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DAILY ENERGY NEWS | 10/22/2024

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"Republicans pounce" on Team Harris' incredibly unpopular EV mandate.

Politico (10/21/24) reports: "Republicans are on the attack over electric vehicles, and Democrats are having a hard time finding their footing. In tight House and Senate races in Michigan, Virginia, New York and Montana, Republican candidates are putting Democrats on the defensive by accusing the Biden administration of trying to 'mandate' that drivers abandon their Chevy Tahoes for Chevy Bolts. Some Republicans are misleadingly tying EV tax subsidies to reductions in Medicare payments to drug companies... Republicans think they’re winning the fight. 'What’s reflected in these campaigns is the fact that preserving choice and the types of cars and trucks people can buy is a very popular, populist position,' said Tom Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, which has received fossil fuel industry funding and supports Trump and some Republican congressional candidates. 'This is absolutely a great issue for the Republicans. It’s about making sure that people are free to choose.' he said. Polling and research in recent years have shown that EVs are a polarizing topic for Americans."

"Greenpeace may not rely on science and logic, but Texans should. We all want clean air and water, and as a nation we have gotten cleaner with major pollutants down 77% in the last half century. But that’s an inconvenient narrative for a radical environmental extremists, who should not be allowed to dictate the future of our state’s economic or environmental security."

– Wayne Christian,
Texas Railroad Commission

Shot: BYD is linked to human rights abuses.

The Verge (5/18/24) reports: "Mining for minerals used to make EVs and batteries is plagued with allegations of abuse, the latest report from the nonprofit Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) shows. And automakers continue to source materials from some of the worst offenders, The Verge finds. BHRRC has documented 631 allegations of human rights abuses since 2010 for seven key minerals used in electric vehicles, rechargeable batteries, and renewable energy technologies. Many of the allegations were made against a small group of companies, which The Verge was able to link to three of the world’s biggest EV manufacturers: Volkswagen Group, Tesla, and BYD. 'Things are not improving,' said Caroline Avan, head of natural resources and just transition at BHRRC. The need for more renewable energy and clean transportation is evident, but those technologies shouldn’t come at the expense of people who live and work in places where companies source their raw materials, she said. 'Things are not improving.'"

Double Shot: Amnesty International ranks BYD last in terms of human rights.

Amnesty International (10/15/24) article: "Electric vehicle giants BYD, Mitsubishi and Hyundai have scored the worst in a new human rights ranking of the industry conducted by Amnesty International. The study reveals how the world’s leading electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers are not adequately demonstrating how they address human rights risks in their mineral supply chains, potentially leaving communities exposed to exploitation, health risks and environmental harm caused by the rapid expansion of mines required for the metals used in batteries. In the new report, Recharge for Rights: Ranking the Human Rights Due Diligence Reporting of Leading Electric Vehicle Makers, Amnesty International uses criteria based on international standards to comprehensively assess human rights due diligence policies and self-reported practices of 13 major EV manufacturers, issuing each one with a scorecard. The scorecard breaks down whether these car brands are meeting their human rights responsibilities and highlights which of them are failing to show that they are addressing human rights concerns...None of the companies scored higher than 51 on Amnesty International’s human rights due diligence assessment. At the bottom of the list was Chinese company BYD, which scored a dire 11/90. German company Mercedes-Benz scored highest with 51/90."

Chaser: BYD leads the world in making cheap EVs.

Bloomberg (10/16/24) reports: "Malta, a tiny archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, might not seem worth the attention of a disruptive new car brand. The nation of just under 564,000 is known as a sunny tourist destination with limestone sea cliffs, ancient temples and lax regulation. About 7,200 new cars were registered in the country last year, approximately one-seventeenth the volume sold in a single day in the US. Yet the Maltese market isn’t too small for BYD Co., the Chinese electric-vehicle giant. Last fall in Malta, BYD began selling the Atto 3, an all-electric compact crossover...After increasing its annual sales in China 15 times over, to 3 million cars in only three years, BYD is now exporting to roughly 95 markets, including 20 new ones this year. The company is building, has recently opened or has announced plans for assembly plants outside China in 10 countries on three continents...Li has spent two decades in California cultivating a reputation as a key partner in the fight against climate change. Former Governor Jerry Brown hailed the factory’s opening on a 2013 trip to China, and BYD has spent more than $1.7 million since 2014 lobbying state officials on clean-air rules, gas taxes and state-funded vouchers for zero-emission trucks and buses. Li herself has also donated to local politicians, including $50,000 to the campaigns of Governor Gavin Newsom. This year, BYD was awarded a $30 million grant from the state to expand the Lancaster facility to make electric school buses."

Energy Markets

WTI Crude Oil: ↑ $71.78
Natural Gas: ↑ $22.34
Gasoline: ↓ $3.16

Diesel: ↓ $3.58
Heating Oil: ↑ $222.19
Brent Crude Oil: ↑ $75.47
US Rig Count: ↓ 617

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