EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 6/22/23

PIPELINE NEWS

• KELO: Pipeline survey teams arrive unannounced on South Dakota farm

• KXLG: Pipeline Survey equipment shows up at Aberdeen area farm, landowners feel abandoned

• Dakota Free Press: Summit Carbon Solutions Wrecking Beans, Digging Deep Holes and Trenches on Farm on Proposed CO2 Pipeline Route

• South Dakota Public Broadcasting: Iowa landowners sue Summit over CO2 transportation method

• Mitchell Republic: Lincoln County advances pipeline ordinance establishing setbacks

• KIWA: Some State Lawmakers To Ask IUB To Slow Summit Pipeline Process

• Charles City Press: Summit Carbon wants to add ‘lateral’ pipeline through Floyd and Mitchell counties to Absolute Energy ethanol plant

• KGAN: Jones County local political parties unite for carbon dioxide pipeline presentation

• Belmond News: Citizens ask questions about pipeline

• WCBU: Wolf Carbon Solutions files application to construct carbon capture pipeline that would pass through Peoria, Stark, and Tazewell counties

• WICS: Potential CO2 pipeline in Central Illinois faces local pushback

• Wisconsin Public Radio: DNR review of Enbridge plan to reroute Line 5 is progressing as judge orders partial shutdown

• Natural Gas Intelligence: A Faster Way to Reduce CO2 Emissions? Export More North American Natural Gas, Says TC Energy CEO

• WV News: Mountain Valley Pipeline developers focused on ‘remaining authorizations’

• Energy News Network: For tree-sitter, no hiding from heartbreak of deal to greenlight Mountain Valley Pipeline

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• Washington Post: In ‘Cancer Alley,’ a key Biden climate push draws fire from environmentalists

• E&E News: VP Harris urged climate activism. Now protesters are targeting her gala.

• Press release: People vs. Fossil Fuels, 255+ orgs, and 50,000+ Individuals Deliver Petition to U.S. Department of Justice: End Opposition to Youth Climate Case!

• Politico: Congress is stuck on rewriting permit rules. SCOTUS brought its wrecking ball.

• E&E News: Senate Budget hearing to tie ‘dark money’ to ‘Big Oil’

• Wyofile: Facing staunch opposition, BLM extends Public Lands Rule deadline

• Washington Post: Biden taps Eric Beightel to lead permitting council 

STATE UPDATES

• Common Dreams: 100+ Scientists to Newsom: Stop Oil and Gas Drilling in California—Especially Near Homes

• Carlsbad Current-Argus: Heinrich, Lujan call for tougher federal rules on oil and gas methane pollution

• Denver Post: Back-to-back earthquakes shake Southern Colorado

EXTRACTION

• Wall Street Journal: Oil Drillers Are Saving the Planet and Their Investors

• Western Standard: Alberta energy minister says rumours of oil’s demise greatly exaggerated

• Bloomberg: ‘Culture Wars’ Are Risking Paralysis of Europe’s Green Deal

• Bloomberg: NASA Studies GHGSat Methane Data Amid Race for Climate Solutions

• Canary Media: Inside Charm Industrial’s multimillion-dollar bid to remove CO2 with plants

CLIMATE FINANCE

• Washington Post: Red states are targeting ESG investing. Businesses are pushing back.

• E&E News: States shrug off warnings, plow ahead with anti-ESG laws

• Bloomberg: EU Banks Expand Risk Scenarios They Face From Climate Change

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

• Enbridge: With support from Enbridge and others, Construction Foundation of BC’s Sky Keepers equips Indigenous women with employment readiness training

OPINION

• Cedar Rapids Gazette: Carbon pipelines pose a risk

• Bloomberg: Climate Change and Poverty Are Our Era’s Existential Battles

• VT Digger: Letter to the editor: Why are you lending your platform to climate change denialism?

• Guardian: Canada is on fire, and big oil is the arsonist
  

PIPELINE NEWS

KELO: Pipeline survey teams arrive unannounced on South Dakota farm
Tom Rooney, 6/21/23

“They say it’s another example of heavy-handed treatment of South Dakota landowners. Armed with the legal threat of contempt of court, Survey crews from Summit Solutions pipeline company arrived at a farm near Aberdeen yesterday,” KELO reports. “Ed Fischbach is among the farmers opposed to the carbon capture pipelines. He told KELO they feel abandoned by state officials as they try to protect their land… “This was the second time pipeline survey crews have come on his property.  And, it appears Aberdeen area farmer Jared Bossly can do little about it.  Fischbach told KELO two South Dakota judges have ruled against landowners trying to protect their land. Bossly, Fischbach and other pipeline opponents say it’s an act of intimidation. A judge recently told Bossly to stay clear of the crews, or face contempt of court charges. Fischbach told KELO it fits a pattern followed by the Summit Pipeline company.”

KXLG: Pipeline Survey equipment shows up at Aberdeen area farm, landowners feel abandoned
Tom Rooney, 6/21/23

“Two weeks ago, he was threatened with contempt of court. Today, heavy survey equipment from the Summit Pipeline company arrived at his farm, accompanied by law enforcement officers,” KXLG reports. “Aberdeen area farmer Jared Bossly is opposed to Summit’s Carbon Capture pipeline. Neighbor Ed Fischbach (FISH-back) describes the scene… Fischbach says landowners feel abandoned by state leaders… The Public Utilities Commission will hold the Carbon Capture Pipelines hearings later this summer.”

Dakota Free Press: Summit Carbon Solutions Wrecking Beans, Digging Deep Holes and Trenches on Farm on Proposed CO2 Pipeline Route
CORY ALLEN HEIDELBERGER, 6/20/23

“The South Dakota law—SDCL 21-35-31—that Iowa Republican corporate bosses are using to invade private land without permission to build their for-profit/subsidy carbon dioxide pipeline says that those corporate Republican invaders may enter the targeted private property “for the purpose of the examination and survey” necessary for its proposed pipeline,” Dakota Free Press reports. “I didn’t know that examining and surveying land included driving heavy equipment across a planted bean field and drilling 90-foot holes: Such is the activity a Dakota Free Press correspondent reports taking place on Jared Bossly’s farm in Brown County today. Without Bossly’s consent, contractors for Summit Carbon Solutions appear to have driven heavy equipment out into Bossly’s bean crop and started drilling holes 90 feet deep. My correspondent also reports the pipeliners plan to dig some trenches on Bossly’s land 10 to 12 feet deep. All this without any permit from the Public Utilities Commission to actually build the pipeline or any court hearing granting Summit Carbon Solutions eminent domain over Bossly’s land. My correspondent reports this taking was conducted under the watchful eye of law enforcement and pickup trucks parked all around the farm.”

South Dakota Public Broadcasting: Iowa landowners sue Summit over CO2 transportation method
Evan Walton, 6/21/23

“A group of Iowa landowners is suing Summit Carbon Solutions in an effort to halt development of a proposed CO2 pipeline,” South Dakota Public Broadcasting reports. “Brain Jorde, an attorney who represents multiple landowners across Iowa impacted by Summit’s planned route, filed a motion to dismiss Summit’s application through the Iowa Utilities Board. Jorde argues the board does not have the authority to approve the form of “supercritical” carbon dioxide Summit plans to transport. Currently, regulations in Iowa state that the Utilities Commission has authority over pipelines transporting CO2 in a liquid state. Summit has said it plans to transport CO2 in supercritical form. That’s when liquid exists in a high-temperature, high-pressure condition… “Summit objected the motion and called the action ‘unduly burdensome’ and ‘irrelevant.’ Similar litigation has not yet been used by South Dakota landowners against Summit or Navigator CO2.”

Mitchell Republic: Lincoln County advances pipeline ordinance establishing setbacks
Hunter Dunteman, 6/21/23

“Lincoln County planning officials have advanced a pipeline ordinance that creates larger-than-expected setbacks from municipalities,” the Mitchell Republic reports. “With a 3-2 vote, the Lincoln County Planning Commission on Tuesday, June 20, advanced a citizen-initiated text amendment to zoning ordinances of the county that particularly targeted how pipelines are regulated. As Summit Carbon Solutions and Navigator CO2 Ventures are both planning to construct carbon pipelines through the state, the original citizen-initiated amendment called for varying setbacks based on a multitude of criteria, specifically requiring that pipelines be set back at least: 2,000 feet from dwellings, churches, businesses and eligible sites; A half-mile from public parks, schools and health care facilities; A half-mile from municipalities of 500 or fewer population; Three-quarters of a mile from municipalities between 500 and 5,000 population; One mile from municipalities of 5,000 or more population. The Planning Commission, however, revised those setbacks, significantly decreasing the distance from dwellings, churches and businesses to 750 feet but sharply increasing the distance from cities and towns to one mile, regardless of size. The discussion came as Fairview resident Scott Montgomery provided the commission with statistics on the number of pipeline incidents in the United States and the damages they’ve caused. “Look at the incident rate, look at what happens with the other pipelines. On average, there’s just shy of two incidents per day,” he said. “People are killed with these pipelines. Property damage is in the billions of dollars.” He specifically pointed to Satartia, Mississippi, where a carbon dioxide pipeline ruptured in 2022, injuring at least 40 people. “That pipeline was outside the danger area of Satartia. The pipeline people kept saying there were no OSHA incidents. OSHA doesn’t record incidents of people being injured who don’t work for the company,” Montgomery said. “There were people that were injured there and … will not recover. We’re just asking for you to help us.” Determining a safe distance for cities and towns from the pipeline and variations of the distance based on size was one item some commission members took issue with, noting that the rule might hinder smaller towns from freely growing in all directions. “If you’ve got a half-mile setback from these smaller communities, and these communities start developing and growing, all of a sudden they’re not going to be able to develop anymore because they have this pipeline within a half-mile,” said Commissioner Collin Enstead. “What happens if Hudson starts growing or Davis starts growing? If the pipeline is a half-mile from that town, is that going to hinder the development of these smaller communities?”

KIWA: Some State Lawmakers To Ask IUB To Slow Summit Pipeline Process
TABITHA MCHUGH, 6/21/23

“A group of landowners, lawmakers, and environmentalists are speaking out after the Iowa Utilities Board announced it would move the hearing on the proposed Summit Carbon pipeline from October to August,” KIWA reports. “Anna Ryon, a former attorney with the Iowa Office of Consumer Advocate, says the landowner testimony was moved to first in the hearing along with the change in the date. Ryon spoke during a conference call hosted by the Sierra Club, and says the new schedule puts the issue on the fast track and will make it tough for landowners to find the help they need. Ryon says landowners are forced to sort of defend their land against eminent domain before actually hearing the pipeline company’s case. State Representative Helena Hayes, a Republican from Mahaska County, says the House did pass a bill 73-20 that did several things, including requiring 90 percent voluntary easements before the IUB could grant the eminent domain for pipelines… “The Sierra Club’s Jessica Mazour says they are calling for the hearing to be delayed. She says they are concerned that with two new members on the Utilities Board, the new members are unaware of past processes and the detailed work that goes into this decision-making process.”

Charles City Press: Summit Carbon wants to add ‘lateral’ pipeline through Floyd and Mitchell counties to Absolute Energy ethanol plant
Bob Steenson, 6/21/23

“One of the companies proposing to build a liquid carbon dioxide pipeline through Floyd County has started the process to be allowed to also build another length of pipeline from the current path near Rockford north to near Minnesota,” the Charles City Press reports. “Summit Carbon Solutions had announced earlier this month that it has signed an agreement with Absolute Energy, an ethanol plant in Mitchell County near the Minnesota border, to capture and transport that plant’s CO2 as part of Summit’s multi-state Midwest Carbon Express pipeline… “This week, Summit filed a request with the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) to schedule public informational hearings with property owners in Floyd and Mitchell counties who would be affected by the additional 31-mile “Absolute Energy lateral.” As part of the process of getting a permit from the IUB, pipeline companies must hold public information meetings with a member of the IUB, company officials and a member of the Iowa Office of Consumer Advocate, and individually invite all property owners within a corridor area where the underground pipeline is proposed to be built.Summit is requesting that IUB schedule a meeting in Floyd County and another in Mitchell County on either Tuesday, Aug 8, or Wednesday, Aug. 9, with a backup date of Wednesday, Aug. 16… “The proposed lateral would be a 6-inch pipeline that would join the previously proposed pipeline near the northeast edge of Rockford then proceed north between Nora Springs and Rudd into Mitchell County, connecting with the Absolute Energy plant near Mona, just south of the Iowa-Minnesota border… “The IUB announced last week that it will begin the permit hearings for the Summit pipeline application in August, two months earlier than originally proposed by members of the IUB who were since been replaced by Gov. Kim Reynolds, and far earlier than pipeline opponents have been urging.”

KGAN: Jones County local political parties unite for carbon dioxide pipeline presentation
6/21/23

“The Jones County Democratic and Republican parties are coming together to sponsor a free, public presentation on Tuesday, July 11 about the carbon dioxide pipelines that are being proposed across the state of Iowa,” KGAN reports. “…Currently there are three proposed pipelines from three separate companies. None would go through Jones County but there are some in neighboring counties. According to the parties, the main purpose of the presentation is to raise awareness of the issues surrounding any future proposed pipeline proposals and how citizens in Jones County can prepare. Presenters at the meeting include Jessica Wiskus of Lisbon, a researcher and impacted landowner to the proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, as well as John Hoffmann of Manchester, a local farmer directly impacted by the proposed Navigator CO2 pipeline route. The meeting will take place on July 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Monticello High School. Recently, some Iowa landowners are calling on the Iowa Utilities Board to delay the final hearing that has been set in August for Summit Carbon Solutions’ future pipeline project. Opponents had previously believed that the hearing would take place later in the year or early next year. One Iowa landowner recently filed a petition to get the Summit pipeline halted.”

Belmond News: Citizens ask questions about pipeline
6/21/23

“The Wright County Board of Supervisors listened June 12 to constituents question the safety of a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline,” the Belmond News reports. “Summit Carbon Solutions presented a safety report for most of an hour before the floor was opened to residents. “What is the threshold for death?” one farmer asked. “What will actually kill you?” He said that if driving a 100,000-pound semi across a field cracks the pipeline, “I will be dead. You guys aren’t talking about this.” A Summit Carbon representative answered, “Driving over the top should not be risky.” “…The area emergency management coordinator, who is based in Fort Dodge, said local officials would be deployed to go door-to-door to help with rescues or to leave oxygen level monitors. “We need to put a pause on this,” another resident said. “This is all about the money. What are our lives worth?” The safety presentation included statistics from the U.S. Department of Energy which stated, “The risks associated with CO2 pipelines are significantly less than those of other pipeline types.” “…A Summit Carbon representative said the company will have “robust plans” to prevent emergencies, and will provide training to emergency management personnel as well as the general public. Those plans will take into account various scenarios, including time of day, season, and winds. Supervisor Dean Kluss said he is looking for specifics, including “plume” reports. It was explained that dispersion analysis is confidental “to ensure that those reading them do not use the information to undermine safety.” Kluss countered that he does not believe supervisors or emergency personnel should be considered a risk to safety. “We need this information and we want this information. We need to have something that reassures the public of the safety of this,” Kluss stated.

WCBU: Wolf Carbon Solutions files application to construct carbon capture pipeline that would pass through Peoria, Stark, and Tazewell counties
Tim Shelley, 6/21/23

“The company behind a sometimes-controversial carbon capture pipeline officially filed its application with state regulators last week. The new preferred route appears to dodge entirely a particular point of contention in the city of Peoria,” WCBU reports. “Wolf Carbon Solutions’ Mt. Simon Hub pipeline system would transport up to 12 million metric tons a year of captured carbon dioxide from two Archer Daniels Midland ethanol plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton, Iowa to a permanent underground sequestration site in Decatur. A spur of the 260-mile long pipeline was slated to head through the south side of Peoria up to the BioUrja ethanol plant, but it appears that’s not in the current iteration of the proposal filed Friday with the Illinois Commerce Commission. Instead, the map shows the pipeline routing south through or near the portion of Tazewell County where Pekin is located. That city also has an ethanol plant, operated by Alto Ingredients… “Skeptics of the pipeline effort say Wolf Carbon Solutions and other companies should wait until those revisions are released before moving ahead with development. South Side residents and environmental advocates raised concerns about the health impacts of a pipeline rupture within the neighborhood, which has a majority Black population and is one of the poorest ZIP codes in the United States. “ADM/Wolf appears to be doing everything possible to fast track this project—from suddenly taking the controversial spur through Peoria’s South side off the map ‘for now,’ to publicly promising to meet yet-to-be-drafted federal CO2 pipeline safety regulations,” Tracy Fox of the Central Illinois Healthy Community Alliance and the Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines told WCBU… “It’s frighteningly clear that Wolf Carbon Solutions is hoping for swift approval of its pipeline project, despite the fact that most people are not even aware of it or how it might affect them,” Joyce Blumenshine of the Heart of Illinois Sierra Club told WCBU. “The people, land, and water resources of Illinois should not be at the disposal of CO2 corporations for their own financial gain.”

WICS: Potential CO2 pipeline in Central Illinois faces local pushback
Carson Gourdie, 6/21/23

“An Omaha-based company is looking to build a pipeline and disposing site in central Illinois that would capture carbon dioxide emitted from ethanol plants. But local property owners and residents have concerns that the pipeline could affect their community and have tried to block the process until their questions are answered,” WICS reports. “…Navigator originally submitted a proposal to build the pipeline in 2022. The company withdrew that offer and submitted a new one this past February, and the total project would cost over $3 billion… “We want to hear the answers on safety, on property values, and our roads,” Sangamon County Board Member Greg Stumpf told WICS. “We want to make sure that we can tell our constituents that this project will, in fact, be safe for them.” “…There’s a video that I’ve been shown by constituents that shows the extent to which the damage is done if a pipeline ruptures,” Illinois State Senator Steve McClure told WICS. Sangamon County recently extended a moratorium on CO2 pipelines being constructed in the county. But the measure is mostly symbolic. Private land could be used for the project regardless of local concerns…  “But what we’re saying is to the company, hey, we really don’t want anything done in this county. And we’re making a statement,” Stumpf told WICS… “Stumpf told WICS that legal avenues could be taken if the ICC approves the pipeline and safety and other concerns aren’t answered.”

Wisconsin Public Radio: DNR review of Enbridge plan to reroute Line 5 is progressing as judge orders partial shutdown
Danielle Kaeding, 6/22/23

“State regulators say they’re making progress on an environmental review of Enbridge’s plans to relocate Line 5 as a federal judge has ordered a partial shutdown of the oil and gas pipeline on the Bad River reservation,” Wisconsin Public Radio reports. “…The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is revising its draft environmental impact statement for the rerouting plan, as well as analyzing the company’s application for waterway and wetland permits. The DNR is currently addressing more than 32,000 comments on its draft review. Ben Callan, the agency’s integration services section manager, told WPR that’s the most he’s seen in nearly two decades managing utility and energy projects… “Callan told WPR the DNR is collaborating with federal agencies and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Enbridge’s application, which was filed jointly with state and federal regulators… “Meanwhile, the Corps is analyzing Enbridge’s application for a permit under the Clean Water Act… “The federal agency is preparing its own separate environmental assessment for the project, which regulators have said will determine the need for a federal environmental impact statement… “Paul Eberth, Enbridge’s director of tribal engagement in the U.S., told WPR the company believes it’s very possible agencies could award permits for its project in the judge’s three-year timeframe. He told WPR the company has purchased pipe and secured agreements from all landowners along its preferred route. “We’re ready to go, to remove the pipeline operations from the reservation, but believe that the Band then should and is obligated to continue to work with us on the safe operations until the pipeline can be relocated,” Eberth told WPR… “Labor groups like the Wisconsin Building Trades Council and Republican lawmakers want to see the DNR advance permitting for the project in light of the judge’s recent ruling.”

Natural Gas Intelligence: A Faster Way to Reduce CO2 Emissions? Export More North American Natural Gas, Says TC Energy CEO
CAROLYN DAVIS, 6/21/23

“TC Energy Corp. has built the transition from natural gas and oil into its strategy, with a clear eye on how to deliver value even as the global supply mix evolves, CEO François Poirier said Tuesday,” Natural Gas Intelligence reports. 

WV News: Mountain Valley Pipeline developers focused on ‘remaining authorizations’
Charles Young, 6/21/23

“Provisions in the debt ceiling package passed by Congress at the beginning of the month require that the federal permits needed for the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s completion be issued by Saturday,” WV News reports. “Mountain Valley developers are closely monitoring the status of the final authorizations as the deadline approaches, but a timeline for the resumption of construction has not yet been set, a project spokesperson told WV News.”

Energy News Network: For tree-sitter, no hiding from heartbreak of deal to greenlight Mountain Valley Pipeline
Elizabeth McGowan, 6/20/23

“Theresa “Red” Terry never wanted shades on the windows of her white clapboard farmhouse perched on the side of 2,600-foot Bent Mountain,” Energy News Network reports. “…Three years ago, however, she relented. By then, crews with chainsaws, bulldozers and other heavy equipment had already spent two years devouring broad strips of hardwood forests as a passageway to truck in and bury the hotly contested Mountain Valley Pipeline. In all, pipeline investors claimed 14 acres of Terry property via eminent domain… “It was in that sheltered space where a distraught Terry, 66, huddled at a table with her neighbor Mary Beth Coffey on a rainy afternoon just a week after President Joe Biden signed into law the debt ceiling relief pact on June 3… “I feel like we’re in grief,” Coffey, 65, who retired early from her school speech pathology job to devote more time to confronting the pipeline, known as MVP, told ENN. “We’re dealing with the death of many things on many different levels.” “There was hope,” Terry chimed in. “But now I’m feeling hopeless.” “…She was especially heartbroken when the pipeline excavators uprooted a backyard orchard of roughly a dozen old apple trees and a nearby scarlet oak that she had staked out as a sapling and nurtured for 22 years. The loss of that prized oak — followed by dismissive words from an MVP spokesperson — fired up Terry, nicknamed Red as a teenager. Though her fiery hair has lightened to blond over the last several years, her passion has not. In the spring of 2018, that fierceness guided her to yet another scarlet oak on a nearby but separate piece of Terry property adjacent to Bottom Creek. The down-to-earth, then 61-year-old Roanoke native became a local celebrity — and a global sensation — when she ate, slept and lived in a family-built, plywood tree stand for 34 straight days to draw attention to the environmental havoc MVP was wreaking in Southwest Virginia. She was one of several handfuls of activists who took to the trees along the Blue Ridge Mountains to try to protect its delicate karst topography, formed by limestone and other soluble rocks.  “I didn’t think I could stop the pipeline single-handedly,” Terry told ENN, adding that she only wanted MVP to stop continuing to cut trees beyond a pre-arranged deadline. “I don’t like the idea of trees being cut for someone to run a [pipeline] through to make a profit off of us.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

Washington Post: In ‘Cancer Alley,’ a key Biden climate push draws fire from environmentalists
Timothy Puko, 6/22/23

“Petrochemical plants and refineries dominate the landscape in this part of Louisiana, each year spewing millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the air. If Washington and the oil industry have their way, some of those climate-warming gases could soon be captured and stored underground,” the Washington Post reports. “But the Biden administration faces big resistance from a key ally: environmentalists. Many, led by environmental justice advocates, object to carbon capture projects, especially in a region where petrochemical plants often sit next to Black churches and schools, and high cancer rates have led to the nickname “Cancer Alley.” Some fear carbon capture will perpetuate fossil fuel industries they want to phase out. Others fear the direct local impacts of pipelines and other planned infrastructure. The administration, backed by numerous climate scientists and lawmakers, see carbon capture as a key tool to reduce emissions from businesses that have few other options. But that position pits major Biden administration priorities against one another. Many environmental justice advocates view it as a test case for President Biden’s commitment to their cause. “What they’re trying to do to Louisiana now is I think the worst of anything we’ve been exposed to, because of all the uncertainty,” Beverly Wright, the executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice in east New Orleans and a member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, told the Post. “In the real world, this is an experiment,” Wright added. “And this experiment is going to be conducted on the same communities that have suffered from the oil and gas industry.” “…To hear from Bayou State residents on carbon capture, the EPA is holding meetings this week, from Wednesday through Friday, in Baton Rouge, extending the hearings by a day to meet the demand… “Mistrust is also why Ashley Gaignard, 46, a part-time secretary for the city’s council, questions government assurances. She doesn’t buy into claims that carbon capture will safely cut their greenhouse-gas emissions, and she is frustrated that the administration has backed an industry-friendly solution she said amounts to an experiment on her community. “Don’t do it in my neighborhood. Do it where you live,” Gaignard, who voted for Biden in 2020 and is the founder of a group working to preserve rural land, told the Post. “Right about now it’s politics over people. And I don’t think they give a damn about people.”

E&E News: VP Harris urged climate activism. Now protesters are targeting her gala.
Robin Bravender, 6/20/23

“At a Denver high school last Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris urged young people across the country to get organized to push for more action on climate change,” E&E News reports. “To all the students watching across our nation: You are the leaders in this climate movement — in this movement for climate action,” Harris said. “Summer break is a great time for organizing,” she told them. “President [Joe] Biden and I will be with you every step of the way.” Disrupting a fundraiser where she’s the headline speaker probably wasn’t what she had in mind. But climate activists organized by the youth-led group Climate Defiance, New York Communities for Change and others plan to do just that when Harris headlines a Democratic fundraiser in New York next Monday. “We’re planning on having a disruption outside and making sure they can’t ignore us,” Alice Hu, senior climate campaigner at New York Communities for Change, told E&E.”

Press release: People vs. Fossil Fuels, 255+ orgs, and 50,000+ Individuals Deliver Petition to U.S. Department of Justice: End Opposition to Youth Climate Case!
6/21/23

“Today, the People vs. Fossil Fuels coalition digitally delivered an online petition to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Attorney General Merrick Garland, demanding that Attorney General Garland end the DOJ’s opposition to the children’s climate lawsuit, Juliana v. United States, proceeding to trial. John Beard, Founder and CEO of the Port Arthur Community Action Network and member of the People vs. Fossil Fuels Steering Committee, and youth leader Zanagee Artis, Founder and Executive Director of Zero Hour, co-delivered this petition on behalf of the coalition, more than 255 organizational sponsors, and more than 50,000 individuals across the United States and around the world who signed the petition. The petition was delivered shortly after Federal Judge Ann Aiken, of the U.S. District Court in Oregon, on June 1, 2023, granted the young plaintiffs’ motion to amend their complaint, putting their case back on track to trial. After eight years, evidence that indisputably proves the federal government’s knowing perpetuation of the climate crisis will come to light, in open court, and Judge Aiken will rule whether the U.S. energy system violates the youth’s constitutional rights. People vs. Fossil Fuels, a coalition of over 1,200 climate justice, Indigenous, Black, Latino, social justice, economic justice, progressive, youth, faith, and other organizations, spearheaded this petition effort in support of the Juliana youth plaintiffs and their landmark constitutional climate case. This petition is led by climate, public health, children’s, legal, labor, minority, business, faith, human rights, and environmental justice organizations – including Amnesty International USA, Center for Biological Diversity, Food & Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, GreenFaith, Greenpeace USA, Hip Hop Caucus, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Sunrise Movement, and 350.org… “The petition notes that “For seven years, these 21 young people, from across the United States and including 11 Black, Brown, and Indigenous youth, have waited for their day in court, delayed again and again by tactics employed by the Department of Justice to impede or dismiss their case. And for almost seven years, young people like these 21 young Americans have suffered from increasingly severe climate harms.”

Politico: Congress is stuck on rewriting permit rules. SCOTUS brought its wrecking ball.
ANNIE SNIDER, 6/19/23

“Congress spent months obsessing over an effort to loosen the rules on federal environmental permits — only for the Supreme Court to eclipse its efforts in a single morning,” Politico reports. “The court’s May 25 decision shrinking federal wetlands protections took a wrecking ball to an expansive permitting regime that has been in place for nearly 50 years ― and it’s already having a ripple effect in how agencies enforce a wide range of other environmental safeguards. The 5-4 ruling put at least half the country’s marshes, swamps and other wetlands outside the reach of federal water protections, an outcome that could speed the way for pipelines, power lines, highways and housing projects across the U.S… “In contrast, the court’s ruling in Sackett v. EPA delivered a win for an array of industries, legal experts say — and it may enable many projects to avoid federal scrutiny altogether. The decision showcased yet again the power of the court’s conservative majority to make sweeping changes to federal policy at a time when close partisan splits in the House and Senate hamper Congress’ ability to act… “The ruling stripped Clean Water Act protections from wetlands that lack a “continuous” surface water connection to larger streams, lakes and rivers — a much narrower interpretation of the law than either the Supreme Court or even the Trump administration had applied before. Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the court’s three liberals in objecting to that outcome, accusing the majority of “rewriting” Congress’ words. Now, legal experts say, hundreds of projects will probably no longer need Clean Water Act permits at all. Other projects will still have to go through the water permitting process, but will likely face far fewer requirements to either lessen their impacts on wetlands or pay for rebuilding wetlands elsewhere. The ruling could also limit the ability of Democratic-led states to use their authority under the 1972 water law to block energy infrastructure, as states like New York and Washington have done in recent years with natural gas pipelines and a coal export terminal. Before the ruling, even relatively minor development projects like highway off-ramps had to go through the complex and time-consuming wetlands permitting regime, Cagle, who works in Baker Botts’ Austin office, told Politico.  “Anything you want to build that’s more than one-eighth of an acre — you want to build a shopping center, you want to build a highway — anything bigger than a breadbox that you historically wanted to put on God’s green Earth, you had to do a wetland delineation. You may not have to anymore,” she told Politico.

E&E News: Senate Budget hearing to tie ‘dark money’ to ‘Big Oil’
Emma Dumain, 6/20/23

“Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse has spent years railing against the billions of dollars spent by the fossil fuel industry to cover up its contributions to the climate crisis,” E&E News reports. “On Wednesday, the Rhode Island Democrat and chair of the Senate Budget Committee will give this argument a new and powerful platform. The next installment in Whitehouse’s series tying climate inaction to the fate of the global economy will be a hearing titled “Dollars and Degrees: Investigating Fossil Fuel Dark Money’s Systemic Threats to Climate and the Federal Budget.” “Despite the industry’s own findings from the 1970s that fossil fuel combustion was fueling climate change, Big Oil and Gas have spent billions on a decades-long campaign to attack climate science and obstruct climate policies that would curb the economic toll of climate change,” an official description of the hearing reads. That strategy includes, the description continues, deploying “front groups and trade associations” to “shape politics and policymaking” that have exposed the nation to “systemic economic risks, including a widescale decline in property values in communities exposed to climate-related economic risks, insurance market instability, and hundreds of billions of dollars in fossil fuel assets that may become stranded.”

Wyofile: Facing staunch opposition, BLM extends Public Lands Rule deadline
Katie Klingsporn, 6/20/23

“In an apparent response to strident opposition from western conservatives, including Wyoming’s top elected officials, the Bureau of Land Management last week extended the public comment period for its new Public Lands Rule to July 5,” Wyofile reports. “Environmental advocates have described the measure, which would put conservation on equal footing with energy development, grazing and other approved uses of public lands, as a clear-eyed strategy for addressing contemporary problems like climate change and habitat loss. The oil and gas industry, stock growers, and other deep-rooted western political and economic interests vehemently disagree. The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources considered legislation Thursday that would require the BLM director to withdraw the rule that would elevate conservation as a “use” of public land. Gov. Mark Gordon traveled to Washington D.C. to testify before the committee, calling the proposed rule “unconstitutional” without congressional authorization… “During the hearing Gordon and U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyoming), along with other Republican lawmakers, bashed the rule as detrimental meddling from bureaucrats who are out of touch with rural western states. Wyoming is already a model of multiple-use that balances conservation, Gordon said, echoing a common theme… “Members of Wyoming’s Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee voted unanimously to send a letter of opposition to the public lands rule at a meeting last week in Rock Springs. Their vote followed testimony from energy, stockgrower and county government representatives opposed to the proposed rule… “The agency had received more than 136,000 comments by Monday.”

Washington Post: Biden taps Eric Beightel to lead permitting council 
Maxine Joselow, 6/22/23

“President Biden yesterday appointed Eric Beightel as executive director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council, a 16-member body tasked with updating the nation’s permitting process for infrastructure projects,” the Washington Post reports. “Beightel most recently served as an executive at HDR, an engineering, architecture, environment and construction services firm. Before that, he was a policy adviser at the Transportation Department and the White House Office of Management and Budget.  As head of the federal permitting council, Beightel will manage large-scale infrastructure projects worth nearly $100 billion. His tenure comes after the debt ceiling bill included modest proposals to speed up the permitting process for energy projects.”

STATE UPDATES

Common Dreams: 100+ Scientists to Newsom: Stop Oil and Gas Drilling in California—Especially Near Homes
BRETT WILKINS, 6/12/23

“More than 100 scientists on Monday urged California Gov. Gavin Newsom to stop approving new permits for fossil fuel drilling in the nation’s most populous state—especially in residential neighborhoods,” Common Dreams reports. “In a letter, the scientists thank Newsom, a Democrat, for “taking key steps toward protecting California’s frontline communities and our climate from fossil fuel pollution, including supporting legislation to establish a health and safety buffer zone between communities and oil and gas extraction and taking steps to end Big Oil’s price gouging of working families at the pump.” “However, in this time of emergency, we are shocked at the sharp increase in oil and gas permitting by CalGEM, which has approved more than 1,000 permits this year for oil and gas operators to continue drilling,” the scientists continued, referring to the state’s energy management agency. “Even more shocking is the fact that almost two-thirds of those permits are for projects within the landmark 3,200-foot health and safety buffer you and your administration fought hard to pass last fall.” The letter asserts that “California’s oil industry has created an interlinked public health, environmental justice, and climate crisis in our state,” and that “public health studies have established that living near oil and gas wells increases the risks of cancer, asthma, and other respiratory diseases, preterm births, low birth weights, and other serious harms.” “…Letter signatory Daniel Kammen, the Lau distinguished professor of sustainability at the University of California, Berkeley, said that “there’s no time for complacency when oil and gas are fueling California’s climate chaos.” “Gov. Newsom should show the world what climate leadership looks like by halting new oil and gas approvals and ramping up rooftop solar and local storage that will protect communities and the climate,” Kammen added.

Carlsbad Current-Argus: Heinrich, Lujan call for tougher federal rules on oil and gas methane pollution
Adrian Hedden, 6/21/23

“New Mexico’s two U.S. senators called on the federal government to tighten restrictions on methane emissions from oil and gas, as their state grappled with worsening smog believed to originate from fossil fuel production,” the Carlsbad Current-Argus reports. “U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan, both Democrats representing New Mexico, signed on to a letter along with 13 other Democrat senators urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to enact tougher regulations in a rule proposed by the agency to limit the release of methane throughout the oil and gas industry. The EPA was considering new rules under the Clean Air Act and in response to the Inflation Reduction Act passed last year that directed the agency to develop a methane reduction program, targeting emissions from oil and gas operators throughout the country. The new proposed rules would target reductions not only in new sources but also existing sources of methane emissions, potentially requiring many oil and gas facilities be retrofitted with new technologies like electric instead of gas-driven valves… “We strongly support the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) critical work to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas production, and we encourage you to seize existing opportunities to drive sharp reductions in emissions of this potent greenhouse gas,” the letter read.

Denver Post: Back-to-back earthquakes shake Southern Colorado
LAUREN PENINGTON, 6/19/23

“Two earthquakes shook towns in Southern Colorado on Monday morning, only five minutes and seven miles apart, according to the U.S. Geological Survey,” the Denver Post reports. “At 8:13 a.m., the USGS recorded a 3.8 magnitude earthquake near El Moro, a small town in Las Animas County 20 minutes away from the border of Colorado and New Mexico. The USGS recorded a second earthquake just five minutes later. The 4.3 magnitude earthquake hit seven miles north of El Moro near the town of Hoehne… “Las Animas County is 190 miles south of Denver and home to many minor earthquakes, along with nearby portions of northern New Mexico. More than 600 earthquakes have been recorded within 80 miles of Trinidad over the past 10 years. Of the 23 earthquakes that have occurred in Colorado so far this year, 21 originated in Las Animas County… “It’s been more than a decade since Colorado had as many earthquakes of this magnitude in one area over 24 hours, according to USGS.”

EXTRACTION

Wall Street Journal: Oil Drillers Are Saving the Planet and Their Investors
Jinjoo Lee, 6/22/23

“Oil-field-service companies have long depended on energy producers’ drive for growth. But with their core clients’ dreams getting smaller, they are repurposing some of their tools for the energy transition and going where the money is,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Every year since 2016, global investment in clean energy has exceeded that in fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency. This year, clean energy investment is set to reach $1.74 trillion, about two-thirds higher. Most of that spending is going to mature technologies such as solar and wind, but a small portion of it is going to emerging ones such as hydrogen and carbon capture. Baker Hughes and SLB, formerly known as Schlumberger, have put numbers on their green ambitions, and they aren’t small. Baker Hughes said orders in its new energy segment could reach $6 billion to $7 billion by 2030. At the midpoint, that represents about a fifth of the revenue that Wall Street expects it to generate that year. SLB’s target is to book $3 billion, or roughly 5% of expected revenue, from new energy by then. Mature technologies such as wind and solar are tough to crack, as the oil majors have found, but service firms are finding niches that match their expertise. The three largest oil-field-service companies—SLB, Baker Hughes and Halliburton —have all been doing geothermal work for decades, which is a natural fit given their subsurface expertise. All three are looking to do carbon capture and sequestration, which also requires geological knowledge.”

Western Standard: Alberta energy minister says rumours of oil’s demise greatly exaggerated
Shaun Polczer, 6/21/23

“Newly-sworn Alberta Energy Minister Brian Jean says oil and gas will continue to dominate the world’s energy mix for years to come in response to a federal government report that says the country will have to reduce petroleum output some 70% to meet net zero targets,” the Western Standard reports. “In an emailed statement to the Western Standard, Brian Jean said Alberta’s energy sector is already a global leader in producing some of the most responsible, reliable and environmentally friendly energy on Earth. He was responding to a report Tuesday by the Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) which suggested oil sands production would be reduced more than 83% if Canada is to meet it Paris Accord goals. Jean also represents Alberta’s oil sands heartland in his capacity as MLA. And he continued to insist that Alberta would achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, not 2035 as proposed by the federal government… “Jean said he is confident the province can achieve the goal through investment in technology and increased LNG exports to replace higher emitting fuels internationally — and not production cuts.” 

Bloomberg: ‘Culture Wars’ Are Risking Paralysis of Europe’s Green Deal
John Ainger, 6/20/23

“The European Union’s landmark green deal is at risk of being dragged into “culture wars,” said the bloc’s climate chief Frans Timmermans as he warned that plans to reach net-zero by the middle of the century risk being paralyzed by political division,” Bloomberg reports. “His comments come as the bloc faces stiff pushback by groups in parliament and member states to a set of policies designed to slash emissions by 55% this decade. Culture wars, which signify a clash of social values between different ends of the political spectrum, are increasingly on display in Europe’s political debate and seeping into policy making.”

Bloomberg: NASA Studies GHGSat Methane Data Amid Race for Climate Solutions
Aaron Clark, 6/21/23

“NASA will study high-resolution satellite observations of global methane releases captured by emissions tracker GHGSat Inc. in the latest sign governments are looking to curb leaks of the potent greenhouse gas,” Bloomberg reports. “Scientists at NASA’s Earth Science Division will evaluate the data under its commercial small satellite data acquisition program and assess if it can help achieve the agency’s wider goals, which include mapping the climate effects from human activity, according to a GHGSat statement Wednesday. The initiative currently uses observations from satellite operators including Planet Labs PBC and Maxar Technologies Inc. to augment NASA’s own Earth observations… “NASA’s own Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology’s EMIT instrument that was installed on the International Space Station in July last year began publishing methane emissions data through its public portal in February. Bloomberg Green has used satellite observations from GHGSat, EMIT and analysis from Kayrros SAS to report on previously unreported methane emission events. NASA will decide after its evaluation if GHGSat’s data can be accepted as part of the small satellite data acquisition program and used to support its scientific objectives. GHGSat will provide NASA with new observations and archival data for the assessment, the statement said.”

Canary Media: Inside Charm Industrial’s multimillion-dollar bid to remove CO2 with plants
Maria Gallucci, 6/19/23

“After every corn harvest, America’s farmers reap roughly 100 million tons of ​“stover” — the stalks, leaves, silks and husks that remain after the golden-kernel crop is gathered. Some residues are typically left behind to nourish the soil. The rest can be used to generate energy or produce biofuels for cars, trucks and, increasingly, airplanes. But Charm Industrial wants this corn detritus for entirely different reasons,” Canary Media reports. “The San Francisco-based startup is using leftover corn stover and other types of biomass waste to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Its machines heat up plant matter — which contains carbon — and turn it into a dark-brown, viscous material known as ​“bio-oil.” Charm then injects the CO2-rich liquid into underground disposal wells, where, ideally, the material will stay trapped for centuries or longer. The company claims to have removed some 6,200 metric tons of CO2 since completing its first bio-oil injection in 2021. That’s barely a blip compared to the planet-warming emissions that countries generate every year just by burning fossil fuels. But it still amounts to more direct carbon removal than any other venture in the world says it has achieved… “Major corporations and investment firms are now pouring huge amounts of money into the fledgling carbon-removal field in an attempt to both get in early on a potentially huge market and also claim reductions in their own corporate emissions. Flush with this funding, startups are exploring a variety of expensive, unproven concepts — including direct air capture, enhanced weathering and aquatic carbon removal — in the hopes of developing large-scale climate solutions. Charm has managed to catch the crowd’s attention owing to how quickly it is moving to advance its ​“bio-oil sequestration” approach.”

CLIMATE FINANCE

Washington Post: Red states are targeting ESG investing. Businesses are pushing back.
Maxine Joselow, 6/22/23

“Republican state lawmakers have introduced a flurry of bills this year to crack down on the practice of basing investment decisions on factors like climate change,” the Washington Post reports. “Many of the measures would prohibit state governments or pension funds from doing business with big financial institutions that have adopted ESG — environmental, social and governance — goals and policies. But in states across the country, local business groups have argued the bills contradict the free-market principles that conservatives have long championed, according to an analysis released today and interviews with industry officials. In Indiana, an official at the state Chamber of Commerce testified before a key committee that an anti-ESG bill was “anti-free markets and anti-free enterprise.” In South Dakota, a lobbyist for the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce scolded the supporters of anti-ESG legislation by quoting former president Ronald Reagan, who famously said in 1981: “We who live in free market societies believe that growth, prosperity and, ultimately, human fulfillment are created from the bottom up, not the government down.”  And in Arizona, a lobbyist for the Arizona Bankers Association told lawmakers that he was concerned about “probably the most anti-free market bill that you’ll see this legislative session.” The bill, which would bar financial institutions from doing business in Arizona if they “discriminate” based on ESG criteria, died in the GOP-controlled state House. “Significant opposition has been coming from folks in the business community that are usually the allies of Republicans,” Frances Sawyer, the head of the San Francisco-based strategic planning firm Pleiades Strategy and an author of the new analysis, told the Post… “Overall, out of 165 anti-ESG bills introduced in 37 states this year, 22 measures passed in 14 states, according to the new analysis.”

E&E News: States shrug off warnings, plow ahead with anti-ESG laws
Adam Aton, Avery Ellfeldt, 6/22/23

“Republicans aren’t done attacking ESG investing. Far from it,” E&E News reports. “Sixteen states — all led by GOP-controlled legislatures, and some with Democratic governors — passed laws this year aimed at restricting the investing strategy that screens for environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks such as long-term climate impacts. That’s according to a new report by the Sunrise Project, an environmental group. The new laws took several forms, from a measure in Kansas that would prevent public pension funds from using ESG principles, to another in Texas that prohibits insurers from doing the same. Utah alone has passed multiple ESG-related laws, one of which prohibits state and local government contracts with financial firms accused of “boycotting” industries such as fossil fuels and firearms. But even as anti-ESG efforts advanced in statehouses across the country, so too did opposition to that approach. In most cases, aggressive anti-ESG measures were either defeated or watered-down — oftentimes amid intense opposition from pension managers, banking associations and other business groups. The result is a patchwork of state laws that has helped fuel the culture war against ESG investing, increased the risk for taxpayers and retirees, and hampered efforts by the financial sector to address climate change. And with a heated 2024 presidential campaign underway, observers say they don’t see the wave of anti-ESG measures receding anytime soon. “A coordinated political effort is winning over a significant minority of states to do something that seems to be financially harmful,” Witold Henisz, a vice dean and faculty director of the University of Pennsylvania’s ESG Initiative, told E&E. And it’s happening, he tole E&E, despite a “remarkable lack of interest” from investors and shareholders. Henisz added that he expects anti-ESG efforts to remain an “active political issue” that ultimately would hurt the people in the states in which they pass… “The proliferation of anti-ESG laws isn’t entirely homegrown. Lawmakers from Alabama to Utah are drawing on the same suite of model anti-ESG bills circulating among conservative groups, according to the Sunrise Project report. Those right-leaning groups include the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Opportunity Solutions Project, American Legislative Exchange Council and Heritage Foundation. Conservative advocates often have been close at hand when lawmakers consider anti-ESG bills.”

Bloomberg: EU Banks Expand Risk Scenarios They Face From Climate Change
Frances Schwartzkopff, 6/21/23

“European banks are building out their risk models to better prepare for the fallout from climate change, with some even examining the short-term liquidity implications of a hotter planet, according to a joint survey conducted by the Association for Financial Markets in Europe and Oliver Wyman,” Bloomberg reports. “The analysis, published on Thursday, found that 87% of the banks surveyed have started conducting their own annual internal climate stress tests, in some cases using modeling that goes beyond requirements set by regulators. That’s amid a general consensus that previous exercises understated the real risks, the survey found.”

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

Enbridge: With support from Enbridge and others, Construction Foundation of BC’s Sky Keepers equips Indigenous women with employment readiness training
6/22/23

“…The women, all Indigenous members of the Blueberry River First Nation, are participants in the Construction Foundation of BC’s Sky Keepers program. They are becoming drone pilots, earning an advanced drone certification through Transport Canada,” according to Enbridge. “Some women plan to use their drone pilot’s license to work in the oil and gas industry; others to monitor the environment—water levels, animal activity, soil erosion. Others still wonder if drone technology could help keep Indigenous women safe, to improve response times and prevent more Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls… “The program is funded entirely by grants and donations from the community. Enbridge contributed a $20,000 Fueling Futures grant to support Indigenous women, an underrepresented population, as they develop their potential in the construction industry and gain valuable experience to contribute to their communities. “One of the participants shared with me that she was happy to be involved in the program, because it helped her create a regular routine in her day,” Taylor told Enbridge. “She told me: ‘I feel a sense of purpose.’ ”

OPINION

Cedar Rapids Gazette: Carbon pipelines pose a risk
Dale Braun is Iowa Division president if the Izaak Walton League of America, 6/21/23

“In addition to all the well documented attempts by the CO2 pipeline companies to use eminent domain, coercion and public influence through advertisement to ram their pipes through the state of Iowa and adjacent Illinois, South and North Dakota there is the very real danger potential of CO2 leakage should the succeed,” Dale Braun writes for the Cedar Rapids Gazette. “ A well written article by Allan Childs and presented to the Iowa Utilities Board on Oct. 24, 2022 in opposition to the pipeline lays out the severe safety risks to the public should a pipeline rupture. The 13-page article details how much pressure a pipeline would have in it and the volume that would be released should a break occur. It identifies a 10-mile section (proposed lengths between shut-off valves) of CO2 and the potential size of the CO2 cloud that would form. Visualize that cloud to cover 355 acres to a depth of six feet in height on a windless day. The chances of a person surviving in that cloud are nil. Your lungs need oxygen, your vehicle needs oxygen and rescuers need oxygen… “A human that unknowingly enters a cloud of colorless and odorless gas will not be able to determine a safe exit strategy. Where are the boundaries of the gas cloud? What is the direction of flow? Which direction provides a safe exit path? How are the current weather conditions affecting the flow of gas?” Those are alarming facts and pose a danger to the public, livestock, pets and wildlife in the path of these proposed pipelines. Mr. Childs goes on to offer an alternative to these pipelines. He proposes to convert the CO2 at is source to urea via chemical conversion… “The introduction of CO2 pipelines that compress CO2 for ease of shipment and a carbon credit benefit is not about protecting anything other than someone’s pocketbook. The Izaak Walton League is all about protecting our environment. We stand behind alternative pipeline options and this option, converting CO2 to urea, needs to be further explored and communicated to the public.”

Bloomberg: Climate Change and Poverty Are Our Era’s Existential Battles
Joseph R. Biden Jr., Fumio Kishida, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Emmanuel Macron, Charles Michel, Mia Mottley, Cyril Ramaphosa, William Ruto, Macky Sall, Olaf Scholz, Rishi Sunak, Ursula von der Leyen and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, 6/20/23

“We are urgently working to deliver more for people and the planet,” Joseph R. Biden and world leaders including French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron write for Bloomberg. “…We want a system that better addresses development needs and vulnerabilities, now heightened by climate risks, which could further weaken countries’ ability to eliminate poverty and achieve inclusive economic growth. Climate change will generate larger and more frequent disasters, and disproportionately affect the poorest, most vulnerable populations around the world. These challenges cross borders and pose existential risks to societies and economies. We want our system to deliver more for the planet. The transition to a “net zero” world and the goals of the Paris Agreement present an opportunity for this generation to unlock a new era of sustainable global economic growth. We believe that just ecological transitions that leave no one behind can be a powerful force for alleviating poverty and supporting inclusive and sustainable development. This requires long-term investment everywhere to ensure that all countries are able to seize this opportunity. Inspired by the historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, we also need new economic models which recognize the immense value of nature for humanity.We are convinced that poverty reduction and protection of the planet are converging objectives. We must prioritize just and inclusive transitions to ensure that the poor and most vulnerable can fully reap the benefits of this opportunity, rather than disproportionally bearing the cost. We recognize that countries may need to pursue diverse transition paths in line with the 2.7 degree Fahrenheit limit depending on their national circumstances. There will be no transition if there is no solidarity, economic opportunities or sustainable growth to finance it… “Delivering on that consensus should start with existing financial commitments. Collective climate finance goals must be met in 2023. Our total global ambition of $100 billion of voluntary contributions for countries most in need, through rechanneling of special drawing rights or equivalent budget contributions, should also be reached… “Our work together is all about solidarity and collective action, to reduce the challenges facing developing countries and to fulfill our global agenda. We will continue to press for progress, leveraging other important events, including the G20 Summits in India and Brazil, the SDG Summit, and the COPs, starting with COP28 in the United Arab Emirates this year. In all of our upcoming international works and negotiations, we will seek to advance concrete actions that deliver on the promise of the SDGs, for our prosperity, people and planet.”

VT Digger: Letter to the editor: Why are you lending your platform to climate change denialism?
Seth Steinzor, South Burlington, 6/19/23

“I do not understand why you persist in offering your platform to John McClaughry’s climate change denialism. In the first sentence of his latest screed, he announces his subject and his attitude toward it by putting climate change in scare quotes: “climate change.” Later, he refers to “apocalyptic climate theology,” Seth Steinzor writes for VT Digger. “Apparently he thinks that “awakening schoolchildren to the menace of climate change and stimulating their opposition to the continued use of fossil fuel energy” is a bad thing. Listen: Climate change is not a subject for debate. It is a fact. It is not a matter for “both sides” or “opposing views,” any more than is the heliocentric structure of the solar system. In recent days, people all over the U.S. East Coast were choking and wheezing their way through one of its manifestations… “McClaughry may say “it ain’t so” all he wants, but that does not create a debate as to the facts of the case, as to which he has nothing of any value to offer. All it serves is to delude the gullible and minimize awareness of the truly existential risk facing us as a nation and even as a species. Why are you lending your platform to this? Will we next start reading Holocaust denialism in your opinion pages? Or missives from the Flat Earth Society? You are damaging not only public awareness and education as to the urgency of a real crisis upon us, but your own credibility, by trumpeting McClaughry’s hogwash.”

Guardian: Canada is on fire, and big oil is the arsonist
Tzeporah Berman, 6/20/23

“Canada is on fire from coast to coast to coast. Thousands have been evacuated, millions exposed to air pollution, New York a doom orange and even the titans of Wall Street choking…Now that climate impacts have hit the economic capital of western power, will it spur governments in the global north to get serious?” Tzeporah Berman writes for the Guardian. “A lack of scientific knowledge about climate change is not the barrier. Nor is a lack of cleaner, safer, cheaper energy alternatives. The IPCC said as much last year – the barrier is vested fossil fuel interests putting their profit above our safety. We know exactly which fossil fuel companies are robbing us of clean air and a secure future. We can now measure which oil companies are responsible for wildfires (13 operate in Canada), but oil executives are still calling the shots. Internationally, big oil has been flooding the climate talks for decades. The result? The Paris agreement doesn’t even include the words fossil fuels, oil, gas or coal… “Back at home, as the smoke rolled in, the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, promised to do whatever it takes to keep people safe. But Ottawa just backed another loan guarantee for the Trans Mountain Pipeline. “Whatever it takes” – except tackling the industries stoking the flames. Trudeau is not alone in refusing to acknowledge the need to stop expansion of oil and gas. That same attitude – “we must act on climate change but my expansion of fossil fuels is OK” – is alive and well south of our border where Biden has recently approved the Willow project and more. These are scary times. Global leaders declare a climate emergency while approving projects to expand oil and gas. In Canada and around the world, fossil fuel proponents are still being elected. Alberta’s premier, Danielle Smith, used her victory speech to rally her constituents against the federal government’s plan to clean the grid as her province burns. For more than five decades, oil and gas companies have muddled the truth and blocked progress. They’ve spent millions on PR campaigns to convince the public that expanding fossil fuels is safe, reasonable and unavoidable and that the alternatives are problematic and unreliable. It’s working. Canadians are alarmed about climate change yet are largely unaware that most of Canada’s carbon pollution comes from fossil fuels like oil and gas. Half of the public say they’re unsure whether “solar panels emit more greenhouse gases during manufacturing than they end up saving”. These messages and those who peddle them have an impact on politics. Canada subsidises oil and gas more than any other G20 nation, averaging $14bn annually between 2018 and 2020. Now big oil is getting tax breaks for carbon capture and storage – an unproven technology that won’t change the fact that Canada needs to phase out fossil fuels. Funding the industry to continue is like giving arsonists a tinderbox to play with.”