EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 11/22/24

PIPELINE NEWS

• Iowa Public Radio: Federal judges move closer to deciding whether Iowa counties can enforce zoning laws for CO2 pipelines

• Heatmap: The Summit Carbon Pipeline Is Having a Great Trump Transition

• Barron’s: Trump Likes the Keystone XL Pipeline. Restarting It Faces Longer Odds Than Ever.

• WFMJ: Enbridge Gas replacing pipelines in Austintown Township as part of big national project

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• E&E News: Bipartisan bill aims to expand carbon removal subsidies

• Colorado Newsline: Bennet bill would create tax credit for carbon dioxide removal efforts

• E&E News: DOE study may conclude LNG worse for climate than coal, lobbyists say

• E&E News: Trump Team Could Bring Both Ax And Scalpel To Interior 

• E&E News: This Law Stymied Most Of Trump’s First-Term Reg Rollbacks. It Might Not This Time. 

• Washington Post: AI’s hunger for electric power is threatening U.S. climate goals

STATE UPDATES

• Virginia Mercury: Judge deems Youngkin’s actions to withdraw Virginia from RGGI ‘unlawful’

• Capital and Main: The EPA Stalled and Then a Fix for New Mexico Oil and Gas Pollution Evaporated

• Odessa American: Wind energy meets carbon capture in West Texas

EXTRACTION

• E&E News: Last year, the world pledged to move away from fossil fuels. This year, not so much.

• E&E News: Climate proposal would see rich countries pay $250B a year

• E&E News: Coalition to boost climate efforts moves ahead without US

• World Resources Institute: Country Coalition Commits to Steep Emission Cuts to Align with Net Zero Goals

• Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: Heads in the sands:  Understanding the social and economic risks of declining global demand for Alberta oil

• Reuters: BP and partners to invest $7 billion in carbon capture project in Indonesia’s Papua

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

• CKXS: Donation To Support CK’s Vulnerable Populations

• Shoreline Beacon: Enbridge Gas and Lucan Biddulph deliver free carbon monoxide alarms to the community

OPINION

• Terre Haute Tribune Star: Stand up and say no to WVR

• South Dakota Standard: Summit Carbon Solutions to try, try again to push a CO2 pipeline in South Dakota, this time with “major reroutes.”

• Forbes: Carbon Capture And Storage’s Deal Killer

• Canada’s National Observer: The Prince Rupert gas pipeline doesn’t pass today’s health standards

• Edmonton Journal: One trillion reasons why oilsands benefit Canada’s economy

• DeSmog: Why Alberta Shouldn’t Be Celebrating Trump’s Election Win

• Wall Street Journal: The DOGE Plan To Reform Government 

• New York Post: Trump Must Unwind Biden’s Destructive Throttling Of America’s Resources 

• KTTH: Here’s Why Conservative Environmentalists Are Pumped With Trump Picks On Energy, Interior 

PIPELINE NEWS

Iowa Public Radio: Federal judges move closer to deciding whether Iowa counties can enforce zoning laws for CO2 pipelines
Rachel Cramer, 11/20/24

“Whether Iowa counties can enforce setbacks for hazardous liquid pipelines may be decided with a case in front of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals,” Iowa Public Radio reports. “Federal judges heard oral arguments Wednesday from attorneys representing Story and Shelby counties, and Summit Carbon Solutions and William Couser… “In Story County, the ordinance prohibits a CO2 pipeline from coming within a quarter mile of dwellings, city boundaries, urban expansion areas and certain places of assembly, like houses of worship and golf courses. Shelby County’s ordinance says a CO2 pipeline cannot be less than two miles from any incorporated city; a half mile from churches, schools, nursing homes and hospitals; a quarter mile from parks; and 1,000 feet from any occupied structure or utilities… “Representing the counties, Jason Craig agreed that safety standards — like the size of a pipe — are regulated by federal authorities. But he said any zoning decision for industrial land use incorporates safety concerns, along with future growth and development plans. Craig also argued that “counties and municipalities have broad authority to act unless the Legislature has expressly limited their authority” under Iowa law. Summit is also suing Emmet, Kossuth and Palo Alto counties for passing similar ordinances. A lawsuit against Bremer County is the most recent… “Many pipeline opponents told IPR the recent North Dakota decision has made them dig in their heels even more on the project. “It’s not something people are willing to compromise on. They are in this to protect their future, their farms, their legacies, their families, their communities. There’s just too much at stake,” Jessica Mazour, the conservation program coordinator with the Sierra Club of Iowa, told IPR. Along with current lawsuits, Mazour told IPR North Dakota landowners who did not sign voluntary easement agreements with Summit will have the ability to challenge eminent domain in court.”

Heatmap: The Summit Carbon Pipeline Is Having a Great Trump Transition
Jael Holzman, 11/21/24

“A sprawling multi-state carbon pipeline appears easier to permit and build than wind and solar farms in red states, despite comments the president-elect or his team may have said on the campaign trail,” Heatmap reports. “…On paper Summit has its work cut out for it in ways not dissimilar to the troubles facing solar and wind. Land use issues, ecological concerns, the whole lot. And its work has become controversial amongst a myriad of opposition groups I often write about like rural farmers and, of course, conspiratorial NIMBYs – chief among them Vivek Ramaswamy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., two members of the incoming Trump administration. But Ramaswamy and RFK Jr.’s presence is providing cold comfort compared to the selection of North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum – a vocal supporter of the project – to be Interior Secretary. “We’re screwed,” wrote Dawn Shepard, a North Dakotan opposed to the project, on Facebook after the selection was announced. “He will get all Carbon Capture projects approved. I thought Republicans and Trump, included, didn’t believe in climate change. Trump’s not keeping his word.” “…Those appointments are definitely a big thumb on the scale of the pipeline going through,” Mark Hefflinger of Bold Alliance, one of the activist networks fighting the pipeline project, told Heatmap… “While I’ve been told the company didn’t substantially adjust its routing in response to the failed ballot initiative, executives certainly did change plans to elide a repeat rejection from the commission after it said no to pipeline plans last year. There’s a lot that could still go awry for Summit. They could lose legal battles in Iowa that send them back to the drawing board in a crucial hub for corn and ethanol and where public opinion may be souring on the developer. South Dakota could be its own ball of wax, given how passionate the opposition in the state is. Trump’s comments on the matter have been vague, indicating he’s … well, being very Trump about this. “Well, you know, we’re working on that,” Trump said when asked about the pipeline at an Iowa primary event last year. “And you know, we had a plan to totally — it’s such a ridiculous situation, isn’t it? But we had a plan, and we would have instituted that plan, and it was all ready, but we will get it — if we win, that’s going to be taken care of. That will be one of the easy things we do.” Ultimately it may be with many issues: whoever’s in the room last with Trump could decide the pipeline’s fate.”

Barron’s: Trump Likes the Keystone XL Pipeline. Restarting It Faces Longer Odds Than Ever.
Avi Salzman, 11/21/24

“…The incoming administration is considering reviving the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the U.S., according to three unnamed sources who spoke to Politico. According to the report, Trump wants to greenlight the pipeline on his first day in office,” Barron’s reports. “He isn’t the only one who wants Keystone XL back. Chris Wright, Trump’s pick for Secretary of Energy, told Barron’s in an interview last year that restarting the pipeline is one of the most important things the government can do to boost energy supplies. “Number one, restore the Keystone Pipeline,” Wright told Barron’s. “It’s already been through an exhaustive environmental review. Canada is probably the second biggest country that could grow its oil and natural gas production. It’s just limited by access to markets. Build that pipeline, restore some confidence in Canada, and in the U.S. industry.” “…Restoring the Keystone project would be a monumental task: The pipeline has been abandoned and the parts are being sold off. Just this month, water company Cadiz bought 180 miles of steel that had originally been purchased for use in the pipeline… “Chances are very low and probably zero that Keystone XL is revived,” Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital Advisors and an expert in pipelines, told Barron’s…”Asked if South Bow would consider resuming the project, a spokesperson was noncommittal. “South Bow supports the need for a safe, stable supply of energy and efforts to transport more Canadian crude oil to meet U.S. demand,” wrote spokeswoman Katie Stavinoha. “As a new company, our focus and priority at this point is to continue to deliver energy safely and efficiently. Part of South Bow’s long-term strategy is to grow our business.” The physical, legal, and political constraints on restarting the pipeline would be enormous. Environmentalists fought the pipeline extension for years.”

WFMJ: Enbridge Gas replacing pipelines in Austintown Township as part of big national project
Billy-Jack Colon, 11/21/24

“Enbridge Gas has set its sights to Austintown Township to incorporate into its large plans to replace 14,000 feet of mainline pipeline in local streets in 2025,” WFMJ reports. “The Ohio Pipeline Infrastructure Replacement project is a $4 billion project that launched in 2008 and was expanded with help from Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) approval in 2016. It aims to replace 5,500-miles of Enbridge’s 22,000-mile pipeline system… “The project is estimated to cost up to $3 million. PUCO approved renewal investment into the project in 2020 and authorized annual investment through to 2026. The investment is reflected in the basic service charge portion of the customer bill and adjusts annually based on the investment from the previous year.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

E&E News: Bipartisan bill aims to expand carbon removal subsidies
Corbin Hiar, 11/21/24

“A bipartisan bill introduced Thursday would vastly expand federal support for a wide array of technologies intended to permanently remove carbon dioxide from the air and seas — a top policy priority for the nascent carbon removal industry,” E&E News reports. “The legislation by Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is unlikely to pass in the final frantic weeks of the 118th Congress. But its introduction signals that carbon removal subsidies could be on the table next year, when congressional leaders plan to examine federal incentives as part of a push to extend expiring Trump-era tax cuts. The tax debate will be led by President-elect Donald Trump and his Republican allies, who flipped control of the Senate and held the House in elections earlier this month. Trump has criticized Biden administration efforts to limit global warming… “The bill would establish a technology-neutral tax credit that would pay either $250 or $110 for every metric ton of CO2 that companies pull from the atmosphere or oceans… “The bill by Bennet and Murkowski seeks to remove those stumbling blocks by directing the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine to study the impact of carbon removal technologies on biodiversity and food production. The legislation would also order the IRS, in consultation with other agencies, to “quantify uncertainty associated with measurements and the resulting estimate of net carbon dioxide removal” from each technology.”

Colorado Newsline: Bennet bill would create tax credit for carbon dioxide removal efforts
Lindsey Toomer, 11/21/24

“U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet will introduce a bipartisan bill Thursday that would establish a new tax credit intended to jumpstart the carbon dioxide removal industry,” Colorado Newsline reports. “…The tax credit would be a “technology-neutral” production tax credit, which means the credit will be available to a wide range of carbon dioxide removal methods. The bill establishes criteria that must be met for an approach to qualify, but doesn’t outline specific types… “An existing tax credit for carbon management, under a provision known as Section 45Q, is more structured than the tax credit the bill proposes, so many methods of carbon dioxide removal aren’t eligible. A 2023 Colorado law directed the Colorado Energy Office to develop a “carbon management roadmap” to guide the state’s carbon reduction goals, with a final version of the plan expected in early 2025. Part of that strategy includes carbon dioxide removal. “Colorado is moving rapidly to reduce carbon pollution and expand clean energy, but we know that carbon dioxide removal will also be needed to achieve our climate goals,” Will Toor, executive director of the Colorado Energy Office, told Newsline. “While we have taken important steps at the state level to enable carbon removal, and are developing a comprehensive state carbon management roadmap, we know that federal policy support is essential.”

E&E News: DOE study may conclude LNG worse for climate than coal, lobbyists say
Brian Dabbs, 11/22/24

“The Department of Energy is set to release a highly anticipated analysis as soon as next week on the environmental and economic impacts of natural gas exports, several people close to the process told E&E News. The analysis is likely to find that U.S. liquefied natural gas shipments drive up domestic prices and are more costly to the climate than coal used in some countries where LNG is exported or could be exported, those people said. “The assumption is that a good time to release such a report would be the Friday after Thanksgiving,” an energy lobbyist, who was granted anonymity to speak freely due to the sensitivity of the process, told E&E. “I certainly don’t think they would want that [comment period] to extend onto the next administration.” DOE paused approvals of new LNG projects in January to review the environmental effects of the fuel. It emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas, when burned, leaked or released. DOE had committed to publishing the new analysis by the end of the year.”

E&E News: Trump Team Could Bring Both Ax And Scalpel To Interior 
Michael Doyle, Heather Richards, Scott Streater, 11/20/24

“The Interior Department presents many targets of opportunity for hard chargers in the second Trump administration. Oil and gas production could be fast-tracked in Alaska and the Lower 48 states,” E&E News reports. “Budgets could be cut, science offices closed, and endangered species rules rewritten. In what amounts to a one-two punch, President-elect Donald Trump’s Interior appointees will be positioned in the short term to rescind and reverse many Biden administration policies. In the long term, Trump’s effort to reduce the size of government — the ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ — could seek deeper cuts to the department of some 70,000 employees, including trying to shrink the size of the workforce. But getting rid of too many career employees might actually make it harder to move forward on Trump’s deregulation priorities or his oft-stated desire to boost oil and gas drilling on public lands, noted both a longtime Interior observer and a former department insider. “I would expect many of the career people to take early retirement or just bail out depending on how bad things get,” Pat Parenteau, an emeritus professor of law and senior fellow for climate policy at the Vermont Law and Graduate School, told E&E.”

E&E News: This Law Stymied Most Of Trump’s First-Term Reg Rollbacks. It Might Not This Time. 
Pamela King, 11/20/24

“When high-profile policy changes reached the Supreme Court during President-elect Donald Trump’s first four years in the White House, one conservative justice looked to wonky federal requirements to keep the administration in check,” E&E News reports. “But a lot has changed in the five years since Chief Justice John Roberts penned a 5-4 ruling that used the Administrative Procedure Act to undo Trump’s push to unravel deportation protections for people who came to the United States illegally as children and led a fractured court to find that the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census was just a pretext for other goals. Those decisions gave environmentalists hope in their fight against rollbacks of Obama-era protections for air, water and climate… “During Trump’s first term, APA requirements proved to be a vulnerability for agencies like EPA and the Interior Department that wanted to quickly do away with Obama-era regulations they didn’t agree with. Time and time again, lower courts struck down those rescissions on APA grounds, requiring the Trump administration to go back and take its time writing new rules that both repealed and replaced the earlier regulations.” 

Washington Post: AI’s hunger for electric power is threatening U.S. climate goals
Evan Halper, 11/21/24

“The explosion of data center development across the United States to serve the artificial intelligence industry is threatening decades of progress cutting greenhouse gas emissions, as utilities lay plans for scores of new gas power plants to meet soaring electricity demand,” the Washington Post reports. “The fast rising emissions from electricity use have emerged as one of the most vexing — and unexpected — challenges for world leaders as they negotiate agreements for containing global warming this month at the U.N. Climate Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, called COP29. Even as wind and solar projects are rapidly coming online around the world, experts say energy demand from data centers that are needed for artificial intelligence is growing much faster. Europe and Asia face a data center dilemma similar to the United States, with the industry’s power needs helping drive a gas boom that imperils regional climate goals. Ireland, the Netherlands and Singapore have all stopped allowing power grid hookups to large new data centers amid climate and grid stability worries… “But there are 220 new, gas-burning power plants in various stages of development nationwide, according to the market data firm Yes Energy… “President-elect Donald Trump and his advisers have repeatedly vowed to scrap rules on power plant emissions, which could unleash even more fossil plant construction and delay retirements of existing plants… “There are real moral questions that will be brought to bear. Is the benefit society is deriving from AI worth the energy intensity needed to power it and the carbon emissions associated with that energy intensity?”, Neil Chatterjee, who chaired the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission during Trump’s first term, told the Post… “Eliminating emissions is possible despite new gas plants, utilities and AI industry officials told the Post, because new technologies for trapping emissions from gas plants may become available. Such reasoning alarms climate activists. “There is no free lunch that can make us feel good about meeting new demand with fossil fuels,” Pam Kiely, an associate vice president at the Environmental Defense Fund, told the Post. “This is not just, ‘We will get there by 2050 with some new technology.’”

STATE UPDATES

Virginia Mercury: Judge deems Youngkin’s actions to withdraw Virginia from RGGI ‘unlawful’
Charlie Paullin, 11/20/24

“Floyd County Circuit Court Judge Randall Lowe ruled Wednesday Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin acted unlawfully by withdrawing Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a program aimed to reduce climate changing emissions that has funneled hundreds of millions to the state to deal with the impacts of extreme weather events,” the Virginia Mercury reports. “In his five page opinion, Lowe wrote that “the only body with the authority to repeal the RGGI regulation would be the General Assembly.” “…Virginia began participating in RGGI in 2021 after Democrats, with trifecta control of state government the year prior, passed the Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act (which Lowe referred to as the RGGI Act)… “The proceeds from the allowances are returned to the states, where, in Virginia, about $830 million had been generated for programs increasing flood resiliency and energy efficiency efforts prior to the state’s withdrawal at the end of last year… “Members of other environmental groups hailed the judge’s decision as a victory… “While the Youngkin administration has stated they’ll be appealing the decision, they’ll need to also ask for a stay, or a pause, if they want to delay resuming participation in RGGI while they challenge Lowe’s decision.”

Capital and Main: The EPA Stalled and Then a Fix for New Mexico Oil and Gas Pollution Evaporated
Jerry Redfern, 11/14/24

“…Pollution doesn’t happen only in cities, though, and air monitors in New Mexico’s part of the Permian Basin regularly record ozone levels that exceed what’s deemed safe to breathe under the act’s guidelines,” Capital and Main reports. “And for most of the past year, officials at the EPA told the secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department that a federal fix for Permian Basin’s air pollution was imminent. It took just one day in November to change that. “It is likely no longer imminent,” James Kenney, the state’s Environment Department secretary, told Capital and Main after Donald Trump’s election to a second term… “The assaults on EPA will likely come from many fronts,” Kenney told Capital and Main. He was appointed New Mexico Environment Department secretary after years working at the EPA in rules enforcement, much of that in oil and gas operations. Kenney told Capital and Main that pressure from the White House, reduced enforcement by national and regional directors and reduced congressional funding “will have the effect of eroding or dismantling the agency.” “…I expect the Trump administration to again weaponize its Department of Justice against states like New Mexico,” Kenney told Capital and Main. 

Odessa American: Wind energy meets carbon capture in West Texas
11/21/24  

“Carbon capture and removal project developers Return Carbon and Verified Carbon on Thursday announced “Project Concho,” a pioneering Direct Air Capture (DAC) hub to be built in Tom Green County,” the Odessa American reports. “Project Concho will be the first DAC hub in the world to run entirely on wind power and will leverage advanced DAC technology as well as onsite geological carbon storage to capture and permanently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In its first phase, the facility aims to remove 50,000 tons annually before 2030, with expansion plans to reach 500,000 tons per year, in turn creating premium, verified carbon credits that hold significant value in carbon markets. Project Concho will be powered by a new wind farm to be built and operated by Greenalia, a leading global renewable energy producer. The technology underpinning Project Concho will be provided by Skytree, an industry-leading carbon removal company born out of the European Space Agency with DAC units in deployment across Europe, Canada, and the United States.”

EXTRACTION

E&E News: Last year, the world pledged to move away from fossil fuels. This year, not so much.
Karl Mathiesen, Zia Weise, 11/22/24

“It was the most trumpeted achievement of last year’s climate conference. One year later, it’s nowhere to be found,” E&E News reports. “The call to “transition away” from coal, oil and gas that came out of December’s COP28 summit in Dubai was historic — the first time 200 countries, including major oil and gas producers such as Saudi Arabia and the United States, had explicitly agreed on the need to wind down fossil fuels. But in Baku, Azerbaijan, COP29 is taking place after a U.S. election that handed the presidency back to Donald Trump, who has vowed to massively expand oil and gas production. And the host country’s president, Ilham Aliyev, used his keynote address to call fossil fuel resources a “gift of the God.” Against that backdrop, even getting this summit to reiterate last year’s nonbinding agreement has faced “pushback,” Lars Aagaard, Denmark’s climate minister, told reporters on Thursday. And some advocates for strong climate action appeared to be accepting defeat.”

E&E News: Climate proposal would see rich countries pay $250B a year
Zack Colman, Karl Mathiesen, Zia Weise, Sara Schonhardt, 11/22/24

“Organizers of the United Nations climate summit issued a draft agreement Friday that would see the U.S., EU and other wealthy governments provide $250 billion a year in climate finance to developing nations by 2035 — an amount that falls far short of the trillion-plus figure that the poorer countries had sought,” E&E News reports. “The agreement comes with many uncertainties about which nations would provide exactly how much money, especially with President-elect Donald Trump — who has scoffed at the reality of climate change and vowed steep cuts in government spending — about to take power in the U.S. The finance question has been the main topic of contention at the COP29 talks in Azerbaijan’s capital. The new target is for money to help poorer nations green their economies and cope with the effects of a heating planet. Talks had been due to end Friday but were almost certain to go into overtime, given how far apart the parties remain. “It’s ridiculous. With this number, they are spitting in our faces,” Panama’s climate envoy, Juan Carlos Monterrey Gómez, told E&E… “Whatever agreed-upon sum comes out of the talks will be a follow-up to a $100 billion target that richer nations agreed to in 2009.”

E&E News: Coalition to boost climate efforts moves ahead without US
Karl Mathiesen, Sara Schonhardt, Zia Weise, 11/21/24

“A group of countries announced a commitment to “ambitious” new climate plans Thursday — despite one architect of the initiative, the U.S., dropping its support,” E&E News reports. “Each of the governments said they would soon set new targets to cut greenhouse gas pollution by 2035 that are aligned with stopping the climate from warming more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. The coalition included the European Union plus 11 countries, among them Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Norway. The United States did not sign on to the pledge, which it had helped initiate. POLITICO reported last week that the U.S. had dropped its participation in the coalition, an action that appeared to reflect the new political realities in Washington given Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.”

World Resources Institute: Country Coalition Commits to Steep Emission Cuts to Align with Net Zero Goals
11/21/24

“Today, at the COP29 climate summit, a group of developed and developing nations – including Canada, Chile, the European Union, Georgia, Mexico, Norway and Switzerland – committed to submit nationally determined contributions (NDCs) that are consistent with IPCC trajectories in line with efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 C, include economy-wide emission reduction targets that cover all greenhouse gases and sustain steep emission cuts that fully align with their own goals to reach net-zero emissions,” according to the World Resources Institute. Their joint release recognizes the critical role of major emitters to limiting global warming and encourages countries to set and/or accelerate their net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goals. The release also acknowledges the United Kingdom, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates’ 2035 emission reduction targets. These countries collectively represent roughly 30% of global GDP and nearly 15% of global GHG emissions. Following is a statement from Melanie Robinson, Global Climate, Economics and Finance Director at World Resources Institute: “This announcement by a diverse coalition of countries is a powerful display of leadership in the final days of the UN climate talks. Any serious chance of meeting global climate goals requires all major emitters to make deep and sustained emission cuts that offer a credible path to reach their net-zero promises.”  

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: Heads in the sands:  Understanding the social and economic risks of declining global demand for Alberta oil
Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood, Matt Hulse, 11/21/24

“This report explores the potential social and economic consequences of a large-scale decline in oil sands production due to collapsing demand for Canadian oil exports. If global commitments to achieve net-zero emissions are realized, there will be significant and wide-ranging consequences for workers, communities and governments in Canada,” according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. “The report finds that there is a short runway to prepare for decline before oil sands projects start to shut down in the 2030s. Without proactive transition plans in place, this decline will cost tens of thousands of jobs, tens of billions of dollars in public revenues, and it will leave behind more than $50 billion in unfunded environmental cleanup costs… “The starting point for this report is the Canada Energy Regulator’s (CER) conclusion that, in a scenario where the international community takes action to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, oil sands production could fall by 83 per cent by 2050. This report presents the results of new economic modeling that expands on the CER’s findings to consider how changes in oil production would play out at the level of individual oil sands projects as well as for jobs, public revenues and environmental liabilities.”

Reuters: BP and partners to invest $7 billion in carbon capture project in Indonesia’s Papua
11/22/24

“BP and partners said they would invest $7 billion in a carbon capture project and gas field development in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua region that could unlock 3 trillion cubic feet of additional gas resources,” Reuters reports. “The British oil and gas producer announced the investment on Thursday in a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto who is visiting London. Production at Ubadari field is scheduled to start in 2028 and gas from the site will be processed at the company’s existing Tangguh liquefied natural gas facility in West Papua, it said in a statement. BP added that CO2 recovered from its first carbon capture, utilisation and storage project in Indonesia would be used to boost production at the Tangguh facility.”

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

CKXS: Donation To Support CK’s Vulnerable Populations
11/22/24

“The Chatham-Kent chapter of the United Way and its programs are getting a significant boost thanks to a local energy company,” CKXS reports. “Enbridge Gas, its employees, and retirees have donated $244,843 to United Way Centraide Windsor-Essex Chatham-Kent… “Enbridge Gas has been long-time supporter of the local United Way, dating back to 1948.”

Shoreline Beacon: Enbridge Gas and Lucan Biddulph deliver free carbon monoxide alarms to the community
11/21/24

“Enbridge Gas and the Lucan Biddulph fire department are working together to improve home safety and bring fire and carbon monoxide-related deaths down to zero,” the Shoreline Beacon reports. “The Lucan Biddulph fire department received 96 combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms through Safe Community Project Zero — a public education campaign with the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council that will provide more than 14,500 alarms to residents in 75 communities across Ontario… “This year, Enbridge Gas invested $450,000 in the program and, over the past 16 years, the program has provided more than 101,000 alarms to Ontario fire departments.”

OPINION

Terre Haute Tribune Star: Stand up and say no to WVR
Terry Evinger, West Terre Haute, 11/20/24

“To the citizens of Terre Haute: You may not know it, but since you are a resident of Terre Haute, a company called Wabash Valley Resources (WVR) considers you nothing more than a “public relations nightmare.” Although you are a mere river’s width from a carbon sequestration plant, the company doesn’t want you to know that they plan to inject toxic CO2 into your back yard and my front yard!,” Terry Evinger writes for the Terre Haute Tribune Star. “These injections have many dangers: the danger to our aquifer, danger of earthquakes, danger of pipeline leakage and explosion, danger of asphyxiation, danger of seizures and the danger of brain and lung damage are just a few. Former politician and Attorney General Greg Zoeller, who’s now employed by WVR, keeps saying to “believe in the science” and claims that anything we bring up, including concerns about the failures in the carbon sequestration project at the Decatur, Illinois, ADM facility, have been “asked and answered.” Well, you know what? I do believe in the science, and here it is: Science shows that carbon sequestration projects do not capture the amount of carbon dioxide they claim to. Science shows that carbon sequestration is extremely energy intensive, so it creates even more carbon dioxide and pollution. Science shows that carbon dioxide pushed underground can leech heavy metals and other toxins into our water supply. Science shows that even if the CO2 stays where it’s supposed to, the saltwater (brine) it pushes out of the rock can get into our drinking water and make it unusable or the salt water can come to the surface and sterilize the soil. But don’t take my word for it. You can check out the science yourself. Google it. Google Satartia, Mississippi, and Sulphur, Louisiana. Look at an article about the failures at the ADM plant in Decatur, Illinois. Read about the way the science showed the company there was a problem, and they refused to report it, or do anything about it. These are all fine examples of what WVR wants to convince you will never happen, but science shows it already has. The crazy thing is that our local and federal taxes are paying for this. So, our taxes are paying to make the owners of WVR, Wall Street investors (some that’ve gone bankrupt multiple times and some that have faced SEC hearings), rich and our community a poisoned dumping ground!… “Now is the time to take a stand to protect our homes, community, and our families. Help stop WVR before they get their foot in the door and ruin our community for their profit. Say no to Wabash Valley Resources.”

South Dakota Standard: Summit Carbon Solutions to try, try again to push a CO2 pipeline in South Dakota, this time with “major reroutes.”
John Tsitrian is a businessman and writer from the Black Hills, 11/21/24 

“…The new application submitted to the state has “major reroutes,” but, according to the Haiar piece, a new route map is not yet available,” John Tsitrian writes for the South Dakota Standard. “Summit’s press release, dated Nov. 19, says that “the application highlights major reroutes in Spink, Brown, McPherson, and Lincoln Counties, along with numerous micro-adjustments, resulting from more than a year of one-on-one work with landowners to find mutually agreeable solutions.” There’s a euphemistic quality to Summit’s statement, which entirely ignores the significant, if not altogether conclusive, defeat that was handed to them by South Dakota voters in the last election. Calling this new application the result of “numerous micro-adjustments” has got to be an understatement. If the new route map doesn’t represent a major overhaul of the company’s modified plan, I’d be surprised if this replay gets very far with the landowners and localities affected by it. Same goes for South Dakota’s overall voting population. Why not? Because un-addressed by the press release, except maybe in the broadest of terms, are the issues of eminent domain and local control, which are the twin torpedoes that sank the first Summit proposal at the polls… “We should be looking forward to the specifics of Summit’s plans to work collaboratively with landowners and local governments, because until the company convinces us that eminent domain will not be the cudgel they want it to be when acquiring routes on private land – and that local governments will have very much to say about what pipeline construction will do to their neighborhoods – I doubt that South Dakotans will buy Summit’s argument that their proposal is a really good thing for this state.”

Forbes: Carbon Capture And Storage’s Deal Killer
Erik Kobayashi-Solomon, founder of Banyan Tree ClimateTech Research, 11/21/24

“This article is about a dirty little secret habitually glossed over by CCS supporters: there simply aren’t many places to store captured carbon dioxide,” Erik Kobayashi-Solomon writes for Forbes. “A small coal-fired power plant with a 100 MW capacity running at 80% utilization would generate nearly 700,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide in a year. Triple that figure for a medium-sized coal-fired plant and multiply by ten for a large plant. You might be considering 700,000 metric tons in a theoretical sense, so I’ll state it in visceral terms. That weight in steel stacked in a city block would stand fifteen stories high. That weight in corn would completely fill a professional sports stadium. Finding sufficient space in which to store that much of anything is not easy and requires non-trivial engineering… “The second bit of bad news is that even in the U.S., where storage capacity is often related to enhanced oil recovery—extracting oil from tight reservoirs by injecting pressurized CO2—facilities emitting carbon dioxide aren’t situated near suitable underground storage sites. Since many emission sources are far from viable storage sites, transporting captured carbon dioxide represents a daunting engineering and political obstacle… “Once the property has been purchased, the pipeline constructed, and the regulatory hurdles cleared, operating a carbon dioxide pipeline can be fraught with peril, as the residents of Sartartia, Mississippi—a town situated near a CO2 pipeline that burst in 2020—know too well… “You might expect that natural gas pipelines could be repurposed to transport carbon dioxide, but these pipelines must undergo significant renovations—including replacement with pipes constructed of thicker, specialized steel—to be certified to carry CO2… “This incremental progress is great, but facilities less accessible to storage hubs will find it difficult to transport carbon dioxide if they invest in equipment to capture it. Smaller emitters are out of luck due to the expense of pipeline construction unless they are situated very close to accessible pipelines.”

Canada’s National Observer: The Prince Rupert gas pipeline doesn’t pass today’s health standards
Dr Margaret McGregor, MD, CCFP, MHSc: clinical associate professor, UBC Dept of Family Practice; Faculty of Medicine; Core faculty, Centre for Clinical Epidemiology at Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute; Dr Melissa Lem, MD, CCFP; clinical assistant professor UBC Dept of Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine; President of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment; Dr Tim Takaro, MD, MPH, MSc; professor emeritus; occupational and environmental medicine, public health and toxicology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada, 11/22/24

“On November 25, B.C.’s environmental assessment (EA) commission will rule on whether an environmental assessment certificate issued a decade ago for construction of the Prince Rupert Gas pipeline, should require a new, updated EA certificate before proceeding,” Margaret McGregor, Melissa Lem, and Tim Takaro write for Canada’s National Observer. “The project proposes construction of an 800-kilometre pipeline to transport gas from northeast B.C. to the Ksi Lisims LNG plant near the mouth of the Nass River on the province’s northwest coast. Originally owned by TC Energy, this pipeline project never got off the ground and was purchased by the Nisga’a Nation and Texas-based Western LNG in March 2024. In the absence of demonstrating “substantive progress” in project development – something the new proponents are scrambling to do – the EA would automatically expire next month… “The 10-year sunset clause requirement on EAs for projects not well underway by this time is an acknowledgment that environments change over time, as does the scientific evidence informing protection of the environment and human health. As physicians and environmental health scientists, we are calling for a new environmental assessment before this project proceeds precisely due to both significant changes in the context of pipeline construction and important new evidence that must be assessed… “Allowing the Prince Rupert Gas pipeline project to proceed in the absence of a new EA would be disingenuous, risks significant health harms, and disrespects the spirit of the 10-year time limit built into B.C.’s EA regulations.”

Edmonton Journal: One trillion reasons why oilsands benefit Canada’s economy
Heather Exner-Pirot is the director of energy, natural resources and environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute; Bryan Remillard is senior advisor, policy, at Pathways Alliance and has over 30years of experience in the oilsands sector, 11/21/24

“Sometime this financial quarter, the Canadian oilsands will hit a major milestone: one trillion dollars in cumulative spending,” Heather Exner-Pirot and Bryan Remillard write for the Edmonton Journal. “This number does not represent profits or dividends. It is the amount of direct spending – the capital, the operating expenses, the taxes and the royalties – that Canada’s most important industrial activity has injected into the economy over a period of about 25 years. The oilsands are Canada’s winning lottery ticket… “The trillion dollars in spending has bolstered the Canadian economy in hundreds of ways, but a few are worth highlighting. Over $107 billion in royalties and $79 billion in taxes have been paid to Canadian governments, representing more than the last five years of Canadian defense spending. Billions in goods and services have been procured from Indigenous businesses, and tens of billions from the manufacturing sector in central Canada… “Such a golden goose should surely be cossetted by our political class? Of course not. The oilsands have been consistently undermined by Ottawa. The announcement of an emissions cap is the latest example… “With good planning and collaboration, some of its future expenditures will go toward emissions-reductions activities such as carbon capture and storage, and new technology investment such as carbon fibre production. But if companies are forced to cut their production, they won’t be able to afford to aggressively cut emissions.”

DeSmog: Why Alberta Shouldn’t Be Celebrating Trump’s Election Win
Mitch Anderson, 11/21/24

“Some on the political right in Canada have been quick to gloat over the re-election of Donald Trump as U.S. president. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith plans to attend his inauguration, publicly doubting that the government of Canada will adequately advocate for the oil patch,” Mitch Anderson writes for DeSmog. “But as they say, be careful what you wish for. While Canada has been a vital and reliable trading partner to the U.S. for decades, the protectionist policies of the incoming administration could have a devastating impact north of the border – especially for Alberta. Trump has promised a 10 percent tariff on all U.S. imports, and as high as 60 percent for China. Many are hoping that Canada will get special treatment, particularly on oil… “According to a recent report from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, 10 percent tariffs from our biggest trading partner would shave over five percent from our national GDP and cost our economy more than $45 billion. The energy and auto industries are unsurprisingly the most exposed. Alberta’s oil and gas shipments to the U.S. represent more than 80 percent of all provincial exports. Even if Canadian oil is exempt from U.S. import tariffs, Trump’s campaign promise to vastly scale up American production to reduce U.S. gas prices by 50 percent would have big implications on oil sands producers and Alberta resource revenues… “The Trump victory is also a major blow to Canada’s liquified natural gas (LNG) industry. Two approved export terminals on the west coast are scheduled to come online by 2027 and their already-questionable economics just got a lot worse… “LNG cheerleaders on this side of the border have been bombarding Canadians with ad campaigns promoting an additional six proposed export terminals. Trump’s election and ensuing oversupply would likely tank the business case for these projects no matter how much taxpayer’s money is thrown at them… “It has been said that if someone tells you who they are, believe them. On that front, Trump has been clear and blunt: “we are going to take other countries’ jobs.”

Wall Street Journal: The DOGE Plan To Reform Government 
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, 11/20/24

“In West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (2022), the justices held that agencies can’t impose regulations dealing with major economic or policy questions unless Congress specifically authorizes them to do so. In Loper Bright v. Raimondo (2024), the court overturned the Chevron doctrine and held that federal courts should no longer defer to federal agencies’ interpretations of the law or their own rulemaking authority. Together, these cases suggest that a plethora of current federal regulations exceed the authority Congress has granted under the law. DOGE will work with legal experts embedded in government agencies, aided by advanced technology, to apply these rulings to federal regulations enacted by such agencies,” Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy write for the Wall Street Journal. “DOGE will present this list of regulations to President Trump, who can, by executive action, immediately pause the enforcement of those regulations and initiate the process for review and rescission. This would liberate individuals and businesses from illicit regulations never passed by Congress and stimulate the U.S. economy… “With a decisive electoral mandate and a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, DOGE has a historic opportunity for structural reductions in the federal government. We are prepared for the onslaught from entrenched interests in Washington. We expect to prevail. Now is the moment for decisive action. Our top goal for DOGE is to eliminate the need for its existence by July 4, 2026—the expiration date we have set for our project. There is no better birthday gift to our nation on its 250th anniversary than to deliver a federal government that would make our Founders proud.” 

New York Post: Trump Must Unwind Biden’s Destructive Throttling Of America’s Resources 
Debra Struhsacker and Sarah Montalbano co-authored the Center of the American Experiment’s report “Mission Impossible: Mineral Shortages and the Broken Permitting Process Put Net Zero Goals Out of Reach,” 11/20/24

“President-elect Donald Trump has a tremendous opportunity — and a lot of work ahead — to dismantle the environmental roadblocks the Biden-Harris administration erected against America’s energy industry,” Debra Struhsacker and Sarah Montalbano write for the New York Post. “The current administration painted itself into a corner by touting actions ‘to strengthen and secure’ the supply of critical minerals needed to harness wind and solar energy — while simultaneously enacting mining and permitting policies that made those green goals impossible. President Biden and VP Kamala Harris never seemed to understand that their own restrictive government put their net-zero ambitions wildly out of reach. Moreover, our longstanding reliance on mineral imports and a broken permitting process here at home endanger our existing electric grid, national security and the US economy. Our recent report for the Center of the American Experiment found that demand for minerals used in wind turbines, solar panels, battery storage and electric vehicles are soaring, thanks to government mandates pushing consumers to EVs and changing the composition of the grid.”

KTTH: Here’s Why Conservative Environmentalists Are Pumped With Trump Picks On Energy, Interior 
Jason Rantz, Radio Host, 11/20/24

“President-elect Donald Trump has tapped North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and energy executive Chris Wright for his cabinet. Conservative environmentalists are excited,” Jason Rantz writes for KTTH. “I’m extremely excited,” Chris Barnard, president of the American Conservation Coalition explained on ‘The Jason Rantz Show’ on KTTH (I serve as an Evergreen Advisor to the ACC)… “Conservative environmentalists are looking for a change of direction under the Trump administration. The president-elect is expected to focus on energy innovation, which embraces nuclear, fracking, and geothermal, while protecting and maintaining our public lands. “There’s no one who really knows conservation and energy like Doug Burgum,” Barnard told KTTH. “He’s done a lot of work to help conserve lands up in North Dakota, and while he was running for president, he talked about the ways that we can unleash the energy industry, and doing so in an environmentally responsible way.”