China and a concurrent economic rebound.
New emissions occurred as a result of a 5.5% increase in oil consumption, a 3.6% increase in coal consumption, and a 1.4% increase in natural gas consumption. The largest factor behind the increased fuel use was the power sector, especially as a result of higher reliance on coal.
Officials in China indeed approved the equivalent of two new large coal plants every week last year, according to an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-is-full-steam-ahead-with-new-coal-plants-as-the-west-goes-green" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Elevated worldwide energy prices, which stem from persistent supply chain bottlenecks and disruptions from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/germany-reverts-to-burning-coal-will-keep-two-nuclear-plants-open-ahead-of-winter-months" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pressed</a> a number of countries toward burning additional coal, which is dirtier but also less expensive in comparison to other energy sources.
China was responsible for 26.1% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions as of 2018, according to <a href="https://www.c2es.org/content/international-emissions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the International Energy Agency, surpassing the 13.4% of worldwide emissions produced by the United States and the 7.6% of worldwide emissions produced by members of the European Union. Critics of governments which encourage a transition toward renewable energy have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wall-street-journal-blasts-joe-biden-john-kerry-for-pushing-self-destructive-green-energy-policies-while-china-burns-more-coal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">observed</a> that increased carbon emissions from China, as well as India and developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, are outpacing emissions declines in the West.
News of the increased emissions in China comes shortly after the Environmental Protection Agency <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-epa-unveils-new-crackdown-on-power-plants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unveiled</a> new rules that will force coal and natural gas power plants in the United States to decrease their emissions, a move which the agency said would “require ambitious reductions in carbon pollution based on proven and cost-effective control technologies.”
Coal and natural gas plants account for 60% of power generation in the United States, according to <a href="https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=427&amp;t=3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Energy Information Administration. Higher consumption of natural gas, which burns cleaner than coal, has enabled the nation to decrease emissions in recent years.
Officials at the EPA claimed that the regulations would produce “climate and public health benefits” worth $85 billion over the next two decades, as well as prevent premature deaths and hospital visits as a result of decreased particulate matter emissions. The new standards, which had been widely expected for weeks before their public release on Thursday, prompted West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin to announce that he would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/manchin-shreds-biden-over-expected-crackdown-on-power-plants-reveals-how-he-will-respond" target="_blank" rel="noopener">oppose</a> every EPA nominee from the White House until the rules are reversed.
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“This administration is determined to advance its radical climate agenda and has made it clear they are hellbent on doing everything in their power to regulate coal and gas-fueled power plants out of existence, no matter the cost to energy security and reliability,” the centrist lawmaker remarked in a statement. “This piles on top of a broader regulatory agenda being rolled out designed to kill the fossil industry by a thousand cuts.”

Biden And Xi

China’s Carbon Emissions Soar As Biden Unveils Crackdown On American Power Plants

Chinese Emissions Soar As Biden Releases New Crackdown On Power Plants

China

Environment

World

Democratic <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/washington-d-c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">District of Columbia</a> Attorney General Brian Schwalb revealed on Thursday that he has a gas stove in his home as the official defended his comments to the Consumer Product Safety Commission endorsing the agency’s efforts to <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">regulate</a> the appliances.
<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> officials induced backlash earlier this year when they floated new emissions rules for gas stoves, even as increased adoption of natural gas serves as a significant driver of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wall-street-journal-blasts-joe-biden-john-kerry-for-pushing-self-destructive-green-energy-policies-while-china-burns-more-coal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lower</a> emissions in the United States. Criticism over the move occurred when CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. said in an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/transparently-political-biden-administration-considering-ban-on-gas-stoves" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> that “any option is on the table” for a prohibition of the appliances, after which CPSC Chairman Alex Hoehn-Saric posted a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/regulatory-agency-backs-down-says-there-are-no-plans-to-ban-gas-stoves" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> asserting that the agency did not intend to outlaw gas stoves.
Schwalb and nearly one dozen other Democratic attorneys general submitted <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-attorneys-general-support-nationwide-gas-stove-crackdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">comments</a> on forthcoming CPSC regulations supporting the creation of “voluntary standards or mandatory regulations that will reduce the emissions of harmful pollutants from gas stoves.” He asserted in an <a href="https://twitter.com/SquawkCNBC/status/1656629599772524547" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with CNBC that consumers should be informed about the risks from the appliances.
“The data and science tells us that gas stoves do in fact emit pollutants, creating indoor air pollution that can make people sick,” he told CNBC anchors Joe Kernen and Becky Quick. “This is an important issue of public safety and making sure consumers have clear information so they can make informed decisions about the appliances in their home.”
Kernen, who <a href="https://twitter.com/SquawkCNBC/status/1656629416338903041" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pressed</a> the official on whether the primary intent of the CPSC rules was to eliminate harmful indoor air pollutants or to battle climate change by decreasing carbon dioxide emissions, asked Schwalb whether he has a gas stove in his own home. “I do have a gas stove in my house and I enjoy having a gas stove,” he responded. “I appreciate being able to be aware that there are risks associated with it so that I can protect my family.”
Some 38% of households nationwide currently use gas stoves, a figure which approaches 70% for states such as California and New Jersey, according to <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=53439" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Energy Information Administration. Families with a gas stove use the appliance an average of eight times per week.
Many of the attorneys general who endorsed the comments to the CPSC hail from states which recently initiated crackdowns on gas stoves. New York, for instance, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-york-ban-gas-stoves-new-residential-construction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prohibited</a> the installation of gas stoves in new homes and buildings.
The admission from Schwalb about his own use of a gas stove came weeks after Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who has overseen the proposal of more <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-energy-department-starts-crackdown-on-dishwashers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">restrictive</a> efficiency standards for several other consumer appliances, likewise <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/energy-secretary-granholm-admits-she-has-a-gas-stove-while-justifying-push-to-regulate-appliances" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> that she has a gas stove when pressed by members of the House Appropriations Committee.
“This does not impact the majority, and it certainly does not say that anybody who has a gas stove would have their gas stove taken away,” she remarked. “There’s no ban on gas stoves. I have a gas stove. It is just about making the existing electric and gas stoves, and all the other appliances, more efficient.”
Energy Department officials contend that they are “preserving reliability and performance across household appliances and commercial and industrial equipment” while implementing the new regulations, which also apply to products such as dishwashers, vending machines, and electric motors. The Biden administration, which has <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/climate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">established</a> a “whole-of-government effort” to reduce carbon emissions, has drafted several similar crackdowns over the past two years.

Gas Stove

Democrat Official Who Supports Gas Stove Crackdown Has A Gas Stove In His Own Home

Democrat Official Who Supports Gas Stove Crackdown Has A Gas Stove At His Home

Washington D.C.

Eleven <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/democratic-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Democratic</a> state attorneys general issued comments to the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Monday endorsing the agency’s efforts to regulate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oil-and-gas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">natural gas</a> stoves.
<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> officials provoked controversy earlier this year when they introduced new emissions rules for gas stoves, even as increased adoption of the fuel serves as a significant driver of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wall-street-journal-blasts-joe-biden-john-kerry-for-pushing-self-destructive-green-energy-policies-while-china-burns-more-coal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lower</a> emissions in the United States. Backlash over the move emerged when CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. said in an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/transparently-political-biden-administration-considering-ban-on-gas-stoves" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> that gas stoves are a “hidden hazard” and declared that “any option is on the table” for a ban, after which CPSC Chairman Alex Hoehn-Saric posted a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/regulatory-agency-backs-down-says-there-are-no-plans-to-ban-gas-stoves" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> asserting that the agency did not intend to outlaw gas stoves.
The attorneys general nevertheless said in <a href="https://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-05/Multistate%20Comments%20to%20CPSC%20re%20Chronic%20Hazards%20Associated%20with%20Gas%20Stoves%20%281%29.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">comments</a> on forthcoming CPSC regulations that they support the development of “voluntary standards or mandatory regulations that will reduce the emissions of harmful pollutants from gas stoves” which worsen indoor air quality. The officials added that the CPSC should “increase consumer awareness of the harms posed by gas stoves through more informative warning labels and public education.”
Some 38% of households nationwide currently use gas stoves, a figure which approaches 70% for states such as California and New Jersey, according to <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=53439" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Energy Information Administration. Families with a gas stove use the appliance an average of eight times per week.
The comments asserted that most states have already “recognized the health hazards posed by household gas appliances, including gas stoves, and have introduced and adopted policies and regulations that aim to mitigate those hazards” through mechanisms such as “supporting home electrification.” The attorneys general cited multiple legislative efforts to regulate the appliances, including a “net-zero building code” in Washington, D.C., that will effectively “ban most natural gas use in new buildings,” as well as a similar law in New York that will <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-energy-department-starts-crackdown-on-dishwashers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prohibit</a> the installation of gas stoves in new homes and buildings.
The regulatory attention toward the appliances follows a <a href="https://www.booker.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/booker_beyer_lead_colleagues_in_urging_cpsc_to_address_dangerous_indoor_air_pollutions_emitted_by_gas_stoves.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> from Democratic lawmakers last year expressing concern over “risks posed to consumers” by gas stoves. The comments from the attorneys general cited similar concerns, contending that low-income households and minority communities are especially vulnerable to air pollution from the devices.
“Pollution from gas stoves often has a disproportionate effect on households located in underserved communities, especially low-income households. In some instances, low-income housing conditions may contribute to a greater risk of exposure to pollutants from gas stoves,” the letter continued. “Those conditions include smaller unit sizes in multifamily housing, poor ventilation, use of a gas stove as a source of heat, and maintenance deficiencies.”
The call for regulatory action comes days after Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-energy-department-starts-crackdown-on-dishwashers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> new efficiency standards for dishwashers, vending machines, and electric motors. She said that the Biden administration is “using all of the tools at our disposal to save Americans money while promoting innovations that will reduce carbon pollution and combat the climate crisis.”
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The Energy Department has thereby introduced regulatory crackdowns for more than one dozen product categories this year, actions which agency officials contend are “preserving reliability and performance across household appliances and commercial and industrial equipment.” The Biden administration, which has <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/climate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">established</a> a “whole-of-government effort” to reduce carbon emissions, drafted several similar regulations over the past two years.

Democrat Attorneys General Support Nationwide Gas Stove Crackdown

Democrat AGs Support Nationwide Gas Stove Crackdown

Democrats

Executive

Gas stoves

The state of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/oklahoma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oklahoma</a> banned more than one dozen <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/wall-street" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investment</a> and asset management <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">firms</a>, including <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/blackrock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BlackRock</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jp-morgan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JPMorgan Chase</a>, from conducting business with state government entities over alleged efforts to boycott <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic-oil-and-gas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">energy</a> companies.
Recently enacted legislation enabled Oklahoma Republican State Treasurer Todd Russ to create a list of firms deemed on Wednesday to be engaged in an energy company boycott, defined by the <a href="http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2021-22%20ENR/hB/HB2034%20ENR.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">law</a> as “refusing to deal with, terminating business activities with, or otherwise taking any action that is intended to penalize” fossil fuel companies “without an ordinary business purpose.” Companies from which state entities are now expected to divest funds also include Bank of America, State Street, and Climate First Bank.
&#8220;The energy sector is crucial to Oklahoma’s economy, providing jobs for our residents and helping drive economic growth. It is essential for us to work with financial institutions that are focused on free-market principles and not beholden to social goals that override their fiduciary duties,” Russ told The Daily Wire. “Our state&#8217;s financial partnerships should reflect our priorities and values, and it is our responsibility to partner with companies that share our vision for a strong and prosperous Oklahoma economy, and that includes our energy sector.”
The move from Oklahoma officials is the latest effort among conservative states to distance themselves from firms involved in the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/esg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESG</a>, a philosophy that skeptics say mingles political causes with core business objectives in a manner that compromises or distracts from profitability.
Several firms supportive of the ESG movement have discouraged portfolio companies from involving themselves with initiatives that rely upon fossil fuels: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said in his most recent annual <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/climate-risk-is-investment-risk-blackrock-ceo-tells-corporate-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to investors that “climate risk” is an “investment risk,” while JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in his annual shareholder <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jpmorgan-chase-ceo-suggests-seizing-private-property-to-build-more-solar-farms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> that the government should consider using eminent domain, the power to seize private land for public use, as one possible mechanism to accelerate the development of green energy resources.
State officials <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/states-have-pulled-nearly-12-billion-from-blackrock-this-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">divested</a> some $12 billion from BlackRock last year, constituting a small fraction of the $9 trillion <a href="https://s24.q4cdn.com/856567660/files/doc_financials/2023/Q1/BLK-1Q23-Earnings-Release.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">managed</a> by the company even as broader market forces react against the ESG movement. The officials likewise recently called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to prohibit Vanguard, another prominent asset management company, from purchasing shares in publicly traded utilities out of a concern that the firm’s climate activism would raise prices and decrease energy reliability across the nation. Vanguard subsequently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vanguard-drops-out-of-climate-initiative-as-reaction-against-woke-investing-continues" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ceased</a> participation in the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, under which companies <a href="https://www.netzeroassetmanagers.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commit</a> to seeking “net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner” using investment funds.
Increased economic tumult has heightened skepticism toward the ESG movement among some managers and investors. ESG funds <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virtue-signaling-isnt-free-how-woke-investing-fell-apart-once-the-economy-got-bad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suffered</a> amid last year’s underperformance among technology firms, which ESG investors tend to favor because of their emphasis on corporate social responsibility, and overperformance among energy companies, which ESG managers tend to disdain because of their dislike for industries with heavy carbon emissions.
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Republican presidential candidates are expected to make the ESG movement a central issue in the upcoming primary election. One recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/most-voters-still-do-not-know-what-esg-is-poll" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a> from Harvard University’s Center for American Political Studies and The Harris Poll found that 64% of respondents have not heard of the investment philosophy, even as most voters agreed that investors should consider returns above other objectives. 56% of respondents backed a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-subpoenas-schedules-hearing-for-blackrock-playing-politics-using-texans-hard-earned-money" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decision</a> from Texas lawmakers to blacklist “financial companies for allegedly using ESG considerations,” a policy that could force state pensions and other public entities to sell their shares.

BlackRock

Oklahoma Bans 13 Woke Financial Firms From Doing Business With State Government

Oklahoma Bans 13 Investment Firms From Doing Business With The State

Banks

JP Morgan

Oklahoma

Wall Street

The <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a> Public Employees&#8217; Retirement System (CalPERS) recently opposed legislation that would require <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/stock-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">divestment</a> from <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/oil-and-gas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fossil fuel</a> companies despite the agency’s support of the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/esg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESG</a>.
A bill submitted earlier this year by three California Democrats <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB252" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserts</a> that “efforts to obstruct climate stabilization policies” from fossil fuel companies are “incompatible” with the state’s climate policies. Board members for CalPERS voted to <a href="https://news.calpers.ca.gov/why-were-opposing-divestment-in-senate-bill-252/?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=Learn%20why%20we%20oppose%20SB%20252&amp;utm_campaign=membernews-04-2023-A" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recommend</a> against the passage of the bill, saying divestment would “create a ripple effect on our ability to produce the investment returns needed to fulfill our members’ retirement promises” and have little impact on fossil fuel companies’ operations, thereby doing “nothing to reduce greenhouse emissions.”
Despite the opposition to fossil fuel divestment, a hallmark of ESG investment proposals, CalPERS was one of the entities which prompted the Securities and Exchange Commission to consider <a href="https://www.sec.gov/rules/proposed/2022/33-11042.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rules</a> mandating that companies include climate-related information, such as carbon emissions levels and climate-related risks, in their financial statements and annual reports.
Skeptics of the ESG movement assert that the investment philosophy intermixes political and social causes favored by executives, such as reducing carbon emissions or diversifying company leadership, in a manner that compromises or distracts from profitability. CalPERS currently <a href="https://news.calpers.ca.gov/esg-basics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">maintains</a> an ESG framework to “assess potential risks to our investments,” <a href="https://www.calpers.ca.gov/docs/board-agendas/201812/invest/item08a-01_a.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">divested</a> from thermal coal five years ago, and more recently <a href="https://www.calpers.ca.gov/page/investments/sustainable-investments-program/climate-change/united-nations-net-zero-asset-owner-alliance-partnership" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joined</a> the United Nations Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance to mitigate rises in global temperatures by 2050.
1792 Exchange President Paul Fitzpatrick said in an interview with The Daily Wire that ESG is “the marriage of Wall Street’s desire to make more money and the Left’s desire to push unpopular policy through corporations.” He noted that climate objectives, and social agendas, such as diversity efforts and support of LGBTQ-related causes, do not affect “whether a company produces a good product or is well-governed.”
Fitzpatrick also noted the lackluster <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virtue-signaling-isnt-free-how-woke-investing-fell-apart-once-the-economy-got-bad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">performance</a> of ESG funds last year as technology firms, which ESG managers tend to favor because of their emphasis on corporate social responsibility, suffered in the stock market, while energy companies, which ESG managers tend to dislike because of carbon emissions associated with the sector, witnessed outsized returns. CalPERS <a href="https://reason.org/data-visualization/2022-investment-results-for-state-pension-plans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">witnessed</a> a 6.1% loss last year, falling below the median of other state retirement programs.
“Because of ESG funds’ bias against fossil fuels and support of radical corporate goals to get portfolios to net zero greenhouse emissions by 2050, these funds underweight energy stocks and overweight tech. For individuals who are retired or retiring soon, that has a big impact on their portfolios and retirement security,” Fitzpatrick continued. “Especially going into a recession, it’s not wise to divest from fossil fuels and lower returns for retirees.”
CalPERS is one of several major investment entities to admit in recent months that fossil fuel divestment is harmful to returns: Officials from the Government Pension Fund Global in Norway, one of the nation’s two sovereign wealth funds, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/norwegian-sovereign-wealth-fund-sheds-billions-amid-fossil-fuel-avoidance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acknowledged</a> they had missed the chance to benefit from outsized returns in the energy sector last year, while executives from Harvard Management Company, which manages the elite university’s endowment, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harvard-university-endowment-loses-2-3-billion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disclosed</a> that its losses were attributable to fossil fuel divestment efforts even as the organization remains “proud to be deeply engaged in the issue of sustainability.”

default

California’s Retirement Fund Once Pushed For Federal ESG Rules. Now They Say Fossil Fuel Divestment Hurts Retirees.

California's Retirement Fund Admits Fossil Fuel Divestment Hurts Retirees

California

General

Stock Market

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Russian</a> oil exports have rebounded to rates previously seen before the nation’s invasion of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine-russia-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a> despite sanctions imposed by Western countries.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/g7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">G7</a> nations, the European Union, and Australia <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/russia-balks-as-g7-european-union-implement-oil-price-cap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">implemented</a> a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil so that their maritime services industries, such as insurance and trade finance, can only offer their services for Russian oil sold below the benchmark. Russian oil exports in March nevertheless soared to the highest levels since April 2020 due to “surging product flows that returned to levels last seen before Russia invaded Ukraine,” according to a monthly oil market <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/oil-market-report-april-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the International Energy Agency.
Revenues from Russian oil exports meanwhile increased $1 billion last month to reach $12.7 billion, a metric which is still 43% lower than one year ago. The Russian government depends upon revenues from the energy sector to fill its coffers.
To avoid the price cap, Russia must depend upon maritime service industries outside of the G7, which are generally more expensive and less reliable.
The effort from Western nations to limit the Russian oil market has been resisted by countries that prioritize cheaper and more reliable sources of energy. China witnessed a 43% year-over-year increase in Russian oil imports as of two months ago, according to an <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/oil/032023-chinas-crude-imports-from-russia-hits-record-as-xi-putin-eye-stronger-energy-ties#:~:text=China's%20crude%20oil%20imports%20from,when%20Chinese%20President%20Xi%20Jinping" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from S&amp;P Global, which noted that China is willing to “snap up attractively priced crudes” shunned by Western nations. Russian economic actors now <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/world-turns-to-china-in-moves-to-escape-dollar-dominance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">use</a> the Chinese yuan more than the dollar as the two nations increase their trade cooperation.
Japan, a member of the G7, will likewise <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/japan-buys-oil-from-russia-in-break-with-western-allies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continue</a> to purchase crude oil from a project in the far eastern portion of Russia such that the energy-poor island nation will continue to have access to the natural gas present at the site. “We have done this with an eye toward having a stable supply of energy for Japan,” an official from the Japanese economy ministry said earlier this month in a statement.
Japan has been more hesitant than other G7 nations to express wholehearted support for Ukraine given their dependence on Russian energy. The nation provides roughly one-tenth of Japanese natural gas imports; Germany, which depended on Russia for more than half of natural gas imports before the invasion began early last year, rushed to secure other power sources as the cost of electricity <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/back-to-the-dark-ages-tucker-carlson-details-europes-self-induced-energy-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">soared</a> more than tenfold last fall.
The International Energy Agency noted that a surprise oil production <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-the-president-has-done-has-worked-jean-pierre-claims-biden-gas-price-policies-will-lessen-impact-of-latest-opec-move" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decrease</a> from OPEC, an economic bloc constituting Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and other countries with a large share of global oil production, will risk “aggravating an expected oil supply deficit” in the second half of 2023 and “boosting oil prices at a time of heightened economic uncertainty, even as industrial activity slows in the world’s largest economies.”
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President Joe Biden has meanwhile earned <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-to-release-more-oil-from-strategic-reserve-ahead-of-midterms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticism</a> for approving the release of 180 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a stock of emergency crude oil created to manage supply disruptions in energy markets, depleting the reservoir even as the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-missed-golden-window-to-restock-strategic-petroleum-reserves-he-depleted-oil-ceo-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">costs</a> to refill the stores are now elevated. He also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-wall-street-ceo-slams-biden-for-going-hat-in-hand-to-saudi-arabia-for-oil-admits-investors-dont-give-a-s-about-wokeness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moved</a> last year to enable American oil production in Venezuela and reportedly asked Saudi Arabia to delay oil production cuts until after the midterm elections.

Oil Field.

Russian Oil Exports Rebound To Pre-War Levels Despite Western Sanctions

Russian Oil Exports Return To Pre-War Levels

Economy

OPEC

Russia

Ukraine-Russia War

Canary CEO Dan Eberhart remarked that President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> missed a “golden window” to replenish the depleted <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Strategic Petroleum Reserve</a> when oil prices were reasonably low.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/opec" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OPEC</a>, an economic bloc constituted by Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and other countries with a large share of worldwide oil production, recently issued an unexpected <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-the-president-has-done-has-worked-jean-pierre-claims-biden-gas-price-policies-will-lessen-impact-of-latest-opec-move" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reduction</a> in output, causing oil prices across the planet to soar. Brent crude, the benchmark for fuel drilled in the Atlantic Ocean, increased from $79 per barrel on March 31 to $85 per barrel on April 11.
Eberhart commented in an <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/energy/oil-ceo-calls-biden-out-missed-golden-window-replenish-petroleum-reserve-really-bad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Fox Business that “the train has left the station” with respect to Biden replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a stock of emergency crude oil intended to minimize the impact of fuel supply disruptions, since the price of oil is unlikely to fall below $80 per barrel for the foreseeable future.
&#8220;I can&#8217;t stress enough how missing the window to replace the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is just really bad for our national security and really bad for consumers. The administration has left us completely unprepared,&#8221; the oilfield services executive commented. &#8220;They had an excellent opportunity when the price was somewhat low and they did nothing. It seems to me we definitely have a Goldilocks scenario for oil exiting 2023 at $100 per barrel or higher. I think that&#8217;s inevitable at this point.&#8221;
Democratic lawmakers previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-could-refill-strategic-oil-reserve-at-80-per-barrel-democrats-blocked-trump-when-oil-was-24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> former President Donald Trump for attempting to purchase oil at $24 per barrel in order to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Congress blocked the measure amid broader stimulus package negotiations; Senate Majority Chuck Schumer (D-NY) boasted that his colleagues had nixed a “bailout for big oil.”
Reporters <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-the-president-has-done-has-worked-jean-pierre-claims-biden-gas-price-policies-will-lessen-impact-of-latest-opec-move" target="_blank" rel="noopener">questioned</a> White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre last week about the administration’s response to the move from OPEC, which comes ahead of the busy summer travel months. Jean-Pierre contended that the administration would do “everything that we can to make sure that we lower costs and meet the American people where they are,” asserting that policies enacted by Biden have previously mitigated increases in fuel prices.
Biden has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/keystone-pipeline-dead-killed-by-biden-thousands-of-jobs-lost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nixed</a> expansions to the Keystone XL pipeline and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-severely-cuts-back-on-oil-and-gas-leases" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slowed</a> federal oil lease approvals in the two years since he entered the White House. He meanwhile <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/paris-climate-agreement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">returned</a> the United States to the Paris Climate Agreement, an international treaty that calls for slashing worldwide emissions in half by 2030, as he encourages a broader transition toward renewable energy.
Eberhart also criticized the administration’s policies for decreasing productivity in his industry. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got a good economy, we&#8217;ve got a high oil price, and yet we&#8217;re seeing production lower than it was during the Trump administration” he continued. &#8220;Biden has slowed down pipelines, has canceled the Keystone pipeline and others, has canceled the offshore lease program for four new drilling sites. And it&#8217;s just made it very, very difficult to drill, and just continues to throw wrenches and sand in the gears of the oil industry. Our production, our drilling is not what it once was. The rig count is also lower. And this is all just constraining supply, and it&#8217;s silently sowing the seeds for the next oil price spike which ultimately will be bad for consumers.”

President Biden Returns To The White House From Pennsylvania

Biden Missed ‘Golden Window’ To Restock Strategic Petroleum Reserves He Depleted, Oil CEO Says

Biden Missed 'Golden Window' To Restock Strategic Petroleum Reserves He Depleted

Strategic Petroleum Reserve

U.S.

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/japan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Japan</a> will continue to purchase <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Russian</a> crude oil above the $60 per barrel price cap imposed by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/g7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">G7</a> nations last year.
The break from the sanction created by Western nations in reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine was approved by the United States but marks a faltering in the G7 alliance, which includes the two nations as well as Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Japan, an island nation with lackluster energy reserves, will continue to purchase crude oil from the Sakhalin-2 project in the far eastern portion of Russia such that Japan continues to have access to the natural gas present at the site.
“We have done this with an eye toward having a stable supply of energy for Japan,” an official from the Japanese economy ministry said in a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/japan-breaks-with-u-s-allies-buys-russian-oil-at-prices-above-cap-1395accb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> to The Wall Street Journal. He noted that a small quantity of crude oil is extracted alongside the natural gas at Sakhalin-2, which Japan must continue to purchase to ensure access to the latter energy product.
The price cap policy only <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/russia-balks-as-g7-european-union-implement-oil-price-cap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allows</a> maritime services industries in the G7 nations, the European Union, and Australia, which include sectors such as insurance and trade finance, to offer their services for Russian oil sold below the benchmark. Brent crude oil, the price benchmark for fuel drilled in the Atlantic Ocean, was $81 per barrel as of Monday morning.
Mitsui and Mitsubishi, two prominent Japanese companies, own nearly one-quarter of the Sakhalin-2 initiative and successfully fought to maintain their shares of the project last year.
Japan has been more hesitant than other G7 nations to express full-throated support for Ukraine, given their dependence on Russian energy resources. Russia provides roughly one-tenth of Japanese natural gas imports; Germany, which depended on Russia for more than half of natural gas imports before the invasion began early last year, rushed to secure other power sources as the cost of electricity <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/back-to-the-dark-ages-tucker-carlson-details-europes-self-induced-energy-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">soared</a> more than tenfold last fall.
Hirokazu Matsuno, the chief spokesman for the Japanese government, nevertheless insisted that his nation supports Ukraine. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to express solidarity with the Ukrainian war effort next month at the G7 conference in Hiroshima.
“We absolutely will not allow Russia’s outrageous act, and we are imposing strict sanctions on Russia in order to stop Russia’s invasion as soon as possible,” Matsuno said.
The United States Treasury Department <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1141" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserted</a> last year that the price cap is “high enough to maintain a clear economic incentive for Russia to continue selling oil on global markets,” as Russia has “historically accepted” the rate. To shirk the price cap, Russia must depend upon maritime service providers outside of the G7, which are more expensive and less reliable.
“This price cap will benefit directly emerging and developing economies, and it will be adjustable over time so that we can react to market developments,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen <a href="https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1598734779750309888?s=20&amp;t=sjSZByyC-DfPC6LRlzeg1Q" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a speech regarding the policy.
The United States has sent more than $75 billion in combined humanitarian, military, and financial aid to Ukraine as of January, according to an <a href="https://www.cfr.org/article/how-much-aid-has-us-sent-ukraine-here-are-six-charts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from the Council on Foreign Relations. Institutions of the European Union, on the other hand, have sent nearly $32 billion, while the United Kingdom and Germany have sent a combined $15 billion.

RUSSIA-SAKHALIN-OIL-GAS-ENVIRONMENT-PLANT

Japan Buys Oil From Russia In Break With Western Allies

Japan Buys Oil From Russia

Global Politics

Japan

Saudi Arabia, whose relationship with the United States has taken a nosedive during President Joe Biden’s tenure, announced on Sunday it would lead the members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), including Russia, to cut over one million barrels of output a day starting next month, which could cause higher U.S. inflation.
Saudi Arabia also stated it would cut production by another 500,000 barrels a day starting in May. Oil prices <a href="https://twitter.com/Schuldensuehner/status/1642653031576530946?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet">soared</a> 7.5% at the week’s open after the Saudi announcement. Kevin Book, managing director of Clearview Energy Partners, told <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/opec-production-cuts-oil-prices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBS News</a> the cuts could cause U.S. gasoline prices to rise roughly 26 cents per gallon.
The move on Sunday follows OPEC’s decision last October to reduce production by two million barrels a day. “There’s going to be some consequences for what they’ve done with Russia,&#8221; Biden <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/biden-warns-will-consequences-saudi-arabia-oil-production-cut-rcna51804" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatened</a> in October. “I’m not going to get into what I’d consider and what I have in mind. But there will be — there will be consequences.”
“President Biden said he would make the kingdom of Saudi Arabia a pariah state. That was an enormous mistake,” former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pompeo-biden-calling-saudi-arabia-pariah-state-enormous-mistake" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “But let&#8217;s look at the facts. They are an important security partner for the United States. There&#8217;s only one country in that whole region that wants to threaten the United States of America and Israel and wipe us from the face of the earth. That&#8217;s the leadership in Iran and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia&#8217;s been an important partner in helping protect us from that threat.”
Unlike the warm relations between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia during the Trump administration, Biden’s actions, including <a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/11/21/DEMOCRATIC-DEBATE-JOE-BIDEN-SAUDI-ARABIA/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">calling</a> Saudi Arabia a “pariah” in 2019 when he was running for president, have alienated the Saudis to the point that they have tried effecting a rapprochement with Iran, their greatest enemy, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-proposes-locations-saudi-arabia-fm-meeting-2023-03-19/">brokered</a> by China. Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran in 2016.
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“Given the preventive nature of OPEC decisions, there is clearly something OPEC knows about demand trends and inventories that we have yet to discover fully in overall supply and demand balances,” Christyan Malek, global head of energy strategy at JP Morgan, told <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/opec-members-set-to-cut-production-voluntarily-761602d1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
Ole Hansen, an oil analyst at Denmark’s Saxo Bank, opined that the Saudi decision was indicative of their worries that interest rates in the U.S. will increase.

President Biden Departs The White House For Mississippi

Chilled By Biden, Saudi Arabia Leads OPEC To Cut Oil Production. Gas Prices Could Soar.

Joe Biden

Saudi Arabia

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