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Former Vice President Joe appears poised to secure the needed Electoral College votes to win the White House, which will immediately put the spotlight on his agenda for next year, including energy issues and development on public lands.

Days before the presidential election, reporters say climate change may be a deciding issue among voters across the country. In a webinar on Wednesday, the Society of Environmental Journalists discussed the arc of the 2020 campaign and how they see a shift in the public’s view of environmental issues.

At the final presidential debate on Thursday night, climate change is on the short list of expected topics—and the question could put Democratic nominee Joe Biden in a tough spot. The 2020 campaign season has been dominated by pressure from the party’s left wing for anti-development policies like a national fracking ban but taking back the Senate will require picking up seats in the West, where voters are supportive energy production.

Environmental activist groups opposed to oil and natural gas development have made it clear they don’t want industry executives to serve in former-Vice President Joe Biden’s potential administration, while at the same time they are seeking to push Biden to adopt restrictive climate policies.

In the third year of the Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency is leaner, more cooperative, and focused on returning to core principles of environmental protection and economic growth, says Chief of Staff Mandy Gunasekara, who spoke at a digital fall policy roundtable before the Congressional Western Caucus on Wednesday.

The Jordan Cove LNG export terminal has overcome a key legal challenge, providing a massive boost to Western energy producers hoping to ship natural gas to Asian markets.

As oil prices crashed to stunning lows earlier this year, the Interior Department offered temporary royalty relief to some oil and natural gas producers operating on federal lands in the hope of helping small businesses survive. Now that program is coming under scrutiny from Democrats in Congress, who call the move a give-away for industry that hurt taxpayers.