We’re in the final week of the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Pope Leo has joined a chorus of voices urging for greater action in tackling climate change, through a video message played at the conference this week. Plus, Brazil is hoping to secure an early deal before the conference’s close. Keep reading to learn what exactly the host nation is looking for. 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. THREE MILE ISLAND RESTART SECURES FEDERAL FUNDING: Constellation Energy is being awarded a $1 billion loan commitment from the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office to go toward its efforts to restart the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant, now renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center. The Energy Department announced this afternoon that it finalized that $1 billion conditional loan commitment, with the first disbursement occurring in the first quarter of 2026. “We want to bring as much net addition of dispatchable, reliable electricity on the grid to stop these price rises in electricity and increase American capacity to generate firm, reliable electricity,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters. “This is exactly what America needs, and we are constantly looking for ways to rapidly expand firm, reliable, generating capacity.” This marks the first new major loan commitment for a nuclear power project under the Trump administration, though it will certainly not be the last. Last week, Wright said the largest portion of funding from the LPO will be used to support new nuclear energy projects. Not necessarily needed: Constellation’s restart of the shuttered nuclear plant has crucial backing from tech giant Microsoft, which plans to use the electricity generated by the plant to power its artificial intelligence operations and data centers. Constellation has made rapid progress on the project so far, hiring more than 60% of the full time workforce needed and advancing the expected restart by a full year. Greg Beard, Senior Advisor of the LPO, told reporters that he believed Constellation likely could have been able to reopen the Pennsylvania plant without federal support. “They could have done this loan without our help. But we want to show support for affordable, reliable, stable, secure energy in the U. S., as directed by President Trump,” Beard said. “We want to highlight that the administration and the Department of Energy support the restart of not only existing. but shuttered nuclear reactors, as well as the development of new reactors across the country.” POPE LEO CALLS ON COUNTRIES TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE: Pope Leo XIV has called on nations at the United Nations annual climate summit to take “concrete actions” to address climate change. In a video message played for religious leaders gathered in Belem, the pope said, “The creation is crying out in floods, droughts, storms, and relentless heat. One in three people lives in great vulnerability because of these climate changes. To them, climate change is not a distant threat, and to enjoy these people is to deny our share of humanity.” Leo did not call on any specific actions to be taken but noted that there is still time to keep global temperatures below 1. 5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, which was the main goal of the Paris Agreement. He said that the agreement has made progress and continues to be the most effective tool for protecting human health and the environment. However, Leo said there is a lack of “political will of some” when addressing climate change. “Strong climate actions and policies both are an investment in a more just and stable world,” he said. The pope’s comments come as the UN annual climate summit, or COP30, is set to end this week. The United States is not participating in this year’s climate summit as it has steered away from international climate events. EXXON AND CHEVRON WEIGH BUYING PARTS OF LUKOIL: Rival oil and gas majors Exxon and Chevron are reportedly both considering purchasing parts of Russian oil firm Lukoil, which has been seeking to shed its international assets in response to increased U. S. sanctions. The details: Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that the two companies are considering buying some of Lukoil’s assets in Kazakhstan, where Exxon already has stakes in the Karachaganak and Tengiz oil fields. Exxon is also reportedly considering placing a bid on Lukoil oil’s assets in the West Qurna 2 field in Iraq. Exxon has operators in the West Qurna 1 field nearby. Quick reminder: Earlier this month, Lukoil said it planned to sell its international assets which include refineries, drilling operations, and gas stations located in Egypt, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, and the U. S in direct response to Trump’s new sanctions on Russian energy to curb Moscow’s revenues funding the war in Ukraine. Initially, Lukoil said it would be selling its assets to Swiss commodity trader Gunvor, which backed out of the deal after the Treasury Department criticized the proposal. The U. S. Treasury gave the green light to other buyers last week on the condition that the assets sold completely sever ties with Lukoil. Additionally, if the funds from an asset sale are placed in an escrow account, Lukoil will not be permitted to access the money while sanctions remain in place, Reuters reported. BRAZIL PUSHES FOR EARLY COP30 AGREEMENT: Brazil is proposing a two-stage deal to fast-track the United Nations annual climate summit agreement on how countries can reach greenhouse gas emission targets. Brazil, which is hosting COP30, is proposing a two-stage deal: one package released tomorrow to address phasing out fossil fuels and delivering climate finance, and another package on Friday to wrap up any other issues, Reuters reports. Brazil’s COP30 presidency released the first draft of a possible deal today, urging nations to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, Reuters said. There was another section calling for countries to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is set to meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva tomorrow. Lula said the meeting is meant to “strengthen climate governance and multilateralism.” Key sticking points are how wealthy nations will finance poorer countries’ clean energy transitions and how to close the gap between pledged emission cuts and those needed to stop rising temperatures. GREEN GROUPS SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FOR OFFSHORE OIL SALE: Environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration regarding the Interior Department’s plans to hold an 80-million-acre Gulf oil sale next month. The Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Earthjustice brought the lawsuit on behalf of Friends of the Earth and Healthy Gulf. The green groups argue that the offshore oil sale fails to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA. The DOI has argued that NEPA is not applicable to Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s offshore oil lease sales. A spokesperson for DOI told E&E News yesterday that OBBBA “requires regulators to use the same lease forms, terms, conditions and stipulations that were used for the last federal offshore lease auction held during Trump’s first term.” But the green groups argue that OBBBA does not exempt any offshore lease sales from NEPA. They added that the agency is “now proceeding without analyzing how this sale of public waters could expose the entire Gulf region to catastrophic oil spills, harm endangered Rice’s whales, and leave behind a dangerous legacy of defunct oil wells, pipelines, and platforms.” EXXON CLOSES SCOTTISH CHEMICAL PLANT: ExxonMobil is reportedly moving to close a chemicals plant located in Scotland, blaming difficult market conditions and the existing policy environment in the United Kingdom. The details: Exxon confirmed to BBC News today that it will be closing its Fife Ethylene Plant in Mossmorran, just north of Edinburgh, in February. A spokesman for the oil major told the outlet that there is no “competitive future” for the plant due to policies that are “accelerating the exit of vital industries, domestic manufacturing, and the high-value jobs they provide.” The decision puts at least 179 direct jobs at risk as well as an additional 250 contracted positions. Some individuals may be able to be transferred to a chemical plant in Hampshire, roughly 480 miles south. The Fife Ethylene Plant has operated in the region for around 40 years, producing ethylene through thermal cracking. This chemical is a base material for manufacturing common plastics used in food packaging, medical equipment, vehicle components and more. Some reaction: Melanie Ward, a member of Parliament representing the Labour Party for the region where the plant is located, told the BBC News that the closure was “devastating.” Ward claimed there were months of negotiations with Exxon, and accused the firm of being evasive about their intentions. “News reaching me suggests that Exxon staff, many of whom have decades of service, have been told they will lose their jobs but have no idea of the redundancy package they will receive,” Ward told the outlet. ICYMI SOLAR FARM CREDITS TRUMP FOR NEW FACTORY: Last week, Arizona-based solar panel manufacturer First Solar announced that it was building a new factory in South Carolina. It comes at a time when the renewable energy industry is facing increased pressure from the Trump administration, but the firm actually credits Trump and Republicans for its latest investment. The details: First Solar announced last Friday that it will be building a new facility in Gaffney, South Carolina, in order to onshore the final production processes for its Series 6 Plus modules, further boosting domestic manufacturing of solar panels. The facility is expected to cost around $330 million and will commence commercial operations in the second half of 2026. Construction and operations will generate more than 600 new jobs. First Solar directly credits the One Big Beautiful Bill signed in July for its ability to build the new factory, as it incentivizes the production of domestic solar panels and increases Foreign Entities of Concern restrictions in the market. “The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the Administration’s trade policies boosted demand for American energy technology, requiring a timely, agile response that allows us to meet the moment,” Mark Widmar, First Solar CEO, said in a statement. “We expect that this new facility will enable us to serve the US market with technology that is compliant with the Act’s stringent provisions, within timelines that align with our customers’ objectives.” RUNDOWN The Associated Press Artificial intelligence sparks debate at COP30 climate talks in Brazil The Guardian As New York City builds flood resilience, a Queens neighborhood feels neglected: ‘We are forgotten here’.
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Daily on Energy, presented by TC Energy: Government loan for Three Mile Island, COP30 updates, and US suitors for Lukoil
