EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 6/21/23

PIPELINE NEWS

• The Hill: White House adviser Podesta says controversial pipeline was ‘inevitable’ 

• Reuters: Carbon pipeline faces test in Iowa as opponents challenge permitting timeline

• Des Moines Register: Iowans say regulators plan to fast-track Summit hearing will shortchange landowners

• Pipeline Fighters Hub: VIDEO: Landowners Outraged at Iowa Utilities Board’s August Scheduling of Summit CO2 Pipeline Hearing; Attorneys, Landowners, Iowa State Representatives Share Concerns

• KXNET: CO2 Pipeline Project: Burleigh County Ordinance Map

• Mlive.com: Wisconsin Line 5 shutdown order may disrupt pipeline fight in Michigan

• KMOT: MHA purchase of Enbridge pipeline draws praise, criticism

• Press release: TC Energy’s strategic alignment of 2023 priorities and energy transition, showcased at Sustainable Energy Forum

• BIV.com: British Columbians’ support of TMX increases as pipeline nears completion, survey shows

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• E&E News: How the debt deal would modernize Nixon-era NEPA reviews

• Washington Post: House Republicans probe League of Conservation Voters

STATE UPDATES

• Associated Press: Young plaintiffs’ attorney closes Montana climate change trial with call for action

• Associated Press: Montana officials downplay first-of-its-kind climate trial

• Politico: Meet The Texas Commissioners Who Could Stymie Biden’s Climate Agenda

• Houston Chronicle: Small fishing boats displaced by big LNG in area ravaged by hurricanes

• NM Political Report: Oil and gas setbacks may help protect children from harmful emissions

• WPLN: TVA Proposes Another Methane Gas Plant, This Time Just Outside Nashville 

• NPR: 8 activists in Massachusetts drop their drawers to protest climate change

EXTRACTION

• Reuters: Canada to miss net-zero 2050 emissions goal without further action, energy regulator says

• The Hill: Gas stoves raise indoor levels of cancer-causing benzene, study finds

• Wall Street Journal: Scope 3 Emissions: What Businesses Need to Know

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

• InsideClimate News: UN Adds New Disclosure Requirements For Upcoming COP28, Acknowledging the Toll of Corporate Lobbying

OPINION

• Houston Chronicle: Big Oil companies renege on climate change promises, inviting government regulations

• Upstream: False god or climate-change panacea? Carbon capture needs to secure its place in the energy world

• Portland Press Herald: Opinion: Climate change should never have been made a partisan issue

• Mother Jones: Hollywood Has a Climate Problem
  

PIPELINE NEWS

The Hill: White House adviser Podesta says controversial pipeline was ‘inevitable’ 
RACHEL FRAZIN, 6/20/23

“White House adviser John Podesta said Tuesday that the approval of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) was “inevitable” — defending President Biden’s signing of legislation that advanced the pipeline,” The Hill reports. “MVP was on its way to being permitted anyway,” Podesta said Tuesday following an event announcing funds for sustainable upgrades to federal buildings. “I think MVP was inevitable.” “…The passage of the provision has rankled climate activists, who say the administration should not be bolstering additional fossil fuel infrastructure.”

Reuters: Carbon pipeline faces test in Iowa as opponents challenge permitting timeline
Leah Douglas, 6/20/23

“Iowa regulators will begin a permit hearing for the country’s largest proposed carbon pipeline in August, a timeline that the project’s opponents, including environmental groups and landowners, say doesn’t give them adequate time to prepare,” Reuters reports. “Whether Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions can obtain a permit in its home state, which would house the most pipeline miles of its proposed 2,000-mile, five-state route, is a critical test for the company and the carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry… “Summit told Reuters it supports the timeline. The company expects its pipeline to be operational in 2024, according to its website. Opponents of the project argued at a Tuesday press conference that August is too soon for landowners who may be subject to eminent domain to prepare testimony or retain attorneys. The owners of more than 1,000 plots of land along the proposed Summit route have not yet signed easements with the company, said Jess Mazour, an organizer with the Iowa Sierra Club… “We need to make sure it’s a fair process,” Mazour said of the IUB schedule… “Dan Wahl, a farmer living along the proposed Summit route in Dickinson County who has not signed an easement, said he and other farmers could struggle to participate in the hearing as they could be preoccupied with the farm season in late August. Opposition groups plan to file briefs challenging the hearing schedule this week, Mazour told Reuters.”

Des Moines Register: Iowans say regulators plan to fast-track Summit hearing will shortchange landowners
Donnelle Eller, 6/20/23

“A former Iowa consumer advocate attorney said she’s concerned that state regulators’ schedule to hear Summit Carbon Solution’s request to build a $4.5 billion carbon capture pipeline will shortchange landowners in the project’s pathway,” the Des Moines Register reports. “Anna Ryon, who last month left the Iowa Attorney General’s consumer advocate’s office, joined a press conference Tuesday with representatives of the Sierra Club’s Iowa Chapter, landowners and lawmakers, voicing concerns about the Iowa Utilities Board’s plan to begin hearing Summit’s petition to build a 680-mile carbon capture pipeline across Iowa, beginning Aug. 22 in Fort Dodge… “A big part of the hearing will be Summit’s request to use eminent domain to force the owners of about 1,000 parcels of land to sell them access for the project… “The concern isn’t just that things will be hasty or sloppy,” Ryon said about the speed of the hearing, “but that if the board doesn’t do enough investigation and rushes too much, it will violate the due process of landowners. And when it comes to eminent domain, that’s not the right time to shortchange people on the level of consideration that you’re giving them.” “…The Sierra Club filed a motion Tuesday asking the three-panel board to reconsider the schedule, saying that regulators have failed to require Summit to provide a list of landowners targeted by eminent domain, a highly controversial issue in Iowa. Iowa Rep. Helena Hayes, a Mahaska County Republican, said Tuesday that some lawmakers who support restricting the use of eminent domain plan to write to the Iowa Utilities Board asking that they slow down the evaluation of Summit’s pipeline request… “We’re going to ask them … to give particular attention to due process and hearing out landowners in a fair, open and deliberate manner,” said Hayes, who participated in Tuesday’s online press conference… “Dan Wahl, a northwest Iowa landowner who hoped the hearing would be held early next year, said Tuesday livestock producers will be nearly as busy in August as October. “We don’t plant beans and then go to the lake for four months,” said Wahl, a cattle producer who opposes the project. “There’s no downtime,” from spring through the fall, he said… “The board said in a news release Friday it’s “dedicated to the delivery of well-reasoned decisions in a timely manner, no matter how difficult.”

Pipeline Fighters Hub: VIDEO: Landowners Outraged at Iowa Utilities Board’s August Scheduling of Summit CO2 Pipeline Hearing; Attorneys, Landowners, Iowa State Representatives Share Concerns
6/21/23

“Impacted Iowa landowners, State Representatives and a former attorney from the Office of Consumer Advocate hosted a video telepresser on Tuesday, June 20, to discuss the Iowa Utilities Board’s order on Friday that hearings for the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions permit application, including testimony from hundreds of impacted landowners, is scheduled to begin on August 22, 2023. Speakers addressed the many reasons why the Iowa Utilities Board should not fast-track the Summit hearings. Speakers on the call included: Dan Wahl, an impacted Iowa landowner on proposed Summit route; Anna Ryon, former attorney, Iowa Office of Consumer Advocate; Helena Hayes, Iowa State Representative; and Jessica Mazour, Iowa Sierra Club. Quotes from impacted Iowa landowners: “Summit, Governor Reynolds and the IUB care nothing about the safety of landowners or our private property rights . If they did, they would not be fast-tracking this process before the new PHSMA regulations or even allow them to be considered at all,” said Kathy Stockdale, Hardin County landowner impacted by the proposed Summit project. “As a rural resident impacted by the hazardous carbon pipelines, I wholeheartedly implore individuals to unite their voices and take immediate action by contacting their authorities, including the Iowa Utilities Board. The urgent request is to replace the fast-track schedule for construction of these pipelines with a vital moratorium, so crucial issues for the protection of community interests and the preservation of lives may be addressed. This will require swift, collective effort. Please help!” said Janet Miller, Hardin County ag landowner impacted by the proposed Summit project… “Despite pleadings from landowners, attorneys, and advocates that much more time was needed — to avoid crucial harvest time, and adequately hear from the landowners of more than 1,000 parcels who are challenging eminent domain seizure of their land for a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline, the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) late Friday released an order setting an August start date for the public hearings and intervenor process to hear Summit Carbon Solutions’ application for a permit that would authorize the company to use eminent domain to build the pipeline. Many landowners in Iowa who are fighting eminent domain seizure of their property for these proposed projects are represented by attorney Brian Jorde, with Omaha-based Domina Law Group, and Iowa Easement Team (https://IAeasement.org) and Easement Action Teams LLC (https://easementllc.org). More details on eminent domain and CO2 pipelines: https://pipelinefighters.org.” 

KXNET: CO2 Pipeline Project: Burleigh County Ordinance Map
Christina Randall, 6/20/23

“The Burleigh County Commission has now issued an update on the CO2 Pipeline Project and Summit Carbon Solutions’ legal actions against Burleigh County,” KXNET reports. “Last week, Commissioner Steve Schwab met with an attorney representing Summit Carbon Solutions regarding the topic — and now, a series of maps are available to help outline the plans that the company has in regard to the pipeline… “According to Commissioner Schwab, Summit Carbon Solutions filed a motion with the Public Service Commission declaring that Burleigh County ordinances should be superseded and rescinded. Summit claims those ordinances are keeping the company from building the CO2 Pipeline anywhere in Burleigh County — and that the county has no jurisdiction in the location where the pipeline is being proposed.”

Mlive.com: Wisconsin Line 5 shutdown order may disrupt pipeline fight in Michigan
Sheri McWhirter, 6/21/23

“Those in Michigan who want the Line 5 oil and gas pipeline shut down believe a recent ruling from a federal judge in Wisconsin could impact a pending legal case against Enbridge and disrupt company plans,” Mlive.com reports. “…Enbridge officials said that while the three-year timeline is “arbitrary,” the goal to reroute the pipeline 41 miles around tribal land is achievable if government regulatory agencies grant work permits in a timely fashion. The project, once permitted, would take less than one year to complete, said Ryan Duffy, Enbridge spokesperson. Regardless, the clock is now ticking toward that three-year deadline… “I was very happy because it creates a timeline now for Line 5 to be shut down,” Whitney Gravelle, president at Bay Mills Indian Community in the Upper Peninsula, told Mlive.com. “Ultimately, I think that the ruling is a clear signal to Enbridge as well as to state and federal regulators that there is no point investing further into risky and expensive projects for a pipeline that will inevitably be shut down. And that includes not investing in the Great Lakes tunnel project. I think the writing is on the wall that Line 5 is on life support, and that eventually it will be decommissioned altogether.” “…Both Indigenous tribes and environmental groups contend the dual pipelines are a constant petrochemical spill risk that could pollute hundreds of miles of Great Lakes shorelines at the heart of the continent’s greatest freshwater resource… “In 2021, Canada invoked a 1977 treaty over Michigan’s efforts to close the line, arguing it delivers critical fuel supplies to Ontario and Quebec. The treaty limits actions that could impede energy supplies of either the U.S. or Canada. The President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau administrations remain in negotiations over the treaty invocation.”

KMOT: MHA purchase of Enbridge pipeline draws praise, criticism
Haley Burchett, 6/20/23

“The MHA Nation recently announced a multi-million-dollar purchase of a pipeline from Enbridge,” KMOT reports. “It’s been heralded as the latest economic boom for the tribe, but some tribal members aren’t convinced. MHA nation representatives approached Enbridge and after extended negotiations signed an agreement to buy an unused pipeline and form a partnership… “Chairman Mark Fox praised the move. “That’s how we build new schools, that’s how we build roads, that’s how we provide insurance to 7,000 of our members that never had health insurance before. That’s how we have drug treatment programs, that’s why we’re making a difference, saving lives,” Fox told KMOT… “But some tribal members such as Katherine Young Bear said they’re concerned on whether there will be a return on investment. “We put you in this position now, so this is what our needs are. This is what we’d like to see. They don’t come back to us. Any decision since this oil has gotten here, has never ever come back to the people and say, What do you want? What do you need,” Young Bear told KMOT… “A spokesperson for Enbridge said it’s a big boost for the tribe.”

Press release: TC Energy’s strategic alignment of 2023 priorities and energy transition, showcased at Sustainable Energy Forum
6/20/23

“TC Energy Corporation is hosting a Sustainable Energy Forum today to highlight the Company’s role in enabling the energy transition while delivering long-term shareholder value. Today’s event includes presentations from TC Energy President and CEO François Poirier, Bruce Power President and CEO Mike Rencheck, and senior leaders at the forefront of the Company’s sustainable energy strategy. TC Energy’s highly integrated North American asset base is enabling the energy transition and supporting the path to net zero by 2050. More than 60 per cent of its $34 billion total secured capital program is directly funding solutions to support global climate goals while unlocking access to secure, reliable and affordable energy across North America and the world. In line with its disciplined approach to capital allocation and risk and return preferences, the Company expects its investments in these capital projects will: Enable the displacement of higher emitting fuels by safely transporting and extending the reach of North American natural gas. Decarbonize its asset base through electrification and renewable power. Capitalize on low-carbon opportunities, primarily focused on Bruce Power and firming capacity. “…Analyzing a wide range of energy scenarios, we continue to see natural gas and liquids playing a critical role, and our assets are strategically positioned to connect low-cost supply to critical markets,” said Poirier… “Through its methane reduction strategy, since 2019, it has reduced its absolute methane emissions by 14 per cent, while increasing throughput by 11 per cent, and growing comparable earnings before interest taxes debt and amortization (EBITDA) in its natural gas business by 20 per cent. “As we further strengthen our resilience, driving our long-term value proposition, we are committed to remaining aligned with our investors and society’s expectations. Demonstrating this, we have obtained limited assurance on our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions inventory, while proactively increasing our voluntary emissions disclosures and conducting further assessments of our Scope 3 emissions.”

BIV.com: British Columbians’ support of TMX increases as pipeline nears completion, survey shows
Mario Canseco, 6/20/23

“British Columbians have spent almost a decade pondering the benefits and drawbacks of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion,” BIV.com reports. “In January 2014, support for the proposed project – which sought to twin an existing pipeline between Alberta’s Strathcona County and Burnaby, and raise the nominal capacity of the system to 890,000 barrels a day – stood at 48 per cent, with opposition at 43 per cent. Four years later, in May 2018, the federal government paid $4.5 billion to purchase the Trans Mountain Pipeline, as well as its proposed expansion, from Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI)… “Earlier this month, Research Co. and Glacier Media analyzed the views of British Columbians and Albertans on the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion. The surveys outline an increase in public support in one province, and steady numbers in the other. More than half of British Columbians (55 per cent) told us that they agree with the decision to re-approve the expansion, while 24 per cent disagree and 21 per cent are undecided. This represents a four-point increase in support for the project since our July 2022 survey… “In Alberta, the needle has barely moved, with 67 per cent of residents (down two points since 2022) agreeing with the decision to re-approve the pipeline expansion, while only 15 per cent disagree (unchanged) and 17 per cent (down two points) are undecided.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

E&E News: How the debt deal would modernize Nixon-era NEPA reviews
Niina H. Farah, 6/20/23

“The federal government is weighing a 21st-century makeover to environmental reviews that could significantly change how quickly energy projects are analyzed and approved,” E&E News reports. “President Joe Biden signed the debt ceiling deal, known as the Fiscal Responsibility Act, into law earlier this month, and in the process approved $500,000 in funding for the White House Council on Environmental Quality to explore a unified online portal to track National Environmental Policy Act reviews, streamlining the internal process for agency analyses of major projects like pipelines and highways — as well as revamping publicly available information. The process would also examine how information is presented within NEPA reviews themselves, adding new features like animation and 3D modeling. The reforms aim to make reviews more efficient for project developers and understandable to the public… “Dinah Bear, a former CEQ general counsel for both Republican and Democratic administrations, said during a recent press conference that a unified NEPA portal is long overdue. She questioned why Congress directed a study rather than beginning the process of creating a system immediately. “It should just be done,” she said. “CEQ has for a long time wanted electronic availability for agencies — not just for the applicants’ benefit, but for the agencies’ benefit.” “…The funding in the debt ceiling deal comes alongside other NEPA reforms in the legislation, such as requiring page limits for reviews and shifting responsibility for certain analyses to project developers. Those changes have drawn mixed reviews from legal experts. Some environmental groups warn efforts to speed the pace of reviews could compromise the quality of analysis and cede too much power to project developers. But supporters of reform say the current approach means projects are bogged down with years of unnecessary delays.”

Washington Post: House Republicans probe League of Conservation Voters
Maxine Joselow, 6/21/23

“Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee yesterday sent a letter to the League of Conservation Voters expressing concern that the environmental group potentially violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act,” the Washington Post reports. “The lawmakers wrote that they are concerned about LCV’s “potential funding by foreign nationals.” They noted that since 2016, the Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss has donated $245 million to the Sixteen Thirty Fund and the New Venture Fund, which in turn have contributed to LCV. The Wyss Foundation also issued a grant of $210,000 to the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund in 2020. Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, foreign nationals such as Wyss are prohibited from contributing either directly or indirectly to domestic political campaigns… “Asked for comment on the letter, LCV spokesman David Willett told the Post: “LCV & related entities comply fully with the law. We will review the letter to determine our appropriate response.”

STATE UPDATES

Associated Press: Young plaintiffs’ attorney closes Montana climate change trial with call for action
AMY BETH HANSON AND MATTHEW BROWN, 6/20/23

“An attorney for 16 young plaintiffs urged a judge Tuesday to strike down as unconstitutional a Montana law that prohibits state agencies from considering the environmental effects when it weighs permits allowing the release of greenhouse gases,” the Associated Press reports. “Attorney Nate Bellinger made the plea in his closing argument at the end of a seven-day trial. Plaintiffs say state officials violated their right to a clean and healthful environment, part of the Montana Constitution, by allowing companies to build power plants and expand coal mines, among other things. “Like other monumental constitutional cases before, the state of Montana comes before this court because of a pervasive systemic infringement of rights,” Bellinger said… “Montana Assistant Attorney General Michael Russell said in the state’s closing Tuesday that the climate change issue is much larger than Montana can address on its own. He said calls by the plaintiffs for the state to take the lead in addressing climate change was a social statement, not a legal argument. The case put on by the young plaintiffs was a “weeklong airing of political grievances that properly belong in the Legislature, not a court of law,” he said… “Emily Flower, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Austin Knudsen, described the trial as a “publicity stunt staged by an out-of-state organization that is exploiting well-intentioned children.” “…Anyone who has any questions about the legitimacy of the plaintiffs’ claims wasn’t listening at trial last week,” Julia Olson, the group’s founder, told AP in response to Flower’s statement. She noted that the evidence presented by the young people and by scientists for the plaintiffs was largely uncontested by the state’s attorneys. “The trial has shown the facts are irrefutable,” Olson told AP.”

Associated Press: Montana officials downplay first-of-its-kind climate trial
MATTHEW BROWN and AMY BETH HANSON, 6/19/23

“Montana officials sought to downplay a first-of-its-kind trial taking place over the state’s obligations to protect residents from climate change, saying Monday that a victory by the young plaintiffs would not change approvals for fossil fuel projects,” the Associated Press reports. “Attorneys for Montana’s Republican attorney general laid out their defense following a week of often emotional testimony in state court from young people who sued the state in 2020… “Final arguments were expected Tuesday — days earlier than scheduled after the state did not call one expert witness who was expected to testify and sharply limited the testimony of a second expert. Plaintiffs’ attorneys had questioned the credibility of the two witnesses, who said Montana’s greenhouse gas contributions were of little significance versus global totals… “Attorneys for the state did not closely question any of the plaintiffs’ claims about the physical and psychological harms they’ve suffered. An expert for the state who was expected to downplay the severity of climate change — Judith Curry with the Climate Forecast Applications Network — was not called to testify. The plaintiffs alleged Curry has cherry-picked scientific data to minimize global warming. Emily Flower, a spokewoman for Attorney General Austin Knudsen, told AP the decision not to put Curry on the stand was due to “strategy changes.”

Politico: Meet The Texas Commissioners Who Could Stymie Biden’s Climate Agenda
Ben Lefebvre, 6/20/23

“Christi Craddick earns tens of thousands of dollars from oil company stocks, has taken industry-paid flights and threw a campaign event hosted by one of Texas’ biggest petroleum producers. She’s also the state’s top oil and gas regulator, heading an agency that could pose a huge roadblock to one of President Joe Biden’s key climate policies,” Politico reports. “As chair of the elected Texas Railroad Commission, Craddick oversees fossil fuel companies that provide a large chunk of the United States’ greenhouse gas pollution, including the potent gas methane. The agency’s three Republican commissioners oppose a Biden administration push to tighten oversight of methane releases, a rule that Craddick has called an “attack on the industry that provides so much to our state.”

Houston Chronicle: Small fishing boats displaced by big LNG in area ravaged by hurricanes
Amanda Drane, 6/17/23

“A natural gas tanker docked at Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass loomed large as Phillip “Rooster” Dyson Jr.’s small shrimp boat rolled by in the Calcasieu Ship Channel,” the Houston Chronicle reports. “The narrow waterway in western Louisiana isn’t big enough for the both of them, Dyson told the Chronicle. His boat gets diverted around three times a week by the big ships — disruptions that can last several hours and cost him as much as $5,000 a night in lost revenue. The few big ships coming in and out of the channel now are just the start. Houston-based Commonwealth LNG plans to develop a facility along the channel and Virginia-based Venture Global is already planning to expand its operations at the channel’s mouth in Cameron Parish, La. Hurricanes are battering the fishing industry, but advocates tell the Chronicle gas export facilities are swooping in with what could be the fatal blow. The specter of further disruption to the Gulf Coast fishing industry comes as fast-growing LNG trade is flooding an area already devastated by hurricanes. The latest major hurricane to wallop Cameron Parish, La., was Hurricane Laura in 2020. It roared ashore with an 18-foot storm surge and 150 mph winds that tore buildings from their foundations, killing 47 people and causing $19 billion in damage. It was the most powerful storm to make landfall in Louisiana since 1856… “He told the Chronicle he understands why so many fishermen in Cameron have decided to go work at Venture Global’s LNG facility instead of trying to make a living in fishing. “Everybody from Cameron that works there was a fisherman.” 

NM Political Report: Oil and gas setbacks may help protect children from harmful emissions
Hannah Grover, 6/20/23

“Environmental advocates say a moratorium on future oil and gas leasing on state lands within a mile of schools is a good first step in protecting children’s health, but more needs to be done to ensure the industry that largely funds the state’s education system doesn’t also poison the students,” according to NM Political Report. “State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard issued the moratorium in May. She told the Report various studies about the impacts of oil and gas emissions on children’s health prompted her to take action. But, at the same time, she acknowledged that oil and gas development will continue close to schools because much of the state trust land is already leased and new leases can also occur on other lands, including private and federally managed lands. This is why state-wide setbacks are needed, Kayley Shoup, a community organizer in the Permian Basin, told the Report… “A lot of the state trust land in this area within a mile of schools is already being developed,” she told the Report. Because the moratorium only applies to future leasing, it does not impact those parcels that are already being developed or have already been leased for future development. Additionally, it only impacts state trust lands. Federal, Tribal and private lands are not impacted by the moratorium… “Garcia Richard agreed that statewide setbacks are needed. That could require action from the Legislature or possibly the governor. “This is a first step but it’s not enough to really protect, not only kids, but families and New Mexicans…We need broad setback requirements in statute,” she told the Report. “Frankly, it needs to go beyond just what the State Land Office can do. We need statewide leadership on this issue.”

WPLN: TVA Proposes Another Methane Gas Plant, This Time Just Outside Nashville 
Carikube Eggers, 6/16/23

“In the past year, the Tennessee Valley Authority has proposed nearly 4 gigawatts of new fossil fuel generation — or about 10% of the utility’s current electricity capacity,” WPLN repots. “TVA approved plans for a large gas turbine at Cumberland in January and proposed gas peaker plants for its notorious Kingston site in May. It just revealed plans to burn more gas on land right outside of Nashville. On the same day that TVA announced that it was starting a new study of its power system, the authority outlined a plan for a methane gas plant, a 12-mile pipeline and a battery system in Cheatham County, on a site near Ashland City that would generate 900 megawatts of power.”

NPR: 8 activists in Massachusetts drop their drawers to protest climate change
6/16/23

“When the activists dropped their pants during a debate at the statehouse, they reveal the words — “STOP PASSING GAS” — written on their backsides. They were all wearing pink thongs,” NPR reports. “Eight climate activists in Massachusetts wanted to draw attention to their cause so they lowered their drawers. During a debate at the statehouse, they dropped their pants to reveal the words, stop passing gas, written on their – you know, where gas would come from. Well, at least they were wearing pink thongs. The protesters were escorted out of the chamber and charged with trespassing and indecent exposure. Fighting fossil fuels one cheek at a time.”

EXTRACTION

Reuters: Canada to miss net-zero 2050 emissions goal without further action, energy regulator says
Rod Nickel, 6/20/23

“Canada will fall short of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, unless it takes actions beyond the efforts already underway, the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) said on Tuesday,” Reuters reports. “…The possibility that the world’s fourth-largest oil producer may miss its net-zero goal shows the challenge of cutting emissions on a national scale despite the urgency of global warming. “…The report said Canadian oil production will continue to grow until late this decade due to high prices, even if Canada steps up emissions-cutting efforts. In its most optimistic scenario, in which Canada reaches net-zero by 2050 through new actions and the world limits global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, Canadian crude production would peak in 2026. Output would fall to 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2050, from a record 5 million bpd in 2022. In a scenario in which Canada achieves net-zero by 2050 but the rest of the world moves more slowly, Canadian oil production would rise until 2029, the report said. Under the third scenario, in which Canada and the world take little additional action to reduce emissions, Canadian oil production would peak in 2035… “Electricity demand will double by 2050 if Canada achieves the 2050 goal, the CER said.”

The Hill: Gas stoves raise indoor levels of cancer-causing benzene, study finds
RACHEL FRAZIN, 6/16/23

“Using gas-powered stoves and ovens can raise the levels of the cancer-causing chemical benzene in a home, according to a new study,”  reports. “The study, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, looked at 87 stoves in California and Colorado. Researchers found that gas and propane stoves and ovens emitted significantly more benzene than electric alternatives.  Long-term exposure to benzene can cause blood cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gas stoves have previously been found to leak benzene and have also been linked to childhood asthma.  Whether to regulate gas-powered appliances has been a topic of debate in Washington, particularly after one regulator floated a ban earlier this year. Many Republicans have been particularly staunch advocates against bans or regulations on gas stoves, while the White House has also said that it opposes a ban. Looking at a subset of 17 homes with 33 distinct burners or ovens, the researchers found that setting the gas or propane burners on high or the ovens to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes raised benzene levels in all kitchens. They also found that in 29 percent of cases — judging each burner or oven as an individual case — kitchen benzene concentrations were found to be above the chemical levels found in secondhand tobacco smoke.” 

Wall Street Journal: Scope 3 Emissions: What Businesses Need to Know
David Breg, 6//19/23

“What are Scope 3 emissions?” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says Scope 3 emissions are the result of activities from assets not owned or controlled by the reporting organization, but that the organization indirectly impacts in its value chain. Specifically, Scope 3 includes the indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of a company from all sources, with the exception of direct emissions from an organization’s operations (Scope 1) and indirect emissions from purchased energy (Scope 2)… “While these difficulties exist in Scope 1 & 2 reporting, they are magnified for Scope 3 because of a variety of factors, including the lack of reliable data and lack of validation of that data, the greater variation in methodologies and the fact Scope 3 emissions often dominate a company’s total footprint. For example, Scope 3 emissions may be responsible for as much as 88 percent of the overall emissions from the oil and gas industry, due largely to distributing the end product, the emissions created in their use and disposing the waste… “It’s also important to note that companies generally have limited visibility into and control of their suppliers, and are frequently challenged to know how customers use their products… “The Securities and Exchange Commission in March 2022 released a proposal requiring public companies to report their emissions, including in many instances their Scope 3 emissions… “Under the proposed rules, some registrants also would be required to disclose Scope 3 emissions if such emissions were material to investors or if the company had made a commitment that included reference to Scope 3 emissions… “EU officials, who met with Mr. Gensler and industry representatives in Washington during April 2023, said the bloc would be unlikely to treat the U.S. disclosure rule as comparable to their own if Scope 3 requirements aren’t included in the SEC’s final rule.”

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

InsideClimate News: UN Adds New Disclosure Requirements For Upcoming COP28, Acknowledging the Toll of Corporate Lobbying
Bob Berwyn, 6/18/23

“The final, overtime hours of the COP27 global climate talks in Egypt last year were marked by breathless huddles and cajoling in side rooms and lounges as fatigued negotiators tried to finalize a loss and damage deal and decide whether to mention a fossil fuel phase-out in the final conference documents,” InsideClimate News reports. “In those settings, lobbyists for fossil fuel industry interests have long-obstructed and delayed the actions needed to curb global warming, Rachel Rose Jackson, with Corporate Accountability, a nonprofit policy watchdog group, told ICN. But that will change with new transparency rules taking effect for the COP28 registration process starting this week, she told ICN. “When people log in to register for badges, there will be an announcement that says there’s a new rule,” she told ICN. “Disclosure of affiliation will be mandatory and will be listed publicly.” The rule closes a small but significant loophole that enabled lobbyists to participate under the banners of nations or organizations without disclosing corporate ties publicly, she told ICN. The new procedure includes optional questions about the details of registrants’ relationships with the entities they represent, for example whether they are on the board, or an employee… “Questions about growing petro-industrial influence at the climate talks have been percolating for years and spiked in 2022 at COP27 in Sharm el Sheikh, where more than 600 lobbyists for petro-industrial interests dwarfed the delegations from many countries, which were literally outnumbered because they can’t afford to send representatives to every one of the numerous and often simultaneous meetings. Then Sultan al Jaber, a United Arab Emirates state industry minister and CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, was appointed to the presidency of COP28, set for early December in his home country… “Notably, Al Jaber has not even temporarily relinquished his position with ADNOC, Sébastien Duyck, a senior attorney with the Center for International Environmental Law who tracks the climate talks, told ICN. Instead, COP28 organizers are ramping up a public relations campaign designed to showcase the importance of the fossil fuel industry in the talks, Duyck told ICN.” 

OPINION

Houston Chronicle: Big Oil companies renege on climate change promises, inviting government regulations
Chris Tomlinson, 6/19/23

“Chief executives at big corporations frequently make grand promises about solving the world’s problems, but predictably, those pledges disappear when shareholders demand profits, not good deeds,” Chris Tomlinson writes for the Houston Chronicle. “Big Oil companies are rolling back their goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, develop clean energy technologies, and slow global warming. The flip-flops prove that when it comes to protecting the planet, only government regulation and enforcement will bring real change. Shell’s new CEO backtracked this week on promises to reduce oil production and fight climate change. CEO Wael Sawan’s new strategy focuses instead on generating more cash for shareholders and follows a similar decision by BP’s new CEO Bernard Looney to maintain fossil fuel production at a time when scientists insist we must cut back. I’ve tried to keep an open mind for the past nine years, acknowledging that Big Oil must play a significant role in reducing fossil fuel combustion to keep from overheating the planet. I’ve praised European oil firms for taking the lead. Generally, I believe market forces more efficiently shape industry decisions than direct regulation. But when corporate leaders put profits over people, governments must step in with a heavy hand… “U.S. oil giants Chevron and Exxon Mobil have not spent tens of billions on clean energy or made serious climate promises. They are doubling down on fossil fuels. Wall Street in return values these companies’ stock at twice the price of their more environmentally minded European peers, despite all of them making record profits last year… “No oil company CEO should expect anyone to take their promises seriously or trust the market’s invisible hand to guide the industry toward smart climate solutions. As our planet warms and our environment deteriorates, it’s time to demand our elected officials release the hounds on these polluters who betray humanity.”

Upstream: False god or climate-change panacea? Carbon capture needs to secure its place in the energy world
Editorial, 6/21/23

“There are 200 carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects on the drawing board that could play a major role in saving the world from runaway climate change,” the Upstream Editorial Board writes. “But what if these schemes don’t work as expected? Who pays for them if problems arise and need remedies later on, after operators’ responsibilities cease? As CCS advances, are its champions downplaying the risks? These are the among the questions raised in a new report from the US-based Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis (IEEFA)…”

Portland Press Herald: Opinion: Climate change should never have been made a partisan issue
Alan Caron is a small business owner in Freeport and the founder of ClimateWork Maine, an organization of businesses taking action on climate, 6/17/23

“The scientists have been warning us about climate change for half a century. But it always seemed a far off possibility that technology and time might take care of. So most people just went on with their lives, ignoring the repeated warnings of what they were told were limelight-seeking scientists and wild-eyed environmentalists. Now, regrettably, too much time has been wasted and the list of things we can avoid is shrinking,” Alan Caron writes for the Portland Press Herald. “…For many of my Republican friends, climate change used to be a big joke. ‘Where’s your global warming now?’, they’d ask, whenever a cold day came along. They’d cackle about how much they’d welcome the longer summers and milder winters, if they ever came. Now, they’re beginning to grasp that warmer air and water also bring other things, including smoke in the sky, more bugs, unfamiliar diseases, droughts, flood and stress on plants and animals, including us. I wonder if they’ll ever understand how they got duped by the oil and gas crowd, funding its fake science questioning whether climate change was real or not, and bankrolling all those politicians to parrot their nonsense. I wonder if they’ll ever understand that all the lobbying in Washington to stop climate action – still going on every minute now – was really about protecting the deep pockets of fossil fuel billionaire donors. Who will they blame as the damage keeps advancing closer to home? I suspect it will be all the usual targets – liberals,  environmentalists, scientists, the media and government – anyone but the faces in their own mirrors. A lot of people put their faith in government – or at least government under Democratic control – to fix the climate problem. Government certainly has a big role to play. But it’s susceptible to unexpected changes of the guard, zig-zag policies, the power of big money and the politics of gridlock. More is needed. I suspect that the ordinary citizens of this state, and the country as a whole, are going to need to take matters into their own hands.”

Mother Jones: Hollywood Has a Climate Problem
KENDRA PIERRE-LOUIS, 6/20/23

“This past December, as my mailbox overflowed with screener DVDs of prestige films and television shows designed to capture my vote for the Writers Guild of America Awards, I did what any respectable resident of cozy season would do: I pressed play on Partner Track, a playful romantic comedy series that the Netflix algorithm had been trying to convince me to watch for months,” Kendra Pierre-Louis writes for Mother Jones. “…The show delivered on the trailer’s promise. But it also delivered something else—a stealth climate change plotline. In her attempt to make partner, Yun works hard to close a deal wherein a large oil company, the ironically named Sun Corp, seeks to buy a smaller, family­-run firm called Min Enterprises. But in a twist that’s absent from the book on which the series is based, Sun Corp ultimately has one goal in mind: gutting Min’s clean energy division. That surprised me… “We always said that the goal of this show is to be a fun, frothy rom-com,” Georgia Lee, Partner Track’s showrunner, told MJ. “But if we’re able to sneak in some commentary about stuff like structural racism and sexism, then we would be happy to do that. And if we can give a message about clean energy and the environment, so much the better.”” I’d reached out to Lee because I wanted to understand why she included climate change themes on the show, since so many shows don’t. A 2022 analysis by the USC Norman Lear Center’s Media Impact Project and the nonprofit consultancy Good Energy looked at 37,453 film and TV scripts produced between 2016 and 2020 and found climate references in only about 3 percent of the episodes… “Television (and streaming) are important because, well, we watch a lot—about three hours a day on average, according to the American Time Use Survey. The less we see climate change themes onscreen, the less inclined we are to take climate action. As Nina Metz, a television and film critic for the Chicago Tribune, recently pointed out, “The media we consume isn’t just entertainment. It seeps into our subconscious. And it shapes the way we think about the world, and the way we think about what’s possible.” By that metric, what many of us think is possible is…nothing. While we dread the impacts of global warming, we often cope by ignoring the issue. According to a 2022 report from Yale’s Program on Climate Change Communication, two-thirds of Americans rarely or never discuss climate change with family and friends, and less than a quarter say they hear people they know talking about climate change at least once a month. We can’t fix a problem we don’t talk about.”