EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 3/7/24

PIPELINE NEWS

• South Dakota Searchlight: Legislature passes attempted balance between landowners and carbon pipeline project

• Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Lawmakers pass legislative package of pipeline bills, easing Summit Carbon’s CO2 project into SD

• KELO: Governor’s desk is next stop for carbon pipeline bills

• KELO: Noem shares support for CO2 pipeline bills

• KELO: Conference panel changes carbon-pipeline bills

• KGAN: Ethanol groups applaud South Dakota’s landowner bill of rights & CO2 pipeline regulations

• E&E News: House panel approves pipeline, energy efficiency bills

• Press release: Chair Rodgers Opening Remarks at Energy Subcommittee Markup of Six Bills to Modernize Pipeline Infrastructure and Protect Consumer Choice

• Reuters: TC Energy announces layoffs, primarily in Calgary and Houston

• Calgary Herald: Varcoe: As ‘green shoots’ sprout in oilsands, Enbridge targets increased pipeline volumes

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Regulators to Spire: You made this mess. You clean it up.

• Inside Climate News: LNG Exports from Mexico in Limbo While Pipeline Project Plows Ahead

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• E&E News: Greens Press FERC To Review LNG Effects On Endangered Whale 

• E&E News: Schumer Circulating Letter Calling For Oil Mergers Probe 

STATE UPDATES

• Minnesota House of Representatives: Bill sponsor says proposal could make Minnesota ‘carbon negative’

• Inside Climate News: Wyoming Considers Relaxing Its Carbon Capture Standards for Electric Utilities, Scrambling Political Alliances on Climate Change and Energy

• KXNET: Oil, production water spills reported in Billings, Burke counties

• Politico: API Bashes Colorado Bill 

• Colorado Public Radio: Xcel Energy backs off plan to blend hydrogen into the natural gas system serving a neighborhood near Hudson

EXTRACTION

• APTN News: ‘Everything is going downhill’: Athabasca Fort Chipewyan files lawsuit against Alberta regulator over Kearl spill

• Global Energy Monitor: Europe Gas Tracker 2024

CLIMATE FINANCE

• E&E News: SEC climate rule offers escape hatch to corporations, critics say

• E&E News: Reworked SEC climate rule fails to assuage Hill critics

• Bloomberg: Canadian Banks’ Fossil-Fuel Exposure Outpaces US, European Peers

• InfluenceMap: Canada’s Big Five Banks: Heading to Net Zero?

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

• KRIV: TC Energy on Community Day at HLSR

OPINION

• Duluth News Tribune: In Response: Harder look needed at carbon capture and sequestration

• National Observer: Oilsands companies want Pierre Poilievre to save them

• Columbus Dispatch: One Of Worst Methane Gas Leaks In US History Happened In Ohio. It Shouldn’t Happen Again
  

PIPELINE NEWS

South Dakota Searchlight: Legislature passes attempted balance between landowners and carbon pipeline project
JOSHUA HAIAR, 3/6/24

“Years of debate about a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline came to a head Wednesday at the state Capitol as lawmakers passed three bills intended to strengthen landowner protections while maintaining a regulatory path forward for the project,” the South Dakota Searchlight reports. “…Rep. Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, who voted against all three bills, told Searchlight lawmakers should do more to protect landowners. He pointed to Democratic-dominated Minnesota, where he said carbon sequestration pipelines can’t use eminent domain to access land… “We should be ashamed by that,” Hansen said.  He alleged the bills’ proponents are “paving the golden road” for the project. House Majority Leader Will Mortenson, R-Fort Pierre, was the prime sponsor of the bills with Senate Majority Leader Casey Crabtree, R-Madison. Mortenson said lawmakers opposing the legislation were offering a “do nothing solution.” “…Sen. Al Novstrup, R-Aberdeen, said the Summit project alone will not lower the planet’s temperature one degree; therefore, “the reason for CO2 capture fails.” He said diverting would-be federal tax revenue to incentivize the project will only worsen the national debt, and he encouraged fellow lawmakers to “say no to a Washington, D.C., boondoggle.” “…South Dakota Farmers Union President Doug Sombke said the legislation does not put landowners in a better position. He said the state is dominated by large special interest groups, to the detriment of family farmers whose land could be crossed by the pipeline.  “Unless this state can elect 15 or more Democrats to balance the political powers in Pierre, we will never stop this abuse of our legislative system,” he said. There are 11 Democrats in the 105-member Legislature.”

Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Lawmakers pass legislative package of pipeline bills, easing Summit Carbon’s CO2 project into SD
Dominik Dausch, 3/6/24

“Summit Carbon Solutions passed a legislative hurdle in 2023, when a House bill attempted to disqualify them from eminent domain rights because their pipeline was focused on sequestration,” the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports. “One year later, the Iowa-based company has a new path forward — with caveats abound — to build their sequestration line in South Dakota, after a series of heavily lobbied and extensively debated pipeline-related bills. On Wednesday, the South Dakota House and Senate heard and voted to pass three amended pipeline bills — Senate Bill 201, House Bill 1185, and House Bill 1186 — one more time, officially sending the legislative package drafted by the chamber’s leadership to Gov. Kristi Noem’s desk… “In a statement, Summit Carbon said the “Landowner Bill of Rights” would provide “significant landowner protections while ensuring regulatory certainty and promoting the future of the ethanol industry.” “…Walt Wendland, SD Ethanol Producers Association Board President and CEO of Onida-based Ringneck Energy, applauded the legislature in a release for passing the three bills, which he called “pro-landowner, pro-business, pro-farmer, and pro-ethanol.”

KELO: Governor’s desk is next stop for carbon pipeline bills
Gracie Terrall, Bob Mercer, 3/6/24

“After a morning of conference committee amendments, the South Dakota Legislature on Wednesday afternoon passed three carbon pipeline bills: Senate Bill 201, House Bill 1185 and HB 1186,” KELO reports. “These bills contain solutions. They are 100% pro-property rights. You cannot find one provision anywhere in these bills that harms property rights,” Mortenson said in the House. “These bills are 100% pro-farmers. You can’t find one portion of any of these bills that harms farmers. I believed from the beginning that we could help and protect farmers while keeping South Dakota a place where things still get built and still get done.” Republican Rep. Jon Hansen said the claims that these bills have the strongest protections is false and opposed the legislation. He pointed to Minnesota for their landowner rights and ability to protect farmers without using eminent domain to lay pipelines. “We have failed in our duty to protect the land owners in this state from having their land rights deprived by an out of state, foreign-backed company,” Hansen said… “Republican Rep. Karla Lems opposed all three pipeline bills. She took issue with them being labeled as the “Landowner’s Bill of Rights” and believes they don’t represent landowner and property right protections. “This package deal is the shiny object that the money in the room has spun to attract your attention,” Lems said. “It is a media headline that screams to South Dakota and the rest of the nation that we here stand up for property rights. The truth is the real fight has been on eminent domain and no invasive surveys, neither is addressed in this trio of bills.” Gov. Kristi Noem shared her support for the bills ahead of the chambers’ decisions Wednesday. .. “We are excited to have a path forward that establishes best practices we are committed to following in South Dakota and across our entire project,” Summit CEO Lee Blank said in the release. Blank also described the bills as “landmark legislation.”

KELO: Noem shares support for CO2 pipeline bills
Rae Yost, 3/6/24

“Gov. Kristi Noem weighed in on pipeline bills today as lawmakers were discussing the three bills dubbed as a “Landowner Bill of Rights,” KELO reports. “Before the Senate voted and just as the House voted on Senate Bill 201, Noem released a statement that said: “I am looking forward to signing a Landowner Bill of Rights that will provide new protections for landowners and allow for economic growth to move forward through a transparent process.” Noem referred to SB201, House Bill 1185A and House Bill 1186A, which sponsors Republican Sen. Casey Crabtree and Republican Rep. Will Mortenson have referred to the “Landowner Bill of Rights.” “…I stand with South Dakota landowners and always will,” Noem said in her news release… “Calling the three bills a “Landowner Bill of Rights” is just a media headline, Republican Rep. Karla Lems said in the House. Lems has advocated for property owners and against Summit’s proposed CO2 pipeline. “It’s a sad day when South Dakota is where property rights go to die,” Lems said.”

KELO: Conference panel changes carbon-pipeline bills
Bob Mercer, 3/6/24

“The mood in the room ahead of the 9 a.m. meeting Wednesday suggested which side thought they would come out ahead from the Legislature’s coming decisions on new laws regulating pipelines that could someday carry carbon dioxide in South Dakota,” KELO reports. “On one side, representatives for Summit Carbon Solutions and ethanol producers stood and smiled and laughed like winners. On the other side sat grim-faced landowners who don’t like Summit’s proposed pipeline crossing their properties to reach the ethanol plants and collect the CO2 that is now released into the air… “Each measure won approval on a 5-1 vote, with Republican Rep. Scott Moore opposed each time.”

KGAN: Ethanol groups applaud South Dakota’s landowner bill of rights & CO2 pipeline regulations
Valeree Dunn, 3/6/24

“Ethanol groups are applauding a new landowner bill of rights in South Dakota that could help make proposed carbon pipeline projects a reality after repeated regulatory hurdles and staunch pushback from landowners across the Midwest,” KGAN reports. “…A statement from the Iowa Renewable Fuels association Wednesday said the bill’s passage gives those pipelines a workable path forward in the Midwest. Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) Executive Director Monte Shaw made the following statement: “Both sides came together in South Dakota to find an equitable path forward for carbon capture and sequestration projects. We applaud their efforts. It is our view that with a workable path forward in South Dakota and the regulatory process well on its way in Iowa and North Dakota, we can now see light at the end of the tunnel… “American Carbon Alliance CEO Tom Buis also issued a statement following the passage of those bills in South Dakota. “I want to commend Senate Majority Leader Casey Crabtree, House Majority Leader Will Motenson, and lawmakers who supported the Landowner Bill of Rights legislation in South Dakota… “The news comes just a couple days after Summit Carbon Solutions filed a request with the Iowa Utilities Board to construct an additional 340 miles of pipelines connecting POET Bioprocessing and Valero facilities to the Midwest Carbon Express.”

E&E News: House panel approves pipeline, energy efficiency bills
Nico Portuondo, 3/6/24

“A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee passed legislation Wednesday to reauthorize the nation’s pipeline safety regulator and undo efficiency rulemaking for home appliances,” E&E News reports. “The Energy, Climate and Grid Security Subcommittee cleared its “Pipeline Safety, Modernization and Expansion Act” to reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration for another five years after the previous plan for the agency expired last year. It passed 14-10 along party lines. PHMSA reauthorization bills have traditionally been bipartisan, but Democrats grilled Republicans during the markup for refusing to take out “poison pills,” including language to ease natural gas pipelines. Democrats also expressed concern about funding levels. “It’s not the serious work that Americans expect from the Congress and especially this committee,” said Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.). “It’s embarrassing, it’s embarrassing that you’re siding with oil and gas industry over our neighbors’ safety.”

Press release: Chair Rodgers Opening Remarks at Energy Subcommittee Markup of Six Bills to Modernize Pipeline Infrastructure and Protect Consumer Choice
3/6/24

“House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) delivered the following opening remarks at today’s Energy Subcommittee markup of six bills to modernize pipeline infrastructure and protect consumer choice… “Today, the U.S. has more than 3.4 million miles of pipelines. “To meet growing energy demands, we must modernize and expand our pipeline infrastructure… “This committee’s hearings with PHMSA, DOE, and FERC, have all made clear the need for legislation to modernize our energy infrastructure and expand our pipeline system… “The Pipeline Safety, Modernization, and Expansion Act, led by Chairman Duncan, will reduce energy prices for the American people, strengthen pipeline and LNG facility safety, and drive innovation in new technologies. “It will reauthorize PHMSA for five years and increase the budget for State pipeline safety inspectors, who are responsible for the majority of the work. “We believe the states should see a higher share of PHMSA’s budget than they are currently receiving. “Chairman Duncan’s legislation will also strengthen the reliability of our electric grid by encouraging the expansion of the pipeline network in existing rights-of-way and by stopping states and local governments from blocking the flow of natural gas and other fuels from being delivered to homes and power plants.”

Reuters: TC Energy announces layoffs, primarily in Calgary and Houston
3/6/24

“Oil and gas pipeline firm TC Energy said on Wednesday it has laid off some of its workers as part of a previously announced plan to integrate its natural gas pipeline units,” Reuters reports. “The workforce reductions would primarily impact people working in Calgary and Houston, the company said in a statement to Reuters. The Calgary-based company did not specify the number of employees it would let go. According to a regulatory filing, its principal operating unit TCPL had 2,635 employees in Calgary and 837 in Houston as of Dec. 31. TC Energy is undergoing an overhaul and had said last year it would spin off its liquids business to focus on transporting natural gas.”

Calgary Herald: Varcoe: As ‘green shoots’ sprout in oilsands, Enbridge targets increased pipeline volumes
Chris Varcoe, 3/7/24

“As “green shoots” emerge in the Canadian oilsands and operators roll out aggressive plans to increase production, Enbridge sees the need for more oil pipeline capacity by 2026,” the Calgary Herald reports. “However, don’t expect a major new export pipeline project in Western Canada’s future. Instead, incremental expansions and plans to tweak existing lines are in the works to bolster the transportation capacity for oil coming out of Canada. During the company’s investor day on Wednesday, Enbridge indicated it expects to increase the capacity of its Mainline oil pipeline network by 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) — starting in 2026 — as production climbs in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. According to the Calgary-based company, additional pipeline capacity will be needed as petroleum producers ramp up output by 500,000 bpd by the end of 2025… “As has happened in the past, as soon as people think there’s too much pipeline capacity, there’s more production being produced,” Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel told reporters after the meeting. “There probably won’t be a major pipeline build, but at this point in time, I think with the volumes we’re talking about . . . with low capital and optimization of the current assets that we have, we can add those additional volumes.” “…Canadian oil and gas is going to grow, U.S. production will hit records and the need for transportation has never been greater,” Brim told the Herald. “A case could be made for a new incremental pipeline, if someone were brave enough to take on that venture.” “…But given the demise of three other pipeline projects in the past decade — Energy East, Keystone XL and Northern Gateway — experts don’t expect to see another major export project proposed in Canada any time soon… “Everybody will be gun-shy about proposing anything new. They have learned from the past,” Chris Bloomer, former CEO of the now-defunct Canadian Energy Pipeline Association and a former oilpatch executive, told the Herald. “It is going to be very difficult — financially, organizationally, emotionally and politically. I don’t think we will be in a spot to have a major new project come to the table.”

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Regulators to Spire: You made this mess. You clean it up.
Bryce Gray, 3/7/24

“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Wednesday ordered the region’s natural gas utility, Spire, to repair more than a dozen private properties it damaged when building its controversial Spire STL natural gas pipeline,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. “Spire said Wednesday it was happy to take the steps, and in fact had made the pitch itself to FERC… “But at least one farmer told the Dispatch he is skeptical about what FERC’s orders mean for his land.“It’s too premature here to figure out what’s going on,” Marc Steckel, a Carrollton, Illinois, resident who owns farmland traversed by the Spire pipeline, told the Dispatch. For example, landowners along the pipeline’s route complain of erosion and drainage problems, piles of wood left behind, loss of topsoil, rocks and construction debris buried in farm fields, diminished crop yields, and the perhaps unnecessary alteration of prized hunting land and future home sites. The landowners’ complaints have also formed the basis of an active lawsuit against Spire from the Office of the Illinois Attorney General. Spire has been ordered to “remove construction debris and rocks on all properties,” replant trees, test well water and repair damaged roads and driveways, among other fixes, according to a FERC statement… “Even following FERC’s orders, Spire will still need to get permission from individual landowners to access their property, before conducting any work — something some property owners have been unwilling to provide, saying that prior repair attempts had made damage worse.”

Inside Climate News: LNG Exports from Mexico in Limbo While Pipeline Project Plows Ahead
Martha Pskowski, 3/7/24

“Mexico anticipates exporting liquified natural gas for the first time this year. But prospects for the country’s nascent LNG industry—where each export terminal requires more than one billion dollars in investment—have cooled following the Biden administration’s pause in January on new export permits,” Inside Climate News reports. “…Meanwhile, projects in Mexico waiting on permits, or seeking additional export capacity, are now in limbo. At least four LNG export projects on Mexico’s Pacific Coast are impacted by the pause, and another three on the Gulf Coast… “But it remains to be seen whether additional scrutiny from U.S. regulators will scare off investors or merely slow down the rise of LNG exports from Mexico. For now, the pause is encouraging environmental advocates in Mexico who question the country’s reliance on U.S. natural gas and the climate impacts of LNG exports. “The fact that Biden paused these projects, and that he used a climate argument to do so, is good news,” Pablo Ramírez, a climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace Mexico, told ICN. “But we don’t know just how good that news will be for Mexico.” “…At a time when the Biden administration is saying we need to take a closer look at the public interest factors that go into these gas exports, here we have the FERC essentially ignoring that,” Doug Hayes, a senior attorney with the Sierra Club, told ICN.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

E&E News: Greens Press FERC To Review LNG Effects On Endangered Whale 
3/6/24

“The Sierra Club is urging federal energy regulators to take a deeper look at how a massive liquefied natural gas project proposed in Louisiana could affect the endangered Rice’s whale,” E&E News reports. “In a filing Monday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a lawyer for the environmental group said it has “grave concerns” about the potential effects of the Calcasieu Pass 2 project on the Rice’s whale and “FERC’s wholesale failure to evaluate those impacts.” The project, proposed by developer Venture Global, plans to export 20 million metric tons of LNG overseas per year. Known as CP2, the project still needs approval from FERC before it can be built. A final environmental impact statement issued by FERC in July “fails to analyze or even disclose the nature and degree of effects the project would have on this highly imperiled species,” Devorah Ancel, a senior attorney with the Sierra Club, said in the filing. Ramifications of the CP2 project on the whale’s habitat would include stressors like vessel noise; the risk of ship strikes; and possible gas, oil and other chemical spills, the filing said.” 

E&E News: Schumer Circulating Letter Calling For Oil Mergers Probe 
3/5/24

“Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna are circulating a letter for signatures this week that urges the Federal Trade Commission to look further into the pattern of consolidation in the oil industry,” E&E News reports. “The FTC is already investigating megamergers announced last year between Chevron and Hess, Exxon Mobil and Pioneer, and Occidental Petroleum and CrownRock. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats had urged the regulator last fall to probe those deals. In a draft of the new letter provided by Khanna’s office, he and Schumer argue the FTC needs to examine each transaction in the context of the broader “anticompetitive pattern developing as Big Oil corporations race to consolidate the Permian Basin and other key American oilfields.” “We urge the FTC to extend its current investigations, open inquiries into these new deals, and take all appropriate actions to protect competition in this industry,” reads the draft letter, which the lawmakers planned to send Wednesday.” 

STATE UPDATES

Minnesota House of Representatives: Bill sponsor says proposal could make Minnesota ‘carbon negative’
Brian Basham, 3/6/24

“Carbon capture and sequestration could help the state attain a zero or negative carbon footprint. But critics say the new technology would actually increase carbon emissions and pose other safety risks,” according to the Minnesota House of Representatives. “If you want to be leaders, if Minnesota wants to be different, if Minnesota wants to be on the global stage as a state that’s doing things right, we’ll find the way to get it done right,” said Rep. Spencer Igo (R-Wabana Township). “We could put Minnesota on the map, not for being carbon neutral by 2040, but carbon negative.” Igo sponsors HF342 that would develop and deploy carbon capture and sequestration technologies as state policy… “Because of the significant amounts of energy and water needed to facilitate the carbon capture and sequestration process, critics say it increases the carbon footprint significantly. The process of capturing carbon dioxide at an ethanol plant is highly energy and water intensive, they say, meaning it actually takes more energy to convert the carbon dioxide gas to a liquid so that it can be transported in a proposed pipeline. “The bill implies that carbon capture technology will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and this simply is not true,” said Peg Furshong, a Renville County landowner. “It does just the opposite. It actually incentivizes farmers to continue growing corn and the production of ethanol.” Sarah Mooradian, government relations and policy director for CURE, said enhanced oil recovery is another use for carbon capture technology which would only sustain fossil fuel production by oil companies. “Pushing more oil out of the ground is in no way compatible with our climate goals,” she said. “Even if Minnesota did not intend for CO2 captured here to be used for [enhanced oil recovery], once it leaves the state, there is little we can do to insure that does not happen.”

Inside Climate News: Wyoming Considers Relaxing Its Carbon Capture Standards for Electric Utilities, Scrambling Political Alliances on Climate Change and Energy
Jake Bolster, 3/7/24

“As Wyoming nears the end of its 2024 legislative session, clean energy advocates and climate change skeptics find themselves in an uneasy situation: an alliance. Both groups oppose legislation that would weaken and delay the state’s carbon capture requirements, albeit for wildly different reasons,” Inside Climate News reports. “Wyoming has bet a portion of its future economy on the proliferation of carbon capture, “low-carbon” fossil fuels and hydrogen. As a result, the state has encouraged companies to explore use-cases for coal, oil and fracked natural gas that would keep them viable in a clean-energy power sector. In 2020, Wyoming’s legislature enshrined this goal into law by passing House Bill 200, which requires power plants to generate electricity using carbon capture with fossil fuels by 2030. But this week, the legislature is considering Senate File 42, which would amend House Bill 200 to decrease the amount of carbon a utility must capture at its power plants in order to be considered “low-carbon,” and postpone the date of compliance to 2033… “Some environmentalists in Wyoming oppose Senate File 42 on the grounds that promoting carbon capture, a nascent technology that is decades from viability, is coming at the expense of investing in renewable energy—already a cheaper source of electricity than almost all U.S. coal plants—in the effort to reduce the concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases that are warming the planet. Senate File 42, they say, is merely postponing the objectives of House Bill 200 and letting utilities avoid conceding that carbon capture is too expensive and too undeveloped a technology to save Wyoming’s fossil fuels. In an dizzying turn of political gymnastics, they find themselves siding with lawmakers skeptical of the very science of climate change, who agree that carbon capture is too costly an experiment for Wyoming ratepayers to bear, and who appear to have voted against Senate File 42, in part, because they do not believe excess carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere poses a threat to humanity and consequently doesn’t need to be captured at all.” 

KXNET: Oil, production water spills reported in Billings, Burke counties
Keith Darnay, 3/5/24

“An oil spill and an oil production water spill have been reported in Billings and Burke counties,” KXNET reports. “On Friday, March 1, Murex Petroleum Corporation reported a crude oil spill caused by a flare pit overflow about 14 miles southeast of Grassy Butte. Murex estimates about 180 barrels (7,560 gallons) of oil were released in the incident. Of that amount, 75 barrels (3,150 gallons) impacted surrounding pastureland. Meanwhile, on Saturday, March 2, Formentera Operations reported a produced water spill from a disposal facility about seven miles southeast of Portal. Formentera estimates roughly 300 barrels (12,600 gallons) of produced water were released, with an unknown volume impacting agricultural land. Produced water is a by-product of oil and gas development.”

Politico: API Bashes Colorado Bill 
3/5/24

“The American Petroleum Institute is launching a seven-figure ad campaign in Colorado today against a bill being considered by the state legislature that would result in the first-ever statewide ban in the U.S. on all new oil and gas wells,” Politico reports. “API’s 30-second spot argues the bill could jeopardize 300,000 jobs, funding for schools and the reliability of the grid.”

Colorado Public Radio: Xcel Energy backs off plan to blend hydrogen into the natural gas system serving a neighborhood near Hudson
Sam Brasch, 3/5/24

“Alisson Soehner’s anxiety dropped the moment she learned Xcel Energy had paused a plan to mix hydrogen into the natural gas delivered to her house in Box Elder Creek Ranch, a 236-home subdivision about 30 miles northeast of Denver,” Colorado Public Radio reports. “The decision gives Soehner years to educate her neighbors, who she told CPR remain mostly unaware of the utility’s plan to test the controversial climate strategy in their community near Hudson. The pause also provides extra time to study the potential impact hydrogen could have on pipes and appliances like stoves and furnaces. “I am not against new technologies and new ideas,” Soehner told CPR. “But I think there needs to be adequate research and development before you just broadly apply it.” “…However, reporting from CPR News revealed many residents had no idea about the project months before it was set to begin. The company later delayed the plan amid opposition from environmental and consumer advocates, who claimed the project was set to treat customers like guinea pigs in an experiment with dubious climate benefits. It now appears the entire demonstration project is on the back burner. In a heavily updated plan to cut emissions from its gas system submitted to state utility regulators in February, Xcel Energy is seeking approval to test the hydrogen blending concept at one of its own facilities and with a yet-to-be-named industrial partner. The filings show any plan for Box Elder Creek Ranch would only proceed after “check-in” with state regulators in 2026.”

EXTRACTION

APTN News: ‘Everything is going downhill’: Athabasca Fort Chipewyan files lawsuit against Alberta regulator over Kearl spill
Danielle Paradis, 3/6/24

“At a tense community meeting, Athabasca Fort Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) Chief Allan Adam served the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) with lawsuit papers over a leaking tailings pond,” APTN News reports. “As the chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation I am handing you these documents that say we are going to court … we are suing you for the damage that you have caused the community of Fort Chip,” said Adam, holding the court documents in the air. “We have had enough.” “…There were about 75 people in attendance. In 2022, the community discovered that there had been a leak in a tailings pond for nine months and a secondary overland spill the leak was an estimated 5.4 million litres, or enough to fill two Olympic-sized swimming pools… “For much of the meeting, people in attendance spoke with frustration about the failure of the regulator to notify the community… “Fort Chipewyan Métis President Kendrick Cardinal also spoke passionately about the effects of mining on his community. “I don’t want to be a part of it anymore … if it was up to me I would shut down the oil sands today,” said Cardinal. “Don’t try to line our pockets. That is what is happening.” “…I got a graveyard full of family and friends that you killed. The blood is on your hands,” said ACFN Councillor Mike Mercredi… “Some of the community is concerned about cancer rates and instances of a rare bile duct cancer… “Everything is going downhill,” said Elder Edward Flett to APTN talking about the changes he has seen in the water. “My traditional way of life … it has been drying up with no water. Climate change just changes everything.”

Global Energy Monitor: Europe Gas Tracker 2024
Robert Rozansky, 3/6/24

“Europe is developing new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and gas pipelines as if the region were still in crisis, even though it is in a far more secure position than it was two years ago, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” according to Global Energy Monitor. “LNG import terminals and pipeline infrastructure in development — projects that have been announced or are in construction — would boost Europe’s total gas import capacity by 55%, at a cost of €84.1 billion, and widen existing overcapacity. Germany, Italy, and Greece — which are developing the most gas infrastructure in Europe — are together responsible for half of these costs. Projects that are already under construction could, if used at full capacity, result in additional annual greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to that of 50 coal plants. Including proposed projects, this figure grows six-fold. Europe continues to pursue a costly and emissions-intensive buildout of gas import infrastructure capacity as if the region were on crisis footing, finds a new report from Global Energy Monitor (GEM). According to data in the Europe Gas Tracker, European countries are developing 248.7 billion cubic meters per year (bcm/y) in new LNG import capacity and 16,491 kilometers (km) in new gas transmission pipelines, which includes cross-border pipelines capable of importing a further 46 bcm/y of gas into Europe. In the last year, the slate of new projects in development has grown by 9% for LNG import capacity and 18% for gas pipelines length.”

CLIMATE FINANCE

E&E News: SEC climate rule offers escape hatch to corporations, critics say
Avery Ellfeldt, 3/7/24

“Corporate America notched a major victory Wednesday when the Securities and Exchange Commission scaled back its landmark climate disclosure rule,” E&E News reports. “Public companies still will have to ramp up their attention to climate change, and under the rule, an estimated 7,000 U.S. businesses for the first time could have to divulge new information including losses that result from climate-juiced disasters and, in some cases, their planet-warming emissions. But critics say the final regulation gives too much discretion to companies over what information they ultimately will report and could result in incomplete climate disclosures. “That’s the most distressing part, in many ways, of where they landed here,” Allison Herren Lee, a former SEC commissioner who has long championed the effort, told E&E News… “As expected, the agency dropped a polarizing requirement that companies disclose the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their customers and sprawling supply chains, also known as Scope 3. But also notable is that the SEC draped much of the final rule in language that says businesses only need to report certain information if they determine it would be important — or financially material — to their investors… “But others argue that sprinkling materiality qualifiers throughout the rule was among the SEC’s most consequential changes. “Because the company holds all of the information and makes the determination in the first instance whether to disclose something, it almost always works to their benefit, and often it’s difficult to tell what they’re not disclosing or if it would be material,” Alexandra Thornton, senior director of financial regulation at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, told E&E… “Lee, the former SEC commissioner, told E&E there’s another risk, too. She told E&E the materiality standard has the potential to dissuade companies that already calculate and voluntarily report their Scope 1 and 2 emissions from doing so. Companies could just say, “I know we’ve been producing this data, but I have to stop now because the SEC says only do it if it’s material, and it’s not,” Lee told E&E. “So they run the risk of actually dialing back on the transparency that’s already voluntarily in the market.”

E&E News: Reworked SEC climate rule fails to assuage Hill critics
Emma Dumain, 3/7/24

“The Security and Exchange Commission’s decision Wednesday to dilute a long-awaited rule to compel major companies to disclose their carbon emissions ultimately did little to neutralize the political response on Capitol Hill,” E&E News reports. “As lawmakers learned the details of the SEC’s so-called climate disclosure rule, their reactions signaled just how politicized environmental policies have truly become — and how dug in members remain in their positions. “The SEC was bullied by corporate interests, specifically by fossil fuel interests,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who has used his leadership of the Senate Budget Committee to connect special interests to the perpetuation of global warming, told E&E. “The SEC made a mistake allowing itself to be influenced by [them] … and the administration made a mistake by not taking [them] on and not calling it out from the get-go.”

Bloomberg: Canadian Banks’ Fossil-Fuel Exposure Outpaces US, European Peers
Christine Dobby, 3/5/24

“Canada’s biggest banks are more than twice as exposed to the fossil-fuel business as their European and US counterparts, according to a report from climate change think tank InfluenceMap,” Bloomberg reports. “The country’s largest lenders — Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce — committed 18.4% of their combined corporate lending and bond and equity underwriting to the sector in 2022, says the report, published Wednesday.”

InfluenceMap: Canada’s Big Five Banks: Heading to Net Zero?
3/6/24

“FinanceMap’s 2024 assessment of the Big Five Canadian banks shows that the firms are undermining their own net zero commitments through their financing activities, lack of robust sector financing policies, and inconsistent policy engagement. This is despite all five banks (Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Scotiabank, Bank of Montreal, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) being signatories to the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Notably, the banks’ fossil fuel financing activities and limited fossil fuel exclusion policies are highly misaligned with IEA and IPCC net zero pathways. Between 2020 and 2022, the Big Five steadily increased their fossil fuel financing exposure from an average of 15.5% in 2020 to 18.4% in 2022, facilitating a total of $275 billion (USD) in financing to fossil fuel value chain companies over this period. This compares with an average of 6.1% for leading US banks and 8.7% for European banks across the same period… “As a result, the Big Five’s facilitated financing to Canadian oil and gas companies increased from $36 billion in 2020 to $73 billion in 2022. Domestic oil and gas financing represented 68% of the banks’ total oil and gas financing deal flows over the three-year period. While the Big Five banks are all members of the Net Zero Banking Alliance, none of them have publicly advocated for ambitious climate-related policy in Canada. In fact, the banks belong to industry associations that are working to block or dilute climate-related policies in Canada and globally. This is despite the NZBA commitment statement outlining that signatories will “engage on public policies to help support a net-zero transition of economic sectors in line with science.”

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

KRIV: TC Energy on Community Day at HLSR
3/6/24

“You can lasso some deals at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on Community Day! Charles Hearne with TC Energy talks about some of the fun things to do,” KRIV reports.

OPINION

Duluth News Tribune: In Response: Harder look needed at carbon capture and sequestration
Craig Sterle of Barnum is the past president of the Minnesota division of the Izaak Walton League of America and a member of its W.J. McCabe Chapter in Duluth, 3/6/24

“A commentary in the News Tribune Feb. 14 by former state Rep. Joe Radinovich of Crosby (Local View: “ Carbon capture: a path to a greener future ”) started off on the right foot, citing an EPA report that acknowledges carbon emissions and climate change are threatening Minnesota’s natural resources and way of life. But it hit a slippery slope when it began advocating that carbon capture and sequestration is a potential solution. For several reasons, I disagree, Craig Sterle writes for the Duluth News Tribune. “First, the economic feasibility of carbon capture and sequestration depends on the use of highly compressed carbon dioxide at diminished wellheads for enhanced oil recovery to capture even more oil and natural gas, two of the primary sources of carbon dioxide that threaten our planet… “It’s naïve to believe the carbon dioxide will be benignly entombed forever, with the oil and gas industry willingly forgoing its use to pump up profits at the wellhead… “Second, there isn’t a carbon capture and sequestration system that has proved to be effective and affordable… “In addition, the energy balance at-scale still isn’t proven, meaning the energy used to capture, move, and reinject the carbon dioxide may generate almost as much carbon dioxide as it captures… “Third, attempting to use carbon capture and sequestration to extend the life of a coal mine and coal-fired power plant, as Mr. Radinovich suggested, may be the worst use of carbon capture and sequestration technology. That’s because coal is the most polluting form of fossil fuel… “Fourth, at atmospheric pressures, carbon dioxide is a colorless, odorless gas… “Unlike petroleum, which has a strong odor, carbon dioxide is largely undetectable until victims begin to suffer harmful effects. Finally, carbon capture and sequestration is designed to support the fossil-fuel industry, by throwing enormous amounts of taxpayer money into “not ready for primetime” technologies that do little to end our fossil-fuel dependency… “No carbon capture and sequestration system should be allowed for enhanced oil recovery, at taxpayer expense. This is a shell game to appease the oil and gas industry in order to obtain passage of the Inflation Reduction Act… “It seems more like the fossil-fuel industry feverishly grasping at the final straw to prolong its inevitable end.”

National Observer: Oilsands companies want Pierre Poilievre to save them
Max Fawcett, 3/7/24

“It’s been nearly two years since the Pathways Alliance, a consortium of Canada’s major oilsands companies, was created with the express purpose of achieving “net zero by 2050.” At least, that’s what it keeps saying its purpose is. With each passing day, it gets harder to avoid the conclusion that the real objective is to buy time with advertising campaigns and other public expressions of its good intentions until the next federal election,” Max Fawcett writes for the National Observer. “If that yields a new Conservative government that can relieve the industry of its responsibilities to the environment, the millions fossil fuel firms have spent on advertising and government relations consultants will yield billions in savings on the emissions they won’t have to reduce — or pay for. That’s the cynical take, anyway. The less cynical one is that the companies want to proceed with these projects but are unwilling to call out the real impediment standing in their way: Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party of Canada. For all of the industry’s talk about “uncertainty” in federal policies around climate change and carbon pricing, the biggest source of uncertainty right now is coming from Poilievre and his promise to “axe the tax.” The threat of a future Poilievre government eliminating the federal carbon tax means oilsands companies can’t bake a rising price on carbon into their economic modelling, which makes emissions reduction efforts increasingly valuable. It’s why they keep asking for something called “carbon contracts for difference,” a financial instrument that will effectively lock in a rising price on carbon even if a future government cancels it… “The playbook, then, seems pretty obvious. Stall for time, make big promises and continue with business as usual for as long as humanly possible.”

Columbus Dispatch: One Of Worst Methane Gas Leaks In US History Happened In Ohio. It Shouldn’t Happen Again
Lauren Wagner is an environmental engineering student at Ohio State University and the vice president of the American Conservation Coalition OSU Branch, 3/6/24

“Methane emissions recently made headlines after 49 companies agreed to actively reduce their emissions at the UN climate gathering in November of last year. Here in Ohio, that’s personal,” Lauren Wagner writes for the Columbus Dispatch. “Growing up, I was always very aware of the environmental issues around me and even advocated for environmental changes at my high school. So, it makes sense that I always try to find out what is happening in the world around me when it comes to environmental issues. With that in mind, it was quite shocking to me when I learned that one of the worst methane gas leaks detected in the history of the United States occurred in my backyard. In 2019, about 60 kilotons of methane gas leaked into the atmosphere in Belmont County about two and a half hours away from my hometown in Powhatan Point. This leak was so large, it was greater than the combined annual emissions of France, Spain, and Norway. A leak this terrible should have never happened, but fortunately, we can now take steps to make sure it’s never repeated… “This is why more than 6,000 young people — many of them future engineers or otherwise prospective oil and gas employees — signed a petition calling on the oil and gas industry to use innovative technologies to monitor their infrastructure and actively reduce methane emissions from their operations… “Gov. Mike DeWine has the opportunity to develop an implementation plan that works with the industry to chart a path forward, rather than punishing them or hindering our energy production.”