EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 7/26/24

PIPELINE NEWS

• South Dakota News Watch: Referred pipeline law puts company’s permit quest in limbo

• Bismarck Tribune: Morton County votes against carbon capture project after heated debate

• Sioux City Journal: Summit pipeline opponents prepare for court battle as they continue to challenge project

• KFGO: Summit Carbon Solutions CEO Lee Blank to keynote the ACE Conference in Omaha

• Michigan Public Radio: Activists use anniversary of Kalamazoo River oil spill to call for shutdown of Line 5 pipeline

• Arkansas Times: Government urges court to OK Mayflower oil spill settlement with Exxon

• CBC: Quebec approves pipeline project in the Laurentians

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• The Hill: Despite breakthrough, Manchin and Barrasso’s permitting reform effort faces hurdles

• E&E News: Manchin-Barrasso Permitting Bill Getting Markup Next Week 

• Press release: Grijalva Reacts to Manchin-Barrasso Pro-Polluter Permitting Bill

• E&E News: Biden made history with his climate actions. Here’s how Trump could unravel them.

• E&E News: Republicans slam brakes on CRA strategy

• E&E News: Enviros Sue Interior For New Air Rules For Offshore Oil And Gas 

• Press release: Lawsuit challenges outdated air quality regulations for offshore drilling

• Wyoming Public Media: Project 2025 Could Unleash Oil And Gas Production On Public Lands 

• E&E News: Meet Kamala Harris’ Go-To Guy On Climate 

• E&E News: Harris’ record as Calif. AG hints at aggressive approach to polluters

• E&E News: EPA Union Backs Harris 

• Guardian: ‘This Used To Be A Beautiful Place’: How The US Became The World’s Biggest Fossil Fuel State 

STATE UPDATES

• Nebraska Examiner: 25 states file emergency appeal to U.S. Supreme Court to halt EPA’s carbon rule

• E&E News: Connecticut judge allows climate case against Exxon to proceed

• KPLC: Three companies developing carbon dioxide capture in Vernon Parish

• Iowa Capital Dispatch: DNR: Ethanol plant pollution likely harmed public health for years near Shell Rock

• Fort Collins Coloradoan: Prospect Energy would close all its Larimer County oil and gas wells under agreement

EXTRACTION

• Financial Times: Climate activists step up direct action at European airports 

• E&E News: Oil reserves ‘insufficient’ without rapid shift to EVs — report

• Reuters: Oil spill threatens Philippines capital after tanker capsizes

• Reuters: Exxon Mobil, CF Industries sign carbon capture and storage deal

• BCG: Fulfilling the Promise of Carbon Capture and Utilization

• Futurism: Terrifying NASA Video Shows American Spewing CO2 Into Atmosphere

CLIMATE FINANCE

• World Economic Forum: Can investors spur national oil companies toward methane action? 

OPINION

• The Hill: With Chevron’s end, Congress urgently needs a boost in technical expertise
  

PIPELINE NEWS

South Dakota News Watch: Referred pipeline law puts company’s permit quest in limbo
Stu Whitney, 7/25/24

“An Iowa company seeking regulatory approval to run a carbon dioxide pipeline through South Dakota and four other states said a delay in its plan to re-apply for a permit has nothing to do with a November vote on the project,” South Dakota News Watch reports. “After Summit Carbon Solutions gained approval from the Iowa Utilities Board in June, chief executive officer Lee Blank said that “the momentum will continue as we prepare to file our South Dakota permit application in early July.” That did not happen. And the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission has not received a timetable on when the application might come, which is common so staff can prepare for public meetings. A spokesperson for Summit Carbon Solutions told News Watch that the delay is not tied to a citizen-led referral of Senate Bill 201, passed during the 2024 session as part of a legislative package known as the “Landowner Bill of Rights.” “…Sabrina Zenor, Summit Carbon’s director of corporate communications, told News Watch that the law being referred to voters is not impacting the company’s permit application. “We are committed to working with landowners to have a successful pipeline route in South Dakota, and we will file that application soon,” she told News Watch. The timing of the application and the fact voters will have a direct say in pipeline policy highlights the emergence of carbon capture, ethanol advancement and “landowner rights” as political flashpoints in South Dakota and neighboring states.”

Bismarck Tribune: Morton County votes against carbon capture project after heated debate
JOEY HARRIS, 7/25/24

“The Morton County Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday unanimously recommended denying a direct air carbon capture project proposed for a rural area near Danzig Dam,” the Bismarck Tribune reports. “The project, which would have worked to remove heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, has been a source of contention for months. The county commission is set to make an official decision in August, but Colorado-based Retract LLC’s project is unlikely to have a chance at approval until the county writes its own local regulations for facilities like the one Retract proposed. Hours of testimony, with at times very personal remarks thrown back and forth, highlighted some of the larger divides popping up around North Dakota as the state, federal government and major industries in recent years have sought to expand carbon capture infrastructure… “The February public hearing for Retract’s project lasted nearly five hours with locals raising concerns around the project’s impacts to road, noise and light pollution, the future reclamation of the site, and the possibility of a large leak from the facility (CO2 can be toxic at concentrated levels)… “In July, the county approved a moratorium on direct air capture facilities, halting any new project applications for at least a year while the county drafts its own local regulations… “Morton County is set to draft new ordinances during its year-long moratorium on direct air capture projects.”

Sioux City Journal: Summit pipeline opponents prepare for court battle as they continue to challenge project
Caleb McCullough, 7/25/24

“Opponents of a large carbon capture and sequestration pipeline in Iowa continue to oppose the path forward for the project, anticipating a lengthy court battle as the company works to gain approval in other states,” the Sioux City Journal reports. “…The pipeline has been opposed by landowners and state lawmakers who argue that eminent domain — the involuntary taking of land with compensation — for its construction is not warranted. Environmentalists, including the Sierra Club, have also sought to block the project, arguing it will do little to combat climate change. Since the IUC approved Summit’s application to build the pipeline in Iowa using eminent domain, several groups and individuals have filed motions to reconsider the approval. Opponents acknowledge the motions are unlikely to succeed, and they expect to challenge the decision in court if the IUC denies the motions… “They have also challenged the safety standards for the pipeline and the legal grounds the IUC used to grant eminent domain authority for the project. Republican Rep. Charley Thomson of Charles City, one of a group of state legislators opposing the project, told the Journal he believes the commission’s legal reasoning was flawed… “Brian Jorde, a lawyer who represents landowners who have refused to sign easements with Summit, told the Journal he will continue to fight in court to prevent eminent domain from being used for the project. While he said reaching the Supreme Court is not his goal, he said it is possible the case could go there. “There’s no goal to continue this on for years and years,” he told the Journal. “We simply want them to acknowledge eminent domain is inappropriate, number one. And if there’s going to be a route, which there shouldn’t be, it needs to be drastically modified.” “…Several Iowa counties filed a motion to reconsider the decision, arguing the commission did not answer a number of questions they raised during the proceedings.”

KFGO: Summit Carbon Solutions CEO Lee Blank to keynote the ACE Conference in Omaha
Rusty Halvorson, 7/25/24

“The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) welcomes Lee Blank, CEO of Summit Carbon Solutions, as a keynote speaker during its 37th annual conference taking place August 14-16 at the Omaha Marriott Downtown at the Capitol District. Blank’s keynote will provide an update on the latest advancements in the Summit Carbon Solutions’ pipeline project,” KFGO reports. “Now, more than ever, the world is changing, and we must act decisively to seize new opportunities,” said Lee Blank, CEO of Summit Carbon Solutions. “Summit Carbon Solutions’ CCS pipeline is pivotal in opening access to new markets for ethanol, such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). This is our chance to lead the way and meet the growing demand for decarbonized energy solutions. We are excited to engage with industry professionals at ACE to discuss the immense potential and the positive impact this project will have on our future.” “Several ACE-member ethanol plants are partnering with Summit to utilize proven and safe technology to capture and sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) to secure the long-term economic viability of their businesses,” said Brian Jennings, ACE CEO… “Summit Carbon Solutions’ CEO will discuss recent progress, key milestones, and the next steps as the company strives to launch the largest CO2 pipeline project in the world. Blank’s keynote will take place during the August 15 morning general session. More event and agenda details are available at ethanol.org/events/conference.” 

Michigan Public Radio: Activists use anniversary of Kalamazoo River oil spill to call for shutdown of Line 5 pipeline
Steve Carmody, 7/25/24

“Across the Great Lakes Thursday, activists gathered to mark this week’s anniversary of an oil spill near Marshall. 14 years ago, a ruptured pipeline spewed roughly a million gallons of crude oil that fouled a 35-mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River,” Michigan Public Radio reports. “The main cleanup took several years and cost more than $1 billion. In Lansing, Nichole Keway Biber gathered with other activists to criticize the pipeline’s owner, Enbridge. “They are not responsible stewards. Their safety record is abysmal. Their promises are broken over and over,” said Keway Biber… “During Thursday’s protest in Lansing, the activists were less focused on the events of 14 years ago than they were on the current fight over the future of Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline… “Keway Biber said if the dual pipeline was to leak in the Straits it would pose a threat to the Great Lakes ecology and economy. “We say Line 5 is America’s most dangerous pipeline. There’s a reason we say that,” Keway-Biber told MPR.

Arkansas Times: Government urges court to OK Mayflower oil spill settlement with Exxon
Debra Hale-Shelton, 7/25/24

“After more than a decade, the legal saga over an oil spill that devastated part of a Mayflower neighborhood and nearby wetlands has moved a step closer to a resolution,” the Arkansas Times reports. “Representatives of state and federal government agencies urged a federal judge on Wednesday to approve a roughly $1.8 million settlement proposed in a consent decree reached with ExxonMobil Pipeline Co… Under the agreement, ExxonMobil and a related corporate entity, Mobile Pipe Line Co., would make a total cash payment of $1,755,082.49 plus interest for natural resource damages resulting from the spill… “The spill occurred on the afternoon of March 29, 2013, when the aging, 850-mile-long Pegasus Pipeline ruptured in Mayflower’s Northwoods subdivision and spilled about 3,190 barrels of heavy crude oil into the neighborhood, waterways and wetlands. The oil also entered Dawson Cove, a section of Lake Conway, where it damaged or destroyed habitat; harmed plants and wildlife, including migratory birds; and impacted activities such as fishing. An estimated 210,000 gallons of oil spilled from the pipeline. Residents of at least 22 houses had to evacuate, and ExxonMobil later bought numerous homes in the area and demolished at least three due to oil beneath the foundations.”

CBC: Quebec approves pipeline project in the Laurentians
7/25/24

“The Quebec government has authorized Énergir to build a 10-kilometre pipeline to supply “renewable natural gas” at the Waste Management technical landfill in Sainte-Sophie, Que. — a project many environmentalists are opposing,” the CBC reports. “The decree published in the Official Gazette on July 3 requires Énergir to comply with several environmental obligations, such as restoring wetlands and reforestation in Quebec’s Laurentians region. But environmental groups, including the Front commun québécois pour une gestion écologique des déchets (FCQGED), told CBC  the conditions lack teeth.  “Too many elements have been put aside in this project for us to give the developers carte blanche,” FCQGED president Denis Blaquière told CBC. “This project was studied in isolation while several organizations are calling for a more general reflection on the place of natural gas in the necessary energy transition.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

The Hill: Despite breakthrough, Manchin and Barrasso’s permitting reform effort faces hurdles
RACHEL FRAZIN, 7/26/24

“Although Sens. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) finally reached an agreement on energy permitting reform this week, their effort still faces an uphill climb,” The Hill reports. “They’ll need to convince leadership and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers to support their deal — and to give them floor space at the end of the year… “The bill faces opposition from progressives and environmental advocates who object to its pro-fossil fuel measures and those that could make it harder for community or environmental opponents of an energy project to block it. “For Joe Manchin, I’m sure he wants to go out swinging for the fossil fuel industry and we’re going to be swinging back in a big way,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told The Hill. “We need to find a way to kill the zombie one more time.” “…But Barrasso spokesperson Brian Faughnan told The Hill in an email Thursday that the senator and his staff “have been communicating with relevant members and offices in the House and Senate.”  He added that Barrasso “will look for opportunities to advance the bill during the lame duck session of Congress.” “…Yet some potential supporters, including Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who supports permitting reform broadly but told The Hill Tuesday he had not yet read the latest agreement, expressed doubt about whether the bill could actually get done. “I’m not optimistic about this year,” he told The Hill, saying the election could “get in the way.”

E&E News: Manchin-Barrasso Permitting Bill Getting Markup Next Week 
KELSEY BRUGGER, 7/25/24

“The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will vote on permitting legislation next week before lawmakers leave for an extended recess,” E&E News reports. “S. 4753, from Chair Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and ranking member John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), seeks to build out the electric grid, ease reviews for renewable energy projects, secure natural gas export approvals and push oil and gas lease sales. Manchin and Barrasso have been working to sell the bill to colleagues. On Wednesday, Barrasso was heard telling fellow Wyoming Republican Cynthia Lummis that an “environmental extremist” group proclaimed it “Frankenstein’s monster.” Lummis said earlier she was “encouraged” by the duo. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) — an Energy and Natural Resources member who also chairs the Senate Republicans’ campaign operation — expressed optimism: “I spoke to both Sen. Manchin and Barrasso, and it looks like we’re coming together for a pretty good bipartisan bill,” Daines told E&E. On the Democratic side, New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich — who may become ENR chair or ranking member next year — told E&E provisions on transmission and geothermal were essential for fighting climate change and creating good-paying jobs.”

Press release: Grijalva Reacts to Manchin-Barrasso Pro-Polluter Permitting Bill
7/25/24

“U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on the Energy Permitting Reform Act, introduced by Senators Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) this week. “I’ve said it enough times, but it clearly bears repeating that checking off wish lists for oil, gas, and mining companies is not permitting reform,” said Ranking Member Grijalva. “From opening major expanses of our public lands and waters for drilling to gutting judicial review to letting mining companies dump even more waste on our public lands, this bill is yet another resuscitated iteration of the Dirty Deal — not a meaningful attempt at securing the clean energy future Americans want.” “To make the bold, just clean energy transition that the climate crisis demands, the Environmental Justice for All Act and Clean Electricity and Transmission Act already offer the suite of community protections and transmission authorities we need. Why we would forgo those community-led solutions for this pro-polluter gift set is beyond me. I strongly urge my colleagues in the Senate to reject this misguided bill.”

E&E News: Biden made history with his climate actions. Here’s how Trump could unravel them.
Kelsey Tamborrino, Timothy Cama, Jessie Blaeser, 7/26/24

“Donald Trump is vowing to dismantle the heart of Joe Biden’s governing legacy — the effort to spend more than $1 trillion on a pro-climate reshaping of the American economy. He may soon get his chance,” E&E News reports. “Trump’s power would not be unfettered even if he defeats Vice President Kamala Harris in November. But he would have multiple potential avenues to block, rewrite or slow-walk large parts of Biden’s $1.6 trillion in climate, energy and infrastructure initiatives, Republican officials and government spending experts tell POLITICO — in some cases, limited only by how aggressively he chooses to attack them. The results could be one of the most lasting consequences of the November election, with implications for everything from hundreds of planned electric car, battery and renewable energy factories to hopes for slowing the Earth’s warming.”

E&E News: Republicans slam brakes on CRA strategy
Kelsey Brugger. 7/26/24

“Republicans may have hoped to force vulnerable Democrats to take difficult votes rebuking Biden environment and energy rules — on everything from tailpipe emissions to soot standards. But that GOP strategy appears all but dead,” E&E News reports. “Republicans started to realize in recent months that they were not making life tough for Democrats like Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, both of whom are facing difficult reelection prospects. Indeed, those Democrats almost seemed eager to cast votes distancing themselves from the White House without having any tangible impact on Biden administration policies. “Right now, why would you give anyone in a target seat a chance to rehabilitate themselves on something they’ve been silent on?” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) told E&E. “Why would you give someone that easy win?” Several Republican senators confirmed to POLITICO’s E&E News that the conference discussed the need to recalibrate their election year approach to Congressional Review Act resolutions, which allow lawmakers and a cooperative White House to undo recent administration regulations… “Republicans have introduced resolutions attacking Biden regulations of all kinds, but energy and climate rules make up about half of all introduced this Congress, according to a tally by the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards… “Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told E&E Republicans have been talking about how certain CRA resolutions allow Democrats to “vote right” in a contentious election year while “knowing full well the president will veto them.” “So I think there’s some strategic discussion about why we would do that,” he told E&E.

E&E News: Enviros Sue Interior For New Air Rules For Offshore Oil And Gas 
NIINA H. FARAH, 7/25/24

“Environmental groups are bringing the Interior Department to court to force the agency to update its air quality regulations for offshore oil and gas development,” E&E News reports “Healthy Gulf and others claim Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has failed to modernize standards that have not been overhauled in more than four decades. “The Bureau has a legal duty to regulate air emissions from offshore oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere,” the groups said in their lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. “Yet the Bureau continues to follow rules that were adopted in 1980 and have been only minimally updated since that time,” the groups said. The challenge centers on BOEM’s 2020 Air Quality Control, Reporting and Compliance Rule, which rejected a number of changes the Obama administration had proposed in 2016 to update long-standing air quality regulations. Those changes included setting short-term rather than annual pollution limits and addressing all current air pollutants, known as criteria or precursor pollutants. The standards would have also been updated to be in line with EPA’s revisions to its air quality standards.”

Press release: Lawsuit challenges outdated air quality regulations for offshore drilling
7/24/24

“Environmental and Gulf of Mexico groups today filed a lawsuit challenging the Department of the Interior’s outdated and ineffective air quality regulations for offshore oil and gas development. The Interior Department finalized these rules in June 2020 after rejecting an Obama administration proposal that would have updated air pollution controls dating back to 1980. The rules govern air quality control, reporting and compliance for all U.S. offshore oil and gas operations on the Outer Continental Shelf. Although the Interior Department has a legal duty to regulate waste and ensure that offshore operations comply with air quality standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency, it is still following regulations that have barely been updated for decades. These rules fail to account for technological advances in air pollution control and industry practices and do not reflect the EPA’s current standards.”

Wyoming Public Media: Project 2025 Could Unleash Oil And Gas Production On Public Lands 
Hanna Merzbach, 7/24/24

“Environmentalists say a proposed step-by-step policy blueprint for a second Trump administration could have detrimental effects on public land,” Wyoming Public Media reports. “Project 2025’s more than 900-page ‘Mandate for Leadership’ comes from a conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation. Some of the authors represent oil and natural gas producers. That includes Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma, who helped write a section called ‘Restoring American Energy Dominance…’ “Kate Groetzinger, communications manager for the Center for Western Priorities, told WPM the plan would “obliterate” progress fighting climate change and end vital land protections in the West. She added that it would remove protections for gray wolves and grizzly bears, and put sage grouse at risk of becoming endangered. “We would see a de-emphasis on conservation and an emphasis on letting extractive industries do whatever they want on our public lands,” Groetzinger told WPM.”

E&E News: Meet Kamala Harris’ Go-To Guy On Climate 
Robin Bravender, 7/24/24

“Ike Irby, a consultant and senior campaign adviser to Harris, started on her Senate staff as a fellow back in 2017. He moved to the White House with Harris in January 2021 as a top climate adviser,” E&E News reports. “ Irby left his White House gig early this year, but he remains an influential player in Harris’ orbit and could become an even more prominent voice shaping climate policy if the vice president wins her White House bid in 2024. “Ike is widely known and quite respected,” Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president for government affairs at the League of Conservation Voters, told E&E. “We think he’s been very influential and we’re looking forward to him working with Vice President Harris when she becomes president to make lots more progress for climate, jobs and justice.”

E&E News: Harris’ record as Calif. AG hints at aggressive approach to polluters
Lesley Clark, Mike Lee, 7/26/24

“Nine years ago, an aging oil pipeline burst in the hills outside Santa Barbara, California, sending more than 140,000 gallons of crude flowing through a culvert under scenic U.S. Highway 101, across a beach and into the Pacific Ocean. Kamala Harris, then in her second term as California’s attorney general, toured the muck 15 days later, pledging state resources for what would become both a civil and criminal case against the pipeline operator,” E&E News reports. “…She, I think, has a very strong commitment to protecting the environment and her office was genuinely aggressive in our efforts to require accountability by the oil company,” Hannah-Beth Jackson, a retired Democratic state senator who represented Santa Barbara at the time, told E&E… “Beyond the oil spill, Harris as attorney general collected tens of millions of dollars from oil companies including BP over leaking underground storage tanks. She took part in the multibillion dollar settlement with Volkswagen over its emissions fraud. In one of her last moves before leaving the legal office, Harris successfully sued the Obama administration over a plan to allow fracking off the Pacific Coast… “But anti-fossil-fuel activists have cheered Harris’s ascension to presidential contender, arguing that her record as attorney general suggests she would push the Justice Department to aggressively take on the oil and gas industry. “She’s the perfect person to prosecute the case against Big Oil,” Jamie Henn, a longtime climate organizer who is now the director of the nonprofit Fossil Free Media, wrote in a blog post.”

E&E News: EPA Union Backs Harris 
Kevin Bogardus, 7/24/24

“EPA’s largest union has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president,” E&E News reports. “American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, which represents about 8,000 EPA employees, announced Wednesday that it decided to back the likely Democratic nominee. The union’s members had a tumultuous time during the administration of Harris’ Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, when the agency faced budget cuts and saw environmental protections rolled back. “The Trump administration shackled our union members’ ability to protect human health and the environment,” AFGE Council 238 President Marie Owens Powell told E&E.” 

Guardian: ‘This Used To Be A Beautiful Place’: How The US Became The World’s Biggest Fossil Fuel State 
Oliver Milman, 7/24/24

“To witness how the United States has become the world’s unchallenged oil and gas behemoth is to contemplate the scene from John Allaire’s home, situated on a small spit of coastal land on the fraying, pancake-flat western flank of Louisiana,” the Guardian reports. “Allaire’s looming neighbor, barely a mile east across a ship channel that has been pushed into the Gulf of Mexico, is a hulking liquified natural gas (or LNG) plant, served by leviathan ships shuttling its chilled cargo overseas. Another such terminal lies a few miles to the west, yet another to the north. The theme continues even in Allaire’s seaward vista – alongside a boneyard of old oil rigs, a new floating offshore LNG platform is in the works. “I’m pretty much surrounded,” Allaire, a retired oil industry engineer who has a trailer, a couple of friendly dogs, and a patch of marshland and beach in Cameron parish, told the Guardian. Yet another gas export plant is planned just a few hundred yards from Allaire’s property, while his existing imposing neighbor, which Allaire compares to Las Vegas due to its incandescent flaring of gas into the night’s sky, is on track to expand to become one of the largest such facilities in the world. “We don’t really have a Gulf coast in the US,” Allaire told the Guardian. “We have the east coast, the west coast and the carbon coast. This is simply a sacrifice zone for the oil and gas industry.”

STATE UPDATES

Nebraska Examiner: 25 states file emergency appeal to U.S. Supreme Court to halt EPA’s carbon rule
DARRELL EHRLICK, 7/25/24

“Attorneys general in nearly 25 states, including Nebraska’s Mike Hilgers, have sent an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to immediately halt a Biden administration rule that they say threatens to shutter the country’s remaining fleet of coal-fired power plants,” the Nebraska Examiner reports. “The emergency appeal to stay the Environmental Protection Agency’s plans to require strict greenhouse gas emissions standards is pending before Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts because the states say that the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is sitting on a number of lawsuits without a decision and that more time is needed before implementing a decision about technologies such as carbon capture and storage… “Among other things, the rule imposes inadequately demonstrated technologies on unworkable timeframes, effectively squeezing plants into retirement,” the appeal said… “The rule would force 90% of carbon dioxide from the plants to be captured and stored by 2032 and 40% of the plants to establish co-firing with natural gas by 2030… “However, the states argue that even though the EPA has adopted standards and rules that embrace the carbon capture and storage technology, the technology has not been proven successful or economically feasible… “Furthermore, the states warn that new power plants that have carbon capture systems will more than double the construction costs as well as increase operational costs by 35%… “Carbon-capture technology would also call for thousands of miles of pipeline to transport the carbon for storage or usage. Citing a survey by Princeton, it estimates that 66,000 miles of pipeline are needed, while the EPA said it estimates 5,000 miles. Using the more conservative EPA estimates, the states point out that power companies would have to invest more than $12.5 billion for the pipelines.”

E&E News: Connecticut judge allows climate case against Exxon to proceed
Lesley Clark, 7/25/24

“In a win for local governments suing oil and gas majors over planet-warming emissions, a Connecticut court has rejected an industry bid to dismiss the state’s climate liability case,” E&E News reports. “Superior Court Judge John Farley on Tuesday sided with Connecticut, putting the case one step closer to trial in state court. The ruling comes just two weeks after a state judge in Maryland tossed a similar case and represents a victory for more than two dozen cities, states and counties that are suing the oil industry, accusing companies of lying to the public about the dangers of burning fossil fuels. In his ruling, Farley said that by registering to do business in Connecticut, Exxon Mobil “has consented to jurisdiction” in the state.”

KPLC: Three companies developing carbon dioxide capture in Vernon Parish
Theresa Schmidt, 7/25/24

“The Vernon Parish Police Jury is raising serious concerns about the development of carbon dioxide sequestration in the parish,” KPLC reports. “For the last couple of years, there has been a scramble by companies to get involved in sequestration. In Vernon Parish, three companies are developing projects. Some residents tell KPLC little information has been provided. State Rep. Charles Owen of Rosepine is not convinced it’s a good thing. “I do know that a lot of money is being spent and a lot of effort is being put behind it, but I do not think it’s going to have any effect on the environment, and I actually think it could be dangerous. As I understand, they are considering putting one of their capture wells under a lake in Vernon Parish and we have not had enough public discussion about that yet. I think we need a lot more discussion. I think it’s a green scam,” Owen told KPLC. Earlier this year at the legislature, there was testimony about a pipeline rupture in Mississippi. Nobody died, but a first responder says people were sick and vehicles wouldn’t operate… “Three companies in Vernon Parish have been working to acquire lease agreements with residents who are willing to allow carbon to be stored on their property… “One company alone has entered into agreements with more than two hundred property owners… “The Vernon Parish Police Jury adopted a resolution questioning carbon capture saying they don’t see how it benefits their community.”

Iowa Capital Dispatch: DNR: Ethanol plant pollution likely harmed public health for years near Shell Rock
JARED STRONG, 7/25/24

“An ethanol-producing facility in northeast Iowa expelled excessive pollutants into the air for several years that can cause cancers and other health effects, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources,” the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. “Actual harm to the environment and public health likely occurred,” the department said in a recent administrative order regarding POET Bioprocessing near Shell Rock. The facility makes about 140 million gallons of ethanol each year, along with other products from the leftover materials of the fuel production. The excessive pollution was tied to one of those additional products: a protein ingredient for animal feed… “POET agreed to pay a $10,000 administrative fine, the DNR order said. It also will pay nearly $43,000 in fees that it owed the state for its underreporting of emissions in 2021 and 2022.”

Fort Collins Coloradoan: Prospect Energy would close all its Larimer County oil and gas wells under agreement
Ignacio Calderon, 7/24/24

“Larimer County and the City of Fort Collins are pursuing an agreement with Prospect Energy to close all its oil and gas wells within the county. The agreement would also allow the company to allocate its resources into the closures instead of penalties,” the Fort Collins Coloradoan reports. “It’s better for our community if Prospect Energy uses its money to safely close its wells instead of paying fines or going bankrupt and leaving,” said Larimer County Commissioner John Kefalas in a press release. The Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission is also expected to schedule a hearing “that will likely result in the termination of Prospect’s license to operate in the State of Colorado in exchange for suspending fines totaling $1.7 million,” according to the county’s release. “Residents in Fort Collins are now safer thanks to the tireless advocacy of hundreds of Colorado residents, fighting for Colorado to prioritize people over polluters and hold oil and gas companies accountable for the harms they cause,” Earthworks State Policy Manager Andrew Forkes-Gudmundson told the Coloradoan.  The site had been the subject of several complaints by nearby residents, who reported strong odors coming from the site. The state health department’s Air Pollution Control Division ordered the closure, citing “repeated violations that endanger public welfare.” 

EXTRACTION

Financial Times: Climate activists step up direct action at European airports 
Martin Arnold, 7/26/24

“European flights are being severely disrupted by climate activists glueing themselves to runways as part of their campaign to ban fossil fuels, despite threats of tougher prison sentences for protesters breaking into airports,” the Financial Times reports. “Frankfurt airport cancelled about 140 flights on Thursday after members of the Letzte (Last) Generation climate protest group cut through perimeter fencing and stuck themselves to the ground while holding “Oil Kills” banners. The disruption to Germany’s busiest airport, which lasted about two hours before police arrested the activists and flights resumed, is part of a pan-European protest movement to disrupt airports across the region… “Protesters have also targeted airports in the UK, Norway, Austria, Switzerland, Spain and Finland in recent days… “Letzte Generation said on its website this week that campaign groups from more than 10 countries mostly in Europe but also including the US and Canada had formed an “international alliance” to launch the “Oil Kills” campaign. The movement “will stage protests at airports around the world in the next few weeks in a co-ordinated manner to counter global fossil destruction with peaceful determination”, it said. The aim is to push governments in these countries to agree “an international agreement to phase out fossil fuels by 2030”.

E&E News: Oil reserves ‘insufficient’ without rapid shift to EVs — report
Carlos Anchondo, 7/26/24

“The total amount of recoverable oil worldwide continues to decline and will be “insufficient” to handle demand without the swift electrification of vehicles, according to a new analysis from Rystad Energy,” E&E News reports. “The Norwegian research firm said global recoverable oil reserves are “largely steady” at more than 1,500 billion barrels — but added that exploration has dipped amid concerns about investing in stranded assets that lose economic value. In its assessment this week, Rystad described investor fears of the “ongoing electrification of vehicles and the expected slump in both oil demand and crude prices.” Overall, recoverable oil resources have declined by 700 billion barrels since 2019 because of a drop in exploration activities, Rystad said in its post. Last year, Rystad also identified electric vehicle sales as a top driver in “waning” oil demand.”

Reuters: Oil spill threatens Philippines capital after tanker capsizes
Mikhail Flores and Neil Jerome Morales, 7/25/24

“A marine tanker carrying industrial fuel sank in rough seas off the Philippines on Thursday, causing the death of a crew member and an oil spill that could spread to waters off the capital Manila, officials said,” Reuters reports. “Sixteen of the 17 crew members of MT Terra Nova have been rescued, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista told Reuters, after the ship capsized off the coastal town of Limay in Bataan province. The coastguard said they found the body of a previously missing crew member in the sea off Limay town in Bataan province, less than three hours drive from the capital Manila, on Thursday afternoon. “There is already oil spill. Right now, we cannot dispatch our resources because of strong winds and high waves,” Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista told a situation briefing. The ship was carrying 1,494 metric tonnes of industrial fuel, Bautista said. Philippine coast guard spokesperson Armando Balilo told a separate briefing a 97-metre coast guard vessel had been deployed to combat the oil spill… “We are racing against time. We will do our best to contain the fuel,” Balilo said. He added the waters where the ship sank is close to Manila and there is “big danger” the spill could reach the capital. “That’s part of the contingencies that we are preparing for,” Balilo said.

Reuters: Exxon Mobil, CF Industries sign carbon capture and storage deal
7/25/24

“Energy major Exxon Mobil said on Thursday it has entered into a carbon capture and storage (CCS) agreement with ammonia producer CF Industries,” Reuters reports. “…Exxon will transport and store up to 500,000 metric tons per year of the captured CO2 from CF Industries’ complex in Yazoo City, Mississippi, which makes nitrogen products for agricultural fertilizer. The project will enable CF Industries to reduce the site’s CO2 emissions by up to about 50% and is expected to start in 2028, Exxon said in a statement. The agreement marks Exxon’s fourth CCS project and the second with CF.”

BCG: Fulfilling the Promise of Carbon Capture and Utilization
Oluseye Owolabi, Rukmini Sarkar, Bas Sudmeijer, and Carl Clayton, 7/26/24

“As a climate mitigation tool, recycling captured carbon—rather than storing it—is attracting growing interest. But how viable is it?,” BCG reports. “In a new joint report with the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, we found the following: Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) is unlikely to ever be a substitute for carbon storage. But it has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of several products we use today. Four market opportunities—in CO2-derived construction aggregates, CO2-cured concrete, e-kerosene, and e-methanol—are most attractive in the near term. CCU’s decarbonization impact is highly dependent on the source of the utilized CO2, the relative efficiency of the production process, and whether CO2 is emitted during use. Consequently, targeted incentives and regulations, clear rules around carbon accounting, and better access to inexpensive energy and infrastructure will be necessary to improve CCU economics and enable the technology to achieve its full potential.”

Futurism: Terrifying NASA Video Shows American Spewing CO2 Into Atmosphere
7/25/24

“NASA has released a new visualization that shows copious amounts of carbon dioxide wafting off the Earth and swirling through the atmosphere,” Futurism reports. “The video shows how concentrations of the gas move across the planet, driven by wind and atmospheric circulation, from January through March 2020. The United States, in particular, stands out as a major source of emissions. In 2021, the US accounted for over 12 percent of global emissions, only outdone by China, which accounted for just under 33 percent. The level of detail of the visualization is truly astonishing, allowing us to “zoom in and see carbon dioxide emissions rising from power plants, fires, and cities, then spreading across continents and oceans,” according to NASA. Besides identifying major sources of greenhouse gases that are contributing to human-driven climate change, scientists are hoping to use the data to study how these various sources interact. “As policymakers and as scientists, we’re trying to account for where carbon comes from and how that impacts the planet,” NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center climate scientist Lesley Ott told Futurism. “You see here how everything is interconnected by these different weather patterns.”

CLIMATE FINANCE

World Economic Forum: Can investors spur national oil companies toward methane action? 
Andrew Howell, CFA; Senior Director, Sustainable Finance, Environmental Defense Fund; Pavel Laberko, CFA; Director, Corporate Research; Director, Extractives Industries & Materials, Emerging Markets Investors Alliance (EMIA), 7/25/24

“The crucial role of national oil companies (NOCs) in reducing global methane emissions is becoming evident,” according to the World Economic Forum. “At the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 in 2023, over 50 oil and gas companies, including 30 NOCs, pledged to cut methane emissions to near zero and end routine flaring by 2030. NOCs, which produce half of the world’s oil and gas and hold two-thirds of global reserves, had largely been absent from the methane discussion until now. Despite these pledges, implementation is challenging due to NOCs’ diverse priorities, such as generating revenue for host governments, providing jobs, and funding social services. Finance could be a motivating factor, as lenders and investors with decarbonization goals can influence the companies they support. We analyzed the financials of 20 large NOCs using public data to help investors identify key points for methane engagement and essential characteristics to consider.”

OPINION

The Hill: With Chevron’s end, Congress urgently needs a boost in technical expertise
Maya Kornberg Ph.D. is a senior research fellow in the Elections and Government Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, 7/15/24

“The Supreme Court’s recent decision to undercut federal agency expertise and power should be the push Congress needs to revamp its expert capacity,” Maya Kornberg writes for The Hill. “On one of the last days of the term in Loper Bright Enterprises vs. Raimondo, justices abandoned a decades-old legal standard called Chevron deference, which directed courts to defer to agencies’ interpretations of statutes in cases where statutes’ text is vague or silent. Chevron deference placed more power to interpret ambiguous statutes with federal agencies, which house much of the technical expertise necessary to grapple with complex regulatory issues that affect Americans’ everyday lives. Chevron’s reversal disempowers agencies at a time when the country faces AI, climate change and other issues that require technical expertise and evidence to address. Now Congress, which had relied on the executive branch to sort out nuanced details in implementing policies, must step up. Without Chevron, Congress will have to legislate more specifically and therefore must beef up its technical capacity… “In a post-Chevron world, Congress can no longer leave it to the agencies. Fortunately, there is a straightforward path for Congress to beef up its internal chops… “First, Congress needs to invest in necessary resources. It can create a new Science and Technology Hub within the Government Accountability Office, an existing nonpartisan support agency for the legislative branch… “In addition to bolstering support agencies, Congress can invest in more skilled committee members and personal staff… “Congress should strengthen internal capacity by increasing personal office budgets and committee staff budgets, utilizing the newly minted House HR hub to find staff with suitable backgrounds and lifting the cap on personal office hiring… “The country desperately needs a government with the resources to handle complex problems, and Congress must equip itself to deliver for the American people in a post-Chevron world.”