Governors' Biofuels Coalition

Opening a climate summit that leaders from most industrialized nations chose to skip, António Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, on Wednesday warned that the planet was on a “path to mutually assured destruction,” unable to wean itself from planet-warming fossil fuels and facing intensifying disasters.

“Fossil fuel interests keep making a killing while killing our planet,” Mr. Guterres told world leaders gathering for the summit, known as COP31.

Mr. Guterres, who is in the final weeks of his term after leading the United Nations for a decade, urged nations to “end the addiction” to fossil fuels. His remarks sharpened the tensions for an event that often struggles to directly address the burning of fossil fuels, which is the root cause of climate change.

In the wake of sweeping victories in last week’s midterm elections, a historic new crop of Democrats has pledged to pursue an array of liberal priorities — from scrutinizing the Trump administration to expanding access to health care. But action on climate change, previously a centerpiece of the Democratic platform, is conspicuously absent from many victorious lawmakers’ stated agendas.

In an analysis of social media posts and emails from 271 Democrats elected to Congress this cycle, The Washington Post found that just 25 included environmental issues among their priorities. Only six mentioned the word “climate.” Meanwhile, 109 victorious Democrats issued statements including the word “war,” and 166 discussed affordability.

Louisiana and Alabama are drawing ire from ag groups over a request to partly water down biofuel-blending rules. The states cite high fuel prices, an argument RFA calls “absurd.” If EPA grants the petition, it will harm ag markets and rural economies, the American Soybean Association says. Farm and biofuel groups are pushing back on an effort by some big petroleum states to partly roll back federal biofuel-blending requirements, warning the Trump administration that such a move would harm ag markets and rural communities.

Heating oil, diesel and jet fuel share a common molecule, which means that homeowners, truckers and airline passengers are competing for the same fuel, chasing prices higher.

This winter, the United States will have to bend environmental rules, empty the storage tanks, maximize alternative fuel sources and open the federal checkbook to supply enough fuel to the economy. American refineries are essentially running flat out — operating at 94 percent of capacity. The key to increasing supply rests in squeezing more out of biodiesel and renewable diesel refineries. The federal government also needs to extend the current waivers on the amount of sulfur that is allowed in diesel. For now, dirty heat is better than unaffordable heat.

As world leaders begin addressing the United Nations climate summit today in Antalya, Turkey, 197 nations will be represented. From Albania to Zimbabwe, heads of state and governments and top ministers will commit to the global goal of a livable planet.

But not the United States.

For the second year in a row, the most powerful country on Earth and the largest contributor of planet-warming emissions in history has refused to participate in the global effort to slow climate change.

The governors of Louisiana and Alabama asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to exempt their states from Renewable Fuel Standard requirements in 2027, saying in a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin that the blending requirements are hurting industries in their states.

“The RFS imposes a cost on every gallon of gasoline and diesel sold in our states,” Govs. Kay Ivey, Alabama and Jeff Landry, Louisiana, told Zeldin in a letter on Monday.

“That cost is separate from, and in addition to, the price of crude oil. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, RFS compliance credits roughly doubled in value during the first half of 2026, and they reached record high prices in late May and June. These increased compliance costs are ultimately passed through to consumers.”

The governors asked the EPA to grant a partial waiver for obligated parties under the RFS operating in their states and to adjust 2027 percentage standards downward.

As sunlight fell between the gaps in flinty November clouds, I found myself impressed by the quietness of the lawn mowers in a Middle Tennessee solar field. Instead of the obnoxious roar of diesel engines, they just produced an occasional moo.

Six months ago, Tennessee’s largest solar developer, Silicon Ranch, channeled its nomenclature and brought cattle to this 3.25-megawatt solar project. The 15-member herd rotates among 15 paddocks marked out by simple electrical wire, munching Bermuda grass that grows in the shade of the panels, which sit on higher-than-usual steel piles. The cows seem amenable to the situation, judging by how plump they’ve become in that short time.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., seeks to complete a farm bill before a new Congress starts next year, but passage will hinge on how the lame-duck session shapes up. “Obviously, there are a lot of things out there that need to be done. I’d like to figure out a pathway to get the farm bill done,” Thune told reporters on Monday. “But it’s all going to be what we have the votes to do and then the time on the clock to do.”

Gov.-elect Rob Sand has named Abe Rakov as his first chief of staff as he prepares to take office in January.

The appointment comes as Sand, a Democrat, builds out his transition team after defeating Republican Zach Lahn in the Nov. 3 election.

Sand announced Rakov’s hiring Nov. 9 at his first news conference as governor.

“He’s always been someone, to me, that has been a trusted adviser and someone genuinely interested in public service and getting good things done,” Sand said.

he stench of fossil fuels has become a hallmark of the United Nations “Conference of the Parties” climate talks, starting with the airplanes and buses carrying delegates to the conferences.

Two annual meetings have been held in Poland, where coal remains king. Eye-searing petrochemical smog marred the skies over Dubai at COP28. In Baku, Azerbaijan, most buildings are coated with gray grime from refinery pollution, and last year at the “Nature COP” in Belém, Brazil, hundreds of diesel generators ran day and night outside the conference halls in a futile effort to cool the heavy tropical air.