EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 5/3/23

PIPELINE NEWS

• Roanoke Times: MVP sees narrow path to completing pipeline by year’s end

• Vancouver Sun: $14.5 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline issued stop work order for failing to control sediment

• Environmental Defence: UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues calls on Canada to shut down the Line 5 pipeline

• Wisconsin Public Radio: Spring flooding worsens erosion near Enbridge pipeline, heightening fears of exposure

• State Journal-Register: Environmentalists push carbon capture regulation at Capitol

• Sierra Club: Environmental Advocates and Landowners Sound the Alarm that Carbon Capture and Storage Sequestration Regulations Are Needed Now

• Medicine Hat News: Energy firm charged over failing to properly abandon pipeline near Jenner

• Midland Reporter-Telegram: Pipelines are key to low-carbon economy

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• Press release: Blumenauer, Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders, Introduce Climate Emergency Resolution   

• Politico: Biden’s Willow approval may get a sequel

• E&E News: Debt ceiling deadline opens path for permitting

• E&E News: White House slams GOP ‘loyalty to Big Oil’ in debt talks

• E&E News: Hundreds of gas plants could escape EPA climate rules

• E&E News: Biden Urges Supreme Court To Reject Offshore Fracking Case 

• Lexology: FERC Addresses Social Cost of Carbon and Environmental Justice Analysis on Remand

• Utility Dive: Coming EPA power plant rules will put carbon capture to the test, but better oversight is needed, critics say

STATE UPDATES

• The Independent: Met Gala celebrities blocked by climate protesters

EXTRACTION

• International Energy Agency: New IEA report highlights the need and means for the oil and gas industry to drastically cut emissions from its operations

• Reuters: Energy Transfer acquires Lotus Midstream, raises 2023 earnings outlook

• Globe and Mail: Alberta oil sands anticipates $4-billion vote of confidence from ConocoPhillips

• InsideClimate News: German Leaders Promise That New Liquefied Gas Terminals Have a Green Future, but Clean Energy Experts Are Skeptical

CLIMATE FINANCE

• Washington Post: COP28 chief calls for eliminating emissions, bolstering climate finance fund 

• Reuters: Rich nations to meet overdue $100 billion climate pledge this year

• Reuters: DeSantis signs sweeping anti-ESG legislation in Florida

OPINION

• MinnPost: Minnesota’s climate lawsuit is a dangerous gambit 

• National Catholic Reporter: Editorial: Why have no US Catholic dioceses divested from fossil fuels?
  

PIPELINE NEWS

Roanoke Times: MVP sees narrow path to completing pipeline by year’s end
Laurence Hammack, 5/2/23

“Builders of the Mountain Valley Pipeline said Tuesday that construction could resume this summer, but also acknowledged that continued legal battles might further stall the long-delayed project,” the Roanoke Times reports. “We see a path to obtaining all approvals by early summer. And while narrow, this would give us the opportunity to complete construction by late 2023,” said Thomas Karam, chairman and chief executive officer of Equitrans Midstream Corp., the lead partner in the joint venture… “The fall of 2021 was the last time there was major forward construction, which consists of actually assembling the buried pipeline as opposed to the current maintenance of the 125-foot wide right-of-way to control erosion and sedimentation. And legal challenges from environmental groups — the main reason why completion of the $6.6 billion project has been delayed for more than four years — make the pipeline’s path to completion more difficult, Karam said… “But Mountain Valley has a “high degree of confidence” that the West Virginia certification can be regained in time to complete construction by the end of this year, Karam said. The company expects to have in hand by early this summer all of its required permits, which include a project-wide stream crossing approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and permission from the U.S. Forest Service for the pipeline to cross through the Jefferson National Forest in Giles and Montgomery counties. “All of this, of course, is contingent on no additional court intervention,” Karam said. That seems unlikely, if the past is any indication. Just last week, Appalachian Voices and other environmental groups asked the Fourth Circuit to stay construction while it considers their latest lawsuit, filed April 10.”

Vancouver Sun: $14.5 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline issued stop work order for failing to control sediment
Gordon Hoekstra, 5/2/23

“TC Energy’s $14.5 billion Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline has been cited for more non-compliance of requirements to control sediment and erosion, this time into streams and rivers,” the Vancouver Sun reports. “In response, the company says it’s taking steps to mitigate problems during the spring melt in northern B.C. Last week, the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) ordered a three-kilometre stretch of the pipeline under construction in northern B.C. shut down because sediment-laden water was reaching a tributary of the Anzac River… “The EAO, which ensures companies comply with construction project requirements, said an April 24 inspection had found there were “impacts” to the Anzac River, 130 km northeast of Prince George… “The company must cease all work activities in the three-kilometre area related to erosion and sediment control until the problem is fixed and confirmed by the EAO. Coastal GasLink was also cited by the B.C. Energy Regulator (BCER), previously named the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission, for seven non-compliances near the Anzac River related to erosion and sediment control. The BCER has asked for a water management plan to be put in place and says it’s opening an investigative file.

Environmental Defence: UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues calls on Canada to shut down the Line 5 pipeline
5/2/23

“Last Friday, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) recommended that Canada and the United States decommission the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline. In the Final Report of its annual session, issued last week, the UNPFII recognized that Line 5 “jeopardize[s] the Great Lakes” and “presents a real and credible threat to the treaty-protected fishing rights of Indigenous Peoples in the United States and Canada.” It called on Canada to reexamine its support for the pipeline, and for the pipeline to be shut down. “The Anishinabek are the people of the Great Lakes and never before has there been such a unified call for action for both the United States and Canada to abandon failing fossil fuel infrastructure to protect our land and water,” states Bay Mills Indian Community Ogimaakwe (President) Whitney Gravelle. Members of a mixed coalition of Anishinaabe leaders and environmental advocates attended the forum to advocate for highlighting Line 5 as an Indigenous and Human Rights concern… “Tribal and First Nations look forward to further discussions with both Canada and the United States on this important issue and call for a collaborative effort to address the concerns raised in the report.

Wisconsin Public Radio: Spring flooding worsens erosion near Enbridge pipeline, heightening fears of exposure
Danielle Kaeding, 5/2/23

“Spring flooding has worsened river bank erosion near a Canadian firm’s oil and gas pipeline on a northern Wisconsin tribe’s reservation, heightening fears among some that the pipe could become exposed,” Wisconsin Public Radio reports. “The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and subsidiaries of Enbridge, Inc. filed a joint brief in federal court Monday that states the banks of the Bad River have lost up to about 10 feet in some spots over the past two weeks… “The update was submitted as part of the tribe’s years-long federal lawsuit against Enbridge… “We are diligently monitoring our pipeline, water levels on the Bad River, and local weather conditions in real time around the clock,” Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner told WPR… “In November, a federal judge ordered the tribe and Enbridge to provide a joint proposal for shutting down and purging oil and gas from the pipeline to avoid a “catastrophic” rupture should conditions worsen… “Some environmental and Indigenous groups want the pipeline shut down, including Sierra Club Wisconsin. The group’s director, Elizabeth Ward, told WPR the worsening erosion is scary and highlighted threats to the pipeline from severe storms.”

State Journal-Register: Environmentalists push carbon capture regulation at Capitol
Patrick Keck, 5/2/23

“Environmentalists rallied at the Capitol on Tuesday, urging lawmakers to pass legislation regulating the carbon capture and sequestration industry in Illinois,” the State Journal-Register reports. “Two bills were discussed during a brief rally held in front of the Lincoln statue, one which advocates support and another, which they claim is more industry-friendly, that they oppose. The bill they back is the Carbon Dioxide Transport and Storage Protections Act listed under Senate Bill 2421 and House Bill 3119. Both pieces of legislation – sponsored by Sen. Laura Fine, D-Glenview and Rep. Ann Williams respectively – have yet to advance out of their chambers, but action could still happen before the May 19 spring session adjournment of the Illinois General Assembly. Lawmakers could tack the existing or modified language through an amendment to a shell bill- a tactic oft-seen near the end of legislative sessions. Among a list of several regulations, the bill determines how far a pipeline must be from a property and places liability for any damages on the company instead of the taxpayer. Companies would also have to pay for the “training for carbon dioxide emergencies for emergency responders, medical personnel, residents, businesses, and other local entities,” per the bill… “We are woefully unprepared and unprotected without critical regulatory safeguards to adequately protect our communities from this growing scale and threat,” Christine Nannicelli, senior campaign representative with Sierra Club Illinois, told the crowd.”

Sierra Club: Environmental Advocates and Landowners Sound the Alarm that Carbon Capture and Storage Sequestration Regulations Are Needed Now
5/2/23

“Amidst ongoing negotiations in the Illinois General Assembly, over fifty environmental advocates and landowners today called for the swift passage of the Carbon Dioxide Transport and Storage Protections Act (HB3119/SB2421). The Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) industrial cycle, which is now heavily subsidized by federal taxpayer dollars, has profound implications for Illinois, and protections are needed at all points in the CCS industrial cycle—from heavily polluting facilities where industry will attempt to capture carbon, along pipeline routes that will transport compressed carbon, and at injection sites. HB3119 includes property and liability protections for landowners. The legislation prohibits the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipeline construction and sequestration sites, ensures pipelines are not dangerously located close to residences, businesses, or other sensitive sites in case of pipeline rupture, and ensures costs and risks related to CCS projects are borne by the CCS industry, not taxpayers. “Right now, constructing CO2 pipelines requires permanent easements—in other words, industry interests are attempting a land-grab from hardworking Illinoisans. As a farmer in McDonough County, I’m advocating for HB3119 to protect my family, livelihood, and farmland from that land-grab,” said Steve Hess, fifth-generation McDonough County farmer and member of Citizens Against Heartland Greenway Pipeline… “ADM/Wolf’s proposed CO2 pipeline includes a proposed spur that runs up through Peoria’s Southside. The Southside is a place where people live, play, worship, and work. It is also an environmental justice community,” said Robert Johnson, President of the Peoria Park District.”

Medicine Hat News: Energy firm charged over failing to properly abandon pipeline near Jenner
5/3/23

“An energy company has been charged with six counts of failing to abandon a pipeline near Jenner, several years after it was ran afoul of regulators for failing to properly clean up well sites in the area,” Medicine Hat News reports. “The Alberta Energy Regulator announced the charges against Aeraden Energy Corp., under the Pipeline Act and Pipeline Rules, on April 28, one year after an inspection by AER officials… “The company previously had 59 reclamation certificates from the AER revoked after nearby landowners complained about slumping soil and berms left on the well sites, located about 10 kilometres southwest of the hamlet of Jenner. Charges include failing to discontinue or reactivate pipeline not in active service for 12 months, isolate it from an active facility, remove surface infrastructure, permanently plug and erect regulatory signs.”

Midland Reporter-Telegram: Pipelines are key to low-carbon economy
Mella McEwen, 5/2/23

“A recent movie titled “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” so alarmed James Beauchamp, president of the Midland-Odessa Transportation Alliance that he organized a luncheon to highlight the contributions of pipelines,” the Midland Reporter-Telegram reports. “What alarmed him about the movie, which was based on a non-fiction book by a Swedish environmental activist, was not its seeming advocacy for bombing pipelines, he said. Instead, he told the luncheon crowd, what was alarming was that it seemed to justify blowing up pipelines for the greater cause of environmental protection… “He added that Homeland Security officials have been busy briefing area officials about pipeline threats… “Just think, he told MRT, “how much pollution there would be from all the trucks on the road without pipelines. That’s why pipelines are important.” The drive toward zero carbon through carbon capture and storage will make pipelines even more important, Nick Medina, public and stakeholder engagement manager with ExxonMobil Pipeline, told MRT… “Addressing the luncheon remotely, Medina told the audience pipelines – specifically pipelines transporting carbon dioxide – will be key to a lower carbon economy… “Carbon capture, utilization and storage can’t be realized without an expanded network of CO2 pipelines.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

Press release: Blumenauer, Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders, Introduce Climate Emergency Resolution    
5/2/23

“Today, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Senator Sanders (I-VT) introduced the Climate Emergency Resolution, which demands that the President wield both existing authorities and emergency powers to unleash every resource available to mitigate and prepare for the climate crisis. “While the Inflation Reduction Act made record-breaking climate investments, there is still much more to do to reverse the devastating effects of climate change. A climate emergency declaration will allow the federal government to take action to prevent future initiatives detrimental to our climate, such as the Willow project. With a divided Congress, the President’s willingness to use this executive authority is our last best chance to fight the global climate crisis,” said Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). “The science is clear: Addressing the existential threat of climate change is no longer an ‘option,’ but an absolute necessity,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders… “This resolution gives Biden a path back to protecting people and wildlife instead of oil company profits,” said Gaby Sarri-Tobar, energy justice campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity.

Politico: Biden’s Willow approval may get a sequel
LAMAR JOHNSON, 5/1/123

“The Biden administration may back yet another big fossil fuel project in Alaska, thanks in part to a boost from the president’s landmark climate law,” Politico reports. “Environmentalists are calling the project — which would export liquefied natural gas produced on the state’s North Slope — a “carbon bomb 10 times worse” than the Willow oil drilling effort the Interior Department approved in March. (The administration says that comparison most likely exaggerates the project’s impact.) The Alaska LNG project looked like it was on life support under the Trump administration, but its supporters tell Politico key State Department officials are pushing for its approval as allies like Japan clamor for American gas. Should the project get an official green light, the move would further complicate President Joe Biden’s climate legacy… “The Energy Department granted Alaska LNG a key export permit last month, making it the only new and fully permitted natural gas export plant on the West Coast. That review was purely technical and did not confer a commercial blessing on the project, a DOE official told Politico in an interview this afternoon… “The carbon capture credits included in the climate law means Alaska LNG could make as much as $600 million annually using its planned carbon capture technology. It also became eligible for billions of dollars in federal loan guarantees in the 2021 infrastructure law (thanks to language from Alaska’s Republican senators). The White House has declined to comment on questions about Alaska LNG.”

E&E News: Debt ceiling deadline opens path for permitting
Jeremy Dillon, Emma Dumain, 5/3/23

“News that the federal government faces a debt limit deadline far sooner than previously expected could give supporters of overhauling the nation’s permitting process a rare boost: an actual deadline to complete negotiations,” E&E News reports. “It’s an open question whether lawmakers can reach a permitting deal within that time frame, and senators on Tuesday were split on what could be achievable by June 1… “Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), the ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, who has been speaking with members of both parties on permitting legislation, was optimistic Tuesday about leveraging the truncated timeline to land a deal… “House Republican leaders’ demands that permitting overhaul language be part of any deal to extend the nation’s borrowing authority, however, could emerge as the only bipartisan compromise Democrats could accept — and open a pathway on what is expected to be one of few must-pass bills moving through Congress over the next year and a half. Capito and Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) are due to introduce their permitting overhaul proposal later this week, Barrasso told E&E… “Some Senate Democrats actually suggested that the new deadline hurts chances for landing an agreement at this time. “I’m not sure that the timing works any longer, now that the default date has been moved forward, because I don’t know that the different measures that would be a part of the bill have all been developed,” Budget Chair Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) told E&E. “…I’m not sure attaching it to the debt limit would do anything but create more problems.” “…Democrats interested in permitting reform are also, for now, largely doubling down on the position held by party leadership that raising the debt ceiling should be a policy rider-free proposition, and that discussions around government spending cuts should come later.”

E&E News: White House slams GOP ‘loyalty to Big Oil’ in debt talks
Robin Bravender, 5/2/23

“The White House is panning congressional Republicans’ approach to fossil fuel subsidies as President Joe Biden and congressional lawmakers continue to spar over the looming debt ceiling deadline,” E&E News reports. “White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre accused House Republicans of “going out of their way to profess their loyalty to Big Oil” by preserving subsidies for fossil fuel companies that Biden wants to eliminate. “Their ‘Default in America Act’ would be a boon for Big Oil — preserving $31 billion in subsidies for companies that are already posting record profits to the tune of tens of billions of dollars,” Jean-Pierre told reporters, referring to House Republicans’ debt limit legislation. Biden’s fiscal 2024 budget request would eliminate $31 billion in oil and gas subsidies.”

E&E News: Hundreds of gas plants could escape EPA climate rules
Jean Chemnick, 5/3/23

“About 1,000 natural gas-fired power plants that provide energy at periods of peak demand could be excluded from the toughest standards under EPA’s upcoming carbon rules,” E&E News reports. “These plants are often located in urban areas, raising concern among some environmental advocates that the agency’s climate rules on power plants could lead to increased pollution in low-income communities… “The rules are expected to treat so-called peaker plants — which provide backup power to the grid — differently from baseload units, according to four people who have been briefed by EPA. Two outcomes are possible in the rules. The regulations might not cover peaker plants, two of the people told E&E. Or the agency could offer laxer standards than those being planned for baseload units, two other people told E&E… “But the four people who have discussed the draft rules with EPA and been granted anonymity to speak freely tell E&E peaker plants won’t have to abide by the standards being proposed for large gas plants that supply baseload power to the grid. Those plants will have to capture a share of their carbon before it enters the atmosphere — or find another way to make deep emissions cuts. Environmentalists who have worked to shutter peaker plants tell E&E that by holding them to less stringent standards EPA could encourage other gas plants to run as peaker units — and increase harmful pollution, like smog and soot… “Other environmentalists have urged EPA to treat existing peaker units differently from baseload gas plants in the upcoming rule — and EPA appears to have taken their advice. A stringent standard that requires baseload plants to capture their carbon — or meet the same level of emissions reductions in other ways — is more legally defensible than applying a similar standard to peaking units, Jay Duffy, litigation director at the Clean Air Task Force, told E&E.

E&E News: Biden Urges Supreme Court To Reject Offshore Fracking Case 
Niina H. Farah, 5/2/23

“Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar is calling on the Supreme Court to preserve a legal ruling that blocked hydraulic fracturing off the California coast — even though she disagreed with conclusions reached by the lower bench,” E&E News reports. “In a Supreme Court brief filed Friday, Prelogar urged the justices to reject a plea from the American Petroleum Institute to reverse a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s programmatic review of offshore permits for unconventional oil production in the Pacific outer continental shelf violated the National Environmental Policy Act and other laws. The industry petition does not challenge the court’s finding that BOEM violated environmental laws but instead centers on whether the completion of its review counted as a ‘final agency action’ under procedural law that could be challenged in court. Prelogar sought to walk a narrow line between opposing the 9th Circuit’s ruling, while still rejecting the premise of the Supreme Court petition from API and other oil industry challengers.”

Lexology: FERC Addresses Social Cost of Carbon and Environmental Justice Analysis on Remand
Troutman Pepper, 5/2/23

“On remand from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”), FERC reaffirmed that Rio Grande LNG, LLC’s proposed liquified natural gas (“LNG”) terminal project (“Rio Grande LNG Terminal”) was not inconsistent with the public interest, and that the Rio Bravo Pipeline Company, LLC’s proposed pipeline project (“Rio Bravo Pipeline Project”), as amended, was required by the public convenience and necessity,” according to Lexology. “In doing so, FERC addressed a variety of highly-contested issues, including whether it must apply the social cost of carbon and expand its prior environmental justice analysis. Chairman Phillips concurred, and Commissioner Clements dissented from FERC’s decision… “On remand, FERC concluded that because the social cost of GHGs is an administrative tool that was not developed for project-level review and does not enable FERC to credibly determine whether the GHG emissions are significant, FERC is not required to use it in this proceeding. FERC explained that calculating the social cost of GHGs does not enable it to credibly determine whether the reasonably foreseeable GHG emissions associated with a project are significant or not in terms of their impact on global climate change. FERC stated that because there are no criteria to identify what monetized values are significant and because it is not aware of any other currently scientifically accepted method that would enable FERC to determine the significance of reasonably foreseeable GHG emissions, FERC is unable to characterize the Projects’ emissions as significant or insignificant and is therefore only including them for informational purposes… “Commissioner Clements dissented, arguing that (1) FERC was required to prepare a supplemental EIS and its failure to do so renders the order’s significance determinations unsupportable; (2) FERC should have granted requests to hold public meetings addressing its new analyses of environmental and other impacts; and (3) the order’s explanation for why FERC is not determining the significance of GHG emissions associated with the projects was insufficient.”

Utility Dive: Coming EPA power plant rules will put carbon capture to the test, but better oversight is needed, critics say
Herman K. Trabish, 5/2/23

“New public and private funding and expected strong federal power plant emissions reduction standards have accelerated electricity sector investments in carbon capture, utilization and storage,’ or CCUS, projects but some worry it is good money thrown after bad,” Utility Dive reports. “…But environmentalists and others insist potentially cost-prohibitive CCUS infrastructure must still prove itself effective under rigorous and transparent federal oversight. “The vast majority of long-term U.S. power sector needs can be met without fossil generation and there are better options being deployed and in development,” Sierra Club Senior Advisor, Strategic Research and Development, Jeremy Fisher told UD. CCUS “may be needed, but without better guardrails, power sector abuses of federal funding could lead to increased emissions and stranded fossil assets,” he added… “The point of the new federal investments is to support enough deployment to firmly establish the technology” and contradict some of the “misunderstandings” about past CCUS demonstrations, DOE’s Crabtree told UD… “The only improvement in CCUS economics from past demonstrations “is that the federal tax credits and DOE grants are shifting part of the cost and risk to taxpayers,” IEEFA Director of Resource Planning Analysis David Schlissel told UD… “Independent analyst Pierpont is more skeptical. The tax credit and DOE grants “could overcome some technical and operational issues,” but the performance questions “are fundamental to CCUS’s long-term financial viability,” and if politics undermine federal supports, CCUS investments “could become stranded assets with many years of amortized costs embedded in customer rates,” he told UD… “The need for oversight and accountability for CCUS pilots and demonstrations is not in dispute, but how to get it is, Pierpoint and Sierra Club’s Fisher told UD.

STATE UPDATES

The Independent: Met Gala celebrities blocked by climate protesters
Louise Boyle, 5/2/23

“Some 15 protesters were arrested after shutting down traffic in Manhattan and blocking motorcades of stars including Paris Hilton,” The Independent reports. “Several dozen protesters, some carrying pitchforks, used the ritzy event to highlight the 1 per cent’s role in driving the climate crisis, and demand higher taxes on the rich. “I blocked A-list limousine traffic today because the world should be paying attention to impending climate catastrophe rather than the luxury excesses of the Met Gala,” said one protester from Reclaim Our Tomorrow, who was arrested during the protest… “The world’s richest 1 percent produce more than double the climate-heating pollution than the poorest 50 per cent, and billionaires create a million times the pollution as the average person, according to recent figures from Oxfam. “We staged this protest today because the 1% are killing the climate,” said Alice Hu, Senior Climate Campaigner at New York Communities for Change (NYCFC). “While the ultra-rich enjoy obscene luxury consumption and line their pockets off fossil fuel investments, they doom the rest of us to deadly weather disasters and global food shortages.”

EXTRACTION

International Energy Agency: New IEA report highlights the need and means for the oil and gas industry to drastically cut emissions from its operations
5/3/23

“Oil and gas operations account for nearly 15% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions today and the industry has the ability and resources to cut them quickly and cost effectively,” according to the International Energy Agency. “A new IEA report released today examines the immediate steps the oil and gas industry needs to take to significantly reduce its emissions footprint and help move the world closer to meeting its international energy and climate goals… “The production, transport and processing of oil and gas emitted the equivalent of 5.1 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2022. In the IEA’s Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario a concerted effort by all oil and gas companies worldwide to limit the emissions intensity of their operations leads to a 60% cut in these emissions by the end of the decade. The report identifies five key levers to achieve this reduction, including: tackling methane emissions; eliminating all non-emergency flaring; electrifying upstream facilities with low-emissions electricity; equipping oil and gas processes with carbon capture, utilisation and storage; and expanding the use of low-emissions hydrogen in refineries. Around USD 600 billion spending is required this decade to achieve the cut in oil and gas emissions. This is only a fraction of the record windfall income that oil and gas producers accrued in 2022. Many of the measures also generate additional income streams by avoiding the use or waste of gas meaning they can quickly recoup the upfront spending required.”

Reuters: Energy Transfer acquires Lotus Midstream, raises 2023 earnings outlook
Stephanie Kelly, 5/2/23

“U.S. midstream company Energy Transfer (ET.N) said on Tuesday it has completed its $1.45 billion acquisition of Lotus Midstream Operations and boosted its earnings expectations for the rest of the year,” Reuters reports. “The acquisition of Lotus Midstream Operations adds about 3,000 miles (4,800 km) of crude oil gathering and transportation pipelines, extending from southeast New Mexico across the Permian Basin of West Texas to Cushing, Oklahoma, it said. Energy Transfer is now working to integrate operations and assets, including construction of a 30-mile pipeline and terminal optimization project to enhance connectivity within the Permian Basin and provide a direct link between Midland and Cushing.”

Globe and Mail: Alberta oil sands anticipates $4-billion vote of confidence from ConocoPhillips
ANDREW WILLIS, EMMA GRANEY, 5/2/23

“ConocoPhillips Co. faces a $4-billion decision on increasing its stake in Alberta’s oil sands, with analysts predicting the Texas-based company will step up and endorse an energy play that many global peers have abandoned,” the Globe and Mail reports. “Houston-based ConocoPhillips owns a 50-per-cent stake in the Surmont oil sands project near Fort McMurray… Last week, TotalEnergies agreed to sell its stakes in Surmont and the nearby Fort Hills property for $5.5-billion to Calgary-based Suncor Energy Ltd., as part of the French company’s shift away from energy sources with high carbon emissions. Over the past decade, global companies such as Shell, Norway’s Statoil and Marathon Oil Corp.  also exited the oil sands in part because of the projects’ relatively high emissions. ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil Corp. subsidiary Imperial Oil Ltd. have continued to invest in Alberta projects that make up the fourth-largest oil reserves in the world, while stepping up spending on emissions reduction. Analysts predict ConocoPhillips will push aside Suncor and buy the remainder of Surmont for more than $4-billion.”

InsideClimate News: German Leaders Promise That New Liquefied Gas Terminals Have a Green Future, but Clean Energy Experts Are Skeptical
Christina van Waasbergen, 5/2/23

“In the steel-gray North Sea waters of the port of Wilhelmshaven floats an impressively long tanker, the German government’s answer to the nation’s energy crisis,” InsideClimate News reports. “…In an effort to get by without Russian pipeline gas, cut off after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany is turning to LNG imported from countries like the United States. To some climate advocates, however, this amounts to investing in fossil fuel infrastructure when Germany is trying to move toward a carbon-free future.  The worry is that this could further bind Germany to fossil fuels and the greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating climate change. Europe’s largest energy consumer, Germany has made a commitment to becoming greenhouse gas neutral by 2045. German leaders have promised that the new infrastructure will eventually be used to import hydrogen fuel, which does not emit greenhouse gases, as part of a transition to a decarbonized energy sector. But some clean energy experts question the feasibility of such a conversion… “The crux of concern is that Germany also plans to build several permanent onshore LNG terminals. These could become prematurely obsolete if Germany stops using them in favor of renewable energy, Rainer Quitzow, a political scientist at the Research Institute for Sustainability in Potsdam, told ICN. The alternative, he told ICN, is that “the powers that be put so much pressure on the government that rather than creating a stranded asset and devaluing that asset for the owners, they just continue using it [to process LNG] anyway.” If that happens, he warned, it could cause Germany to remain dependent on fossil fuel longer than planned, in a so-called “lock in” effect… “Grave told ICN the permanent LNG terminals would be constructed to be “hydrogen ready,” but when asked what percentage of the facilities’ components would need to be adjusted, she said she was unsure. She did not give a target date for the switch to hydrogen, saying that Germany was still working on that part of its strategy.”

CLIMATE FINANCE

Washington Post: COP28 chief calls for eliminating emissions, bolstering climate finance fund 
Maxine Joselow, 5/3/23

“Sultan Al Jaber, president of the next global climate summit, said Tuesday that international climate discussions should focus on phasing out emissions from fossil fuels and helping poorer countries adapt to climate change — goals world leaders have previously fallen short of, Petra Sorge and Akshat Rathi report for Bloomberg News,” according to the Washington Post.  “We must supercharge climate finance, making it more available, more accessible and more affordable to drive delivery across every climate pillar,” Al Jaber, who also heads the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., said at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin. “Public, multilateral and private sectors must be mobilized in new and innovative ways on the critical issue of climate finance.” Rich nations have yet to deliver on their decades-old promise to spend $100 billion on helping developing countries cope with the effects of global warming. “The real value of this commitment has eroded over time,” he said…“In a pragmatic, just and well-managed energy transition, we must be laser-focused on phasing out fossil fuel emissions, while phasing up viable, affordable, zero-carbon alternatives,” he said.

Reuters: Rich nations to meet overdue $100 billion climate pledge this year
Maha El Dahan, Kate Abnett and Sarah Marsh, 5/2/23

“Wealthy nations are on track this year to meet their overdue $100-billion climate finance pledge to developing countries, three years later than promised, Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday,” Reuters reports. “Baerbock said donor countries met on Monday to discuss progress towards their pledge, made back in 2009, to transfer $100 billion per year from 2020 to vulnerable states hit by increasingly severe climate change impacts. “The good news is that it looks like we are on track to finally reach the sum of $100 billion this year,” she told a meeting of more than 40 county representatives to discuss efforts to tackle climate change in Berlin. The $100 billion falls far short of poor nations’ actual needs, but has become symbolic of wealthy countries’ failure to deliver promised climate funds. Failure to meet it has fuelled mistrust in climate negotiations between countries to attempt to boost CO2-cutting measures.”

Reuters: DeSantis signs sweeping anti-ESG legislation in Florida
Isla Binnie and Ross Kerber, 5/2/23

“Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed into law on Tuesday a bill barring state officials from investing public money to promote environmental, social and governance goals, and prohibiting ESG bond sales,” Reuters reports. “The bill is one of the furthest-reaching efforts yet by U.S. Republicans against sustainable investing efforts, and a clear political message from DeSantis, a likely presidential candidate. Republicans, including some from energy-producing states, say many executives and investors have lost their focus on returns as they take growing account of issues like climate change and workforce diversity. “We want them to act as fiduciaries. We do not want them engaged on these ideological joyrides,” said DeSantis just before he signed the bill at a webcast event. Analysts told Reuters the legislation goes further than other state anti-ESG bills, even as business groups worry the efforts pose financial risks… “For instance, fund managers working for agencies like the state’s big pension fund would have to include disclaimers in some communications with portfolio companies to make clear they do not reflect Floridians’ views. Fund managers that don’t include enough disclaimers could face regulatory action, Joshua Lichtenstein of law firm Ropes & Gray, told Reuters. But, he added, “It’s an oddity to say you’re only talking on behalf of some of your clients.”

OPINION

MinnPost: Minnesota’s climate lawsuit is a dangerous gambit 
Paul Gazelka is a former state representative, senator and Majority Leader of the Minnesota Senate (2017-21) from St. Paul,5/1/23

“When it comes to solving issues facing the people of Minnesota, our state legislature has a long history of working across the aisle to deliver. As a former state senator, representative and Minnesota’s Senate Majority Leader, I know the legislative process can be chaotic, but this give-and-take can be an invaluable tool to ensure us lawmakers get the law right,” Paul Gazelka writes for MinnPost. “…That’s why I find the Minnesota Attorney General’s confrontational approach to environmental policy so problematic. Since 2020, the Attorney General has carried out a lawsuit against several energy companies in an attempt to hold them financially liable for alleged damages from climate change. Making climate policy, though is a legislative, not legal endeavor… “The Minnesota lawsuit is just one of more than two dozen carbon copy cases that national law firms and advocacy groups have orchestrated across the country… “Emissions are global by nature. But while emissions in China, India and other countries dwarf those in Minnesota and other U.S. states, this litigation only targets energy producers in America. That doesn’t seem right. This fact under underscores the political nature of this litigation. It is nothing more than a targeted effort to blame certain people and industries for alleged climate change damages. If the courts are the ones to pick the winners and losers in the climate policy debate, we will all lose.”

National Catholic Reporter: Editorial: Why have no US Catholic dioceses divested from fossil fuels?
5/2/23

“As of April 20, half of all Catholic dioceses in England and Wales have chosen to end financial investments in fossil fuels, the largest contributor to climate change. Zero Catholic dioceses in the United States have announced plans for divestment,” the National Catholic Reporter Editorial Board writes. “A joint announcement by 31 faith-based groups organized ahead of Earth Day (April 22) brought the total number of Catholic archdioceses and dioceses worldwide that have announced plans to stop investing in coal, oil and gas to 65, according to data on the Laudato Si’ Movement website. That list includes Catholic dioceses in Austria, Brazil, Fiji, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Nigeria, Malta, the Philippines, Scotland, South Africa and Spain — and a handful of bishops’ conferences. Notably absent from the tally is the nation currently ranked second in annual carbon dioxide emissions, and that holds the title of greatest emitter of all time — the United States of America. Other Catholic entities in the United States have chosen divestment in the name of Catholic social teaching. The list maintained by the Laudato Si’ Movement boasts U.S.-based religious orders, universities, Catholic charities, parishes, foundations, associations, societies and other organizations. (NCR announced our own divestment plans in 2021.) But when it comes to archdioceses and dioceses led by the U.S. bishops, not a single one has seen fit to take this important (and relatively easy) step toward a more just future — or any future, for that matter — for life on Earth. For a faith that claims, as reflected in Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home,” that “regarding climate change, there are differentiated responsibilities,” it seems inconsistent for the country responsible for the most greenhouse gas emissions in history not to take up an equally substantial role in changing that behavior for the sake of the planet and those who live here… “While half of the U.K.’s Catholic leadership has struck out on this path of purpose, we must continue to report that in the U.S. we have not even one diocese that will divest.”