Energy and climate stakeholders were surprised by news Thursday that Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. will retire at the end of the year after 40 years in Congress. “Waxman was also a champion of environmental causes. He was one of the chief architects behind a 1990 upgrade to air pollution laws, and in 2009, along with then Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, co-wrote the only bill to control global warming to have passed the House. The legislation, backed by the Obama administration, died in the Senate.” [Associated Press]

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Ranking Energy and Natural Resources Committee Member released a statement yesterday condemning the administration’s lack of “regulatory and permitting certainty for oil development in the Arctic.” The statement was made in response to Shell’s announcement that it’s canceling exploratory oil drilling plans in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea this summer. “We can’t expect Shell to continue to spend billions of dollars on this project when the rules keep changing.” [The Senator’s official website]

Turkey relies almost entirely on imported natural gas and would like to receive more from Iran if a mutually-satisfactory price agreement can be struck. “We have discussed how we could increase our imports to 20 billion cubic meters and the price mechanism needed for that,” Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said. [Hurriyet Daily News]