An East Coast pipeline project is keeping the Biden administration stuck in a political battle that pits U.S. fossil fuel demand against the fight to curb climate change.

The Interior Department authorized the $6.6 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline’s crossing through a national forest, giving another boost to the 303-mile project that would carry natural gas through West Virginia and Virginia to mid-Atlantic and Southeastern markets, write Carlos Anchondo and Niina H. Farah.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm stressed the pipeline’s importance at POLITICO’s energy summit Thursday. She said the U.S. is tethered to gas and other fossil fuels until the nation builds out more wind and solar power, battery technology and other carbon-free energy sources.

“We know that there’s a real desire to have energy security in areas where there is huge demand for power,” Granholm said. “We also know that we have got to accelerate investment in clean.”

Environmental advocates say the administration can’t have it both ways. Granholm’s remarks were interrupted by protesters from the group Climate Defiance who shouted chants such as “No MVP, no LNG, Granholm you are killing me.”

“I really don’t want to see the Mountain Valley pipeline go through my home state,” Rylee Haught, an activist who participated in the protest, told Brian Dabbs, David Iaconangelo and Peter Behr.

“We’ve already been treated like a sacrifice zone for … gosh, I wanted to say decades, but at least a century. We’re fed up and tired of it,” Haught said.

The gas-burning enabled by the pipeline, which would cross hundreds of bodies of water and private land parcels, would release roughly 40 million metric tons of planet-warming pollution per year — the equivalent of more than 10 coal plants’ annual emissions. President Joe Biden has pledged to zero out net carbon pollution from the power sector by 2035.

The administration’s backing of the pipeline came after Sen. Joe Manchin stalled the confirmation process for a Biden nominee. That led some lawmakers to speculate that the administration’s support was an attempt to appease the West Virginia Democrat.

Granholm’s support for the pipeline doesn’t appear to be persuading Manchin, who has continued to derail Biden nominees and threaten to vote to repeal the president’s landmark climate law.

Thank goodness it’s Friday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO’s Power Switch. I’m your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to [email protected]

Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Ry Rivard breaks down whether New Jersey’s offshore wind plans are still on track after facing a spate of criticisms.

Legal wrangling
Montana legislators have rolled back environmental protections that serve as a central justification for a youth-led climate lawsuit, which could become the first of its kind in the United States to go to trial before a judge next month, writes Lesley Clark.

The 2020 lawsuit, filed on behalf of 16 young people, accuses state lawmakers of pursuing legislation that degrades the environment. Montana argued last week in court that the new environmental rollbacks render the youth lawsuit meaningless.

Debt ceiling block
Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s lead negotiator on the debt limit said Friday he plans to “press pause” on talks with the White House, a snag that imperils both parties’ efforts to reach a default-averting deal as soon as this weekend, writes Sarah Ferris.

The pause comes as progressive Democrats and climate hawks urged party leaders and Biden not to compromise with Republicans on energy permitting, which has been seen as a potential area of agreement, writes Emma Dumain.

Italy under water
The worst floods in 100 years have triggered finger pointing over Italy’s slow progress in stabilizing its land and soil despite throwing billions at the problem, writes Hannah Roberts.

Torrential rains following months of drought have caused floods in the northern and eastern regions of Emilia Romagna and Le Marche that have killed at least 14 people and left an estimated 20,000 homeless.

Power play: To counter China, G7 countries are borrowing its economic playbook.

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Biden and other G-7 leaders are meeting in Japan for three days of talks that could reshape how the world’s wealthiest economies respond to climate change.

And if Russia and China weren’t enough to dominate the G-7 agenda, the European Union added its own feud with the U.S. calling for transparency on industrial subsidies.

The Pentagon plants to phase out 166,000 nontactical fossil-fuel-powered cars and trucks by 2027, replacing them with zero-emissions vehicles.

That’s it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!