EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 6/15/23

PIPELINE NEWS

• News and Sentinel: Gov. Justice: Pipeline could be operating by end of year

• Kansas Reflector: Massive oil spill distorts Kansas couple’s confidence in the integrity of Keystone pipeline

• WMBD: Peoria Park District votes to have moratorium for CO2 Pipelines

• Globe Gazette: Supervisors debate pipeline moratorium

• Politifact: Clean slate? ‘Carbon capture’ of CO2 emissions seen as technology that’s a climate solution and risk

• Washington News Service: Opposition grows for expanded Pacific Northwest pipeline as decision nears

• KEYT: Planning Commission approves change of ownership for pipeline linked to Refugio oil spill

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• Associated Press: Oil producers say tech will soon handle climate-wrecking fumes. US envoy Kerry says be skeptical

• Washington Post: Four big green groups are backing Biden. Others are upset about his assent to fossil fuel projects.

• Axios: Biden’s climate policy makes the left sweat 2024

• Press release: Biden Administration Urged to Reject Hydrogen Hubs

• InsideEPA: EPA Speeds Timeline For Final Power Plant GHG Rule, Slows Methane Fee

• Politico: FERC Chair vows to move forward with environmental justice and transmission initiatives

• E&E News: What FERC chair’s calendar reveals

• The Hill: Top Energy Committee Republican calls for ethics investigation of Energy secretary

STATE UPDATES

• Guardian: ‘I’m a prisoner in my own home,’ asthma sufferer, 15, tells landmark US climate trial

• E&E News: Meet the kids behind the historic Montana climate trial

• Grist: ‘It’s time for my government to take action’: A conversation with a youth plaintiff in Held v. Montana

• Colorado Sun: Suncor pollutes into nearby neighborhoods more often than similar facilities, EPA vows tougher enforcement

EXTRACTION

• Guardian: Greta Thunberg: not phasing out fossil fuels is ‘death sentence’ for world’s poor

• New York Times: Battle Lines Harden Over Big Oil’s Role at Climate Talks in Dubai

• The Hill: Fossil fuel companies’ net-zero pledges ‘largely meaningless’ without better data: analysis

• Context: Is the world making real progress towards net zero emissions?

• Press release: Shell to deliver more value with less emissions

• Calgary Herald: Varcoe: Global oil demand expected to cool, but Canadian crude production to keep rising

• Canadian Press: Canada can’t meet climate goals without faster approvals for major projects: report

• Reuters: TotalEnergies buys $219 million stake in LNG developer NextDecade

• Wall Street Journal: BP Refinery Suffered Cascade of Malfunctions Before Fatal Explosion, Agency Says

• MetNews: Sempra Directors Face No Liability Over Massive Gas Leak

• Financial Times: Can hydrogen help the world reach net zero? [VIDEO]

CLIMATE FINANCE

• Reuters: US Treasury unveils clean energy subsidy payments for non-taxpayers

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

• Agence France-Presse: Fake Twitter ‘blondes’ promote UAE climate summit

• DeSmog: Industry-Funded Comic for Kids Casts Hydrogen Fuel as Climate Hero

• MyPrinceGeorgeNow: Coastal GasLink, TC Energy donate $70,000 to wildfire relief

OPINION

• The Virginian-Pilot: Editorial: Including pipeline in debt bill dismantled a system protecting Virginians

• Guardian: It’s not the job of children to fix the climate crisis. We must show them grown-ups are leading the way

• NOLA.com: Editorial: A reasonable path forward for carbon capture

• Washington Times: Carbon capture necessary to advance clean hydrogen economy

• Guardian: Whisper it, but the boom in plastic production could be about to come to a juddering halt

• The Hill: Biden, progressives and the perpetual-emergency presidency

• East Bay Times: Opinion: Divest California public employee pensions from fossil fuels
  

PIPELINE NEWS

News and Sentinel: Gov. Justice: Pipeline could be operating by end of year
JESS MANCINI, 6/15/23

“A natural gas pipeline through West Virginia could be in service by the end of the year, the governor said Wednesday,” the News and Sentinel reports. “The Department of Environmental Protection has re-issued its 401 water quality certification for the Mountain Valley Pipeline and submitted it to the U.S. Corps of Engineers, Gov. Jim Justice said. “This is a big certification,” Justice said during a Wednesday afternoon press briefing… “The MVP expects the pipeline to be in service by the end of the year of 2023,” Justice said. “I’m glad we’re doing our part in state permitting and trying to move this permit along.” “…The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in December rejected the state’s certification, ruling the state didn’t cite a history of project violations… “Justice said he was unaware of any other actions that are required by the state. “If there be another step, we’ll be on it,” he said.

Kansas Reflector: Massive oil spill distorts Kansas couple’s confidence in the integrity of Keystone pipeline
TIM CARPENTER, 6/14/23

“Chris and Bill Pannbacker stood atop a steep sandstone hill adjacent to the spot on the family farm where a major break in TC Energy’s Keystone pipeline showered thousands of barrels of black-as-night crude on livestock grazing land and into nearby Mill Creek. They were involuntarily drawn into the environmental nightmare Dec. 7, more than six months ago, and still feel the gut-punch of a tragedy that was far from remedied by the relatively quick repair of the 36-inch oil pipe buried underground,” the Kansas Reflector reports. “The Pannbackers have had an unobstructed view of work by hundreds of people brought in to operate a fleet of heavy equipment — excavators, bulldozers, trucks — to remove oil-saturated soil for disposal in a Nebraska landfill… “Appreciation for the emergency response, however, hasn’t quelled the Pannbackers’ apprehension the clock is ticking toward a repeat of the pipeline catastrophe… “Large trucks have been hauling away polluted soil, while fresh topsoil has been transferred to the site. An attempt to reseed a portion of the slope sprayed with oil has been made. Areas close to the actual break last week still resembled a dirt-covered construction site… “The Pannbackers, who plan eventually to move back to the farmstead from a home in the city of Washington, told the Reflector the Keystone pipeline was located amid steep hills and ravines common to Washington County. The oil damaged the north side of a hill offering a 360-degree view of surrounding countryside. Once over that ridge, the pipeline descended aggressively into a valley of cropland on the Pannbackers’ farm. Chris and Bill Pannbacker told the Reflector they shared unease about the potential for another break in the pipeline completed a dozen years ago. “You’re damn right,” Bill Pannbacker told the Reflector. “If that line blows on top of that hill, it’s going to shoot oil all over. It’s going to cover that valley. I don’t have the confidence in the line that I did before, I guess.”

WMBD: Peoria Park District votes to have moratorium for CO2 Pipelines
Breanna Rittman, 6/14/23

“On Wednesday, the Peoria Park District Board of Trustees unanimously voted to adopt a resolution for a moratorium on any decisions related to moving forward with a CO2 Pipeline,” WMBD reports. “This does not mean members of the board are for or against the pipeline. The resolution is encouraging a pause until federal guidelines for pipelines are updated… “Our society continues to give indications and our US give indications that reducing our carbon footprint is a key outcome. We are now looking at more of that greenhouse gas reduction opportunity,” said Greg Webb, VP of State Government Relations for Archer-Daniels-Midland Company. “We want you to allow whatever time is needed for revised federal regulations to be effect. We want you to allow time needed for the full details of pipeline safety,” said Joyce Blumenshine, Co-Conservation Chair of the Heart of Illinois Group Sierra Club. Tracey McDaneld represented Wolf Carbon Solutions at the meeting. She said an application for the pipeline will be filed with Illinois Commerce Commission in coming days.”

Globe Gazette: Supervisors debate pipeline moratorium
Jason Selby, 6/14/23

“At their June 13 meeting, the Mitchell County Board of Supervisors discussed the proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would run throughout Iowa and several Midwestern states,” the Globe Gazette reports. “…Supervisor Mark Hendrickson said Mitchell County does not have an ordinance for the pipeline, and he asked Mitchell County Attorney Aaron Murphy whether the county needs a moratorium… “The answer is I’m not sure,” Murphy said. “There’s a provision in that (Iowa) Code chapter…. Once public meetings are held, then a company has a right to do certain surveys. It preemptively grants other people the right to go onto your property. We don’t see many statutes like that, but that’s what this one is.” According to Murphy, there has been litigation throughout Iowa regarding that specific chapter in the Iowa Code. At least one district court decision found certain parts of the statute unconstitutional. That decision must now make its way to the Iowa Supreme Court or the Iowa Court of Appeals. “I don’t know what’ll happen,” Murphy said. “Nobody does. If you were to talk to an attorney for the legislature, they’re going to say, no, you don’t have that right to do a moratorium, because you can’t supersede state statute.” “…I’m not going to tell you you’re not going to win. I don’t know whether you would win – the thing is so new. But I think under the written law the answer is no, you probably can’t pass a moratorium. But if you get a judge that maybe has a different view of that statute, they might say the moratorium is okay.” Hendrickson replied that he thinks the county should have a moratorium in place to protect landowners. Murphy said it will become a bigger issue and he would do more research. Mitchell County Sheriff Greg Beaver offered his thoughts… “We’re in the middle of it. The courts can’t make up their mind, we don’t know if they can prosecute them or not. We’ve got to find out. So if a landowner says, ‘Look, you can’t be on my property, I don’t want your pipeline,’ and they refuse to leave, our only recourse is to write them a citation. And they come to court – they’re going to know. “We’re going to do something. We’re not just going to stand by and referee for hour after hour from one track of land to the next on this pipeline. That’s no way to do business. “We’ve got to look out for our landowners. And I’m not against the pipeline, but I’m going to enforce the law.” Murphy said he has attended county attorney gatherings where the subject of the pipeline has come up, and there is never any more clarity after the discussion than before… “According to Murphy, zoning is generally a local issue, and state law by statute gives counties significant control over zoning. “There’s going to be a direct clash between statutes,” he said.

Politifact: Clean slate? ‘Carbon capture’ of CO2 emissions seen as technology that’s a climate solution and risk
Tom Kertscher, 6/14/23

“…The Biden administration has allocated billions of dollars to promote carbon capture and storage initiatives. Some climate change activists say carbon capture and storage technology can enable more burning of fossil fuels and create other environmental risks,” Politifact reports. “Is it possible for a climate change solution to reduce emissions while simultaneously enabling more polluting?.. “But even as some cheer what is referred to as “CCS” for reducing emissions, critics fear it could perpetuate global dependence on types of energy sources that create the most pollution from carbon dioxide, or CO2… “The cons are that you are not reducing emissions to zero; the technologies can be expensive to implement; and many people worry that CCS will simply prolong our use of fossil fuels when perhaps we should be moving to other carbon-free sources of energy,” Hugh Daigle, a University of Texas petroleum and geosystems engineering professor whose research specialties include carbon storage, told Politifact… “Carbon capture and storage might not be part of most people’s climate change vocabulary, but it is attracting billions of dollars in federal funds from the Biden administration — and it seems to have captured a measure of support from folks in both major political parties… “I think there’s a practical reality that the globe is going to be using gas and coal for the foreseeable future,” Jeremy Harrell, chief strategy officer at ClearPath, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that promotes policies reducing and removing energy emissions, told Politifact. “We need to be worried about reducing the carbon emissions from those.” “…Some experts are skeptical whether carbon capture can meet lofty expectations… “Only one carbon capture and storage facility has been used on a power plant in the U.S., a coal-fired plant near Houston. The Institute For Energy Economics and Financial Analysis has questioned the claim by the facility, Petra Nova, that it met its pledge to capture 90% of carbon emissions… “Dennis Wamsted, an energy analyst with the Institute For Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, told Politifact it’s far from clear that carbon capture can work on a large scale. He told Politifact he puts carbon capture and storage “pretty far down the ladder” for climate solutions. Carbon capture and storage is also “a way for the fossil fuel industry to say, ‘Give us more time, we promise we’ll get better down the road,’” Wansted told Politifac. “We don’t have time down the road. We need to be building non-emitting sources,” such as wind and solar, “rather than trying to clean up really dirty sources.” Atlas Public Policy, a Washington, D.C.- and San Francisco-based research nonprofit, also said that the technology enables more pollution by fossil fuel companies “by serving as an offset or a distraction, rather than encouraging a transition to clean energy.” “…Another risk comes from pipelines. At least 45 people were hospitalized, mostly with respiratory problems, after a carbon dioxide pipeline in Mississippi ruptured in 2020. Some of the people poisoned used oxygen tanks for months afterward.”

Washington News Service: Opposition grows for expanded Pacific Northwest pipeline as decision nears
Eric Tegethoff, 6/15/23

“The potential expansion of a fracked-gas pipeline in the Northwest faces growing resistance as a decision from the federal government nears,” Washington News Service reports. “The Gas Transmission Northwest pipeline moves fracked gas from Canada to California. The Canadian company TC Energy’s proposed “GTN Xpress” would expand the pipeline dramatically. The company is waiting for approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Dan Serres, conservation director for the group Columbia Riverkeeper, told WNS attorneys general from California, Oregon and Washington have sent a letter urging the agency to deny the proposal. “The states are arguing to FERC that one, there’s no demand for GTN Xpress. Two, GTN Xpress directly conflicts with the states’ greenhouse-gas reduction goals. And three, there are negative impacts from this project to communities along the pipeline route,” Serres outlined… “Serres acknowledged FERC has been talking about environmental justice and listening to communities when they raise concerns about energy projects. He told WNS they have an opportunity with this proposal to follow through on their promise. “It’s incumbent on the Biden administration to ‘walk the talk,'” Serres told WNS. “To actually follow through and translate what they’re saying about environmental justice and the voices of communities into their decision-making.” Serres added Washington Utility and Transportation Commission members were skeptical of the necessity for the project at a meeting in early June.”

KEYT: Planning Commission approves change of ownership for pipeline linked to Refugio oil spill
Tracy Lehr, 6/14/23

“The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission approved ExxonMobil’s request for a change of owner, operator and guarantor for the Plains All American Pipeline,” KEYT reports. “In 2015 there was a spill of the Plain’s pipeline along the Gaviota coast,” said John Zorovich, the commission’s Deputy Director of Energy, Minerals and Compliance. More than 120,000 gallons of crude oil spilled from an underground pipelines and flowed under the 101 freeway and down a cliff into the ocean in an area known for its biodiversity. Zorovich said the administration action is intended to transfer the permit. “Exxon submitted an application to the county for valves that could decrease the level of spills, but that application was denied by the planning commission. The valves would be part of an effort to restart the pipeline that used to carry oil from three ExxonMobil offshore platforms to its onshore refineries. All the proposals will go before the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors… “The Environmental Defense Center’s Chief Council Linda Krop told KEYT they will be working on an appeal on behalf of clients as soon as Friday. “We are really upset with what happened at the county today, ” Krop told KEYT. “As you may recall the Plain’s oil pipeline is completely damaged, we had a major oil spill from 2015 and today the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission voted to allow Plain’s to transfer that pipeline to some ExxonMobil companies without fixing it.” Krop told KEYT that pipeline is still corroded. “The county’s regulations say a pipeline can only be transferred if it complies with all of the permit conditions, a key point of condition for this pipeline is that it has to be protected from corrosion and protected against oil spills,” Krop told KEYT.

WASHINGTON UPDATES

Associated Press: Oil producers say tech will soon handle climate-wrecking fumes. US envoy Kerry says be skeptical
EDITH M. LEDERER, ELLEN KNICKMEYER AND FRANK JORDANS, 6/13/23

“U.S. climate envoy John Kerry on Tuesday urged the world to be “very skeptical” about claims from oil and gas producers that emerging technology soon will allow people to adequately capture the climate-wrecking fumes emitted by their cars, planes and businesses,” the Associated Press reports. “It’s “one big question mark,” Kerry told The Associated Press of the future viability of carbon-capture technology, a debate at the heart of global negotiations on cutting emissions to stave off the most disastrous scenarios of global warming. The International Energy Agency and increasing numbers of scientists, governments and global leaders and advocates are saying the only way to rein in climate change fast enough is to immediately stop drilling new oil and gas wells and sharply phase down existing drilling. Many oil companies and oil states are fighting the calls for production cuts, saying that still-emerging carbon-capture technology will come to the rescue. The burning of fossil fuels is the main cause of global warming, and techniques to capture enough of the fumes to make a difference, affordably and efficiently, have yet to be developed. “Let’s be very skeptical about this unless it’s proven to work,” Kerry told the AP after delivering a statement at a U.N. Security Council meeting. “We can’t afford to play games anymore with the amount of fossil carbon that’s going up in the atmosphere,” along with methane and other climate-damaging gases from the oil and gas industry. That doesn’t mean that government, corporations and oil and gas producers shouldn’t keep pushing for breakthroughs in the technology, he told AP. “If it could work, fine, you know. … But we heard for 30 years about clean coal, and how did that work out?”

Washington Post: Four big green groups are backing Biden. Others are upset about his assent to fossil fuel projects.
Maxine Joselow, 6/15/23

“Four of the nation’s leading environmental groups — the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, NRDC Action Fund, Sierra Club and NextGen PAC — yesterday issued an unprecedented joint endorsement of President Biden’s bid for reelection,” the Washington Post reports. “It’s not entirely surprising that environmental groups are backing Biden after he helped secure the most ambitious climate legislation in U.S. history. Yet the announcement comes as other green groups withhold their support, citing the administration’s recent approvals of fossil fuel infrastructure such as the Mountain Valley Pipeline and the Willow drilling project. The endorsing groups say it’s true Biden has made some missteps on fossil fuels. But they say the alternative is a Republican who would rubber-stamp even more polluting projects that the planet cannot afford. “We recognize mistakes have been made,” Manish Bapna, president and chief executive of NRDC Action Fund, told the Post. “And when they have been made, we’ve called the president and the administration to account, and we will continue to do so. But this is a clear-cut choice between the strongest climate champion we’ve ever seen and a Republican who would slam us into reverse.” “…Some smaller, more progressive green groups are withholding their endorsement unless Biden takes a tougher stance on fossil fuels. Lukas Ross, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth Action, told the Post the climate law doesn’t make up for the administration’s approvals of fossil fuel infrastructure, including the Energy Department’s recent approval of liquefied natural gas exports from a facility in Alaska… “Karuna Jaggar, California political director at the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, told the Post Biden could still take steps to secure the group’s support, such as by declaring a climate emergency, which would unlock sweeping executive powers to block crude oil exports.”

Axios: Biden’s climate policy makes the left sweat 2024
Jael Holzman, 6/13/23

“Joe Biden’s critics in the climate movement fret he could face enthusiasm problems with climate voters and young people for backing fossil fuel projects,” Axios reports. “Why it matters: Lots of people who care about climate change want Joe Biden to boost renewables and curtail fossil fuel production, an approach many climate experts want… “But Biden also has backed more LNG exports, citing the war in Ukraine, and approved federal oil and gas permits after pledging to ban new permitting as a candidate. And he’s pushed forward the Willow oil project in Alaska and the Mountain Valley pipeline in the Appalachian region, in response to bipartisan pressure from lawmakers. This energy policy approach has won some praise but also invited protests at recent events with administration officials, and criticism from some of the climate movement’s biggest figures… “Some climate advocates make the case that Biden should be more aggressive against the continued use of fossil fuels or he’ll dampen voter enthusiasm on the left. Those calling for more action include the Sunrise Movement, a youth-centered climate organization that didn’t back Biden in the 2020 Democratic primary, but wound up influencing his unity platform with then-candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sunrise, which is present around many college campuses, claims credit for helping turn out younger voters for Biden. The group’s electoral director Michelle Weindling believes the president’s energy policy is going to make “groups like Sunrise’s jobs really hard.” “You definitely run a risk there of disillusioning young voters,” Weindling told Axios. Fresh polling from advocates also shows the potential for enthusiasm issues with younger voters who care about climate action. A new poll from left-aligned firm Data for Progress found roughly 48% of likely voters aged 18-34 were somewhat or much less likely to vote for Biden because of his “approval of new oil and gas drilling projects on public lands, such as the Willow project in Alaska.”

Press release: Biden Administration Urged to Reject Hydrogen Hubs
6/13/23

“A coalition of Indigenous, climate, environmental justice and youth advocates urged the Department of Energy today to reject funding for the Western Interstate Hydrogen Hub, which is intended to rapidly expand hydrogen production in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. “Our BIPOC, low-income and youth communities are already facing the brunt of the climate crisis,” said Ennedith Lopez, policy campaign manager at Youth United for Climate Crisis Action. “By doubling down on hydrogen instead of true renewables like solar and wind, the WISHH project will exacerbate these inequities even further. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the Biden administration are actively ignoring the pleas of environmental justice communities to reject false solutions. Instead of enforcing the environmentally racist practices that got us here in the first place, Gov. Lujan Grisham and President Biden need to declare a climate emergency now and invest heavily in real solutions.” The Biden administration and the fossil fuel industry are championing hydrogen as a climate-friendly energy source, a move that threatens to perpetuate fossil fuel extraction and delay the country’s transition to clean, renewable power. In its letter, the New Mexico No False Solutions coalition called on the administration to reverse course and deny all hydrogen hub proposals across the country. More than 99% of hydrogen produced today uses fossil fuels in a process that harms human health and emits carbon dioxide. When combusted, hydrogen releases six times more smog-causing nitrogen oxide into the air than methane, leading to respiratory and other health problems. Hydrogen is also an indirect greenhouse gas that extends the life of methane in the atmosphere. Compared to gas, it is more likely to explode, burns hotter and is more corrosive to pipelines… “Coalition members will share their concerns about hydrogen with the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council during a public meeting this evening in Phoenix. The Biden administration is investing $7 billion to develop 10 regional clusters of hydrogen production, transportation and use under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Energy Department is currently reviewing applications for funding, including from the Western Interstate Hydrogen Hub. In April the group applied for $1.25 billion in federal funds. It would encompass eight hydrogen projects, with at least one in each of the four states.”

InsideEPA: EPA Speeds Timeline For Final Power Plant GHG Rule, Slows Methane Fee
6/13/23

“EPA’s just-released regulatory agenda shows the agency is speeding its timeline for finalizing power plant greenhouse gas standards, even as it slows the schedule for a rule implementing the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) methane fee,” InsideEPA reports. “However, the latest agenda, released June 13, shows EPA remains on track to issue oil and gas methane emissions standards by August, and that it is sticking with its pledged timelines for finalizing multi-pollutant standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles and its proposed ‘phase 3’ GHG standards for heavy trucks. EPA is aiming to complete the truck rule by the end of the year and its multi-pollutant rule by March. EPA is now looking to finalize GHG standards for new power plants — as well as guidelines for existing facilities — by April, according to the Spring 2023 Unified Agenda. That speeds up the schedule by roughly three months, compared to the June 2024 date listed in the agency’s fall regulatory schedule.”

Politico: FERC Chair vows to move forward with environmental justice and transmission initiatives
Catherine Morehouse, 6/13/23

“FERC Chair Willie Phillips announced new commitments to mitigating the impacts of industrial pollution on low-income communities and communities of color during a House Energy and Commerce hearing on Tuesday,” Politico reports. “The chair also said he does not believe the transmission study under the debt ceiling deal will slow the commission’s efforts to speed up deployment of new power lines. And the chair and his fellow commissioners encouraged Congress to clarify the agency’s jurisdiction over the hydrogen industry. GOP members also grilled commissioners on the nation’s ongoing reliability issues — echoing many of the points made during a Senate hearing last month. Environmental justice: Phillips said that FERC is developing an “outward facing document” to better clarify to communities, the industry and other stakeholders how the commission defines environmental justice. “This is something that I believe will be critical to help move forward and not just have projects approved, will ultimately have them built,” he said during the Tuesday hearing in which all four FERC commissioners testified.

E&E News: What FERC chair’s calendar reveals
Miranda Willson, 6/13/23

“Willie Phillips’ first three months leading the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission included meetings with a range of electric utilities, oil and gas companies, members of Congress and the head of the Department of Energy,” E&E News reports. “Phillips, a Democrat who became acting chair of FERC in January, held meetings with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) earlier this year, according to a record of his Outlook calendar that E&E News obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. Phillips also met with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm once in January and again in February, the calendar showed. Covering the period of Dec. 14 to April 10, the records offer a glimpse of Phillips’ engagement with nearly all facets of the energy landscape, from pipeline developers to electric and natural gas utilities to state regulators and environmental groups. They also showcase interest from lawmakers and the Biden administration in FERC, the independent agency that oversees electric power markets and regulates large energy projects…”

The Hill: Top Energy Committee Republican calls for ethics investigation of Energy secretary
ZACK BUDRYK, 6/14/23

“Sen. John Barrasso (Wyo.), the top Republican on the Senate Energy Committee, called on the Energy Department’s Office of Inspector General to investigate Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm after she conceded to wrongly telling the committee she does not own individual stocks,” The Hill reports. “Granholm testified in April that she owns no individual stocks, but in a June 9 letter to committee chairman Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said she “mistakenly told the Committee that I did not own any individual stocks, whereas I should have said that I did not own any conflicting stocks.” The Wyoming Republican also pointed to Granholm’s admission that, despite testifying that both she and her husband divested from Ford stock, her husband owned Ford stock in a separate account, which Granholm says was sold in May. Barrasso pointed to Granholm’s promotion of Ford’s electric vehicles during the period before that stock was sold. Barrasso also cited her ownership of stock in electric vehicle manufacturer Proterra during a period in which President Biden and Vice President Harris promoted the company, as well as multiple violations of the STOCK Act, which requires disclosure of all stock sales within 45 days… “Secretary Granholm’s repeated noncompliance with established financial rules and regulations, in addition to her disregard for ethical standards, has contributed to the erosion of the public’s trust not only in her, but the Department of Energy as a whole,” Barrasso wrote.

STATE UPDATES

Guardian: ‘I’m a prisoner in my own home,’ asthma sufferer, 15, tells landmark US climate trial
Dharna Noor, 6/13/23

“Mica, aged 15, learned about climate change at the young age of four, when his parents showed him the documentary Chasing Ice,” the Guardian reports. “…Mica came home from the film crying, he recalled. His parents helped him send a letter about the climate crisis to Senator Jon Tester, a rare Democrat in office in Mica’s home state of Montana. But Tester’s office merely sent an automated response. Since then, Mica told the first judicial district court of Montana, he has learned more about climate change in school and by reading scientific articles, and has become involved in advocacy to combat it. He has also seen its effects first-hand. Mica is one of the 16 youth plaintiffs in the 2020 lawsuit Held v Montana, which is being heard in the state capital, Helena, this week. The challengers allege that state officials have violated their constitutional rights to a healthy environment. The trial, which began on Monday, marks the first ever constitutional climate trial in US history. A lover of the outdoors, Mica, who lives in Missoula, Montana, said he was frequently bothered by smoke from wildfires. This makes it hard to go for runs, something the young plaintiff has enjoyed since he was five. When he can’t train due to the smoke, Mica said, he feels “trapped”… “Next week, the court is expected to hear from the defense’s expert witnesses, including climate crisis-denying climatologist Judith Curry. Curry, a former Georgia Tech professor who is frequently invited by Republicans to testify at congressional hearings, was in 2010 called “a new breed of climate change contrarian – the delayer” by esteemed climatologist Michael Mann. Her private weather forecasting company counts utilities and oil companies among its clients, and the state has paid her tens of thousands of dollars for her time, climate website DeSmog reported. In Tuesday’s testimony, Whitlock rebutted an expert report that Curry submitted to the court, explaining that methodologies she employed for the research were flawed. The data Curry used, she said, was “cherry-picked”.

E&E News: Meet the kids behind the historic Montana climate trial
Lesley Clark, 6/15/23

“The 16 young people behind the first U.S. youth-led climate trial hail from places as far north in the Treasure State as Bigfork, Kalispell and the Flathead Indian Reservation and as far south as Livingston, the gateway to Yellowstone National Park,” E&E News reports. “Nearly all of them convened Monday in the state capital for the start of their historic trial, seeking to make their case that state officials violated the Montana Constitution by approving fossil fuel projects without considering damage to the climate. Where other youth-led climate lawsuits have stumbled, Held v. Montana has advanced further than any other case like it in the United States. The youngest challenger in the Montana case was just 2 years old when the lawsuit was filed in 2020. Only Rikki Held — the lead plaintiff in the case, who took the stand in the trial Monday — was over the age of 18 when the landmark climate battle began. Some of the young challengers have parents who are active in conservation efforts. Several of the litigants are now in college, studying climate and environmental issues. This week, they sat patiently on the wooden benches in the Lewis and Clark County courthouse, listening as experts detailed the rising threats posed by a warming planet. Most of the young people have spent their lives in Montana, fishing the state’s rivers and skiing its mountains. Several of the young climate activists have health conditions, such as asthma, which they say is made worse by wildfire seasons that are getting longer and hotter… “Held, who majored in environmental science at Colorado College, told E&E she realizes climate change is global but added, “Montana needs to do something and take responsibility for our part. You can’t just blow it off and do nothing about it.” She told E&E she remains optimistic: “Sometimes when I think about all these things, it’s stressful, and it hits you. But I know there’s so many good people working for our future.”

Grist: ‘It’s time for my government to take action’: A conversation with a youth plaintiff in Held v. Montana
Akielly Hu, 6/14/23

“On Monday, a trial began for the climate lawsuit Held v. Montana at a state district court in Helena,” Grist reports. “The case is not the first time young people have taken legal action to demand that their government take the climate crisis seriously. The plaintiffs in Montana, organized by a nonprofit law firm called Our Children’s Trust, are joining a growing cadre of citizens suing their governments for their failure to act on climate change. Many of these cases — from Canada to Mexico to South Africa — identify citizens’ constitutional rights to life, security, or a healthy environment, and aim to hold governments accountable for protecting those enshrined rights… “Another plaintiff, Claire Vlases, echoes those sentiments. Growing up in Bozeman, she spent much of her time outdoors, teaching ski lessons, cycling through Glacier National Park, and running on her high school’s cross-country team. But melting snowpack, receding glaciers, and extreme heat and smoke disrupted her favorite activities, sparking newfound awareness of the severity of the climate crisis… “Grist spoke to and emailed with Vlases ahead of the trial about what it’s been like preparing for the case, what she hopes it will achieve, and what she’s learned about the role individuals can play in influencing policy-level change. Her comments have been edited for length and clarity… “In high school, I learned about kids that are suing the federal government for promoting fossil fuels unconstitutionally. I was in awe of their actions, so when I heard about something similar happening in my home state of Montana, I reached out to the organization to see if I could become involved. I went through an interview process before officially becoming a plaintiff in the case… “The last three years have been a whirlwind of activism, learning, and personal growth. Waiting for the lawsuit to reach trial has been both agonizing and invigorating… “This journey has transformed my life in profound ways. I’ve become more resilient, learning to navigate the complex world of bureaucracy and courtroom procedures. I’ve connected with experts, scientists, and fellow activists, broadening my knowledge and network. But above all, I’ve witnessed the power of unity and collective action, as our movement gained momentum and captured the attention of the media and the public.”

Colorado Sun: Suncor pollutes into nearby neighborhoods more often than similar facilities, EPA vows tougher enforcement
Michael Booth, 6/14/23

“The Colorado regional office of the EPA vowed tougher enforcement action against Suncor in Commerce City, issuing a report showing the refinery releases air pollutants into nearby neighborhoods more often than many similar facilities around the U.S.,” the Colorado Sun reports. “Suncor logged more excess releases of sulfur dioxide-laden tail gas than any of 11 comparable refineries from 2016 to 2020, according to the Region 8 EPA study. Sulfur in tail gas is meant to be recovered to cycle back into the refining process to avoid potentially toxic emissions. Suncor’s Commerce City refinery also had the second-highest number of excess hydrogen sulfide releases, or acid gas, among the same group of refineries, according to the EPA analysis, which was conducted with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment using federal recovery act funds… “The analysis by a third-party engineer said Suncor’s Commerce City facility may be producing more air quality incidents because of faulty electrical equipment, lack of preventative maintenance, and not testing or inspecting other control systems adequately.  “We will use this information and other targeting tools to focus our efforts for future inspections and enforcement,” Region 8 EPA Administrator KC Becker, a former Democratic Speaker of the House at the Colorado legislature, told the Sun… “We anticipate the findings will result in direct actions for Suncor to make improvements,” Trisha Oeth, the CDPHE’s director of environmental health and protection, told the Sun… “We have known Suncor has been a bad actor for years,” Ean Tafoya, Colorado director of GreenLatinos, told the Sun. “It’s time to plan the just transition, including the retirement and remediation of Suncor. Our leaders have had the data. Now they have more. Will they act?”

EXTRACTION

Guardian: Greta Thunberg: not phasing out fossil fuels is ‘death sentence’ for world’s poor
Fiona Harvey, 6/13/23

“Rich countries are signing a “death sentence” for millions of poor people around the world by failing to phase out fossil fuels, the climate activist Greta Thunberg has told governments,” the Guardian reports. “She warned on Tuesday that with annual greenhouse gas emissions at an all-time high, only a “rapid and equitable” phaseout of fossil fuels would keep global temperatures within the scientifically advised limit of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. “The coming months and years – right now – will be crucial to what the future looks like. It is what we decide now that will define the rest of humanity’s future,” she told a press conference at UN talks in Bonn, where governments are meeting to discuss the climate crisis. “If we do not [phase out fossil fuels], it will be a death sentence for countless people. It is already a death sentence for countless people,” she said. Thunberg last Friday announced the end of her school strikes, which she has been undertaking on Fridays since 2018 in protest at political inaction on the climate crisis… “She said a lack of political will to halt fossil fuel exploration and use was threatening to raise global temperatures by more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, which could lead the climate to pass “tipping points”, a cascade of impacts that could create runaway global heating. “We are still rushing towards the cliff. We could trigger feedback loops that are beyond human control, that would throw countless billions under the bus,” she said.

New York Times: Battle Lines Harden Over Big Oil’s Role at Climate Talks in Dubai
Max Bearak, 6/14/23

“An unavoidable tension surrounds this year’s United Nations-sponsored climate talks in November: They will take place in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, and the most important role at the talks is held by the man who heads the national oil company,” the New York Times reports. “The executive, Sultan al-Jaber, and other representatives of the Emirates have argued that they have a “game changing” plan to fight climate change by welcoming oil and gas companies from around the world to participate more fully in the talks. In other words, invite the producers of the fuels that cause the majority of global warming as key players in developing a plan to slow the warming. In an interview, Majid al-Suwaidi, an Emirati diplomat who will also play a major role at the climate talks, known by the acronym COP28, told the Times, “We need to engage the people who have the technical know-how, the skills, the technology — and, by the way, the people who provide jobs — in a conversation about how they transform.” To activists who have attended these conferences for years, that notion sounds far-fetched. “It’s just like how tobacco lobbyists need to be kept out of conversations about cancer prevention,” Catherine Abreu, who heads Destination Zero, a network of nonprofits working on climate issues, told the Times.  The conference will take place amid a backdrop of resurgent fossil fuel investment after a brief, pandemic-era dip… “As is the case in much of the nitty-gritty work of ironing out global agreements on technical issues, much of what is seen as progress for climate activists comes down to seemingly minute details like the use of the word “abatement” in Mr. al-Jaber’s speech. It’s a word echoed by other powerful actors in the climate arena like former Senator John Kerry, the United States’ climate envoy. And its usage implies, to some, that these leaders see climate goals and continued fossil fuel production as compatible, as long as technology to capture their emissions is widely deployed. That kind of massive technological rollout is many years away in the rosiest of scenarios. “Fossil fuel interests actively work to co-opt our imaginations,” Ms. Abreu told the Times. “Governments now can imagine a geo-engineered planet easier than a grow-out of renewables that already exist.”

The Hill: Fossil fuel companies’ net-zero pledges ‘largely meaningless’ without better data: analysis
ZACK BUDRYK, 6/13/23

“The net-zero emissions pledges publicized by fossil fuel companies are “largely meaningless” due to lack of clarity about indirect emissions, according to a report issued over the weekend by the group Net Zero Tracker,” The Hill reports. “Seventy-seven fossil fuel companies have net-zero pledges in place, up about 50 percent from the 51 companies that had them a year ago, according to the report. However, the majority either do not cover or do not specify whether they cover Scope 3 emissions or those generated by consumer use of their products rather than the company itself. The report also found that of the 114 fossil fuel companies analyzed, 107 are headquartered in Group of 20 (G20) nations, all but one of which have an existing goal of being net-zero by 2050. In conjunction with the report, the group rolled out a new indicator focusing on fuel extraction to better discern whether the entities covered are reducing the damage. This indicator is based on a combination of committing to no more coal mines, mine extensions or coal-fired power stations from 2023 onward; ending coal-fired power generation by the end of the decade for Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and by 2040 for other countries; ending new oil and gas field exploration from 2023; and committing to phasing out gas and oil production by 2050. No fossil fuel company analyzed for the report committed to every one of those targets, and no more than four were committed to any single goal.”

Context: Is the world making real progress towards net zero emissions?
Megan Rowling, 6/13/23

“About three-quarters of countries have now set the net-zero emissions targets that scientists say must be met by mid-century to keep global warming to agreed limits. But putting them into practice is another matter, as cities and companies lag behind,” Context reports. “A 2023 update by the Net Zero Tracker research initiative notes that 148 nations and the European Union now have a net-zero goal, up from 124 in December 2020, indicating “a clear consensus to curtail greenhouse gas emissions to net zero”. But the extent of action taken at the national level has yet to be matched by states, regions, cities and businesses, which is likely to hinder progress on cutting emissions at the pace and scale needed to meet wider climate goals, the initiative warned… “The report also cast doubt on the credibility of targets, noting only “very limited” signs of improvement on things like the use of carbon offsetting and financing for fossil fuels within net-zero strategies over the past year… “However, based on countries’ current climate commitments, global greenhouse gas emissions will rise by 10.6% by 2030 compared to 2010 levels, according to a U.N. report in October 2022… “Achieving net-zero emissions isn’t the same as eliminating all emissions. It means ensuring any human-produced carbon dioxide (CO2) or other greenhouse gases that can’t be avoided or locked up are removed from the atmosphere some other way. This can be done naturally, such as by restoring forests that suck CO2 out of the air. It can also be done using technology that captures and stores emissions from power plants and factories or directly pulls CO2 from the atmosphere… “Scientists say carbon “removals”, in any form, cannot substitute for cutting emissions as fast as possible – although some removals are likely to be needed and deployed to help curb rising temperatures.”

Press release: Shell to deliver more value with less emissions
6/14/23

Shell will today update investors on its strategy to create more value with less emissions, and deliver increased shareholder returns through a balanced energy transition. “We are investing to provide the secure energy customers need today and for a long time to come, while transforming Shell to win in a low-carbon future. Performance, discipline, and simplification will be our guiding principles as we allocate capital to enhance shareholder distributions, while enabling the energy transition,” said Shell Chief Executive Officer, Wael Sawan. An enhanced focus on performance and stronger capital and cost discipline will underpin higher shareholder distributions of 30-40% of CFFO through the cycle, compared with 20-30% previously, through a combination of dividends and share buybacks… “Shell will continue to invest in providing secure supplies of energy, while actively working to reduce carbon emissions. Today, Shell also confirms it will: Grow its leading Integrated Gas business and maintain leadership in the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market… “Invest in hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS) in a disciplined manner to create options for the future… “Shell is making good progress towards its target to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050, by reducing emissions from its operations, and from the fuels and other energy products it sells to customers. Shell will continue to make progress by: Aiming to achieve near-zero methane emissions by 2030 and to eliminate routine flaring from its Upstream operations by 2025, moving faster than the World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring 2030 initiative. Planning to invest $10-15 billion across 2023 to 2025 to support the development of low-carbon energy solutions including biofuels, hydrogen, electric vehicle charging and CCS.”

Calgary Herald: Varcoe: Global oil demand expected to cool, but Canadian crude production to keep rising
Chris Varcoe, 6/14/23

“The short-term outlook for Canadian oil and gas is improving, although the mid-term forecast is a lot like summer weather on the Prairies this year — hazy and uncertain,” the Calgary Herald reports. “As industry leaders gathered at the annual Global Energy Show in Calgary on Wednesday, a new report by industry group Enserva indicates oil and gas drilling in Canada will increase by 12 per cent this year, with 6,180 wells expected to be completed across the country. Meanwhile, a new study by the International Energy Agency examining oil markets indicates Canadian crude production is forecast to rise, albeit slowly, to top six million barrels per day (bpd) by 2028. That’s up about 400,000 bpd from last year’s output… “It does very clearly state we need more oil. If demand continues to grow, you need more supply,” Kevin Birn, a vice-president with S&P Global Commodity Insights in Calgary, told the Herald. “In the world we’re in, we have to ask ourselves: Where is that supply going to come from?” For the Canadian sector, the answer is straightforward. The country is already the world’s fourth-largest oil producer and contains the third-largest crude reserves, with the ability to add more volumes… “Oil for global transportation use is expected to decline after 2026 with the growth of electric vehicles… “However, increases in petrochemical use and an expected recovery in jet fuel consumption will increase mid-term oil demand… “In Canada, Evans sees potential growth in LNG and oilsands production, given the large reserve base in the country. “We don’t need to be a green island,” he told the Herald. “We can reduce the carbon footprints on both of those products, but we should be selling those and supplying the rest of the world.”

Canadian Press: Canada can’t meet climate goals without faster approvals for major projects: report
Amanda Stephenson, 6/15/23

“Canada has no hope of reaching its 2050 climate goals unless it can find a way to speed up the approvals process for major projects in this country, a new report states,” according to the Canadian Press. “The report, from the Business Council of Alberta, says Canada’s current regulatory system for large-scale infrastructure projects is “complex, fractured and frustrating.” It warns that massive investments in everything from mines for critical minerals to renewable power generation to hydrogen technology will be required in the coming years if Canada is to achieve its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. But the report’s authors say that Canada already has a reputation as a place where major projects can’t get built _ and unless that changes, the country’s environmental ambitions will be out of reach. Mike Holden, chief economist for the Business Council of Alberta, told CP Canada’s regulatory systems were set up to ensure corporations don’t run roughshod over local communities, Indigenous people and the environment. While that’s a good thing, he told CP, the processes involved have become so cumbersome – with the odds of a final green light far from certain – that many investors would rather not take the chance. “A lot of projects end up not coming forward at all because companies aren’t willing to go through the uncertainty of the process,” Holden told CP. “So there are a lot of cases where investment passes Canada by, or it gets downscaled.” According to the federal government’s own estimates, $125 billion to $140 billion in capital investment will be needed annually until 2050 to build the infrastructure needed for the energy transition. But right now, Holden told CP, companies are investing only about one-fifth that amount… “But Holden told CP there is much more that can be done, including some relatively simple changes that could have a broad positive impact. These include creating one government oversight body to manage and coordinate federal permitting, expanding financial supports for Indigenous participation in project development, and clarifying the criteria under which the federal Environment Minister would use his or her power to designate a project for review under the Impact Assessment Act.”

Reuters: TotalEnergies buys $219 million stake in LNG developer NextDecade
America Hernandez, 6/14/23

“TotalEnergies will buy a 17.5% stake in U.S. liquefied natural gas developer NextDecade (NEXT.O) for $219 million, the French group said on Wednesday, part of a broader deal to enable the Texas company’s Rio Grande LNG export project to proceed,” Reuters reports. “NextDecade said it had entered into framework agreements with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and TotalEnergies to facilitate the final investment decision for the Rio Grande LNG project, expected to be confirmed by the end of June. Shares in NextDecade soared 36% to $6.98 in morning trading, while TotalEnergies shares were up 0.3% at 54.3 euros, against a 0.7% drop in the wider index. Record LNG exports from the United States helped soften the blow to Europe from sharply lower Russian pipeline natural gas supplies in 2022, and will remain a key energy source for the continent, prompting a race to bring more U.S. export terminals online… “The 5.4 million-ton commitment is the complete production from one of the first of three liquefaction units, and is by far the largest supply contract NextDecade has secured so far. The French firm also has an option to take additional LNG from the Rio Grande project’s second phase… “NextDecade plans for it to produce up to 27 million tons of LNG annually, with a carbon sequestration component to the project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Wall Street Journal: BP Refinery Suffered Cascade of Malfunctions Before Fatal Explosion, Agency Says
Jenny Strasburg, 6/13/23

“In the hours before an Ohio refinery accident killed two workers last year, BP supervisors opted to keep the plant running despite a series of malfunctions and a petroleum spill serious enough to prompt major equipment shutdowns, according to a preliminary report by government investigators reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The report by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, which hasn’t been made public, says that a morning valve failure and large spill of highly flammable naphtha on Sept. 20 led managers to shut down parts of the plant. The managers continued to keep a nearby crude-processing tower running up until a fatal explosion and fire that evening, according to the report. The interim report, which is expected to be published as soon as this week, is the third governmental finding suggesting that a lack of employee training, murky safety processes, decision-making by BP supervisors or a combination of factors contributed to the accident at what was then called the BP-Husky Toledo Refinery… “Two BP employees, brothers Benjamin and Maxwell Morrissey, both in their 30s, died from injuries sustained in the fire.”

MetNews: Sempra Directors Face No Liability Over Massive Gas Leak
6/14/23

“Directors of Sempra Energy cannot be held liable to shareholders for the estimated $1.1 billion loss occasioned by settlements to victims of the massive Aliso Canyon gas leak near Porter Ranch in 2015 because no demand was served on the corporation’s board prior to suits being filed, Div. Five of the Court of Appeal for this district has held, in a 2-1 opinion,” MetNews reports. “Sempra is the parent of the Southern California Gas Company (“SoCalGas”), which maintained the underground storage facility in the Santa Susana Mountains from which the gas escaped. The result was the largest natural gas leak in U.S. history and one of the nation’s worst environmental disasters. More than 8,000 families were forced to flee their homes as the result of the contaminated air. A settlement was reached in 2021.”

Financial Times: Can hydrogen help the world reach net zero? [VIDEO]
6/14/23

“The global push for net zero carbon emissions is one of humanity’s greatest challenges. In this film, the FT’s Simon Mundy explores how hydrogen – the lightest, most abundant element in the universe – could play a crucial role. From southern Spain to Swedish Lapland, we meet those at the forefront of this fast-growing space – all seeking a share of the billions to be made in the emerging hydrogen economy,” the Financial Times reports. 

CLIMATE FINANCE

Reuters: US Treasury unveils clean energy subsidy payments for non-taxpayers
6/14/23

“U.S. Treasury officials on Wednesday unveiled rules for how non-profits, tribes and governments can take advantage of subsidies in President Joe Biden’s new climate change law, expanding the incentives beyond big corporations,” Reuters reports. “The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) offers billions of dollars in tax credits to speed decarbonization of the U.S. economy. To encourage project development, the law also allows tax-exempt entities to receive a direct payment in lieu of tax credits and enables project owners to sell credits to a third party. The Treasury Department’s guidance on Wednesday allows non-profits, tribes, local governments and other tax-exempt entities to receive 12 of the IRA’s tax credits as cash payments, a provision known as elective or direct pay. John Podesta, the White House senior adviser for clean energy, told Reuters the mechanism “a game changer.” “…The IRA includes a 30% credit for renewable energy facilities like solar and wind farms, as well as credits for clean vehicles and fuels, hydrogen, carbon capture and storage and clean energy equipment manufacturing. The law also allows businesses to sell all or a portion of any of 11 clean energy tax credits to a third party. Known as “transferability,” the provision will help project developers without large tax bills access capital more easily and affordably… “Businesses can also choose direct pay, but only for the advanced manufacturing, carbon capture and storage and clean hydrogen credits, Treasury said.”

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

Agence France-Presse: Fake Twitter ‘blondes’ promote UAE climate summit
6/14/23

“Researchers call them the “American blondes” -– bright-eyed environmentalists tweeting passionately in support of the UAE and its handling of the forthcoming COP28 climate summit. The only problem? They are not real,” Agence France-Presse reports. “Ben, Brianna, Emma, Caitlin and Chloe exude a refreshing optimism about the role of the Gulf state and its COP28 chief, oil executive Sultan Al Jaber, in promoting climate action. Their sultry profile shots look like drawings from a fantasy novel — apparently concocted using an AI-powered picture generator. Their names, locations and environmental credentials do not appear together elsewhere online. Analysts consulted by AFP identified these and dozens of other Twitter accounts as being involved in coordinated activity, labelling the tactic as a form of “astroturfing” — a false grassroots campaign to influence public opinion. The “blonde” accounts, for example, were created within hours of each other in August 2022, according to a digital analysis by Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD), a coalition of non-government groups. It said the accounts posted clusters of similar messages nearly simultaneously, including retweets of posts from the United Arab Emirates embassy in Washington. A COP28 spokesperson told AFP in an email that the accounts were “generated by outside actors unknown and unconnected to COP28 and are clearly designed to discredit COP28 and the climate process.” “…The Twitter campaign sought to portray Jaber as committed and capable of fixing the climate crisis. When Romain Ioualalen, a campaigner from Oil Change International, tweeted about the risk that COP28 hosted by the Emirates “slows down the transition away from fossil fuels”, he received several responses from some of the accounts identified as fakes by researchers. Dubai-based “lawyer” Caitlin hailed Jaber’s leadership at COP28 as a “game-changer” while “ecologist” Emma praised his “passion for climate action”. When the Centre for Climate Reporting (CCR) said last month that Jaber’s team was “greenwashing” Wikipedia by editing pages to play down his role as the head of ADNOC, it drew a similar response from 15 pro-UAE accounts… “Digital disinformation analyst Marc Owen Jones, who flagged the suspicious tweets in a Twitter thread, shared with AFP a list of 93 accounts he identified as involved in the “astroturfing” effort, some created over two years ago.”

DeSmog: Industry-Funded Comic for Kids Casts Hydrogen Fuel as Climate Hero
Taylor Noakeson, 6/12/23

“A hydrogen industry lobby group has produced a comic book aimed at high schoolers that suggests solar and wind power are incapable of fueling decarbonization goals, and that only hydrogen fuel cells provide sufficient energy to eliminate fossil fuels,” DeSmog reports. “In the comic, several giant robots — led by Battery Bot — are defending the city of Neo Toronto from an attack by Exhaust-o-Saurus. Battery Bot is low on power and his comrades Solar Bot and Wind Bot are unable to help him recharge — owing to cloud cover and a lack of breeze, respectively. Exhaust-o-Saurus mocks the trio by saying “nothing can match the dispatchable, instant power of fossil fuels!” at which point Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bot enters the battle to save the day. The comic was produced by the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (CHFCA) and is hosted on their website. Last year the CHFCA reached out to artist and science communicator Jam to create the hydrogen-themed comic apparently inspired by the popular Neon Genesis Evangelion Japanese mecha anime.  The CHFCA describes itself as a “national, non-profit sector association comprising industry, academia, research agencies and other stakeholders” whose aim is to advance the use of what it terms “clean hydrogen.”  The CHFCA has numerous connections to Canada’s fossil fuel sector, including board members who work for TC Energy, Enbridge, Atura Power, and Air Products. The comic doesn’t mention that the majority of hydrogen produced in North America comes from natural gas, which is not only non-renewable, but creates more emissions than simply burning fossil fuels directly. Hydrogen produced from water via electrolysis represents only a tiny fraction of the industry, and technology aiming to capture carbon emitted in the methane-to-hydrogen production process remains largely unproven. “This is misleading for several reasons,” Mark Z. Jacobson, the civil and environmental engineering professor and director of the Atmosphere/Energy program at Stanford University, told DeSmog, when asked to comment on the comic “First, any hydrogen produced from natural gas causes premature death, illness and global warming due to the pollution from mining, transporting, and processing methane, as well as the methane used in producing the hydrogen.” “…The comic also implies that solar and wind power are incapable of recharging Battery Bot without the presence of the sun or the wind. This is an argument that’s often been made by people resistant to energy transformation, from climate change deniers to fossil fuel industry lobbyists… “Greenwashing efforts deliberately aimed at children is nothing new for the fossil fuel sector. The coal industry has claimed that coal is cleaned before it’s burned and the natural gas industry claims it’s used to make video games, among others.”

MyPrinceGeorgeNow: Coastal GasLink, TC Energy donate $70,000 to wildfire relief
Will Peters, 6/14/23

“United Way of Northern BC (UWNBC) has received a $70,000 donation from Coastal GasLink and TC Energy to help support people who have been evacuated by wildfires,” according to MyPrinceGeorgeNow. “The money will be going into United Way’s Urgent Response Fund, which will be redistributed to local and regional groups where the funding is most needed. “This fire season started early and our communities desperately need our support. Through the generosity of Coastal GasLink and TC Energy, the United Way of Northern BC can ensure that help and resources are centred around community gaps and providing those who need it with the resources required to get through this difficult situation,” Trista Spencer, the Executive Director of UWNBC, said in a release… “Those impacted by the wildfire situation in Northern BC continue to be in our thoughts. Coastal GasLink and TC Energy is supporting the United Way of Northern BC Urgent Response Fund with an immediate $70,000 investment in emergency relief and recovery efforts,” said Joel Forrest, Project Vice President, External Relations for Coastal GasLink.

OPINION

The Virginian-Pilot: Editorial: Including pipeline in debt bill dismantled a system protecting Virginians
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT AND DAILY PRESS EDITORIAL BOARD, 6/14/23

“Congress may have successfully avoided defaulting on the public debt, though not for want of trying… Not surprisingly, brokering an agreement that could reach President Joe Biden’s desk required compromise and concession. The bill also included one item, which should never have been part of the negotiations, with significant consequences for Virginia,” The Virginian-Pilot Editorial Board writes. “…Opponents have been equally insistent that construction would only delay that transition, for which there is little time to waste as global temperatures near a tipping point… “The two sides have engaged for years, with on-site protests delaying construction as lawsuits challenging the project wind their way through the court system. Those fighting the pipeline won several successive victories in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in recent months, effectively imperiling the pipeline. That changed dramatically this month when Biden signed the debt ceiling bill. While the thrust of the legislation helped avoid a catastrophic default on the national debt, it included provisions directing federal agencies to approve all MVP permits within 21 days, exempt those permits from court review, and transfer jurisdiction for any future suits to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which is seen as more favorable to the companies seeking to build the project… “Horse trading may be commonplace in the halls of Washington, but if lawmakers want to know why the public views them with such resentment they need look no further than the inclusion of this language in a bill unrelated to energy or critical infrastructure. In the case of this pipeline, the system was working as intended. The project was subjected to considerable legal scrutiny — which, given its potential environmental impacts, was eminently justified — and found wanting… “Now Congress has effectively overruled the judiciary in a bill that, again, had nothing to do with energy and should never have been used for political opportunism. Kudos to Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, who tried to remove that language from the deal through amendment only to be rebuffed by his colleagues on both sides of the aisle in a 30-69 vote. Saw what you want about the pipeline itself, but silencing voices of dissent and stripping away judicial scrutiny that protects the public and the environment is government at its worst. Biden got his deal, and Manchin got his pipeline, but Virginia got the short end of the stick and will be living with the ramifications of this for generations.”

Guardian: It’s not the job of children to fix the climate crisis. We must show them grown-ups are leading the way
Cassy Polimeni is the author of The Garden at the End of the World, 6/14/23

“When I was in primary school my favourite Baby-Sitters Club member was Dawn Schafer, the environmental crusader,” Cassy Polimeni writes for the Guardian. “…It’s easy to wearily suggest kids today have it better. But we didn’t feel that we had to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. We watched Captain Planet, recycled, sometimes picked up extra rubbish if we were being punished or feeling virtuous, but we mostly trusted adults had things in hand. There was never any suggestion it might be too late to turn the ship around. That’s a luxury today’s kids don’t have. They navigate an increasingly complex world, with more awareness than ever before about what is going wrong – and it’s taking a toll. A survey of 10,000 young people in 2021 found 84% were at least moderately worried about climate change, 59% were extremely worried and 45% said it negatively affected their daily life and functioning. The low hum of climate anxiety is building to a roar and it’s having a profound effect on kids’ mental health… “The main difference between writing for children and writing for adults is that stories for young people must have hope, a glimmer of something on the horizon that says: keep going. The real-life Dawns, Greta Thunberg and her ilk, have proven young people can be powerful agents of change, and the narrative has shifted to accommodate and celebrate their voices – and rightly so. But among defiant stories of empowered kids we need to offer reminders that the responsibility isn’t theirs alone; grown-ups are already helping. Children are the future, but we need to lead the way – at least for now. We owe it to them.”

NOLA.com: Editorial: A reasonable path forward for carbon capture
6/15/23

“Geology is complex. But the politics that surround it might be pretty hard to fathom, too. Thus, when a major carbon storage project proposed to put industrial pollution far underground beneath Lake Maurepas, the combination of complex science and not-in-my-backyard fears became toxic,” according to a NOLA.com Staff Editorial. “In the Legislature, there was a curious alliance of generally conservative Republicans from Livingston Parish and elsewhere joining environmentalists to rally against business and industry, for whom carbon capture is an important element of lowering emissions responsible for climate changes. The Livingston Parish project was a flashpoint that led to a number of bills aimed at restricting or even banning carbon capture and its storage underground. Not one of them passed. In part, that is because of the big influence of the oil and gas industry in the State Capitol, but it’s also because the industry had a pretty good case. Louisiana has extensive experience with injection wells and geologists argued that the state is a particularly good site for the practice. It is also backed by Gov. John Bel Edwards, who has made CCS technologies a key point in his climate action plan. Instead of the more extreme reactions, a political solution came from House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales. His House Bill 571 passed unanimously in the Senate and 83-9 in the House. It awaits the governor’s likely signature. The new policy beefs up requirements for public notice and environmental studies before the Class VI wells, already heavily regulated, will be granted permits from state government. The political part is a cut in revenues from particular projects, to go to local governments instead of the state… “The Schexnayder bill imposes some new measures on the process to protect the environment. To that extent, the political process has worked.”

Washington Times: Carbon capture necessary to advance clean hydrogen economy
Jillian Evanko is president and CEO of Chart Industries, 6/14/23

“To support the United States’ efforts to address global climate change and strengthen our energy security, the Department of Energy last week released the nation’s first Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, which aims to increase domestic clean hydrogen production by 400% in 20 years, from 10 million metric tons produced annually by 2030 to 50 million metric tons by 2050,” Jillian Evanko writes for the Washington Times. “This will be no small feat, considering that 95% of hydrogen now produced in the U.S. is made primarily from natural gas, which results in the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. For many, producing hydrogen from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar is the long-term goal. With the technologies and infrastructure available today, however, this method is the most expensive, costing almost five times as much as producing hydrogen from natural gas. These facts suggest it is unrealistic to rely exclusively on renewables to meet the ambitious 2050 production and net-zero targets. Instead, we must do exactly what the road map prescribes and “support opportunities for hydrogen production from diverse energy, including fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage (CCS).” “…CCS is necessary to produce and deploy clean hydrogen at scale, but more is needed to accelerate the deployment of this game-changing technology to meet the administration’s 2050 production targets and net-zero goals. Most urgently, the Biden administration needs to address the Environmental Protection Agency’s permitting backlog of Class VI carbon storage wells. These wells are necessary to store the large amounts of carbon dioxide that will need to be captured if the U.S. is to leverage its natural energy resources, such as natural gas, to increase clean hydrogen production by 400% in the next 20 years… “These permitting delays have all but stalled construction and could add uncertainty that dissuades project developers and investors, ultimately slowing broader decarbonization efforts and the contributions of technologies like clean hydrogen… “By integrating CCS technology into hydrogen production facilities, we can maximize the environmental benefits of clean hydrogen while addressing carbon dioxide emissions.”

Guardian: Whisper it, but the boom in plastic production could be about to come to a juddering halt
Geoffrey Lean is a specialist environment correspondent and author, 6/13/23

“Plastic production has soared some 30-fold since it came into widespread use in the 1960s. We now churn out about 430m tonnes a year, easily outweighing the combined mass of all 8 billion people alive. Left unabated, it continues to accelerate: plastic consumption is due to nearly double by 2050.Now there is a chance that this huge growth will stop, even go into reverse,” Geoffrey Lean writes for the Guardian. “This month in Paris, the world’s governments agreed to draft a new treaty to control plastics. The UN says it could cut production by a massive 80% by 2040. Such a treaty – scheduled for agreement next year – cannot come soon enough. The amount of plastic dumped in the oceans is due to more than double by 2040. Producing single-use plastic alone emits more greenhouse gases than the whole UK. And microplastics have been found in human blood, lungs, livers, kidneys and spleens – and have crossed the placenta. No one knows the full effects on the planet – or the impact of the 3,200 potentially harmful chemicals in plastics on our health. Governments finally began to call a halt in March last year, resolving to “end plastic pollution” at a meeting of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and calling for a series of negotiating meetings on a possible treaty. The recent meeting in Paris was the second such “plastic summit”. Three more are scheduled before the end of next year. Whisper it, but – with hard work, determination and a lot of good luck – the plastics treaty might join the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer as a landmark success in environmental diplomacy… “All in all, some kind of treaty is likely to emerge. How strong and effective it is will depend on how these issues are settled.”

The Hill: Biden, progressives and the perpetual-emergency presidency
Merrill Matthews is a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas, 6/14/23

“Progressive lawmakers are once again calling on President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency, which would give him sweeping new executive powers to do pretty much whatever he wants. It is just one more example of how progressives, who are constantly lecturing the country about the threats to democracy, are eager to ignore the democratically elected members of Congress — and the U.S. Constitution — in order to get their way,” Merrill Matthews writes for The Hill. “According to Bloomberg, “An emergency declaration by President Joe Biden would unlock sweeping executive powers, including blocking crude oil exports and placing other limits on fossil fuels.” The catalyst for the latest climate-emergency demand was Canadian wildfire smoke that settled on much of the northeast, including New York City and Washington, D.C. But progressives don’t really need a catalyst — they just use that to get more media attention. They have been calling on Biden to declare a climate emergency for at least a year… “But note that declaring an emergency is a good idea only when it promotes the Democratic agenda. President Trump declared a national emergency in February 2019 to bypass Congress in an effort to build his border wall on the Southern border, and Democrats adamantly opposed that effort… “The remarkable thing is that these same progressives repeatedly warn the country that democracy is on the verge of collapse. But the biggest threat to U.S. democracy isn’t some state election laws, it’s the effort to create a much more powerful executive who can ignore the duly elected representatives of the people.”

East Bay Times: Opinion: Divest California public employee pensions from fossil fuels
Barbara Parker is the elected City Attorney of Oakland, 6/14/23

“California has long been a leader in the fight against climate change. Having already divested from coal, and given the climate crisis we witness every day, it is past time for the state to put its money where its mouth is and move decisively to completely divest large public employee pensions from the fossil fuel industry,” Barbara Parker writes for the East Bay Times. “Ending funding of this industry is critical to meet local, national and international climate goals. It’s also consistent with my office’s efforts to hold the industry accountable for decades of climate deception and the harms that conduct caused our communities. Six years ago, my office joined other cities and counties in filing lawsuits on behalf of state of California to do just that, but due to the complexities of our court system, many of those lawsuits are moving slowly. Thankfully, Senate Bill 252 provides California’s legislators an immediate opportunity to take real steps to end public investing in this industry. SB 252, the CalPERS and CalSTRS fossil fuel divestment bill, would contribute to international efforts to stop the industry from wreaking havoc on our environment and our communities… “Fossil fuel companies are no longer a wise investment. Since 2010, market values of the four largest fossil fuel companies have dropped by more than 50%… “Finally, divesting from fossil fuel companies is the right thing to do to protect California’s frontline and fenceline communities. Nearly 92 percent of people living within a mile of ongoing or new fossil fuel development in California are people of color. Due to long legacies of systemic racism, these communities are disproportionately impacted by climate change, climate harm and pollution. Continuing to invest in fossil fuels perpetuates these injustices. The Legislature must pass SB 252 this year. This bill is both financially prudent and essential to meeting our collective climate goals.”