EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 12/7/23
PIPELINE NEWS
Politico: Pipeline Safety Legislation Advanced By House Panel
Law360: Feds Can't Justify Gas Pipeline Safety Rules, DC Circ. Hears
WMBD: Illinois Farm Bureau passes CO2 pipeline resolutions
Illinois Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines: Farm Bureau Delegates Reaffirm Property Rights and Farmland Protections with Passage of Resolutions on CO2 Pipelines
WGLT: Permit for CO2 wells in eastern McLean County to go before full board
RBN Energy: End Game - Targeted Approach Could Be Key To Success For Carbon-Capture Pipeline Projects
Common Dreams: Despite Lofty Rhetoric at COP28, US Approves LNG Pipeline to Mexico
Bloomberg: A Pipeline Giant Is Helping to Push Texas’s Power Grid to the Brink
KBMT: 6 people injured in flash fire at Explorer Pipeline site in Port Arthur, cause under investigation
Coldwater Daily Reporter: Contaminated soil removed from October BP gas pipeline break site, tests pending
WASHINGTON UPDATES
New York Times: U.S. Supports ‘Largely’ Phasing Out Fossil Fuels, John Kerry Says at Climate Summit
Guardian: Alarm at plan to stash planet-heating CO2 beneath US national forests
Law360: Groups Renew Fight To Block Willow Construction At 9th Circ.
E&E News: Biden Regulatory Plan Set To Shake Up Energy Sector
Axios: Biden reportedly seeks guardrails for hydrogen
Reuters: Exxon, Pioneer receive second US FTC request for details on pending takeover
E&E News: House Panel Sets Markup On Alaska Drilling, Geothermal
E&E News: Plugging Federal Oil Wells Could Cost $17 Billion
STATE UPDATES
Capital and Main: New Mexico Governor Kickstarts Effort To Overhaul Oil And Gas Regulation
Reuters: New Mexico floats plan at COP28 to divert drilling wastewater to manufacturing
EXTRACTION
Associated Press: As COP28 talks try to curb warming, study says Earth at risk of hitting irreversible tipping points
Associated Press: Activists say their voices are stifled by increasing rules and restrictions at COP28 climate talks
Associated Press: European Union calls for “the beginning of the end” of fossil fuels at COP28 climate talks
New York Times: It’s Big Oil vs. Science at the U.N. Climate Summit
Bloomberg: Al Gore Wants to Weaken Petrostates’ Power Over Global Climate Decisions
Reuters: How electric vehicles are accelerating the end of the oil age
Bloomberg: Why Carbon Capture Is Seen as Vital in Climate Fight But Falling Short
Wall Street Journal: The U.S. Gas Startup at the Center of an Epic Feud With Global Energy Giants
Globe and Mail: Ottawa plans cap-and-trade system to cut oil and gas emissions, but targets lower than expected
Western Standard: Alberta sinks $31.3 million to develop carbon fibre hockey sticks from oil sands
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
CK News Today: Enbridge Gas gives United Way of CK a big boost
OPINION
The Detroit News: Speed up approval of Line 5 tunnel
The Conversation: What happens after net zero? The impacts will play out for decades, with poorest countries still feeling the heat
MSNBC: COP28's alarming conflict of interest
New York Times: 1.5 Degrees Is Not the Problem
Corporate Knights: Is the LNG industry gaslighting the path to net-zero?
The Hill: Don’t let the Heritage Foundation’s denialism ‘Mandate’ drive our climate agenda
PIPELINE NEWS
Politico: Pipeline Safety Legislation Advanced By House Panel
Allison Prang, 12/6/23
“The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday advanced bipartisan legislation to reauthorize safety measures for pipelines transporting substances such as hydrogen and carbon dioxide,” Politico reports. “The PIPES Act of 2023 (H.R. 6494) reauthorizes the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s pipeline safety programs for another four years. “This bill ensures the right balance between environmentally friendly U.S. production and the safe transportation of all our energy resources, ensuring that we remain a competitive global leader in the production and exportation of newer energy resources,” Committee Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.), who co-sponsored the bill, said in a statement. Details: The legislation would strengthen criminal penalties for pipeline disruption or damage and mandate that PHMSA complete rulemaking on carbon dioxide storage and transportation standards. It would also authorize hiring more pipeline safety experts. The bill, which was introduced last month, was co-sponsored by Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), ranking member on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), chair of the Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials subcommittee; and Rep. Donald Payne (D-N.J.), the subcommittee’s ranking member.”
Law360: Feds Can't Justify Gas Pipeline Safety Rules, DC Circ. Hears
Madeline Lyskawa, 12/6/23
“A gas pipeline industry group called on the D.C. Circuit to unravel a handful of new safety standards for transmission pipelines, arguing that the U.S. Dept. of Transportation failed to craft reasonable standards that adequately weighed the benefits against the cost of compliance,” Law360 reports.
WMBD: Illinois Farm Bureau passes CO2 pipeline resolutions
Kate Stevens, 12/6/23
“The Illinois Farm Bureau delegates passed several CO2 pipeline resolutions at the Farm Bureau’s annual meeting,” WMBD reports. “The first resolution supports legislation prohibiting the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipelines at the Farm Bureau’s annual meeting. The second resolution calls for a moratorium on CO2 pipelines until the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) rulemaking process is complete. The third resolution requires CO2 pipeline and sequestration developers to demonstrate its progress by securing at-will easements before project approval by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). Lan Richart, on behalf of the Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines, told WMBD the passage of the resolutions demonstrates the Farm Bureau’s commitment to protecting property owners and Illinois’ agricultural economy.”
Illinois Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines: Farm Bureau Delegates Reaffirm Property Rights and Farmland Protections with Passage of Resolutions on CO2 Pipelines
12/5/23
“At their annual meeting this week, Illinois Farm Bureau delegates passed resolutions supporting legislation that would prohibit the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipelines, call for a moratorium on CO2 pipelines until the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) completes its rulemaking process, and require CO2 pipeline and sequestration developers to demonstrate progress securing at-will easements prior to project approval by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC),” according to the Illinois Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines. “The passage of these resolutions demonstrate the Farm Bureau’s commitment to protecting property owners and Illinois’ booming agricultural economy amidst mounting concerns over property rights and the hazards CO2 pipelines pose to farmland and the livelihoods of hardworking farmers. The Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines—a group of farmers, landowners, and advocates within the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition—supported legislation in the spring that would have addressed regulatory gaps in the Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) industrial cycle that put Illinois landowners, our drinking water, public health, and safety at risk. The bill did not move forward this year, but given the widespread opposition to these projects and the lack of strong protections on the state and federal level, advocates plan to push for the legislation in 2024. In response to the passage of the Illinois Farm Bureau’s resolutions, members of the Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines released the following statements: "I applaud the Illinois Farm Bureau delegates for passing these critical resolutions that protect property rights in the midst of a flurry of CO2 pipeline proposals from companies across the Midwest. Carbon dioxide pipeline projects, like the now-defeated Navigator CO2 Ventures pipeline, require permanent easements with restrictions on how we can use our property. Construction of these pipelines would permanently damage our farmland and reduce crop yields. The resolutions passed by my fellow landowners and Farm Bureau members this week uphold their commitment to protecting landowners’ property rights, while also preserving our land and livelihoods,” said Steve Hess, a fifth generation McDonough County farmer.
WGLT: Permit for CO2 wells in eastern McLean County to go before full board
Lyndsay Jones, 12/6/23
“An application for a special-permit that would allow the drilling of three carbon storage wells in eastern McLean County is headed to the full county board for a vote,” WGLT reports. “After nearly a month of public hearings, the county's Zoning Board of Appeals voted to recommend the application from One Earth Sequestration, a subsidiary of One Earth Energy. The ZBA's vote late Tuesday signaled that members believed the Gibson City-based company's plans to drill carbon sequestration wells in Cheneys Grove and Anchor townships met the county's criteria for special-use permits… “Comment to the ZBA ranged from farmers and landowners near the wells voicing their support of One Earth Energy to others urging caution and skepticism and to county residents not near the wells urging the ZBA to consider any potential dangers the county's source of drinking water when deciding whether to recommend the permit. ZBA member Julia Turner said she felt that previous testimony from scientists and at least one engineer — including the former director of Energy and Minerals with the Illinois State Geological Survey — indicated the plan for the wells did not pose a major safety or health threat… “The ZBA's vote Tuesday signaled a blow to public commenters who had given testimony either against the CO2 wells entirely, or had urged the board to wait for the Environmental Protection Agency before making any decisions… “Dawn Dannebring, the lead environmental organizer for Bloomington-based Illinois People's Action, told WGLT Tuesday the advocacy group plans to continue its fight against the drilling of the wells. "We are going to take this to the EPA; we've already been asked by the EPA to make comment on this. The ICC [Illinois Commerce Commision] — we have a chance to intervene there," she told WGLT… “McLean County building and zoning director Phil Dick said the ZBA's recommendation to approve the special permit will go before the full county board on Dec. 14.”
RBN Energy: End Game - Targeted Approach Could Be Key To Success For Carbon-Capture Pipeline Projects
Jason Lindquist, 12/7/23
“It’s been a tough couple of months for developers of large-scale, multi-state carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects, which have been stung by widespread public opposition and often hamstrung by state and local regulations,” RBN Energy reports. “But while those factors helped lead one developer to pull the plug on its project and another to push back its schedule by a couple of years, that’s not to say there isn’t a path forward for some projects. In today’s RBN blog, we examine why Wolf Carbon Solutions’ targeted approach and a pipeline conversion by Tallgrass Energy could be the most likely CCS projects to reach operational status... “[Navigator CO2 Ventures] would have helped dozens of ethanol plants across five states (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota) finance and construct their CO₂ capture equipment; transported the captured CO₂ over a newly built, 1,300-mile-plus pipeline network; and permanently sequestered up to 15 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa; 792 MMcf/d) of CO2 at a series of Class VI wells in south-central Illinois (gray oval at bottom right of Figure 1). But Navigator pulled the plug on Heartland Greenway in October in the face of public opposition, difficulties in acquiring the rights-of-way needed to build the pipeline, and the “unpredictable nature of the regulatory and government process involved.”
Common Dreams: Despite Lofty Rhetoric at COP28, US Approves LNG Pipeline to Mexico
JULIA CONLEY, 12/6/23
“Days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference and warned that food insecurity "is made worse by our warming climate," government watchdog Public Citizen wrote to the top diplomat Wednesday, demanding to know why—if he is concerned about planetary heating—his agency recently approved the construction of a fracked gas pipeline,” Common Dreams reports. “The group was particularly perplexed by the fact that the State Department approved Oneok's Saguaro pipeline even though two weeks earlier, the Bureau of Energy Resources had ignored a request for a federally mandated emissions review for the project. "Today Public Citizen requests that the U.S. Department of State explain why it abdicated its authority to grant a favorable recommendation for a natural gas export pipeline without first obtaining a lifecycle analysis of the project's impact on greenhouse gas emissions," wrote Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen's energy program. "We request a meeting with the appropriate representative to discuss." Oneok wrote to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in December 2022, requesting a presidential permit to build and operate the proposed 155-mile pipeline, which would connect the Permian Basin in West Texas to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals in Mexico. "Why did the government backtrack on a modest demand for a greenhouse gas emissions analysis for a pipeline and instead rubber-stamp a major fossil fuel project?"
Bloomberg: A Pipeline Giant Is Helping to Push Texas’s Power Grid to the Brink
Rachel Adams-Heard, Naureen Malik and Jeremy C.F. Lin, 12/5/23
“...But after the storm – the costliest in Texas history, killing more than 200 people – Handley’s owner received a bill. Energy Transfer LP, the pipeline’s owner, was charging it for leaving that gas on the pipeline, part of more than $90 million in fees and penalties, according to a previously unreported court filing,” Bloomberg reports. “Such charges are supposed to help prevent pipelines from getting over- or under-pressurized. But industry insiders say penalizing customers for leaving gas on a pipeline at a time when the state desperately needed it goes beyond normal business practices. The extra gas “helped ameliorate supply shortages on Energy Transfer’s pipeline and for Texans,” Handley’s owner at the time, Exelon Corp., said in a lawsuit challenging the penalties. The companies agreed to an eight-figure settlement, according to two people familiar with the matter. In Texas’s beleaguered energy market, the object of intensive political scrutiny since Uri, Energy Transfer stands out for what insiders and customers describe as an especially aggressive – even fearsome – negotiating culture, led by Marshall “Mackie” McCrea, its co-chief executive officer. Regulatory filings as well as interviews with more than two dozen customers, former employees, industry consultants and others portray a company with largely unchecked market power that’s not afraid to use it, particularly since Uri – whether it’s significantly raising rates or imposing penalties that customers call excessively punitive.” “...Almost all of the people interviewed for this story spoke on condition of anonymity. Some cited confidentiality provisions; six said they feared Energy Transfer would cut their companies off from its pipelines. At least twice, Energy Transfer has ended or threatened to end gas service for customers that disputed its charges, according to interviews and a complaint to the regulator.”
KBMT: 6 people injured in flash fire at Explorer Pipeline site in Port Arthur, cause under investigation
12/6/23
“Two of the six injured were released from the hospital Tuesday after being treated. The other four are expected to be released Wednesday,” KBMT reports.
Coldwater Daily Reporter: Contaminated soil removed from October BP gas pipeline break site, tests pending
Don Reid, 12/6/23
“Containers of contaminated soil have been removed following the BP petroleum pipeline break site on Bell Road Oct. 17,” according to the Coldwater Daily Reporter. “Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy spokesperson Jill Greenberg said, “BP contractors removed the bulk of impacted soil and installed a set of temporary groundwater monitoring wells.” All containers of contaminated soil were removed by December 2 for disposal in Ohio. In the last six weeks, contractors using backhoes removed soil from around the line break, which spilled 8,400 gallons of gasoline. Over two dozen covered dumpsters that filled a wooden pad were trucked to a licensed Ohio burn facility to clean the soil. Greenberg told the Reporter, “While soil and groundwater samples were collected, final confirmation soil samples and groundwater samples have not yet been received by EGLE. These samples will likely guide the long-term direction and continued work at the site.” “...The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is investigating the break. The ruptured section of the 80-year-old 10-inch metal line was sent to an independent testing laboratory… “Officials evacuated the half dozen homes in the area for several days until the immediate danger from the gasoline abated. The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Health Agency is prepared to test well water in the area should homeowners request the service.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
New York Times: U.S. Supports ‘Largely’ Phasing Out Fossil Fuels, John Kerry Says at Climate Summit
Lisa Friedman, 12/6/23
“John Kerry, President Biden’s special envoy for climate change, said on Wednesday that the United States supported a phaseout of fossil fuels, his clearest statement yet on America’s position on one of the most intractable issues under debate at the United Nations climate talks in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,” the New York Times reports. “Mr. Kerry said that “largely” ending the burning of coal, gas and oil was required to limit average global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, which many scientists say is necessary to prevent the most catastrophic effects of climate change. The planet has already warmed by 1.2 degrees Celsius. “We’ve got to do what the science tells us to do, and the science has been clear,” Mr. Kerry told reporters gathered at a news conference at the summit, known as COP28, which began on Nov. 30 and runs until Dec. 12. But he also said that to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, nations would need to deploy technology to capture and store carbon emissions from industries for which there are no low-carbon or zero-carbon alternatives, like steel and cement manufacturing… “Mr. Kerry did not discuss a timeline for the end of fossil fuel use. He pointed to science showing that nations would have to slash global emissions by at least 43 percent compared with 2019 levels by the end of the decade if they hoped to stop adding net emissions to the atmosphere by 2050. Instead, global emissions have continued to rise.”
Guardian: Alarm at plan to stash planet-heating CO2 beneath US national forests
Pam Radtke, 12/7/23
“A proposal that would allow industries to permanently stash climate-polluting carbon dioxide beneath US Forest Service land puts those habitats and the people in or near them at risk, according to opponents of the measure,” the Guardian reports. “Chief among opponents’ concerns is that carbon dioxide could leak from storage wells or pipelines and injure or kill people and animals, as well as harm the trees in the forests and their habitat, Victoria Bogdan Tejeda, attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, told the Guardian. “There are enough broad-ranging concerns with this rule that this isn’t the time to move forward and experiment when the consequences are so high,” Bogdan Tejeda told the Guardian… “Bogdan Tejeda worries that people even a mile or two from a carbon dioxide leak could start suffocating and have no way to escape… “Jim Furnish, a retired US Forest Service deputy chief who consults on forestry issues, told the Guardian he was startled by the proposal. He told the Guardian it was a reversal of historic Forest Service policy that only allows temporary use of Forest Service lands, usually for five to 20 years. More broadly, the measure would “provide a powerful incentive to continue to burn fossil fuels”, Furnish told the Guardian. “It’s the opposite of a virtuous cycle.” “...If the rule is finalized, disruptions to forests would begin long before any carbon dioxide was piped underground, June Sekera, an economist and policy researcher at Boston University and the New School who has been studying carbon capture, told the Guardian. Drilling rigs and heavy equipment would be brought into forests to evaluate whether the spaces under the forests were suitable for carbon storage. Trees would have to come down to make way for that equipment, and many more trees would probably be felled to make way for the pipelines. Infrastructure for the injection wells would be permanent, she told the Guardian. “All of the other recreation and human uses of these forests are at odds with this type of use because this type of use is dangerous,” Laura Haight, US policy director at Partnership for Policy Integrity, which focuses on forest issues, told the Guardian.”
Law360: Groups Renew Fight To Block Willow Construction At 9th Circ.
Tom Lotshaw, 12/6/23
“The Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic and conservation allies are urging the Ninth Circuit to block winter construction on the Willow oil and gas project on Alaska’s North Slope as the court considers their appeal of a ruling upholding Bureau of Land Management approvals for the controversial energy development,” Law360 reports. “ConocoPhillips’ upcoming work threatens ‘imminent, irreparable destruction of Arctic wetlands and tundra, and harms to wildlife and people,’ the groups said in an emergency motion filed Tuesday. The motion asks the Ninth Circuit to grant a requested injunction or expedite the appeal to ensure a decision is issued before the 2024-2025 winter construction season. The motion comes on the heels of U.S. District Court Judge Sharon L. Gleason refusing to grant an injunction pending appeal after upholding federal approval of a project that promises to triple oil production in the National Petroleum Reserve and yield hundreds of millions of barrels of oil over several decades. Later this month, ConocoPhillips plans to start developing up to eight miles of roads, several boat ramps, a second gravel mine, an airstrip, a bridge, operations and central processing facility pads, and miles of pipeline infrastructure, building on the roughly two miles of road and gravel mine it developed last winter after a requested injunction to block that work was denied.”
E&E News: Biden Regulatory Plan Set To Shake Up Energy Sector
Miranda Wilson, Heather Richards, Brian Dabbs, 12/7/23
“The White House released a regulatory plan Wednesday that could shape President Joe Biden’s energy legacy — as well as influence greenhouse gas emissions and the electricity mix — amid partisan gridlock in Congress,” E&E News reports. “The fall agenda lays out tentative timelines for new rules affecting pipelines, energy efficiency, oil drilling on public lands and other issues ahead of a contentious presidential election cycle. It would stall some electric grid policies. Oil and gas agencies plan to push a handful of regulations across the finish line next year, from a previously proposed rule that would reshape drilling in the western Arctic to stiffer rules limiting venting and flaring of natural gas on public lands.”
Axios: Biden reportedly seeks guardrails for hydrogen
Nick Sobczyk, 12/5/23
“Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk told Axios the Biden administration takes industry feedback "incredibly seriously" after a reported leak of draft rules for hydrogen tax credits,” Axios reports. “The highly anticipated guidance is the subject of an intense lobbying fight between industry and environmental groups. Driving the news: Bloomberg and Politico reported that the draft rules include guardrails to ensure that hydrogen production that qualifies for the credit is produced with newly constructed renewable energy… “Environmentalists want hydrogen production facilities that qualify for the credit to use new sources of carbon-free energy to power their electrolyzers — the complex systems that make hydrogen from water — so they don't drain the renewables already on the grid. Industry groups, meanwhile, generally want a more lenient interpretation to fuel growth in the industry. "If true, the Biden Administration's proposed strategy for implementing these provisions will fail to get this new industry off the ground," American Power Association CEO Jason Grumet told Axios.
Reuters: Exxon, Pioneer receive second US FTC request for details on pending takeover
12/6/23
“The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has sent shale oil producer Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD.N) and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) a second request for more information on their $60 billion takeover deal, Pioneer said on Tuesday,” Reuters reports. “The companies are working with the FTC and continue to expect that the deal will be completed in the first half of 2024, Pioneer said in a regulatory filing. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and 22 other Democratic senators wrote to the FTC in November saying multibillion-dollar acquisitions by major oil and gas companies Exxon and Chevron (CVX.N) could lead to higher prices for consumers. Schumer reiterated his interest on Tuesday, telling Reutetrs that the Exxon deal "has all the hallmarks of harmful, anticompetitive effects." "If this merger were to go through it would most certainly raise gas prices for families across the country," he told Reuters, adding that the agency should sue to stop the deal "if they find any antitrust laws are being violated."
E&E News: House Panel Sets Markup On Alaska Drilling, Geothermal
Nidhi Prakash, 12/6/23
“The House Natural Resources Committee will vote Wednesday on legislation to reverse the Biden administration’s cancellation of oil development rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,” E&E News reports. “The bill, H.R. 6285, ‘Alaska’s Right to Produce Act,’ also seeks to prevent a proposed rule to limit oil and gas leasing on 13 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve. “The Biden Administration’s decision to take these resources offline without consulting with the Alaska Native communities most impacted by this decision has had terrible repercussions for the state of Alaska and the entire United States, including a loss in jobs and higher energy costs,” Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Chair Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) told E&E last week. The administration’s actions have drawn the ire of all Alaska lawmakers in Congress, including Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, who supports Stauber’s bill. “I am deeply frustrated by the reversal of these leases in ANWR. … I will continue to advocate for permitting reform that includes predictable timelines from the federal government, which must be a reliable partner in leasing and developing our resources,” said Peltola in a September statement.”
E&E News: Plugging Federal Oil Wells Could Cost $17 Billion
Heather Richards, 12/5/23
“The full cost of cleaning up oil and gas wells on federal lands could top $17 billion but only a fraction of that liability is secured, according to a report released Tuesday by a consumer rights advocacy group,” E&E News reports. “The report, from the left-leaning advocacy group Public Citizen, estimates that oil companies have secured bonds for as little as 1 percent to 6 percent of the total price tag for plugging wells. The report comes as the Biden administration seeks to finalize proposed regulations that would increase royalties, fees and the cleanup bonds required to drill on federal lands. The proposed regulations would increase the amount of money required to be secured before drilling — from a single lease’s $10,000 minimum today to $150,000. Biden officials have stressed that bonding should cover a higher percentage of the cost of plugging a well, so the federal government does not have to pay for cleanup when companies go bankrupt. Industry and Republican supporters have countered that most wells are plugged by oil companies and warn that requiring high bonds can discourage companies from drilling, affecting public land production and revenue.”
STATE UPDATES
Capital and Main: New Mexico Governor Kickstarts Effort To Overhaul Oil And Gas Regulation
Jerry Redfern, 12/5/23
“Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will pitch lawmakers to move on more reforms of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Act,” Capital and Main reports. “One proposal would increase bonding fees that could reduce state liability for orphan wells. (Getty Images) After failing in the last legislative session early this year, a major update of New Mexico’s Oil and Gas Act is again in the works, this time with a sharp push from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office. The Oil and Gas Act is the bedrock law outlining how production of the two fossil fuels is regulated in the state, and it hasn’t seen a major update in decades. If finalized, the new bill would be introduced in the legislative session that begins in January. “This effort was spurred by a recognition that the Oil and Gas Act is stale,” Sidney Hill, public information officer with the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD), which is home to the Oil Conservation Division, the state’s main oil and gas enforcement agency, told Capital and Main. Hetold Capital and Main the last notable changes to the act happened in the 1980s and ‘90s. ‘The act,’ Hill told Capital and Main, ‘no longer contains all the tools necessary to oversee the current industry and ensure robust environment protection.’”
Reuters: New Mexico floats plan at COP28 to divert drilling wastewater to manufacturing
Valerie Volcovici, 12/5/23
“The U.S. state of New Mexico on Tuesday used the COP28 talks in Dubai to announce a plan to divert wastewater from the oil and gas industry to water-intensive clean energy projects such as electric vehicle and solar manufacturing,” Reuters reports. “New Mexico is the second-biggest oil and gas producing state, behind Texas, and it brings enormous amounts of water to the surface, most of which is put back underground, as it produces oil and gas. Diverting some of the water to manufacturing could take pressure off the arid state's dwindling water supplies, and also relieve its reinjection wells, which researchers say are at risk of filling and triggering earthquakes. New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham told Reuters in an interview she was launching the program, described as a first of its kind, at the climate talks to inspire other countries with similar issues… “Lujan Grisham told Reuters New Mexico intends to spend $500 million to buy treated drilling wastewater, along with with brackish water from underground sources, to build a strategic water supply, and would seek deals starting early next year. The governor told Reuters the brackish underground water could potentially be treated for public consumption, while the produced water from drillers would be made fit for use in clean energy manufacturing.”
EXTRACTION
Associated Press: As COP28 talks try to curb warming, study says Earth at risk of hitting irreversible tipping points
GAURAV SAINI,12/6/23
“The world is in danger of hitting the point of no return for five of Earth’s natural systems because of human-caused climate change, a team of 200 scientists said on Wednesday on the sidelines of the United Nations’ climate summit,” the Associated Press reports. “The report on so-called “tipping points” — moments when the Earth has warmed so much that certain side effects become irreversible — looks at 26 different systems and points to five of them — the melting of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, the dying off of warm-water coral reefs, the thawing of permafrost and impacts to a North Atlantic ocean current — as close to triggering. “These tipping points pose threats of a magnitude that has never been faced before by humanity,” Tim Lenton, the report’s lead author and Earth systems scientist and the University of Exeter in the U.K., told AP… “Tipping points “can trigger devastating domino effects, including the loss of whole ecosystems,” Lenton told AP… “Abhilash S from Cochin University of Science and Technology told AP it was almost certain that “some natural systems will be permanently damaged.” “Protecting them is beyond our control,” he told AP. “We have already lost that chance.”
Associated Press: Activists say their voices are stifled by increasing rules and restrictions at COP28 climate talks
LUJAIN JO AND SIBI ARASU, 12/6/23
“This year’s United Nations climate talks may have seen record numbers registered to attend, but activists who have spent years demonstrating at the annual event say their space to voice their demands is shrinking year on year,” the Associated Press reports. “Held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates — where broad laws tightly restrict speech — climate activists have been protesting at COP28’s Blue Zone, which is considered international territory. Demonstrators say there have always been strict regulations for protests at COPs, but they tell AP actions this year have been further limited in terms of the number of people allowed to participate and which climate issues they’re allowed to address on any given day. It’s a stark contrast, activists tell AP, to the growing presence of the fossil fuel industry, where those linked to the industry number around 1,400, according to an Associated Press analysis. “There’s always been a lot of restriction on civic space inside of COPs, but we are really seeing a trend of it increasing,” Lise Masson, of Friends of the Earth International, told AP. “We have to say how loud we’re going to be, what’s going to be written on the banners. We’re not allowed to name countries and corporations. So it’s really a very sanitized space.” “...But Mitzi Jonelle Tan, a climate activist from the Philippines who’s also attend COPs in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt last year and in Glasgow, questioned whether that inclusivity extended to activists. “When we talk about inclusivity, the question is who are we including? And it’s definitely we’re seeing more corporations, more fossil fuel lobbyists and more of the fossil fuel industry,” Tan told AP… “Some action areas have been shut off in recent days, which organizers say is for maintenance reasons, according to activists. The UNFCCC did not address questions sent by The Associated Press on specific claims made by activists.”
Associated Press: European Union calls for “the beginning of the end” of fossil fuels at COP28 climate talks
DAVID KEYTON, 12/6/23
“This year’s climate talks should “mark the beginning of the end” of fossil fuels the European Commissioner for Climate Action said on Wednesday as the United Nations summit wrapped up its first week,” the Associated Press reports. “Wopke Hoekstra told a news conference on the last day of the technical phase of the talks taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates that the bloc is seeking a “higher bar” in negotiations… “We have over 190 parties here at COP28 and we need all of these parties, all of these parties to agree to phase-out fossil fuels,” warned Hoekstra… “Spain’s deputy Prime Minister, Teresa Ribera, currently holding the Presidency of the European Union, said the bloc wants to ensure “the European Union facilitates what the president said he wanted to achieve in this very precise moment: a historic turning point in this very critical decade.” “...The EU also made major financial pledges earlier in the week, with member states and the EU Commission pledging around two thirds of the established loss and damage fund — a pot of finance for countries that have experienced devastation from climate change-fueled extreme weather events.”
New York Times: It’s Big Oil vs. Science at the U.N. Climate Summit
David Gelles, Lisa Friedman and Vivian Nereim, 12/5/23
“With fresh promises to cut methane and billions of dollars in new commitments to help poor countries adapt to a warming planet, a sense of momentum and optimism pervaded the first days of the United Nations climate summit in Dubai. Now comes the hard part. Five days into the two-week conference, known as COP28, the talks have become consumed by an intense debate over the future of fossil fuels,” the New York Times reports. “The president of the event is under fire for having suggested that it is not necessary to phase out oil, gas and coal, the burning of which is dangerously heating the planet. At least 1,300 fossil fuels lobbyists, a record, are participating in the talks. And Saudi Arabia has said it opposes any agreement that calls for an end to fossil fuels — significant because, under U.N. rules, any single country can scuttle a deal. At the same time, scientists, activists and dozens of world leaders are growing more adamant in their calls for a rapid reduction in oil, gas and coal, arguing that, without a pivot away from fossil fuels, the planet is destined for catastrophe. Agreement on a phaseout would be historic; Past U.N. climate deals have shied away from even including the words “fossil fuels.” Against this backdrop, negotiators from more than 170 countries are frantically working to hash out an agreement that can be approved by every nation by next Tuesday. “The COP presidency has brought baggage to this process, and far too many oil lobbyists,” Tzeporah Berman, a Canadian activist who is chairwoman of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, told the Times. “He has also brought a chance for a real conversation on how to phase out fossil fuels.” “...Many scientists and activists want the final agreement, which is due in a week, to include unambiguous language that calls for the rapid phaseout of fossil fuels… “But several Gulf state leaders and top oil executives have indicated they are not open to such language… “Aaron Padilla, the vice president of corporate policy at the American Petroleum Institute, which represents some of the biggest oil and gas companies in the United States, called the effort to demand a fossil fuel phaseout “misguided.” “...Late on Monday, negotiators issued a 24-page draft of an agreement that gave some indication of the distance that remains between nations on the question of a phaseout. It offered a number of different options, ranging from a clearly-stated “orderly and just phaseout of fossil fuels” to no mention whatsoever.”
Bloomberg: Al Gore Wants to Weaken Petrostates’ Power Over Global Climate Decisions
Akshat Rathi and Oscar Boyd, 12/5/23
“Former Vice President Al Gore said the annual United Nations COP climate summits need to be reformed so that petrostates don’t wield so much power over the final outcome,” Bloomberg reports. “The meetings are run by consensus, meaning any one country can block an agreement. It was a condition that Saudi Arabia enforced by not allowing voting rules to be agreed at the start of the COP process in 1995. As a result, whatever the nearly 200 countries gathered at COP28 in Dubai this month decide to do to tackle global warming will reflect only the minimum steps that all nations are willing to take. “The situation that leaves our world community in is that we have to beg for permission from the petrostates,” to “protect the future of humanity,” Gore said at the Bloomberg Green summit at COP28 on Tuesday. And time and again, he said, the answer from petrostates is “no, sorry.” “...Separately, Gore told Bloomberg Green’s Zero podcast that he believes the process through which the COP host country is selected should also be changed. Currently, the presidency rotates through different regions of the world and interested countries compete for the presidency. But, again, any member state can block a decision. COP29 is scheduled to be held in an Eastern European country, but Russia has said it will veto any bid by a European Union member because of its support for Ukraine. “The UN Secretary General should share the authority for naming the COP,” he told Bloomberg. “We have to change this process. It’s just not fit for purpose.”
Reuters: How electric vehicles are accelerating the end of the oil age
Laura Sanicola, 12/6/23
“There is plenty of hand-wringing on display at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai about the slow pace of reducing the consumption of fossil fuels to fight climate change. But one positive that delegates can point to is the growing fleet of electric vehicles worldwide that is already making a surprisingly big dent in demand,” Reuters reports. “Growing sales of electric vehicles in recent years have led forecasters to speed their projections for when global oil use will peak, as public subsidies and improved technology help consumers overcome the sometimes eye-popping sticker prices for battery-powered cars, according to industry experts… “Transportation is responsible for about 60% of world oil demand, with the United States alone accounting for around 10%, according to the IEA. That share should fall, as the IEA expects EVs will have erased some 5 million barrels per day of world oil demand by 2030… “While those numbers are big, the IEA has said EV sales would need to be even higher – on the order of 70% of the market by 2030 - to keep to the Paris Agreement target for limiting warming… “In the United States, by contrast, the average price for an EV is more than $53,000, according to automotive research company Kelley Blue Book, around $5,000 more than a gasoline-powered car. The United States also lags well behind China in total number of public charging stations… “Even so, EVs are expected to grow to up to 50% of new U.S. car registrations by 2030, according to the IEA, as drivers are drawn to the improving technology, falling prices and the prospect of sidestepping volatile prices at gas pumps.”
Bloomberg: Why Carbon Capture Is Seen as Vital in Climate Fight But Falling Short
Eric Roston and Leslie Kaufman, 12/6/23
“The world’s top climate scientists have been clear: If we’re to avoid the most calamitous consequences of warming our planet, we must get as good at taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere as we’ve been at putting it in,” Bloomberg reports. “Even if solar and wind energy largely supplant fossil fuels, holding temperatures down will require capturing large amounts of emissions produced by activities that are hard to decarbonize, such as making cement. It will also require vacuuming huge amounts of carbon from the air. Today, projects devoted to these tasks are far from sufficient to approach those goals. And time is running out for carbon capture technologies to catch up to the challenge… “The world needs to be capturing about 1 gigaton of CO₂ a year by 2030 to be on track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above mid-19th century levels, the International Energy Agency estimates. That’s 26 times what’s being removed annually now… “What’s the challenge for CCS? It’s costly. One reason: Unlike solar energy, which has reached mass scale and is now close to a drop-in solution, CCS requires site-specific engineering virtually everywhere it’s been tried. Since 2010, dozens of projects have been shelved because the technology was too expensive. After nearly 50 years of commercial use and more than $83b in investment by governments and corporations, there are only about 40 large-scale facilities that have CCS; altogether, they capture roughly 45 million tons of carbon annually, or about 0.1% of global emissions. CCS is also opposed by many climate activists, who say energy companies are using the prospect of CCS to slow the transition to an all-renewables economy.”
Wall Street Journal: The U.S. Gas Startup at the Center of an Epic Feud With Global Energy Giants
Benoît Morenne and Jenny Strasburg, 12/6/23
“Michael Sabel and his partner, both industry novices, have made a fortune virtually overnight by building from scratch one of the world’s largest gas exporters. They have also made some powerful enemies. Here at this sprawling facility spanning about 630 acres in the wetlands outside New Orleans, Sabel said his company, Venture Global LNG, is on pace to leapfrog competitors and to rival Qatar as one of the world’s top exporters of liquefied natural gas by 2030,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “But he must navigate a nasty feud with some of the industry’s biggest names. Venture Global’s earliest customers, including the oil giants BP BP -0.84%decrease; red down pointing triangle and Shell SHEL -1.12%decrease; red down pointing triangle, say the upstart company is ripping them off. In the process, they argue, Venture Global risks undermining the U.S. LNG industry’s reputation as a reliable contributor to the world’s energy supply. “The incumbents, if they can’t compete, say, ‘We have to stop them,’” Sabel, the 56- year-old chief executive officer of Venture Global, told the Journal, adding that he isn’t losing sleep over the criticism. “We are so busy executing, and winning, and being successful.” The quarrel has become the industry’s ugliest in years and centers on a core question: Who has rights to Venture Global’s supercooled liquid gas? That prize is worth billions of dollars in sales, much of that to Europe, which depends largely on U.S. gas to fill the void left after Russian exports halted following the invasion of Ukraine.”
Globe and Mail: Ottawa plans cap-and-trade system to cut oil and gas emissions, but targets lower than expected
MARIEKE WALSH, EMMA GRANE, 12/6/23
“Ottawa’s long-awaited emissions cap on the oil and gas sector will be imposed through a cap-and-trade system, but force fewer reductions from Canada’s heaviest polluting industry than some feared, according to sources,” the Globe and Mail reports. “Three sources with direct knowledge of the government’s plans disclosed the details to The Globe and Mail ahead of the policy’s Thursday release. The oil and gas sector emissions cap was one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s headline promises in the 2021 election campaign. It is expected to be challenged by Alberta, which believes it will act as a de facto production cap. The sources said the federal policy was crafted to address that concern, following widespread consultation with industry, climate groups and provinces… “The cap is one of various federal government policies that aim to cut emissions by 40 per cent below 2005 levels by the end of the decade. Last month the environment commissioner said so far the country is falling short of that goal. The new policy will take effect in 2030, requiring a significant cut in emissions that year, the sources said. At the outset it will be less stringent than many thought, given the overall numbers in Ottawa’s emissions reduction plan released last year. However, between 2030 and 2050 the cap will be incrementally lowered as the country moves to a net-zero economy by mid-century… “The sources told the Globe and Mail the change shows Ottawa considered industry and expert feedback to determine what is actually achievable under an emissions cap. They also said it underscores that the policy is about cutting emissions, not production. The federal government also plans to grant oil and gas producers some flexibility by allowing them to buy offsets or pay into a technology fund in the event that their emissions exceed the cap, the sources told the Globe and Mail.”
Western Standard: Alberta sinks $31.3 million to develop carbon fibre hockey sticks from oil sands
Shaun Polczer, 12/6/23
“It’s been a long time since Alberta — or even Canada — has produced a Stanley Cup contender. But when that day finally comes, the next Conn Smythe trophy winner could be wielding a ‘biscuit-twig’ made from carbon fibre derived from Alberta’s oil sands,” Western Standard reports. “That’s because the Alberta government is sinking $31.3 million to create new value-added products from bitumen. And according to a media release on Wednesday, carbon fibre hockey sticks are just one of a variety of innovative new uses to help reduce emissions and create secondary demand for Alberta’s massive heavy oil resources. Under a program from Emissions Reduction Alberta’s ‘Carbon Fibre Grand Challenge’, hockey sticks are just one of the possible uses to turn bitumenous oil deposits into new products that enhance Canadians’ lives… “Other potential uses include battery energy storage systems, and parts for aircraft and electric vehicles to make them stronger, lighter and more durable. The dollars are coming from Alberta’s share of the industrial carbon tax which are collected and distributed back into developing new technologies.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
CK News Today: Enbridge Gas gives United Way of CK a big boost
PAUL PEDRO, 12/7/23
“Enbridge Gas has once again made a large donation to the United Way of Chatham-Kent,” CK News Today reports. “The company donated $293,132 this year. United Way of CK Manager of Marketing and Communications Eva Marie Clarke told CK New Today they are grateful for the long-time support of Enbridge Gas… "Enbridge Gas is a valued partner with United Way in the Chatham-Kent community and has been since 1948!" wrote United Way CK in a social media post. "Thank you for your decades of caring now and in the future." “...Enbridge Gas said the United Way campaign is an annual reminder of the community spirit that thrives in their employees and contractors.”
OPINION
The Detroit News: Speed up approval of Line 5 tunnel
Nolan Finley, 12/6/23
“The Michigan Public Service Commission affirmed the Line 5 pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac remains the most efficient, safe and environmentally sound method of transporting petroleum products from Canada to Michigan and the Midwest,” Nolan Finley writes for The Detroit News. “The commission, whose three members were appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, effectively refuted an earlier alternative offered by the governor to shut down the line and move its products via rail cars… "We're a step closer today to getting the pipelines off the bottomland of the Straits and avoiding the risk they present," PSC Chair Dan Scripps told the MIRS news service… “The study is not expected to be finished until 2026 at the earliest. Even if it meets that projected deadline and all other operating permits sail through, it will take an additional two years to actually build the tunnel — if it's not held up by lawsuits filed by the multiple environmental groups that oppose its construction. In the meanwhile, Line 5 remains exposed on the lakebed, vulnerable to anchor strikes and deterioration. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, a member of the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, wrote a letter to Michael Connor, assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, urging the corps to expedite the environmental impact study. It's vital the corps do so. Protecting the lakes and preserving a steady supply of fuel depend on speeding up this process.”
The Conversation: What happens after net zero? The impacts will play out for decades, with poorest countries still feeling the heat
Liam Cassidy, Andrew King, Josephine Brown, Tilo Ziehn, 12/4/23
“...To avoid reaching unsafe global temperatures, climate scientists have concluded we can’t prevent continued global warming without reaching a state of net zero CO₂ emissions,” Liam Cassidy, Andrew King, Josephine Brown and Tilo Ziehn write for The Conversation. “But how might climate extremes change after net zero CO₂? There is limited research on this. Our new study, published in Environmental Research Letters, uses a collection of models to address this gap. We found temperatures would respond very differently in various parts of the world, and heat extremes might continue to disproportionately affect vulnerable populations… “To try and answer this question, we used climate simulation models with increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Then, CO₂ emissions are “turned off” and simulations continue for 100 years more. This simple experimental setup allows us to compare the climate before net zero to climate patterns we might see after a transition to net zero. There are regions where projected climate change patterns after net zero CO₂ are very uncertain… “Although there are widespread decreases in how often heat extremes occur after net zero CO₂ emissions, regions with a relatively higher human development index such as North America and western Europe experience larger reductions in heat extremes than regions with a lower rank, such as Sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia… “However, post-net zero reductions in heat extremes favour regions with a higher human development index over regions with a lower index. This means the inequality of climate change may persist even after net zero CO₂.”
MSNBC: COP28's alarming conflict of interest
Phyllis Cuttino, president and CEO of The Climate Reality Project, 12/5/23
“Is it too much to ask that the world’s most important climate summit, where the future of the planet will be decided, is protected from the demands of Big Oil? It is, after all, the very people driving the crisis that the summit is meant to address. Apparently it is,” Phyllis Cuttino writes for MSNBC. “Leaked emails obtained by the Centre for Climate Reporting and the BBC suggest that the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or ADNOC, was aiming to use COP28, hosted by the United Arab Emirates, to seek out new deals for its oil and gas production. ADNOC’s CEO is Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, who also happens to be president of COP28, as the United Nations climate negotiations are known. A COP president’s simultaneously leading an oil company planning expansion is a blatant conflict of interest. So the reports of abuses of power aren’t surprising, but — as former Vice President Al Gore says — they are still “utterly appalling.” “...Nevertheless, a recent investigation by Global Oil and Gas Exit List, a database of the oil and gas industry, revealed that ADNOC’s plans to ramp up its future fossil fuel extraction put it at the top of the list of companies whose forecast emissions from new oil and gas fields will burn through our global carbon budget the fastest… “In a policy statement issued in December 2021, Exxon talked up fossil fuel employment opportunities in the U.S. while complaining that “obstacles to accessing U.S. offshore oil and gas resources continue to limit development through broad regulatory overreach.” A ban on new oil and gas exploration on federal land, the statement claimed, would cost “up to one million jobs” in the following year. Slowing down the global transition to green energy is the real job killer… “COP is important — too important to be undermined by the greenwashing efforts of fossil fuel-vested interests… “The path forward couldn’t be clearer: We must shake off the influence of the fossil fuel industry, adopt the urgent phase-out of fossil fuels necessary to address the climate crisis and seek reforms to the process — reforms such as a robust conflict-of-interest policy, added transparency and decision-making that doesn’t rely on total consensus. A healthy and sustainable future depends on it.”
New York Times: 1.5 Degrees Is Not the Problem
Erle C. Ellis is a visiting fellow at the Oxford Martin School and a professor of geography and environmental systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 12/4/23
“As leaders around the world meet for the 28th time to address the climate crisis — this time in the United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s largest oil producers — they need to rethink this threat and some of the other central challenges of our times,” Erle C. Ellis writes for the New York Times. “Those other challenges include devastating losses of biodiversity and plastic pollution so widespread, it is now found on the world’s tallest mountain, in its deepest ocean trench and in our veins. In the long history of this planet, our current time, the human age known as the Anthropocene, is the first in which a single species will so rapidly reshape the future of Earth’s climate and all the other conditions that make life as we know it livable… “We have become obsessed with targets, the principal one being to hold planetary warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the preindustrial average. But this is a planetary target, not a societal obligation. And in that sense, it is meaningless… “We can meet the challenge of slowing the planet’s warming. The societal capabilities to end the fossil fuel age — from technologies to regulatory systems — have existed for decades… “Progress should be measured by the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy. The target for all developed nations should be 100 percent clean energy, with an agreed-on deadline — the sooner the better… “The climate drumbeat of the future must go beyond endlessly declaring a planet in crisis. The essential question of the Anthropocene is whether the most powerful, affluent, technologically advanced and interconnected societies to have ever existed on Earth will deliver on their shared aspirations for a better future for people and the planet. And that means taking responsibility.”
Corporate Knights: Is the LNG industry gaslighting the path to net-zero?
SHAWN MCCARTHY, 12/6/23
“Home of the Haisla First Nation, the town of Kitimat sits at the end of a 90-kilometre fjord in a remote corner of northern British Columbia. It is a focal point for Canadian ambitions to join the ranks of major exporters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to energy-hungry Asian markets,” Shawn McCarthy writes for Corporate Knights. “On one stretch of the Douglas Channel shoreline is the site of LNG Canada, a partnership of international corporations including Shell PLC and PetroChina. The LNG Canada project currently under construction and the TC Energy pipeline that will supply it with gas were jointly billed as the largest private-sector investment in Canadian history – made possible with $5.4 billion in subsidies from British Columbia and $275 million in support from Ottawa… “All told, 24 would-be LNG developers have received natural-gas export permits from the federal energy regulator, though many of those will not proceed. Canada is well behind competitors like the United States and Australia in the race to supply a fossil fuel market that has limited growth prospects over the medium term. Advocates of Canadian LNG exports say that sending gas to Asian markets will help them reduce reliance on coal, and thereby decrease global carbon emissions. It is a much-disputed argument. Several recent studies challenge the industry position. Researchers suggest that the leakage of methane throughout the LNG life cycle can eliminate any greenhouse-gas (GHG) advantage gas has over coal at the point of final combustion. And some question whether growing reliance on LNG could slow the deployment of less carbon-intensive alternatives… “At most, Canada may add another LNG plant or perhaps two. Investment decisions are looming on Cedar LNG and LNG Canada’s phase two. They will depend on a host of political, environmental and market-based factors. One thing is clear, however: a major expansion of Canadian LNG production runs counter to climate goals and entails a significant risk of big financial losses down the road for the producer, their First Nations partners and, potentially, for Canadian taxpayers.”
The Hill: Don’t let the Heritage Foundation’s denialism ‘Mandate’ drive our climate agenda
Richard Richels directed global climate change research at the Electric Power Research Institute; Henry Jacoby is the William F. Pounds Professor of Management, Emeritus, in the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management; Benjamin Santer is an atmospheric scientist who has worked on all previous Scientific Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Gary Yohe is the Huffington Foundation professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, Emeritus, at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, 12/3/23
“...It appears at least some of the GOP contenders are still reluctant to disavow the baseless assertion that the issue is a hoax, or the accusation that the remedies are worse than the illness, or that continued dependence on fossil fuels is necessary for the health of the economy. The recently released report “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise” provides valuable insight into the arguments that undergird the candidates’ positions on the issue,” Richard Richels, Henry Jacoby, Benjamin Santer and Gary Yohe write for The Hill. “The nearly thousand-page tome is the product of the Heritage Foundation, an influential conservative think tank. Containing hundreds of specific recommendations for dismantling the “administrative state” and supposedly returning self-governance to the American people, the report is a gameplan for a potential Republican administration. In the view of the report’s writers, climate change is not a real problem but simply a warped appendage of the woke agenda. It is no surprise that the Mandate will resonate with much of the Republican base and provide talking points for the remaining presidential hopefuls. The public needs to understand the kind of world the report seeks to create, as well as the chilling implications of its proposals. This due diligence is particularly important in light of the Heritage Foundation’s dismal track record when it has weighed in on past environmental issues, such as the ozone hole, acid rain and the criteria air pollutants. The Foundation became infamous for its false counternarratives: the science was always unsettled, benefits always paled in comparison to control costs, and the science community was driven by a thirst for research dollars rather than the imperative to advance understanding of complex scientific issues… “What are the implications of the Mandate’s call for a complete U.S. withdrawal from the global community of nations seeking to reduce emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases? In our view, a U.S. withdrawal would spark a global “fossil-fuel-free-for-all.” “...The map presented in the Heritage Foundation’s Mandate is of a road to ruin. Continuing down its suggested path will assuredly result in Heritage’s “god of nature” setting us straight, followed by frantic attempts to change course. It is a roadmap born out of willful denial. It will not lead to enduring prosperity for the U.S. or for any other country. We encourage all to take note of the Mandate before deciding how to vote in 2024.”