EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 10/21/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Charleston Gazette Mail: WV environmental groups press case challenging DEP water quality certification for Mountain Valley Pipeline
Journal Courier: Pipeline activists warn of 'dangers' of carbon dioxide pipelines, but backers say process safe
Tri States Public Radio: McDonough County Board approves pipeline moratorium
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Summit withdraws motion for immediate action against landowner
The Gazette: Johnson County no longer on the Wolf CO2 pipeline route
Taylorville Daily News: Christian County Files Petition To Intervene With ICC For CO2 Pipeline
Wayne Daily News: Commissioners Hear Emergency Manager Updates, More Information From Summit Carbon Solutions Project Brought Forward
The Tyee: ‘It’s ludicrous’: Coastal GasLink pushes its pipeline under a Wet’suwet’en river while salmon are spawning
Marcellus Drilling News: Leaderless PHMSA “Sneaks” New Pipeline Welding Standards into Rule
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: FERC meeting: Glick warning, ‘self-dealing’ and pipeline win
Bloomberg: Common Ground Elusive As Manchin Permitting Bill Awaits Action
InsideEPA: Environmentalists Push To Subject Agencies’ Permit Applications To NEPA
STATE UPDATES
Ohio Capital Journal: Alleging continual pollution, advocates ask U.S. EPA to take over Ohio injection well permitting
EXTRACTION
Canadian Press: Environmental groups call on feds to not 'water down' oil and gas emissions cap
Offshore Technology: ExxonMobil to offload US refinery to Par Pacific for $310m
Bloomberg: Ted Danson Wants Less Offshore Oil Drilling and More Fish in the Sea
CLIMATE FINANCE
Gwich’in Steering Committee: Three New Insurers Confirm Policy to Not Underwrite Oil & Gas Development in the Arctic
LatinFinance: TC Energy, IEnova get credit for pipeline
Associated Press: Some risks too big: Insurers withdraw from fossil projects
Insurance Business Magazine: Insurers' ESG frameworks will trickle through the supply chain
Heated: The curious origins of the anti-ESG movement
Wall Street Journal: How a New Anti-Woke Bank Stumbled
CBC: Why environmentalists went after Canada's biggest bank for alleged greenwashing
OPINION
The Energy Mix: Carbon Capture + Spin
Los Angeles Times: Editorial: Oil drillers want to overturn California’s new health protections. Don’t let them
The New Republic: Princeton Will Stop Taking Oil Money. Now the Pressure Is on Harvard, MIT, and Columbia.
PIPELINE NEWS
Charleston Gazette Mail: WV environmental groups press case challenging DEP water quality certification for Mountain Valley Pipeline
Mike Tony, 10/20/22
“West Virginia environmental groups say they’ve got proof that state regulators erred in predicting the Mountain Valley Pipeline wouldn’t violate state water quality standards in their determination to grant the project a key approval last year,” the Charleston Gazette Mail reports. “The groups say the proof comes from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection itself. In the groups’ latest filing in their case challenging the DEP’s water quality certification issued to project developer Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC, the groups pointed to the agency’s August citation of the company for violating water pollution control permit standards. The DEP found that Mountain Valley discharged sediment-laden water offsite which flowed downslope and entered a Stout Run tributary in Wetzel County. The agency also cited the company for failing to filter sediment out of water being evacuated from a pipe trench. The groups argued that the August notice of violation “establishes the falsity of” the DEP’s prediction that Mountain Valley would comply with water quality standards after applying for the water quality certification despite a history of water quality violations… “The agency granted the certification on Dec. 30 to Mountain Valley, the joint venture that owns the pipeline, after determining that project upland and water crossing activities would avoid lowering water quality from sediment pollution and thus comply with state water quality requirements… “The Sierra Club, the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, the Indian Creek Watershed Association, Appalachian Voices and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network challenged the water quality certification in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit four days after the DEP issued it. The groups have been represented by Lewisburg-based environmental law firm Appalachian Mountain Advocates. Oral arguments in the case begin Tuesday.”
Journal Courier: Pipeline activists warn of 'dangers' of carbon dioxide pipelines, but backers say process safe
Ben Singson, 10/21/22
“Survivors of a Mississippi pipeline explosion and climate activists came together Wednesday to challenge the safety of carbon capturing, the process of sequestering carbon dioxide emissions and piping them to a location where they are stored deep underground,” the Journal Courier reports. “During a webinar by the Climate Investigations Center, the potential dangers of carbon-capture pipelines were discussed. Dan Zegart, author of a 2021 Huffington Post piece on a 2020 pipeline rupture in Satartia, Mississippi, moderated the event… “But Bill McKibben, a reporter and founder of the renewable energy advocacy group 350, slammed it as "a completely unnecessary risk" and "an absurd Rube Goldberg engineering scheme." He said the most important way to tackle the issue of carbon dioxide was to stop burning fossil fuels and begin using renewable energy… “Pipeline Safety Trust Executive Director Bill Caram said carbon dioxide was typically transported in a supercritical state, with properties of both a liquid and gas. Pipeline failures can cause a rapid drop in pressure and temperature, he said, and carbon dioxide sticks close to the ground in potentially dangerous amounts. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is in the process of making new rules for pipeline safety, Caram said, but rules take years to be put in place and the agency would have to overcome some hurdles to enforce them. "It is clear to me that we are not ready to safely build these pipelines and if we do, people could die," he said. Some of those affected by the Satartia pipeline rupture shared their stories. Firefighter Jerry Briggs responded to the rupture from a nearby county. He and his crew went door to door checking for people but were unable to find anyone, something he described as eerie. Briggs said neither he nor Yahoo County (Mississippi) Emergency Management Director Jack Willingham knew what kind of gas was leaking. One resident said he was still experiencing the effects over 2½ years later. He said breathing in carbon dioxide exacerbated his asthma and induced memory loss that persists.”
Tri States Public Radio: McDonough County Board approves pipeline moratorium
Rich Egger, 10/20/22
“The McDonough County Board is trying to put the brakes on a proposed CO2 pipeline that would run through parts of the county. The board this week unanimously approved a two-year moratorium for CO2 pipelines in the county,” Tri States Public Radio reports. “Board Chair Scott Schwerer said the county wants to give the federal government time to potentially upgrade safety guidelines for such projects. “The safety of our residents of McDonough County is very important and that’s paramount in my mind,” Schwerer told TSPR. “If there is a pipeline, we want it to be the safest pipeline there can be.”
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Summit withdraws motion for immediate action against landowner
JARED STRONG, 10/20/22
“A company that wants to build a sprawling liquid carbon dioxide pipeline has withdrawn its court request for immediate access to private property in northern Iowa for a land survey, according to court records,” Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. “A hearing to consider Summit Carbon Solutions’ request for a temporary injunction against Hardin County landowner Kent Kasischke was set for early next week. Summit withdrew its request on Wednesday, and a judge canceled the hearing. The withdrawal follows an unsuccessful attempt by another pipeline company to obtain a temporary injunction for a land survey. “We are continuing to pursue our request for an injunction and will be setting a schedule for the proceedings in the near future,” Summit told Iowa Capital Dispatch on Thursday. Summit sued three sets landowners in September and sought permanent injunctions that would grant it access to their properties in Dickinson, Hardin and Kossuth counties. The company seeks to survey the properties to help determine the path of its proposed pipeline. Trials for the permanent injunctions have not yet been scheduled… “Summit had also requested expedited relief in the form of immediate, temporary injunctions. It argued that further delays of the surveys will cause the company “economic harm” and said the public has an interest in the state’s laws and rules being upheld… “Another company that has proposed a similar pipeline, Navigator CO2 Ventures, sued four sets of landowners in August, also to gain access to their properties for surveys. Navigator also sought temporary injunctions, but a judge recently ruled against the company in one of the cases because, in essence, the temporary injunction sought the same outcome as the permanent injunction… “Court filings show the trials for the Navigator lawsuits will likely begin in January or February and that the company will abandon its requests for temporary injunctions against the other landowners.”
The Gazette: Johnson County no longer on the Wolf CO2 pipeline route
Erin Jordan, 1019/22
“A pipeline proposed to transport carbon dioxide from ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton no longer would go through Johnson County, developers reported,” according to The Gazette. “...Absent from the list is Johnson County, which had been included in the first round of informational meetings. Wolf said in an Oct. 12 filing with the utilities board the pipeline no longer would go through the far northeast corner of Johnson County… “When Wolf in early July released its first map of the proposed pipeline that showed the route barely entering Johnson County, County Supervisor Jon Green tweeted, “Like hell it will.” Green told the Gazette he was pleased the Wolf project now will stop short of Johnson County. “I’m glad Wolf has decided to take its dog and pony show elsewhere, but I’m just as concerned for the folks in Linn County and Cedar County,” Green told the Gazette. Green told the Gazette CO2 sequestration is too costly with too little evidence of working to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere… “Wolf officials said they do not want to use eminent domain to force landowners to grant easements and the company hasn’t used condemnation on past projects.”
Taylorville Daily News: Christian County Files Petition To Intervene With ICC For CO2 Pipeline
Leroy M Kleimola, 10/20/22
“A petition has been filed with the Illinois Commerce Commission for Christian County to intervene in the Navigator Heartland Greenway LLC pipeline and Carbon Dioxide Transportation and Sequestration Act or CO2 Act,” the Taylorville Daily News reports. “In the petition, Christian County, represented by Joseph Murray of Meyer Capel, Attorneys at Law, states that as the ones most impacted, they want the Commission to consider evidence of the proposed pipeline’s impact on the economy, infrastructure, and public safety presented by local government units that will be affected by the proposed pipeline route. The pipeline is set to run through Northern Christian County and could potentially cross many roads and other buildings. There is currently a moratorium on the pipeline being built as both Christian County and Navigator argue their cases for and against building the pipeline.”
Wayne Daily News: Commissioners Hear Emergency Manager Updates, More Information From Summit Carbon Solutions Project Brought Forward
Aaron Scheffler, 10/18/22
“Emergency Management updates were brought forward along with an update on the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline during the regularly scheduled Wayne County Board of Commissioners meeting,” the Wayne Daily News reports. “...An annual training was held on September 26 in Norfolk hosted by the Nebraska Pipeline Association as Emergency Managers and weather service personnel also attended the National Weather Service Integrated Weather Team meeting on October 4… “Rob Latimer, a representative for Summit Carbon Solutions, provided a brief update to the board before answering their questions. Of the roughly 22 miles needed in Wayne County, 35% of the land has been acquired as the construction proposal is being set for August of next year. The group continues to obtain and educate landowners about the CO2 pipeline going through five different states. In Nebraska, 135 miles (roughly 43%) of the 318 miles for the project have also been obtained through voluntary easements. Summit Carbon Solutions will work better on their communications with non-county surveying being conducted and on private property as the Board of Commissioners would like to complete the Road Use agreement before digging up any county Right-of-Ways (ROWs).”
The Tyee: ‘It’s ludicrous’: Coastal GasLink pushes its pipeline under a Wet’suwet’en river while salmon are spawning
10/20/22
“Coastal GasLink is drilling under the Wedzin Kwa (Morice River) as spawning salmon lay their eggs throughout the river system,” The Tyee reports. “The work is being done during a period outside of the “least-risk window” for in-stream construction, according to reports filed with the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office. Put another way, Coastal GasLink is putting its pipeline under the river at the riskiest time for salmon. While laying the pipeline under Wedzin Kwa doesn’t include major construction directly in the river, the question of whether this work will impact the gravel beds where salmon lay their eggs remains unanswered by the company and provincial and federal regulators. Coastal GasLink has to drill to a depth of 11 metres under the river to complete the work. Mike Ridsdale, environmental assessment coordinator with the Office of the Wet’suwet’en, an administrative body that works on behalf of the Hereditary Chiefs, told the Tyee he was never satisfied with the company’s plans, which were approved by the B.C. government in 2014. “The lack of sufficient adequate baseline data in terms of fish populations and least-risk windows was out to lunch — they were terrible,” he told The Narwhal. “Right now, there’s eggs that are in the gravel. All that vibration, what’s that going to do to them? Are they going to develop correctly?”
Marcellus Drilling News: Leaderless PHMSA “Sneaks” New Pipeline Welding Standards into Rule
10/20/22
“We pointed out last week that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the agency charged with overseeing the safety of some 3.3 million miles of pipelines across the country, is currently leaderless,” according to Marcellus Drilling News. “However, being leaderless (at the top) doesn’t mean the bureaucrats in the bowels of the organization are not still active and making trouble. Far from it. PHMSA is considering a new welding performance standard that would be a “significant upgrade” over the current standard, and that likely will require additional investment from industry.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: FERC meeting: Glick warning, ‘self-dealing’ and pipeline win
Miranda Willson, 10/21/22
“Consumers are going to “suffer” this winter as energy costs continue to climb, the head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said Thursday,” E&E News reports. “...The commission voted unanimously to approve the Henderson County Expansion Project, a proposal from Texas Gas Transmission LLC that includes a new 23.5-mile-long pipeline. The pipeline project will supply natural gas to CenterPoint Energy’s planned new gas power plant in southern Indiana, which the utility is developing as a replacement for a coal plant. Opponents of the pipeline have argued that CenterPoint’s new natural gas plant was excessively expensive and unnecessary, making the pipeline unnecessary as well. But the utility said the gas power plant — and the pipeline by extension — would “complement” its growing fleet of renewable energy resources. While the commission approved the pipeline, Republican Commissioner James Danly criticized the agency’s handling of pipeline permits under Glick’s leadership. Danly said there have been “significant delays” in the processing of applications for natural gas pipelines and gas export terminals, making it more difficult for companies to pursue their projects and ultimately increasing energy prices. “In some cases, [delays are] driven by what I view to be as unnecessary gilding the lily for environmental reviews. In some cases, it’s unprecedented procedure being applied,” Danly said. Glick rejected that characterization, arguing that the commission must conduct thorough analyses of new projects to ensure that decisions withstand legal challenges. There is also no evidence showing that insufficient pipelines have led to higher energy prices in most areas of the country, he added. “I like to do things the right way and do it right the first time,” Glick said of pipeline reviews. The commission also issued two orders clarifying how it determines whether two energy companies are affiliated with each other, a step Glick said could help protect consumers from potential self-dealing. Specifically, the orders asserted that if energy companies regulated by FERC appoint individuals to their boards who are members of other companies, then both companies are deemed to be affiliates of each other. The orders intend to provide more clarity for industry on the issue, Glick said. “If you have affiliates engaging in self-dealing, and we have no way of knowing it or seeing it because we don’t consider [the] two entities as affiliates, we’re not going to be able to protect consumers adequately enough,” he said.
Bloomberg: Common Ground Elusive As Manchin Permitting Bill Awaits Action
10/20/22
“Democrats and Republicans are far apart on overhauling federal permitting, leaving little common ground if and when lawmakers take another stab at moving Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) stalled bill, observers say,” Bloomberg reports. “But that disparity may not matter if the bill hitches a ride on a must-pass vehicle such as the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act or a year-end omnibus spending bill… “The only remaining pieces of the Manchin bill with broad support are standard good-government measures, like an expanded role for the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council, Byron Brown, the EPA’s former associate deputy general counsel under the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, told Bloomberg… “The climate-and-tax bill goes some way toward that goal, delivering about $1 billion to a range of agencies—including the Environmental Protection Agency and departments of Interior, Energy, Agriculture, and Transportation—to hire more permitting staff, develop programmatic environmental documents, and buy new equipment for environmental analysis. That funding helps, but what’s needed now is more public involvement in the permitting process to avoid delay due to opposition and build community buy-in, Stephen Schima, senior legislative counsel at Earthjustice, told Bloomberg… “Manchin’s bill could still pass in a lame-duck session if attached to must-pass legislation. But the November midterms will dictate both party’s appetite for permitting changes. If Republicans win back both chambers, a permitting overhaul before the 118th Congress is highly unlikely… “I think the two sides are far apart,” McDonald Bloomberg. “It doesn’t seem like they have a lot of common ground.”
InsideEPA: Environmentalists Push To Subject Agencies’ Permit Applications To NEPA
10/19/22
“A Guam community group is asking a federal appellate court to reinstate its challenge to a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permit for the Air Force to conduct open burn/open detonation (OB/OD) of waste explosives on the territory, in an effort to subject federal agencies to environmental review mandates when they seek such permits,” InsideEPA reports. “Earthjustice, on behalf of Prutehi Litekyan: Save Ritidian, a Guam-based group, filed an Oct. 18 notice of appeal informing the federal district court in Guam that it planned to ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to review its decision dismissing the suit. Earthjustice, which is representing the plaintiffs, argues that the district court improperly exempted the Air Force from conducting a National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) review in its application for the RCRA permit. ‘The District Court’s decision is inconsistent with how NEPA has been implemented for decades . . .. If allowed to stand, the District Court’s decision would send a dangerous message to federal agencies, giving them the green light to ignore NEPA whenever they need a permit to conduct harmful activities,’ Earthjustice says in an Oct. 17 statement. At issue in the case Prutehi Litekyan: Save Ritidian v. U.S. Department of the Air Force is a pending 2021 RCRA permit application from Andersen Air Force Base (AFB) in Guam, which first received a Hazardous Waste Management Facility Permit for its OB/OD operations at its base on Tarague Beach in Northern Guam in 1982.”
STATE UPDATES
Ohio Capital Journal: Alleging continual pollution, advocates ask U.S. EPA to take over Ohio injection well permitting
DAVID DEWITT, 10/19/22
“Appalachian Ohio is a primary dumping ground for natural gas fracking waste. Nearly half of it is coming from neighboring states. A battle is underway to try to strip the Ohio Department of Natural Resources from its hold on the permitting process for these injection wells,” the Ohio Capital Journal reports. “A coalition of environmental activists and community groups in Southeastern Ohio are calling on the U.S. EPA to take over oil and gas waste injection well permitting from the ODNR, pointing to the millions of barrels of fracking waste being injected into Ohio ground, and continual pollution incidents. “Ohio’s Class II well program contains numerous technical deficiencies that have allowed for underregulated oil and gas waste disposal which has resulted in serious consequences to human health and the environment,” attorneys from EarthJustice, the Sierra Club of Ohio, and various community groups say in their petition to the EPA asking them to begin the rulemaking process to revoke Ohio’s primacy over its Class II program “due to the longstanding and systemic failures.” “...For comparison, Ohio has 45 times the number of active Class II wells of New York, 15 times that of Pennsylvania, and 3.5 times that of West Virginia, the petition noted, pointing to figures from respective state sources… “The petition claims that toxic and radioactive organic and inorganic compounds are found in fracking injection waste, though the exact mixtures of oil and gas brine used by companies for fracking is generally protected by the industry as trade secrets. The petition also pointed to evidence from the group Physicians for Social Responsibility that per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been used in the hydraulic fracturing process in oil and gas wells in Ohio, and as a result oil and gas waste in Ohio could contain PFAS chemicals. These are known as “forever chemicals,” and are widely used, long lasting chemicals found in water, air, fish, and soil at locations across the nation and the globe… “The group is alleging that ODNR has failed to prevent underground injection that endangers drinking water sources and fails to comply with the requirements of the national Safe Drinking Water Act.”
EXTRACTION
Canadian Press: Environmental groups call on feds to not 'water down' oil and gas emissions cap
Amanda Stephenson, 10/20/22
“As environmental groups urge the federal government to move quickly with an aggressive cap on emissions from the country's oil and gas sector, the industry itself says such a move could actually slow down the sector's own decarbonization efforts,” the Canadian Press reports. “With world leaders preparing to head to Egypt next month for the 27th United Nations climate conference, environmentalists say now is the time for the Trudeau government to announce the specific targets it plans to impose on the oil and gas sector in order to ensure Canada meets its climate commitments. "We know that time is of the essence with this policy," said Aly Hyder Ali of Environmental Defence, during a virtual news conference Thursday organized by Climate Action Network. "We are seeing the oil and gas industry and its lobbyists hard at work to weaken and delay this policy before it is even implemented." “...Some environmentalists say the oil and gas sector — which is the country's largest producer of greenhouse gases, producing 26 per cent of total emissions — should be pushed to reduce its emissions by a whopping 60 per cent by 2030, in order to keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius and ensure the burden of decarbonization is spread equally among different sectors. For its own part, the federal government has previously stated it believes Canada's oilpatch is capable of reducing emissions by 31 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, or 42 per cent below 2019 levels. That would bring total emissions from the sector — including production, refining and transportation via pipelines — to 110 million tonnes per year by 2030, down from 191 million tonnes in 2019. They haven't been that low in more than three decades. Oilsands industry leaders have suggested meeting such an ambitious target in a relatively short time frame is likely unachievable. Instead, they have set their own targets through the Pathways Alliance, pledging to reduce oilsands production emissions by 22 million tonnes by 2030. That would represent an approximate 30 per cent reduction from current levels.” “...Some climate advocates say the oil and gas industry is relying too heavily on carbon capture and storage as the main lever for reducing industry emissions. They say the industry needs to be moving quickly on shorter-term solutions, such as methane reduction.”
Offshore Technology: ExxonMobil to offload US refinery to Par Pacific for $310m
10/20/22
“ExxonMobil and its affiliates have agreed to sell the Billings refinery and associated marketing and logistics assets in the US to Par Pacific Holdings in a deal worth $310m,” Offshore Technology reports. “The sale also includes a 65% stake in an adjacent cogeneration facility and an expansive PADD IV and V marketing and logistics network. Exxon’s logistics assets considered for sale include the wholly owned 55,000 barrels per day (bpd) Silvertip Pipeline, a 40% stake in the 65,000bpd Yellowstone refined products pipeline, and seven refined product terminals. Par Pacific president and CEO William Pate said: “This acquisition will significantly enhance our scale and geographic diversification and underpins our focus on pursuing strategic growth initiatives… “Exxon has also been offloading oil-producing assets to boost returns. ExxonMobil Product Solutions president Karen McKee said: “ExxonMobil is focused on investing in facilities where we can manufacture higher-value products such as lubricants and chemicals.”
Bloomberg: Ted Danson Wants Less Offshore Oil Drilling and More Fish in the Sea
10/21/22
“Actor Ted Danson is best known for his work in TV shows like Cheers, The Good Place and CSI. But Danson has also been an environmental advocate for decades; he sits on the board of Oceana, a global ocean-conservation group,” Bloomberg reports. “He sat down with Bloomberg to explain why he’s passionate about protecting marine life before resuming his annual role as host of Oceana’s SeaChange Summer Party on October 22 in Laguna Beach, California. — As told to Leslie Kaufman: I grew up in Tucson, Arizona, but we would visit my cousins in Pasadena and then drive down to Laguna or La Jolla del Mar and rent a little summer cottage. Coming from the desert to the ocean — I was four or five at time — I fell in love with the ocean, even back then.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Gwich’in Steering Committee: Three New Insurers Confirm Policy to Not Underwrite Oil & Gas Development in the Arctic
10/20/22
“Two Bermuda-based insurance companies, ARGO Group and Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited, a privately owned insurer, and Japanese insurer Tokio Marine Holdings, made commitments in recent weeks that none of the companies will insure new oil and gas development projects in the Arctic, including the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,” according to the Gwich’in Steering Committee. “Argo Group confirmed via email to the Gwich’in Steering Committee and allies that “providing insurance for any Oil and Gas drilling in the Arctic circle, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, its construction, contractors, infrastructure or operation is not within our current risk appetite. Therefore, we have not and do not intend to provide insurance services associated with such projects.” Fidelis made a public statement that extends its ESG underwriting guidelines and sustainability commitments to cover a range of industries and issues relating to insurance, specifically oil and gas development in the Arctic… “With the addition of Argo, Fidelis and Tokio Marine there are now 17 international insurance companies with commitments to refuse insurance for new oil and gas projects in the Refuge. These additions signal a rapid shift within the industry: just one year ago, the Gwich’in Steering Committee and allies released a scorecard rating insurance policies that protected the Arctic Refuge. At that time, only 6 companies had policies in effect that would exclude Arctic drilling. “We welcome the Argo Group, Fidelis and Tokio Marine to the growing list of international insurance companies that have committed to protecting Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit, the Sacred Place Where Life Begins,” said Bernadette Demientieff, Executive Director of the Gwich’in Steering Committee. “It’s good to see companies recognize the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Arctic Alaska. It is critical for more companies to understand that drilling on our sacred land is bad for business. We will always stand united to protect the Porcupine Caribou Herd, the Arctic Refuge, and the Gwich’in way of life, which is all interconnected.”
LatinFinance: TC Energy, IEnova get credit for pipeline
Rodrigo Alonso Cruz, 10/21/22
“Infraestructura Marina del Golfo (IMG), a joint venture between Canada's TC Energy and Mexico's IEnova, has received a $1.56 billion credit line arranged by Citi and Scotiabank, sources confirmed to LatinFinance. “IMG, which won a 25-year contract to operate the Sur de Texas-Tuxpan natural gas pipeline in 2016, will use the five-year credit facility "to refinance existing shareholder loans," said a source close to the deal.”
Associated Press: Some risks too big: Insurers withdraw from fossil projects
FRANK JORDANS, 10/19/22
“Insurance companies that have long said they’ll cover anything, at the right price, are increasingly ruling out fossil fuel projects because of climate change — to cheers from environmental campaigners,” the Associated Press reports. “More than a dozen groups that track what policies insurers have on high-emissions activities say the industry is turning its back on oil, gas and coal. The alliance, Insure Our Future, said Wednesday that 62% of reinsurance companies — which help other insurers spread their risks — have plans to stop covering coal projects, while 38% are now excluding some oil and natural gas projects. In part, investors are demanding it. But insurers have also begun to make the link between fossil fuel infrastructure, such as mines and pipelines, and the impact that greenhouse gas emissions are having on other parts of their business. “Like banks, insurers can leverage access to their services as an incentive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or exposure to the physical risks of climate change,” Jason Thistlethwaite, an expert on the economic impacts of extreme weather at the University of Waterloo, Canada, told AP. “It’s the same idea as an insurance company raising your property insurance rates because you engage in risky behavior, like drunk driving,” he added. “But in this case, it’s the fossil fuel sector that’s engaging in risky behavior by contributing to climate change.” “...Insure Our Future said its annual scorecard of 30 companies ranked Allianz, AXA and Axis Capital best for their coal exit policies, while Aviva, Hannover Re and Munich Re came out on top for oil and natural gas. By contrast, some insurers such as Berkshire Hathaway, Starr and Everest Re have adopted few or no restrictions coal, oil or gas projects, it said. The alliance also criticized Lloyd’s of London for announcing plans for ending coal coverage two years ago but then declaring it optional.”
Insurance Business Magazine: Insurers' ESG frameworks will trickle through the supply chain
Bethan Moorcraft, 10/20/22
“Managing and mitigating the impacts of climate change requires “an orderly, but urgent transition” away from carbon-emitting fuels, according to Lloyd’s,” Insurance Business Magazine reports. “The world’s oldest insurance marketplace has committed to transition its operational emissions as a corporation to net zero by 2025; and the investments from its £3 billion Central Fund to net zero by 2050. Lloyd’s is also seeking to lead the market to a more sustainable future, and has committed to working with managing agents on their own environmental, social, and governance (ESG) plans to achieve an overall net zero underwriting position for the entire Lloyd’s market by 2050. In 2021, Lloyd’s issued comprehensive market guidance, covering both underwriters and investment to help managing agents in forming these plans. Ontario-based managing general agent (MGA) Excess Underwriting, a Gallagher company, is one such Lloyd’s coverholder and broker that is now “looking at risks a bit differently” due to the market’s ESG framework, George Longo (pictured), the MGA’s president, told IBM. “Right now, it’s still simply a framework. Everybody’s learning about ESG and evolving as new policies and guidance are published,” Longo told IBM. “The Lloyd’s market has committed to achieving net zero by 2050, and as a coverholder in that supply chain, we’ll eventually have to establish our own ESG framework and structure. “What it’s causing us to do is look at risks differently, particularly around carbon emissions and risks that cause pollution to the environment. We’re going to follow the lead of our insurers or syndicates in London to see what they want to do, and then it’ll trickle down to us.”
Heated: The curious origins of the anti-ESG movement
Emily Atkin, 10/14/22
“A new trend is sweeping conservative America. It’s called the anti-ESG movement, or anti-”woke capitalism” movement, and it’s one of the biggest emerging barriers to corporate action on climate change,” Heated reports. “Anti-ESG proponents want to stop corporations from following environmentally and socially conscious investing principles, commonly referred to as Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) principles. They say companies are prioritizing “left-wing” goals over the financial interests of businesses and their employees, and should be prevented by law from doing so. This movement has gained a massive following in the last six months. Elon Musk supports it, as do billionaire investors Peter Thiel and Bill Ackman, who are are backing a new financial firm dedicated to anti-ESG investing. Banning “woke investing” is also one of the biggest recent priorities of Leonard A. Leo, the prominent conservative legal activist who runs one of the “best-funded and most sophisticated operations in American politics,” according to a New York Times investigation published Wednesday. In the past year, 17 states have proposed or adopted legislation seeking to bar state investments in “woke” companies. The anti-ESG movement frames itself as a strictly financial enterprise. Its proponents insist it’s not a political movement. They’re simply trying to get politics out of the financial system so people can make the most money as possible. But the anti-ESG movement is, at its core, a lobbying effort created by climate deniers to make money for fossil fuel companies. It did not originate with financial experts or economists, but with two prominent industry operatives who’ve spent decades spreading disinformation about the human health risks of fossil fuels and cigarettes.”
Wall Street Journal: How a New Anti-Woke Bank Stumbled
Rachel Louise Ensign, Peter Rudegeair and AnnaMaria Andriotis, 10/10/22
“An A-list group of financial backers including Ken Griffin and Peter Thiel gave Toby Neugebauer tens of millions of dollars to build a new kind of bank—one aimed at people who see Wall Street as too liberal,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The potential customer base was huge, Mr. Neugebauer and his business partner, former Mike Pence chief of staff Nick Ayers, told the investors. Plumbers, electricians and police officers, the pitch went, are fed up with big banks that don’t share their values.”
CBC: Why environmentalists went after Canada's biggest bank for alleged greenwashing
Jaela Bernstien, 10/16/22
“Standing in the rain in downtown Montreal, Kukpi7 (Chief) Judy Wilson lifts her fist in defiance outside a branch of the Royal Bank of Canada. Wilson's gesture goes largely unnoticed by the shoppers who hurry past, but her efforts to hold banks accountable on financing fossil fuels have certainly caught the attention of Canadian regulators,” CBC reports. ”Wilson, based in south central British Columbia, is the chief of the Skat'sin te Secwepemc-Neskonlith Indian Band and the secretary-treasurer for the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC). She's also one of six applicants who filed a complaint to Canada's Competition Bureau, accusing RBC of greenwashing — something that prompted the regulator to open an inquiry into whether Canada's biggest bank misled customers about its climate action. "It's time to be truthful," said Wilson, who spoke with CBC News while in Montreal for a meeting. "[Climate change] is real, it's here and we have to deal with it." The allegations, filed with the help of environmental law non-profit Ecojustice, suggest the bank has been marketing itself as being aligned with the climate goals of the Paris Agreement, all while continuing to finance the fossil fuel industry. It's not the first time RBC has been called out over its support of the oil and gas sector. A separate report published this year by a group of environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club and the Indigenous Environmental Network, ranked RBC fifth globally among major banks financing the fossil fuel industry. But in marketing materials, RBC states that it is "fully committed" to supporting drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. "The claims and RBC's actual action don't stack up," Matt Hulse, the Ecojustice lawyer who helped draft and file the complaint to the Competition Bureau, told CBC.”
OPINION
The Energy Mix: Carbon Capture + Spin
Mitchell Beer, 10/20/22
“After a half-century of research and development, carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects are far more likely to fail than to succeed, and nearly three-quarters of the carbon dioxide they manage to capture each year is sold off to fossil companies and used to extract more oil, according to a sweeping industry assessment released in September by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA),” Mitchell Beer writes for The Energy Mix. “The report landed just as analysts in the United States were warning of major verification problems with a CCS tax credit that received a boost in the Biden administration’s new climate action plan, and as Canadian fossils lobby for more tax relief to match what’s becoming available in the US… “CCS technology has been going for 50 years and many projects have failed and continued to fail, with only a handful working,” report co-author Bruce Robertson, a veteran investment analyst and fund manager now serving as IEEFA’s energy finance analyst for gas and LNG, told the Mix. The report, co-authored by energy analyst Milad Mousavian, concludes that seven of the 13 projects underperformed, two failed outright, and one was mothballed… “The other “elephant in the room”, IEEFA says, is that CCS attached to a fossil gas project only applies to the carbon pollution released while a field is in production. It does nothing to reduce the 80% or more of total emissions that occur when the product reaches its final customer and is burned. That means it makes no sense to declare a carbon capture project attached to a new gas project climate-friendly… “But neither the shaky nature of the technology nor the growing controversy south of the border is stopping Canadian fossils from demanding more generous taxpayer backing for their own CCS ventures.”
Los Angeles Times: Editorial: Oil drillers want to overturn California’s new health protections. Don’t let them
BY THE TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD, 10/20/22
“You might soon be approached outside your grocery store by signature gatherers urging you to sign a petition about lowering gas prices or stopping a so-called “energy shutdown.” Here’s what it’s really about, and why Californians shouldn’t sign it,” the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board writes. “Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1137, which bans new oil and gas wells within 3,200 feet of homes and schools to protect public health and safety. The oil industry failed to defeat the buffer-zone bill in the Legislature — as it had in the past — so a few days later it filed a petition to put a referendum on the 2024 ballot to overturn the law. The effort is being led by the California Independent Petroleum Assn., an industry lobbying group that says it has raised $8 million and this week began dispatching paid signature gatherers who are presenting the referendum as an opportunity to lower gas prices. But voters should see past that misleading messaging. This is an attempt by oil drillers to keep harmful and polluting operations in California neighborhoods. It is an attack on our health and safety that should be soundly rejected. It’s not surprising that powerful interests that lobbied against these protections are now trying to block them from taking effect. The law finally put restrictions on neighborhood oil drilling that for decades has been allowed to operate in a Wild West-like atmosphere that allows oil extraction practically anywhere, even right next to schools, parks and homes… “There are few details yet on who is supporting the referendum, but the committee backing it, called Stop the Energy Shutdown, has received one contribution that has been publicly disclosed, for $1.15 million, from Macpherson Oil Co. A spokesman for the Western States Petroleum Assn., the industry’s most influential lobbying group, said it is not involved. State Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), who authored SB 1137, said the referendum is just one piece of an industry campaign of intimidation and misinformation about what the new law would do. “It’s just sort of the DNA of a lot of these industries and interests that they are going to use money and power and greed to overturn good legislation,” she told the Times… “Neighborhood drilling is unhealthy and should have stopped long ago. Californians should reject the industry’s push to make an end run around the new law by keeping the referendum off the ballot.”
The New Republic: Princeton Will Stop Taking Oil Money. Now the Pressure Is on Harvard, MIT, and Columbia.
Ilana Cohen is a lead coordinator of Fossil Free Research and Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard, Michael E. Mann is a presidential distinguished professor of earth and environmental science at the University of Pennsylvania, 10/12/22
“Even after over a decade of campaigning urging universities to “divest” their endowment funds from fossil fuels, surprisingly little is known about just how much fossil fuel money flows to the nation’s top research institutions,” Ilana Cohen and Michael E. Mann write for The New Republic. “Oil and gas giants including Chevron, Shell, Eni, Equinor, and ConocoPhillips fund premier climate and energy research initiatives at Harvard, MIT, and Columbia—where even the Climate School takes fossil fuel money. Right now, at Stanford, community members are rightly in uproar over the dean of the Doerr School of Sustainability deciding to accept fossil fuel money. Meanwhile, Princeton has maintained a long-standing research partnership with notorious climate denial and delay purveyor ExxonMobil and hosts a Carbon Mitigation Initiative sponsored by oil and gas giant BP. While more than 20 universities in the past year have pledged to stop investing their funds in fossil fuel stocks, getting them to stop taking donations has been a harder sell. But on September 29, students and academics around the world won a historic victory when Princeton University committed not just to divest but also to disassociate from 90 fossil fuel companies, including the university’s long-standing research partners and world-infamous climate delay and denial giant ExxonMobil. This represents the first pledge among higher education institutions to restrict fossil fuel industry money for climate research—the first formal recognition that partnering with the companies driving climate breakdown to identify climate solutions is, in fact, an obvious conflict of interest. And coming amid a wave of Fossil Free Research activism, it reflects the growing power of student and academic campaigners seeking to free our institutions from undue and dangerous industry influence… “As a climate scientist and student activist, we want to see our institutions become exemplars in fighting climate change and advancing a new ethics of research rooted in the public interest. The alternative is that they disgrace themselves defending the companies responsible for millions of deaths and unprecedented planetary harm.”