EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 10/26/21
PIPELINE NEWS
Canadian Press: Line 5 dispute ‘directly and significantly’ impacting Canada U.S. relations: Enbridge
Facebook: Gidimt'en Checkpoint [VIDEO]: Our powerful neighbours/relatives have been blocked by CGL from accessing their territory
WDBJ: Pipeline protesters face judge in Montgomery County
The Hill: Court nixes Trump rule limiting state authority to block pipelines
E&E News: Court strikes down Trump EPA water permitting rule
Roanoke Times: Franklin County landowners settle lawsuit against Mountain Valley Pipeline
Globe Gazette: Eminent domain a looming question with proposed carbon capture pipelines
Mlive.com: FBI joins investigation into Line 5 tampering that led to shutdown
Brooklyn Eagle: EPA to investigate state’s approval of North Brooklyn gas pipeline
Press release: TC Energy releases 2021 Report on Sustainability and GHG Emissions Reduction Plan
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Reuters: Democrats likely to ditch U.S. methane fee amid opposition, sources say
New York Times: U.S. Warns Climate Poses ‘Emerging Threat’ to Financial System
KDLL: Feds file environmental review for Cook Inlet lease sale
STATE UPDATES
Reuters: Rocky Mountain high: U.S. looks to Colorado for methane emissions policy
InsideClimate News: Unchecked Oil and Gas Wastewater Threatens California Groundwater
Williston Herald: Oil and Gas Division proposes using some ARPA funds to map out pre-permitted carbon dioxide corridors
EXTRACTION
CBC: Alton Gas project cancelled after years of opposition
E&E News: The Kemper project just collapsed. What it signifies for CCS
Bloomberg: Aramco Warns World’s Spare Oil Supplies Are Falling Rapidly
Politico Morning Energy: SAUDI'S ZERO PROMISE
Bloomberg: China Targets More Than 80% Non-Fossil Energy Use by 2060
InsideClimate News: Total Accused of Campaign to Play Down Climate Risk From Fossil Fuels
RESEARCH & SCIENCE
Washington Post: Natural gas leaks in Boston are vastly underreported — and could be coming from inside homes, study says
CLIMATE FINANCE
Press release: Invest-Divest 2021: A Decade of Progress Towards a Just Climate Future
Reuters: BlackRock creates biggest climate exchange-traded fund range
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Sault Online: Enbridge Gas helps Fire Services through Safe Community Project Zero
OPINION
Common Dreams: A Tale of Two Damages: Double Standard for Jessica Reznicek and Energy Transfer Partners
CBC: $3.5-million provincial inquiry into 'anti-Alberta' activities struggles to find a bad guy
DeSmog: Ahead of COP26, Top Biden Appointees Pushing Natural Gas Are Undermining His Climate Credibility
The Mining Gazette: Protest exposes Line 5 security risk
Colorado Sun: Opinion: It’s too easy and cheap for drillers to lease and pollute Colorado’s federal land
CBC: It is time for a just transition off fossil fuels. This is what it could look like
PIPELINE NEWS
Canadian Press: Line 5 dispute ‘directly and significantly’ impacting Canada U.S. relations: Enbridge
10/25/21
“Michigan’s efforts to shut down Enbridge Inc.’s Line 5 cross-border pipeline have “directly and significantly” impacted the relationship between Canada and the United States, the company argues in new court documents,” the Canadian Press reports. “Lawyers for Enbridge have asked for leave to file a supplemental brief that suggests the company is leaning heavily on the argument that the dispute over Line 5 is now an international incident and a matter for federal court. The brief, a copy of which was entered last Thursday as an exhibit in U.S. District Court in Michigan, points to a number of lower-court precedents in which a plaintiff’s claims had a direct bearing on U.S. foreign relations… “The latest documents come after District Court Judge Janet Neff rejected a batch of letters to the court, including one from lawyer Gordon Giffin, a former U.S. ambassador to Canada who is representing the federal government. The various letters laid out the bulk of the arguments being made in the latest briefs, but were in violation of court rules that prohibit the submission of briefs “in the form of a letter to the judge,” Neff ruled.
Facebook: Gidimt'en Checkpoint [VIDEO]: Our powerful neighbours/relatives have been blocked by CGL from accessing their territory
10/25/21
“Our powerful neighbours/relatives have been blocked by CGL from accessing their territory! At the same time CGL has blocked in their own employees. Likhts'amisyu and Gitxsan Chiefs and supporters have set up camp. Please go to their website and support, share and amplify their posts! They have their own Twitter and IG pages as well as a website to get your information directly from those taking action! Please see their website at https://likhtsamisyu.com.”
WDBJ: Pipeline protesters face judge in Montgomery County
Joe Dashiell, 10/25/21
“Opponents of the Mountain Valley Pipeline who were arrested during a protest in August were in court Monday,” WDBJ reports. “Ten defendants were convicted of misdemeanors and fined, but they won’t be spending time in jail. In their agreement with prosecutors, each of the defendants was found guilty of a single misdemeanor, obstructing free passage of others. “I’m disappointed that the governments that are supposed to protect us are instead punishing us,” Peatmoss Ellis, one of the defendants, told WDBJ. “We’re here today out of love and concern for the future and the future generations to come.” They were charged during an August 9 protest on Cove Hollow Road, an action that blocked pipeline construction crews for several hours. Their civil disobedience, they said, was an act of conscience fueled by their concern about climate change… “Each of the ten defendants received a suspended jail sentence and a fine of $150. They are prohibited from going on MVP property or easements for 12 months, and the judge ordered them to stay out of Montgomery County for a year.”
The Hill: Court nixes Trump rule limiting state authority to block pipelines
BY RACHEL FRAZIN, 10/22/21
“A federal court on Thursday nixed a Trump-era rule that limited state and tribal authority to block projects that could impact their waters, including pipelines,” The Hill reports. “California Federal Judge William Alsup vacated the rule and sent it back to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for further proceedings… “The now-vacated rule had limited states’ authorities to block projects by giving them a strict one-year time limit to do so before the federal government could decide a state had waived its veto power. It also limited the scope of state-required approvals to only those that will impact water quality. It excluded other considerations such as air quality or “energy policy.” “...But, the court’s new order signifies a return to the pre-Trump rules until the EPA completes a new rule, expected in Spring 2023.”
E&E News: Court strikes down Trump EPA water permitting rule
By Jeremy P. Jacobs, 10/25/21
“A federal judge on Friday struck down a Trump-era regulation that limited the ability of states and Native American tribes to regulate water pollution,” E&E News reports. “For nearly half a century, EPA had largely given states and tribes the authority to review and certify Clean Water Act permits for federally approved projects like dams and pipelines that discharge pollution within their boundaries. The Trump administration contended that the provision hamstrung energy development and last year issued a new rule that shortened the timeline for states’ and tribes’ review and barred them from considering conditions like climate change that are not directly related to water quality. In his Friday ruling, Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California struck down the Trump EPA’s approach, saying that it runs counter to Supreme Court precedent and that the agency provided little justification for the change.”
Roanoke Times: Franklin County landowners settle lawsuit against Mountain Valley Pipeline
Laurence Hammack, 10/25/21
“Six Franklin County landowners whose property was swamped by muddy runoff from the Mountain Valley Pipeline three years ago have settled their lawsuit against the company,” the Roanoke Times reports. “Terms of the settlement were not disclosed in a brief order filed in Roanoke’s federal court. Brought in May 2018, the lawsuit sought damages for three couples who live a short distance from Cahas Mountain Road, which was buried in about eight inches of mud that washed from a construction site during heavy rains. The runoff continued downhill to land owned by Wendell and Mary Flora, leaving a blanket of sediment and muddy water that covered hayfields and made its way into nearly streams, the lawsuit alleged… “The lawsuit accused Mountain Valley of creating a nuisance, damaging property that it had not acquired through eminent domain and trespassing by virtue of the soil, water and mud that it allowed to invade its neighbors’ land. Total damages exceeded $9,000 and were likely to increase with future rains, according to documents filed at the time by Isak Howell, an attorney for the nonprofit law firm of Appalachian Mountain Advocates.” “...A permit that would allow the pipeline to cross the remaining streams and wetlands in its path is under consideration by state and federal regulators. The approval must be granted before Mountain Valley can meet its goal of finishing the project next summer and beginning to transport about 2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to markets along the East Coast.”
Globe Gazette: Eminent domain a looming question with proposed carbon capture pipelines
Zachary Dupont, 10/24/21
“Summit Carbon Solutions has begun work on obtaining easements in North Iowa for its proposed Midwest Carbon Express pipeline, but what options do landowners who don't want to participate have if the project proceeds?” the Globe Gazette reports. “This is one concern raised by Paul Gogerty, a landowner from Osage who has land in Hardin County that would be impacted by the pipeline. Gogerty expressed concerns regarding Summit Carbon's potential use of eminent domain, which would allow the company to build the pipeline on land, potentially without consent from the landowner… “Gogerty, who admits he's generally in favor of the project, has become worried that landowners won't have any say in discussions over the pipeline. "To me it is a bit of an overreach to grant that type of power to one group of private individuals at the expense of the landowner," Gogerty told the Gazette. "What it does is it takes the landowner's ability to walk away from the deal; if you want to walk away, you can't." Another concern raised by Gogerty is the potential unfair playing field having eminent domain gives Summit Carbon during the easement negotiation process. Gogerty notes that if Summit Carbon is granted the right to use eminent domain, they will have an unfair advantage during easement price negotiations as they will be able to acquire the land regardless of what the landowner wants. "In my mind, it drastically distorts the free market for the price of those easements for those who choose to go into it," Gogerty told the Gazette. "With the use of eminent domain the seller is at a huge disadvantage to the buyer ... It's an uneven playing field." “...Harris told the Gazette that he anticipates Summit Carbon will file for its pipeline permit through the Iowa Utilities Board "in the near future." Summit Carbon has already begun discussions with landowners over easements and surveying in Cerro Gordo, Wright, Franklin and Floyd counties, among others.”
Mlive.com: FBI joins investigation into Line 5 tampering that led to shutdown
Sheri McWhirter, 10/22/21
“Authorities confirmed Friday the FBI joined an investigation into a Line 5 tampering incident involving protestors in Tuscola County that shut down the controversial pipeline Tuesday,” Mlive.com reports. “Federal investigators will assist the local sheriff’s team to track down participants in the livestreamed trespassing incident. No arrests have yet been made in the probe. “Detectives are investigating and attempting to locate those who were involved. Basically, nobody was at the scene when officers arrived,” Undersheriff Robert Baxter from Tuscola County told Mlive. Environmental activist group Detroit Will Breathe on Tuesday staged a protest at a valve site along the Line 5 pipeline route near Vassar, where an unidentified and masked person crawled under a security fence and used a pipe wrench to crank closed a safety valve. The group called both 911 and Enbridge before trying to shut down the pipeline. Lillian Ellis, 28, of Highland Park, a nonbinary transgender person who goes by peatmoss, took part in the Tuesday demonstration and told Mlive the protestors would prefer FBI investigators spend their time and resources looking into cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and children tied to pipelines in other states. “I’m not surprised. The role of the FBI is often to protect capital and capital interests,” peatmoss told Mlive, even when those assets are owned by Canadian companies like Enbridge. The protestors said they tried to interrupt the pipeline in solidarity with Indigenous communities that have for years called for the infrastructure to be shut down. Those calls were spurred by fossil fuels impacts on the climate crisis and a four-mile underwater segment that sits on the Great Lakes bottomlands through the Straits of Mackinac.”
Brooklyn Eagle: EPA to investigate state’s approval of North Brooklyn gas pipeline
10/25/21
“In the latest development in the saga of National Grid’s North Brooklyn Pipeline, which has been protested by neighborhood residents, environmentalists and some public officials for at least three years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to investigate the state Department of Environmental Conservations’ actions in approving the pipeline, according to a letter released Monday,” the Brooklyn Eagle reports. “The EPA’s action follows a federal civil rights complaint filed in August by Brownsville Green Justice, the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Coalition of Young Professionals, Mi Casa Resiste, and the Indigenous Kinship Collective alleging the pipeline discriminated against communities of color. The pipeline, formally known as the Metropolitan Natural Gas Reliability Project, would run through East Williamsburg, Bushwick, Bed-Stuy and nearby areas. Phases 1 through 4 are already completed. Opponents say the pipeline could be unsafe; would carry fracked gas; and would pose a health risk to those neighborhoods it runs through. The Greenpoint portion of the project has been halted after a lawsuit. The complaint filed in August alleges DEC was aware of National Grid’s violations during the construction of the pipeline, including failing to notify community members of the project and bypassing critical safety and health regulations. Despite these issues, the complaint said, DEC failed to conduct the appropriate environmental reviews and allowed the project to proceed.”
Press release: TC Energy releases 2021 Report on Sustainability and GHG Emissions Reduction Plan
10/26/21
“TC Energy Corporation announced today the release of its 2021 Report on Sustainability, ESG Data Sheet and GHG Emissions Reduction Plan… “The new GHG Emissions Reduction Plan provides additional transparency, sharing five key focus areas and a roadmap to achieve net zero by 2050. 2021 ESG target highlights: Announcing new targets to reduce GHG emissions intensity from our operations by 30 per cent by 2030 and position to achieve net zero emissions from our operations by 2050. Advancing our commitment to Indigenous peoples as part of the Reconciliation Action Plan with a focus on Indigenous representation and education; and Expanding our safety program to include advancements in targets for mental health and psychological health and safety.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Reuters: Democrats likely to ditch U.S. methane fee amid opposition, sources say
By Jarrett Renshaw, 10/25/21
“A Democratic proposal to impose a methane fee on U.S. oil and gas producers is not likely to be included in the party's massive spending bill in Congress amid opposition within its own ranks, two sources familiar with the negotiations said on Monday,” Reuters reports. “The proposal to tax oil and gas producers for methane emissions above a certain threshold faces opposition from U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, who represents natural gas-producing West Virginia, along with Democrats from oil-producer Texas, the sources said… “Under a plan approved by the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee in September, oil and natural gas producers would have to pay $1,500 for each metric ton of methane they emit above specific intensity thresholds.”
New York Times: U.S. Warns Climate Poses ‘Emerging Threat’ to Financial System
By Alan Rappeport and Christopher Flavelle, 10/25/21
“Climate change is an “emerging threat” to the stability of the U.S. financial system, top federal regulators warned in a report on Thursday, setting the stage for the Biden administration to take more aggressive regulatory action to prevent climate change from upending global markets and the economy,” the New York Times reports. “The report, produced by the Financial Stability Oversight Council, is the clearest expression of alarm to date about the risks that rising temperatures and seas pose to the economy and could herald sweeping changes to the kinds of investments made by banks and other financial institutions… “Higher temperatures are leading to more natural disasters, such as hurricanes, wildfires and floods. These, in turn, are resulting in damaged property, lost income and disruptions to business activity that threaten to alter how assets, such as real estate, are valued. At the same time, the move away from fossil fuels could cause a sudden drop in the price of stocks and other assets tied to oil, gas, coal and other energy companies, or sectors that rely on them such as carmakers and heavy manufacturing. Such a shift could hurt the stock market, retirement savings and other parts of the financial sector… “The council warned that low-income communities and people of color were disproportionately at risk from climate change because they lacked the resources to protect their properties and weather a loss of income. This dynamic threatens to exacerbate income inequality in the United States.”
KDLL: Feds file environmental review for Cook Inlet lease sale
Sabine Poux, 10/24/21
“The federal government has filed another draft environmental impact statement for a federal oil and gas lease sale in Cook Inlet and is asking for comments from the public,” KDLL reports. “It’s the second time in less than a year that the feds have put out an environmental review on a potential Cook Inlet sale, since the Biden administration halted the process leading up to the auction earlier this year. That pause was part of a larger executive order aimed at fighting climate change. The leasing process resumed this summer when a Louisiana district court judge ordered programs to resume in Cook Inlet and the Gulf of Mexico, following a lawsuit from Alaska and several other states… ‘The potential auction includes 224 blocks across one million acres in Cook Inlet, from the southern end of Kalgin Island down to Augustine Island. The department can still decide to cancel a lease sale after an environmental impact statement is filed. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which oversees the offshore leasing program, canceled sales in 2006, 2008 and 2010 in Cook Inlet due to lack of industry interest.”
STATE UPDATES
Reuters: Rocky Mountain high: U.S. looks to Colorado for methane emissions policy
By Valerie Volcovici and Nichola Groom, 10/24/21
“U.S. environmental regulators are expected to base new rules for controlling methane emissions from oil and gas operations on the nation-leading policies of a state that has been tamping down on the potent greenhouse gas for seven years - Colorado,” Reuters reports. “...While drillers from major producing states like Texas and North Dakota are bracing for a raft of new requirements, for companies in Colorado, stiffer government rules around methane emissions are business as usual. The state has both strong environmental ambitions and a large oil and gas industry. It first put state-level methane regulations into place in 2014, and has gradually expanded those requirements in efforts to cut methane emissions from the drilling sector by more than half of 2005 levels by 2030... "It's noteworthy that Colorado emissions have remained fairly stable despite an increase in oil and natural gas production," Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment spokesperson Andrew Bare told Reuters… “Some Colorado drillers have embraced the opportunity to market what they bill as lower-emitting natural gas to customers eager to tout their environmental credentials.”
InsideClimate News: Unchecked Oil and Gas Wastewater Threatens California Groundwater
Liza Gross, 10/24/21
“California has a reputation as a leader on climate and environmental policy. So it doesn’t advertise the fact that it allows the oil and gas industry to store wastewater produced during drilling and extraction in unlined pits in the ground, a practice that began in the early 1900s,” InsideClimate News reports. “Now, though, researchers have revealed the environmental costs of California’s failure to regulate how its $111 billion oil and gas industry manages the wastewater, known as produced water. Over a 50-year period, according to a study published in Environmental Science & Technology this month, oil and gas developers poured more than 16 billion barrels of produced water into unlined earthen disposal “ponds,” releasing high concentrations of contaminants into groundwater… “Oil companies primarily manage this wastewater by injecting it into the ground for disposal or to recover more oil. But discharging even a portion of that produced water into unlined pits, the scientists warned, provides a “direct pathway” for oil and gas contaminants to reach groundwater. “This paper confirms a lot of the findings of both the Central Valley Water Board and what advocacy organizations like Clean Water Action have been saying for a while,” Andrew Grinberg, special projects manager for Clean Water Action, who was not involved in the study, told ICN. “These pits do pollute, and they are degrading groundwater.” Allowing oil companies to dump their wastewater into unlined pits poses a long-term threat to the region’s water supply, Grinberg told ICN. “It’s good to see really good science backing up these claims.”
Williston Herald: Oil and Gas Division proposes using some ARPA funds to map out pre-permitted carbon dioxide corridors
Renée Jean, 10/25/21
“The race for carbon capture utilization and sequestration projects is on, and North Dakota has done much to be first out the gate,” the Williston Herald reports. “However, there is one crucial component it has missed — the creation of pre-permitted carbon dioxide corridors. Wyoming has already done this, and it’s a potential game changer in the space. North Dakota is at the forefront of CCUS and sees what Gov. Doug Burgum described as a “cascade” of $25 billion in potential CCUS projects. But there are fears the state could lose some of this business to Wyoming, which also has Class VI primacy, and has also created pre-permitted corridors to efficiently move carbon dioxide around the state. The situation has prompted a proposal from North Dakota’s Oil and Gas Division to use $1 million of the state’s $1.1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds to create carbon corridors of its own. That, combined with the regulatory framework North Dakota already has in place for CCUS projects, should keep it front and center for the best opportunities.”
EXTRACTION
CBC: Alton Gas project cancelled after years of opposition
Haley Ryan, 10/22/21
“After years of delays, court hearings and strong Mi'kmaw opposition, the Alton Gas project on the Shubenacadie River has been cancelled,” the CBC reports. “In a release Friday, Alton, a subsidiary of Calgary-based energy company AltaGas, said the project has received "mixed support, challenges and experienced delay." "...With the sale of the Nova Scotia utility, the repositioning of the business and the challenging nature of the storage project economics, AltaGas has decided not to continue with the development of Alton and to move forward with decommissioning the project," the statement said. Cheryl Maloney of the Sipekne'katik First Nation was one of the first Mi'kmaw leaders to protest the project out of environmental concerns. She organized a traffic slow-down back in 2014 to let Nova Scotians know what was happening. "I think they finally just tapped," Maloney told the CBC. "This is not a good project for Nova Scotia, it's not a good project for Nova Scotians...This was for the seven generations of everyone. You know, protecting the river isn't just seven generations of Mi'kmaq — it's seven generations of Nova Scotia that this work has been done for." “...Last March, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruled that the province had to resume consultations with Sipekne'katik over their environmental concerns before the Alton project could get underway. Justice Frank Edwards ruled Margaret Miller, the former Nova Scotia environment minister, was wrong when she concluded the province had adequately consulted with the First Nation about the project.”
E&E News: The Kemper project just collapsed. What it signifies for CCS
By Kristi E. Swartz, 10/26/21
“One of the nation’s largest symbols of carbon capture technology — the Kemper project — has collapsed into a pile of debris, highlighting the strategy of one of the nation’s largest utilities as it aims to decarbonize its fleet,” E&E News reports. “The project, which was half of a multimillion-dollar power plant in Mississippi intended to gasify lignite coal and store its captured carbon emissions, was imploded by Southern Co.’s Mississippi Power unit earlier this month because the equipment was no longer needed. The facility, Plant Ratcliffe, captured worldwide attention and was supposed to host the first commercial-scale carbon capture project on a large coal plant in the United States. But what was known as “Kemper” for most of its construction life stopped after delays and increased costs prompted Mississippi utility regulators to say in 2017 the facility could run on natural gas only.Southern suspended construction on the carbon capture portion of the power plant the following week… “Others have a different view of carbon capture, however. Authors of a report last week from the Carbon Tracker Initiative, a nonprofit think tank, said CCS was an unproven technology that investors and electricity companies should not gamble with as a reason to keep power plants running. CCS pilot studies have failed to demonstrate that the technology works at scale, the study’s authors argue, and electric companies should take advantage of cheaper energy options, such as renewables, instead, the group said.”
Bloomberg: Aramco Warns World’s Spare Oil Supplies Are Falling Rapidly
By Salma El Wardany and Matthew Martin, 10/26/21
“Saudi Aramco said oil-output capacity across the world is dropping quickly and companies need to invest more in production,” Bloomberg reports. “It’s a “huge concern,” Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser told Bloomberg in an interview in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital. “The spare capacity is shrinking.” His comments come with crude prices having soared 70% this year to around $85 a barrel. Many major consumers, including the U.S., Japan and India, have called on producers to pump more. The supply deficit in oil markets could worsen in 2022 if the coronavirus pandemic eases and more people fly, he said. “If there’s aviation pick up next year, that spare capacity will be depleted,” he told Bloomberg. “It’s now getting to a situation where there’s limited supply -- whatever is left that’s spare is declining rapidly.” Several oil and gas traders have criticized governments and climate activists for calling on companies to stop investing in fossil fuels, saying that will cause shortages of energy in the coming decade.”
Politico Morning Energy: SAUDI'S ZERO PROMISE
Matthew Choi, 10/25/21
“Saudi Arabia, the world’s number one oil exporter, is promising to reach net-zero emissions by 2060 — inside its borders,” Politico Morning Energy reports. “That of course would leave out emissions from crude and petroleum products it exports, which of course are its biggest contribution to climate change. And while the country has been working to beef up its clean energy deployment at home, the new pledge leans heavily on carbon capture and tree planting to offset its domestic emissions. The kingdom will also sign on to the Global Methane Pledge to reduce global methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030… “Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco, the country’s state-owned oil and gas company, is aiming to reach net-zero emissions in its operations by 2050… “And don't expect the Gulf oil titan is cutting back its production — Nasser said it was counterproductive to "demonise" hydrocarbons, Reuters reports, and he said Saudi Aramco was going to grow its production capacity.”
Bloomberg: China Targets More Than 80% Non-Fossil Energy Use by 2060
10/24/21
“China aims to have non-fossil energy consumption exceed 80% of its total mix by 2060, when the world’s second-biggest economy plans to be carbon neutral, according to guidelines published by the official Xinhua News Agency,” Bloomberg reports. “The measures are part of China’s larger plan for achieving peak carbon emissions and reaching net-zero by 2060, Xinhua said on Sunday. It reiterated the government’s climate goals for 2025 and 2030 and vowed to accelerate a decline in China’s coal use. The international community is waiting for China to make an updated commitment under the Paris Agreement as world leaders prepare for a high-stakes United Nations climate summit that starts on Oct. 31 in Glasgow, Scotland. As the world’s biggest polluter, China can do more than any other nation at this point to curb the rise in global temperatures.”
InsideClimate News: Total Accused of Campaign to Play Down Climate Risk From Fossil Fuels
Tom Wilson, 10/23/21
“The French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies was aware of the link between fossil fuels and rising global temperatures 50 years ago but worked with other oil majors to play down the risks for at least three decades, according to internal company documents and interviews with former executives,” InsideClimate News reports. “The research, published on Wednesday by three historians in the peer-reviewed Global Environmental Change journal, outlines alleged efforts by the French energy group to cast doubt over emerging climate science in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, while pushing back against emissions reduction and climate-related taxes. The study follows similar allegations made against other oil and gas majors in recent years, including ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell, some of whose scientists have also been shown to have identified the climate risks associated with fossil fuels decades ago. The revelations come at an awkward time for Total and the wider oil industry as it seeks to regain public trust and build support for new strategies focused on cleaner fuels… “These revelations provide proof that TotalEnergies and the other oil and gas majors have stolen the precious time of a generation to stem the climate crisis,” advocacy groups 350.org and Notre Affaire à Tous said in response to the report. The research shows that Total personnel received the first warnings about the potential for “catastrophic global warming from its products” by at least 1971.”
RESEARCH & SCIENCE
Washington Post: Natural gas leaks in Boston are vastly underreported — and could be coming from inside homes, study says
Tik Root, 10/25/21
“Six times more natural gas is leaking into the skies of Boston than is officially reported, new research shows,” Washington Post reports. “The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also suggests that gas could be escaping not only from distribution pipelines but from inside businesses and homes as well — a finding that some say may be overstated… “The study monitored natural gas methane emissions in the Boston area between 2012 and 2020. It found that an average of 49,000 tons of methane leaked into the air each year. That amounts to an estimated 2.5 percent of all gas delivered to the metro area and is equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions of roughly a quarter-million cars operating for a year. The scientists told the Post their estimated leak rate is six times higher than estimates based on the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection greenhouse gas inventory. They also found that despite efforts to plug methane leaks in Massachusetts during the study period, there was no significant decline in emissions.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Press release: Invest-Divest 2021: A Decade of Progress Towards a Just Climate Future
10/26/21
“Invest-Divest 2021: A Decade of Progress Towards a Just Climate Future reveals that now more than 1485 Institutions with assets over $39.2 trillion have committed to divest from fossil fuels - a figure that’s higher than the annual GDP of the United States and China combined. The report, which looks at the impact of the movement, makes the case that divestment has been successful at holding fossil fuel companies accountable for the true cost of their unregulated carbon pollution and chipping away at their political power. It reviews recent market data to prove that a divest-invest strategy is the most financially responsible path for institutional investors. The report and divestment movement also calls for continued pressure on pension funds, cities, universities, foundations, faith organizations, insurers and banks around the world. Namely: All institutional investors must make an immediate public commitment to fully divest from and stop all financing of coal, oil, and gas companies and assets. Institutions that have partially divested must now divest all of their assets from all fossil fuels… “All institutional investors must immediately move to invest a minimum of 5 percent of their assets in climate solutions, doubling to 10 percent by 2030, including investments in renewable energy systems, universal energy access, and a just transition for communities and workers.”
Reuters: BlackRock creates biggest climate exchange-traded fund range
By Simon Jessop, 10/26/21
“Asset manager BlackRock (BLK.N) said on Tuesday it had created the largest range of climate-aligned exchange-traded equity funds (EFT) after agreeing to tighter rules to govern six existing funds with $9 billion in assets,” Reuters reports. “...For the first time, Scope 3 emissions that cover the emissions produced by the use of a company's products, and not just those produced by the company itself, will be included. In addition to the CTB, BlackRock said tougher environmental filters would be applied when deciding what to include in the ETFs. It will widen an oil sands exclusion to include a broader array of unconventional oil and gas activities. The funds will exclude any company making 5% or more of its revenues from oil sands, shale gas, shale oil, coal-seam gas, coal-bed methane and Arctic onshore/offshore reserves. An "environmental harm" screen will also be applied from November 2022 to companies that have faced severe or very severe controversies relating to environmental issues, such as land use and biodiversity, toxic spills and water management, it said.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Sault Online: Enbridge Gas helps Fire Services through Safe Community Project Zero
10/25/21
“Today, Enbridge Gas, the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council and Sault Fire Services announced they are working to improve home safety and bring fire and carbon monoxide-related deaths down to zero,” Sault Online reports. “Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services received 282 combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms through Safe Community Project Zero–a public education campaign that will provide over 16,600 alarms to residents in 70 municipalities across Ontario.This year, Enbridge Gas invested $500,000 in Safe Community Project Zero, and over the past 13 years, the program has provided more than 68,000 alarms to Ontario fire departments.”
OPINION
Common Dreams: A Tale of Two Damages: Double Standard for Jessica Reznicek and Energy Transfer Partners
CHARLOTTE GRUBB, 10/25/21
“Jessica Reznicek was sentenced to eight years in federal prison, ordered to pay millions in fines and labeled a terrorist by the government for her actions of civil disobedience that damaged the equipment of the Dakota Access Pipeline,” Charlotte Grubb writes for Common Dreams. “The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) is owned by Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) a $54 billion dollar corporation that also co-owns the Bayou Bridge Pipeline. When ETP intentionally and illegally damaged the private property of hundreds of people in Louisiana, the company received no criminal consequences at all. Both actors damaged private property. Jessica Reznicek was labeled a domestic terrorist that is, “dangerous to human life.” Even after the courts deemed Bayou Bridge’s property destruction illegal, the company received no criminal charges and the company was ordered by the district court to pay a mere $150 to each objector… “So, why would a billion-dollar corporation which intentionally and illegally destroyed private property for profit not even get a slap on the wrist while a person who commits civil disobedience to protect the earth and its people is labeled a terrorist and imprisoned for eight years? Four reasons explain the double standard. One is Donald Trump, who was President when the charges were brought against Jessica Reznicek and not brought against ETP… “Two is the general power that huge corporations like ETP exercise over all phases of society… “Three is the ongoing campaign to label all protestors who damage property as terrorists… “Four is the nationwide campaign by oil and gas interests to hyper criminalize protests around pipelines.”
CBC: $3.5-million provincial inquiry into 'anti-Alberta' activities struggles to find a bad guy
Graham Thomson, 10/22/21
“Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage is urging all Albertans to read the final report of the government-sponsored Steve Allan public inquiry into anti-Albertan activities,” Graham Thomson writes for the CBC. “...So, let me sum up the inquiry's conclusion into one brief paragraph from Allan himself: "To be very clear, I have not found any suggestions of wrongdoing on the part of any individual or organization. No individual or organization, in my view, has done anything illegal. Indeed, they have exercised their rights of free speech." That's not exactly a ringing endorsement of Premier Jason Kenney's assertion that a conspiracy of environmental organizations funded by sketchy foreign forces had used subversive means to successfully shut down a litany of Alberta energy projects… “Even after all that digging into finances, Allan could only find $54 million that was specifically detailed to "anti-Alberta resource development activity" from 2003 to 2019, or a little more than $3 million a year. Compare that to the government's much maligned – deservedly so – Canadian Energy Centre that was originally awarded a $30 million-a-year budget that was whittled down to $12 million once the government realized its "war room" was adept at little more than shooting itself in the foot… “The awkward reality for Kenney is that his "fight back" strategy unveiled during the 2019 provincial election has only scored a hit against one target: his own government's credibility... Here's another way to sum up the $3.5-million, two-year-long Allan public inquiry that, by the way, never held any public hearings: Some environmental groups, worried about climate change, have spent time and money legally campaigning against the oilsands and pipelines.”
DeSmog: Ahead of COP26, Top Biden Appointees Pushing Natural Gas Are Undermining His Climate Credibility
Sal Christ is senior investigator at Global Witness, an advocacy group that works “to hold companies and governments to account for their destruction of the environment, their disregard for the planet and their failure to protect human rights.,” 10/25/21
“In roughly two weeks, leaders from around the world will converge on Glasgow for COP26, the 26th United Nations Climate Change summit and U.S. President Joe Biden will be among them — setting the stage to further reclaim the United States’ position as an international climate leader and a willing participant in the global discourse about how to save the planet,” DeSmog reports. “...And yet, despite all of Biden’s promises to put in place a climate plan wherein everybody (hopefully) wins — the environment, the economy, the human race — the administration is still pandering to the industry that’s most responsible for the climate change that has charred the western U.S. all year, that’s hurled deadly floods and storms through the South and up the East Coast, and that literally set the ocean on fire in July: the fossil fuel industry. In fact, the administration is doing more than just pandering — they’re promoting its interests as their own and attempting to secure international gas lock-in for years to come. This effort is being led by Biden appointees with major influence over the administration’s energy policies: U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and two senior officials at the Departments of Energy and State tasked with overseeing the role of energy in U.S. foreign policy… “In the months since, Granholm has touted the narrative that the fossil fuel industry just needs to “decarbonize” natural gas and cut back on methane flaring in order to be considered “clean,” setting out a vision of “tak[ing] the carbon out of the fossil fuels, but still us[ing] the fossil fuels.” She has also promoted the idea that the gas industry should jump on the opportunity to produce hydrogen.”
The Mining Gazette: Protest exposes Line 5 security risk
EDITORIAL, 10/26/21
“The protest at a Line 5 pumping station in Michigan’s Thumb appears to have been frivolous — a dozen or so young activists mostly hanging out in a parking lot listening to music — but it exposes serious security risks for the petroleum pipeline,” The Mining Gazette Editorial Board writes. “...It’s not what actually happened Wednesday, but what might have happened that is worrisome. Line 5 carries 540,000 barrels of petroleum products a day from Canada through Michigan. And yet this pumping station was so loosely secured that it was breached by an unsophisticated band of kids. Imagine the damage that could have been done by a more malicious group intent on disrupting the pipeline’s flow, or even destroying it… “The Woodstock nature of Tuesday’s protest may be amusing. But next time, the pipeline attackers might not be so mellow.”
Colorado Sun: Opinion: It’s too easy and cheap for drillers to lease and pollute Colorado’s federal land
Jonathan Singer, of Boulder, is the Executive Director of the League of Oil and Gas Impacted Coloradans, 10/23/21
“When President Biden took office in January, one of his first actions was to hit pause on all new oil and gas leasing on federal public lands. The president took this immediate action because he knew that our federal leasing program is deeply flawed and that communities in Colorado and across the country are paying the price because of it,” Jonathan Singer writes for the Colorado Sun. “This was a powerful way to start a presidency, and it showed taxpayers, small business owners, and outdoor enthusiasts that he was committed to ensuring that America’s public lands work for all of us. However, nine months have passed and states like Colorado are once again being confronted with unnecessary oil and gas leases. For far too long, companies have been able to speculate on federal public lands, lease and develop public resources in shady backroom deals and for below-market rates, and walk away from their oil and gas wells without paying to clean them up. This is why, when the leasing pause was put in place, it was done with the understanding that it would be in effect until a comprehensive review of the federal leasing program was completed… “Our broken lease sale program is a clear and present threat to our public lands, waters, wildlife, and communities. I encourage the Department of the Interior to follow Congress’ and move forward with common-sense reforms as soon as possible. Further, it is essential that these reforms are adopted before any additional leasing takes place.”
CBC: It is time for a just transition off fossil fuels. This is what it could look like
Lori Lee Oates a lecturer at Memorial University, 10/24/21
“The International Energy Agency recently released its Energy Outlook 2021, calling for more ambitious policies on emission reductions at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26), beginning in Glasgow, Scotland on Oct. 31, than have been achieved to date,” Lori Lee Oates writes for the CBC. “The outlook maintains that for climate targets to be met, the world must achieve peak oil by 2025. This news is highly problematic for the future of oil developments such as the Trans Mountain pipeline and the Bay du Nord project in the Newfoundland offshore industry. The time for putting off a just transition is over. This raises the question of exactly what a just transition should look like… “This money absolutely cannot be for oil companies to keep oil projects going or for oil companies to become renewable energy companies. In offering business supports for transition, preference must be given to companies that are socially and environmentally responsible. There is evidence that some oil companies have used deceptive language on climate change for decades. Oil companies must stop asking governments for subsidies. A recent study published by the International Monetary Fund found that oil is subsidized at the level of $11 million a minute. All supports for oil must cease. Green energy jobs must be unionized, well-paying jobs with benefits, stability and safe work conditions. Labour groups must be involved in planning for the just transition. Indigenous groups must also be at the table and full partners... “Workers, women, children, people of colour and rural communities did not create these problems. However, they are suffering the worst impacts of inaction. They deserve just solutions to the climate crisis now.”