Click for the latest from The Hill{beacon} Energy & Environment Energy & Environment   The Big Story  DOE says unrestricted natural gas exports would spike prices Domestic energy prices would sharply increase if the U.S. conducts unrestricted exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), the Department of Energy said in a long-awaited report released Tuesday. © AP Photo/Cliff OwenThe report comes nearly a year after the Biden administration announced a pause on new LNG exports, which surged after Russia invaded Ukraine and set off a scramble for other sources of European energy. The department announced the pause as part of an effort to determine the economic and environmental effects of exports. The report determined that unregulated exports could lead to a spike of up to 30 percent in wholesale natural gas costs while also creating an extra 1.5 gigatons a year of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. “To date, U.S. consumers and businesses have benefited from relatively stable natural gas prices domestically as compared to those in other parts of the world who have faced far greater price volatility,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.   “[But] the more volumes of U.S. LNG are exported, the greater the risk of this global price volatility being imported into our domestic market and impacting U.S. consumers and manufacturers.”  The pause did not affect existing export approvals, which are currently sufficient to generate about 15 billion cubic feet a day.  The report is subject to a 60-day comment period, which will stretch into the second Trump administration. Chris Wright, Trump’s nominee for Energy Secretary, is CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy and his nomination has been well-received by industry figures.  Read more at TheHill.com.  Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, I'm Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.   Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.   Essential Reads  How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future:  Huffman unanimously elected new Natural Resources ranking member The House Democratic Caucus unanimously voted to make Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) the new top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday, a day after he cleared a key committee vote.  Full Story   Hunter dies after bear falls on him: Virginia officials A 58-year-old Virginia man died on Friday after a bear fell on him while he was on a hunting trip, according to Virginia officials.  Full Story   Nancy Mace says mysterious drones could be from ‘outer space’Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said in a podcast interview that the public should not rule out “outer space” as a possible origin of some of the drones sighted recently in the Northeast.  Full Story   In Other News  Branch out with a different read from The Hill: Biden administration offers California’s PG&E up to $15B loan to boost climate resilience The Biden administration on Tuesday announced its conditional approval of a loan guarantee for Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) of up to $15 billion, which would serve to decarbonize the massive utility’s operations and increase its reliability. Full Story   What We're Reading  News we've flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics: Sheldon Whitehouse plots his next act on climate change (E&E News)  Texas regulators report more than 250 new cases of groundwater contamination (The Texas Tribune) How to Repair the Planet? One Answer Might Be Hiding in Plain Sight. (The New York Times)  What Others are Reading  Two key stories on The Hill right now: DHS overhauls H-1B visa program The Biden administration announced a rule Tuesday clarifying who can apply for an H-1B work visa, a key program to attract international talent that’s been criticized as too complicated and susceptible to abuse. Read more GOP report recommends Liz Cheney be criminally investigated over Jan. 6 work Republicans released a report Tuesday reviewing the “failures and politicization” of the now-disbanded House Jan. 6 committee, capping their investigation by recommending a criminal investigation into former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.). Read more  You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! Check out The Hill's Energy & Environment page for the latest coverage. Like this newsletter? Take a moment to view our other topical products here 📩 Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the Energy and Environment newsletter Subscribe