EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 7/5/23

PIPELINE NEWS

• InsideClimate News: Rush to Build Carbon Pipelines Leaps Ahead of Federal Rules and Safety Standards

• South Dakota Searchlight: Noem an investor in plant associated with carbon pipeline company

• Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Calls for SD special session on pipelines grow, but a two-thirds consensus is a long-shot

• Peoria Journal Star: Despite opposition, CO2 pipelines are pushing forward in Illinois. Here’s what’s next

• Nebraska Examiner: Thanks to federal tax credits, it’s boom time in the Midwest for carbon dioxide pipelines

• E&E News: Is Biden cracking down on pipeline violators?

• Reuters: Trans Mountain pipeline expansion likely to send more Canadian oil to US, not Asia

• Energy News Network: Fate of Mountain Valley Pipeline’s North Carolina extension still unclear

• Greeley Tribune: A leaking gas line destroyed their home. Now farmers-turned-activists are pushing for stronger safety rules.

• JWN Energy: TC Energy expects to appeal Columbia pipeline ruling

• DemocracyNow: Canadian Climate Activist: Big Oil Is Fueling Fires. We Must Stop Funding New Fossil Fuel Pipelines

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• E&E News: Biden Admin Scoops Up $30M In Public Land Oil Sales 

• Bloomberg: Biden Blocks Activist Bid To Slash Oil Output From Federal Lands 

• E&E News: Climate Law Could Nearly Halve Emissions By 2035 — Study

• E&E News: EPA To Propose Methane Reporting Revamp

• E&E News: Poll shows public skepticism for EVs, fossil fuel phaseout

• Reuters: Biden’s green hydrogen plan hits climate obstacle: Water shortage

STATE UPDATES

• E&E News: Alaska Proposes Fines For Arctic Gas Blowout 

EXTRACTION

• Reuters: Focus: Oil giants drill deep as profits trump climate concerns

• Phys.org: Carbon ‘capture’ climate tech is booming, and confusing

• CBS News: Carbon capture technology: The future of clean energy or a costly and misguided distraction?

• CBS News: Carbon capture technology removes CO2 from power plant emissions, but is it a climate solution? [VIDEO]

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

• Reuters: ‘Climate washing’ lawsuits jump as more activists challenge corporate claims, report shows

OPINION

• Truthout: Young Climate Activists Aren’t Leading Tomorrow — They Are Leading Today

• Broad & Liberty: Becky Corbin: Carbon capture and storage is beneficial to Pennsylvania’s energy field

• The Advocate: Paul Danos: Energy Industry Is Innovating To Help Build Louisiana’s Brighter Future

• New York Times: Guess Who’s Been Paying to Block Green Energy? You Have.
  

PIPELINE NEWS

InsideClimate News: Rush to Build Carbon Pipelines Leaps Ahead of Federal Rules and Safety Standards
Nicholas Kusnetz, 7/1/23

“A rush is on across the Midwest and Gulf Coast to build thousands of miles of new pipelines that would carry carbon dioxide, the main driver of global warming,” InsideClimate News reports. “…But advocacy groups are warning that energy companies are moving faster than regulators and that some of the proposed pipelines could be up and running before there are any federal safety regulations to cover them. At least two companies are planning to convert existing natural gas pipelines to carry carbon dioxide instead. But because of a regulatory loophole, there are currently no federal safety standards for this process. “This is happening,” Bill Caram, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, an independent watchdog group, told ICN. “These pipelines are getting converted, and in some cases, it’s very clear that they’re not regulated.” “…In May, Pipeline Safety Trust and five major environmental groups wrote a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who oversees PHMSA, urging him to issue an immediate interim rule stating that all carbon dioxide pipelines are covered under existing regulations until the upcoming rules are in effect. Caram and other experts tell ICN the regulatory gap could pose safety hazards for people living near the pipelines. Carbon dioxide has different chemical properties than natural gas that could, under certain conditions, corrode or embrittle the pipes that carry it… “This stuff can kill,” Richard Kuprewicz, an independent consultant and pipeline safety expert, told ICN. “I don’t say that to scare anybody. I just say that to say, you have to think this through.” “Many environmental advocates have warned that carbon capture and storage could prove to be an enormously expensive and ineffective way to cut the nation’s climate pollution. They have also raised concerns about new hazards and threats posed by the process, including leaks of carbon dioxide… “Caram told ICN the new rules from Louisiana are an improvement but still leave dangerous gaps. The rules do not set standards for what levels of water or impurities can be mixed into the carbon dioxide as a result of the capturing process, for example. When water mixes with carbon dioxide, it forms carbonic acid, which is highly corrosive to steel. There are also no requirements that operators add an odorant, to help residents know a leak has occurred… “CO2 is an asphyxiant, so it stops your car motor, it stops your boat motor,” Scott Eustis, community science director for Healthy Gulf, a Louisiana-based advocacy group, told ICN. “We’ve been evacuating thousands of people through oil vapor clouds, but I don’t want to think about what seems to be being contemplated, which is evacuating thousands of people through an asphyxiant cloud.”

South Dakota Searchlight: Noem an investor in plant associated with carbon pipeline company
Joshua Haiar and Seth Tupper, 6/30/23

“Gov. Kristi Noem is an investor in an ethanol plant that’s partnered with a company proposing a controversial carbon dioxide pipeline,” South Dakota Searchlight reports. “The ethanol plant is Granite Falls Energy in Granite Falls, Minnesota. Noem’s financial disclosures from her former service in Congress and her current time as governor reveal that she and her husband are investors in the plant. Summit Carbon Solutions, a company proposing a carbon pipeline through South Dakota, lists Granite Falls Energy as one of its partners. Noem’s congressional disclosure forms, which require only an estimated range of income rather than an exact amount, say she made between $25,006 and $70,000 in dividends from the plant between her first run for Congress in 2010 until the end of her service as a U.S. representative in early 2019… “The disclosures raise questions about Noem’s lack of support for anti-pipeline legislation, according to Ed Fischbach, an Aberdeen-area farmer whose land is near the pipeline route. “She and the people in her office wouldn’t even come talk to us when we came to the Capitol,” Fischbach told Searchlight… “In March 2022, she signed a bill that established taxes for carbon dioxide pipelines similar to oil and natural gas pipelines. Summit Carbon Solutions testified in favor of the bill. At that time, Granite Falls Energy was already a partner with Summit, according to multiple media reports. About a month after Noem signed that bill into law, Granite Falls CEO Jeffrey Oestmann said the proposed pipeline is vital to the company’s survival. “We can’t compete without it,” he said during a landowner meeting in Sacred Heart, Minnesota, according to the Alexandria Echo Press newspaper… “Fischbach, the Aberdeen-area farmer, told Searchlight Noem not only failed to support the legislation but actively worked against it… “On Thursday, a Washington, D.C.-based group called Accountable.US contacted South Dakota Searchlight with a tip and information revealing Noem’s investment in Granite Falls Energy… “Gov. Noem stands to gain personally from this pipeline deal that robs a growing number of farmers of their land,” Chris Marshall, spokesperson for Accountable.US, told Searchlight. “If Noem is more committed to protecting her out-of-state investments, she should be upfront about her conflict of interest. If the governor really stands with farmers, action speaks louder than begrudging words of support.” “…But Noem has other connections to Summit Carbon Solutions. The company was one of five platinum sponsors for Noem’s second inauguration in January, along with ethanol company POET. The South Dakota Ethanol Producers Association was a gold-level sponsor. And Noem’s son-in-law, Kyle Peters, is a registered lobbyist for Gevo Inc., which is building a plant to make jet fuel from corn in Lake Preston and plans to partner with Summit Carbon Solutions. Noem lauded Gevo’s project during her State of the State address to lawmakers in January.”

Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Calls for SD special session on pipelines grow, but a two-thirds consensus is a long-shot
Dominik Dausch, 6/29/23

“Some South Dakota lawmakers are calling on their colleagues to convene for a special legislative session to address one of the state’s most emotional issues right now: carbon dioxide pipelines and the threat of eminent domain,” the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports. “Some key legislative voices, however, say it would be a waste of time and taxpayer money… “Summit Carbon, in particular, has earned the ire of some lawmakers as it surveys land belonging to landowners opposed to their pipeline ― an act protected by a court order. The company has taken the preliminary steps toward utilizing eminent domain by filing condemnation proceedings against said landowners in April. Because of the nature of the threat to South Dakota’s landowners, some of whom are generational farmers with deep roots in the state, a few state lawmakers like Rep. Karla Lems tell the Argus Leader they want the greater legislative body to meet in Pierre to tackle the “unconstitutionality” of the projects. “I think the pressing issue is we have over 100 people that have been served condemnation letters. Both of these companies came out early on and said, ‘We don’t want to use eminent domain for this project, if at all possible,'” Lems told the Argus Leader on Wednesday. “What we’re seeing is, in reality, they’re using it all over the place … Actually, my own mother just got served today.” Lems’ concerns about the CO2 projects, in terms of the questions surrounding property rights, are generally shared by most in the House and the Senate, Sen. Reynold Nesiba told the Argus Leader. The Senate minority leader doesn’t want anyone to get the impression the laws on CO2 pipelines and eminent domain shouldn’t be examined when lawmakers meets during the next regular legislative session. But by holding a special session, South Dakota would be putting the carbon capture cart before the horse, contends Sen. Jim Stalzer. For one, the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission hasn’t approved Summit Carbon’s application to build their pipeline, which means the threat of eminent domain, for now, remains a hollow one. “I know some people are upset. They don’t want them coming on their land for surveys, but we’re a long ways away from actual eminent domain,” Stalzer told the Argus Leader. Because the PUC will hold its September hearings on Summit Carbon’s application, Stalzer told the Argus Leader it would be more appropriate to wait until the regulator issues a decision on the matter.”

Peoria Journal Star: Despite opposition, CO2 pipelines are pushing forward in Illinois. Here’s what’s next
Leslie Renken, 7/2/23

“As legislation dictating safety measures for CO2 pipelines languishes in the Illinois legislature, a pair of corporations are pushing forward with plans to build hundreds of miles of pipeline in Illinois, including stretches through central Illinois,” the Peoria Journal Star reports. “Navigator Heartland Greenway LLC filed an application with the Illinois Commerce Commission on Feb. 24 for 292 miles of pipeline that includes a section ending in Marshall County near Henry. On June 16, Wolf Carbon Solutions U.S. filed an application for a pipeline that would run through Stark County and bisect both Peoria and Tazewell counties… “As of now, the pipeline proposed by Wolf Carbon Solutions is not coming through the city of Peoria, but that could change if BioUrja, the ethanol plant in Peoria, decides to hook on to the pipeline. “We continue to talk to ethanol facilities all along our trunkline, and BioUrja is someone that we’re talking to,” Nick Noppinger, senior vice president of corporate development at Wolf Carbon Solutions, told the Journal Star… “But many people are skeptical of the proposed positive effects of CO2 pipelines and concerned about the safety of residents living and working near pipelines. In Iowa, pipelines have been met with resistance, and activists in Illinois have also begun to join the fray.  “I’ve been using the term ‘wild, wild west’ for these investors who think they can make hundreds of millions of dollars while we continue to produce carbon dioxide and burn fossil fuels — so they can burn their coal, they can burn the oil, they can burn the gas forever,” Peoria resident Joyce Harant, a longtime environmental activist and a trustee with the Peoria Park District, which passed a moratorium on CO2 pipelines during their meeting in June, told the Journal Star. Though no Peoria Park District land is along the route of the proposed pipeline, trustees wanted to make a statement about the project, which they see as a possible threat to the community. “Any explosion would reasonably impact users of our park or staff, and our facilities,” said Harant.  Opponents of the pipeline concerned about safety point to a 2020 pipeline explosion in Satartia, Mississippi, that forced the evacuation of more than 200 people and sent at least 45 people to the hospital. Accounts from that incident detail how people passed out when the cloud of CO2 descended, and emergency responders were unable to help because vehicles could not run due to lack of oxygen. Furthering these concerns is a perceived lack of state and federal oversight of CO2 pipelines. “We were hoping this last spring to pass legislation that would have provided comprehensive regulation for this — the sequestration piece and the pipeline piece — because right now there’s really very little to protect people in the state of Illinois,” Harant told the Journal Star. 

Nebraska Examiner: Thanks to federal tax credits, it’s boom time in the Midwest for carbon dioxide pipelines
JACOB FISCHLER, 7/3/23

“Thousands of miles of carbon dioxide pipelines planned in the Midwest have been spurred, in part, by a major expansion of federal tax credits in Democrats’ 2022 climate law,” the Nebraska Examiner reports. “That could lead to billions of dollars per year in federal tax credits benefiting the powerful Midwest ethanol industry, even as the proposals create intense conflicts between developers and local landowners worried about pipelines on their property. Some critics also say it’s going to be difficult to tell how much the federal government is spending on the tax credits and if they are really being earned by the companies claiming them. There are also questions about whether the pipelines will be that influential in removing carbon and slowing climate change. The tax changes created incentives for larger-scale regional pipelines, Sasha Mackler, the executive director of the Center on Energy Policy at the nonprofit Bipartisan Policy Center, told the Examiner… “The expanded tax credits provide “a large economic opportunity” to retrofit or build new ethanol facilities with carbon capture in the Midwest, where plentiful corn crops helped create the center of domestic ethanol production, Joseph Hezir, executive vice president with Energy Futures Initiative, said in a late June event hosted by EFI and the environmental issues think tank Resources for the Future. Producers may judge the potential benefits to outweigh the difficulties — including resistance from landowners opposed to pipeline construction — of building out carbon sequestration infrastructure, he said. “Being able then to move that CO2 once you capture it to a place where you can sequester it is going to be a challenge,” Hezir said. “But the economics look promising and motivating enough for companies to want to begin to pursue that.” While the full scope of the tax credit is hard to determine, the individual companies proposing carbon pipelines could see billions of dollars in annual tax benefits… “At $85 per ton, [Summit] would equal $1.5 billion per year from the sequestration tax credit. Navigator CO2 Ventures, another company seeking permits to build pipelines across Iowa, estimates it could transport and store up to 15 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, which would earn tax credits of $1.3 billion… “But the agency and the Internal Revenue Service both lack the staffing to verify companies claiming the credits are earning them, Jim Walsh, the policy director for the advocacy group Food and Water Watch, which opposes tax credits for carbon capture, told the Examiner. “These tax credits are shrouded in secrecy and ripe for corruption, with no ability for oversight by the public,” he told the Examiner.

E&E News: Is Biden cracking down on pipeline violators?
Mike Soraghan, 7/5/23

“Fines for oil spills and other pipeline accidents are surging under the Biden administration, but industry critics and supporters aren’t sure if the trend will last,” E&E News reports. “Federal civil penalties for pipeline safety violations topped $10 million for the first time in 2021 and rose again last year to $11.6 million. During the Trump administration, fines averaged about $4.5 million per year. Pipeline safety has taken on a higher profile in recent years, both in terms of protecting vulnerable communities and trying to prevent methane leaks that exacerbate climate change. Some observers say conclusions shouldn’t be drawn from a mere two years of data. But others say the rising numbers highlight an increased vigilance on pipeline safety from the Biden administration. “It kinda jumps out at you,” Bill Caram, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, a Bellingham, Wash.-based advocacy group, told E&E. “This administration seems to be taking pipeline safety more seriously than previous administrations, including Democratic administrations.” Other signs, he told E&E, include industry fighting harder against the new rules it has proposed… “President Joe Biden is drawing heat for agreeing to force completion of the Mountain Valley pipeline. And his administration’s plans for pipelines for carbon capture and sequestration to fight climate change are drawing increasing criticism from both ends of the political spectrum… “In the first two years of Biden’s tenure, penalty cases averaged $236,000 each. That figure was driven up by some of PHMSA’s largest fines, including a nearly $4 million penalty sought against Denbury Inc. for a carbon dioxide pipeline rupture in Mississippi that sent 45 people to the hospital. The accident gained attention after an examination of the Mississippi rupture by the Climate Investigations Center, which monitors the activities of companies and other groups. Carbon dioxide pipelines also emerged as a hot issue because the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law that Biden signed promoted carbon capture projects with big tax incentives. Brown rolled out the penalty in coordination with the announcement of new, tougher rules for carbon capture pipelines… “The Pipeline Safety Trust’s Caram told E&E his applause for the Biden administration’s approach to pipeline safety goes beyond enforcement and penalties to the regulations it has been drafting and implementing… “Still, he told E&E, the agency has a long way to go. Congress sharply limits PHMSA’s ability to levy big fines, he told E&E. PHMSA hasn’t been as aggressive as some safety advocates want with the authority it does have. A case in point for Caram is the record fine that PHMSA sought against Denbury for the Satartia, Miss., rupture. PHMSA dropped the fine by $1 million in settling the case, and Denbury did not have to admit any wrongdoing. “From our perspective, that was disappointing to see,” Caram told E&E… “The reduced amount was 0.6 percent of Denbury’s profits for 2022, Caram told E&E. He said that makes him question how much the fine would serve as an incentive to improve safety. “It is not meaningful enough to change an operator’s behavior,” he told E&E.

Reuters: Trans Mountain pipeline expansion likely to send more Canadian oil to US, not Asia
7/4/23

“The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX) was meant to unlock Asian markets for Canadian oil, but analysts and traders said those barrels now will probably land on the U.S. West Coast as Asia gobbles up Russian oil that is cheaper due to sanctions from Western countries after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine,” Reuters reports. “Asia’s heavy crude refining market is roughly nine times the size of California’s, but the geopolitical upheaval means Canada will struggle to reduce its reliance on its No. 1 oil customer, the United States. The troubled C$30.9 billion ($23.5 billion) TMX project, bought by the Canadian government in 2018 to ensure it got built, is finally nearing completion more than a decade after it was first proposed as an expanded gateway to Asia. Western sanctions on Russian crude following its invasion of Ukraine have upended those plans. Russia has been flooding Asian markets with cheap Urals and ESPO crudes. Canadian barrels will struggle to compete, analysts and traders said. TMX next year is due to start shipping an extra 590,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude early from Alberta to British Columbia’s Pacific Coast, where it will be loaded onto tankers for export. “We think a disproportionate amount of those volumes are going actually to PADD 5 (the U.S. West Coast), staying within North America instead of Asia,” John Coleman, principal analyst of North American crude markets at energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie, told Reuters… “Another Canadian trader told Reuters regulatory delays and environmental opposition have also made TMX less lucrative for producers than it could have been a few years ago.”

Energy News Network: Fate of Mountain Valley Pipeline’s North Carolina extension still unclear
Elizabeth Ouzts, 6/28/23

“While U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm defended the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline this week, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper raised concerns about its planned extension into the state,” Energy News Network reports. “…Granholm, whose agency has no role in permitting pipelines, reiterated her earlier endorsement of the project on Monday, even when asked about recent reports that the project is only slated to run at 35% capacity.  “The administration has supported the MVP on the grounds of energy security,” Granholm told ENN. “We know that there’s a lot of opposition out there,” Granholm added. “This is the balance that the administration is trying to seek overall. We’ve spent the vast majority of time on the acceleration to clean [energy], while recognizing that there needs to be some fossil available for a period of time until we get to the goal of 100% clean energy.” Pipeline opponents continue to challenge the project, most recently in lawsuits filed this week arguing that Congress’ interference in executive branch permits is unconstitutional. But no matter what happens with the longer leg, its short extension into North Carolina remains in question… “Southgate also needs reapproval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — permission that U.S. Reps. Kathy Manning and Valerie Foushee, both Democrats, urged the agency this week to reject. Asked about the project on Monday, Cooper focused on how new natural gas infrastructure could become obsolete in light of the state’s plan to transition to zero-carbon energy by midcentury. “I have concerns about it,” Cooper told ENN. “We’ve put in place now our Carbon Plan that we hope will rely more on renewable energy. When Duke [Energy] is considering more natural gas plants, I worry about how that will affect costs and consumers, if these are sunken costs.” 

Greeley Tribune: A leaking gas line destroyed their home. Now farmers-turned-activists are pushing for stronger safety rules.
JUDITH KOHLER, 7/2/23

“Mark and Julie Nygren didn’t set out to be activists, but they are suggesting changes to the oversight of Colorado’s oil and gas pipelines based on their experience of losing their home and seeing part of their farm contaminated by a leaking gas line,” the Greeley Tribune reports. “More than four years after discovery of the leak, the Nygrens are still renting a house in Johnstown, just north of their Weld County property, and remain embroiled in a lawsuit against DCP Midstream Operating Co., which owned the pipeline. As the Colorado Public Utilities Commission considers new pipeline-safety rules, the Nygrens want to share their hard-won insights with regulators. “We’re farmers, we don’t want to be activists. But we also want our neighbors and our communities to be safe and we are concerned that not enough attention has been paid to our situation to correct it from happening to someone else,” Julie told the Tribune. Conor Farley, an administrative law judge at the PUC, heard from the public Thursday on a proposal to implement a 2021 law requiring the state to strengthen safety rules and adopt regulations to comply with federal requirements. Several times during the three-hour-plus hearing, speakers referred to the “Nygren rules.” The couple recommended changes to the draft rules based on events that required the digging of a pit on their land that was more than 20 feet deep and 3 acres wide to muck out the pollution. “The story of Mark and Julie Nygren serves as a poignant reminder of what is at stake in this rule-making. All Colorado residents, in urban and rural areas, deserve to feel safe in their homes and be protected from avoidable pipeline accidents,” Rep. Tammy Story, a Conifer Democrat who sponsored the legislation mandating new regulations, told the Tribune… “The problems cited in the audit included inadequate inspections to a lack of documented action against repeat offenders even following explosions that killed and injured people.”

JWN Energy: TC Energy expects to appeal Columbia pipeline ruling
7/4/23

“TC Energy Corporation says it “strongly disagrees” with a Delaware court ruling on a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of the former shareholders of Columbia Pipeline Group Inc.,” JWN Energy reports. “The lawsuit, filed by plaintiffs in July 2018, alleged that Columbia’s then CEO and CFO breached their fiduciary duties to Columbia shareholders and that there were material omissions in Columbia’s proxy statement and that TC Energy aided and abetted the fiduciary duty breaches and the disclosure violations. The plaintiffs claimed damages more than US$3 billion. Columbia’s former executives settled with plaintiffs prior to trial for US$79 million.”

DemocracyNow: Canadian Climate Activist: Big Oil Is Fueling Fires. We Must Stop Funding New Fossil Fuel Pipelines
6/29/23

“As wildfire smoke fills the skies and record heat waves cook much of North America, Canadian climate activist Tzeporah Berman says governments need to be pushed to phase out fossil fuels more rapidly,” DemocracyNow reports. “We need people to stand up to this industry. We need activism to protest in the streets, to demand our governments stand up to this industry. And we also need international cooperation,” Berman told DemocracyNow. She also discusses Canada’s investment in the Trans Mountain Pipeline and how governments around the world are propping up the fossil fuel industry rather than embracing a transition to clean energy. Her recent article for The Guardian is headlined “Canada is on fire, and big oil is the arsonist.” “…Well, just two weeks ago, new scientific research from the Climate Hub of the Union of Concerned Scientists made a direct and measurable link between the increase in wildfires, not only in Canada, but also in the United States, and the carbon emissions from major fossil fuel producers. In fact, they looked at the Carbon Majors study, and they showed that there are 88 companies that are responsible for the emissions that are trapped in our atmosphere today and literally smothering the Earth, causing this dramatic increase in wildfires, the heat domes that you talked about, the floods, extreme weather. And so, these 88 companies are directly responsible for what we are experiencing right now. Thirteen of those companies are in Canada. We hear a lot about the smoke, but people aren’t really talking about the fact that 86% of the emissions trapped in our atmosphere today, they come from three products: oil, gas and coal. And the fossil fuel industry, it has been shown in courts across the world and in the United States, that these companies knew. They knew what their products were going to do decades ago. They denied it. They delayed it. They delayed progress of policy. They’re spending a half a billion dollars a year, the fossil fuel industry, to lobby against and weaken climate policy. And they’ve slowed down the transition to cleaner, safer electricity systems, to cleaner, safer transit, ways to heat our homes without poisoning us. You know, in some ways, this is like Big Tobacco, when they knew decades ago, except they’re not just poisoning us. They’re poisoning our whole families, and they’re threatening the air we breathe and a stable climate.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

E&E News: Biden Admin Scoops Up $30M In Public Land Oil Sales 
Heather Richards, 6/30/23

“The Biden administration netted nearly $30 million in a suite of oil sales on public lands that closed Thursday in Wyoming, Michigan and Louisiana,” E&E News reports. “The million-dollar returns, while not overwhelming compared to previous sales, show the ongoing development of the nation’s massive stores of crude oil and natural gas under President Joe Biden, despite pressure on the White House from environmentalists to stifle the federal drilling program due to its climate impacts. In Wyoming, the Bureau of Land Management sold leases on nearly 70,000 acres Wednesday and Thursday, netting roughly $14.6 million in high bids. The bulk of those returns were for leases in the state’s prolific Powder River Basin, an oil and gas play in eastern Wyoming that’s a mix of state, federal and private lands. Additionally, BLM sold four parcels, totaling 128 acres, in Louisiana and Michigan for more than $222,000. The auctions follow the sale of more than 5,000 acres in North Dakota earlier this week that brought in $15 million. Last month, a New Mexico federal oil sale that drew protestors in front of BLM offices garnered nearly $80 million.”

Bloomberg: Biden Blocks Activist Bid To Slash Oil Output From Federal Lands 
Jennifer A Dlouhy, 6/29/23

“The Biden administration has formally rebuffed a bid by environmental activists to phase down oil and gas production on federal lands and waters, marking its latest nod to the endurance of fossil fuels in a warming world,” Bloomberg reports. “Laura Daniel-Davis, the principal deputy assistant secretary of land and mineral management at the Interior Department, said in a letter released Thursday that the agency couldn’t dedicate its ‘limited resources’ to establishing a phase down program, given ‘competing priorities,’ including implementing lease sales mandated by last year’s sweeping climate law. Daniel-Davis did not address the substance of the legal and scientific arguments advanced by more than 300 environmental, community and climate groups in their 85-page rulemaking petition last year, saying only that she appreciated ‘the thought and effort behind’ their push. ‘This administration shares your concerns regarding the urgency of the climate crisis and is directing its limited resources in an effort to address them,’ she said. The move drew a swift condemnation from activists who cited mounting evidence the world must stop developing new oil and gas fields to avert the most catastrophic consequences of global warming and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.”

E&E News: Climate Law Could Nearly Halve Emissions By 2035 — Study
Lamar Johnson, 6/30/23

“The Inflation Reduction Act could drive down U.S. emissions by as much as 48 percent by 2035, according to a new analysis in the journal Science,” E&E News reports. “The paper, released Thursday, is the first to compile results from nine major models to examine the implications of the climate law’s $369 billion in energy and climate spending. More than 30 researchers — from the Department of Energy, EPA and numerous universities and environmental nonprofits — collaborated on the study. Researchers concluded that by 2035, U.S. emissions could fall by 43 percent to 48 percent, compared to 2005 levels. Without the climate law, that reduction would be between 27 percent and 35 percent.”

E&E News: EPA To Propose Methane Reporting Revamp
Jean Chemnick, 7/5/23

“EPA is poised to propose changes to how it measures methane emissions from oil and gas operations — a move that could lead to more operators paying methane fees,” E&E News reports. “The White House released the draft rule from review Friday morning, paving the way for a rollout as soon as Wednesday. Congress mandated the changes in last year’s climate law, after numerous studies showed current methodologies vastly underestimate how much oil and gas operations leak the powerful greenhouse gas.”

E&E News: Poll shows public skepticism for EVs, fossil fuel phaseout
Lamar Johnson, 6/29/23

“More than two-thirds of Americans oppose phasing out fossil fuels entirely, and almost half say they would be “upset” if gasoline-powered cars were eliminated, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center,” E&E News reports. “Overall, the poll released Wednesday found broad support for alternative energy sources such as wind and solar and policies to address greenhouse gas emissions, but also documented challenges for technologies such as electric vehicles. For example, the poll found that although 68 percent of Americans oppose phasing out fossil fuels entirely, a nearly identical 67 percent support the United States’ prioritizing renewables over expanding fossil fuel generation. Alec Tyson, associate director of the Pew Research Center, told E&E the findings highlight the growing complexities of how Americans feel about the energy transition. “There are certain segments of the public that are not on board with winding down fossil fuels, but that doesn’t preclude openness to some other policies in the climate and energy space that might more align with their views,” Tyson told E&E..

Reuters: Biden’s green hydrogen plan hits climate obstacle: Water shortage
Valerie Volcovici, 7/3/23

“The Biden administration’s climate agenda is facing an unexpected challenge in drought-prone Corpus Christi, Texas, where a proposed clean hydrogen hub would require the installation of energy-intensive, expensive and potentially environmentally damaging seawater desalination plants,” Reuters reports. “The Gulf Coast port is in the running for up to $1 billion available under President Joe Biden’s 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to create a regional hub to produce hydrogen, a low-emissions fuel made by electrolyzing water that can help decarbonize heavy-emitting industries and transportation. A hydrogen hub would require access to millions of gallons of water – a challenge in Corpus Christi which is experiencing a multi-year drought. While local officials say they can provide that water by constructing a seawater desalination plant, environmental groups and some local residents and lawmakers are lining up to oppose desalination sites. “It makes no sense to create a purported clean energy source that in turn destroys an entire ecosystem, threatens other economies reliant upon a healthy bay system, and usurps the water supply for residents,” the Coastal Alliance to Protect the Environment, a Corpus Christi activist group, wrote in a letter to U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, shared with Reuters. Reuters interviewed six researchers who study hydrogen as green power and had exclusive access to an analysis by Rystad Energy consultancy that showed that the Biden administration’s vision of low-carbon hydrogen may run into a challenge that is itself exacerbated by climate change: water scarcity… “Nine of the 33 projects on the Department of Energy shortlist for the hydrogen hubs are in highly water-stressed regions, according to Rystad data… “Most of the world’s planned green hydrogen projects are to be located in water-stressed regions,” Minh Khoi Le, renewable energy analyst at Rystad, told Reuters, adding that this would create demand for more desalination plants.”

STATE UPDATES

E&E News: Alaska Proposes Fines For Arctic Gas Blowout 
Heather Richards, 6/30/23

“Alaska regulators want to impose nearly $1 million in fines on the oil company responsible for a large natural gas leak last year near federal lands in the Arctic,” E&E News reports. “The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on Wednesday said ConocoPhillips Co. violated several state standards leading up to the release of 7.2 million cubic feet of natural gas in March 2022. The gas bleed, one of the most significant ever recorded in Alaska, sparked fears of potentially harmful health effects on residents of the nearby village of Nuiqsut. It also fueled criticism by Democrats and environmental groups of ConocoPhillips’ Willow project, a 30-year oil and gas program in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska that the Biden administration greenlighted this year. The proposed fines follow a ‘comprehensive and independent investigation into the causes of the incident,’ and a subsequent hearing by the state commission, said Commission Chair Brett Huber in a statement. He added that ConocoPhillips ‘was at all times cooperative with the AOGCC during its investigation, fully participated in the public hearing, and voluntarily implemented new policies and procedures in order to prevent another incident like this from occurring in the future.”

EXTRACTION

Reuters: Focus: Oil giants drill deep as profits trump climate concerns
Ron Bousso and Nerijus Adomaitis, 7/3/23

“Oil and gas companies have intensified the hunt for new deposits in a long-term bet on demand, as they reinvest some of the record profits from the fossil fuel price surge driven by the Ukraine war, according to data and industry executives,” Reuters reports. “The exploration revival – on the part of European majors in particular – reflects a renewed commitment to oil and gas after Shell and BP slowed down plans to shift away from their legacy business and invest in renewables as part of the energy transition. It responds to pressure from a majority of investors to maximise their oil and gas profits rather than invest in lower margin renewable energy businesses. It also defies protests from a minority of activist investors who want oil companies to be more closely aligned with global efforts to mitigate climate change. The renewed appetite for oil and gas reserves and production is an especially big turnaround for BP, which got rid of most staff from its exploration unit three years ago. Exploration is a long-term, high-risk business. Big-ticket offshore projects typically take five years to develop from discovery and at least another 10 years to return the initial investment. But as a source of profit, it has proved more reliable for the energy majors than the very different business model of producing renewable energy. Upstream oil and gas have historically had returns of around 15%-to-20%, while most renewables projects have delivered up to 8%. An oil and gas price rally driven by energy producer Russia’s invasion of Ukraine translated into record profits for the energy majors. That has increased confidence in the most costly, high-risk offshore exploration that can also deliver the highest rewards.”

Phys.org: Carbon ‘capture’ climate tech is booming, and confusing
7/4/23

“Carbon capture and storage (CCS) and direct air capture (DAC)are different technologies for isolating CO2. Humanity’s failure to draw down planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions—41 billion metric tons in 2022—has thrust once-marginal options for capping or reducing CO2 in the atmosphere to center stage in climate policy and investment,” Phys.org reports. “Carbon capture and storage (CCS) and direct air capture (DAC) are both complex industrial processes that isolate CO2 but these newly booming technologies are fundamentally different and often conflated… “The concentration of carbon dioxide in ambient air is only 420 parts per million (about 0.04 percent), so corralling CO2 using DAC is far more energy intensive. Once isolated using either CCS or DAC, CO2 can be used to make products such as building materials or “green” aviation fuel, though some of that CO2 will seep back into the air. “If the CO2 is utilized, then it is not removal,” Oliver Geden, a senior fellow at the German Institute for International Security Affairs, told Phys.org… “As countries and companies feel the pinch from decarbonization timetables and net-zero commitments, more money—public and private—is flowing toward both CCS and DAC. In the United States, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) earmarks billions of dollars in tax credits for CCS. The earlier Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides about $12 billion over five years. Canada’s 2022 budget also extends an investment tax credit that cuts the cost of CCS projects in half. South Korea and China are also investing heavily in the sector, with China opening a 500,000-ton plant last month in Jiangsu Province. In Europe, support comes at the national level and is oriented toward industry and storage, especially in the North Sea.”

CBS News: Carbon capture technology: The future of clean energy or a costly and misguided distraction?
BEN TRACY, ANALISA NOVAK, 7/2/23

“Congress recently allocated billions of dollars in subsidies to promote the expansion of carbon capture technology. If new Environmental Protection Agency rules take effect, most fossil fuel-burning plants may be compelled to implement carbon capture technology,” CBS News reports. “However, carbon capture has faced significant criticism as a pricey and misguided distraction in the battle against climate change. The National Carbon Capture Center, located along the banks of the Coosa River in Alabama, is a research facility affiliated with a coal and natural gas-fired power plant operated by Southern Company. It resembles a large laboratory where carbon capture has been tested for over a decade. John Northington, the facility’s director, told CBS that it represents a culmination of 135,000 hours of testing and over 70 different technologies… “But the real-world implementation of carbon capture has faced challenges… “Critics that include MIT Professor Charles Harvey argue that carbon capture and storage, also known as CCS, is not economically viable because it costs less to build new renewable energy projects such as wind and solar than to operate an existing coal plant.  “A dollar spent in renewable technologies will avert a lot more emissions than CCS will,” Harvey told CBS. He argues that carbon capture allows the industry to continue relying on fossil fuels, and even the captured carbon from the Petra Nova plant was used to extract more oil from the ground in a process called enhanced oil recovery. “The frustrating thing is that there is an easy solution and that is to stop using fossil fuels,” Harvey told CBS. “We have the technology to do that right now and I don’t think we should be distracted from that.”

CBS News: Carbon capture technology removes CO2 from power plant emissions, but is it a climate solution? [VIDEO]
Ben Tracy, 6/29/23

“At a research lab in Alabama, scientists try to perfect what some see as a powerful tool in the fight against climate change. Others think carbon capture technology is a dangerous distraction and a waste of money. Senior national and environmental correspondent Ben Tracy reports from Wilsonville, Alabama,” CBS News reports.

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

Reuters: ‘Climate washing’ lawsuits jump as more activists challenge corporate claims, report shows
Tommy Wilkes, 6/28/23

“Climate washing” litigation has risen sharply in the last two years as environmental groups and governments grow frustrated with corporate claims about their contribution to tackling climate change, a report published on Thursday showed,” Reuters reports. “The report, compiled by London’s Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, defines ‘climate washing’ as cases that challenge companies, and occasionally governments, over misinformation or misleading green claims. In the last year, 26 climate washing cases were filed globally against companies, down slightly from 27 in 2021, but up sharply from the previous two years, the institute said in its annual report on climate litigation trends. Lawyers, working on behalf of activists and others frustrated with progress in lowering greenhouse gas emissions, have filed 2,341 climate litigation cases worldwide, half of them since 2015. The majority of cases have been filed in the United States. “One of the most significant groups of climate-washing cases to emerge in recent years have been cases challenging the truthfulness of corporate climate commitments, particularly where these are not backed up by adequate plans and policies,” the report authors, Joana Setzer and Kate Higham, told Reuters… “Republican politicians in the U.S. are waging a campaign against businesses incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals into their decision-making. They argue it represents a politically liberal agenda that breaches fiduciary duty. Businesses and investors have pushed back, saying their commitment to reach net-zero emissions goals is the best approach for delivering investment returns and reducing risk.”

OPINION

Truthout: Young Climate Activists Aren’t Leading Tomorrow — They Are Leading Today
Kwolanne Felix, 6/29/23

“As a young person in the climate movement, I am so proud of my generation and our dedicated work in addressing the climate crisis,” Kwolanne Felix writes for Truthout. “Seeing the amazing news of young people fighting against climate change fills me with the courage to continue doing my part. I am empowered every day when I see the way young people around the world are leading the fight. This is why I’m puzzled when older people follow up their compliments to youth advocates with the well-intentioned comment: “I can’t wait for you to lead the future.” This statement seems innocuous at first glance, but as I look at the amazing work young activists are doing today, I wonder why we are expected to wait. The leadership that young people demonstrate today is remarkable, yet we aren’t taken seriously. From the young Montanans suing the state, to young Indigenous land defenders in the Amazon, to young people protesting outside the COP27 conference, we have all demonstrated our leadership today, and we aren’t waiting for tomorrow. One of the inherent issues with framing young people as tomorrow’s leaders on climate change is that it minimizes the work that young people are doing now, and erases the urgency of the present… “When discussing young people and future leadership, people often reference traditional positions of power like politicians, executives of legacy companies, and directors of nonprofits. Many of these positions are not immediately attainable for the average young person… “This expectation for young people to lead us into the future also obscures the responsibility that we all must bear today. The time to act and respond to climate change is not tomorrow, but today… “Framing young people as tomorrow’s leaders on climate change minimizes the work that young people are doing now, and erases the urgency of the present… “As the climate crisis continues to threaten us all, young people are bravely asserting our right to a livable environment. We have shown an incredible capacity to lead and harness the power of people across the world, and we are ready for action today. Tomorrow will just not cut it.”

Broad & Liberty: Becky Corbin: Carbon capture and storage is beneficial to Pennsylvania’s energy field
Becky Corbin is a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 7/5/23

“Businesses and industries nationwide are increasingly placing an emphasis on climate and emissions-related goals in their daily operations,” Becky Corbin writes for Broad & Liberty. “…As more and more states develop and deploy renewable technologies, America’s leaders must embrace an all-the-above approach to energy in order to reach state climate goals and the national benchmark of net-zero emissions by 2050, while at the same time protecting and enhancing our economy. In Pennsylvania, industries like advanced manufacturing and natural gas are critical and serve as primary contributors to the state’s economy. To effectively push the needle on achieving energy independence and reducing our emissions, we must focus on bolstering vital industries like these while also investing in new, renewable technologies that help meet climate goals. One renewable technology taking the nation by storm does just that. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) can push the Commonwealth and the rest of the country to the forefront of the global energy transition without sacrificing our most integral industries… “As the nation builds more carbon capture capacity, Pennsylvania has a massive opportunity to get in on investing in a crucial, burgeoning technology and be a key player in the country’s clean energy transition… “For Pennsylvania to play a part in, and benefit from, the world’s inevitable clean energy transition, our leaders must focus on creating more opportunities for the integration of renewable technologies like carbon capture and storage into the operations of our domestic energy producers and manufacturers. With more support, our industry leaders and elected officials can create a cleaner world, starting right here in Pennsylvania.”

The Advocate: Paul Danos: Energy Industry Is Innovating To Help Build Louisiana’s Brighter Future
Paul Danos is CEO and an owner of Danos LLC. He is current chair of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), 7/4/23

“For over seven decades, our family-owned and operated energy services business has witnessed firsthand the significant contributions that Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production makes to our state’s economy, workforce and energy security,” Paul Danos writes for The Advocate. “The federal government must develop a long-term program that continues to offer new offshore lease opportunities, not only for Louisiana but for the entire nation. The Gulf of Mexico has long been recognized as a cornerstone of America’s energy landscape, providing a reliable and abundant source of oil and natural gas. This region plays a pivotal role in meeting our nation’s energy needs, supporting American jobs, driving economic growth and providing a path toward climate action. Close to 100,000 Louisiana jobs and $8 billion in contributions to Louisiana’s GDP depend on our industry… “However, we face challenges that threaten the future of Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production. Burdensome regulations, bureaucratic delays and the specter of needless de facto moratoriums hinder our ability to responsibly develop our natural resources. Policymakers should recognize the vital importance of this industry and support policies that encourage continued exploration and production in the Gulf. Let us celebrate the Gulf of Mexico’s oil and gas industry as a pillar of Louisiana’s prosperity and energy independence. Together, let us embrace its potential, support its growth and secure a brighter future for our state, our nation and the hardworking women and men who make this industry thrive.”

New York Times: Guess Who’s Been Paying to Block Green Energy? You Have.
David Pomerantz is the executive director of the Energy and Policy Institute, a utility watchdog organization, 7/5/23

“To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we have to make two big transitions at once: First, we have to generate all of our electricity from clean sources, like wind turbines and solar panels, rather than power plants that run on coal and methane gas. Second, we have to retool nearly everything else that burns oil and gas — like cars, buses and furnaces that heat buildings — to run on that clean electricity,” David Pomerantz writes for the New York Times. “These changes are underway, but their speed and ultimate success depend greatly on one kind of company: the utilities that have monopolies to sell us electricity and gas. But around the country, utility companies are using their outsize political power to slow down the clean energy transition, and they are probably using your money to do it. State regulators are supposed to make sure that customers’ monthly utility bills cover only the cost of delivering electricity or gas and to set limits on how much utilities can profit. But large investor-owned utilities, with legions of lawyers to help them evade scrutiny, bake many of their political costs into rates right alongside their investments in electrical poles and wires. In doing so, they are conscripting their customers into an unknowing army of millions of small-dollar donors to prolong the era of dirty energy. Fortunately, Colorado, Connecticut and Maine passed laws this spring that prohibit utilities from charging customers for their lobbying, public relations spending and dues to political trade associations like the American Gas Association and the Edison Electric Institute. Regulators in Louisiana are considering similar policy changes. Every state in the country should follow those leads. These reforms are crucial because while all corporations in the United States can spend money on politics, in most cases, consumers who don’t approve can take their business elsewhere. Utilities — as regulated monopolies — have the unique ability to force customers to participate… “Policymakers should, at minimum, require that utilities disclose all political spending. The recently passed state laws won’t stop utilities from spending their profits on politics. The post-Citizens United campaign finance landscape makes it difficult to restrict such expenditures, but it does not protect companies’ ability to spend secretly, which is how utilities like FirstEnergy, Florida Power & Light and SoCalGas have attempted their most noxious influence campaigns. Utilities are too central to the clean energy transition to be allowed to dictate our energy and climate policies based on their profit motives. Limiting their influence gives us the best chance to move quickly and affordably to a safer and cleaner future.”