EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 12/12/23
PIPELINE NEWS
WDBJ: Mountain Valley Pipeline protestor sentenced to jail time
Law360: Mich. Ag Turns To Shakespeare To Block Enbridge Appeal
Bloomberg: The World’s Leader in Carbon Capture Shows Why It’s a Long Shot
Radio Iowa: Kossuth County officials ponder pipeline ordinance
Amnesty International: Amnesty report tracks years-long campaign of criminalization, unlawful surveillance against Wet’suwet’en land defenders
Business In Vancouver: FID on Cedar LNG expected in Q1: Pembina Pipeline
Community Impact: Montgomery County, Bayou Land Conservancy reach agreement with Blackfin over pipeline
KIRO: Crews cleaning up 30,000 gallons of gasoline after pipeline leak in Skagit County
KIRO: Conway school decides to close as crews clean up leaking pipeline
WASHINGTON UPDATES
InsideEPA: High Court Spurns Latest Bid To Undo EPA GHG Endangerment Finding
E&E News: Groups want Congress to tweak carbon capture incentives
E&E News: Hydrogen with CCS more expensive than expected — report
Energy News Network: Burgeoning hydrogen industry draws $41 million in federal lobbying from fossil fuel companies
Carbon Herald: NETL Recommends Regional Approach For Carbon Capture And Storage
E&E News: Daines Bill Would Mandate Oil And Gas Lease Sales
E&E News: Boebert Bill Would Stop BLM Ban On New Drilling In Western Colo.
Bloomberg: Popular EPA Methane Rule Comes With Cost, Monitoring Concerns
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Mass. efforts to limit natural gas could serve as national model
InForum: North Dakota regulators worry new federal methane rule could cost jobs, thousands of barrels of oil
EXTRACTION
Reuters: New COP28 draft text does not mention phase out of fossil fuels
Reuters: COP28 Pledges So Far Not Enough To Limit Warming To 1.5C -IEA
New York Times: Countries Most at Risk Call Proposed Climate Agreement a ‘Death Warrant’
Reuters: 'End fossil fuels' protester storms stage of COP28 summit
Associated Press: As COP28 negotiators wrestle with fossil fuels, activists urge them to remember what’s at stake
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: New analysis outlines national opportunities to remove carbon dioxide at the gigaton scale
Portland Press Herald: The U.S. could remove 1 billion tons of carbon from the air – for $130 billion
Bloomberg: Carbon capture extends project lifespan, worsening emissions: expert
Bayes Business School: COP28: We need a reality check on hopes for carbon capture and removal
Guardian: Carbon capture in the Great Artesian Basin risks ‘greatest environmental asset’, farmers say
Oil Change International: Norway second only to the United States in carbon capture subsidies
Globe and Mail: Can carbon capture solve emissions problems for oil and gas?
NPR: Making oil is more profitable than saving the planet. These numbers tell the story
Center for American Progress: The Oil and Gas Industry Is Behind Offshore Wind Misinformation
Troy Media: Business leaders blast Ottawa’s oil and gas emissions cap
Reuters: Endeavor Energy Explores Sale For As Much As $30 Billion -Sources
Carlsbad Current-Argus: Chevron, Exxon plan on expanding oil and gas operations in Permian Basin in 2024
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Enbridge: Braving a Winter Night To Shine a Spotlight on Youth Homelessness
Elliot Lake Today: Enbridge warms the hearts of Blind River firefighters
CityNews Ottawa: Enbridge Gas supporting firefighter training in Ottawa
OPINION
NWestIowa.com: Let’s continue fights vs. carbon-capture pipes
The Atlantic: A Radical Idea to Break the Logic of Oil Drilling
Dallas Morning News: Texas has a chance to be a climate leader in carbon capture technology
Reuters: Carbon capture and storage is a dangerous distraction. It’s time to imagine a world beyond fossil fuels
Guardian: The Guardian view on Cop28: a phase-out of fossil fuels is the only decision that makes sense
Los Angeles Times: COP28 has become a shameless exercise in the fight against climate change. But can we afford to walk out?
PIPELINE NEWS
WDBJ: Mountain Valley Pipeline protestor sentenced to jail time
Justin Geary, 12/11/23
“A pipeline protester who locked herself to a piece of equipment in October has been sentenced to serve three months in jail,” WDBJ reports. “Emily Adamski was one of three people who attached themselves to equipment on October 16th at a Mountain Valley Pipeline work site in Elliston. Monday morning, at Montgomery County General District Court, she entered a not guilty plea to charges of interfering with the property rights of others and obstruction of justice. The judge found her guilty and sentenced her to six months in jail, with three months suspended, on each charge.”
Law360: Mich. Ag Turns To Shakespeare To Block Enbridge Appeal
Joyce Hansen, 12/11/23
“Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel quoted ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in her bid to shut down a natural gas and oil pipeline that crosses the Great Lakes, telling the Sixth Circuit that Enbridge Energy LP is playing word games to support its late transfer of the lawsuit to federal court,” Law360 reports. “The case must be remanded to state court because Enbridge’s removal was untimely, Nessel told the Sixth Circuit in her Friday reply to the company’s assertion that the case must be heard in federal court. She asserted that Enbridge removed the case 887 days after it was served with her complaint, 821 days after it filed its dispositive motion in state court where it raised the Submerged Lands Act and the Pipeline Safety Act as federal preemption defenses, and 386 days after it removed nearly identical claims filed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. But Nessel said no federal issue is raised in her complaint, and if any such issue is in dispute, it’s only because Enbridge wrongly raises it as a ‘poorly disguised’ preemption defense. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” Nessel wrote, citing William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ “As Juliet observed, one cannot change the true nature of something by calling it something else. Enbridge may give its preemption defenses a new name, but it cannot change their smell.’”
Bloomberg: The World’s Leader in Carbon Capture Shows Why It’s a Long Shot
Jennifer A Dlouhy and Akshat Rathi, 12/10/23
“Nearly 200 countries are in the home stretch of tough negotiations at COP28 over what the world should do to combat climate change. A central debate is about whether to quickly phase out fossil fuels or continue to burn them while banking on technologies that have the potential to mitigate their emissions,” Bloomberg reports. “The bet rests on carbon capture and storage (CCS), a process that traps carbon dioxide from factories or power plants and buries it away… At the United Nations summit in Dubai, many of the world’s largest economies are pledging to redouble efforts to back CCS through subsidies… “Just 14 projects are operating today, with half of them tied to the very cheapest applications — gas processing and ethanol production — according to a database by the non-governmental organization Clean Air Task Force… “Developers also face enormous logistical and permitting hurdles — with big, project-killing fights over new proposed pipelines to carry carbon dioxide as well as the injection wells to store the gas underground… “Some states, including Louisiana, are hoping to take the lead role vetting potential carbon storage wells within their borders, which would help ease the backlog. But those plans pit state authorities against residents who’ve spent their lives living next to petrochemical facilities and are leery of local oversight as well as the risks of residing near CO2 dumping grounds. A lack of pipelines is an even bigger problem, particularly for ethanol factories in the rural Midwest, which can trap gas at a relatively cheap price but don't have many underground storage opportunities. Those facilities will depend on pipelines to take the gas to far-off repositories along the Gulf Coast or further north. Proposed CO2 pipelines in the region have met fierce resistance from local landowners, with opposition prompting one group of developers to cancel the $3.5 billion Navigator Heartland Greenway project in October. The outlook is bearish for the other pipelines waiting in the wings, James Lucier, managing director at research group Capital Alpha Partners, told Bloomberg. “Not even tens of billions of dollars in carbon sequestration tax credits will make the pipelines move any faster,” Lucier told clients in a research note that soberly predicted no new CO2 pipelines will be built in the US before 2026.
Radio Iowa: Kossuth County officials ponder pipeline ordinance
Brian Wilson, 12/11/23
“Officials in a northern Iowa county are evaluating last week’s federal court ruling that permanently blocks Shelby and Story County ordinances that would have restricted where hazardous liquid pipelines may be located,” Radio Iowa reports. “Kossuth County Supervisor Carter Nath of Lu Verne represents the area where Summit’s proposed carbon capture pipeline would pass and he says the ruling wasn’t a surprises was already a preliminary ruling on that. It was just making it a permanent ruling,” Nath says. “In my mind, it really didn’t change things. Maybe in the court of law, it’s just more finalized.” “...Kossuth County Supervisors have drafted an ordinance that’s similar to Shelby County’s. It has not gone into effect, but has made it most of the way through the approval process. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to discuss the ordinance tomorrow morning at its meeting in Algona.”
Amnesty International: Amnesty report tracks years-long campaign of criminalization, unlawful surveillance against Wet’suwet’en land defenders
12/11/23
“A new report by Amnesty International traces the years-long campaign of violence, harassment, discrimination, and dispossession against Indigenous Wet’suwet’en land defenders resisting the construction of Coastal GasLink (CGL) liquified natural gas pipeline through their unceded ancestral territory without their free, prior and informed consent. The report’s launch coincides with the 26th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Delgamuukw v British Columbia, a ruling which reaffirmed Wet’suwet’en customary law… “Based in part on witness testimony of four violent, large-scale Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) raids on Wet’suwet’en territory, the report finds that Wet’suwet’en land defenders and their supporters were arbitrarily arrested for defending their land and exercising their Indigenous rights and their right to freedom of peaceful assembly. “The actions taken against Wet’suwet’en land defenders and their supporters form part of a disturbing and concerted effort by the governments of Canada and British Columbia to remove any obstacle to the construction of the CGL pipeline on ancestral, unceded territory,” said Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International. “The state must immediately put an end to the harassment, intimidation, unlawful surveillance and criminalization of Wet’suwet’en land defenders and withdraw the RCMP and associated security services from the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s territory.” “...Amnesty International determined that the tactics used by the RCMP during the four militarized raids on Wet’suwet’en land defenders were disproportionate to the situation they were responding to, as there are no reports of defenders using violence or representing a threat… “Land defenders were held in custody for four to five days prior to their bail hearings. Several interviewees told Amnesty International that Wet’suwet’en and other Indigenous land defenders were treated more severely than non-Indigenous detainees. According to Chief Na’Moks, a Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief, “Only the Indigenous were in shackles, not the media [referring to media workers who were also detained] or anybody else. They just had handcuffs. But they had all the Indigenous … in shackles in their underwear appearing in front of the judge like that.” Besides the large-scale, heavy-handed raids, Amnesty International documented a pattern of ongoing intrusive and aggressive surveillance, harassment and intimidation experienced by Wet’suwet’en land defenders, including discriminatory, degrading and highly culturally insensitive conduct… “Wet’suwet’en and other Indigenous land defenders have experienced racial discrimination, including violations of their cultural and collective rights as Indigenous Peoples. Women defenders have also experienced both threats and acts of gender-based violence and discrimination.”
Business In Vancouver: FID on Cedar LNG expected in Q1: Pembina Pipeline
Nelson Bennett, 12/11/23
“Pembina Pipeline Corp., the Haisla First Nation’s main industry partner in the $3 billion Cedar LNG project in Kitimat, expects the Haisla to take a final investment decision on the project in the first quarter of 2024,” Business In Vancouver reports. “In a business and guidance update for 2024, Pembina notes it expects to spend roughly $210 million on the Cedar LNG project in 2024 on “pre-FID contributions.” “...The “wet” gas produced in the Montney of B.C. is rich in liquids, like light oil, condensate (used to dilute bitumen) and propane. Pembina has been working on an expansion of its NEBC pipeline system… “In addition to the anticipated increased capital spending on its core operations, Pembina is also expecting an additional $280 million in capital spending this year on new projects. “Pembina is in development of additional growth projects, which could add up to $280 million to the 2024 capital investment program, inclusive of pre-final investment decision contributions related to the Cedar LNG project," the company says in its update. "This includes approximately $210 million related to pre-FID contributions for Cedar LNG and approximately $70 million related to growth projects to accommodate growing WCSB volumes and incremental demand for transportation and gas processing services.” “...The Cedar LNG project is owned by the Haisla First Nation, which had negotiated an agreement with LNG Canada to access some of the natural gas that will be supplied to Kitimat via the Coastal GasLink pipeline for the Cedar LNG project.”
Community Impact: Montgomery County, Bayou Land Conservancy reach agreement with Blackfin over pipeline
Lizzy Spangler, 12/11/23
“Montgomery County, the Bayou Land Conservancy and Blackfin Pipeline have agreed to construct the pipeline in a way that will not impact Lake Creek Preserve, a 64-acre nature preserve, according to a Nov. 30 news release,” Community Impact reports. “Blackfin has agreed that the portion of the natural gas pipeline that crosses Lake Creek Preserve will be installed through an underground boring process, which “should eliminate any impacts to the surface and not create a permanent, above ground, pipeline easement,” according to the news release. Blackfin Pipeline is a 193-mile pipeline that is designed to transport up to 3.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from Colorado County to Jasper County, according to its website. Construction on the pipeline is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2024 and be completed by the second quarter of 2025.”
KIRO: Crews cleaning up 30,000 gallons of gasoline after pipeline leak in Skagit County
12/11/23
“On Sunday, a pipeline leaked gasoline in Conway near Mt. Vernon in Skagit County. We now know the fuller extent of the spill,” KIRO reports. “The Environmental Protection Agency said that’s where more than 30,000 gallons of gasoline were released over the last few days. The leak came from the Olympic Pipeline. Workers said the pipe that caused all this is just three-eighths of an inch in diameter. Investigators said the leak was caused by a small failed tube leading from the main pipe, to a pressure check valve. The EPA confirmed that gas has spilled into the nearby Bulson Creek but that no gasoline has been seen in the Skagit River.”
KIRO: Conway school decides to close as crews clean up leaking pipeline
12/10/23
“Both east and westbound lanes on State Route 534 have been closed at Conway Hill Road near milepost one while crews clean up fuel from a leaking pipeline,” KIRO reports. “But Washington State Patrol expects to open one lane of Highway 534, according to a release from the Department of Ecology, WSP learned about the leak near the Conway Elementary School around 7 a.m., Trooper Kelsey Harding told KIRO. WSP said, that because of the leak, the Conway K-8 school will be closed Monday… “The smell of gasoline is very strong and they have boats and ecology booms in the water,” an anonymous tipper told KIRO. “It has made it through the ground and is flowing into the nearby slough and to the bay.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
InsideEPA: High Court Spurns Latest Bid To Undo EPA GHG Endangerment Finding
12/11/23
“The Supreme Court has declined to revisit a lower court decision blocking litigation by free-market groups to reopen EPA’s landmark 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding, letting stand a finding that the groups lack standing to challenge the finding that underpins numerous agency greenhouse gas rules,” InsideEPA reports. “In a Dec. 11 order, the justices denied a petition seeking cert in Concerned Household Electricity Consumers Council et al., v. EPA. The decision had been expected after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously concluded May 25 the groups had failed to demonstrate they were harmed by the policy. The Supreme Court’s decision also represents the latest instance in which high court has declined to overturn the finding, after the D.C. Circuit affirmed it on the merits in 2012. But the petitioners dispute the widespread scientific consensus that human caused GHGs are the main cause of dangerous climate change.”
E&E News: Groups want Congress to tweak carbon capture incentives
12/12/23
“A contingent of carbon capture and storage proponents is urging Congress to tweak a tax credit essential to greater project deployment,” E&E News reports. “In a letter Monday, more than 50 unions, conservation groups and energy companies called on congressional leadership to include a “targeted suite of small-scale adjustments” to the federal 45Q tax credit in any forthcoming legislative package. Failing to address “remaining small-scale gaps in federal policy” could hinder deployment of carbon capture and removal technologies, “imperiling” jobs, economic development, energy security and “the prospect of urgently needed — and achievable — greenhouse gas emissions reductions,” the letter said. Signatories include agribusiness company Archer-Daniels-Midland; a subsidiary of oil and gas company Occidental Petroleum; the National Wildlife Federation; CO2 pipeline developer Summit Carbon Solutions; and the Carbon Capture Coalition, a pro-CCS group with more than 100 members. The letter, which touted bipartisan support for carbon capture and removal technologies, said “pragmatic adjustments” could further expand U.S. leadership in the sector. Those modifications include indexing 45Q for inflation and making tax credit levels equal between projects that use CO2 to manufacture products and those linked with geologic storage. Under 45Q currently, there is a gap of $25 per metric ton between projects that reuse CO2 in products compared to projects that store CO2 in saline or other geologic formations. That difference “effectively disincentivizes the development and deployment of relatively nascent carbon reuse technologies,” according to the letter… “It's unclear what legislative package could carry the tax incentive changes.”
E&E News: Hydrogen with CCS more expensive than expected — report
Christian Robles, 12/11/23
“The price of hydrogen linked with carbon capture technology may not fall enough to reach the Biden administration’s 2031 goals, according to a new analysis from the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory,” E&E News reports. “The report found that technological advancements are projected to bring the cost of “blue” hydrogen down to $1.33 to $1.40 per kilogram by the beginning of the next decade from $1.60 to $1.64 per kilogram. That modeled price range is short of the Biden administration’s goal of reducing the cost of “clean” hydrogen to $1 per kilogram in that time frame. Hydrogen developers will have to evaluate other factors such as plant scale, plant site location and sale of byproducts like black carbon to further lower estimated prices, the report said. The report analyzed two types of blue hydrogen, steam methane and autothermal reformation, which envision using fossil fuels to produce fuel and capturing the resulting emissions.”
Energy News Network: Burgeoning hydrogen industry draws $41 million in federal lobbying from fossil fuel companies
Jimmy Cloutier, 12/12/23
“The number of companies and organizations lobbying the federal government on issues related to hydrogen increased nearly tenfold since President Joe Biden took office — from about two dozen at the end of 2020 to more than 200 this year, according to an OpenSecrets analysis of lobbying disclosures,” Energy News Network reports. “Fossil fuel companies, which have promoted hydrogen as a catch-all solution to climate change, rank among the top spenders and outnumber clients from every industry, including the renewable energy sector, the analysis shows. Thirty-two oil and gas producers reported lobbying on hydrogen, among other issues, and spent a combined $41.3 million on federal lobbying efforts this year, as of Sept. 30. The lobbying blitz comes as the Biden administration prepares to direct billions of dollars in federal subsidies to scale up hydrogen production to decarbonize the U.S. economy… “The fossil fuel industry has aggressively lobbied the White House, Congress, and Energy and Treasury departments to ensure gas-based hydrogen qualifies for federal subsidies… “Julie McNamara, the deputy policy director for climate and energy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a think tank, told OpenSecrets that the government risks “aiding and abetting fossil fuel” interests… “Getting hydrogen wrong, McNamara added, would be a “catastrophic waste of time.” “...The [hydrogen hub] awards are still subject to negotiations and environmental reviews, but McNamara told ENN the Energy Department left the door open to “unproductive at best, actively harmful at worst” production methods that rely on natural gas and carbon capture. “Hydrogen can drive up pollution from fossil-fuel-based uses, and worse, perpetuate ongoing use of fossil fuels,” McNamara told ENN. “That’s not the path we need to be on.” “...Green hydrogen produced without fossil fuels is energy-intensive, and climate advocates want to limit the incentive to hydrogen produced using new, rather than existing, clean energy sources.”
Carbon Herald: NETL Recommends Regional Approach For Carbon Capture And Storage
Violet George, 12/11/23
“A recent analysis published by NETL suggests that the Central United States requires a tailored, regional approach for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects due to geographic differences,” the Carbon Herald reports. “The study assessed the different variables that have to do with transporting and storing captured CO2 emissions, one of which is geographic characteristics, which were found to heavily influence costs… “The Central United States has an abundance of CO2-generating sources that would likely require tailored approaches to provide low-cost CO2 management. This analysis explored options a CO2 source faces when selecting a low-cost transport and storage combination for its captured CO2,” NETL’s Tim GrantGrant told the Herald… “Other key takeaways from the report include the fact that a trunkline network of pipelines would help lower the costs for CO2 emitters, particularly those of smaller scale, which would enable them to store their emissions at distant, better quality storage locations. Furthermore, the report published by NETL concludes that the development of carbon capture networks must be done at a regional scale, in order to take into consideration the geography of each separate region.”
E&E News: Daines Bill Would Mandate Oil And Gas Lease Sales
Heather Richards, 12/11/23
“Senate Republicans have introduced legislation that would require at least four oil and gas lease sales a year in states that hold those resources,” E&E News reports. “Sponsored by Montana Sen. Steve Daines, the ‘Supporting Made in America Energy Act’ would also require two yearly oil and gas auctions in the Gulf of Mexico and another two sales every year off the coast of Alaska. The proposal, released Friday, is an attempt to force the Biden administration to conduct more auctions for the nation’s hydrocarbons, following several years of reduced leasing under the climate-focused White House. “Now more than ever, energy security is national security,” said Daines. “As President [Joe] Biden continues to push his out-of-touch and unrealistic green agenda on the American people, I’ll continue to push for policies that bolster made-in-America energy.” Co-sponsors include Republican Sens. James Lankford of Oklahoma, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, James Risch of Idaho, John Hoeven of North Dakota, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Mike Lee of Utah and Roger Marshall of Kansas.”
E&E News: Boebert Bill Would Stop BLM Ban On New Drilling In Western Colo.
Scott Streater, 12/11/23
“Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, one of President Joe Biden’s fiercest congressional critics, has filed a bill that aims to block Interior Secretary Deb Haaland from implementing land-use plan revisions that would ban new oil and gas leasing across more than a million acres in the Centennial State,” E&E News reports. “Boebert’s bill, H.R. 6547, which she formally introduced Dec. 1, would prohibit Haaland from implementing the draft plan covering roughly 1.6 million acres of federal lands in Colorado managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The bureau in August released a draft resource management plan and draft supplemental environmental impact statement that covers BLM lands and subsurface mineral estate in the Colorado River Valley and the Grand Junction field offices that stretch across seven counties. In total, the proposed plan would close 80 percent of the lands in the decision area managed by the Colorado River Valley Field Office to new oil leasing, and 81 percent of the Grand Junction Field Office’s lands.”
Bloomberg: Popular EPA Methane Rule Comes With Cost, Monitoring Concerns
Jennifer Hijazi, 12/8/23
“While climate advocates hail the EPA’s newly finalized actions to reduce methane emissions, some lawyers caution that the rule’s hefty price tag and monitoring response program leave it vulnerable to concerns about grid reliability and compliance challenges,” Bloomberg reports. “The Environmental Protection Agency released its highly anticipated methane standards for the oil and gas industry Dec. 2 at the COP28 summit in Dubai, a year after the agency proposed methane actions at Egypt’s 2022 COP summit. The final 1,690-page action includes a gamut of reduction policies aimed at stemming methane leaks in the oil and gas sector. The action was widely popular among both advocates and some industry groups. But for some, the rule’s projected costs for industry monitoring and control requirements seem steep compared to still-uncertain projected benefits.”
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Mass. efforts to limit natural gas could serve as national model
Miranda Willson, 12/11/23
“Massachusetts will require utilities to pursue alternatives to natural gas in a first-of-its-kind order that could serve as a model for other states trying to speed their transition to clean energy,” E&E News reports. “The sweeping order is “fairly unprecedented, even at a national level,” Kyle Murray, director of state program implementation at the Boston-based environmental group Acadia Center, told E&E. The state move comes as a major gas utility in the state — Eversource Energy — already works to reduce natural gas demand and switch to geothermal energy. The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) issued the order last week to limit new natural gas infrastructure in the Bay State and incentivize gas utilities to slash planet-warming emissions. It requires all of the state’s gas utilities to file climate compliance plans every five years, with the focus primarily on electric alternatives to natural gas, energy efficiency and geothermal energy. “This is a game-changer, and I think we’re going to see other states use this as an example to move forward,” Murray told E&E.
InForum: North Dakota regulators worry new federal methane rule could cost jobs, thousands of barrels of oil
Patrick Springer, 12/12/23
“A new federal methane standard aimed at reducing up to 80% of emissions of the potent greenhouse gas from covered sources could have significant impacts in North Dakota, officials and environmentalists said,” InForum reports. “The new rule, announced Saturday, Dec. 2, by the Biden administration at the COP28 climate talks, will sharply reduce methane and other pollutants emitted by the petroleum industry, according to the Environmental Protection Agency… “Of North Dakota’s 18,538 wells, 1,383 have no access to natural gas gathering, so total elimination of routine flaring could result in the loss of 45,000 barrels of oil per day and 1,400 jobs, according to Bridget Danso, a spokeswoman for the Department of Mineral Resources… “Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, told InForum the industry has “significant concerns” about the new methane regulations, which he said will fall heavily on small operators… “The rule will address flaring from new oil leases. “That’s a big deal in North Dakota,” Liz Anderson of the Dakota Resource Council, an environmental watchdog group, told InForum. “The Bakken flares so much. Any new well won’t add to that.” “...I certainly think North Dakota would be substantially affected by the rule that has to do with flaring of new sources,” Nini Gu, the Environmental Defense Fund’s regulatory and legislative manager in the west, told InForum.”
EXTRACTION
Reuters: New COP28 draft text does not mention phase out of fossil fuels
Alison Withers and Kate Abnett, 12/11/23
“The U.N.'s climate body on Monday published its latest draft text of the deal it hopes to reach at the COP28 summit in Dubai, which includes a range of actions countries could take to reduce emissions. The list did not refer directly to a phase out of fossil fuels, which was a key demand by the European Union and many developing countries that are especially vulnerable to climate change,” Reuters reports. “The relevant section of the text said parties recognise "the need for deep, rapid and sustained reductions in GHG (greenhouse gases) emissions and calls upon Parties to take actions that could include, inter alia: (a) Tripling renewable energy capacity globally and doubling the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030; (b) Rapidly phasing down unabated coal and limitations on permitting new and unabated coal power generation; (c) Accelerating efforts globally towards net zero emissions energy systems, utilizing zero and low carbon fuels well before or by around mid-century; (d) Accelerating zero and low emissions technologies, including, inter alia, renewables, nuclear, abatement and removal technologies, including such as carbon capture and utilization and storage, and low carbon hydrogen production, so as to enhance efforts towards substitution of unabated fossil fuels in energy systems. (e) Reducing both consumption and production of fossil fuels, in a just, orderly and equitable manner so as to achieve net zero by, before, or around 2050 in keeping with the science; (f) Accelerating and substantially reducing non-CO2 emissions, including, in particular, methane emissions globally by 2030; (g) Accelerating emissions reductions from road transport through a range of pathways, including development of infrastructure and rapid deployment of zero and low emission vehicles; (h) Phasing out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption and do not address energy poverty or just transitions, as soon as possible."
Reuters: COP28 Pledges So Far Not Enough To Limit Warming To 1.5C -IEA.
Gloria Dickle, 12/10/23
“A raft of new pledges announced at the COP28 climate summit - from tripling renewables to reining in methane emissions - won't be enough on their own to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Sunday,” Reuters reports. “So far, 130 countries have agreed to triple renewables and double the rate of energy efficiency improvements, while 50 oil and gas companies have agreed to cut out methane emissions and eliminate routine flaring by 2030 under the Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter.”
New York Times: Countries Most at Risk Call Proposed Climate Agreement a ‘Death Warrant’
Lisa Friedman, 12/11/23
“Environmental groups and negotiators from countries that are most vulnerable to climate disasters assailed a draft of a final agreement, made public at the United Nations climate talks on Monday, that fell short of calling for a phaseout of fossil fuels,” the New York Times reports. “The long-awaited draft said nations “could” take actions to slash greenhouse gas emissions, including “reducing both consumption and production of fossil fuels” by 2050, in line with what the science says must be done to avert the worst consequences of global warming. But it said nothing about deeply cutting fossil fuel use this decade, which scientists say is required to keep global warming at relatively safe levels. And the use of “could” makes action optional, analysts told the Times… “But diplomats who have campaigned for a United Nations commitment to stop burning the fossil fuels that are dangerously heating the planet told the Times their countries would oppose the deal as written. The deadline for an agreement is Tuesday, and the talks are now expected to go into overtime as negotiators haggle over language. Under U.N. rules, all 198 nations must reach consensus on an agreement; any one nation can scuttle a deal… “The Republic of the Marshall Islands did not come here to sign our death warrant,” John Silk, the minister of natural resources for the nation of atolls in the Pacific Ocean, said. At its highest point, the Marshall Islands stands a little over six feet, or about two meters, above the sea. “What we have seen today is totally unacceptable,” Mr. Silk said. “We will not go silently to our watery graves.” “...The United States believes the language around fossil fuels should be “substantially strengthened,” Chad Houghton, a spokesman for John Kerry, President Biden’s special envoy for climate change, told the Times… “Saudi Arabia is the main opponent of language that calls for phasing out or even phasing down fossil fuels. Environmental groups on Monday accused Saudi officials of working to weaken the text… “Oil producing countries like Saudi Arabia and the fossil fuel industry have sought to frame the problem as one of emissions. If greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane could be contained or removed from the atmosphere, they say, the world could continue to burn oil, gas and coal. Others say that is technically impossible at the moment and that fossil fuels must be replaced with solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy.” “...Farooq Ullah, a senior policy adviser on energy for the International Institute for Sustainable Development, told the Times the draft was “highly indicative of the fact that we are at a climate summit in a petrostate, and this is very much an appeasement of fossil fuel-producing countries.”
Reuters: 'End fossil fuels' protester storms stage of COP28 summit
Gloria Dickie, 12/11/23
“A 12-year-old protester burst on to the stage at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai on Monday, holding a sign above her head that read: "End fossil fuels. Save our planet and our future," Reuters reports. “Licypriya Kangujam, a child climate justice activist from India, was escorted away as the audience clapped. COP28 Director-General Ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi said he admired the enthusiasm of young people at COP28 and encouraged the audience to give Kangujam another round of applause. Public protests have been limited at the United Nations talks that are being held in the United Arab Emirates, which bans many organised groups, including political parties and labour unions.”
Associated Press: As COP28 negotiators wrestle with fossil fuels, activists urge them to remember what’s at stake
UZMI ATHAR, 12/11/23
“In the bustling halls where global climate talks are being held, onetime farmer Joseph Kenson Sakala of Malawi is sharing the story of how fossil fuel development upended his life — and hoping that negotiators listen to many such stories and then move decisively to cut use of the coal, oil and gas warming the planet,” the Associated Press reports. “Sakala grew maize and produced enough to sustain his family and to help feed his broader community of Mchinji. But he was forced out by water and soil pollution from coal mining in his East Africa nation, he told AP, and Sakala now helps lead a non-governmental organization, Youth for Environment and Sustainable Development, that helps farmers adapt to climate change. “Climate crisis and damages because of fossil fuel extraction destroyed me,” Sakala told AP. “Now in Malawi, there are just a few rich people who are making money at the expense of so many people like us who are suffering.” “...The fate of fossil fuels is the central question at the United Nations-led talks, with activists and experts saying a quick phase-out is the only way to bring emissions down sharply enough to avert catastrophic warming. Some oil-rich nations argue instead for a slower and open-ended transition. Alice McGown, a mapping specialist who has worked to identify fossil fuels in protected areas for the nonprofit Leave it in the Ground Initiative, told AP preventing the extraction of those fuels could prevent trillions of dollars in damages from climate change. It’s also essential to staying within the 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) limit of warming since pre-industrial times called for in the Paris agreement, she told AP. “It is clear that the vast majority of fossil fuels must stay unburned. The International Energy Agency has pointed to the incompatibility of new fossil fuel extraction projects with the Paris targets and keeping fossil fuels in the ground has been described as the next big step in climate policy,” she told AP.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: New analysis outlines national opportunities to remove carbon dioxide at the gigaton scale
12/11/23
“Roads to Removal: Options for Carbon Dioxide Removal in the United States,” charts a path for the United States to achieve a net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) economy by 2050, helping to ensure the nation’s climate security and resilience by cleaning up Earth’s atmosphere and addressing the root cause of climate change,” according to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. “...Roads to Removal lays out a road map to this goal and answers the question: How much CO2 is it possible to remove in the United States and at what cost? The report concludes that with today’s technologies, removing 1 billion metric tons of CO2 per year will annually cost roughly $130 billion in 2050, or about 0.5% of current GDP. This will require increasing the uptake of carbon in forests and in working agricultural lands, converting waste biomass into fuels and CO2 and using purpose-built machines to remove CO2 directly from the air. This ensemble of lowest-cost approaches for CO2 removal would create more than 440,000 long-term jobs and can be achieved using renewable energy sources, with currently available land and below ground geologic storage… “The analysis enables interested counties, states, community stakeholders and CDR practitioners to work together to decide where, when and how much of each approach fits into their local needs… “By taking CO2 out of the air, the United States can create more than 440,000 new jobs, improve air and water quality and reduce the severity of some damaging impacts of greenhouse gases on our climate. “Community consideration is paramount to the scalability of CDR; when residents are excited about projects, they are much more likely to get off the ground in a timely and affordable fashion,” said LLNL scientist and co-author Kim Mayfield. “In this report, we identify highly vulnerable counties that could maximally benefit from CDR management approaches in forests and agricultural soils. We also identify counties experiencing inequitable job losses in traditional energy sectors; these counties may become early adopters of innovative CDR approaches such as biomass for carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) and direct air capture (DAC), which can put underemployed, skilled residents back to work.” “...To get all the way to net-zero, investment in CO2 removal technologies like direct air capture with geologic storage (DACS) will eventually be necessary.”
Portland Press Herald: The U.S. could remove 1 billion tons of carbon from the air – for $130 billion
Michelle Ma, 12/11/23
“The U.S. alone could remove 1 billion tons of carbon from the atmosphere annually by midcentury using existing technologies. Forests, soil and manmade solutions in their early stages of development could help get the U.S. to net zero, according to a report published on Monday by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that lays out a roadmap to pull CO2 from the air,” the Portland Press Herald reports. “Biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) accounts for about 70% of the U.S.’s carbon removal potential, or approximately 700 million tons annually, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, lead author and a senior staff scientist at the lab, told the Herald… “Reaching the capacity to remove 1 billion tons of carbon annually using BiCRS and other methods could cost $130 billion, according to the report. That amount is equivalent to a mere 0.5% of current U.S. gross domestic product or less than the amount the country spends on solid waste management annually, the report notes.”
Bloomberg: Carbon capture extends project lifespan, worsening emissions: expert
Daniel Johnson, 12/11/23
“Fossil fuel producers have pinned hopes on carbon capture as key to their energy transition, but an energy policy expert says subsidies for the technology can worsen emissions,” Bloomberg reports. “Emily Grubert, associate professor of sustainable energy policy at the University of Notre Dame, told BNN Bloomberg that installing a carbon capture system extends the lifespan of a project and often results in more net emissions than would have happened if the asset had shut down. “When you do see those lifespan extensions, quite frequently, they really do cause a lot of additional emissions versus what you could have done otherwise, especially because we have a lot of other generation technologies in the power sector that are cheaper at this point,” Grubert told Bloomberg… “Grubert’s comments come as a consortium of Canadian oilsands companies has proposed building a $16.5-billion carbon capture and storage network in northern Alberta intended to lower industry emissions. The Pathways Alliance’s carbon capture proposal is a significant part of the industry’s pledge to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.”
Bayes Business School: COP28: We need a reality check on hopes for carbon capture and removal
12/12/23
“The potential role of innovative technologies that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in combatting climate change has an understandable popular appeal,” according to Bayes Business School. “...However, Dr Lucrezia Nava, Lecturer in Corporate Social Responsibility at Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), has been a partner in an EU Horizon-funded research project, (NEGEM). It confirms that carbon dioxide removals, while fundamental to achieving net zero emission goals, will not save the planet and humanity from the impact of climate change… “Dr Nava said: “Our research, which will be published in full next year, makes clear that governments must commit at COP28 to rapid and significant cuts in fossil fuel emissions. We need to escape the delusion that the worst impacts of climate change can be kept at bay while maintaining our current production and consumption patterns. Unless we temper our expectations, it’s possible that the most significant things these technologies capture are our false hopes. “While these solutions can be handy at offsetting emissions from hard-to-abate sectors, each of them presents negative impacts on other planetary boundaries or social goals, like biodiversity, freshwater and land use. They also pose additional threats to guarantee food security for the growing population… “Preliminary results from scenarios developed for NEGEM, suggest that, at best, annual carbon removals will reach around 5.5Gt (gigatons) in 2040 and 10Gt in 2050. Those figures make it unlikely that total removals by 2050 will exceed 100Gt – barely two-thirds of the 150Gt that the business-dominated Energy Emissions Commission argues is feasible if governments and industry step up investment… “Experts interviewed as part of the NEGEM project have serious doubts about the scalability of direct air capture and bioenergy with CCS – the two leading tech removals systems. They are thought unlikely to remove more than 0.5Gt a year between them by 2050.”
Guardian: Carbon capture in the Great Artesian Basin risks ‘greatest environmental asset’, farmers say
Aston Brown, 12/8/23
“Farming bodies and environmental groups in regional Queensland have formed an unusual alliance to ensure a proposal to inject carbon dioxide into the Great Artesian basin does not go ahead,” the Guardian reports. “Carbon Transport and Storage Corporation (CTSCo) – subsidiary of global mining company Glencore – is awaiting a decision by the Queensland government to approve a pilot scheme to liquefy CO2 from a coal-fired power station and store it deep underground. Opponents claim the project could cause irreversible damage to water aquifers… “The chief executive of Queensland Farmers’ Federation, Jo Sheppard, told the Guardian water from the Great Artesian basin, which stretches 1.7m sq km across Australia’s eastern interior, is one of the “greatest environmental assets” that farmers can access. She worries the project “may open the gate for many other proponents to be looking at the Great Artesian basin for CCS. The cumulative effects could be devastating.” Sheppard told the Guardian a group of the project’s opponents, including the National Farmers’ Federation, Agforce and Queensland Conservation Council, are “prepared to take it to the high court if necessary”. NFF president, David Jochinke, told the Guardian “injecting coalmine waste into this vital water source, it puts food production at serious risk”... “Farmer Ken Cameron, who has contracted Hamer since 2017 for groundwater advice, has a licence to drill a bore 10km from the injection site into the Precipice Sandstone – the groundwater formation that the GTSCo is aiming to store CO2 inside. That bore underpins his plans to double the size of his piggery. He is concerned contamination from the injection site could spread to the area surrounding his bore and “compromise our whole operation”... “Farmer Cindy Coggan owns a property roughly 5km from the injection site. She is concerned that if the pilot program is successful, C02 injection could expand rapidly in the region. “We are getting drier and drier here – to inject into the Great Artesian basin with the potential for it to migrate, that’s the big problem,” she told the Guardian.”
Oil Change International: Norway second only to the United States in carbon capture subsidies
AL JOHNSON-KURTS, 12/11/23
“The Norwegian government has spent at least $4.12 billion of public money – out of more than $20 billion worldwide – on CCS, providing a lifeline for the fossil fuel industry,” according to Oil Change International. “Approximately one in every $5 dollars tracked in the Oil Change International database that was spent on CCS was spent by Norway. In comparison, the EU spent $2.77 billion of public money on CCS subsidies. Only the United States spent more public money on CCS subsidies: $8.08 billion Like most CCS projects in the world, Norwegian CCS projects frequently overpromise and under-deliver… “The Norwegian government brought an official business delegation to the UN Climate Change Conference, featuring representatives from Equinor, Aker BP, and other oil and gas companies, with the express intention of promoting CCS. New analysis from OCI demonstrates the results of the CCS lobby in Norway – based on publicly-available figures for 2008-2020 from Norway’s Oil and Energy Ministry, and information on the government’s CCS webpage and the website of the CCS research programme CLIMIT, $4.12 billion in public subsidies have already been granted. The real figure could be larger given other forms of public support for CCS that come under other ministries’ budgets… “Norwegian CCS subsidies continue despite projects repeatedly failing, most notoriously in the full-scale carbon capture project at Mongstad. This project, once described as Norway’s “moon-landing” by then-Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, failed at considerable cost. The Kårstø project also failed, wasting further public money. CCS is among the most expensive and inefficient ways to reduce emissions, as highlighted in the IPCC’s comparison of different mitigation measures.”
Globe and Mail: Can carbon capture solve emissions problems for oil and gas?
MENAKA RAMAN-WILMS, EMMA GRANEY, 12/12/23
“Canada’s oil and gas industry has been facing immense pressure to reduce emissions. Last week, the federal government announced a cap and trade system to help do that, and one of the main ways the industry is planning to cut back on emissions is through carbon capture. Today, The Globe’s energy reporter Emma Graney explains the new cap and trade system, the science behind carbon capture, and the concerns around whether it is a viable option for Canada’s oil and gas sector,” the Globe and Mail reports.
NPR: Making oil is more profitable than saving the planet. These numbers tell the story
Camila Domonoske, 12/12/23
“Oil companies have long been under pressure to invest more money into renewable energy to help fight climate change. Here's one simple reason why that's not happening: Right now, oil makes a lot more money,” NPR reports. “Energy companies spend a lot of money every year. Picture a giant Scrooge McDuck-style mountain of cash, to the tune of $800 billion. According to the International Energy Agency, the oil industry would need to spend 50% of that on clean energy by 2030 to be on track to meet global climate targets. But right now, oil companies are spending just 2.5% of their capital, collectively, on green power. The speed of the transition to renewables — as well as who should pay for it — has been a hot topic at the ongoing COP28 climate talks in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Companies point out that their expertise is in pumping oil, but there's another reason that is obvious to every energy investor. Just consider these numbers… “Despite urgent efforts to reduce demand and switch to cleaner power sources, demand for oil has continued to rise so far. And that keeps oil prices fairly high… “20% to 50%: That's the internal rate of return — the money a company will make off the capital it puts into a project — for a company producing U.S. oil and gas right now, Dan Pickering, the chief investment officer at Pickering Energy Partners, told NPR… “5% to 10%: By comparison, that's how much money Pickering told NPR the same company could expect to make if it put money in solar or wind projects at the moment… “BP, the company tried to pivot from oil and gas to renewables. The result? From January 2020 to December 2022, its stock value dropped by 10% — a clear sign that shareholders were unhappy. By contrast, competitors that stuck with oil and gas were thriving during that period: Chevron stock was up 46%, while ExxonMobil was up 57%.”
Center for American Progress: The Oil and Gas Industry Is Behind Offshore Wind Misinformation
Mariel Lutz, Jenny Rowland-Shea, 12/11/23
“On November 6, 2023, an op-ed was published in a local Delaware paper that described offshore wind as an “environmental wrecking ball.” Yet the author, David Stevenson, is the director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy at the Caesar Rodney Institute, a Delaware-based think tank that as recently as 2019 received thousands of dollars from both American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers and the American Energy Alliance—two groups with a stake in fossil fuels. This fact may explain why the op-ed is riddled with misinformation,” the Center for American Progress reports. “The fossil fuel industry has long funded misinformation about renewable energy—for example, California is currently suing five major oil companies for decades of deception about the risks of fossil fuel use. Offshore wind appears to be the industry’s latest target. Beginning in at least 2019, there has been a growing nationwide campaign against offshore wind using misinformation and obstruction. As a result, offshore wind misinformation has become increasingly common in the Northeast, where the wind energy economy is ramping up and wind turbines are actively being installed off the coast. Local communities may have questions or concerns about offshore wind infrastructure being built nearby. Unfortunately, these concerns—whether valid or not—are being stoked by fossil fuel-serving networks in an effort to keep people reliant on fossil fuels. Offshore wind is not actually bad for people or the planet; it’s simply bad for the fossil fuel industry’s bottom line. This column sheds light on the extensive fossil fuel-backed network behind offshore wind misinformation, which is designed to protect the industry’s record-breaking oil and gas profits and delay the renewable energy transition… “Offshore wind does not hurt tourism or home prices… “There are much worse threats to fishing than offshore wind… “Offshore wind turbines are not wasteful. Offshore wind turbines are durable and built to last 20 to 25 years, on average. More than 80 percent of turbine components are already recyclable or reusable, and researchers and organizations are working on recycling or reusing wind turbine blades. There is no evidence to suggest that offshore wind site surveys have killed or could kill whales… “Furthermore, climate change is a major threat to the food chains whales rely on, and offshore wind is part of the solution… “One way that the fossil fuel industry disguises its involvement in spreading misinformation is through sham grassroots organizations, commonly known as “astroturf” groups. These groups give the appearance of genuine or widespread support for a certain viewpoint but actually serve the purposes of a powerful person or interest… “Notably, some local groups that aren’t directly connected to the fossil fuel industry still use messaging that is similar to misinformation spread by larger fossil fuel-funded groups. This can be considered an “information subsidy,” by which the work of larger groups may influence the efforts of smaller groups that have similar missions.”
Troy Media: Business leaders blast Ottawa’s oil and gas emissions cap
Deborah Jaremko, 12/11/23
“The federal government is proceeding with its plans to cap emissions from the oil and gas industry in a move business leaders say will ultimately hurt Indigenous communities and everyday Canadians,” Troy Media reports. “The Business Council of Canada called the cap part of a “full-on charge against the oil and gas sector.” The government announced on December 7 that it will implement measures to cap oil and gas emissions in 2030 at 35 to 38 percent below 2019 levels. A similar cap has not been announced for any other industry. “It all seems punitive and short-sighted,” wrote Business Council of Canada vice-president Michael Gullo and Theo Argitis, managing director of Compass Rose Group… “There would be significant indirect costs as well, incurred by every household and business across the nation because Canada relies on income generated by oil and gas companies – totaling $270 billion in 2022 alone – to support social programs like health care, education, and infrastructure,” they wrote… “Industry leaders argue that Canada’s oil and gas producers are already on the path to net zero emissions without the need for the cap… “Producers in Alberta have already reduced total methane emissions by 45 percent compared to 2014, hitting the target three years ahead of schedule. Oil sands emissions did not increase last year despite production growth, and total emissions are expected to start going down before 2025, according to S&P Global. “Imposing an emissions cap on Canada’s oil and gas producers, who are already achieving significant emissions reductions as shown in the federal government’s own data, is unnecessary and unacceptable,” the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada said in a statement. The Indigenous Resource Network (IRN) – which advocates for Indigenous participation in resource projects – said the cap would be “devastating” for Indigenous communities. “A pathway to self-determination is being achieved through the ownership of oil and gas projects and involvement in the sector,” said IRN executive director John Desjarlais. “This would result in a cap on Indigenous opportunity in the oil and gas sector.”
Reuters: Endeavor Energy Explores Sale For As Much As $30 Billion -Sources
David French and Anirban Sen, 12/8/23
“Endeavor Energy Partners is exploring a sale that could value the largest privately-held oil and gas producer in the Permian basin, the top U.S. oilfield, at between $25 billion and $30 billion, according to people familiar with the matter,” Reuters reports. “The sale would come almost 45 years after Texas oilman Autry Stephens started the company that would become Endeavor. The 85-year-old wildcatter has decided to capitalize on a wave of mega deals sweeping the sector, the sources told Reuters. Stephens has asked JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) bankers to prepare to launch a sale process for Endeavor in the first quarter of 2024, the sources said, cautioning no transaction is certain and asking not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. Stephens has considered offers from suitors for Endeavor in the past, including in 2018, Reuters has reported. He now wants to settle the company’s future rather than let his estate decide after his death who it should sell it to, the sources told Reuters.”
Carlsbad Current-Argus: Chevron, Exxon plan on expanding oil and gas operations in Permian Basin in 2024
Adrian Hedden, 12/11/23
“Chevron and ExxonMobil both planned to up their oil and gas operations in the Permian Basin, during a time of rising interest in the fossil fuel region spanning southeast New Mexico and West Texas,” the Carlsbad Current-Argus reports. “On Wednesday, both major operators in the region announced plans for 2024. ExxonMobil said it planned to increase its oil and gas production to about 3.8 million barrels of oil per day (bopd) in 2024, rising to about 4.2 million bopd by 2027, read a company report. That growth was largely expected to be driven by operations in the Permian Basin, the report read, after Exxon’s merger with Permian-focused Pioneer Natural Resources earlier this year. Meanwhile, the company said it hoped to curb emissions from its operations in the region, reaching “net zero” emissions by 2030 reaching the same for the Pioneer assets by 2035… “Chevron said it planned to spend up to $16.5 billion on capital expenditures next year. About $6.5 billion of that was planned for Chevron’s U.S. shale development, with most the money – about $5 billion – planned for the Permian Basin, read a company report. This came on the heels of Chevron’s August acquisition of PDC Energy, which netted the company 25,000 acres in the Permian for fossil fuel production. That was followed by the merger of Chevron and Hess, targeting the latter company’s assets in Guyana which were expected to produce revenue quickly to fund an expansion in the Permian Basin. The company also planned to spend about $2 billion on “lower-carbon” initiatives, the report read, aiming to lower emissions at oil and gas facilities while pursuing “new energy” projects in the renewable sector.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Enbridge: Braving a Winter Night To Shine a Spotlight on Youth Homelessness
12/11/23
“A determined group of people will brave the freezing night at McDonald Park in Kamloops, BC on Dec. 8. They’re not homeless, but they want to put a spotlight on youth homelessness,” according to Enbridge. “A Way Home Kamloops (AWHK), a non-profit organization, has organized an annual Campout to End Youth Homelessness since 2017 to promote awareness around the issues of youth homelessness, and raise funds to support youth programs… “Five Enbridge employees have pledged to join the campout in person. The company also donated $10,000 to support the organization through its Fueling Futures program. “It’s alarming to consider that almost half of our region’s homeless population has experienced youth homelessness,” says Dean Freeman, Director of Field Operations for Enbridge’s BC Pipeline system. “Our community should provide these vulnerable young people the shelter they rightfully deserve. A Way Home Kamloops embodies this mission, and we are grateful and proud to be a part of it.”
Elliot Lake Today: Enbridge warms the hearts of Blind River firefighters
Kris Svela, 12/11/23
“Enbridge Gas Inc. (Enbridge Gas) is helping the Blind River Fire Department purchase firefighting training materials, through Safe Community Project Assist–a program with the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council (FMPFSC) that supplements existing training for Ontario volunteer and composite fire departments in the communities where Enbridge Gas operates,” Elliot Lake Today reports. “The company is donating $250,000 that will be shared by 50 Ontario fire departments, including Blind River with the donation made today. Funds are used to purchase educational materials to assist in training firefighters in life-saving techniques. “At Enbridge Gas, safety is at the core of what we do. Providing support to Ontario firefighters with emergency response training, we’re equipping the heroes of tomorrow to better protect the communities we live and work in–keeping them healthy and vibrant,” Brent Belec, Operations Supervisor, Northeast-Northern Region, Enbridge Gas, told Elliot Lake Today. Since the launch of Safe Community Project Assist in 2012, 344 grants have been provided to Ontario fire departments for additional firefighter training… “We are truly grateful for the opportunity to be funded by this project. Training is an integral component of firefighting. Grants like these, help strengthen our fire department, and the community as a result,” said Fire Chief Ryan Belair.
CityNews Ottawa: Enbridge Gas supporting firefighter training in Ottawa
Alex Black, 12/11/23
“Enbridge Gas Inc. (Enbridge Gas) is helping support firefighter training across the province through the purchase of equipment,” CityNews Ottawa reports. “The company has announced a $250,000 donation to shared by 50 Ontario fire departments, including within the Ottawa Fire Services (OFS)... “The support if being provided through Safe Community Project Assist, a program of Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council (FMPFSC), which supplements existing training for Ontario’s volunteer and joint fire departments in communities where Enbridge Gas operates. “At Enbridge Gas, safety is at the heart of what we do,” said Dan Borris, the Eastern Region operations manager for Enbridge Gas. “By helping Ontario firefighters train in emergency response, we are empowering tomorrow’s heroes to better protect the communities in which we live and work , to keep them healthy and vibrant.” “Thank you for your generous support, Enbridge and the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council,” said Mark Saunders, chief of training for OFS.
OPINION
NWestIowa.com: Let’s continue fights vs. carbon-capture pipes
Ryan Melton, 12/11/23
“Since announcing my first run for Congress in January 2022, I’ve spoken with many Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians and independents alike. One of the greatest concerns among them all is the looming threat of carbon-capture pipelines that Bruce Rastetter’s Summit and other companies want to lay across our state,” Ryan Melton writes for NWestIowa.com. “Their concern, and mine, is that these companies are lobbying our state government to use eminent domain to take our land without our consent, then use it to plant these pipelines. They endanger our public health from risk of fracture, exhaust the water in our state when we are already struggling with water availability due to years of drought, and waste taxpayer money on false climate change technology with a long record of failure while shackling our producers to an uncertain ethanol market amidst the electrification of our vehicle fleet… “Alarmingly, Summit refuses to release its CO2 plume projection data regarding its proposed pipelines in Iowa. These pipelines will misuse our natural resources. Summit has submitted water use permits for these projects that ask to extract hundreds of millions of gallons of water in our state while Iowans struggle with water quality and availability amidst persistent drought… “These pipelines will further entrench our producers in the agricultural status quo of ethanol, while uncertainty within the industry shows we need more flexibility to meet our future energy challenges, not less. Our producers deserve statesmen that care more about them than the powerful ag lobbies, statesmen that care about our long-term stability… “I’ve campaigned against these pipelines since the beginning, joining landowners and concerned citizens of all political affiliations at protests and hearings in front of the Iowa Utilities Board, the state entity determining whether these companies will get eminent domain approval for these harmful, wasteful projects. I have and will always reject corporate PAC money in order to fight for the people of Iowa without fear or hesitation. These eminent domain-driven pipelines are a brazen attempt to take our land, resources and security so already-wealthy corporate elites can make more money while making us shoulder the risk. They may own my opponent, but they don’t own me. We already forced Navigator to cancel their pipeline. Let’s keep going. Let’s fight the good fight together.”
The Atlantic: A Radical Idea to Break the Logic of Oil Drilling
Zoë Schlanger, 12/11/23
“In the climate-change era, everyone who has oil wants to be the last one to sell it. Oil-producing countries still plan to increase production in the near term, and very few economic incentives exist to press them in any other direction. As long as someone else still has oil, they’ll sell it to your customer in your stead. Oil-industry insiders have said this point-blank throughout this year’s United Nations climate talks in Dubai, which are scheduled to end tomorrow,” Zoë Schlanger writes for The Atlantic. “The economic disincentives to phasing out fossil fuels have been the “elephant in the room,” according to Susana Muhamad, the environment minister of Colombia’s first-ever leftist government, who has emerged as a vocal leader in the meeting’s plenary rooms. Some of the countries most dependent on income from oil and gas are also among the ones most indebted to foreign banks, and so they keep drilling to stay current with payments. Countries such as Ecuador are exploiting their reserves—even in protected rainforest ecosystems—to service their painfully high debt… “As one of South America’s biggest oil producers, Colombia is—or should be—another case like Ecuador… “It announced in Dubai that it would sign on to a novel attempt to fix this seemingly intractable logic, one that has been gaining momentum outside negotiating rooms: a fossil-fuel-nonproliferation agreement. Modeled in concept after the nuclear-nonproliferation deal signed in 1968, the Fossil Fuel Nonproliferation Treaty is not official COP business but is at the center of a growing side conversation. Like the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the fossil-fuel treaty aims first to take stock of each country’s resources; the organization Carbon Tracker Initiative has already begun compiling a registry of fossil-fuel production and reserves. Then agreements could be made to mutually halt expansion. So far, 12 countries have signed on to support the deal; Colombia is the second oil-and-gas-producing country to join. (Timor-Leste, an island nation in Southeast Asia with a struggling oil economy, was the first.) Ultimately, the treaty’s signees intend to have it recognized by international law and be legally binding.”
Dallas Morning News: Texas has a chance to be a climate leader in carbon capture technology
Dallas Morning News Editorial, 12/12/23
“For years, some environmentalists trumpeted the benefits of carbon capture and storage to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with climate change. The irony though is that as major energy companies and the state of Texas embrace the emerging technology, some environmentalists argue that the technology isn’t ready for prime time, is too expensive, is a red herring to allow energy companies to delay transitions from fossil fuel production, and that Texas’ history of cozy regulation of the energy industry would pose the potential for safety and other abuses,” the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board writes. “This opposition has been brewing since 2021 when 500 environmental organizations in the United States and Canada, many of whom had backed carbon capture technology previously, turned against its use in a letter to the two governments. Since then, some environmentalists in Texas and in Washington have sought to slow-walk reviews and adoption of carbon capture technologies. Both Washington and Texas have to do a better job of reviewing carbon capture and storage proposals in a timely manner… “Given that fossil fuels will be part of energy production for years to come, Texas, private industry and the federal government are right to pursue the development of additional carbon capture and storage facilities… “This investment, and opportunities for federal tax credits to support carbon capture projects, could significantly jumpstart public and private sector investments in what could be a multitrillion industry to address the climate crisis… “Texas has an opportunity to be at the epicenter of a carbon reduction industry that allows major energy companies to establish carbon capture and storage operations next to onshore gas wells or obtain offshore leases that would allow them to store carbon dioxide in the Gulf of Mexico… “Carbon capture and storage technologies aren’t the sole answers to the challenges of climate change and carbon emissions but have to be part of the solution.”
Reuters: Carbon capture and storage is a dangerous distraction. It’s time to imagine a world beyond fossil fuels
Catherine Abreu, 12/11/23
“The UN climate talks at COP28 could be on the precipice of delivering a global agreement to phase out fossil fuels: an historic breakthrough in this process, which has failed to name the cause of the climate crisis for more than 30 years,” Catherine Abreu writes for Reuters. “In what should come as a surprise to no one paying attention to the climate crisis, lobbyists from the fossil fuel industry have shown up at COP in a record numbers, a whopping 2,400, according to sources, with the intention to delay progress and distract from real climate solutions. One of their biggest tricks? Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. Fossil fuel executives, a large army of their lobbyists and their political allies are increasingly touting CCS as the silver bullet to curb, or even eliminate, emissions (note the increasing presence of the industry-driven reduction of “emissions”, rather than the cause of those emissions: fossil fuels). This provides a tantalizing fix to keep things exactly as they are, locked into a status quo that will continue to make fossil fuel executives richer and the rest of us barreling towards climate catastrophe. This supposed carbon-canceling panacea, however, is not what the fossil fuel industry would have you, and policymakers, believe. New research shows that governments have spent over $20 billion to date, and have approved up to $200 billion more, of public money on CCS. This is despite the vast majority of projects failing to get off the ground. Such an expenditure on a technology fraught with uncertainties and risks is a grave misallocation of public resources… “The magnitude of technology deployment and investment required to achieve this is just not feasible… “Not only are these projects astronomically expensive, they also pose severe risks to the safety of nearby communities and undermine climate progress by supporting expanded fossil fuel extraction… “This misguided reliance on CCS to perpetuate fossil fuel usage underscores the pervasive influence of the fossil fuel lobby on shaping our collective imagination of a climate-resilient future… “This faith in the promise of CCS as a savior perpetuates the shackles of fossil fuel reliance on our collective vision for a sustainable world… “We must break free and chart a new course guided by Indigenous leadership, a just transition for workers and a viable fossil fuel phase-out. Over 100 countries at COP28 agree: It’s time to imagine a world beyond fossil fuels.”
Guardian: The Guardian view on Cop28: a phase-out of fossil fuels is the only decision that makes sense
Editorial, 12/8/23
“It was never really in doubt. But the first week of Cop28, which ended with a rest day on Thursday, made one crucial fact impossible to ignore: the fossil fuel industry is not planning to go quietly,” the Guardian Editorial Board writes. “Far more of its lobbyists are in the UAE than have attended UN climate talks before. One analysis counted 2,456 of them – nearly four times the number registered last year in Egypt… “One of the key battlegrounds at Cop28 is that of language: whether fossil fuels will be phased “down” or “out”. The choice is either reducing carbon energy sources or getting rid of them entirely. The latter would be preferable, but there are many other battles to be won. There will be haggling over whether a transition to a cleaner future should see fossil fuels “unabated”, with greenhouse gas emissions released directly into the atmosphere, or “abated”, where carbon capture technology and carbon offsets reduce the harm caused. The latter have so far failed to deliver promised benefits, appearing more of a risk than a solution, in enabling the necessity of replacing fossil fuels to be ducked. Currently, not a single G20 country has policies in place that are consistent with the 1.5C target... “This week, five authors of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports told the Guardian that they want the panel to have a voice on policy as well as the science underpinning it. The emissions-cutting process stewarded by Cop is failing. Although the rate of increase has fallen, overall emissions are still rising, with 2023 expected to set a new record. Perverse though it may seem, in one sense the strenuous efforts of fossil fuel interests to hijack the UN climate process could be seen as a sign of hope. The industry understands that it is under threat. Following through on that threat, by insisting on a just transition to a safer energy system, is the task facing governments and the societies they represent.”
Los Angeles Times: COP28 has become a shameless exercise in the fight against climate change. But can we afford to walk out?
Michael E. Mann is presidential distinguished professor and director of the Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media at the University of Pennsylvania; Susan Joy Hassol is the director of Climate Communication, 12/11/23
“As the 28th United Nations climate summit (COP28) draws to a close in Dubai, after another year of devastating heat waves, droughts, wildfires, storms and record high global temperatures, the entire process is threatening to break down. Not only has COP28 failed to meet this moment demanding dramatic and immediate climate action — it has made a caricature of it,” Michael E. Mann and Susan Joy Hassol write for the Los Angeles Times. “The fact that the U.N. chose a petro-state, the United Arab Emirates, to host COP28 was an ominous sign to begin with. And the UAE’s appointment of a fossil fuel executive, Sultan Al Jaber, to preside as COP28 president made matters worse. Yes, we should engage oil and gas producers in the global effort to avert climate catastrophe, and perhaps the offer to host the summit was intended as a carrot to encourage them to join rather than obstruct progress. But if the olive branch was offered in good faith, it was cynically turned into a fig leaf to conceal the naked, shameful ambition of Big Oil to increase its planetary rampage… “Meanwhile, those seeking to prolong the use of oil and gas are inserting weasel words like “unabated” before fossil fuels as shorthand for the dubious notion that the carbon dioxide in emissions will somehow be “abated” by the pipe dream of massively capturing it in the short time frame necessary… “As much as we have argued against despair and defeatism, climate activists who have grown skeptical and cynical about the COP framework have every right to be disillusioned with the process. The accusation that it has been co-opted by the fossil fuel industry and become rife with conflicts, corruption and corporate greenwashing is difficult to argue against at this point. The U.N. has largely lost the confidence of youth climate advocates who feel betrayed by what they see as a deck stacked heavily on the side of polluters… “There must be financial penalties, such as tariffs or even embargoes, for countries like Saudi Arabia that seek to thwart the global effort to phase out fossil fuels by locking in oil dependency in emerging economies in Africa and Asia. And the COP rules should be changed to allow for a super majority of, say, 75% of nations to approve a decision, rather than the current consensus rules that allow even one holdout to veto any agreement… “We must seize this moment to fix the broken COP process and stop the world from barreling down the road to ruin. It’s time to change the rules so we can change the world for the better.”