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Energy Policy.   The Environmental Protection Agency announced that it will lower the federal air-pollution limit on ground-level ozone from 75 parts per billion (ppb) to 70 ppb.  The new limit is at the upper end of the range recommended by the EPA’s scientific advisory panel, meaning it will likely attract criticism from both environmental groups who lobbied for an even tighter standard and business groups who pushed for no change to the standard at all.  WSJ

Oil & Gas.  During its second oil auction yesterday, the Mexican government awarded three of five oil fields in the southern Gulf of Mexico to companies from Italy, Argentina, and the U.S.  The auction is largely thought to be a success, as the values of winning bids exceeded minimum levels set by the government. WSJ

Energy Outlook.  Global demand for oil surged by the fasted pace in five years during the first two quarters in 2015, expanding by as much as 2.3 million barrels per day, or 3.3 percent, compared with the first six months of 2014. While China accounted for slightly over half of the total increase, demand growth was broadly based; 46 out of 59 countries reported increased consumption over the period.  Reuters

Energy Policy.  A federal court issued a preliminary injunction against new fracking regulations set by the Obama Administrations last March.  The judge questioned the authority of the Department of the Interior’s Land Management agency to issue the rule, which would cover wellbore construction, wastewater management, and the disclosure of chemicals used for fracking on federal land.  FT

Energy Outlook.  Charles Ebinger of the Brookings Institute discusses the implications of Royal Dutch Shell’s decision to postpone drilling in the Arctic in conjunction with several recent political announcements signaling that part of the nation’s political leadership is “moving in a nationalistic direction” with respect to energy policy.  He argues that these developments raise four significant and diverse areas of concern for future U.S. energy policy and international energy dynamics:   (1) the rising importance of oil supplies from the Middle East; (2) the ability of fossil fuels to meet future increases in global demand; (3) the reduced involvement of the United States in Arctic energy development; and (4) the future of Alaska’s resource development and state budget.  Brookings

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Energy Policy.  Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush announced his energy policy platform yesterday including a call to remove the oil export ban, approve the Keystone XL pipeline, and repeal several environmental regulations.  The plan would also repeal tax breaks for all energy sources as well as the renewable fuel standard in an effort to “create a level playing field” for all energy sources within the market.  WSJ

Oil & Gas.   Reuters reports that the majority of private U.S. shale oil and gas companies have fared better than anticipated during their semi-annual loan reviews, despite concerns that banks were going to cut small firms’ credit lines in light of the persistent supply glut and weak prices.  While just a third of companies have undergone these reviews so far, it is now expected that the financial pullback will be far less severe than originally forecast. Reuters

Energy Outlook.  The second auction for Mexico’s shallow-water exploration and production blocks — scheduled to take place on Wednesday — will feature several key modifications designed to attract more investor interest, including larger blocks, less rigid financial terms, and a smaller tax rate for the Mexican government.  Despite these improved terms, the global price slump has rendered the auction infeasible for many companies, and others are holding out for more lucrative deep-water blocks that will be auctioned next year.  Bloomberg

Energy Outlook.  Nick Butler of the Financial Times argues that Shell’s decision to pull out of oil exploration efforts in the Arctic underscores a broader strategic dilemma faced by many U.S. oil majors: a declining reserves base.   Butler asserts that unless these companies engage in concerted efforts to find new oil reserves or forge relationships with state-owned companies that control the world’s remaining resources,  U.S. oil majors will be forced to either accept that the U.S. industry is in decline, or change their strategies and begin transitioning toward a different energy mix.  FT

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Oil & Gas.  Royal Dutch Shell announced that it will abandon its drilling campaign off of the shores of Alaska after a period of unsuccessful exploration efforts.  The company attributed the decision to the collapse of oil prices and high costs associated with the project, as well as the “unpredictable” regulatory environment in the United States.  FT

Climate Change.  According to a new analysis by researchers at Climate Interactive, recent international climate change pledges would still allow the world to heat up by more than 6 degrees Fahrenheit.   The research demonstrates that while the pledges on record are ambitious and would allow for the biggest reduction in the history of global climate politics, they are insufficient to truly mitigate against the dire risks posed by the pace of warming.  NY Times

Energy Outlook.  Clyde Russell of Reuters argues that China’s planned national cap-and-trade carbon emissions system will likely be a catalyst across many global commodity markets. Russell notes that if the system is structured in a way that incentivizes meaningful reductions in carbon emissions, it will probably reduce over-supply in sectors like steel and aluminum, but harm the competitiveness of coal sourced from both local and foreign markets.  Reuters

Climate Change.  According to a new survey conducted by a trio of prominent Republican pollsters, a majority of conservatives believe the world’s climate is changing and that mankind plays some role in the change.  The results echo a number of other recent surveys concluding that a significant number of Republicans and independent voters are inclined to support presidential candidates who would back some form of climate action.  NY Times

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Climate Policy.  Chinese officials have pledged to launch a new cap-and-trade program by 2017 that will advance China’s strategy to reach both domestic and international carbon-dioxide emissions targets.  In addition to putting a price on carbon, the officials also pledged to contribute $3.1 billion toward financing climate change mitigation efforts in poorer countries — a significant increase from China’s previous financing commitments. WSJ

Energy Policy.  Following the discovery that automaker Volkswagen had cheated on its air-emissions testing for seven years, the Environmental Protection Agency is overhauling the way it regulates automobile compliance standards.  In a letter to manufacturers, the agency announced that it may begin a widespread testing of vehicles under “normal” driving conditions — a departure from previously allowing companies to simply submit design certificates for compliance and conducting random testing in more controlled environments. WSJ

Energy Policy.  Iran expects to increase its oil exports by 500,000 barrels a day by November or December, primarily through growing sales to Asia.  After western sanctions are lifted, Iranian officials say that exports will exceed today’s levels by 1 million barrels a day by mid-2016 — a pace that many analysts and market participants doubt Iran is capable of achieving.  WSJ

Climate Change.  The Asian Development Bank announced today that it will double its annual financing for climate-change mitigation and adaption projects to $6 billion by 2020.   The pledge is consistent with a global push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as developed countries prepare to gather later this year in Paris for a United Nations conference on climate change.  WSJ

Environmental Policy.  Michael Greenstone of the New York Times argues that the Clean Air Act has made a “vast difference” in U.S. air quality and lengthened millions of American lives as a result.  Greenstone asserts that the Clean Air Act should serve as a valuable example of the substantial benefits that environmental regulations can provide — particularly as the Obama Administration faces numerous legal challenges for its use of the law for new climate policy objectives.  NY Times

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Oil & Gas.  Many of the small, privately owned companies that helped fuel the U.S. hydraulic fracturing boom have announced bankruptcies or closed down operations in the wake of the oil price downturn.  Industry analysts expect many more companies will follow suit, particularly given estimates that up to half of the United States’ available fracking capacity is sitting idle.   WSJ

Wind.  The federal government has announced plans to lease up to 344,000 acres of space off of the New Jersey coast for the development of offshore windmills. Government officials estimate that fully developed wind farms in this region could produce enough wind-generated electricity to power 1.2 million homes. WSJ

EPA.  The Editorial Board of Bloomberg View discusses various flaws in the Environmental Protection Agency’s “lax” emissions testing systems in light of the recent Volkswagen scandal. The authors note that the EPA currently allows manufacturers broad latitude in determining testing conditions and does not engage in sufficient random testing of cars that are actually in use — resulting in a flawed system that has led to major discrepancies between lab and real-world emissions in many mainstream car models.  Bloomberg

Energy Outlook.  Daniel Yergin of the Financial Times describes the decline of the latest commodity “supercycle” that began more than a decade ago with China’s transforming role in the world economy.  Yergin asserts that sustained low commodity prices will require a major change in the mindset and policies of all commodity states, and will most likely lead to bitter battles over budget and debt, social and political turmoil, as well as hard economic times.” FT