EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 10/18/23
PIPELINE NEWS
Press release: Landowners Seek Emergency Injunction to Halt Irreparable Harm
Bloomberg: Virginia Property Owners Urge Pause on Mountain Valley Pipeline
DemocracyNow: Protesters Take Nonviolent Direct Action Against Mountain Valley Pipeline
WVTF: MVP pipeline protestors arrested in Montgomery County & Giles County
Bloomberg: Navigator CO2 Cuts Jobs as Troubled Carbon Pipeline Plan Stalls
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Landowner objects to pipeline hearing on Election Day
KXLG: Pipeline construction company offering Counties grants that are affected by project
South Dakota Public Broadcasting: A new chapter in the carbon capture pipeline debate
South Dakota Public Broadcasting: Exploring the carbon capture pipeline debate county by county
InsideClimate News: The Biden Administration Has Begun Regulating 400,000 Miles of Gas ‘Gathering Lines.’ The Industry Isn’t Happy
WOOD: Gasoline pipeline break prompts evacuations in Branch Co.
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Washington Post: The next front in the climate fight: U.S. exports of natural gas
Bloomberg: Keystone Environmentalist Targets LNG, Venture Global’s CP2
Washington Post: Major U.S. science group says states and municipalities should consider gas bans
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Emissions, rising seas test ‘game-changer’ LNG project
Bay City News: Climate change activists on kayaks tease oil tankers in Richmond
EXTRACTION
E&E News: How ‘unabated’ snuck into climate negotiations
Yahoo Finance Canada: Cenovus chair defends carbon capture as IEA slams 'years of underperformance’
CBC: Bring us your carbon, world: N.L. launches challenge to fund carbon capture projects
Axios: Data: Global warming may be accelerating
Bloomberg: Shell’s Pathway to Net Zero Emissions Has Changed, CEO Says
CNBC: U.S. oil is back, and ExxonMobil’s $60 billion deal isn’t even the biggest signal
Canadian Press: Wave of billion-dollar oilpatch deals a sign of bullish Canadian energy sector
NPR: How gas utilities used tobacco tactics to avoid gas stove regulations
The New Yorker: The Great Cash-for-Carbon Hustle
OPINION
Eagle Herald: Line 5 pipeline not a safe way to transport energy
Bloomberg: Why Are Governments Still Subsidizing Fossil Fuels?
Bloomberg: US Should Adopt Carbon Border Tax to Address Climate Change
The Hill: Why blue hydrogen is a big mistake
Las Cruces Sun-News: San Juan County supports hydrogen development
PIPELINE NEWS
Press release: Landowners Seek Emergency Injunction to Halt Irreparable Harm
10/17/23
“Today, a group of Landowners in Virginia whose private property is being seized to build a privately-owned pipeline filed an Emergency Motion for Injunctive Relief to Halt Irreparable Harm to their land pending review of their constitutional claims. The Emergency Injunction was filed in Washington, D.C., in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where Landowners’ constitutional case is pending. Earlier this year, the case was remanded by the United States Supreme Court, which granted certiorari, vacated the lower court’s prior dismissal, and remanded the case pursuant to a unanimous 9-0 decision in two other related cases. Certiorari is granted less than 1% of the time, so summary disposition in April was a significant victory for the Landowners. But since then, Landowners say their case has been unfairly delayed several times while irreparable harm to private land continues… “MVP is causing daily irreparable injury to private property and hoping to finish the project before this constitutional case is heard,” said Mia Yugo, lead counsel for Landowners. “Landowners filed the Non-Delegation Doctrine case in January 2020, and are still waiting for their day in court,” added Christopher Collins, co-counsel for Landowners… “If FERC and MVP want to unfairly delay adjudication of this Non-Delegation Doctrine case for another 10 months, the Court should enter a 10-month injunction preventing the use of eminent domain to enter our clients’ property commensurate to the duration of the delays.” “...The Supreme Court has already reined in the EPA and OSHA when exercising unconstitutional powers. But the separation of powers has to be applied equally across the board. We can’t, in good conscience, rein in other agencies but then allow FERC to seize private property at will and give it to another private party who wants it to make money… “The reason no one has invoked the Non-Delegation Doctrine to challenge these unrestricted delegations of Congressional power is because these types of seizures often happen in poor or blighted areas so Landowners rarely ever have the resources to fight these takings,” Yugo concluded.
Bloomberg: Virginia Property Owners Urge Pause on Mountain Valley Pipeline
Shayna Greene, 10/17/23
“Virginia landowners filed an emergency motion in the D.C. Circuit to stop Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC from constructing its more than 300-mile natural gas pipeline through their properties,” Bloomberg reports. “The landowners refused to sell their properties to the company, so MVP looked to acquire the land through the power of eminent domain under the Natural Gas Act. The federal law says the recipient of a certificate of public convenience and necessity will also acquire the right of eminent domain, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued the certificate in October 2017. The landowners asked the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit…”
DemocracyNow: Protesters Take Nonviolent Direct Action Against Mountain Valley Pipeline
10/17/23
“In Virginia, at least three environmental activists were arrested Monday after locking themselves to equipment, temporarily shutting down the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline,” DemocracyNow reports. “Dozens of protesters descended on the site yesterday for the peaceful action. Water protectors: “For the water we drink! For the water we drink! For the place that we call home! For the place that we call home! For the air we breathe!... “Among those arrested Monday was Indigenous lawyer and activist Tara Houska… “The project has long had the backing of powerful West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who is the biggest recipient of fossil fuel money in Congress.”
WVTF: MVP pipeline protestors arrested in Montgomery County & Giles County
Roxy Todd, 10/17/23
“Several protestors were arrested Monday as they attempted to halt construction on the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). Virginia State Police arrested three people in Montgomery County on Monday, after dozens of protestors gathered in opposition of the MVP,” WVTF reports. “Most protestors left when police arrived, but three people locked themselves to construction equipment and were arrested, according to a press release from state police. All three of these individuals are from out of state, police said. Their charges include obstruction and trespassing A group called Appalachians Against Pipelines organized the protest. They said two other protesters were also arrested in Giles County in the Jefferson National Forest, atop Peters Mountain, where another MVP worksite was stopped temporarily… “This is the largest MVP protest event since this summer, when a Supreme Court ruling reinstated work along the pipeline route, despite several pending legal cases.”
Bloomberg: Navigator CO2 Cuts Jobs as Troubled Carbon Pipeline Plan Stalls
Kim Chipman, 10/16/23
“Navigator CO2, a firm seeking to build a carbon-trapping pipeline through the US Corn Belt, has cut jobs after facing opposition from state regulators and landowners,” Bloomberg reports. “Navigator has recently reduced some of our internal staffing and external contractors as we are evaluating the project’s next steps,” the Nebraska-based company told Bloomberg, declining to elaborate further or disclose the number of jobs cut. Navigator CO2’s goal of building more than 1,300 miles (2,092 kilometers) of pipeline is in question after it put the proposal on hold in Illinois last week, the latest in a series of setbacks. ...
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Landowner objects to pipeline hearing on Election Day
JARED STRONG, 10/17/23
“A landowner in the path of Summit Carbon Solution’s proposed carbon dioxide pipeline said it’s improper for state regulators to hold part of the company’s evidentiary hearing on Election Day,” the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. “To attend or participate in the hearing, persons not residing in the local area of the hearing venue will be traveling away from home voting precincts, some a considerable distance or out-of-state, making voting difficult if not impossible for those citizens on election day,” wrote Lisa Ritzert, of San Antonio, Texas… “Because Ritzert’s land is along the extension route that is subject to a second permit, the IUB denied Ritzert’s request to participate in the first process as an intervenor, according to board documents… “In an order last week, the board said the hearing will resume in Fort Dodge from Nov. 6 to 9 and potentially on Nov. 16 and 17 if Summit has more witnesses to rebut evidence and testimony. The IUB chose not to hold the hearing on Nov. 10 because it is Veterans Day. “The board realizes that November 7, 2023, is Election Day; however, the hearing must continue,” the IUB said in its order. Ritzert filed an objection to that part of the order. “One might think that the board members of a governmental agency, regardless if not elected themselves, would value the citizenry and voting when making new schedules,” Ritzert wrote. “This is yet one more action in the ongoing pattern of the IUB board members and the Summit hearing counter to public interest or good.”
KXLG: Pipeline construction company offering Counties grants that are affected by project
Steve Jurrens, 10/17/23
“Summit Carbon Solutions, a company hoping to construct a CO2-capturing pipeline to store the carbon in North Dakota, was present at the Codington County Commissioners meeting during the open public forum to educate them about a grant opportunity,” KXLG reports. “...Scott O'Konek, Minnesota Project Manager at Summit Carbon Solutions, spoke… The grant is to assist any County that will be affected by the construction of the pipeline. Commissioner Myron Johnson inquired if the funds were earmarked for a specific purpose… Commissioner Gabel acknowledged it's a controversial issue and shared his concern… Commissioner Charlie Waterman asked why they needed the grant… Commissioner Troy VanDusen clarified it is not the time for debate.”
South Dakota Public Broadcasting: A new chapter in the carbon capture pipeline debate
Lori Walsh, Ari Jungemann, Ellen Koester, 10/17/23
“We check in with landowners in Spink County and Brown County about Summit Carbon Solutions' push to complete their project,” South Dakota Public Broadcasting reports. “Suzanne Smith is a county commissioner at Spink County. Ed Fischbach is a landowner from Spink County, and Craig Schaunaman is a landowner in Brown County. They discuss the latest developments in the pipeline project. Summit is trying to hit the reset button, but landowners are skeptical.”
South Dakota Public Broadcasting: Exploring the carbon capture pipeline debate county by county
Lori Walsh, Ellen Koester, Ari Jungemann, 10/17/23
“On today's show, we visit Minnehaha County with Garrick Moritz, editor of the Garretson Gazette. His town was in the path of a proposed carbon capture pipeline. We ask how landowners are feeling and what could happen next,” South Dakota Public Broadcasting reports. “...We then visit other counties in the paths of a pipeline. We check back in with Spink County Commissioner Suzanne Smith and landowners Ed Fischbach and Craig Schaunaman.”
InsideClimate News: The Biden Administration Has Begun Regulating 400,000 Miles of Gas ‘Gathering Lines.’ The Industry Isn’t Happy
Craig R. McCoy, 10/17/23
“After decades of industry resistance, federal safety officials are finally starting to regulate a huge part of the nation’s pipeline system,” InsideClimate News reports. “With little attention from the mainstream media, the Biden administration has begun imposing new rules on some 400,000 miles of gas pipes. Many are bigger and more dangerous lines laid since the boom in fracking. Bill Caram, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, told ICN the move is way overdue. Explosions on the lines, he told ICN, “have killed people and injured people and it’s high time these lines were regulated.” “...At issue are what the gas industry refers to as “gathering lines.” These are pipelines that carry gas directly from drilling sites. They run mostly through rural areas and tie into processing plants, which, in turn, pump the gas in big interstate lines to population areas. The failure to impose any safety standards on the lines or even to know where they are has long been a big hole in safety oversight. But that hole has grown far larger as operators have laid thousands of miles of new pipe to accommodate fracking. Those lines have been wider in diameter and operate at higher pressures than older pipelines, undermining a regulatory system reflecting earlier technology. The first part of the new rules kicked in earlier this year when the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration for the first time required operators to file basic reports about these pipelines, including their total miles, ages, widths—and any leaks the firms had become aware of. Such reports must be filed now for every gathering line in the United States… “Efforts to regulate the lines failed in 1974, 1986, 1991 and 2006. The rules taking effect now were first officially proposed a dozen years ago. The industry fought back. The trade group GPA Midstream, formerly the Gas Producers Association, argued against the regulations and filed a lengthy appeal after PHMSA enacted them in November 2021. The trade organization complained that the agency had overestimated the regulations’ benefits and underestimated their cost. While regulators had said the safety measures would cost about $13 million yearly, the trade group’s expert put it at $1.8 billion. PHMSA responded bluntly, saying in an official statement that the industry analysis was “riddled with flaws.”
WOOD: Gasoline pipeline break prompts evacuations in Branch Co.
Michael Oszust, 10/18/23
“Authorities say there was a large break on a gasoline pipeline in Branch County,” WOOD reports. “...BP operates the gasoline pipeline. The county says it has evacuated affected residents and is working with local, state and federal agencies to lessen the environmental impact and remediate the affected area. It’s unknown how much gasoline was spilled or what caused the break.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Washington Post: The next front in the climate fight: U.S. exports of natural gas
Maxine Joselow and Timothy Puko, 10/17/23
“Environmentalists are calling on the Biden administration to block dozens of liquefied natural gas export projects planned for the Gulf Coast, saying each project could be a “megabomb” for the climate,” the Washington Post reports. “Less than a decade ago, U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas — LNG for short — didn’t exist. Now they are growing so rapidly that America last year became the biggest LNG exporter in the world, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The trend poses the next major climate test for President Biden, who has vowed to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions while also pledging support for European allies, who have sought more U.S. gas to break their dependence on Russian energy supplies. Biden enraged youth climate activists and others this year by approving the Willow oil drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope. But the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the LNG export project known as Calcasieu Pass 2, or CP2, would be 20 times larger than Willow, according to an analysis by Jeremy Symons, an environmental consultant and former climate policy adviser at the Environmental Protection Agency. “The Willow project was a carbon bomb, but the CP2 project is a megabomb when it comes to climate change,” Symons told the Post.
Bloomberg: Keystone Environmentalist Targets LNG, Venture Global’s CP2
Ruth Liao, 10/17/23
“Environmentalist Bill McKibben, who galvanized public efforts to block the Keystone XL oil pipeline, is now pushing to do the same thing to stop construction of huge liquefied natural gas export terminals along the US Gulf Coast,” Bloomberg reports. “McKibben is calling for a ban on approving any new LNG export projects and pressing energy regulators to reject any LNG permitting currently under consideration. The climate activist spoke out against Venture Global Inc.’s proposed CP2 project in Louisiana in a virtual press conference on Tuesday… “There’s no possible way that the public interest is best served by sucking Permian dry and shipping it overseas,” he also said about the oil-and-gas-rich basin in an interview with Bloomberg. The battle over gas export terminals along the Gulf Coast has sweeping implications for the world’s energy landscape and the fight against climate change. Advocates of the projects, which take years to build and can cost upward of $20 billion, say they’re crucial to helping Europe and Asia with energy transition. Yet McKibben and other environmentalists argue that if approved, the terminals will guarantee that gas remains part of the energy mix for decades to come, paving the way for nations to keep burning until it’s too late to stave off the worst of global warming.”
Washington Post: Major U.S. science group says states and municipalities should consider gas bans
Maxine Joselow, 10/18/23
“Buildings in the future could feature one notable difference from many that exist today: No connection to a gas line,” the Washington Post reports. “That’s one of the recommendations in a sweeping report yesterday from a major U.S. science group on what it will take for America to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The 600-plus-page report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine says states and municipalities should consider adopting bans on new gas lines in areas that haven’t previously been served by gas. It comes as more than 125 cities and counties in the United States — many of them led by Democrats — have prohibited or discouraged gas use in new buildings to fight climate change. As the country moves toward electrification, it wouldn’t make sense to continue adding new gas lines to households that eventually may be required to electrify, Susan Tierney, a member of the committee that wrote the report, told the Post. “You might just require electricity in the first place and not extend gas pipelines into new areas where they are not going to be used for very long,” Tierney, who is an expert on energy policy at Analysis Group, an international economic consulting firm, told the Post… “As fewer people rely on gas, maintaining existing pipelines could also pose cost challenges, the authors note. Gas utilities will need to make tough decisions “with regard to continued investment and expenditures to keep those pipelines in safe operating condition and to address any potential stranded costs,” the report says.
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Emissions, rising seas test ‘game-changer’ LNG project
Miranda Willson, 10/17/23
“A massive natural gas project could help revitalize a southwestern Louisiana community that’s been repeatedly pummeled by hurricanes — if the facility can withstand climate change,” E&E News reports. “The $10 billion CP2 liquefied natural gas terminal would be one of the largest projects of its kind if approved by the Biden administration. Proposed by Virginia-based Venture Global LNG, the project would bring thousands of workers to Cameron Parish, whose economy has struggled after being hit by four hurricanes in 18 years. While CP2 could help reduce emissions in coal-dependent foreign countries, it would also become one of the biggest carbon polluters in the Bayou State, raising questions about the role of LNG in a warming world. Located next to an existing LNG plant and 2 miles away from another terminal under development, CP2 could also force federal agencies to consider whether it’s acceptable for a low-income community that’s highly vulnerable to climate change to now host several industrial gas projects. “It would be a game-changer in terms of the air impacts and health impacts for the community, and it would lock us in to years of more unfettered LNG expansion,” Gillian Giannetti, a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, told E&E of the proposed project… “One of the project’s biggest supporters is Scott Trahan, a police juror on the local government council known as the Cameron Parish Police Jury. Trahan works at Venture Global’s existing LNG project in town, known as Calcasieu Pass, and he’s one of the few members of his extended family whose longtime home is still standing. CP2’s job opportunities could lure people back to the parish, Trahan, who grew up there and married his high school sweetheart, told E&E… “Environmental advocates, however, tell E&E the project is contrary to the Biden administration’s promises on environmental justice, which is the notion that everyone should be fairly protected from pollution… “Its proposal comes as Cameron Parish is at the epicenter of Louisiana’s coastal land loss crisis, Torbjörn Törnqvist, a professor in earth and environmental sciences at Tulane University, told E&E… The region is “a very, very bad location” for LNG projects, Törnqvist told E&E. “If someone gave me a map of the United States and asked me, ‘Can you point out the most vulnerable coastline?’ Well, this would be pretty much it,” he told E&E.
Bay City News: Climate change activists on kayaks tease oil tankers in Richmond
10/16/23
“What started two years ago as a club for black and brown kayakers has turned into a league of activists who want to do something rather than nothing about climate change,” Bay City News reports. “Thirty-two kayakers buzzed a berthed oil tanker at the Chevron Oil Refinery Sunday afternoon. As the fog lifted, a company security guard with a megaphone told the paddlers to back up beyond a 100-yard safety zone. Ten boaters got brave and darted closer, teasing authorities to escalate. In the end, the activists did not stop the departure of a 2 p.m. oil tanker. But they will try again. “I think next time we’re going to get a little closer to their departure time,” one of the group’s organizers, Alfredo Angulo, 23, told BCN. The Rich City Rays is a collection of hobbyists and seasoned kayakers that perform their First Amendment rights on water. They acted at Lake Merritt on Earth Day in 2021 and again in support of Greenpeace International, as that legacy environmental group fought a seven-year slap lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Northern California and eventually won in 2022. The originators of Rich City Rays grew up in Richmond, drinking the water and breathing the air emanating from the century-old petrochemical plant, the city’s largest employer. “All the people that have lived in Richmond for the last 120 years have been in the shadow of this refinery,” Angulo told BCN. “They have experienced every fire event, all the benzene emissions, every oil spill.”
EXTRACTION
E&E News: How ‘unabated’ snuck into climate negotiations
Sara Schonhardt, 10/18/23
“One word could set global climate negotiations on a trajectory to phase out fossil fuels or allow them to continue powering factories, cars and homes. The word is “unabated,” E&E News reports. “It refers to fossil fuels whose planet-warming emissions are allowed to enter the atmosphere, rather than being caught through technologies such as carbon capture systems. And its presence in international negotiations is driving a wedge between countries that view abatement as a free pass for oil, coal and natural gas to keep flowing and those who say that allowing fossil fuels, in conjunction with carbon capture technologies, offers an orderly way to address climate change. The Biden administration has made the term a centerpiece of its climate agenda by calling for a phase-out of “unabated fossil fuels.” “...We have to either capture the emissions or don’t make them — one of the two things,” climate envoy John Kerry told E&E News last month… “The increasing use of unabated in international climate talks comes as scientists point to a limited role for carbon capture and storage and as recent reports reveal that companies have failed to put it to use. At the same time, some major fossil fuel producers such as the U.S. are providing generous incentives for carbon capture projects. Those incongruities could set the stage for a showdown in Dubai next month. The European Union included the phaseout of “unabated” fossil fuels in its negotiating position Monday, but the bloc of 27 nations is divided over the phrase and has sought to carve out exceptions that would limit the use of carbon capture to sectors where emissions are hard to abate, such as cement. “A lot of this really comes down to how does abatement get addressed. If there’s language on [carbon capture and storage, or CCS], what does it say? Does it have some sort of clarity about the limitations of CCS and where it should be focused?” asked David Waskow, director of international climate at the World Resources Institute. “These kinds of questions are where it actually gets down to much more policy brass tacks.” “...But other experts say the role of carbon capture and storage is increasingly smaller in a world where cheap, clean options like solar and wind are taking off. “There’s a case for it, it’s just not a central pillar of this kind of net-zero plan, whereas 15 years ago it really was,” Nemet of the University of Wisconsin told E&E. “If you look at what’s happened over the last 15 years, we just have so little deployment of CCS it’s hard to want to hang your hat on that kind of technology going forward.”
Yahoo Finance Canada: Cenovus chair defends carbon capture as IEA slams 'years of underperformance'
Jeff Lagerquist, 10/17/23
“Cenovus Energy's executive chair Alex Pourbaix calls carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology "relatively proven" as the technology faces pointed criticism from the International Energy Agency (IEA),” Yahoo Finance Canada reports. “His comments come as the Pathways Alliance, a group of Canada’s largest oilsands producers, prepares to file government applications for a $16.5-billion carbon capture network in northern Alberta in the coming months… “If we desire to make a meaningful dent in our CO2 emission in the next 15 years, CCS absolutely has to be part of that," Pourbaix told Yahoo Finance Canada in an interview. "It’s a technology that we have right in front of us right now." His assurance follows an IEA report last month downgrading the expected role of CCS in cutting global emissions. “After years of underperformance, [carbon capture utilization and storage] must now show it can deliver,” the agency stated in its latest Net Zero Roadmap report. “So far, the history of CCS has largely been one of unmet expectations. Progress has been slow and deployment relatively flat for years.” "...This industry has a track record of incredible innovation. If any industry is going to make CCS more economical, more technologically successful, it's going to be the energy industry," Pourbaix told Yahoo. “There's a little bit more work that needs to be done.” “...Pourbaix says he’s anxious to start “putting pipe in the ditch.”
CBC: Bring us your carbon, world: N.L. launches challenge to fund carbon capture projects
Terry Roberts, 10/17/23
“As big carbon emitters struggle to come up with ways to meet net zero targets and fight climate change, the provincial government is dangling $6 million as an incentive to help establish Newfoundland and Labrador's offshore as a global hub for carbon storage,” CBC reports. “Premier Andrew Furey was joined by academic and oil and gas industry leaders on Tuesday as he announced what's called the CCUS Innovation Challenge. The government is inviting expressions of interest for financial support from businesses, organizations and researchers who are looking at ways to commercialize the process of carbon capture, storage and utilization — CCUS for short — of emissions from heavy industry, including oil and gas production. It's a new frontier that has its share of critics, and is slowly making headway in places likes Alberta, Saskatchewan and the North Sea. But Furey believes it could be the latest step "toward decarbonization and creating a greener future" for the province… "A demand for these solutions has some economists estimating that this could be a multi-billion dollar industry in and of itself," Furey told CBC… “In the short term, the idea is to capture the emissions from the platforms and store them in oil reservoirs that have been depleted. Over the longer term, there's a belief that those reservoirs can be used to store carbon that's been captured in other parts of Canada and around the world, and transported to the offshore by ships or pipeline… “It's envisioned that companies will pay to transport and store their carbon emissions as clean air regulations intensify the pressure on companies to transition to the green economy.”
Axios: Data: Global warming may be accelerating
Andrew Freedman, 10/16/23
“September's sizzling global average temperature ensures that 2023 will be the warmest year on record,” Axios reports. “...It may signal a continuation of a trend towards an acceleration of global warming in recent years, occurring about 40% faster during the past 15 years when compared to any other period since the 1970s… "With the huge September data in, we can confirm that we expect 2023 to be the warmest year in the record (99% probability)," NASA climate researcher Gavin Schmidt posted on X. "The expectation for 2024 is warmer still." Climate scientists also point to other factors to explain the record warmth of late, and the apparent acceleration in warming. One is an increase in the planet's energy imbalance, i.e. the ratio of solar radiation coming into the atmosphere to the energy radiating back out… “Because of aerosol reductions, continued greenhouse gas emissions and other factors, Hansen and his coauthors predict "At least a 50% increase of the post-2010 global warming rate compared to the 1970-2010 rate of 0.18°C (0.32°F)." “...Climate scientist Zeke Hausfauther largely backed Hansen's findings, citing evidence of a clear climate change acceleration… “Even with an acceleration, if global emissions were brought down to net zero, a goal the U.S. and other countries have agreed to meet by 2050, warming would stop within a few years. However, it would take centuries to bring temperatures down, barring breakthroughs in direct air capture and other technologies.”
Bloomberg: Shell’s Pathway to Net Zero Emissions Has Changed, CEO Says
Laura Hurst, 10/17/23
“Shell Plc still plans to achieve net zero emissions by the middle of the century, but its approach to hitting that target has changed, its CEO said,” Bloomberg reports. “For avoidance of doubt, what hasn’t changed is the destination that we have set for ourselves,” Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan said via video link at the Energy Intelligence Forum in London on Tuesday. “What has changed is the pathway we’re going to get there.” Since taking Shell’s helm at the beginning of the year, Sawan has directed a greater proportion of the company’s investment into its core oil and gas business. The change is part of an effort to win over investors with a “ruthless” focus on performance and better returns. The feedback from shareholders on this strategy has so far been “very, very positive,” Sawan said. They “like the direction we are taking, they like the balance.” “...Shell’s CEO was addressing the conference by video link because climate protesters had blocked the venue’s entrance, preventing access for a number of industry executives. Sawan acknowledged that his strategy shift has also prompted some questions within parts of his own company… “Some employees have asked if the company should be moving faster in the transition to clean energy, he said.”
CNBC: U.S. oil is back, and ExxonMobil’s $60 billion deal isn’t even the biggest signal
Tim Mullaney, 10/15/23
“Domestic oil production hit an all-time high last week, marking a full recovery from the Covid pandemic after drilling had dropped more than 25% between pre-Covid peaks and a bottom in early 2021,” CNBC reports. “The comeback is being driven by the Permian Basin in Texas, where ExxonMobil is now consolidating its position with a $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, and which has low production costs per barrel and easy pipeline access that pays off faster than offshore drilling… “So, what brought Big Oil back, and what’s next? Here are seven important factors that played into U.S. oil’s recent history and will influence its future… “Instead, the surge is concentrated in the Permian Basin region of Texas and New Mexico, where production costs are among the lowest in the country, Alexandre Ramos-Peon, head of shale well research at Rystad Energy, told CNBC… “The share of oil-company operating cash flow going to shareholders rose to half of operating cash flow from about 20% in 2019, the department says.”
Canadian Press: Wave of billion-dollar oilpatch deals a sign of bullish Canadian energy sector
Amanda Stephenson, 10/17/23
“A wave of high-profile mergers and acquisitions in the Canadian oilpatch is a sign of an industry that is flush with cash and increasingly confident in the short- and medium-term outlook for fossil fuels, experts say,” according to the Canadian Press. “Since the start of the year, there have been a number of billion-dollar-plus deals struck in the Canadian energy sector, includingCrescent Point Energy Corp.'s $1.7-billion purchase of Spartan Delta Corp.'s Montney oilfield assets, ConocoPhillips' approximately $4-billion purchase of TotalEnergies' Surmont oilsands project,and Suncor Energy Inc.'s $1.47-billion acquisition of Total's stake in the Fort Hills oilsands mine. The latest headline-grabbing deal was announced Monday, when Tourmaline Oil Corp. - Canada's largest natural gas producer - said it would purchase privately held Bonavista Energy Corp. for $1.45 billion… “According to figures from Calgary-based Sayer Energy Advisors, M&A activity in the Canadian energy sector has totalled $12.7 billion since the start of 2023. While that's less than the $15.2 billion and $17.9 billion the sector saw in 2022 and 2021, respectively, it is occurring at a time when the Canadian oilpatch has now benefited from two years of strong commodity prices. Many companies are flush with cash and have rapidly been paying down debt, giving them a strong enough balance sheet to pursue growth through acquisitions… “Now what I think we're seeing are signs of strength. These companies have excellent balance sheets and the capacity to go and acquire and strengthen their empires,” Heather Exner-Pirot, director of energy, natural resources and environment for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, told CBC. “...Definitely, people are feeling bullish.”
NPR: How gas utilities used tobacco tactics to avoid gas stove regulations
Jeff Brady, 10/17/23
“In the late 1960s, natural gas utilities launched "Operation Attack," a bold marketing campaign to bring lots more gas stoves into people's kitchens,” NPR reports. “The gas utilities called Operation Attack their "most ambitious advertising and merchandising program ever." But as it got underway, concerns were becoming public about indoor pollution from gas stoves, including household levels of nitrogen dioxide. Around the same time, Dr. Carl Shy, a federal public health researcher, was looking into the health effects of nitrogen dioxide. In 1970, Shy published a study showing that families exposed to greater levels of the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide outdoors had higher rates of respiratory illness than families in less-polluted areas. The research caught the attention of the gas utility industry, and they asked Shy for a meeting. When they met, Shy heard from the gas industry something Americans are now learning about, more than 50 years later: the potential health risks from cooking with gas stoves. "They are the ones who told me that the gas stoves produce nitrogen dioxide because of their high temperature," Shy, now 91, told NPR at his home near Durham, N.C. "They said the hoods above gas stoves were really not powerful enough to pull out the nitrogen dioxide." But in the following decades, the gas industry argued the opposite, asserting that range hoods could clear up this pollution. And it has contended that fumes from cooking food are more of a problem than the fossil fuel pollution of nitrogen dioxide. The narrative was part of a lengthy campaign by the gas utility industry to popularize gas stoves. Yet as it advertised the appliance, the industry also financed its own research into the potential harms from cooking with gas. Those industry-backed reports confused consumers and muddied the science that regulators relied on about the potential dangers of cooking with gas, according to an investigation by NPR and documents uncovered in a new report from the Climate Investigations Center (CIC), a research and watchdog group… “The documents show that natural gas utilities and their powerful trade group, the American Gas Association (AGA), focused on convincing consumers and regulators that cooking with gas is as risk-free as cooking with electricity. As the scientific evidence grew over time about the health effects from gas stoves, the industry used a playbook echoing the one that tobacco companies employed for decades to fend off regulation. The gas utility industry relied on some of the same strategies, researchers and public relations firms.”
The New Yorker: The Great Cash-for-Carbon Hustle
Heidi Blake, 10/16/23
“...Heuberger was the chief executive of South Pole, the world’s largest carbon-offsetting firm, and he had come to Zimbabwe to fight off an urgent threat to his company,” The New Yorker reports. “A decade earlier, South Pole had signed a deal to sell carbon offsets from an effort to protect a vast swath of forest on the banks of Lake Kariba, upriver from the camp. The Kariba project, spanning an area ten times the size of New York City, was among the world’s first “avoided deforestation” programs; by deterring local people from chopping down trees, it promised to prevent the release of tens of millions of tons of greenhouse gas. Leading corporations, including Volkswagen, Gucci, Nestlé, Porsche, and Delta Air Lines, paid South Pole nearly a hundred million dollars for Kariba credits, allowing them to market goods or services as “carbon neutral.” “... A core principle of carbon offsetting holds that profits should be shared with local people, and South Pole maintains in its promotional literature that “communities living in the Kariba project area are the owners and main beneficiaries.” But, as Wentzel described his indoor horse-riding range in Harare and his varied business interests, Muench wondered how much of the money that corporations spent on Kariba credits made it to the people on the ground… “A decade later, the concept of carbon offsetting was enshrined in international law, as thirty-seven industrialized nations and the European Union agreed to emissions-reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol. Through the United Nations’ Clean Development Mechanism, rich countries struggling to meet their goals could compensate by paying for projects in impoverished ones… “Yet it is extraordinarily difficult to quantify how much carbon these schemes really save. To do so, you must demonstrate that the forest would have been razed without protection—a counterfactual that is nearly impossible to prove. There are also issues of “leakage”: even if the agents of deforestation are driven out of one area, they may cut down trees someplace else. Then there is the question of permanence. Greenhouse gases can linger in the atmosphere for thousands of years—but forests are vulnerable to wildfires and other calamities, and most protection schemes last no more than a few decades. Twenty years after Applied Energy Services funded the Guatemalan tree-planting project, researchers found that it had largely failed. (A.E.S. disputes this.) The enormous amount of land and labor devoted to forestry had led to food shortages, and arguments had broken out; some farmers had simply refused to plant the trees. In the end, the researchers calculated, the program had offset only about ten per cent of the emissions from the coal plant in Connecticut.”
OPINION
Eagle Herald: Line 5 pipeline not a safe way to transport energy
Al Gedicks is executive secretary for the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council, 10/18/23
“The Wisconsin Pipe Trades Association claims that pipelines, and Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline in particular, is a safe way to transport energy ("It's time Wisconsin DNR approve Line 5 project," 10/13/23). The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa would disagree. They have been fighting a legal battle against Enbridge since 2019 to have the pipeline removed from its watershed,” Al Gedicks writes for the Eagle Herald. “Enbridge has been found guilty of trespassing on Bad River Band territory since 2013. In May 2023, attorneys for the Bad River Tribe asked a federal judge for an immediate shutdown of Line 5 following heavy spring rains that eroded a riverbank protecting the pipe… “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the proposed reroute may have "substantial and unacceptable adverse impacts" to the Kakagon Bad River Sloughs wetland complex, which holds part of the largest and last remaining extensive coastal wild rice beds in the world. They are also a source of food and culture for the Chippewa people. Furthermore, none of the Line 5 tar sands oil is downloaded in Wisconsin for Wisconsin use. The pipeline runs from Canada through the Upper Great Lakes and back into Canada, where it is sold to foreign markets.”
Bloomberg: Why Are Governments Still Subsidizing Fossil Fuels?
Editorial Board, 10/16/23
“The fight against climate change commands the support of governments across much of the world. Targets for carbon abatement have gotten more ambitious and policies to address the challenge are proliferating. Yet one measure of progress shows how badly these efforts still fall short. Last year, global fossil-fuel subsidies expanded to a new record — $7 trillion, roughly 7% of global gross domestic output,” the Bloomberg Editorial Board writes. “...Explicit subsidies have more than doubled since the previous assessment for 2020, to more than $1 trillion, thanks partly to efforts to soften the blow of higher energy prices after Russia attacked Ukraine. Implicit subsidies, some 80% of the total, surged as well — and unlike the explicit kind, they’re on track to rise further, both in dollar terms and as a share of global output, by the end of the decade… “Insisting that people pay full price for fuel would not only reduce consumption and slash emissions. It would also align that purpose with greater economic efficiency. First, it would make plain that some fossil fuels are worse than others, differences that can and should be priced accordingly. It would also provide a transparent basis for more effective international cooperation. Because air pollution and climate change both count in the calculations, efficient fossil-fuel prices vary from country to country according to local circumstances — but the gap between true costs and actual prices provides a consistent yardstick. Finally, cutting subsidies raises revenue, which allows for higher spending on worthwhile goals, lower government borrowing and/or cuts in other taxes… “Working to reduce and then eliminate fossil-fuel subsidies should be an overriding priority for governments everywhere.”
Bloomberg: US Should Adopt Carbon Border Tax to Address Climate Change
Andrew Leahey, 10/17/23
“As extreme weather events seem to punctuate the news on a weekly basis, the need to address global climate change continues to grow,” Andrew Leahey writes for Bloomberg. “To that end, the EU last month passed a carbon border adjustment mechanism—a border-adjustment tax on carbon. A BAT attempts to tax a good based on where it’s consumed rather than where it’s produced. When applied to carbon, the goal is to offset the incentive for producers to evade a carbon tax in one country by producing goods in another. The EU’s CBAM has set a precedent and provided cover that other nations are likely to take advantage of. The US should use this opportunity to pass its own CBAM. Acting alongside the EU would be a force multiplier to encourage countries without a carbon pricing system, or with a very low cost per ton, to enact domestic policies that effectively account for the carbon released into the atmosphere during production. Further, it would enable the US to retain more revenue generated by carbon offsets and help make domestic production competitive with importation. Legislators have tried to pass a US CBAM equivalent before, but the political will wasn’t there. With more attention on the climate crisis now, the time is ripe for a renewed push. The EU CBAM gives the US another impetus to pass a similar policy… “As the clock ticks toward the EU’s 2026 phase-in date, the US must act swiftly. The EU’s CBAM is a signal for the US to step up efforts to combat climate change and protect its own economic interests. It’s a win-win opportunity that shouldn’t be squandered.”
The Hill: Why blue hydrogen is a big mistake
David Schlissel is an IEEFA analyst with over five decades of experience as an economic and technical consultant on energy and environmental issues; Suzanne Mattei is an IEEFA analyst with over 30 years of experience in public interest law and policy, 10/16/23
“The federal government has announced its preliminary plan to release billions of dollars in funding for seven hydrogen development efforts. At least three of the seven projects plan to produce blue hydrogen. This would be a mistake,” David Schlissel and Suzanne Matei write for The Hill. “Unlike green hydrogen, which is produced from water using electrolysis powered by renewable energy, blue hydrogen is generated from the methane in natural gas. The Department of Energy’s unwise decision to include proposed blue hydrogen projects among its selections for federal funding is a waste of money and precious time. It makes no sense to boost production of a fuel that has little chance of success and cannot be economically produced. Instead, the tax dollars targeted for blue hydrogen will serve primarily as a subsidy for oil and natural gas companies to continue producing greenhouse gas emissions that accelerate climate change… “The DOE’s model seriously underestimates methane emissions associated with the production and transport of natural gas used to produce blue hydrogen… “The model also assumes blue hydrogen production facilities will capture 95 percent or more of the carbon dioxide they produce. But no commercial-scale hydrogen production facility has demonstrated the ability to annually capture emissions at a range higher than 75 percent to 83 percent. Questions also remain about transporting millions of tons of captured carbon dioxide and storing it underground. Finally, the model ignores emissions from the compression, transportation and storage of the hydrogen being produced. It also ignores the effects of hydrogen emissions, even though hydrogen is a powerful indirect greenhouse gas with a GWP more than 30 times that of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Beyond the flawed assumptions in the emissions model, the development of a hydrogen economy would take years and cost hundreds of billions — if not trillions — of dollars, even while proven technologies such as solar and wind power and battery storage exist and have been shown to work. They are less costly and have already made significant advances in the marketplace… “Blue hydrogen is not the future. Federal decision-makers must not waste time sinking taxpayer dollars into attempts to bolster speculative ventures for blue hydrogen, a fuel that is not clean and not a solution. Time is running out.”
Las Cruces Sun-News: San Juan County supports hydrogen development
This article was signed by the following San Juan County entities: San Juan County, City of Aztec, Town of Kirtland, City of Farmington, City of Bloomfield, San Juan College, Farmington Chamber of Commerce, Four Corners Economic Development, Farmington Municipal Schools, Aztec Municipal Schools, Boomfield Municipal schools, PESCO, Central Consolidated Schools, 10/16/23
“San Juan County, New Mexico, its communities, businesses, schools and community college are excited to be squarely at the center of the State of New Mexico’s and the Nation’s development of a clean hydrogen (H2) economy. We support clean H2 development as a critical strategy to assist in securing our future economic resilience,” a number of San Juan County, NM cities, school districts, and economic development entities write for the Las Cruces Sun-News. “... In fact, we have proposed (and can prove out) that the Four Corners is ideally situated for the generation, distribution, and consumption of hydrogen fuel – along with carbon sequestration – which has the potential to lead the entire Western United States to an energy revolution… “All of the municipal schools, San Juan College, and universities work closely with employers to prepare students for existing and future workforce and industry needs… “The three San Juan County projects represent hundreds of millions of dollars of new capital investment in the County and on the Navajo Nation along with hundreds of permanent, high-wage jobs and many more temporary construction jobs… “With new clean H2 energy projects, the Four Corners can remain the powerhouse to offer fuel and power to not only the Western United States; but, perhaps even Asian nations.”