Extracted: Daily News Clips 6/28/21

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PIPELINE NEWS

• Native News Online: Law Enforcement Violates Treaty Rights Near Line 3 Construction in Northern Minnesota
• DL Online: Despite pressure from pipeline opponents, Biden administration continues defense of Enbridge’s Line 3 project
• Facebook: Welcome Water Protectors Center at the Great River [VIDEO]: This morning at around 5AM, our community of land and water protectors was woken up by loud, foreign banging noise
• Honor the Earth [VIDEO]: Enbridge Line 3 Drill Starting to Bore
• Honor the Earth [VIDEO]: Taysha Martineau and Winona LaDuke at the lodge
• Facebook: White Earth Nation: The White Earth Reservation Business Committee continues to stand strong in opposition to the construction of the Enbridge Line 3 Replacement Project through our 1855 Treaty territory
• Beside: Water Protectors: Meet the Grassroots Grandmothers
• Forbes: Documentary ‘End Of The Line’ Chronicles Women In Dakota Access Pipeline Battle
• WMRA: StoryCorps in the Valley: Taking On the Atlantic Coast Pipeline

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• Washington Post: As Democrats spar over advancing Biden’s climate agenda, they move to cut methane
• CNN.com: House passes resolution that would repeal a Trump-era EPA rule on methane emissions
• Press release: Canada strengthens energy partnership with the United States
• Waterkeeper Alliance: Hundreds of Groups Demand Biden Name Climate-Focused FERC Commissioner

STATE UPDATES

• Politico Morning Energy: PREEMPTION BILLS
• Boulder Daily Camera: Boulder County seeks Colorado Supreme Court review in Crestone drilling dispute
• E&E News: N.M. Roars Back From Oil Slump, Hits Record Production
• WFMZ: Southwest Pennsylvania family urges governor to broaden pending methane rule

EXTRACTION

• Associated Press: Boom in Native American oil complicates Biden climate push
• Reuters: Reducing oil use to meet climate targets is tougher than cutting supply
• E&E News: Report: 32K abandoned wells surround 162 national park sites
• Reuters: Top U.S. oil industry lobby sets greenhouse gas disclosure template
• Politico Morning Energy: API’s NEW CLIMATE DISCLOSURE FORMULA
• Reuters: Old, small and CO2-intense: why Canada’s highest-carbon oil sites keep pumping
• The Tyee: BC Looks like an LNG Loser: Report

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

• WTAE: Donation funds upgrades for Burgettstown youth baseball and softball park

OPINION

• NRDC: The Rubber Stamp Allowing Pipelines to Pollute Clean Water
• Truthout: Terrifying UN Draft Climate Report Urges Total Transformation of Our Way of Life
• Washington Examiner: Biden can’t please anyone with moves on pipelines
• Madison.com: Jennifer Hedstrom: Get involved in fight against Enbridge pipeline

PIPELINE NEWS

Native News Online: Law Enforcement Violates Treaty Rights Near Line 3 Construction in Northern Minnesota
BY DARREN THOMPSON, 6/26/21

“As construction continues on Enbridge Line 3 replacement project so does activity by those who oppose the controversial tar sands oil pipeline in northern Minnesota,” Native News Online reports. “On Wednesday, several people locked themselves to equipment used by Enbridge to bore through the Straight River in Hubbard County, Minn. Also, on the same day, the Red Lake Treaty Camp was informed that the camp would be evicted by the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office and people would be arrested for trespassing on land Enbridge claims is theirs. On Monday, in Palisade, Minn., law enforcement arrested three people at a ceremonial prayer lodge protected under treaty law and federal order. “I write to give notice of DNR officers and Aitkin County Deputies intentionally violating the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, Public Law No. 95-341, 92 Stat. 469 to cause fear and intimidate and interfere with our tribal member’s cultural and religious practices to protect and preserve our inherent right of freedom to believe, express, and exercise their traditional religious rites, spiritual and cultural practices,” Executive Director of the 1855 Treaty Authority Frank Bibeau wrote in a letter to Commissioner of Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Sarah Strommen and Aitkin County Sheriff Dan Guida. “Please respect our treaty rights and obey the federal laws that protect our rights,” wrote Bibeau. Protesters have been met with strong tactics by law enforcement. Last week, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office brought attack dogs in an effort to evict the Red Lake Treaty Camp. The use of attack dogs by private security were previously used near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation during the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline and was heavily scrutinized by the public. “

DL Online: Despite pressure from pipeline opponents, Biden administration continues defense of Enbridge’s Line 3 project
Jimmy Lovrien, 6/27/21

“The Biden administration defended a federal permit for Enbridge’s Line 3 oil pipeline Wednesday, June 24, indicating it won’t oppose the 340-mile pipeline across northern Minnesota despite repeated calls by environmental groups and Ojibwe bands to pull the project’s federal permits,” DL Online reports. “In a Wednesday court filing, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urged a federal judge to deny a request by opponents asking the judge to reverse a permit overseeing the project’s construction-related impacts to waters of the U.S… “The bands and groups had argued the Army Corps failed to consider severe environmental impacts, including climate change and potential spills of heavy Canadian oil. They also said the Army Corps should have conducted an environmental impact statement. But in its reply Wednesday, the Army Corps stood by its permit and said it had weighed everything properly. The federal agency said it did not need to conduct an impact statement because it relied on one complied by Minnesota regulators… “Today’s action by the Biden administration is a massive, tar sands pipeline-sized missed opportunity to break with the Trump administration’s pro-polluter agenda and stand on the side of Indigenous rights and climate justice,” Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, said in a news release. “Allowing Line 3 to move forward is, at best, inconsistent with the bold promises on climate and environmental justice President Biden campaigned and was elected on.”

Facebook: Welcome Water Protectors Center at the Great River [VIDEO]: This morning at around 5AM, our community of land and water protectors was woken up by loud, foreign banging noise
6/27/21

“This morning at around 5AM, our community of land and water protectors was woken up by loud, foreign banging noise. This video was taken at around 5:45AM. Many of us ran outside of our tents  to identify the noise. Early this morning while some of our community sat in prayer at the prayer lodge we could feel the ground shaking. We could hear drilling. Simultaneously when the banging sounds began, all the power at camp was cut. This disastrous Line 3 tar sands pipeline has been a sight of much pain and grief for many of us who feel a deep connection to this sacred, indigenous lands. We cannot and will not normalize the destruction of Mother Earth. We are working to restore the power and continue preparing for the show we will be having tomorrow here at the river, bringing more awareness to this frontline. Check out of earlier posts for more info about the show. Now more than ever, we invite you to stand and defend this land with us, to do so in prayer with us. If not now, when?”

Honor the Earth [VIDEO]: Enbridge Line 3 Drill Starting to Bore
6/27/21

“As Enbridge Energy starts the process of boring under the Mississippi River to shove a 30 inch pipe into the earth to transport tar sands oil Morningstar Goodsky, Tania Aubid and Winona LaDuke can feel the earth rumble as the drills start up. Enbridge miscalculated the amount of water they need for drilling and have increased their demand for 5 billion gallons of Minnesota’s public water. That is the equivalent of half of the water in Lake Minnetonka in Minneapolis. Indigenous people have treaty rights and they are being violated with the permitting of this pipeline. Filmed June 23, 2021 on the banks of the Mississippi River 10 miles north of Palisade, Minnesota on the Great River Road. Filmed and edited by Keri Pickett/ Honor the Earth.”

Honor the Earth [VIDEO]: Taysha Martineau and Winona LaDuke at the lodge
6/27/21

“Taysha Martineau and Winona LaDuke discuss indigenous women’s role to ensure the future of the planet. Indigenous women all along the line have set up Line 3 resistance camps to help educate people about Treaty Rights, tar sands and the rights of nature. The Canadian Corporation Enbridge has started drilling for the pipeline Line 3. Winona and Taysha conversed June 23, 2021 on the banks of the Mississippi River at the site of a traditional ceremonial lodge set up by Tania Aubid and Winona LaDuke before pipeline construction began in December of 2020. Produced by Keri Pickett/Honor the Earth”

Facebook: White Earth Nation: The White Earth Reservation Business Committee continues to stand strong in opposition to the construction of the Enbridge Line 3 Replacement Project through our 1855 Treaty territory
6/24/21

“As the people of the White Earth Reservation gathered today in a walk/run, ceremony and feast to protect our water and manoomin, the White Earth Reservation Business Committee continues to stand strong in opposition to the construction of the Enbridge Line 3 Replacement Project through our 1855 Treaty territory. Last week, word came through concerned Band members about water being taken from Upper Rice Lake. While this taking of water was not by Enbridge and was for a local road construction project, it raised serious concerns about how State and Federal authorities are handling the issue of water displacement during a moderate drought. The RBC took immediate action to meet with decisionmakers in the Army Corps of Engineering and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. On Monday, June 21, 2021, leaders from White Earth and Red Lake consulted with Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Jaime Pinkham and others to discuss concerns relating to the Army Corps of Engineers’ permit issued to Enbridge for the construction of Line 3. The RBC brought forward violations regarding the consultation process before the permit was issued, as well as numerous concerns about the replacement project since construction commenced pursuant to the permit. The RBC again requested the Army Corps rescind or suspend their permit and asked that the Biden Administration stand by its pledge to Indian Country and our environment by stopping this construction project. Conversations with the Army Corps are on-going and White Earth and others remain in federal litigation against the Army Corps regarding the permit. The RBC will continue to do everything in its power to get the federal permit suspended or rescinded.”

Beside: Water Protectors: Meet the Grassroots Grandmothers
Hannah Martin, 6/27/21

“In the language of the Mi’kmaw people who have lived along the northeast coast of North America for thousands of years, L’nu is a term of identity for those who live in accordance with the Creator’s Original Instructions,” Beside reports. “It means “the people,” but it also signifies “a deeper meaning of being a true human,” Michelle Paul, a Mi’kmaw Water Protector from the Sipekne’katik District, told Beside. Paul is a close collaborator of the Grassroots Grandmothers, a group of Mi’kmaw activists whose singular calling for the last seven years has been to embody the L’nu way by fighting to protect the Sipekne’katik (Shubenacadie) River from a dangerous plan to store natural gas near its shores. “What we are doing here in our resistance is re­defining and reshaping our future, and taking it into our own hands,” she explains… “We know how power­ful our Treaty rights are,” Wowkwis Ku’ku’kwes (Madonna Bernard), one of the Grandmothers, told Beside. “We know how powerful those words are: unceded territories. Those words are very powerful in the political system, and they can’t take that away from us.” Following an appeal by the Sipekne’katik First Nation based on a lack of consultation, the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia delayed the project in 2017.”

Forbes: Documentary ‘End Of The Line’ Chronicles Women In Dakota Access Pipeline Battle
Toni Fitzgerald, 6/25/21

“When Shannon Kring arrived in Standing Rock, she didn’t have enough money to pay her camera guy. The documentary maker went there on a whim, flying from Honduras to the location of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in 2016 without funding or a plan,” Forbes reports. “A feeling took hold of me, and I went until I was on the ground shooting. It took about 48 hours. It was really fast,” Kring told Forbes. She had been covering human rights abuses and water rights in Central America but felt compelled to document what was happening in Standing Rock after seeing footage of the protests. “I was surprised by how the things happening in North Dakota really mirrored what I was covering in Honduras,” she says. “Anything I posted about Honduras on social media, people would react by saying ‘it’s just awful what they’re doing to these people.’ But back home, the same things were happening at Standing Rock and people were ignoring it. It was disconcerting.” Kring knew she wanted to make a documentary, and she knew receiving the trust of the people she wanted to document would be critical to telling the real story… “She quickly realized that the story of Standing Rock was actually the story of the women involved in the protests. The resulting film, End of The Line: The Women of Standing Rock, which Kring co-directed with Daniel-Means, bows on Fuse today on the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Little Bighorn.”

WMRA: StoryCorps in the Valley: Taking On the Atlantic Coast Pipeline
By MATT BINGA , 6/23/21

“July 5, 2021 marks the one-year anniversary of Duke Energy and Dominion Energy’s decision to cancel the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. In recognition of that event, we’re sharing a WMRA StoryCorps conversation today between Sarah Francisco and Nancy Sorrells. Sarah Francisco grew up on a farm south of Staunton and is now an attorney, heading up the Virginia office of the Southern Environmental Law Center. Full disclosure, the Southern Environmental Law Center underwrites programming on WMRA. Nancy Sorrells is a historian and a former member of the Augusta County Board of Supervisors. They are both members of the Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley and worked together, alongside many allies, to oppose the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Their conversation begins with Nancy Sorrells highlighting a key decision in Augusta County that denied the establishment of an Atlantic Coast Pipeline staging area.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

Washington Post: As Democrats spar over advancing Biden’s climate agenda, they move to cut methane
By Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis, 6/25/21

“The House voted Friday to restore a rule curbing leaks of methane from oil and gas operations, a step forward in the fight against climate change that comes amid growing tensions among Democrats over whether more dramatic action is being sacrificed in the push for a bipartisan infrastructure deal,” the Washington Post reports. “The vote to require oil and gas operations to limit methane, a potent greenhouse gas whose emissions have surged in recent years, represents an attempt to roll back the Trump administration’s deregulatory environmental push. Global levels of methane, which traps roughly 80 times as much heat as carbon dioxide in the first two decades after it is released, have continued to soar even during the economic downturn. The move to put back in place the methane restrictions implemented under President Barack Obama, which passed on a 229 to 191 vote, is intended to combat that startling trend by taking aim at the oil and gas sector, which ranks as the nation’s largest industrial source of methane emissions. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), a leading advocate for reinstating the Obama-era policies, said the policy change would help slow warming and prevent pollutants that can harm people’s health in the short term. “If we are going to get serious about addressing the climate crisis, let’s get serious about cutting our methane emissions,” DeGette said on the House floor. “If we are going to get serious about protecting the public’s health, let’s pass this legislation today.”

CNN.com: House passes resolution that would repeal a Trump-era EPA rule on methane emissions
By Daniella Diaz and Kristin Wilson, 6/25/21

“The House voted Friday to repeal a Trump-era rule that rolled back regulations of methane emissions from oil and gas industries, sending a resolution to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature as his administration looks to combat climate change,” CNN.com reports.The final vote was 229-191. All Democrats supported the resolution, and 12 Republicans broke ranks and supported it as well. The resolution would restore an Obama-era rule that controlled leaks of methane from oil and gas operations. In September, the Trump administration rolled back the 2016 regulation limiting methane leaks by requiring companies to monitor and repair new natural gas equipment… “The Republicans who voted for the resolution were Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan, Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, Peter Meijer of Michigan, Pete Sessions of Texas, Brian Mast of Florida, Andrew Garbarino of New York, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, John Katko of New York, Young Kim of California, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Tom Reed of New York and Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida.”

Press release: Canada strengthens energy partnership with the United States
6/25/21

“Canada and the United States are strengthening their bilateral energy relationship. The North American energy sector is highly integrated, supporting workers and bringing economic benefits to both sides of the border. The Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr., Minister of Natural Resources, and Jennifer Granholm, the United States Secretary of Energy, participated in today’s signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on energy cooperation. The Canadian and United States portions of the North American Renewables Integration Study (NARIS) were also released today. The MOU is a key milestone in meeting the commitments set out in the Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership. The partnership underscores the importance of strategic collaboration between the two countries, including Canada’s commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The MOU reaffirms our shared priority of a people-centred clean energy transition that leaves no one behind. Specifically, it increases bilateral cooperation on sustainable and equitable energy transitions, clean energy innovation, connectivity and low-carbon transportation, including in the following areas: North American critical energy infrastructure and cybersecurity; advancement of a clean electric grid; clean fuels; energy efficiency standards; the Canada-U.S. Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals; knowledge sharing on nuclear energy policies; and collaboration on carbon capture, utilization and storage… “No two countries in the world have their energy sectors as closely linked as Canada and the United States do. It’s a relationship that supports thousands of jobs and drives economic activity on both sides of the border. We’re strengthening our bilateral energy relationship to build a clean energy future. And we’re leaving no one behind,” said Seamus O’Regan Jr., Minister of Natural Resources.

Waterkeeper Alliance: Hundreds of Groups Demand Biden Name Climate-Focused FERC Commissioner
6/23/21

“Over 320 community, climate, and environmental groups from across the country sent a letter to President Biden today demanding that he nominate a commissioner to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) who will prioritize climate action by stopping the approval of fossil fuel projects. The letter was organized by Food & Water Watch, Beyond Extreme Energy, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, and Berks Gas Truth. Signatories include Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, Indigenous Environmental Network, Progressive Democrats of America, Sierra Club, and 350.org. With Republican commissioner Neil Chatterjee leaving the agency on June 30, much of the Biden White House’s climate legacy will hinge on this nomination. As the federal agency that oversees interstate gas infrastructure, FERC has immense power to curtail the growth of the industry… “This FERC appointment will be instrumental in helping to fulfill your commitment to addressing this crisis. We urge you to appoint a new commissioner committed to following climate science, stopping new fossil fuel infrastructure, and transitioning the country to 100% renewable energy.“ “History may record that President Biden’s 2021 appointment of a strong climate champion to be a FERC commissioner was one of the most consequential actions he took to slow, stop and reverse global heating over the course of the 21st century,” said Ted Glick of Beyond Extreme Energy. “History may also record that humankind failed this urgent, existential test in part because Biden didn’t do so. This is the importance of this nomination.”

STATE UPDATES

Politico Morning Energy: PREEMPTION BILLS
Matthew Choi, 6/25/21

“Florida this week became the latest state to enact a law preempting local government decisions on energy that makes it difficult for cities to reduce fossil fuels by switching to renewable energy. The legislation sweeping across the country is part of a broader Republican effort to take away power from mayors and city councils on a range of issues, Liz Crampton reports. In the energy space, 14 states have passed legislation this year preempting local decision-making over the fuels used to power homes and buildings.”

Boulder Daily Camera: Boulder County seeks Colorado Supreme Court review in Crestone drilling dispute
By JOHN FRYAR, 6/24/21

“Boulder County is seeking a Colorado Supreme Court reversal of a lower court’s decision that upheld Crestone Peak Resource Operating LLC’s right to extract oil and gas in the eastern part of the county,” Boulder Daily Camera reports. “Boulder County officials announced Thursday afternoon that they had filed a petition with the state’s high court asking it to review and overturn the Court of Appeals ruling issued in May that said two of the company’s oil and gas leases of mineral rights remained valid despite four-month gaps in oil and gas production, according to a county news release. “It’s a critical issue for the whole state,” Senior Assistant County Attorney Kate Burke said in a statement in the news release. “Oil and gas leases stay valid as long as production continues. But what does the word ‘production’ mean? The Court of Appeals said production includes shut-in wells that yield no oil or gas, meaning operators can hold leases open without actually producing anything.” “…“People’s mineral private property should have priority over oil and gas companies’ profits,” County Commissioner Matt Jones said in a statement. “We hope the Colorado Supreme Court will overturn the Court of Appeals and help fix this problem.”

E&E News: N.M. Roars Back From Oil Slump, Hits Record Production
Mike Lee, 6/25/21

“New Mexico’s oil production has bounced back from the pandemic, and the state has eclipsed North Dakota to become the second-biggest U.S. oil producer,” according to E&E News. “The state’s drillers pumped a record 1.18 million barrels a day in March, up from 1.13 million barrels a day in the same month a year ago, legislative staffers told the state’s finance committee earlier this week. ‘New Mexico is the only top oil-producing state to have recovered to prepandemic levels of production,’ the state staffers wrote in a report. In the short term, the oil business will boost New Mexico’s tax revenue, but the report cautioned lawmakers to prepare for the long term. Texas, the biggest oil-producing state, produced 4.7 million barrels a day in March, down from 5.4 million before the pandemic, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. North Dakota’s production dropped to just over 1 million barrels a day during the same period, down from 1.4 million before the COVID-19 outbreak slowed down the economy… “In the long term, New Mexico’s oil production could decline due to changes in federal policies or a shift away from the world’s reliance on oil and gas for energy. About half of New Mexico’s oil and gas comes from federal property.”

WFMZ: Southwest Pennsylvania family urges governor to broaden pending methane rule
By Christen Smith, 6/24/21

“A Washington County family pleaded with Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday to expand the state’s pending methane emissions rule,” WFMZ reports. “Lois Bower Bjornson, the southwestern Pennsylvania field organizer for the Clean Air Council, and her children – 15-year-old Gunnar and 11-year-old Odessa – traveled to Harrisburg to stand beside lawmakers and environmental groups who remain concerned about the level of methane emissions that will escape from more than 71,000 conventional gas wells untouched by a regulation pending at the Department of Environmental Protection. “I chose to do this work because the idyllic country life we envisioned was turned into a nightmare when the natural gas infrastructure that surrounds us negatively impacted the health of all my children and my neighbors,” Bower Bjornson said during a news conference on the Capitol steps Wednesday… “Gunnar and Odessa said they’ve been plagued with health issues since hydraulic fracturing operations moved into the county – the epicenter of the natural gas drilling industry in Pennsylvania – and began polluting the air and water around their home. “Don’t you want your grandchildren and your kids to have a better future?” Odessa said, “You can help with the climate crisis. It’s up to you, Gov. Wolf.”

EXTRACTION

Associated Press: Boom in Native American oil complicates Biden climate push
By MATTHEW BROWN and FELICIA FONSECA, 6/24/21

“On oil well pads carved from the wheat fields around Lake Sakakawea, hundreds of pump jacks slowly bob to extract 100 million barrels of crude annually from a reservation shared by three Native American tribes. About half their 16,000 members live on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation atop one of the biggest U.S. oil discoveries in decades, North Dakota’s Bakken shale formation,” according to the Associated Press. “The drilling rush has brought the tribes unimagined wealth — more than $1.5 billion and counting — and they hope it will last another 20 to 25 years. The boom also propelled an almost tenfold spike in oil production from Native American lands since 2009, federal data shows, complicating efforts by President Joe Biden to curb carbon emissions. Burning of oil from tribal lands overseen by the U.S. government now produces greenhouse gases equivalent to about 12 million vehicles a year, according to an Associated Press analysis. But Biden exempted Native American lands from a suspension of new oil and gas leases on government-managed land in deference to tribes’ sovereign status… “With tribal lands now producing more than 3% of U.S. oil and huge reserves untapped, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland — the first Native American to lead a U.S. cabinet-level agency — faces competing pressures to help a small number of tribes develop their fossil fuels while also addressing climate change that affects all Native communities. “We’re one of the few tribes that have elected to develop our energy resources. That’s our right,” tribal Chairman Mark Fox told AP at the opening of a Fort Berthold museum and cultural center built with oil revenue. “We can develop those resources and do it responsibly so our children and grandchildren for the next 100 years have somewhere to live.”

Reuters: Reducing oil use to meet climate targets is tougher than cutting supply
6/25/21

“Governments around the world have been slow to take uncomfortable decisions to persuade consumers to cut energy consumption to help achieve climate targets, often because consumers are not ready to pay up or compromise their lifestyles,” Reuters reports. “Researchers, policy makers and energy executives told a Reuters Energy Transition conference this week that while energy companies were under pressure to accelerate measures to reduce emissions, governments have barely addressed reducing demand for the fossil fuels that warm the planet. A growing population in Asia and booming consumerism in industrialized nations make most climate targets very difficult, if not impossible to achieve. Just this month, Swiss voters rejected environmental proposals by governments to help the country cut carbon emissions, including measures to raise a surcharge on car fuel and impose a levy on flight tickets. The International Energy Agency, the steward of energy policies in industrialized nations, last month said the world should not develop new oil and gas fields to achieve net-zero targets by 2050. But its head Fatih Birol said this week net-zero targets were a pipe dream without global consumption patterns changing. “We see a widening gap between rhetoric and what is happening in real life,” he said. So many governments are coming with net-zero targets by 2050 and the same year CO2 emissions are growing and it will be the second-largest increase in history.” “Consumer behavior needs to change as a result of government steps.”.

E&E News: Report: 32K abandoned wells surround 162 national park sites
Jennifer Yachnin, 6/24/21

“More than a third of all National Park Service units sit within 30 miles of an orphaned oil or gas well — with nearly a dozen sites surrounded by 1,000 or more abandoned facilities, according to a new analysis,” E&E News reports. “The National Parks Conservation Association, which conducted the review along with the FracTracker Alliance, found nearly 32,000 abandoned wells surrounding 162 NPS units. ‘It is shocking to learn how many orphaned oil and gas wells are leaking dangerous pollutants into the air and water, harming not only our national parks but also local communities,’ NPCA Energy Program Manager America Fitzpatrick said in a statement. Derelict oil and gas wells are considered a health and climate hazard because of the sites’ potential to leak gases, including methane, into the atmosphere and water sources. The NPCA analysis shows the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in California sitting amid the largest number of orphaned wells of any NPS unit, with more than 5,700 orphaned wells located within a 30-mile radius of the site. Nearly 3,000 abandoned wells sit near both the Harry S. Truman National Historic Site in Missouri and the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park in Indiana. Other sites with at least 1,000 abandoned wells nearby include the Channel Islands National Park in California, Scotts Bluff National Monument in Nebraska, President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site in Arkansas, Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky, Fort Scott National Historic Site in Kansas, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area in Tennessee, and Gauley River National Recreation Area in West Virginia. According to Interior Department data, NPS shows 374 abandoned or orphaned wells on the public lands it oversees.”

Reuters: Top U.S. oil industry lobby sets greenhouse gas disclosure template
Laila Kearney, 6/24/21

“The biggest U.S. oil and gas trade association on Thursday released new industry guidelines for energy companies to report greenhouse gas emissions, in a bid to address the sector’s carbon footprint,” Reuters reports. “The American Petroleum Institute, which includes Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and Chevron Corp (CVX.N), said the framework aims to standardize the way companies track emissions, including flared natural gas, and prompts them to voluntarily disclose those details publicly… “The five sections of API’s disclosure template include ones to log and disclose data on greenhouse gasses emitted directly from company assets, and emissions from the energy the companies use. There are also sections for companies to report emission reduction efforts through the use of renewable electricity, carbon capture and other measures, as well as details about how the companies independently verify their data. API’s new guidelines exclude so-called Scope 3 emissions, which take into account greenhouse gas emissions from customers using the oil and gas they have purchased for transportation and other uses.”

Politico Morning Energy: API’s NEW CLIMATE DISCLOSURE FORMULA
Matthew Choi, 6/25/21

“The American Petroleum Institute unveiled a voluntary template for its members to disclose their greenhouse gas emission,” Politico Morning Energy reports. “Ben breaks down what it entails : “The template put forward by API includes five data sections, including areas to list emissions that came from energy a company consumed or purchased, how much carbon dioxide the company captured, and how much electricity it acquired from renewable energy sources. It does not ask for data on emissions generated from the oil and gas companies produce, something environmental groups and investors have asked for.” The move comes as the Securities and Exchange Commission ponders making emissions reporting mandatory in financial disclosures. API argues its members are already disclosing enough information without an SEC mandate.”

Reuters: Old, small and CO2-intense: why Canada’s highest-carbon oil sites keep pumping
Rod Nickel, 6/28/21

“In the shadow of Canada’s mega oil sands projects, smaller, technologically outdated facilities are churning out up to three times more emissions per barrel than the sector’s already high average,” Reuters reports. “These projects present another challenge to Canada’s goal to cut emissions by 40-45% by 2030. With oil prices near 2-1/2-year highs and dim prospects for building new projects in a world heading toward net zero, operators are aiming to pump dry existing facilities, including the most carbon-intense sites. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is slowly ramping up a national carbon price from C$40 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) to C$170 by 2030. Those rising costs may eventually render the sites uneconomic, but until then, producers are seeking maximum benefit from rebounding oil prices. “These assets are flying under the regulatory radar and they might for awhile,” Andrew Logan, senior director of oil and gas at shareholder advisory group Ceres, told Reuters.

The Tyee: BC Looks like an LNG Loser: Report
Zoe Yunker, 6/24/21

“Once touted as an economic powerhouse, the liquified natural gas industry is on the rocks, according to a worldwide survey of LNG terminals from the Global Energy Monitor, a non-profit research group responding to climate change,” The Tyee reports. “LNG terminals are among the largest capital projects attempted in modern industry, costing up to $30 billion per project. Gas is extracted from underground deposits, piped to LNG plants where it is compressed by cooling to liquid form, loaded onto ships and transported to other markets. “The sheer size of the projects has exposed investors to catastrophic losses,” Lydia Plante, lead author of the just-released report, told the Tyee. “The survey found that planned projects representing 38 per cent of global export capacity are facing delayed final investment decisions and other serious holdups. Cost overruns are common. Canadian LNG is particularly bad off, Ted Nace, executive director of the Global Energy Monitor, told The Tyee. “The problem with the Canadian LNG expansion is that it’s especially vulnerable because Canada is a high-cost producer on a world basis.” That’s because Canada plans to produce its LNG from fracking — an energy and capital-intensive process to access gas hidden deep inside shale rock.Canadian LNG comes up short on the global market, said Nace, particularly when it competes against countries where conventional gas sources make LNG cheaper to produce.”

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

WTAE: Donation funds upgrades for Burgettstown youth baseball and softball park
6/27/21

“The Burgettstown Area Youth Baseball and Softball Association (BAYBSA) was awarded a donation of $5,000 from energy logistics company, Energy Transfer,” WTAE reports. “The donation will be used to fund new additions and enhancements at a Burgettstown youth baseball and softball park, including a new concession stand and field drainage. “The kids are the fabric of the community. We can get more kids out here, get more time on the field, raise more money for the kids,” said Jim Petrel of BAYBSA. “It goes 100 percent back into the community and kids, which is why we reached out to Energy Transfer, who wanted to partner with a local community organization.”

OPINION

NRDC: The Rubber Stamp Allowing Pipelines to Pollute Clean Water
Amy Mall, 6/21/21

“NRDC is concerned about the construction and operation of oil and gas pipelines because the climate emissions associated with massive new fossil fuel pipelines are unacceptable if we want to meet the goals needed to protect the planet,” Amy Mall writes for NRDC. “Additionally, the damage to farms, homes, wildlife habitat, health, and drinking water sources are unconscionable when we have cleaner alternatives. Exporting dirty energy to other countries is equally disturbing… “The Clean Water Act (CWA) is designed to protect our surface waters from pollution. The law is strong, but its implementation has fallen short of where it needs to be when it comes to CWA permits for pipelines… “I think most of us would be shocked to learn that some major pipelines are approved under NWP 12. For example, the Byhalia pipeline would be built across a pristine drinking water aquifer, near water wells that provide drinking water to more than one million people in Tennessee and Mississippi, and would cut through several Black communities in Memphis that already suffer from concentrated environmental burdens. These pipelines undeniably have more than minimal adverse environmental effects and contribute to legal violations. Mountain Valley has already agreed to pay more than $2 million in penalties for more than 350 water quality violations cited by Virginia and West Virginia while under construction under NWP12, and it’s not even close to being completed (Mountain Valley originally received NWP12 approval but its owners have since withdrawn due to legal issues and applied for an individual permit)… “To add insult to injury, the Trump administration weakened Clean Water Act regulations such that millions of miles of streams and millions of acres of wetlands are being denied protection under the law. This means that pipelines won’t even have to follow the weak requirements of NWP12 (which the Trump administration irresponsibly rolled back) when they cross certain kinds of water bodies. But the Biden administration can act to reverse the dangerous pipeline permit decisions of the prior administration. In addition to Mountain Valley, for example, Mariner East 2 is not yet finished but is linked to contamination of drinking water sources for dozens of families and farms, as well as 320 spills.”

Truthout: Terrifying UN Draft Climate Report Urges Total Transformation of Our Way of Life
William Rivers Pitt, 6/24/21

“…According to a terrifying, massive and excruciatingly detailed report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which was obtained by Agence France-Presse (AFP), what is happening out west is not a meteorological fluke, but a hard look at the immediate future of the planet. “Species extinction, more widespread disease, unlivable heat, ecosystem collapse, cities menaced by rising seas — these and other devastating climate impacts are accelerating and bound to become painfully obvious before a child born today turns 30,” reports AFP… “Beyond the dire warnings contained in the report, the assessment of current efforts to curtail climate disruption is damning. One example offered is the 2015 Paris Agreement, which seeks to limit global warming to a 1.5 degree Celsius increase — two degrees at most. This was based on the assumption that the Earth would not warm that much before the year 2100. According to the data included in the report, “On current trends, we’re heading for three degrees Celsius at best…. Last month, the World Meteorological Organization projected a 40 percent chance that Earth will cross the 1.5-degree threshold for at least one year by 2026.” In other words, nearly every idea floated by governments to address climate disruption is woefully insufficient and out of date. “Current levels of adaptation will be inadequate to respond to future climate risks,” reads the IPCC report. Billions face the threat of coastal destruction, drought, famine, fire and plague … not after 2100, but today, tomorrow and the day after that. All of this is already happening, and much of it cannot be stopped. This is no longer a theoretical exercise to solve a problem that is 80 years away. This is now. We need to change everything about how we exist as creatures on this planet, and we need to do it now, or the planet is going to scrub us like so much gibberish on a chalkboard.”

Washington Examiner: Biden can’t please anyone with moves on pipelines
Josh Siegel, 6/27/21

“The Biden administration delivered a small victory for green activists on Wednesday, saying it would scrutinize the environmental effects of a portion of the Line 5 oil pipeline in Michigan, wading into a long-waged battle. That win proved short-lived. Later that night, the Biden administration defended the Trump administration’s support of the contentious Line 3 oil pipeline expansion in northern Minnesota in a federal lawsuit challenging a key permit,” Josh Siegel writes in the Washington Examiner. “…The administration’s gymnastics over pipelines this week caused environmental activists to accuse President Joe Biden of taking an “inconsistent” approach to interstate oil and gas infrastructure and not being fully committed to his pledge to cut emissions from fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change. “The Biden administration’s approach to Trump-era pipelines has been wildly inconsistent and unacceptable,” Collin Rees, senior campaigner with Oil Change U.S., which advocates keeping fossil fuels in the ground, told the Examiner. “Biden appears to have abandoned any pretense of listening to science or environmental justice communities.” “…”There is no inconsistency from Biden here,” Christi Tezak, a managing director at ClearView Energy Partners who studies interstate pipelines, told the Examiner “Just because it was issued under the last administration, a permit is not guaranteed to be flawed. The best protection against shifting political winds is following law and regulations.”

Madison.com: Jennifer Hedstrom: Get involved in fight against Enbridge pipeline
6/27/21

“I moved to Madison in 2010 for graduate school, fell in love with the city, and have since made it my permanent home. My love for Madison is tied to the lakes that surround us here. I sit by the water any chance I can. Sitting next to Lake Wingra on a summer evening, I am filled with peace. I am awed by the reality that this lake is a tiny percentage of the water that covers the earth and reflect on how bodies of water are a vast network connecting us all to one another,” Jennifer Hedstrom writes for Madison.com. “It is this interconnectedness that makes me concerned about Enbridge’s Line 5 and its impact on the watershed of Northern Wisconsin. Line 5’s current route is a threat to Lakes Superior, Huron and Michigan. In its 67-year history, it has spilled over 1 million gallons of tar sands oil. Enbridge’s proposed reroute (read, new pipeline) could cause great damage in the event of a spill due to its proximity to Copper Falls. We should all be concerned about the impact this pipeline would have. Line 5 may be “up north,” but there are many ways to get involved in the fight here in Madison.”