EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 9/24/24

PIPELINE NEWS

• KTRK: Energy Transfer releases new information to file claims relating to Deer Park pipeline explosion

• Brownfield Ag News: An Update on the Summit Carbon Solutions Pipeline

• The Energy Mix: $2B Alberta Gas Pipeline Pitches Decarbonization Amid Technology Challenges

• Texas Standard: How will the Matterhorn Express Pipeline impact the Permian Basin and energy markets?

• E&E News: House committee sets vote on pipeline security bill

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• Axois: Kerry: U.S. must accelerate fossil fuel phaseout

• E&E News: EPA urges Supreme Court to keep methane rule on the books 

• Inside Climate News: RFK Jr.’s ‘Sad’ Slide From Environmental Hero to Outcast

• Washington Post: House Democrats plan multimedia Project 2025 hearing

STATE UPDATES

• Politico: California attorney general sues Exxon Mobil over plastics recycling deceptions

• KPLC: Entergy, Crescent Midstream collaborating on carbon capture project

• Louisiana Illuminator: Unlikely alliance forms to boost community air monitoring in Louisiana

EXTRACTION

• E&E News: Utilities can drive carbon removal project growth — report

• New York Times: They’ve Got a Plan to Fight Global Warming. It Could Alter the Oceans.

• Reuters: FTC set to greenlight Chevron’s $53 bln buy of oil rival Hess, sources say

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

• Enbridge: Doig River First Nation and Enbridge Answer the Question: What’s in a Name?

OPINION

• Hartford Courant: Ask CT legislators to stop the use of methane gas

• Beaumont Enterprise: How carbon capture could create local jobs with high wages

• Phoenix Business Journal: Why carbon capture and storage sets a sensible path to a cleaner future

• Table Media: Carbon capture – draft law underestimates danger posed by CCU

• The Hill: The US needs a Project 2025 for the climate 

• The New Republic: The U.S. Has a Methane Problem. A.I. Is Making It Worse.

• Utility Dive: Permitting reform’s false choice
  

PIPELINE NEWS

KTRK: Energy Transfer releases new information to file claims relating to Deer Park pipeline explosion
9/23/24

“La Porte and Deer Park residents still have the chance to file a claim if they were affected by last week’s pipeline explosion,” KTRK reports. “…A day after human remains were found in an SUV pulled from the burn site of the pipeline fire near Spencer Highway, restoration efforts are underway. Last week’s blast left melted cars, dried and charred out grass, and nearby homes destroyed from the heat and water damage, and families having to figure out what’s next. “There needs to be an inspection to actually know a whole extent of the damages and consequences of this impact,” homeowner Areanna Molero told KTRK. The La Porte Office of Emergency Management told KTRK those looking to file a claim can call Energy Transfer, the pipeline owner, at 833-226-3340 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m… “Energy Transfer told KTRK it’s continuing to offer help for expenses like spoiled food replacement and lost wages.”

Brownfield Ag News: An Update on the Summit Carbon Solutions Pipeline
Carah Hart, 9/23/24

“The CEO of Summit Carbon Solutions says permit work continues for a carbon pipeline that, once completed, is expected to span five states across the Midwest,” Brownfield Ag News reports. “Lee Blank told Brownfield the Iowa Utilities Commission recently issued a construction permit for the company, but another permit is needed. “The first permit approval should certainly help with the second permit, in my opinion. We’ve put the path in place to go ahead and work through the process. I believe it will be a process the IUC is used to and it should make it more accommodating as we move through the second permit.” “…We will be re-applying for our permit application in South Dakota in the next 60 days or soon. We’re taking the opportunity, finding landowners who would be accommodating to the route and that appreciate the project,” he told Brownfield. “We’re through the hearing process in North Dakota for the pipeline as well as the sequestration sites. We’re just waiting on the PSC and the NDIC.” He told Brownfield permit approval is still needed in Minnesota and a ruling is expected in late December or early January.”

The Energy Mix: $2B Alberta Gas Pipeline Pitches Decarbonization Amid Technology Challenges
Christopher Bonasia, 9/23/24

“A massive new gas pipeline network planned for Alberta is being promoted as a way to decarbonize industry, but the technologies it counts on—carbon capture and “blue” hydrogen production—are still struggling to gain traction,” The Energy Mix reports. “ATCO Energy Systems’ Yellowhead Mainline project—more than 200 kilometres of high-pressure gas pipelines and related facilities planned to run between Peers, Alberta, and Fort Saskatchewan—went a “major step forward” this month when the company filed its first regulatory application with the Alberta Utilities Commission, reports The Globe and Mail… “The gas will feed petrochemical companies, the low-carbon cement sector, and companies making hydrogen products and their derivatives—many of which will be meant to use carbon capture and storage (CCS) to lower greenhouse gas emissions, the Globe writes… “But so far, CCS technologies are found to be expensive alternatives to actual emissions reductions, have not been proven at scale, and have consistently underperformed expectations. The CCS industry itself has admitted the technology falls short of the decarbonization goals it committed to a decade ago… “However, if natural gas is used to produce it, indirect emissions are created unless CCS is used to make “blue” hydrogen. Even then, researchers warn that hydrogen’s overall emissions can be worse than coal, especially when methane leaks during transportation are considered. With that in mind, Edmonton’s Energy Transition Climate Resilience Committee recently denounced blue hydrogen as “a marketing play by the fossil fuel industry” and has called on its city to ditch hydrogen as “a poor decarbonization tool.”

Texas Standard: How will the Matterhorn Express Pipeline impact the Permian Basin and energy markets?
Alexandra Hart & Elijah Carll, 9/23/24

“The 580-mile Matterhorn Express Pipeline is set to begin operations within the next month, moving natural gas from a West Texas terminal to Katy, outside of Houston,” the Texas Standard reports. “With the need for reliable energy increasing at the statewide and global level, the construction of Matterhorn and a handful of other pipelines in the area are being closely monitored by analysts worldwide. Energy analyst Matt Smith from Kpler joined Texas Standard to discuss what he expects from the pipeline’s construction… “The addition of this pipeline essentially starts to alleviate that bottleneck, which means more production can leave the region. Now, what this will likely do is spur on more natural gas production in the Permian – potentially oil production, too, because oil has also been under the effects of this excess natural gas in the region, because there’s a limit to how much natural gas can be flared. So, we should definitely see more natural gas production, potentially more oil, too… “So going forward, demand continues to grow in Texas. There’s a lot of solar capacity being added, but to meet this higher demand, you’re going to need natural gas to continue to be that base load fuel – the most reliable one, whether the sun may not be shining or the wind isn’t blowing.”

E&E News: House committee sets vote on pipeline security bill
Nicole Norman, 9/24/24

“The House Homeland Security Committee will vote on legislation that aims to secure of pipeline facilities against cybersecurity threats and acts of terrorism,” E&E News reports. “H.R. 9469, the “Pipeline Security Act,” from Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), would require the Transportation Security Administration to develop a strategy to protect and improve the security of the the nation’s critical pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities against outside threats. Supporters have been pushing similar legislation for years. It gained prominence after a ransomware attack shut down the Colonial Pipeline system. Bipartisan support has not given the legislation enough momentum for passage. Some lawmakers would rather the Department of Energy take a greater role in pipeline security.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

Axois: Kerry: U.S. must accelerate fossil fuel phaseout
Daniel Moore, 9/23/24

“The fossil fuel industry’s push for natural gas and carbon capture technology is causing the world to fall short on climate goals, former presidential climate envoy John Kerry told Axois. “…We’re not doing that—we’re not implementing,” Kerry said Monday at Axios House Climate Week/UN General Assembly in New York City. He blamed a “massive movement in the fossil fuel industry right now” to brand natural gas as part of a green future when, in reality, methane emissions are 20 to 80 times more damaging to the climate than CO2, he told Axios… “Kerry acknowledged gas can be a very short-term clean fuel option when transitioning away from coal or oil. But new gas infrastructure risks become stranded assets in 30-40 years when the world is supposed to have moved on from fossil fuels, he told Axios. He also threw cold water on the likelihood of carbon capture ever reaching a point in which fossil fuels could burn cleanly. “Anybody I’ve talked to has the deepest doubts about the ability to get to scale and make it affordable so it’s competitive with the things we already know how to do,” Kerry told Axios.

E&E News: EPA urges Supreme Court to keep methane rule on the books 
Niina H. Farah, 9/24/24

“The Supreme Court should reject requests to block EPA’s new limits on methane emissions from new and existing oil and gas infrastructure, the Biden administration told the justices last week,” E&E News reports. “Republican-led states and industry groups in August filed applications to the high court’s emergency or ‘shadow’ docket asking the justices to prevent the rule from going into effect while legal challenges play out in a lower court. “Neither challenge is substantial, and neither would warrant this Court’s review,” Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told the Supreme Court in a brief docketed Friday.”

Inside Climate News: RFK Jr.’s ‘Sad’ Slide From Environmental Hero to Outcast
Phil McKenna, 9/22/24

“In the early 2000s, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., then a prominent environmental attorney who had recently been named one of Time magazine’s “Heroes for the Planet,” played a leading role in killing an offshore wind farm in Nantucket Sound not far from his family’s Cape Cod estate,” Inside Climate News reports. “Project proponents told ICN the fierce opposition by Kennedy, a presidential candidate who recently suspended his campaign but remains on the ballot in nearly three dozen states, had a long-lasting impact on the U.S. offshore wind industry and laid the seeds for opposition that continues today. “It set back offshore wind over 20 years in the United States,” Jim Gordon, the former CEO of Cape Wind, the company that tried to build the Nantucket Sound project, told ICN. Gordon told ICN Kennedy was often the loudest, most combative voice of the well-funded opposition… “When asked about the role he may have played in significantly delaying one of the most promising sources of clean energy in the United States, he embraced the connection. “Well, if I did, I’m very happy about that because offshore wind has been a catastrophe,” Kennedy told Inside Climate News. “It should be shut down. It makes no sense.” Environmental advocates who once looked up to Kennedy told ICN the positions he has taken in recent years have disheartened them. Kennedy is a vaccine skeptic who has promoted a link between vaccines and autism that has been disproven. “The whole story just makes me profoundly sad,” climate activist and author Bill McKibben told ICN. “I don’t know whether it began with the vaccine stuff or if it began with the fact that he didn’t want to look at wind turbines off Cape Cod, but at some point he just began this apparently relentless slide, to something very, very different from what he’d been.”

Washington Post: House Democrats plan multimedia Project 2025 hearing
Jacqueline Alemany and Marianna Sotomayor, 9/19/24

“House Democrats will hold their own hearing next week to illustrate potential impacts of Project 2025 under a hypothetical Trump administration, according to people involved with the planning,” the Washington Post reports. “The hearing, which will be held by a committee made up only of Democrats, will feature lawmakers and testimony from people across the country who have been or could be affected by far-right policies like those proposed by the conservative Heritage Foundation in a 922-page policy document that former president Donald Trump has disavowed. Democratic lawmakers view the hearing as a scene-setter for their closing arguments against Republicans before hitting the campaign trail. The hearing, slated for Tuesday in the U.S. Capitol, is being held by House Democrats’ Steering and Policy Committee in conjunction with a group of lawmakers leading the Stop Project 2025 Task Force. It is expected to be in the style of the hearings hosted by the House Select Committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and will include multimedia elements. Some people who worked on that committee, including one of the filmmakers, have been brought on as consultants, according to people involved with the planning. Lawmakers assigned to bring to life proposals included in Project 2025 will present witnesses who will share how the proposals might affect their lives. Some of the presentations will involve stories related to abortion… “The hearing will rely in part on the work of the Stop Project 2025 Task Force started by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) earlier this summer. The group launched a confidential tip line Thursday morning to solicit information from the public or those with knowledge of Project 2025’s plan for a transition to a second Trump presidency. Huffman told the Post lawmakers will share any tips they receive in future hearings, some of which could take place in different parts of the country.”

STATE UPDATES

Politico: California attorney general sues Exxon Mobil over plastics recycling deceptions
WES VENTEICHER, 9/23/24

“California Attorney General Rob Bonta accused Exxon Mobil in a lawsuit filed today of misleading the public about the environmental consequences of plastic production for decades,” Politico reports. “The first-of-its-kind civil suit targets the world’s largest producer of chemical compounds that go into making plastic. Bonta, a Democrat, is pursuing some of the profits that he alleges resulted from Exxon’s promotion of single-use plastics as well as a court order for the company to stop what he says are misleading claims about the recyclability of plastics. “Today’s lawsuit shows the fullest picture to date of Exxon Mobil’s decades-long deception, and we are asking the court to hold Exxon Mobil fully accountable,” Bonta said in a statement. Exxon pointed the finger back at California. “For decades, California officials have known their recycling system isn’t effective,” spokesperson Lauren Kight told Politico. “They failed to act, and now they seek to blame others. Instead of suing us, they could have worked with us to fix the problem and keep plastic out of landfills.” The suit in San Francisco County Superior Court, which comes a year after Bonta sued Exxon and four other oil majors seeking compensation for climate change damages, reflects California’s increasingly aggressive effort to hold the industry accountable for climate harms as the state transitions from fossil fuels to renewables. The lawsuit accuses Exxon Mobil of violating state nuisance, natural resources, water pollution, false advertising and unfair competition laws. It seeks an injunction against “further pollution, impairment, and destruction, as well as to prevent Exxon Mobil from making any further false or misleading statements about plastics recycling and its plastics operations.”

KPLC: Entergy, Crescent Midstream collaborating on carbon capture project
Theresa Schmidt, 9/23/24

“One of the largest carbon capture projects in the country is planned for the Westlake area,” KPLC reports. “A company called Crescent Midstream has been selected by Entergy to develop a carbon capture solution for Entergy’s natural gas power plant off Houston River Road. Jerry Ashcroft, CEO of Crescent Midstream, told KPLC the project would involve a carbon capture facility and pipeline capable of capturing and transporting 3 million metric tons of CO2 per year… “Ashcroft told KPLC the carbon dioxide will be permanently stored underground. “We’re lucky enough to build right on the property of Entergy, so we’re basically going to be next door to them,” Ashcroft told KPLC… “Ashcroft told KPLC they have not chosen the storage site yet but are looking at several different locations where companies have Class 6 permits with the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources for deep well injection… “There is still a lot more to be done concerning final engineering, permitting, and hearing from the public, Ashcroft told KPLC… “The project is expected to cost over a billion dollars.”

Louisiana Illuminator: Unlikely alliance forms to boost community air monitoring in Louisiana
Terry L. Jones, Floodlight, 9/21/24

“A bulk liquid storage facility in southeast Louisiana and a local environmental group are partnering to create a neighborhood air quality monitoring system,” the Louisiana Illuminator reports. “International-Matex Tank Terminals announced plans Thursday to install four new stationary air monitors in St. Rose, Louisiana. The company’s main 216-tank storage facility is near a majority Black neighborhood in St. Rose where residents have long complained of headaches and respiratory issues they blame on toxic emissions from the premises. IMTT recently was fined for violating the federal Clean Air Act.  The four sensors, which IMTT will spend $42,000 a year to install, operate and maintain, will become part of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network’s Community Air Monitoring Network.  LEAN’s efforts were jumpstarted in 2023 with a $500,000 grant from the EPA, which the community-based nonprofit used to deploy a fleet of mobile air monitoring vehicles along a 300-mile route between Baton Rouge and New Orleans known as “Cancer Alley” in late 2023 and early 2024. The deal with IMTT is the first of what LEAN hopes will be a series of agreements with industry to install stationary air monitoring equipment in these heavily industrialized communities. “We are excited to welcome IMTT into our coalition of environmentally conscientious organizations dedicated to protecting the health and quality of life of everyday people,” MaryLee Orr, LEAN’s co-founder and executive director, told the Illuminator. “Our Community Air Monitoring Network will provide a clear, hyper-local understanding of the environment in neighborhoods, allowing us all to make informed decisions to improve lives.”

EXTRACTION

E&E News: Utilities can drive carbon removal project growth — report
Carlos Anchondo, 9/24/24

“Utilities that deliver energy can both support and benefit from an industry that sucks carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, according to a new report from supporters of carbon removal projects,” E&E News reports. “The Carbon Business Development Council, a nonprofit that supports carbon removal, issued the analysis Tuesday with recommendations for utilities and companies that aim to lower their greenhouse emissions and boost deployment of carbon dioxide removal projects.Options for utilities range from purchasing materials embedded with carbon for construction and maintenance to supplying clean electricity to direct air capture projects that pull CO2 from the air. Another possibility is to place carbon removal projects next to electric resources such as enhanced geothermal or advanced nuclear, according to the report. The group prepared the document with the Carbon Business Council, a sister trade organization made up of carbon management companies. In the report, authors call energy utilities the “backbone of the modern economy.”

New York Times: They’ve Got a Plan to Fight Global Warming. It Could Alter the Oceans.
Brad Plumer and Raymond Zhong, 9/23/24

“In a quiet patch of forest in Nova Scotia, a company is building a machine designed to help slow global warming by transforming Earth’s rivers and oceans into giant sponges that absorb carbon dioxide from the air,” the New York Times reports. “… Rivers contain carbon dioxide that is constantly escaping into the air, where it traps heat and warms the planet. But adding limestone converts some of that carbon dioxide into a stable molecule that instead stays underwater and washes into the sea, where it should remain trapped for thousands of years… “The potential for ocean-based carbon removal is huge, and it’s been really underexplored,” Nan Ransohoff, who heads Frontier, a $1 billion fund backed by tech giants like Stripe and Alphabet that is investing heavily in strategies to take greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, told the Times… “It has to go from something that most people have never heard of to the largest industry the world has ever seen, in a really short time,” David Ho, an ocean scientist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, told the Times. Toying with ocean chemistry also carries unknown risks. Some environmental groups worry that even early experiments with these techniques could threaten fish and other aquatic life… “For now, CarbonRun has been holding extensive public meetings with communities and First Nations in Nova Scotia, understanding that public opposition could be one of their biggest obstacles.”

Reuters: FTC set to greenlight Chevron’s $53 bln buy of oil rival Hess, sources say
Sabrina Valle, 9/23/24

“The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is expected to greenlight U.S. oil producer Chevron’s purchase of Hess as soon as this week, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, leaving Exxon Mobil’s challenge to the $53 billion deal as its final hurdle… “The proposed all-stock acquisition is one of the largest in a consolidating U.S. oil and gas industry where several multi-billion dollar deals have been disclosed. Chevron’s announcement of the Hess deal followed Exxon’s $60 billion purchase of U.S. shale giant Pioneer Natural Resources, which closed in May. Two other mergers, Occidental Petroleum’s deal for CrownRock and Diamondback Energy’s bid for Endeavor Energy Resources, have closed even though they came after the Chevron-Hess combination.”

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

Enbridge: Doig River First Nation and Enbridge Answer the Question: What’s in a Name?
9/23/24

“The steady, rhythmic beating of drums echoed far and wide Tuesday as about 75 people gathered within the Doig River First Nation community center,” according to Enbridge. “The Doig River Drummers, a group deeply respected for their role as cultural guardians, ushered in a historic occasion-the naming of one of Enbridge’s proposed compressor stations on its BC natural gas system to “Wǫchiigii.” “…The name was chosen by Doig River First Nation after engaging with Enbridge on a proposed natural gas expansion project, the Aspen Point Program, in northern British Columbia… “The naming of CS-1B Wǫchiigii represents more than just a ceremonial milestone. It reflects a broader shift in how the industry and the government are approaching reconciliation with Indigenous communities.”

OPINION

Hartford Courant: Ask CT legislators to stop the use of methane gas
Alma Elder, Middlefield, 9/23/24

“On Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 1 p.m., a rally will be held at the State Capitol, south side, to ask legislators to stop the use of methane gas. The rally aims to halt the expansion of a 1,100-mile-long pipeline system, the Algonquin Gas Transmission Pipeline,” Alma Elder writes for the Hartford Courant. “The expansion plan is called Project Maple. Gas and power utilities are leading us, ratepayers, to a cul-de-sac. And then we could be stuck. Stuck with methane gas, which is a climate-destroying, clean air-obliterating, sneakily ubiquitous fossil fuel that leaks when extracted from the ground, when compressed and transported, and when processed at a pipeline’s end… “Utilities deserve a “fair profit,” but not an exorbitant one. They need to be part of the solution to pollution… “The public climate is not served well by the traditional goal of methane for energy. Diverse power sources can be integrated. Consumer input is vital. We need leaders who can point the way toward an energy future that promotes clean air. The rally on Sept. 24 will make these points to legislators.”

Beaumont Enterprise: How carbon capture could create local jobs with high wages
Glenn Hamer is the President & CEO of the Texas Association of Business, 9/23/24

“Texas is the energy capital of the world, thanks in no small part to innovative technologies our energy producers have embraced and advanced in recent years – including cutting edge carbon capture, and storage techniques,” Glenn Hamer writes for the Beaumont Enterprise. “…CCUS represents an integral component in Texas’ strategy to innovate to compete which has kept our economy humming, created thousands of jobs, and advanced U.S. national security by enhancing our energy independence and a more resilient and diverse economy. Last week, the Texas Association of Business published a new economic impact study conducted by Austin-based AngelouEconomics illustrating the incredible potential of new CCUS projects across Texas to spur further economic growth and job creation while contributing significantly to state and local economies. Statewide, the projects examined in the study are expected to generate an average economic impact of approximately $1.8 billion, as well as creating or supporting more than 7,500 full-time jobs at an average hourly wage of $45… “At the county level, the potential economic impact of the projects included in the study range from $317 million in Newton County to $3.7 billion in Orange County, with job creation figures ranging from 1,246 full-time equivalent employees in San Patricio County to 16,915 in San Jacinto County… “The latest study underscores the tremendous economic opportunity CCUS projects present for Texas through job creation, tax revenue growth, and infrastructure investments.”

Phoenix Business Journal: Why carbon capture and storage sets a sensible path to a cleaner future
Matthew Gonzales is interim executive director of the Four Corners Clean Energy Alliance, based in New Mexico; Jacob Evenson is business manager for Boilermakers Local 627, based in Phoenix, of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, 9/23/24

“There’s a growing narrative suggesting that improving our environment means shutting down existing energy systems and replacing them solely with alternatives like wind and solar. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Abandoning natural gas and oil would risk jobs, industries, and the economy,” Matthew Gonzales and Jacob Evenson write for the Phoenix Business Journal. “The good news is that high-efficiency, low-carbon technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) are here now to make for a cleaner world and offer vast, tangible opportunities to our skilled labor force and others working in important industries including power generation, cement, steel, chemicals and manufacturing… “We believe CCS – the underlying technology of which has been in operation since the late 1970s – will prove a game-changer, by snaring carbon dioxide from industrial sources before it enters the atmosphere and safely storing it underground. In other cases, the carbon dioxide can be converted into valuable byproducts that have real commercial value and demand… “In Louisiana, a $4.5 billion clean energy complex is under development in Ascension Parish. It will generate an estimated 2,000 construction jobs over three years as well as 170 new high-paying jobs and over 400 new indirect jobs… “In Pennsylvania, there are opportunities to decarbonize coal-fired power plants, which will create thousands of construction jobs and keep affordable, reliable energy online while making it cleaner… “For every CCS project, there will be hundreds or thousands of construction jobs as well as operating jobs… “Our energy policies must reflect this by securing a cleaner energy future that we can afford and depend on while protecting and creating as many jobs as we can. Embracing innovative applications of CCS and enlisting the expertise of our highly skilled labor force is a powerful path forward to reimagine our future.”

Table Media: Carbon capture – draft law underestimates danger posed by CCU
Simon Wolf, Head of German and European Climate Policy at Germanwatch, 9/23/24

“When the Bundestag debates the Carbon Dioxide Storage Act (KSpG) next Friday, the focus will be on the capture and underground storage of CO2, or CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) for short,” Simon Wolf writes for Table Media. “There is plenty of reason for debate. Enabling CCS for use in gas-fired power plants, as provided for in the law, carries the risk of delaying the move away from the fossil fuel business model for longer than necessary…”

The Hill: The US needs a Project 2025 for the climate 
William S. Becker is executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project and a former senior official at the U.S. Department of Energy, 9/23/24

“From time to time in the national conversation, we hear references to “cognitive dissonance.” It’s the discomfort we feel when our actions and beliefs conflict with reality. The results include anxiety, guilt and efforts to downplay the conflict,” William S. Becker writes for The Hill. “…The federal government’s official goal is to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030, just five years from now, on the way to decarbonizing the economy by 2050. Yet the government still encourages fossil-fuel production with public subsidies and favors, including tax breaks, research grants and access to public lands… “To put it plainly, the federal government is engaged in a carbon cartel with the fossil energy sector. Oil companies and their investors are reaping unprecedented profits by feeding the world’s oil addiction, along with the inequities and misery it causes. Our national energy policy is self-defeating, causing climate change while trying to end it. And for all their importance, the clean energy investments in the IRA greenwash our much more significant support for fossil fuels. To end cognitive dissonance, the United States must begin with three immediate steps. First, we must end the subsidies, something 61 percent of Americans support doing… “The November election is a chance for voters to bring national energy policy back in line with reality. We’ll see if they do.” 

The New Republic: The U.S. Has a Methane Problem. A.I. Is Making It Worse.
Kate Aronoff, 9/23/24

“Countries and corporations like pledging to reduce methane—in part because reducing methane emissions seems like low-hanging fruit: You can cut a lot just by reducing leaks and excess flaring from drilling sites and refineries,” Kate Aronoff writes for The New Republic. “…The Biden-Harris administration, that is, has mostly stuck to the long-standing Democratic Party line: that there’s no contradiction between reducing emissions to meet climate targets and boosting domestic fossil fuel production. That stance is premised largely on the idea that the oil and gas industry will clean up its act, using funds provided through the Inflation Reduction Act to develop technologies to draw down excess carbon emissions and stop methane leakage. Yet mounting evidence from the past month suggests the oil and gas industry will do no such thing. As tech companies’ power-hungry A.I. data centers fuel a new building binge for gas-fired power plants, corporate pledges to reduce emissions have never looked flimsier… “All this comes as U.S. energy providers plan to build more gas-fired power plants than they have in years… “After years of preaching that self-regulation and investments in low-carbon technologies would put them on the path to net-zero, oil and gas companies are drilling—and emitting, and lobbying—more than ever. Tech firms won’t be any different. Whatever Harris says on the campaign trail about all this, though, matters less than what she might do in office; her tenure in the White House so far hasn’t inspired much confidence. Continuing to let both fossil fuel and tech giants off the hook for ballooning emissions is a recipe for disaster.”

Utility Dive: Permitting reform’s false choice
David E. Adelman specializes in environmental law, administrative law and climate change policy. He holds the Harry M. Reasoner Regents Chair in Law at the University of Texas, Austin, 9/20/24

“Over the last few years, concern has reached a boiling point that federal permitting processes make it nearly impossible for the U.S. to build enough renewable infrastructure at the speed the nation needs to combat climate change,” David E. Adelman writes for Utility Dive. “The warnings emanate from the halls of Congress to the pages and podcasts of our nation’s most trusted and widely read publications, and they go something like this: federal permitting procedures have gotten out of hand and they must be rolled back to expedite renewable energy development at the speed and scale our nation needs. In other words, the well-intentioned reader is led to believe that to save the planet, the United States must dismantle federal environmental protections. There’s one major problem with this argument, however. It’s simply not true… “My analysis revealed that less than 5% of the wind and solar projects required a comprehensive environmental review or bespoke permit, thereby dispelling the false “permitting reform” narrative that federal permitting is impeding progress on climate action and must be rolled back. In fact, the vast majority of renewable infrastructure projects — more than 95% — underwent streamlined federal procedures or avoided federal regulation altogether… “What liberal proponents don’t appreciate, and conservatives aren’t advertising, is that the fossil fuel industry stands to gain much more from environmental rollbacks than green energy does both because the industry’s dangerous impacts are far greater, and because it is more often the subject of opposition. Any benefits to green infrastructure that would be gained by undoing federal protections are likely to be more than offset by the proliferation of fossil fuels… “My hope is that these new findings put to rest any notion that the nation must choose between expediting low-carbon energy projects and protecting communities from dangerous oil, gas, and petrochemical plants. It’s a false choice. And for the health and safety of every community, it must be rejected.”