EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 3/12/24

PIPELINE NEWS

• Canadian Press: Pipeline shortages to return sooner rather than later as oil production booms

• Environmental Health News: Participation in oil and gas line development harms mental health and creates distrust in government: Study

• E&E News: Senate Democrats target streamlined pipeline permits

• Bloomberg: EQT Boss Says Mountain Valley Pipeline Will Enable AI Power Boom

• South Dakota Searchlight: Judge faults Corps for outcome of DAPL protests as trial wraps up third week

• Press release: Tallgrass Energy Announces Open Season for Pony Express Pipeline

• The Cap Times: ‘Bad River’ documentary dives into Wisconsin tribe’s pipeline fight

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• NPR: Young voters helped elect Biden in 2020. His campaign is courting them again in 2024

• E&E News: EPA Rule Tees Up Legal Battle Over Federal Climate Authority

STATE UPDATES

• NBC Los Angeles: Wildlife impacted by Huntington Beach oil spill; crews recover tar balls

• WEEK: Pekin ingredient manufacturer announces plans for carbon capture storage project

• Carbon Herald: Trace Carbon Solutions Submits Class VI Permit Application For Two CO2 Injection Wells To Serve Emission Sources Along The Gulf Coast

• Dickinson Press: Dickinson’s Prairie Horizon declines $75M state loan, citing a technology mismatch

• Colorado Sun: Plan to drill for oil and gas near Lowry Landfill Superfund site southeast of Denver raises red flags

EXTRACTION

• Guardian: Youth activists need protection against smear campaigns and arrests, says UN expert

• Associated Press: Greta Thunberg and other climate activists block entrance to the Swedish parliament

• Petroleum Economist: Canadian crude oil’s last big push

• The Energy Mix: CCS Won’t Happen in Oilsands Without Bigger Subsidies, Cenovus Exec Warns

• National Observer: Feds urged to label acids in oilsands as toxic and harmful

CLIMATE FINANCE

• E&E News: SEC climate disclosure rule faces legal gantlet

• Capital and Main: Many of the U.S. Banks Funding Coal Have an Unusual Carve-Out

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

• Enbridge: Building dreams: Northeast BC high school students get a head start in career pursuits

OPINION

• Billings Gazette: Liz Barbour: Don’t let eastern Montana’s ag lands become a corporate polluter’s dumping grounds

• EnergyNow: Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) – Eeffective Technology or Convenient Scam?
  

PIPELINE NEWS

Canadian Press: Pipeline shortages to return sooner rather than later as oil production booms
Amanda Stephenson, 3/11/24

“After being hamstrung for years by a lack of export capacity, Canada’s oil industry will have reason to celebrate when the much-anticipated Trans Mountain pipeline expansion comes online, expected to be sometime this spring. But the party may be short-lived, as the more-than-$30-billion pipeline is expected to quickly fill up — returning Canada’s oil producers to a “Groundhog Day” scenario of restricted growth and depressed prices,” the Canadian Press reports. “I think the industry wanted to believe Trans Mountain was the answer. They wanted everybody to believe that having this new capacity was going to free them from this problem,” Richard Masson, executive fellow with the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, told CP “But we’ve never really been free from this problem.” Export issues have been a thorn in the side of Canadian energy companies for years, due to a lack of pipeline capacity from Alberta’s oilsands region to coastal tanker loading facilities… “Trans Mountain has been plagued by so many construction delays that by the time it does come online, it will quickly be filled. Many in the industry now believe Canadian oil output will exceed pipeline capacity again as early as 2026. “Everybody’s kind of saying, ‘OK, we see a pipeline. We’re going to be able to grow.’ Well, look, everybody’s growing at the same time. It (Trans Mountain) is going to be full in no time,” Masson told CP… “But Duncan Kenyon with Investors For Paris Compliance, which takes financial positions in Canadian companies in order to hold them accountable for their emissions reduction promises, told CP he believes the industry’s pipeline problem poses a serious long-term investment risk. Part of it, he told CP, is because there is no expectation that a new pipeline will be built anytime soon. “The cost of (the Trans Mountain expansion) has tripled from what it was supposed to be. So we’re going to be in this situation where we’re at pipeline capacity in the next two years and now we have a really clear indicator of what it costs to build a new one,” Kenyon told CP.

Environmental Health News: Participation in oil and gas line development harms mental health and creates distrust in government: Study
Kristina Marusic, 3/12/24

“Engaging in public participation during permitting for oil and gas pipelines often harms mental health and creates distrust in government, according to a new study,” Environmental Health News reports. “…The study, published in Energy Research & Social Science, was conducted through surveys and interviews with more than 1,000 people living near proposed natural gas pipelines in Virginia, West Virginia, Oregon and Pennsylvania. It documented a long list of mental health symptoms associated with living near pipeline routes, including anxiety, depression, Complex post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) and suicidality. “I live in Blacksburg, Virginia, which is one of the places the Mountain Valley Pipeline goes through,” Shannon Bell, a professor of sociology at Virginia Tech and lead author of the study, told Environmental Health News (EHN). “In conversations with community members who are affected by the pipeline, it became very clear there were some pretty significant traumas going on.” By using screening tools to measure the severity of mental health symptoms, the researchers also determined that the more people engaged with public participation processes related to the pipelines, the worse their mental health impacts were… “Karen Feridun, an activist who lives in eastern Pennsylvania, has fought two pipeline projects, the PennEast and Commonwealth pipelines, both of which were canceled following community resistance. She’s proud of those wins, but they were difficult for her and the community. “The PennEast fight went on for seven years,” Feridun told EHN. “People were so dedicated. It was like they made fighting the pipeline their second full time job. Many people expressed how stressed this made them feel, the pain of seeing their property devalued and their beautiful community disrupted, and how unending it all was. It was a lot to endure.” stories like that.” “…Bell’s study found that pipeline development and related public participation processes were associated with a long list of physical symptoms including insomnia, high blood pressure, heart problems, teeth grinding, headaches, tremors, irregular heartbeat, shingles, heart problems, chest pain, strokes and brain hemorrhages. At least one person said they were so physically sickened by the stress they felt about the pipeline and the public participation process that they had to move… “Bell and colleagues found that people who participated in these processes felt their input was dismissed, that their concerns were not addressed and did not have any impact on decision-making about the pipelines.These feelings created disillusionment and distrust. The more people participated in public feedback processes, the stronger their feelings of disillusionment were.”

E&E News: Senate Democrats target streamlined pipeline permits
Miranda Willson, 3/12/24

“Senate Democrats are urging the Army Corps of Engineers to eliminate a permitting system that has been used to fast-track oil and gas pipelines, two years after the agency began reassessing the program,” E&E News reports. “In a letter sent last week, lawmakers asked the Army Corps for a status update on its formal review of Nationwide Permit 12. The program allows pipeline companies to cross waterways or dredge and fill wetlands if their projects are deemed to have minimal environmental impacts. Upon receiving a Nationwide 12 permit, companies can bypass the more substantial environmental review that is normally required under the Clean Water Act. But the program’s application has been far too broad, according to the letter. It was signed by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who caucuses with Democrats.”

Bloomberg: EQT Boss Says Mountain Valley Pipeline Will Enable AI Power Boom
3/12/24

“The controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline will help meet the burst in power demand from artificial intelligence, according to the largest US natural gas producer,” Bloomberg reports. “MVP is an incredibly important piece of infrastructure,” EQT Corporation Chief Executive Officer Toby Rice said on a call Monday (March 11) to discuss the company’s acquisition of Equitrans Midstream Corporation, which owns the Mountain Valley gas project. A boost in power demand from AI data centers is taking place in the southeastern market, Rice said, which the gas pipeline is set to serve once it’s completed in the second quarter. It will take gas from the land-locked Marcellus shale basin in Appalachia — the biggest US source of the fuel — to markets in the Southeast and, potentially, to liquefied natural gas export terminals on the Gulf Coast.”

South Dakota Searchlight: Judge faults Corps for outcome of DAPL protests as trial wraps up third week
MARY STEURER, 3/9/24

“A federal judge admonished U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials for allowing Dakota Access Pipeline protesters to camp on Corps land without a permit, arguing that the agency could have prevented significant costs to North Dakota had it followed its own regulations properly,” South Dakota Searchlight reports.  “Permits are required for a reason,” U.S. District Court Judge Dan Traynor said in a Friday hearing in Bismarck. The comments came as North Dakota concluded three weeks of witness testimony in a bench trial examining the United States’ actions during the 2016 and 2017 protests against the pipeline, commonly referred to as DAPL… “Immediately after North Dakota rested its case, attorneys for the United States made a motion for a directed judgment — a request for a ruling in favor of the defense on the grounds that the evidence presented by the state is insufficient to continue the trial… “Traynor denied the motion, arguing that the Corps should have never allowed protesters to remain on its land without a permit — not only because its own regulations appear to require it, but also because Corps officials knew the demonstrations posed a significant risk… “The failure to require a permit is unreasonable under the circumstances,” Traynor said… “The trial is expected to continue for another week.”

Press release: Tallgrass Energy Announces Open Season for Pony Express Pipeline
3/11/24

“Tallgrass Pony Express Pipeline, LLC (“Pony Express”), operated by Tallgrass, together with Bridger Pipeline, LLC (“Bridger”), announced a new binding joint tariff open season for shipper commitments and production dedication for crude oil transportation from the Williston Basin, in exchange for incentive tariff rates. This open season will run for 30 days, commencing on March 11, 2024.”

The Cap Times: ‘Bad River’ documentary dives into Wisconsin tribe’s pipeline fight
Rob Thomas, 3/9/24

“The tagline on the poster for the documentary “Bad River” says “a story of defiance.” And director Mary Mazzio makes clear that the defiance by the Bad River Band of Wisconsin’s Lake Superior Chippewa tribe didn’t start with its fight against the Canadian energy company Enbridge,” The Cap Times reports. “The company has a pipeline running through 12 miles of tribal land, and the Bad River Band, fearing it will rupture and pollute the lake, declined to renew Enbridge’s lease for the land. But when Enbridge refused to remove the pipeline, Bad River took the company to court. An appeal to the case was heard earlier this year by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Mazzio predicts it will end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. The documentary, which opens Friday in theaters, including on two screens at AMC Fitchburg 18 in Madison, pulls back the lens to ground the ongoing legal fight in a broader historical context going back hundreds of years. And it tells that story in a lively way that centers the Bad River Band itself. Nearly all the on-camera interviews in the film are with members of the tribe, and the soundtrack is peppered with hip-hop tracks by producer Mato Wayuhi that reflect the film’s defiant spirit. Mazzio even used two narrators in conversation with each other. Oscar-winning actor Edward Norton often gives the “official” historical version of events, while actress Quannah Chasinghorse (“Reservation Dogs”) tells the story from the tribe’s perspective. The result is a lively and galvanizing take on recent events that Mazzio hopes will resonate with audiences both inside and outside Wisconsin. “It’s a film about sovereignty, and standing up for what you believe in,” she told the Cap Times. “Everything else falls away.” Mazzio talked with the Cap Times about why it was important to tell the full story of the Bad River Band, and why this was the right moment to release the film.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

NPR: Young voters helped elect Biden in 2020. His campaign is courting them again in 2024
Elena Moore, 3/11/24

“President Biden’s reelection campaign is heading to class, unveiling a new initiative focused on engaging with young Americans as the general election campaign unofficially ramps up,” NPR reports. “The campaign is launching Students for Biden-Harris, a program focused on building a large volunteer base of young supporters using different student-run groups nationwide. It comes as Gen Z and younger millennials, Americans under 30, are poised to potentially play a crucial role in the 2024 presidential race… “But while Gen Z and younger millennials sided with Biden in 2020, support among this age group isn’t guaranteed this time around. According to the latest Harvard Youth Poll, voters under 30 are showing lower levels of enthusiasm to vote compared to four years ago. Despite high turnout in recent major elections, they remain divided in support for Biden, especially as factions of the voting bloc disapprove of his handling of Israel’s war in Gaza and as movements to vote ‘Uncommitted’ in the Democratic primary pop up across the country. The campaign says they’re hearing and listening to those voices but also stresses that no single issue defines the youth vote… “But, just last week, a handful of progressive organizations that focus on young voter issues are demanding more from the president. In a letter released ahead of Biden’s State of the Union address last Thursday, they outlined a “Finish the Job Agenda,” which included urging Biden to declare a lasting ceasefire in Gaza.”

E&E News: EPA Rule Tees Up Legal Battle Over Federal Climate Authority.
3/11/24

“EPA’s rule to limit methane emissions from the oil and gas sector may be the latest battleground over whether the agency is exceeding its authority to regulate planet-warming emissions,” E&E News reports. “The rule is part of a suite of regulatory actions by the Biden administration to address climate change. Methane is a particularly useful target for quickly stemming the rise of global temperatures because the potent greenhouse gas has about 80 times the heat-trapping capability of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. EPA published the rule Friday in the Federal Register. Lawsuits are already rolling in.”

STATE UPDATES

NBC Los Angeles: Wildlife impacted by Huntington Beach oil spill; crews recover tar balls
Christian Cazares, 3/9/24

“A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter conducted a flyover of the Huntington Beach coast Saturday after a roughly 2.5-mile-long oil sheen was spotted in the ocean water, with officials saying they did not observe any remaining recoverable sheen,” NBC Los Angeles reports. “Tar balls were observed along the shoreline, however, and onshore recovery teams were assessing the shoreline and will remove them as needed, according to a Unified Command consisting of the U.S. Coast Guard, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department… “There were no beach closures in effect Saturday, but officials said a notice to mariners and a safety zone were in effect 1,000 yards around any response vessel. Four live birds were being cared for by the Oiled Wildlife Care Network… “The cause of the sheen was still being investigated… “Brady Bradshaw of the oceans program at the Center for Biological Diversity called discovery of the sheen “grim,” adding, “We have to do a lot more than just try to mop up the miles-long mess.” “This same tangle of pipelines and platforms produced the massive 2021 spill, and it’s time for state and federal regulators to take tough, urgent action to get this decrepit infrastructure out of the ocean,” Bradshaw told NBC. “California’s wildlife and coastal communities have suffered too much for too long and there’s no more room for excuses.”

WEEK: Pekin ingredient manufacturer announces plans for carbon capture storage project
Jason Howell, 3/11/24

“Alto Ingredients, a producer and distributor of renewable fuel and essential ingredients with a facility in Pekin, has announced a nonbinding letter of intent to develop a carbon capture and storage solution on its campus,” WEEK reports. “Alto says the project, with Vault 44.01, would install equipment to install carbon dioxide generated from the ethanol production process at its Pekin facility with Vault transporting and storing the emissions underground “in a secure geologic reservoir” located close to the facility. Alto told WEEK they and Vault are talking with landowners and communities about the project.”

Carbon Herald: Trace Carbon Solutions Submits Class VI Permit Application For Two CO2 Injection Wells To Serve Emission Sources Along The Gulf Coast
Vasil Velev, 3/11/24

“Trace Carbon Solutions, LLC (Trace), through its wholly owned subsidiary Evergreen Sequestration Hub, LLC (Evergreen Hub), announced today that it has submitted a Class VI permit application to the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources for two CO2 injection wells,” the Carbon Herald reports. “The application, submitted on February 28, 2024, requests Trace be allowed to permanently sequester carbon dioxide in underground geologic formations on approximately 20,000 acres in Beauregard and Calcasieu parishes in Louisiana… “If approved, the two CO2 injection wells will serve as the initial phase of development for the Evergreen Hub. The injection wells will be located on lands managed by the Molpus Woodlands Group (Molpus), and the site layout and minimal aboveground footprint of the project will allow Molpus to continue to utilize the surface acreage as a sustainably managed working forest. In total, CO2 storage capacity at Evergreen Hub is estimated to be at or above 250 million metric tons.”

Dickinson Press: Dickinson’s Prairie Horizon declines $75M state loan, citing a technology mismatch
Manuel Holguin JR, 3/11/24

“Prairie Horizon Energy Solutions LLC (PHES) has decided not to accept a $75 million state forgivable loan to construct a hydrogen and potentially ammonia production facility in Stark County,” the Dickinson Press reports. “PHES, a venture between TC Energy Development Holdings Inc. and MPC Investment LLC, acknowledged the state’s support and policies in a letter from Rachid Medarhri. However, the company pointed out that its technology of autothermal reforming, using North Dakota’s natural gas resources, was not aligned with the program’s requirement for electrolysis… “Tina Fortner, Communications Business Partner at Marathon Petroleum, expanded on the decision regarding the Prairie Horizon project, stating, “A recently completed detailed economic evaluation concludes that autothermal reforming has a cost-competitive advantage compared to the technology required within the Incentive Program parameters (electrolysis). Autothermal reforming would use North Dakota’s abundant natural gas supply to produce low-carbon hydrogen and fertilizer products in North Dakota.” Regarding the impact of declining the state forgivable loan on the future development of the Prairie Horizon project, Fortner stated, “The decision on this loan does not affect our current plans which includes continued development of the Prairie Horizon project.”

Colorado Sun: Plan to drill for oil and gas near Lowry Landfill Superfund site southeast of Denver raises red flags
Jennifer Oldham, 3/11/24

“A proposed 166-well oil and gas project in suburban Denver could imperil a decades-long, multimillion-dollar effort to prevent carcinogenic chemicals stored on one of the nation’s most contaminated industrial sites from leaking into groundwater, letters from federal and state officials show,” the Colorado Sun reports. “Regulators expressed concern in May that drilling underneath and near the Lowry Landfill Superfund site could cause small cracks in bedrock cradling millions of gallons of toxic waste in 78 unlined trenches. These fissures could allow contaminants to enter an aquifer system that millions of Coloradans rely on, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wrote to Civitas, the operator requesting permission to drill. The EPA oversees a complex 40-year effort to protect the health of millions of people living around the site… “The EPA is concerned that hydraulic fracturing surrounding and underneath the site could lead to a significant unintended release of hazardous substances,” the agency wrote in May to Dan Harrington, who leads Civitas’ development initiatives. This “contamination is held in place by a bedrock layer which could, under certain conditions, be subject to microfractures from fracking.” “…Questions remain about the presence, and possible growth, of a fault at the northern end of the Superfund site and whether it’s in part responsible for allowing chemicals to leak and create a 3 mile-long underground plume. The EPA says this plume doesn’t present a risk to groundwater or surface water. Scientists have attributed earthquakes in Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas, to a surge in oil and gas operations over the last decade. These temblors were caused by injection wells, which companies drill deep into the earth and use to dispose of millions of gallons of wastewater that flows back up from fracking operations, studies found.” 

EXTRACTION

Guardian: Youth activists need protection against smear campaigns and arrests, says UN expert
Nina Lakhani, 3/11/24

“Children campaigning to save the planet and defend human rights must be taken seriously and better protected from online smear campaigns, arrests and physical attacks, a new report by a leading UN expert has found,” the Guardian reports. “Child and youth activists are at the forefront of human rights struggles globally but are routinely dismissed, excluded and denied access to support available to older activists, according to Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders, who interviewed nearly 100 young people from 37 countries. Young people are particularly active in defending the climate and environment, and have spearheaded global movements such as Rise Up and Fridays for Future school strikes with Greta Thunberg in Sweden and Vanessa Nakate in Uganda, among others… “Child rights defenders, especially girls and gender-nonconforming children, and including child climate activists, have been facing growing repression in many countries,” the report says… “Yet Lawlor found that young human rights defenders – particularly children – are often not taken seriously, and don’t have access to things like funding or legal aid if they get into trouble… “They are the ones looking to the future, but feel squeezed. They often do not feel heard or supported by the UN or even their own families, who can be terrified that involvement in human rights will put them in danger.” But despite the risks, child and youth human rights defenders are mobilizing worldwide to demand change on the biggest issues concerning humanity today. Lawlor told the Guardian: “They see injustice, and they feel they have to respond.”

Associated Press: Greta Thunberg and other climate activists block entrance to the Swedish parliament
3/11/24

“A group of climate activists including Greta Thunberg on Monday blocked the entrance to the Swedish parliament, advocating for sweeping reforms to tackle climate disasters,” the Associated Press reports. “Some 40 activists held signs reading ”Climate Justice Now” as they sat in front of at least two entrances to the 349-seat Riksdagen, including the main doorway. Swedish media said lawmakers used other entries into the assembly. “The climate justice movement has, for decades, been repeating the same message over and over again, like a broken record, and we feel like we are not being heard,” Thunberg told The Associated Press… “She repeatedly has been fined in Sweden and the U.K. for disobedience to law enforcement in connection with protests. Earlier this year she was acquitted of a charge of refusing to follow a police order to leave a protest blocking the entrance to a major oil and gas industry conference in London.”

Petroleum Economist: Canadian crude oil’s last big push
Vincent Lauerman, 3/11/24

“Oil sands set to provide growth over next few years, but infrastructure and policy hurdles could stifle momentum further out,” Petroleum Economist reports. “Canada’s crude oil production has skyrocketed since the turn of the century, rising from under 2m b/d to an estimated 4.9m b/d last year, while information provider S&P Global Commodity Insights is projecting it to jump another 500,000b/d over the next two years—the bulk of which will come from the oil sands (see Fig.1). But this could be the “last big push” for Canadian production, with output basically plateauing as of mid-decade because of a slowdown in Western Canadian supply growth in general, and oil sands growth in particular, according to Kevin Birn, S&P’s chief analyst for Canadian oil markets.”

The Energy Mix: CCS Won’t Happen in Oilsands Without Bigger Subsidies, Cenovus Exec Warns
Mitchell Beer, 3/11/24

“With this year’s federal budget just over a month away, Canada’s oilsands industry is once again demanding more generous federal subsidies—or what it prefers to call “clarity” on Ottawa’s intentions—before investing its own lavish shareholder returns in the technology it says it needs to decarbonize its operations,” The Energy Mix reports. “The Pathways Alliance, whose six members account for about 95% of the country’s oilsands extraction, says the companies won’t move ahead with the C$16.5-billion carbon capture and storage (CCS) hub they’ve been pledging to build in northern Alberta unless Canadians add to the $7.1 billion tax credit that Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland extended to them in her 2022 budget, the Calgary Herald reports. “These massive projects take a lot of thought and they take a lot of time. That’s why I do get a bit frustrated when I hear some politicians and others publicly state that we should already have shovels in the ground for the Pathways CCS project,” Rhona DelFrari, chief sustainability officer at Cenovus Energy, told the company’s investor day in Toronto. “With what we know today,” she added, “the government funding partnerships in Canada are not enough for large-scale CCS to proceed in the oilsands.” DelFrari said the industry’s concerns about “policy certainty” are “also being affected by a series of federal initiatives, such as the incoming emissions cap on the Canadian oil and gas sector,” the Herald says… “First of all, we can’t start construction of the CO2 pipeline or sequestration hub without regulatory approval, and that process, as I mentioned, is still under way,” DelFrari said. But “without competitive fiscal incentives, our country risks being left out as large-scale emissions reduction investments are developed and deployed elsewhere where they get the best returns.”

National Observer: Feds urged to label acids in oilsands as toxic and harmful
Matteo Cimellaro, 3/12/24

“First Nations and Métis in Alberta are joining with environmental organizations to formally request that Ottawa add a hazardous toxic acid found in oilsands tailings ponds to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA),” the National Observer reports. “The proposed change would impose more stringent regulations, monitoring and restrictions on naphthenic acids, which are listed as hazardous substances in the United States. Ecojustice filed the formal request on behalf of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Environmental Defence and Keepers of the Water… “Jesse Cardinal, executive director of Keepers of the Water, told the Observer regulation of the acids is urgent given the proposed plans to release tailings water into the Athabasca River after treatment. Even after industry treats the tailings water, it still contains high levels of naphthenic acids, Cardinal told the Observer… “Cardinal argues that Ottawa must assume a bigger role in curtailing what she describes as a toxic crisis in First Nations in northern Alberta… “Ottawa can unlock its tool chest of regulatory mechanisms if naphthenic acids are found toxic, Rougeot told the Observer, including the creation of emergency plans during leaks or security deposits on industry.”

CLIMATE FINANCE

E&E News: SEC climate disclosure rule faces legal gantlet
Lesley Clark, 3/11/24

“A top Wall Street regulator’s decision to force public companies to divulge details about their climate risk could draw the attention of a Supreme Court that has displayed interest in curbing government efforts to tackle climate change,” E&E News reports. “The landmark Securities and Exchange Commission rule — approved last week by a 3-2 vote — drew immediate legal challenges from Republican-led states and energy companies. The challenges came despite the SEC’s move to dramatically roll back its original proposal, a revision that included dropping a requirement that some companies report emissions associated with their customers and sprawling supply chains. “The SEC tried hard to mollify corporate America on how expensive this would be, but there are enough companies and enough states who hate the idea of a capital markets regulator taking on a climate role,” David Zaring, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, told E&E. It’s not just corporations that are mad. The SEC’s step back has also prompted environmentalists to threaten to sue the agency over what they called an “arbitrary removal” of key measures from the rule… “The argument will be that the SEC has gone outside of its delegated mission by seeking to do something about climate change,” O’Day told E&E.

Capital and Main: Many of the U.S. Banks Funding Coal Have an Unusual Carve-Out
Meg Duff, 3/11/24

“At COP28, the U.S. finally joined a six-year-old compact called the Powering Past Coal Alliance, promising to stop investing in new coal plants and to phase out existing coal plants — or at least the members of this alliance will stop directly investing in “unabated” coal plants: plants that are taking no steps to limit their emissions,” Capital and Main reports. “…Yet four top U.S. banks have a unique carve-out in their coal exit policies: They will still directly fund coal plants that take steps to abate their emissions using carbon capture and storage. To date, only three coal plants worldwide are actually using carbon capture and storage at scale; the strategy is not currently a financially practical one for coal plants. If that remains true, these “no coal without carbon capture” loopholes could remain unused. If carbon capture and storage does become financially viable, it could be a helpful low-carbon solution — or it could give governments and banks an excuse to invest in new coal plants or to keep aging coal plants alive without hoped-for emissions decreases materializing. “The big risk is that carbon capture and storage might be used as an excuse to prolong the lives of coal plants that should be closed very soon now,” Yann Louvel, a policy analyst for Reclaim Finance, an NGO that tracks fossil fuel funding, told Capital and Main.”

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

Enbridge: Building dreams: Northeast BC high school students get a head start in career pursuits
3/11/24

“Like all students, Michael Templeton and Taggart Bougerolle are excited to head home to Chetwynd for their spring break. But these Grade 12 students are especially pumped as they’ll return from Dawson Creek proudly knowing they’ve built a house! Yes, Templeton and Bougerolle helped construct a house as part of their carpentry program at Northern Lights College,” according to Enbridge. “…To help alleviate financial barriers, Enbridge has supported Northern Opportunities through a scholarship, providing students with financial support to help them complete their dual credit programs. For almost 20 years now, Enbridge has allotted about $40,000 every year to the Northern Opportunities Enbridge Bursary.”

OPINION

Billings Gazette: Liz Barbour: Don’t let eastern Montana’s ag lands become a corporate polluter’s dumping grounds
Liz Barbour is a ranch manager in Hammond, Montana, and member of Northern Plains Resource Council, a grassroots conservation and family agriculture group, 3/10/24

“I’m a ranch manager in Carter County. Open, “Big Sky” country and expansive grasslands surround my life here. Years ago I stood in my new home and overlooked the plains stretched out before me, baby in arms, feeling overwhelming explosions of gratitude in my soul that formed an unshakable, deep connection to this landscape; a defining moment in my career,” Liz Barbour writes for the Billings Gazette. “…Join me in protecting Montana, our home, from a disturbing plan from the Exxon corporation that uses our tax dollars and public lands in a scheme to pump 150 million tons of pollution underground, threatening the land, water, and livelihoods of my agricultural community. We’ve seen this playbook before. Out-of-state corporations lobby the government for money used to steamroll rural communities with projects that enrich shareholders and executives while treating farmers, ranchers, and rural folks as disposable refuse. In this case, the big player is Denbury, Inc., a subsidiary of Exxon. The plan is called the Snowy River Carbon Sequestration Project, and it’s part of a larger corporate ploy to use government handouts for unproven technologies that are supposed to address climate change. In reality, it’s an expensive fig leaf that leads to more climate pollution. These projects are called Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). CCS uses industrial pipelines to transport carbon dioxide from high-polluting activities like coal and gas-burning power production or plastics manufacturing. The “captured” carbon is then transported for storage in underground rock formations… “While storing carbon pollution underground sounds great on paper, it’s more pipe dream than legitimate climate solution… “Construction disruption, aquifer contamination from pipeline leaks, and potential underground hydrological disturbances could be economically devastating to this community and the grasslands we depend on. If we truly want to store carbon, protecting these prairies is essential. Beyond these threats to our land and water, risks posed to our health and safety are equally disturbing. In 2020, a Mississippi pipeline owned by Denbury ruptured, leading to over 40 hospitalizations and the evacuation of 300 residents. These pipelines are just too dangerous… “Expecting a ranching community to digest hundreds of pages of technical, quantitative government documents within a month, during calving season, is inadequate and insulting. Call BLM, 406-233-3653, and ask to extend the comment period for the Snowy River Project. More importantly, please take a moment to submit your own comment to BLM as soon as possible to keep Eastern Montana’s Northern Great Plains from becoming Exxon’s pollution dumping grounds.”

EnergyNow: Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) – Eeffective Technology or Convenient Scam?
Brad Hayes has a PhD in geology from the University of Alberta and is president of Petrel Robertson Consulting Ltd., 3/11/24

“…We can capture emissions after they are generated, by extracting them from flue gas streams from refineries, power stations, and cement and steel plants,” Brad Hayes writes for EnergyNow. “…Trouble is, since the atmospheric concentration of CO2 is only about 0.04%, one has to process a LOT of atmosphere to extract any significant amount of CO2… “We can capture CO2 artificially (the “CC” in CCUS) by combining it with other chemicals – but what do we do with it then? We have to either use it or inject it into the ground where it can’t escape. Utilization, the “U” in CCUS, is a hot topic. Innovators and entrepreneurs are developing new materials and methods to use CO2 to make concrete, polymers, industrial materials, and fuels. Most of these processes are expensive, however, and do not have big enough markets to make much of a dent in our huge output of carbon dioxide… “In summary – CCUS encompasses established, reliable technologies and innovative new techniques to store carbon dioxide safely underground for millions of years… “So what’s the problem? The biggest problem with CCUS is not rooted in engineering, geology, social welfare, or business… “The problem is in the attitudes of people who do not like hydrocarbons, do not understand CCUS technologies, and are willing to make polarizing statements based on their attitudes, not on fact or scientific and engineering merit… “A little critical thinking leads one to the obvious conclusion that the problems lie not with CCUS, but with the attitudes and false beliefs of the critics… “Subsidizing the oil and gas industry” is an anti-oil catchphrase looking to create and build on mistrust. Humanity demands oil and gas – and coal, and countless other resources and materials – that produce emissions, and CCUS deals with emissions from all of those industries… “Carbon capture, utilization, and storage is an important tool in humanity’s efforts to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases. While it has limitations, it is one of the most efficient and effective tools we have. Accusations that it is a scam reflect only upon the mindsets and ignorance of the accusers.”