EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 10/21/21
PIPELINE NEWS
DemocracyNow: Water Protectors Shut Down Enbridge Line 5 Pipeline in Michigan
Mlive.com: Longtime Line 5 opponents criticize protestors who shut down pipeline
Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay City Council votes against resolution opposing Enbridge pipeline project
Associated Press: North Dakota can claim pipeline policing costs as damages
KTVI: Spire awaits regulatory ruling on STL Pipeline as winter nears
Richmond Times Dispatch: 'A total loss': Hanover landowners fearful of proposed natural gas pipeline
NC Policy Watch: DEQ cites Colonial Pipeline for continuing violations regarding Huntersville gasoline spill, the fourth such notice this year
Associated Press: Coast Guard received early warning of Orange County oil spill, records show
Press release: Pembina Pipeline Corporation announces GHG reduction target and releases annual sustainability data update
WASHINGTON UPDATES
The Hill: Senate appears poised to advance first Native American to lead National Park Service
Politico Morning Energy: MEANWHILE IN INDUSTRY
Alaska Journal of Commerce: ConocoPhillips and Biden administration won’t appeal court ruling blocking permit for major North Slope oil project
Politico Morning Energy: FERC DAY IN SENATE ENERGY
STATE UPDATES
Texas Tribune: Oil industry helped handpick members of Texas advisory group for electric grid reliability, emails show
The Detroit News: Michigan selected for new Coast Guard center to study freshwater oil spills
WESA: ‘Orphaned’ wells are a problem in Pennsylvania and there are more of them than we thought
EXTRACTION
Wall Street Journal: Exxon Debates Abandoning Some of Its Biggest Oil and Gas Projects
Guardian: Oil and coal-rich countries lobbying to weaken UN climate report, leak shows
Bloomberg: CN Rail Sees Hydrogen Train Shipments Potentially Rivaling Crude
Reuters: Regulator charges Cenovus subsidiary over 2018 Canada oil spill
National Observer: Environmental groups applaud Quebec’s ban on fossil fuel exploration
Washington Post: Russia allows methane leaks at planet’s peril
The Narwhal: What the International Energy Agency’s path to net-zero means for Canada’s oil and gas industry
RESEARCH & SCIENCE
Guardian: ‘Case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans
National Observer: Canada’s 100 dirtiest emitters
CLIMATE FINANCE
Fossil Free Future: October 29th, 2021 is our date of action for a Fossil Free Future
Oil Change International: International precedent set as French Bank commits to exit from fossil fuels by 2030
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Farm Forum: South Dakota FFA Foundation awards $4,000 in grants for local FFA chapter service-learning projects
OPINION
Park Rapids Enterprise: Column: Line 3 process was about improvement, not war
PIPELINE NEWS
DemocracyNow: Water Protectors Shut Down Enbridge Line 5 Pipeline in Michigan
10/20/21
“In Michigan, activists took peaceful direct action to shut down Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline,” DemocracyNow reports. “In May, Governor Gretchen Whitmer ordered Enbridge to shut down the tar sands oil pipeline, calling it a “ticking time bomb,” but they continued to operate, threatening the fragile waterway of the Straits of Mackinac and sovereign Indigenous lands. This is a water protector speaking before cutting off the pipeline Tuesday: Enbridge violates the public trust every second that Line 5 continues to operate. Enbridge repeatedly and knowingly violated the terms of the 1953 easement and failed to correct structural shortcomings in the Line 5 pipeline. Furthermore, Line 5 has already spilled 33 different times, totaling over 1.1 million gallons of oil.”
Mlive.com: Longtime Line 5 opponents criticize protestors who shut down pipeline
Sheri McWhirter, 10/20/21
“Both longtime environmental and tribal opponents of Line 5 spoke out against the actions of protestors that this week shut down the controversial pipeline’s flow,” Mlive.com reports. “Officials with the nonprofit Oil and Water Don’t Mix and the Bay Mills Indian Community condemned activists who used a pipe wrench Tuesday to close a valve along the pipeline’s route through Tuscola County. Enbridge, the pipeline’s owner, confirmed it shut down the line as a result and called for the prosecution of the protestors… “Oil & Water Don’t Mix condemns all unsafe illegal activity associated with Line 5. This is our position whether people are trespassing to illegally turn a valve or whether it’s Enbridge’s continuous illegal trespass and operation of Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac,” reads a statement from the nonprofit group determined to shut down the section of underwater pipeline… “Tribal leader Whitney Gravelle, executive council president for Bay Mills Indian Community, said the tribe cannot condone the protestors’ actions, even if intended to show unity with Indigenous water protectors. She said tribal citizens do, however, understand the protestors’ mounting frustrations. “While Enbridge threatens the Great Lakes with environmental harm and damage by illegally operating in violation of the shutdown order and our own Tribal Nation’s banishment order, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard,” Gravelle told Mlive. “We must preserve and protect our sovereignty, our land and our water by upholding our treaty rights as Tribal Nations.”
Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay City Council votes against resolution opposing Enbridge pipeline project
Natalie Eilbert, 10/20/21
“After the city's Sustainability Commission declared its commitment to an action plan of 100% clean energy by 2050 in Green Bay, just one City Council member voted to support a different environmental measure on the agenda this week. The council rejected a resolution that would have put Green Bay on record opposing a pipeline permit in Lake Michigan and supporting treaty rights for the 11 federally recognized Wisconsin tribes,” the Green Bay Press-Gazette reports. “The resolution, proposed in the wake of a similar resolution in Madison that passed with unanimous support in July, was met with opposition by members of the Wisconsin Operating Engineers of Local Union #139. The measure was considered by many to be a "colossal waste of time," according to one council member who said he did his homework on the resolution by contacting the pipeline company Enbridge directly. A spokesperson for Enbridge was quick to correct the "misinformation proposed by the resolution," according to council member Chris Wery. He didn't elaborate on what in the resolution was incorrect… “Green Bay Council member Randy Scannell, who also sits on the Sustainability Commission, authored the resolution and was ultimately the sole yes vote on it. He told the council members that the construction of a pipeline in the Great Lakes was "insane." "This is a matter of social justice and standing up for what's right," Scannell said. "Build a pipeline, a more equitable one, but not through the Great Lakes, for god's sake."
Associated Press: North Dakota can claim pipeline policing costs as damages
By James MacPherson, 10/20/21
“North Dakota can continue to pursue reimbursement from the federal government of the millions of dollars spent policing protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline, a judge has ruled,” the Associated Press reports. “U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor on Tuesday denied the federal government’s motion to dismiss North Dakota’s attempt to recover more than $38 million from the monthslong pipeline protests five years ago… “Trump in 2018 denied a state-requested disaster declaration to cover the state’s costs. The Justice Department later gave the state a $10 million grant for policing-related bills. The pipeline developer gave the state $15 million to help with the costs that were funded from loans from the state-owned Bank of North Dakota. Stenehjem has argued the reimbursements don’t get the Corps off the hook for the state’s $38 million total cost of policing… “If no settlement can be reached, a trial is set for May 1, 2023.”
KTVI: Spire awaits regulatory ruling on STL Pipeline as winter nears
Mike Colombo, 10/19/21
“Spire Missouri President Scott Carter said Tuesday he’s confident Spire has proven the necessity of the pipeline but wants customers to be prepared should spire have to close the pipeline this winter,” KTVI reports. “...In June, the U.S. Court of appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated FERC’s 2018 approval of the 65-mile natural gas pipeline, just two years after it was constructed. The court ruled FERC “failed to adequately balance public benefits and adverse impacts. The court also questioned the pipeline’s necessity.” In September, FERC issued a 90-day emergency certificate to keep the pipeline open. Spire is still waiting for FERC to decide on an order that would keep the pipeline open through the winter. “We have to start making decisions around 25 degrees in most scenarios about customers needing to conserve, and needing to curtail customers that don’t use it for basic, human life preservation. It gets more dramatic as the winter goes on. And then we start having mass outages at a temperature somewhat less than that,” Carter told KTVI. Carter told KTVI those doomsday scenarios can be avoided if the STL Pipeline remains open… “The big day to watch right now is Dec. 13. That’s when FERC’s temporary emergency certificate is set to expire.”
Richmond Times Dispatch: 'A total loss': Hanover landowners fearful of proposed natural gas pipeline
Holly Prestidge, 10/20/21
“Living in an “incineration zone” isn’t the sort of comforting notion that would lull anyone to sleep at night,” the Richmond Times Dispatch reports. “Hanover County property owners whose land is within the path of a proposed natural gas pipeline say the angst they’re feeling continues to swell ever since hearing in recent weeks and months that Chickahominy Pipeline LLC is trying to move forward in its quest to build the pipeline across 45 miles of the county — from one end to the other — disturbing roughly 171 parcels. Incineration zones, or blast zones, are geographic areas where there’s a greater risk of combustion if the pipeline ruptures. But whether or how many homes or other structures are in those zones is unclear, as Chickahominy representatives and a lawyer for the company did not return emails or phone calls on Monday and Tuesday asking for such information. Hanover’s Board of Supervisors and county administration — as well as leadership in neighboring counties — openly shared their frustration last month with what they say is a lack of cooperation on Chickahominy’s part to provide detailed information about the pipeline… “The issue is working its way through the approval process at the State Corporation Commission. Chickahominy has requested that it doesn’t need SCC approval because its gas is not being used for the public, but rather the very narrow purpose of operating the power plant. As recently as Oct. 8, however, SCC staff rejected Chickahominy’s petition, saying that the company is trying to “subvert” state law and “escape regulation by creating a shell corporation.”
NC Policy Watch: DEQ cites Colonial Pipeline for continuing violations regarding Huntersville gasoline spill, the fourth such notice this year
Lisa Sorg, 10/20/21
“The NC Department of Environmental Quality has issued a Notice of Continuing Violation to Colonial Pipeline regarding with ongoing contamination from a major gasoline spill in Huntersville. The spill, which occurred in August 2020, released an estimated 1,289,190 gallons of product, equivalent to 30,695 barrels, the nation’s largest such spill onshore since at least 1997,” NC Policy Watch reports. “However, the figure is likely an underestimation because the extent of the contamination below ground is still unknown. High levels of benzene, xylene, toluene and other petroleum-related chemicals have been found in monitoring wells at the site. The company says no drinking water wells have been contaminated; however, Colonial did pay to connect several households to a public water supply. It also purchased three homes near the spill site. DEQ issued its first Notice of Violation in September 2020; this is the fourth Notice of Continuing Violation since February… “The DEQ letter noted that it could fine Colonial Pipeline, as well as take other enforcement actions.”
Associated Press: Coast Guard received early warning of Orange County oil spill, records show
10/20/21
“The Coast Guard received multiple reports of a possible fuel spill off the Southern California coast earlier than previously disclosed and asked local authorities to investigate about 15 hours before its own personnel confirmed a large oil slick, which came from a leaking undersea pipeline, records show,” the Associated Press reports. “The initial reports of a possible spill north of the Huntington Beach pier came into the Coast Guard about 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 1, according to an Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s memo provided Wednesday to The Associated Press. The documents said there were multiple similar calls over a marine radio emergency channel from boats leaving the Huntington Beach air show. The department, which runs the county’s harbor patrol, sent a fireboat to search for the spill, but the crew lost visibility as darkness fell, according to the memo obtained through the California Public Records Act. The spill wasn’t confirmed until about 9 a.m. Saturday. The documents raise more questions about the Coast Guard’s response to a spill that forced the closure of some of the region’s signature beaches and harmed animal and plant life… “Miyoko Sakashita, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, told AP the Coast Guard should have responded more aggressively after getting the initial reports. “An investigation should have immediately taken place, and it could have significantly reduced the size of the spill,” Sakashita, whose organization has called on the federal government to stop offshore oil drilling, told AP.
Press release: Pembina Pipeline Corporation announces GHG reduction target and releases annual sustainability data update
10/20/21
“Pembina Pipeline Corporation is pleased to announce its commitment to reduce the Company’s greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions intensity by 30 percent by 2030, relative to baseline 2019 emissions. The GHG reduction target will help guide business decisions and improve overall emissions intensity performance while increasing Pembina’s long-term value and ensuring Canadian energy is developed and delivered responsibly… “To meet the 2030 GHG emissions intensity target, Pembina will focus initially on operational opportunities, greater use of renewable and lower emission energy sources, and investments in a lower carbon economy… “Operational contributions to the achievement of Pembina’s target will include: Optimizing pipeline capacity and operations; Constructing cogeneration facilities at the Empress NGL Extraction Facility and Duvernay Complex, as well as additional potential cogeneration projects at other facilities; Modernizing and optimizing compression facilities to reduce the amount of energy consumed; Enhancing leak detection and repair programs at facilities; and Reducing flaring and venting.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
The Hill: Senate appears poised to advance first Native American to lead National Park Service
BY ZACK BUDRYK, 10/19/21
“The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee appeared poised to advance the nomination of the National Park Service’s first Native American director, and the agency's first permanent director in four years, at a hearing Tuesday,” The Hill reports. “...Sams also said he would emphasize tribal outreach and a "spirit of consultation" as director. “In Indian Country, we expect an open discussion with the federal government prior to making a decision, not after the fact,” he told the Hill. “If confirmed, I will bring this spirit of consultation to my service as Director. I look forward to consulting with neighboring communities, stakeholders, local, state and Tribal governments, and Members of Congress, even when the conversations and topics are challenging.”
Politico Morning Energy: MEANWHILE IN INDUSTRY
Matthew Choi, Kelsey Tamborrino, 10/20/21
“BP, Shell and thirteen other companies threw their support to climate provisions in the Democrat’s current budget reconciliation framework Tuesday,” Politico Morning Energy reports. “The climate provisions in the Build Back Better Act support our own investment in low-carbon innovation and will help us grow our business and remain competitive globally while also meeting our climate goals,” the group said in a letter to House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Interestingly, the companies, which also include Unilever, Ikea and Carrier, said they “look forward to discussing the revenue provisions including potential alternative approaches.”
Alaska Journal of Commerce: ConocoPhillips and Biden administration won’t appeal court ruling blocking permit for major North Slope oil project
By Elwood Brehmer, 10/20/21
“With the deadline to appeal an August court decision come and gone, it appears federal approval for ConocoPhillips’ massive Willow oil project on the North Slope will be subject to at least a partial do-over, all but ensuring the development will be delayed multiple years,” the Alaska Journal of Commerce reports. “Environmental and Alaska Native groups successfully sued the Bureau of Land Management over the agency’s approval of the environmental review for the major oil development, which took place under the Trump administration. On Wednesday, those groups thanked BLM officials under President Joe Biden for not appealing the August court ruling invalidating the permit. But they also acknowledged that the Houston-based oil major has given every indication it will not drop the 100,000-barrels-per-day-plus oil prospect. “The Biden administration’s decision not to appeal comes as good news. It also comes as the same old news, because we know that ConocoPhillips will continue to pursue this harmful extraction project on Iñupiat lands,” Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic Executive Director Siqiñiq Maupin told AJC… “At $6 billion to reach first oil and up to $8 billion to fully develop, oil industry advocates see Willow as an infrastructure hub on the western North Slope that could spur other oil projects in the otherwise mostly undeveloped National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.”
Politico Morning Energy: FERC DAY IN SENATE ENERGY
Matthew Choi, Kelsey Tamborrino, 10/20/21
“Biden’s pick for the next FERC commissioner, Willie Phillips, gave a peek into his priorities Tuesday, telling the Senate Energy Committee that he would zero in on environmental justice when weighing new fossil fuel infrastructure,” Politico Morning Energy reports. “When pressed by Republicans on whether he would favor renewable energy at the expense of fossil fuels — a concern they and Manchin have telegraphed for months — Phillips offered up that he favored an “all-of-the-above strategy." Still, he said “I'm very aware that we're in the middle of an energy transition. ... And I want to do everything that I can, if confirmed, to push forward innovation.” Republicans on the committee are worried that FERC’s shift to consider environmental justice in its reviews is slowing down approvals for new fossil fuel infrastructure. Phillips acknowledged that there were inefficiencies in the pipeline review process, which he would seek to address as commissioner, but he also said he would stay in line with a federal court ruling ordering FERC to incorporate environmental justice and climate change more into deliberations. … “Also up in committee was Brad Crabtree, Biden's nominee to lead the Energy Department's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. Crabtree called the track record of carbon capture technologies "quite positive," having worked on the issue as vice president for carbon management at the Great Plains Institute and as director of the Carbon Capture Coalition. Crabtree defended carbon capture technology as "long proven and widely commercially deployed across the world," though he agreed with senators that it is not economically deployed. Crabtree added the U.S. needs a combination of legislative and DOE support to "repeat the same success that we've seen with solar."
STATE UPDATES
Texas Tribune: Oil industry helped handpick members of Texas advisory group for electric grid reliability, emails show
BY ERIN DOUGLAS, 10/21/21
“Oil and gas industry groups had a heavy hand in choosing representatives to serve on a council intended to ensure energy and electricity operations continue during extreme weather conditions, emails provided to The Texas Tribune and confirmed by the Texas Railroad Commission show,” the Texas Tribune reports. “...An email provided to the Tribune shows that the Texas Oil and Gas Association, one of the most influential oil and gas industry groups in Texas, provided a list of names to the Railroad Commission’s executive director for appointment to the council in August. The Railroad Commission of Texas regulates the oil and gas industry. Two months later, all four of the industry groups’ top choices were confirmed to the council by regulators… “Bob Stein, a professor of political science at Rice University and expert on political ethics, told the Tribune that governments often need and want people from the industry to advise them or serve on boards because of their knowledge of the sector. But he said there should be clear distinctions between industry interests and those of regulators — and rules to ensure the lines aren’t blurred. “We have to be able to appoint people who know something about what they’re regulating,” Stein told the Tribune. “But it’s all about whose interest are we looking out for: the public or the industry? Who do we really represent?”
The Detroit News: Michigan selected for new Coast Guard center to study freshwater oil spills
Melissa Nann Burke, 10/20/21
“Michigan has been chosen as the site of a new Coast Guard National Center of Expertise that will study the impact of freshwater oil spills with the aim of improving effective emergency responses,” The Detroit News reports. “U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, announced that the center will be located at two sites within Michigan: Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, where its supervisor would be located, and another site at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor. Peters worked to designate $4.5 million in federal funding, including $3 million in the year-end spending package last year for the center after getting a bill passed to establish it… “The legislation followed a hearing in 2017 where the then-commandant of the Coast Guard told Peters that the agency was not prepared for an oil spill in the Great Lakes, as existing technologies for responding to oil spills are designed for salt-water environments. Peters’ legislative language directed the center to be located at an institution that has aquatic research facilities and expertise in Great Lakes ecology. It also had to be near "critical" crude oil pipeline infrastructure "on and connecting the Great Lakes" such as submerged pipelines. The center is expected to focus on scientific or technological gaps in responses to past freshwater oil spills and will be tasked with testing, developing and researching equipment and techniques for responding to oil spills in the Great Lakes and training first responders.”
WESA: ‘Orphaned’ wells are a problem in Pennsylvania and there are more of them than we thought
Kiley Koscinski, 10/18/21
“More than 81,000 documented oil and gas wells across the U.S. have been left unplugged by former owners — far exceeding the previous estimate of 56,000, according to a new report by the Environmental Defense Fund. Western Pennsylvania is home to 8,840 abandoned and unplugged wells, the report says,” according to WESA. “The report, compiled using mostly publicly-available data, found clusters of orphan wells in the Appalachian region and south central states like Kentucky, Oklahoma and Texas. Oklahoma had the greatest concentration of wells… “Pennsylvania could be home to most of the country’s orphan wells Most of the 8,840 documented orphan wells the report found in Pennsylvania are in the western part of the state... “But Pennsylvania likely has the biggest gap between documented orphan wells and undocumented orphan wells, according to Peltz. That’s because of Pennsylvania’s long history with oil production; the state is the birthplace of the industry in the United States in 1859. For much of that history, operators drilled hundreds of thousands of wells for which there is no record. And there was no requirement to plug them upon abandonment. A 2018 report by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection estimated there are approximately 200,000 unaccounted for oil and gas wells in the state.“
EXTRACTION
Wall Street Journal: Exxon Debates Abandoning Some of Its Biggest Oil and Gas Projects
By Christopher M. Matthews and Emily Glazer, 10/20/21
“Exxon Mobil Corp.’s XOM 0.55% remade board of directors is debating whether to continue with several major oil and gas projects as the company reconsiders its investment strategy in a fast-changing energy landscape, according to people familiar with the matter,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Members of the board—which includes three directors successfully nominated by an activist investor in May and two other new members—have expressed concerns about certain projects, including a $30 billion liquefied natural gas development in Mozambique and another multibillion-dollar gas project in Vietnam, the people said. Oil and gas prices are at multiyear highs, and the world is experiencing a shortage of fossil fuels as economies emerge from the pandemic. But it takes years for such energy megaprojects to produce additional supplies, and more years after that for the investments to pay off. Exxon board members are weighing the fate of future projects as the company is facing pressure from investors to restrain fossil-fuel investment to limit carbon emissions and return more cash to shareholders. Environmentalists and some government officials are also pressuring the company to produce less oil and gas… “Both projects face potential political obstacles, and some Exxon board members have expressed concerns about whether they would return the billions in upfront investment they would require, some of the people told the Journal.”.
Guardian: Oil and coal-rich countries lobbying to weaken UN climate report, leak shows
Robyn Vinter, 10/21/21
“Countries that produce coal, oil, beef and animal feed have been lobbying to water down a landmark UN climate report, according to a leak of documents seen by Greenpeace’s investigation team,” the Guardian reports. “Days before Cop26, the international climate change negotiations taking place in Glasgow, the leaks show fossil fuel producers including Australia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Japan are lobbying the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to remove recommendations that the world needs to phase out fossil fuels. According to the documents, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), whose members include Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela, also backed weakening the report’s recommendations on fossil fuels.”
Bloomberg: CN Rail Sees Hydrogen Train Shipments Potentially Rivaling Crude
By Robert Tuttle, 10/20/21
“Canadian National Railway Co. expects hydrogen shipments in tank cars could grow to the size of the crude-by-rail business as energy companies plan to ramp up production of the clean-burning gas,” Bloomberg reports. “Companies including Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Suncor Energy Inc. and ATCO Ltd. have announced plans to build hydrogen-production plants in Alberta that would use carbon capture and storage to reduce or zero out carbon emissions… “In Canada, the push toward hydrogen is part of an effort to slash the higher-than-normal emissions associated with the country’s oil sands, the world’s third-largest oil reserves… “As Canadian oil output has exceeded the capacity of pipeline’s to export it, energy companies have turned to rail as a way to transport the oil to refineries. But the business has been volatile for rail companies as volumes of crude-by-rail shipments have sometimes plummeted when oil-market downturns prompted companies to reduce output or new pipeline capacity was added.”
Reuters: Regulator charges Cenovus subsidiary over 2018 Canada oil spill
By Rod Nickel, 10/19/21
“A Canadian regulator said on Tuesday that it laid three charges against a Cenovus Energy Inc (CVE.TO) subsidiary, following a 2018 oil spill off the country's Atlantic Coast,” Reuters reports. “The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board said it filed the charges against Husky Oil Operations Ltd for the spill in the White Rose Field, the largest in the province's history. Cenovus has since acquired rival Husky. A leaking flow line from the White Rose Field to the SeaRose storage vessel spilled 250 cubic metres (1,572 barrels) of oil in November 2018, temporarily shutting down all crude production in the waters of Newfoundland and Labrador… “Gretchen Fitzgerald, national program director of the Sierra Club Canada Foundation environmental group, told Reuters it was troubling that it took so long for the board to lay charges. "Three years later, we still have very little information on the impact of the spill or complete records of the damage caused," she told Reuters. "We only know that not a drop of oil spilled was recovered and we'd expect the same result if a spill happened today."
National Observer: Environmental groups applaud Quebec’s ban on fossil fuel exploration
Jenny Uechi, 10/19/21
“In a groundbreaking move, Quebec Premier François Legault announced the province will “definitively renounce the extraction of hydrocarbons on its territory” during a speech outlining his government's priorities in the National Assembly on Tuesday,” the National Observer reports. “The news comes just two weeks before the start of the COP26 UN climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, and is being hailed by environmental activists as a bold new step toward reducing fossil fuel production… “The ban on fossil fuel extraction comes after three oil and gas companies sued the Quebec government over environmental laws preventing them from drilling on previously approved leases. Fossil fuel companies in Quebec have received permits in previous years to drill for oil and gas in the province, though no new permits have been issued since Legault took office, the Globe and Mail reports. Quebec is not known for fossil fuel extraction, but has the second-largest oil-refining capacity in the country after Alberta, with refineries that handle 20 per cent of all gasoline produced in Canada.”
Washington Post: Russia allows methane leaks at planet’s peril
By Steven Mufson, Isabelle Khurshudyan, Chris Mooney, Brady Dennis, John Muyskens and Naema Ahmed, 10/19/21
“On the morning of Friday, June 4, an underground gas pipeline running through the ancient state of Tatarstan sprang a leak. And not a small one,” the Washington Post reports. “In a different era, the massive leak might have gone unnoticed. But hovering 520 miles above the Earth, a European Space Agency satellite was keeping watch. The four-year-old Copernicus Sentinel-5P, which orbits the planet 14 times a day, looks for traces of methane and other gases. At 11:01 a.m. in Moscow, the satellite spotted a methane leak on the edge of its field of vision. On its next pass, 1 hour and 40 minutes later, the sensor captured an even larger view of the leak. Crews from the natural gas giant Gazprom hurried to repair a defect in the steel pipeline and stem the rush of methane — an invisible but powerful greenhouse gas — which was escaping into the atmosphere at a breakneck rate of approximately 395 metric tons an hour. Two weeks later, after inquiries from a geoanalytical firm called Kayrros and from journalists, Gazprom acknowledged the colossal methane release, though the energy company remained secretive, declining to disclose the exact location of the leak… “Satellites can provide real time evidence of massive, unreported methane leaks — and who is responsible for them. That information can help officials hold the polluting companies accountable or expose governments that hide or ignore dangerous emissions that are warming the world.”
The Narwhal: What the International Energy Agency’s path to net-zero means for Canada’s oil and gas industry
Drew Anderson, 10/20/21
“For years, governments and oil executives could count on the International Energy Agency to provide ammunition for continued fossil fuel investments, but with the recent release of its latest World Energy Outlook, that ammunition appears to have run out,” The Narwhal reports. “The annual report, released earlier this year in advance of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) summit in Glasgow, signals a monumental shift. The era of prolonged growth in demand for oil, gas and coal seems to be coming to an end, according to the report, co-authored by energy experts from governments and industry around the world. It describes a world that limits warming to within 1.5 C by shifting rapidly away from fossil fuels with no development of new oil and gas fields, no new or expanded coal mines and slim prospects of profits for new LNG projects… “In Canada, even with policies already pledged by the government, but not yet enacted, the report’s second scenario projects the country’s contribution to global supply could dry up between now and 2030. Canada’s contribution to international markets will shrink based on pledges already made by the government, but not yet enacted. The report also says that, under this scenario, Canada would see “no or very limited investment into new projects from the mid-2020s.” Any new investments would have to focus on current fields and projects in order to reduce the intensity of emissions”.
RESEARCH & SCIENCE
Guardian: ‘Case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans
Jonathan Watts, 10/19/21
“The scientific consensus that humans are altering the climate has passed 99.9%, according to research that strengthens the case for global action at the Cop26 summit in Glasgow,” the Guardian reports. “The degree of scientific certainty about the impact of greenhouse gases is now similar to the level of agreement on evolution and plate tectonics, the authors say, based on a survey of nearly 90,000 climate-related studies. This means there is practically no doubt among experts that burning fossil fuels, such as oil, gas, coal, peat and trees, is heating the planet and causing more extreme weather. A previous survey in 2013 showed 97% of studies published between 1991 and 2012 supported the idea that human activities are altering Earth’s climate. This has been updated and expanded by the study by Cornell University that shows the tiny minority of sceptical voices has diminished to almost nothing as evidence mounts of the link between fossil-fuel burning and climate disruption… “The authors told the Guardian their study, published on Tuesday in the journal Environmental Research Letters, showed scepticism among experts is now vanishingly small. “It is really case closed. There is nobody of significance in the scientific community who doubts human-caused climate change,” the lead author, Mark Lynas, a visiting fellow at Cornell University, told the Guardian… “This puts the likes of Facebook and Twitter in a quandary. It is pretty similar to vaccine misinformation; they both lack a basis in science and they both have a destructive impact on society. Social networks that allow climate misinformation to spread need to look at their algorithms and policies or to be forced to do so by regulators.”
National Observer: Canada’s 100 dirtiest emitters
John Woodside, 10/21/21
“Canada’s top 100 emitters were responsible for just over a quarter of the country’s total greenhouse gases in 2019. That’s the equivalent of roughly 54 million cars or more than 41 million homes’ energy use in a year,” the National Observer reports. “...Alberta is by far Canada’s top polluting province, with 42 of the country’s top 100 emitters. Those sites were responsible for roughly 119 MT of greenhouse gases, most of them related to the province’s fossil fuel industry. Of the top 10 emitters, seven are in Alberta, five clustered in Fort McMurray’s oilpatch region. The largest oilsands operation by a long shot is Syncrude, a joint venture between Suncor Energy, Imperial Oil, Sinopec Oil Sands Partnership, and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation. With Alberta’s emissions rising roughly 60 per cent over the past 30 years, Pembina Institute’s director of federal policy Isabelle Turcotte told the Observer oilsands companies that are committing to net-zero should have those plans scrutinized… “Because the majority of emissions from the oil and gas industry arise when the product is burned, Scope 3 emissions are the most critical from a global perspective –– and they are typically left out of the industry’s net-zero plans… “Oilsands companies “are super emissions-intensive, and it's going to be very costly to reduce them,” Turcotte told the Observer. “And when you start looking at what technologies are available to you, and how far they can get you, you come to the conclusion we need production to go down.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Fossil Free Future: October 29th, 2021 is our date of action for a Fossil Free Future
10/20/21
“On 10.29.21 young people are rising up across the world to demand an immediate end to the funding of fossil fuel expansion. October 29th, 2021 is our date of action for a Fossil Free Future. We’re calling out greenwashed climate commitments, uplifting frontline fights, and demanding an end to the harm. If we can stop the flow of money, we can stop the flow of oil. We’re going after Chase Bank; We are calling out Liberty Mutual; We are calling out Citibank; We are nixing Liberty Mutual and Citibank's financing of fossil fuels; We are nixing Black Rock and the Federal Reserve's financing of fossil fuels; We are calling out the United States Federal Reserve; We are calling out Black Rock; JOIN US: Find an event on the map to attend near you or SIGN UP TO HOST YOUR OWN EVENT If you can't host or attend, you can always sign up to help amplify our day of impact.”
Oil Change International: International precedent set as French Bank commits to exit from fossil fuels by 2030
ANDY ROWELL, 10/20/21
“The financial sector has been under intense and sustained pressure from scientists and civil society to divest from fossil fuels over the last few years, as our climate emergency has gathered pace. And this pressure is finally paying off,” according to Oil Change International. “The divestment movement has already secured significant victories with an estimated USD 15 trillion now withdrawn from fossil fuel stocks… “The day after the IEA published the World Energy Outlook, La Banque Postale, a relatively small but progressive bank in France set an international precedent against oil and gas expansion. La Banque Postale, which was already committed to ensuring that its banking activities achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040, announced a complete withdrawal from fossil fuels by the 2030. They will also no longer provide financial services to fossil fuel companies and will not invest in fossil fuels. Philippe Heim, Chairman of La Banque Postale’s Executive Board, said: “Today, we are the first European bank and one of the first financial institutions worldwide to have a decarbonization strategy that is in line with the Paris Agreement.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Farm Forum: South Dakota FFA Foundation awards $4,000 in grants for local FFA chapter service-learning projects
Gerri Ann Eide, 10/21/21
“The FFA motto all FFA members learn includes the words," Living to Serve", making service a core value taught to South Dakota's over 6,000 high school Agriculture Education students through their FFA participation. With state educational budgets becoming tighter all the time, FFA chapters are forced to choose which worthwhile activities they can still participate in. Sometimes that means service projects do not happen,” Farm Forum reports. “...The SD FFA Foundation recognizes the value of local chapter service-learning projects, and wants to enable Agriculture Education programs to focus on student and community development. As a result, the SD FFA Foundation provides up to $500 per chapter for service projects in their local communities… “These grants were made possible, as a special project of the SD FFA Foundation, thanks to funds provided by the TC Energy Foundation.”
OPINION
Park Rapids Enterprise: Column: Line 3 process was about improvement, not war
Lorraine Little, Director, Community Engagement at Enbridge in Duluth, 10/20/21
“Was the replacement of Line 3 supposed to be a war? According to Winona LaDuke (“A water protector comes home to reflect,” Oct. 13) it was. LaDuke suggests that government leaders and the courts somehow failed to prevent Line 3 from being built. The truth is that our regulatory system worked as intended, making the project better, for everyone’s benefit including tribal nations, communities, the environment and workers,” Lorraine Little writes for the Park Rapids Enterprise. “Let’s start with the facts. The replacement of Line 3 was a $9 billion private investment upgrading energy infrastructure in the U.S. and Canada… “Thirty tribes took part in the project consultation process with the Army Corps of Engineers. The Line 3 Replacement Project included a first-of-its kind Tribal Cultural Resource Survey led by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa who managed review of the more than 330-mile route in Minnesota through the 1855, 1837 and 1863-64 treaty areas… “In terms of environmental justice, Enbridge has spent well over $300 million Line 3 project dollars specifically with tribal nations, citizens, communities, and contractors. Native American workers made up 7% of the workforce on Line 3… “Keeping energy safe and affordable for all our families as we work through this energy transition is perhaps something we can all agree on – and not fight over.”