{beacon} Energy & Environment Energy & Environment   The Big Story  What a shutdown would mean for FEMA resources  A federal government shutdown in the coming days could have implications for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) long-term efforts, but it would likely have little effect on the agency’s ground-level emergency response work. © AP For activities like FEMA’s response to Hurricane Helene, whose devastating effects are still being felt in North Carolina, the agency relies on the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), which is a “no-year fund” that is available for as long as it takes to spend rather than being beholden to fiscal years. That means the fund would not be immediately impacted if Congress fails to reach an agreement to fund the federal government by the weekend deadline.   “They’re not going to stop emergency work—FEMA has authority to continue providing emergency lifesaving measures even during a shutdown,” said Erin Greten, of counsel for the firm Baker Donelson, who wrote a brief on shutdowns’ effects on FEMA in September.  “It’s not like they’re just going to walk away, they’ll continue to perform their mission,” Greten said.   However, she added, a government shutdown would hamper FEMA efforts if the agency is forced to implement immediate-needs funding and essentially triage spending. The agency must implement immediate-needs funding guidance, which prioritizes lifesaving operations, when funding will not cover all activity.  Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned during this year’s hurricane season that the amount of money in the DRF was insufficient to continue responding to new disasters without a supplemental funding bill. Read more at TheHill.com.  Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.  Programming note: This newsletter will not publish next week. We'll be back with the latest energy and environment news on Dec. 30. Happy Holidays!    Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.   Essential Reads  How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future:  Cold weather-related deaths rising in US: StudyDeaths in the United States from cold weather-related causes have been rising, according to a study published Thursday in a medical journal.   Full Story  Congressional Democrats ask Blinken to condemn prosecution, murder of Guatemalan environmental defendersSen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), House Natural Resources Committee ranking member Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) led a letter Friday calling on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to condemn the Guatemalan government’s prosecution of Indigenous environmental activists and the recent assassination of another.  Full Story  Trump threatens tariffs if EU doesn’t buy more oil, gasPresident-elect Trump on Friday threatened tariffs in the European Union (EU) unless the bloc purchases large quantities of American oil and gas to make up for its growing deficit with the U.S.  Full Story   In Other News  Branch out with a different read from The Hill: Tesla recalling almost 700K vehicles over tire pressure monitors Tesla is recalling nearly 700,000 vehicles over an issue with the warning light on the tire pressure monitoring system.  Full Story   What We're Reading  News we've flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics: A major California river dried up below Yosemite. The reason was a mystery — until now (The San Francisco Chronicle)  Climate takes its toll on the ‘cherry capital of the world’ (Grist) University bans on big oil firms at recruitment fairs rise by 30% (The Guardian)   What Others are Reading  Two key stories on The Hill right now: Live coverage: House to vote at 5 pm on new effort to prevent shutdown The House is poised to vote on a measure to keep the government funded past Friday night’s midnight shutdown deadline. Read more Cavuto ‘not leaving journalism’: ‘I’m just leaving here’ Former Fox News host Neil Cavuto, who recently announced his departure from the network after 28 years, said he wasn’t leaving the industry. Read more  You're all caught up. See you next time!  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