“Tucked into the Inflation Reduction Act that President Biden signed last week is a major expansion of federal loan programs that could help the fight against climate change by channeling more money to clean energy and converting plants that run on fossil fuels to nuclear or renewable energy,” the New York Times reports.

“The law authorizes as much as $350 billion in additional federal loans and loan guarantees for energy and automotive projects and businesses. The money, which will be disbursed by the Energy Department, is in addition to the more well-known provisions of the law that offer incentives for the likes of electric cars, solar panels, batteries and heat pumps.”

“U.S. gasoline prices continue to fall, and they could keep falling, raising the possibility of gas below $3 a gallon in much of the country before the end of the year,” CNN reports.

The U.S. national average price of gas today has fallen back under the $4 mark to $3.99 per gallon for the first time since early March, according to GasBuddy.

“U.S. gas prices have fallen for seven straight weeks and are approaching an average price of $4 a gallon, easing the pain of record-high fuel costs amid shrinking global demand for oil,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Exxon Mobil and Chevron, the two largest energy companies in the United States, said on Friday that profits rose to record levels in the second quarter as they continued to reap the benefits of soaring oil and gas prices,” the New York Times reports.

Politico: “Gasoline prices may have peaked too soon to remain the lethal campaign weapon for Republicans that they seemed to be a month ago.”

“It’s an open question, though, whether voters will give more weight to the declining fuel prices, or to the fact that they spiked so high to begin with.”

“The Democratic Republic of Congo, home to one of the largest old-growth rainforests on earth, is auctioning off vast amounts of land in a push to become ‘the new destination for oil investments,’ part of a global shift as the world retreats on fighting climate change in a scramble for fossil fuels,” the New York Times reports.

“Congo’s sole goal for the auction, he said, is to earn enough revenue to help the struggling nation finance programs to reduce poverty and generate badly needed economic growth.”

Said government adviser Tosi Mpanu Mpanu: “That’s our priority. Our priority is not to save the planet.”

Daniel Yergen: “Is today’s energy crisis as serious as similar previous ones – particularly the 1970s oil shocks? That question is being asked around the world, with consumers hit by high prices, businesses worried about energy supplies, political leaders and central bankers struggling with inflation, and countries confronting balance-of-payments pressures.”

“So, yes, this energy crisis is as serious. In fact, today’s crisis is potentially worse. In the 1970s, only oil was involved, whereas this crisis encompasses natural gas, coal, and even the nuclear-fuel cycle. In addition to stoking inflation, today’s crisis is transforming a previously global market into one that is fragmented and more vulnerable to disruption, crimping economic growth. And, together with the geopolitical crisis arising from the war in Ukraine, it is further deepening the world’s great-power rivalries.”

The European Union proposed a plan for countries to reduce demand for natural gas — as officials warned that Russia was “likely” to cutoff the flow to Europe, the Washington Post reports.

Bloomberg: “As searing Texas heat drives power demand to record highs, the state’s grid operator is ordering plants to run at a historic pace, often forcing them to put off maintenance to keep cranking out electricity. That’s helped keep the lights on, for now, but the short-term focus is putting even more stress on a system that’s already stretched near the limit.”

“Twice in the past week, officials have called on Texans to limit electricity use during scorching afternoons as demand inched perilously close to overwhelming supply. Now, there are growing concerns over how long power plants can maintain the grueling pace as they run nonstop.”

“Amos Hochstein, a senior state department adviser for energy security, said on Sunday that he expects gas prices in the U.S. to fall to $4 per gallon,” Axios reports.