EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 6/8/23

PIPELINE NEWS

• Guardian: Protesters to march on White House as anger mounts over Appalachia pipeline

• Morningstar: Equitrans: The Path Forward Is Now Clear for the Mountain Valley Pipeline

• South Dakota Public Broadcasting: Summit disagrees with county efforts to increase pipeline setbacks

• Bismarck Tribune: Lucas Franco testifies at carbon pipeline hearing [VIDEO]

• Bismarck Tribune: Josh Schultz testifies in favor of Summit pipeline [VIDEO]

• Route Fifty: Safely Routing Carbon-Capture Pipelines

• Michigan Radio: Debt ceiling law raises questions on timeline of Line 5 tunnel environmental review

• WAOW: Push for propane pipeline comes through Wausau

• The Progress-Index: What you need to know: Where TC Energy’s pipeline project now stands and more

• Canadian Press: Cenovus fined after wastewater release from former Husky-owned pipeline

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• Common Dreams: Climate Orgs Launch Week of Action to End the Era of Fossil Fuels

• E&E News: Manchin Plans To Introduce Another Permitting Bill

• Press release: Manchin Urges EPA To Improve Implementation Of Methane Emissions Reduction Program

• Washington Post: Republican senators press EPA on new power plants rule

• E&E News: Interior Watchdog Questions Oil Royalty Cuts 

STATE UPDATES

• Louisiana Illuminator: Limits on carbon capture quashed in Louisiana Legislature despite environmental concerns

• Casper Star-Tribune: UW takes over management of carbon capture test center

EXTRACTION

• Barchart: Exxon’s Plan To Monetize “Carbon Capture”

• The Center Square: Carbon capture success hinges on taxpayer subsidies, for now

• Press release: STATEMENT BY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS ON THE NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON CLIMATE JUSTICE & CARBON MANAGEMENT

• Globe and Mail: Irving Oil conducting strategic review that may include possible sale of business

• Local Journalism Initiative: Marine refuge could be changed to allow for offshore oil drilling, natural resources minister says

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

• E&E News: An oil state hired the biggest PR firms to buff its climate image. It didn’t help.

OPINION

• People’s World: Carbon capture pipelines: Climate solution or catastrophe waiting to happen?

• The Hill: GOP efforts to protect gas stoves only burn consumers

• The Hill: Permitting reform is a win on climate change — Republicans need to talk about it
  

PIPELINE NEWS

Guardian: Protesters to march on White House as anger mounts over Appalachia pipeline
Oliver Milman in New York, 6/8/23

“Protesters are set to descend upon the White House on Thursday under smoky skies amid growing anger among climate activists at Joe Biden for allowing a controversial gas pipeline in Appalachia to be fast-tracked,” the Guardian reports. “Several hundred protesters are expected to gather in Washington to demand Biden “reclaim his climate legacy” by blocking the Mountain Valley pipeline, a 300-mile pipeline that will bring fracked gas from West Virginia to southern Virginia. Organizers said they had ordered N95 masks to help protect protesters amid the air quality alerts linked to the Canadian wildfires. “They’ll be risking arrest under skies filled with smoke from wildfires fueled by the growing climate crisis,” organizer Jamie Henn of Fossil Free Media told the Guardian… “Protesters have already voiced their displeasure directly to Senator Joe Manchin, the conservative West Virginia Democrat and key swing Senate vote who was instrumental in the pipeline’s inclusion in the debt deal. About two dozen protesters interrupted a speech by Manchin at an event on Tuesday by storming the stage and chanting, “Dirty deal, MVP, Manchin, you are killing me!” “…However, organizers of the White House protest told the Guardian they are dismayed at Biden’s acquiescence to the pipeline, which follows previous decisions by the administration to allow the Willow oil drilling project in Alaska and a buildout of gas export facilities on the Gulf of Mexico coast… “I’m just so disappointed. It feels like President Biden is selling out. He has pushed so many fossil fuel projects in the last six months that I just can’t believe it,” Crystal Cavalier, co-founder of 7 Directions of Service, an Indigenous environmental justice group that has been campaigning against the pipeline for the past five years, told the Guardian. “They say this pipeline is for national security but it’s just protecting the money and investments of the developers. I hope President Biden hears us, stops these archaic policies and starts listening to people. He said there would be no more fossil fuel permitting and he just keeps breaking his promises. They are making us into a sacrifice zone and they really have to stop.”

Morningstar: Equitrans: The Path Forward Is Now Clear for the Mountain Valley Pipeline
Stephen Ellis, 6/7/23

“With the path forward now clear for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, we are increasing our fair value estimate to $15 per share from $10.80 after removing our MVP cancellation scenario from our model,” Morningstar reports. “After a multiyear battle with the courts and concerned stakeholders that had effectively blocked it, the Biden administration finally stepped in to save the Mountain Valley Pipeline. With the new legislation declaring the pipeline in the national interest and ordering the relevant agencies to issue the required permits by late June 2023, Equitrans ETRN now expects the pipeline to be in service by the end of 2023… “We also think Equitrans will likely bring online the related Hammerhead and MVP Southgate (Equitrans owns 47% via a joint venture) projects, and combined, all three efforts should increase EBITDA about 30% from 2023 levels. However, it’s possible that these two related projects may face other legal or permitting challenges from stymied MVP opponents, as only the MVP is protected under the legislation.”

South Dakota Public Broadcasting: Summit disagrees with county efforts to increase pipeline setbacks
Evan Walton, 6/7/23

“A Summit Carbon Solutions representative is expressing frustration with counties across the state creating CO2 pipeline setbacks,” South Dakota Public Broadcasting reports. “…Trevor Jones is Regulatory Affairs Manager for Summit. He told SDPB’s In the Moment the various local ordinances are creating unnecessary obstacles. “When we carefully planned this project, obviously prior to this day, our goal was to meet all the rules in place at the time. And at the time there were no setbacks here in Minnehaha County, and throughout the state as well,” Jones told SDPB. “So that’s how we plan the projects. It is just unfortunately, they keep moving the goal post.” “…Jones told SDPB Summit and the entire ethanol industry is disappointed in the commission’s decision. “Unfortunately, that decision by the Minnehaha County commission is obviously not what we or the ethanol industry wanted. It’s important to note that it’s the first time in the county’s history that they put a setback in place for a pipeline.” Jones pointed out the federal minimum pipeline setback is 50 feet. Summit has stated they plans to offer a 250 foot setback whenever possible.”

Bismarck Tribune: Lucas Franco testifies at carbon pipeline hearing [VIDEO]
6/7/23

“Lucas Franco, Research Manager for The Laborer’s Union of Minnesota and North Dakota, testifies in front of the North Dakota Public Service Commission about the proposed Summit carbon pipeline,” the Bismarck Tribune reports.

Bismarck Tribune: Josh Schultz testifies in favor of Summit pipeline [VIDEO]
6/7/23

“Josh Schultz, Director of Engineering for Precision Pipeline, speaks in favor of the proposed Summit CO2 pipeline in front of the North Dakota Public Service Commission,” the Bismarck Tribune reports. 

Route Fifty: Safely Routing Carbon-Capture Pipelines
Kaitlyn Levinson, 6/7/23

“One of the ways the Biden administration proposes to help the country reach the goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is through carbon sequestration,” according to Route Fifty. “…To help inform CO2 pipeline routing decisions, a new resource offers officials nationwide data on infrastructure, land-use policies and environmental conditions that could influence the construction and location of the pipelines. U.S. officials hope to transport 65 million metric tons of carbon per year by 2030, officials at the Energy Department’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, or NETL, said in a statement launching the resource. “Routing of pipelines, trains, and other infrastructure to facilitate CO2 transport depends on being able to evaluate a variety of regulatory, topographic, and potential risk variables,” said Jennifer Bauer, a data scientist at NETL and principal investigator of the Carbon Capture and Storage Pipeline Route Planning Database. “These complex systems require considerable investments and time to plan and complete; making it paramount that the best set of available information is utilized when planning and developing these systems.” With more than 90 GB of spatial data, including variables such as land-use restrictions, soil type, slope of the terrain and the location of current infrastructure such as transportation and energy utilities, the database can help officials efficiently determine optimal routes for pipeline placement, Bauer said.  “The more we can do upfront to make sure that we’re really being responsible and considerate when planning these routes … considering the technical needs, the optimal costs and time reduction needs as well as the social and environmental responsibility … is more likely to lead to long-term success,” Bauer said. 

Michigan Radio: Debt ceiling law raises questions on timeline of Line 5 tunnel environmental review
Teresa Homsi, 6/7/23

“The federal debt ceiling deal signed into law last weekend sets a hard deadline — just two years — on federal environmental reviews of infrastructure projects,” Michigan Radio reports. “But the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees permitting for the project, announced in March it was extending the environmental review for the tunnel to allow for a more “thorough analysis.” The Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority met this week and questioned what the new law means for the permitting process of Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 tunnel. The extension added an extra year-and-a-half to the review process, pushing the final permitting decision into 2026. But under the new law, the timeline could be shortened again. Paul Novak, the corridor authority chair, raised the question of a potentially expedited timeline to the authority and Enbridge… “Andy Doctoroff, one of the corridor authority members, said the group needs to know as soon as possible if the law will shorten the Corps’ timeline. “The implications of the answer are quite significant on the timing of this project and the ability to protect the interests of the lakes in the state,” Doctoroff said.”

WAOW: Push for propane pipeline comes through Wausau
Isak Dinesen, 6/7/23

“Advocates for the Line 5 pipeline relocation project made a stop in Wausau Wednesday afternoon,” WAOW reports. “…People with the Wisconsin Jobs and Energy Coalition brought an example of a pipe that would be used in the project and invited people to sign their name on it… “Without pipelines, we would have to move fuel through trucks or trains and certainly we’d move some fuel that way but imagine how many more trucks, how many more trains we’d have to have if we didn’t have these pipelines in the state of Wisconsin,” said Mark Graul with the Wisconsin Jobs and Energy Coalition. Stefanie Tsosie, a senior attorney with EarthJustice, an environmental activist group against project, disagrees, claiming gas prices may only go up as much as one cent and that Wisconsin’s economy will not see much of a gain. “It’s a Canadian project, it’s a Canadian pipeline and it’s benefitting Canadians and I do think that in order to protect Wisconsin, Line 5 needs to be shut down,” Tsosie told WAOW. She also says the possibility of the pipeline rupturing is strong, and Enbridge, another group behind the pipeline proposal, is not doing enough to ensure the project is safe from those concerns… “Other similar events were scheduled to be held in Superior, Ashland, and Minocqua this week.”

The Progress-Index: What you need to know: Where TC Energy’s pipeline project now stands and more
Joyce Chu, 6/7/23

“Natural gas company TC Energy wants to widen some of its pipelines and double the horsepower of the compressor station located in Prince George on the border of Petersburg in a plan dubbed the “Virginia Reliability Project” (VRP). In doing so, more air-borne pollutants will be emitted from the station,” The Progress-Index reports. “…It’s also considered an “environmental justice community,” made up of poor communities or people of color that disproportionately bear the health hazards of pollutants and experience a reduced quality of life… “A majority of the nine residents we spoke to were not aware of TC Energy’s latest plans… “Many did not want pollutants to increase. Though most of the residents are not happy with the fact that pollutants will increase, they also expressed that there is nothing they can do to stop a big company from doing what it wants. Others said they did not want to get involved… “One particular family who has an underlying health condition of asthma told us that their symptoms have gotten worse since they moved to the area. Those that live closest to the compressor station will bear the higher risk of experiencing respiratory symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, sore throat and shortness of breath and may also experience symptoms such as headaches and burning eyes, retired epidemiologist Suzanne Keller told PI… “FERC recently released a draft environmental impact report on the project and are finalizing public comments before they release a final report of their findings. After the public comment period ends on June 5, FERC will make an order on whether to greenlight or red light the project.”

Canadian Press: Cenovus fined after wastewater release from former Husky-owned pipeline
6/6/23

“Cenovus Energy is facing a fine over a release of wastewater into a wetland,” the Canadian Press reports. “In 2020, a pipeline then belonging to Husky Oil released about 206 cubic metres of produced water through a break in the line and into the surrounding wetland. Cenovus, which merged with Husky in 2021, has been assessed a $140,000 fine by the Alberta Energy Regulator after pleading guilty in provincial court. Money from the fine will be used to improve wetlands in ways that improve biodiversity and benefit at-risk wildlife. The release occurred when Husky stopped flow in a pipeline near Derwent, Alta., after monitoring equipment detected a problem. The water escaped when Husky restarted the pipeline in order to discover the source of that problem.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

Common Dreams: Climate Orgs Launch Week of Action to End the Era of Fossil Fuels
OLIVIA ROSANE, 6/7/23

“In the wake of Biden administration decisions like approving ConocoPhillips’ Willow project and agreeing to fast-track the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), climate organizations and frontline communities across the country are launching a week of action from June 8 to 11 to demand President Joe Biden honor his promise to be the climate president and end the era of fossil fuels for good,” Common Dreams reports. “The action week will include a Thursday rally and sit-in at the White House along with demonstrations at 65 other locations across the nation backed by 64 different Indigenous, climate, labor, and environmental justice groups. “Young people are angry and fed up with watching President Biden cave to the fossil fuel industry time and time again,” Zero Hour organizing director Magnolia Mead said in a statement. “We need an immediate transition to renewable energy to slow the climate crisis, and that’s impossible while our president is still approving massive fossil fuel expansion. If President Biden cares at all for future generations and frontline communities, he must choose to end the era of fossil fuels.” Our public officials clearly lack the political will or backbone to protect our people and the planet. So we must take action.” The action week—whose organizers include Zero Hour, Sunrise, 350.org, the Indigenous Environmental Network, Fridays for Future, and the People vs. Fossil Fuels coalition—grew out of disappointment with Biden’s Willow approval along with the desire to channel young people’s online opposition to that project into direct action. The sense of urgency only mounted when the debt-ceiling agreement, signed into law by Biden Saturday, included approving the MVP and weakening the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which gives frontline communities a say in infrastructure projects. The protest outside the White House, which begins at 2:00 pm ET, will specifically demand that Biden cancel the 300-mile fracked gas MVP through Virginia and West Virginia… “The new direct action group Climate Defiance has promised to risk arrest at the protest and called on everyone of conscience to join them.”

E&E News: Manchin Plans To Introduce Another Permitting Bill
NIDHI PRAKASH, KELSEY BRUGGER, 6/7/23

“Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin warned Tuesday that if Congress is not able to pass more extensive permitting reform this year, the issue could be kicked down the road until at least 2025,” E&E News reports. “If we don’t get it done before the end of the year, it might be a hard lift next year really going into the heart of the cycle of the presidential election,’ the West Virginia Democrat said, speaking Tuesday at a conference on permitting reform. Manchin’s comments come as lawmakers consider whether there is a viable path to more substantial permitting reform this year, in the wake of a debt limit deal that included virtually no progress on issues like transmission.”

Press release: Manchin Urges EPA To Improve Implementation Of Methane Emissions Reduction Program
6/7/23

“Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, wrote a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan, expressing the Senator’s concerns regarding selective implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and urging a delay in enforcing fees on methane emissions under the Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP) until producers have been given a reasonable opportunity to utilize the $1.55 billion in funding provided by the law to address emissions and implement necessary changes for compliance. More than nine months after the enactment of the IRA, neither the funding nor implementation guidance have been released by EPA despite the fee beginning in January 2024. ‘I am writing to convey my strong concerns about the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) selective implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, which has led to delays delivering Congressionally mandated funding for methane emissions reductions and a lack of timely guidance for the energy industry to implement the Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP),’ Senator Manchin wrote.

Washington Post: Republican senators press EPA on new power plants rule
Maxine Joselow, 6/8/23

“Twenty-eight Republican senators, led by Environment and Public Works Committee ranking member Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to extend the public comment period for recently proposed limits on emissions from gas and coal power plants, according to a letter shared exclusively with the Washington Post. “We write to express serious concerns with the limited opportunities for public engagement in the rulemaking process for the Clean Power Plan 2.0,” the senators wrote in the letter sent today to EPA Administrator Michael Regan. “Despite the breadth of the proposal and the novel legal and factual bases presented therein, the EPA has provided scant opportunity for public input.” The Republicans asked the agency to extend the public comment period by at least 60 days and to “create a more inclusive schedule” of in-person public hearings in regions of the country most affected by the proposal. They noted that the comment period for President Donald Trump’s repeal of the Obama-era Clean Power Plan lasted 192 days. If enacted, the rules could spur gas- and coal-fired power plants nationwide to meet tighter emission-reductions standards by either closing or installing carbon capture technology, a move that would boost President Biden’s pledge to cut emissions in half by 2030.  Capito has previously pledged to introduce a Congressional Review Act resolution to repeal the plan once it is finalized. Republican Sens. John Barrasso (Wyo.), Kevin Cramer (N.D.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) also signed the letter, among others.” 

E&E News: Interior Watchdog Questions Oil Royalty Cuts 
Heather Richards, 6/7/23

“Royalty cuts granted to oil operators on public lands and waters can cost the U.S. Treasury billions in lost revenue, according to a report from the Interior Department’s internal watchdog,” E&E News reports. “The Office of Inspector General released an analysis June 2 showing a sometimes sizable decrease in the money going to federal coffers after oil and gas operators enjoy legal deductions or are granted royalty relief. OIG declined to ‘express any opinion on what the most appropriate royalty rates may be,’ stressing that the point of analyzing royalties was to inform policymakers with ‘better and more detailed information.’ ‘Stakeholders and decision makers, both internal and external, may be unaware of the effects that allowances, and royalty relief have on the return on Federal assets,’ the report said. The report recommends Interior’s collections bureau, the Office of Natural Resources Revenue, track and disclose the effective royalty rate. ONRR agreed, promising to publish that data on its website every year. Royalties from federal drilling have become a topic of heated debate during heightened scrutiny of the federal oil and gas program during the Biden administration.”

STATE UPDATES

Louisiana Illuminator: Limits on carbon capture quashed in Louisiana Legislature despite environmental concerns
CLAIRE SULLIVAN, 6/7/23

“A handful of Louisiana lawmakers brought bills this session to address public outcry over carbon capture projects, but their fellow legislators rejected most of their proposals,” the Louisiana Illuminator reports. “…So far, there are at least 20 capture storage sites planned for Louisiana, according to a recent Empower report commissioned by the nonprofit 2030 Fund. Ten have applied for a Class VI permit from the Environmental Protection Agency, which are used for carbon sequestration. But neighbors of the proposed carbon capture facilities  worry about safety risks and ecological  damage, and some environmentalists say the technology enables continued polluting by companies instead of encouraging them to move away from fossil fuels. Amid significant public backlash to a carbon capture project, Livingston Parish tried to put a yearlong moratorium on test wells from the company Air Products, which has plans to sequester CO2 in Lake Maurepas, but a federal judge ruled against the prohibition, according to the Associated Press. Two Republican lawmakers with districts adjacent to Lake Maurepas, which is just west of Lake Pontchartrain, sponsored proposals to halt the Air Products project. Both died in the House… “Some broader bills to address carbon capture also failed to gain traction… “One of his proposals, House Bill 10, would have removed the eminent domain authority of carbon storage facility operators, which could force landowners to give up property for the construction of pipelines. It was involuntarily deferred in the House Committee on Natural Resources… “While proposals to rein in carbon capture languished in the legislature, the state Senate passed a resolution urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to grant the state’s request for primary enforcement authority in administering permitting for Class VI injection wells used in carbon sequestration… “Gov. Edwards, too, has championed the technology as an important component of his climate initiatives. He was the keynote speaker at a Washington, D.C., forum in May on carbon capture and storage held by the Global CCS Institute, a think tank that aims to accelerate the use of CO2 sequestration.”

Casper Star-Tribune: UW takes over management of carbon capture test center
Aedan Hannon, 6/7/23

“The University of Wyoming’s School of Energy Resources is taking over management of the state’s leading carbon capture test site,” the Casper Star-Tribune reports. “The School of Energy Resources is assuming control of the Wyoming Integrated Test Center at Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Dry Fork Station coal plant in Gillette, taking the reins from the Wyoming Energy Authority which has managed the carbon capture test site that first opened in 2018. Friday’s announcement by the university comes weeks after researchers and industry leaders broke ground on two projects to study carbon technologies that could soon extend the viability of coal or natural gas power plants amid market and environmental pressures. The change is largely administrative and will have little impact on day-to-day operations, Jason Begger, the center’s director, told the Tribune. But the School of Energy Resources brings with it resources beyond the four-member Wyoming Energy Authority. The School of Energy Resources itself has been closely involved with the development of the facility as well as an early player in carbon capture research… “Since the center’s inception back in 2014 under then-Gov. Matt Mead, the research site has transformed into one of the few facilities worldwide where carbon capture innovators can test their ideas at a commercial scale… “As the leader of the public-private partnership, the School of Energy Resources will bring with it an ongoing relationship with the U.S. Department of Energy. The school already administers and oversees a number of Department of Energy grants, a relationship that could benefit the test site down the road as the federal government looks to invest more in carbon capture technology.”

EXTRACTION

Barchart: Exxon’s Plan To Monetize “Carbon Capture”
Andy Mukolo, 6/7/23

“Carbon capture, also known as carbon capture and storage (CCS) or carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), is a process that aims to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from various sources, such as power plants, industrial facilities, or even directly from the atmosphere, and store or utilize it to prevent its release into the atmosphere,” Barchart reports. “…Exxon Mobil (XOM) recently announced a deal to capture carbon from a Louisiana plant owned by steelmaker Nucor (NUE) . It will be the first carbon-capture project by Exxon involving a steel plant. According to Barron’s, steelmaking comprises about 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions… “ExxoMobil’s new project, expected to start in 2026, would capture about 800,000 metric tons of carbon a year from producing iron used in steel. The financial benefits of carbon-capture projects increased significantly after Congress announced a 70% subsidy for carbon-capture projects in 2022. Exxon didn’t release targets for the project, but analysts say carbon capture could become a solid source of revenue for the company in the years ahead.”

The Center Square: Carbon capture success hinges on taxpayer subsidies, for now
Anthony Hennen, 6/7/23

“Pennsylvania legislators see the future of reducing carbon emissions through capture and sequestration technology,” The Center Square reports. “…Perhaps most concerning, however, profit in carbon capture and storage is only possible with government subsidies. The Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee met Wednesday for an “informational briefing” to hear about carbon capture’s growth potential, along with some hurdles that could undermine it. Boosters of carbon capture held forth for most of the hearing… “Carbon sequestration is a critical building block to get to a carbon-neutral future in the United States,” said Adam Peltz, director and senior attorney for energy transition at the Environmental Defense Fund. “I’ve seen projections that say that, in order to meet net zero, we need a carbon sequestration industry that is the size of today’s oil and gas industry — so you can only imagine how much infrastructure buildout that will require.” The potential growth has helped carbon capture gain the support of the trades. “Carbon capture is a long-term solution,” Robert Bair, president of the Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council, said. “Carbon capture will create a lot of jobs in Pennsylvania … if done correctly, we set Pennsylvania on the path to economic prosperity.” Pennsylvania has about 5,000 miles of carbon-dioxide pipelines, Peltz noted, and some projections estimate that number could massively grow to 100,000 miles… “Without federal money, carbon capture infrastructure wouldn’t get built. “There is so much federal money that’s being pushed toward this,” Peltz said. “None of this would be economic at all without federal tax credits.” “…I’m confused on how we can do this safely when Shell itself has never demonstrated to safely operate the cracker plant, as you just paid a $10 million fine and were shut down … why should we trust you?” said Sen. Katie Muth, D-Royersford. “You exceeded your yearly allowable emissions within 2 months … part of the problem with the current infrastructure of fossil fuel operations in Pennsylvania is that we do not have adequate government oversight.”

Press release: STATEMENT BY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS ON THE NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON CLIMATE JUSTICE & CARBON MANAGEMENT
6/4/23

“We, the undersigned, attended the National Symposium on Climate Justice and Carbon Management at the Wingspread Center in Wisconsin hosted by GreenLatinos, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, American University’s Institute for Carbon Removal, and the New York Community Trust Foundation. We came as diverse groups representing environmental justice organizations to engage in productive dialogue on the climate and environmental justice implications, questions, and concerns related to carbon management strategies currently being funded and promoted by the federal government and industries. Much of the conversation and questions focused on concerns related to industrial carbon removal in the form of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), Carbon Capture Storage and Utilization (CCUS), hydrogen fuels, and Direct Air Capture (DAC), among others. We write to express the deep concerns and reflections that came out of these discussions which included: There is a lack of a holistic consideration of carbon management that ignores the possibilities for a complete transition away from fossil-fueled industries and economies. There is no regulatory regime at any level of government – local, state or federal – that can protect environmental justice communities from the cumulative risks and dangers associated with industrial carbon management like CCS… “Huge financial incentives for CCS/CCUS and hydrogen projects that are in the 45Q and 45V federal tax credits, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are inappropriately investing public tax dollars in risky ventures that could prove harmful to environmental justice communities and worsen climate change without much oversight… “To this end, we affirm that any activity or technology with demonstrated and/or reasonably foreseeable threats to public health and the environment must undertake precautionary measures, even if some causes and effects are not yet scientifically determined. For reasons listed above and more, this absolutely applies to the entire premise of carbon management and associated technologies.”

Globe and Mail: Irving Oil conducting strategic review that may include possible sale of business
JEFFREY JONES, 6/8/23

“Irving Oil Ltd., owner of Canada’s largest refinery, could put itself up for sale as part of a strategic review of the 99-year-old family-controlled company,” the Globe and Mail reports. “In a statement on Wednesday, Saint John-based Irving said it is studying a number of options for the future of the company, which operates in Atlantic Canada, the United States and Europe. “No decisions have been made about where this strategic review may lead. Consideration will be given to a new ownership structure, a full or partial sale, or a change in the portfolio of our assets and how we operate them,” said the statement, which was signed by billionaire and company owner Arthur Irving, Irving Oil President Ian Whitcomb and Vice-President Sarah Irving. Irving runs the 320,000 barrel-a-day Saint John refinery, as well as a 75,000 barrel-a-day plant in Cork County, Ireland.”

Local Journalism Initiative: Marine refuge could be changed to allow for offshore oil drilling, natural resources minister says
6/7/23

“Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson is open to removing conservation protections off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador if there is a major oil discovery in the area,” the Local Journalism Initiative reports. “Fossil fuel giant BP — which left the oilsands to dive into Canada’s offshore market last year — is planning to drill an exploratory well in a marine refuge off the coast of Newfoundland. Rules around marine refuges mean exploratory drilling is allowed but oil production is not. In marine protected areas, no oil activity is allowed. However, as reported by the CBC, Wilkinson said if BP finds oil while exploring the area, there is a possibility the marine refuge could be altered and “removed as a conservation area.” “I’m not going to prejudge what is going to come out of the exploration, but that will be a discussion for down the road. If there is a decision to proceed with production and it goes through the various environmental assessment processes, then we would remove it from the protected status that Canada has put in place,” he told the CBC. Changing a conservation area would need to go through a rigorous federal environmental assessment, said Keean Nembhard, Press Secretary for the minister of Natural Resources, in a statement to Canada’s National Observer. “While, under some circumstances, exploratory drilling is permissible within a marine refuge, production would only occur following a federal Impact Assessment conducted by [the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.] This is the same process for all production projects regardless of their location,” said Nembhard.”

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

E&E News: An oil state hired the biggest PR firms to buff its climate image. It didn’t help.
Corbin Hiar, Zack Colman, 6/7/23

“One of the world’s wealthiest oil states is engaged in a wide-ranging public relations and lobbying campaign to cast itself as an environmental leader before it hosts the United Nations’ next climate talks in November,” E&E News reports. “But the United Arab Emirates’ efforts are colliding with a barrage of criticism from lawmakers and environmentalists in both the U.S. and Europe, who scoff at the idea that the oil-flush nation is committed to helping shift the world off planet-heating fossil fuels. Amid the negative headlines, the UAE’s government has signed — and abruptly terminated — long-term contracts with at least two strategic communications firms, even as it offers fat pay packages to veteran PR executives to assist with the effort, according to interviews and Justice Department documents. The communications offensive, which began as far back as 2019, seeks to persuade U.S. officials and the American public that the Persian Gulf state’s plan to expand oil and gas drilling is compatible with international efforts to slash the use of fossil fuels — the main cause of rising temperatures worldwide. During the past decade, the UAE has spent more than $1 million on direct climate-focused advocacy and paid millions more to advisory firms and think tanks helping to polish its green credentials, an analysis by POLITICO’s E&E News of federal disclosure filings found. No other host nation has invested as much time and money to shape its image ahead of the annual climate negotiations… “In September 2022, the UAE’s state-owned renewables company Masdar hired BCW Global to provide “strategic communications activities to support the UAE in its role as host country in 2023 for COP28,” a contract agreement filed with the Justice Department says. Al-Jaber founded Masdar in 2006 and chairs its board of directors… “In January, the Emiratis made two climate-focused deals with Edelman, the world’s largest public relations firm… “Another Edelman deal, which had no defined end date in the filings, focused on “outreach to key stakeholders and media as well as the development of digital and social content for COP28 assets ahead of, and during” the climate conference, a preliminary agreement says. As part of that work, the firm helped draft speeches and run the conference’s social media accounts, filings show.”

OPINION

People’s World: Carbon capture pipelines: Climate solution or catastrophe waiting to happen?
DILLION DANIELS, 6/7/23

“…The panicked audio from that phone recording reeled from a loudspeaker, bouncing off the walls of skyscrapers and parking garages in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, on May 31. A crowd of 40 people were fighting for space against two lanes of traffic and the sounds of the city at rush hour. They held signs: “Health over Wealth,” and “These Roots Run Deep: No CO2 Pipelines!” Activists with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (ICCI) had gathered outside a meeting of the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHSMA) to make their voices heard,” Dillion Daniels writes for People’s World. “…Protesters were pressuring PHMSA to push a state and federal moratorium on such projects while the Biden administration works on regulating the untested technology… “The reality is that the vast majority of captured CO2 is used for industrial purposes, namely as a highly pressurized gas in the dirty fracking industry… “Technology like CCUS is a prime example of the greenwashing that constitutes the “climate plan” of the capitalist class… “Furthermore, CCUS has become not only a profitable cleaning solution for the fossil fuel industry’s dirty laundry issue—it’s a complete sink for taxpayers as well. Lobbyists for corporations like Aramco, Summit, and others have brokered government agreements expanding tax cuts and incentives for carbon capture projects to the tune of $251 million. It’s a giveaway to the fossil fuel industry masquerading as a climate change plan of action. For industry and politicians alike, it amounts to a political win-win. Lawmakers, especially co-opted Democrats like Sen. Joe Manchin, get to proclaim their dedication to addressing climate change, while their capitalist benefactors open up new avenues for profitmaking. Meanwhile, real solutions to climate change—like reaching 100% renewable energy, the planting of regenerative flora, or the development of non-car-centric infrastructure—remain underfunded, if they’re funded at all.”

The Hill: GOP efforts to protect gas stoves only burn consumers
Jessica Tritsch is the director of Sierra Club’s Building Electrification Campaign, 6/7/23

“A reasonable person would think that reducing strain on our energy infrastructure, bringing down consumer utility bills and protecting the health of kids would be issues that had bipartisan support, yet Congress is considering a pair of bills that would ensure the opposite,” Jessica Tritsch writes for The Hill. “The so-called Save Our Gas Stoves Act and Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act would hamstring federal agencies, like the Department of Energy (DOE) and Consumer Product Safety Commission, from issuing any standards that would protect the health and safety of consumers against the harms of gas stoves and conserve energy in a way that reduces utility bills for consumers.  One of the bills was blocked by House Republicans during a Tuesday vote, for political purposes beyond gas stoves, the other is on the agenda for a vote today. It seems clear from the titles that the bills’ sponsors and supporters care more about protecting fossil fuel-burning appliances than they care about safeguarding consumers. Republicans say these bills are necessary because (they claim) federal health and safety standards would effectively “ban” gas stoves. However, their stated premise is simply false. One of the bills on the floor of the House today would stop DOE from finalizing energy efficiency standards for cooking appliances, as is required by law. These standards would ensure that all new stoves on the market meet a basic level of efficiency, using less energy to perform just as well. Around half of the gas stoves for sale already meet these proposed energy efficiency standards. For those that don’t, DOE found that simple design changes are sufficient to meet the requirements… “This boils down (if you’ll excuse the pun) to one thing: Republicans in Congress are more concerned with winning a battle in the culture war instead of protecting consumers, reducing energy bills, safeguarding public health and improving reliability. Any member of Congress that supports people over appliances should vote no on these bills when they reach the floor this week.”

The Hill: Permitting reform is a win on climate change — Republicans need to talk about it
Danielle Butcher Franz is the executive vice president of the American Conservation Coalition, 6/7/23

“In 2015, you would have been laughed at if you had predicted that Republicans would expertly negotiate with Democrats to deliver a uniquely conservative win on climate change. But that’s exactly what just happened in Congress,” Danielle Butcher Franz writes for The Hill. “…At first, it seemed that energy-permitting reform had been skipped in favor of other priorities, but there’s actually quite a lengthy section of the bill dedicated to the issues. Included in this section are elements of the BUILDER Act, championed by Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), which ensures the U.S. can build energy infrastructure projects faster while still considering environmental impacts… “While these provisions are far from transformative, they represent an important step forward on the issue of permitting reform and for future negotiations. We should applaud this effort to help get us on track to build things cleaner and faster. Permitting reform, after all, is climate action. Republicans are uncomfortable claiming climate wins. But this means that the GOP is losing a key opportunity to appeal to young, climate-minded voters by not messaging climate wins for what they are… “In 2021 polling conducted by the Pew Research Center, Republicans expressed support for climate policies such as carbon capture and storage technologies and natural climate solutions. Younger Republicans were even more open to these ideas than their older counterparts. This is good news for the future of the Republican Party… “By boldly branding this initiative as legitimate climate action — which it is — Republicans have a unique opportunity to connect with a largely untapped audience, one they have notoriously struggled with in previous elections. More importantly, it’s simply good policy.”