EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 1/4/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Delaware News Journal: Rain doesn't stop climate change march to Biden's Greenville home New Year's Day
Associated Press: West Virginia environmental agency approves Mountain Valley Pipeline permit
Press release: Mountain Valley Pipeline Faces Legal Challenge to Water Permit in West Virginia
Jamestown Sun: Judge dismisses lawsuit alleging police used excessive force at Dakota Access Pipeline protest
Nation of Change: Trump-appointed judge sides with cops who brutalized DAPL protesters
FOX Business: Native American chairman says tribe would feel 'tremendous effect' of Dakota Access Pipeline shutdown
NWestIowa.com: Farmers resist pipeline land takeover
Public News Service: Carbon Pipeline Plan Spurs Organized Opposition from Tribes
NWestIowa.com: Scientist: CO2 Pipelines are a 'scheme'
Mitchell Republic: Iowa State study shows slow yield recovery after Dakota Access Pipeline construction
Morgan Lewis: FERC Issues Show Cause Orders To Two Natural Gas Pipelines
WPXI: Energy Transfer Gas operations on hold after gas line explosion in Butler County
Natural Gas Intelligence: Judge Rules Energy Transfer Owes $410M For Breakup of 2016 Williams Merger
SeekingAlpha: Canadian oil prices approach 7-yr high - pipeline update
WASHINGTON UPDATES
The Hill: Democrats hit pause on Biden's climate, social spending package
E&E News: Courts may overhaul energy law in 2022. Here’s how
Politico: STREAMLINING PERMITS
Politico: CCUS PROJECTS TO NOWHERE
Politico: WILL IT CAPTURE?
E&E News: DOE unveils $1B loan for hydrogen plant. But is it ‘clean’?
E&E News: Military exempt from Biden order to cut federal emissions
E&E News: House Republicans Demand EPA Scrap Methane Rulemaking
The Hill: Sixteen Hispanic House Democrats ask EPA for tougher methane rule
STATE UPDATES
Bismarck Tribune: Carbon capture dominates North Dakota energy developments in 2021
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska oil and gas regulators fine Hilcorp more than $50,000 for violations
EXTRACTION
Politico: DON’T LOOK UP
Yahoo Finance: Gas prices could eclipse $4/gallon as oil rallies in the spring: Analyst
S&P Global: Commodities 2022: North American midstream crude sector poised for small, incremental growth
Financial Post: Energy workers switch to other professions in droves as work dries up in once booming sector
Western Standard: Energy projects bring economic boom to Edson, AB
Marketplace: Do methane leak detection and repair programs reduce emissions? New research suggests yes.
DeSmog: 2021: A Year in Photos From the Front Lines of the Climate Crisis
CLIMATE FINANCE
Axios: U.S. oil producers plan to boost output despite rising costs
Forbes: Want To Stop Climate Change? Buy Big Oil Stock
Financial Times: Oil majors under pressure as activists circle
Reuters: Analysis: How 2021 became the year of ESG investing
Bloomberg: Why Green Stocks Are Slumping During an ESG Boom
Pensions & Investments: New York State Teachers takes action on fossil fuels
DemocracyNow: NYC Divests $3 Billion in Retirement Funds from Fossil Fuels
OPINION
Truthout: Manchin or No Manchin, Climate Activism Is Working
PennLive: Major modifications to the Mariner East 2 pipeline will reap major rewards | Opinion
Globe and Mail: Canada is an energy superpower – and that doesn’t just mean oil
Chicago Sun Times: A burning issue: Building more natural gas power plants hurts the environment
The Hill: We should harness oil companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Gizmodo: This Year Has to Be the Beginning of the End for Big Oil
Washington Post: Greta Thunberg on the State of the Climate Movement... and the roots of her power as an activist
Ted Glick: Marching to Biden’s House on New Year’s Day
PIPELINE NEWS
Delaware News Journal: Rain doesn't stop climate change march to Biden's Greenville home New Year's Day
Amanda Fries, 1/2/22
“The rain pattered on the pop-up tents lined along Centre Road as dozens of people crowded beneath them preparing for the half-mile trek to President Joe Biden’s Greenville home,” the Delaware News Journal reports. “Saturday marked the final day of the weeklong Occupy Biden event, where dozens of people from various organizations and multiple states had camped out at 909 Centre Road since Christmas Day calling for Biden to act now on climate change. Neither wind nor rain prevented nearly 50 people marching along Barley Mill Road on New Year’s Day to call on Biden to declare a climate emergency and require all federal agencies to oppose any new fossil fuel-related projects. “Today is the eighth day that we’ve been out here for Occupy Biden, and we are calling on President Biden to take executive action on climate by declaring a climate emergency and directing federal agencies to oppose new fossil fuel projects,” University of Delaware senior Anthony Chan said to cheers and applause. “Because with a stroke of a pen, he could do just that.” The event was born out of the Walk for Our Grandchildren event that arrived in Wilmington over the summer, Ted Glick, one of the organizers, told the Journal. They also held a sit-in at Chase Bank, protesting the financial institution’s investments in the fossil fuel industry.”
Associated Press: West Virginia environmental agency approves Mountain Valley Pipeline permit
12/31/21
“The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection approved a water quality permit for the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline on Thursday,” the Associated Press reports. “The natural gas pipeline’s planned 303-mile route cuts through West Virginia and Virginia, including Giles, Montgomery, Roanoke, Floyd and Franklin counties in this region. In Virginia, a recent decision by the State Water Control Board to allow the infrastructure to cross streams and wetlands has resulted in an appeal to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Unlike Virginia, West Virginia does not have a citizens board that decides whether or not to grant such permits. Virginia’s State Water Control Board, whose members are appointed by the governor, voted 3-2 earlier this month to approve about 150 remaining stream and wetland crossings in the New River and Roanoke valleys. The state’s Department of Environmental Quality had recommended a permit, saying that most of Mountain Valley’s nearly 400 violations of erosion and sediment control regulations did not cause lasting damage… “Environmental groups have asked the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review this month’s approval by the State Water Control Board. Two other challenges are pending: One to a Forest Service permit that allows the natural gas pipeline to pass through 3.5 miles of the Jefferson National Forest; the other to a finding by the Fish and Wildlife Service that running a massive pipe across steep slopes and through pristine waters would not jeopardize endangered species of fish and bats. Oral arguments in those cases were made in late October. Decisions by the Fourth Circuit are expected in the coming days or weeks.”
Press release: Mountain Valley Pipeline Faces Legal Challenge to Water Permit in West Virginia
1/3/22
“A new lawsuit filed today challenges West Virginia’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approval of a key water-quality permit for the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline. The lawsuit argues that WVDEP’s approval violates the Clean Water Act. The suit was filed by lawyers from Appalachian Mountain Advocates, on behalf of the Sierra Club, Appalachian Voices, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, West Virginia Rivers Coalition, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, and Indian Creek Watershed Association. The West Virginia DEP has allowed construction of MVP to proceed despite widespread opposition, the threatening climate crisis, and environmental damage that continues to harm Appalachia’s streams. If completed, MVP would also exacerbate health and environmental degradation in communities, as well as continuing to spur more dependence on dirty fracked gas. This legal challenge adds to the mounting uncertainty over whether this project will ever be completed, following a legal challenge filed late last month to a key Virginia permit, and two additional pending cases at the Fourth Circuit challenging the pipeline’s Forest Service and Endangered Species Act approvals. In addition, the proposed MVP Southgate extension faces its own permitting challenges. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has already denied a key water quality certification for the project, twice, and in December the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board denied a necessary air permit for the proposed Lambert Compressor Station.”
Jamestown Sun: Judge dismisses lawsuit alleging police used excessive force at Dakota Access Pipeline protest
Jeremy Turley, 12/30/21
“A federal judge has taken the side of police in a civil lawsuit brought by Dakota Access Pipeline protesters who alleged officers from Morton and Stutsman counties used excessive force on them during a demonstration in 2016,” the Jamestown Sun reports. “U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor dismissed the case Wednesday, Dec. 29, finding that officers acted reasonably during an hourslong standoff with protesters near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation on Nov. 20, 2016. Protesters alleged that police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and exploding munitions into the crowd, injuring more than 200 in attendance. Officers also sprayed water over protesters on the frigid winter night, according to news reports. Lawyers representing the Morton County Sheriff's Department, Stutsman County Sheriff's Department and Mandan Police Department said outnumbered officers were worried for their safety and had to use force to disperse the protesters they believed were trespassing.”
Nation of Change: Trump-appointed judge sides with cops who brutalized DAPL protesters
Kenny Stancil, 1/3/22
“Five years after police brutalized activists opposed to the Dakota Access Pipeline, a federal judge appointed by former President Donald Trump has dismissed a lawsuit accusing North Dakota law enforcement officers of excessive use of force—a decision that critics have characterized as a tacit endorsement of the violent repression of climate justice advocates,” Nation of Change reports. “Several peaceful protesters who gathered at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation to struggle against the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure were assaulted by law enforcement officers on November 20, 2016. Police sprayed demonstrators with water cannons amid sub-freezing temperatures that night, and according to the plaintiffs’ lawyers, they also used tear gas and fired rubber bullets and exploding munitions “indiscriminately into the crowd.” Attorneys for law enforcement officers named as defendants, including Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier and Mandan Police Chief Jason Ziegler, “say officers were outnumbered and were concerned for their lives and safety,” The Bismark Tribune reported Thursday. “They sought to have the protesters’ legal claims dismissed.” “U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor issued the order granting their request Wednesday,” the newspaper noted, “writing that ‘the Court finds the undisputed and irrefutable evidence in this case could only lead a reasonable juror to conclude the officers’ conduct in this case was objectively reasonable.'” Traynor argued that police violence was justified given the “unprecedented” nature of the situation. He cited the fact that “officers issued two code red requests and a Signal 100, requesting the assistance of every available officer in the state,” which “has never been done in North Dakota history.” “...Rachel Lederman, an attorney for the plaintiffs, meanwhile, warned that Traynor’s ruling “effectively legitimizes launching an hours-long barrage of freezing water, explosives, and highly dangerous munitions into a crowd of demonstrators.”
FOX Business: Native American chairman says tribe would feel 'tremendous effect' of Dakota Access Pipeline shutdown
Tyler Olson, 12/31/21
“The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) is one of the most controversial energy projects in the United States, as it's been the subject of years of environmental protests and litigation that's now reaching the Supreme Court,” FOX Business reports. “...But just a few hundred miles north in New Town, N.D., the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, also known as MHA Nation or the Three Affiliated Tribes, vehemently supports the pipeline's continued operation. That's because as fracking made oil deposits throughout North Dakota more accessible starting in the late 2000s, MHA Nation joined in on the state's oil boom and now brings in hundreds of millions in oil revenue from those resources. "We're a tribe that was recognized as an aboriginal trade center for thousands of years, so economic development, capitalism, we're not strangers to that," MHA Nation Chairman Mark Fox told FOX Business. "For thousands of years, we traded and established an economy with other tribes." North Dakota saw its oil production increase from 45 million barrels in 2007 to 525 million in 2019. And MHA Nation's Fort Berthold Indian Reservation accounts for a quarter of that production. In 2020, 60% of MHA Nation's oil traveled through the Dakota Access Pipeline. Amid lawsuits relating to the pipeline in the past 12 months, now less than half of the tribe's oil travels through the pipeline. But Fox tells FOX it's still a significant amount whose loss would hurt the tribe.”
NWestIowa.com: Farmers resist pipeline land takeover
Elijah Helton, 1/3/22
“Amy Solsma does not want to see her family’s farm along Highway 18 east of Sanborn used by Heartland Greenway, a corporate carbon dioxide-capture pipeline proposed to go through Iowa. She is one of the leading voices in N’West Iowa against the pipelines,” NWestIowa.com reports. ““It’s a money grab,” Solsma told NWestIowa.com. “They’re going to make billions of dollars off of — well there’s 342 landowners in O’Brien County. How many is in Lyon, BV, all these? It’s the same kind of deal, thousands and thousands of farmers and landowners.” “...Solsma received a letter from the Texas-based company saying her land is in the corridor, but she said she could not get specifics on where the pipe was planned to go through her farm or if she was even on the route at all. The whole thing is just too confusing, which Solsma said seems like an intentional tactic. “I don’t think there’s anything they could say to make us sign up with them.” “It’s a conundrum because there’s so much we’re up against. The pipeline companies have been working on this, obviously, for years. You don’t come up with this overnight,” she said. “And then we get that letter in November. And there’s a meeting two weeks later. And it’s all so fast. And you’re scrambling to figure out what’s even going on.” “...That’s why she and other landowners across the Hawkeye State are teaming up with the Sierra Club to organize their efforts to stop the pipeline. The farmer laughed when she described the environmental activist group as an “unlikely ally,” but the disparate groups are united against the pipeline. “It’s destroying our greatest natural resource, the land,” Solsma said. O'Brien and Osceola counties have approved letters to the IUB objecting to eminent domain.”
Public News Service: Carbon Pipeline Plan Spurs Organized Opposition from Tribes
Mike Moen, 1/3/22
“An Iowa company is trying to gain support for a multi-state project involving capturing carbon from ethanol plants and moving it underground for storage. In the public debate, advocates for tribal communities say their voices should not be ignored,” Public News Service reports. “...Brian Jorde, managing lawyer at the Domina Law Firm, who is involved in legal strategies to fight such projects, said there are too many unknowns. "How can these companies guarantee that there won't be a catastrophic disaster in the future when they really have no idea what the formations will look like?" Jorde questioned. He suggested there is no way of knowing yet if the carbon will move beyond storage boundaries. He spoke at a recent forum hosted by the Great Plains Action Society, along with regional tribal leaders. They say the projects not only threaten landowners, but could also affect water and other resources for Indigenous communities, even if the pipes run near their lands and not through them. Summit insists it will ensure meaningful consultation with tribes. Donielle Wanatee, a member of the Meskwaki Nation, said they have seen companies aggressively try to secure land in past projects, including the Dakota Access oil pipeline. She sees it happening again with Summit, even before permits are approved. "This is just a scary thing, not just for Iowans, but for everybody who isn't aware of this.”
NWestIowa.com: Scientist: CO2 Pipelines are a 'scheme'
Elijah Helton, 12/27/21
“Climate change is the purported catalyst for the multibillion-dollar pipelines set to scuttle across Iowa, but environmental experts say the ag projects smell like fertilizer,” NWestIowa.com reports. “Chris Jones is an environmental engineering researcher at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. He argues that the carbon-capture pipelines — namely the Midwest Carbon Express and the Heartland Greenway — are more economical than ecological. “This is more of a scheme to make money, and so, if we’re really serious about climate change and we’re going to use public dollars to address that, then we should focus our efforts on long-term strategies that are going to reduce the emissions,” he told NWestIowa.com. Jones, like many others opposed to the pipeline, points out that the corporate interests behind the Midwest Carbon Express and Heartland Greenway are the ones poised to profit most off the nominally low-carbon biofuels. “This is more of a strategy — it’s a lifeboat, if you will — for ethanol, which is now under some threat from electric vehicles emerging in their marketplace,” Jones told NWestIowa.com. “That’s what’s driving this.” “...What’s bad is it distracts from other things that we should be doing to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases,” Jones told NWestIowa.com. He also told NWestIowa.com that Midwest Carbon Express owner, Summit Carbon Solutions, could sell the carbon dioxide to oil companies in North Dakota, which would be directly anti-climate. This is similar to the objections raised by activist groups such as the Sierra Club. Its Iowa conservation director Jess Mazour said the pipelines are a false fix. “When we just mitigate pollution, especially when it’s used to extract more oil from the ground, this is not a climate solution at all when you think about CCS,” she told NWestIowa.com.
Mitchell Republic: Iowa State study shows slow yield recovery after Dakota Access Pipeline construction
Jeff Beach, 12/27/21
“Recovering yield production after a pipeline project is a slow process, say researchers at Iowa State University who have been able to watch the process firsthand,” Mitchell Republic reports. “When the Dakota Access Pipeline route crossed an ag research area at Iowa State in 2016, it provided a unique opportunity to study the effects of pipeline construction, especially soil compaction caused by heavy machinery, on crop yields. The Iowa State team found yields in the 150-foot pipeline right-of-way were reduced by an average of 25% for soybeans and 15% for corn in the first two crop seasons after construction, compared to undisturbed fields. "Recovering crop yields is a slow process," said Mehari Tekeste, an assistant professor in the Iowa State Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering. In addition to compaction, mixing of the topsoil and subsoil also had negative effects… “The findings are off particular interest now as two major pipeline projects are in the works in Iowa… “Jimmy Powell, chief operations officer for Summit Carbon Solutions, told the Republic it plans no bigger than a 16 inch diameter pipe. In Minnesota, off the main branch of the pipeline, the pipe will be 8 inches in diameter.”
Morgan Lewis: FERC Issues Show Cause Orders To Two Natural Gas Pipelines
Kirstin E. Gibbs, Levi McAllister, Pamela Tsang and Patrick R. Pennella, 1/4/22
“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued show cause orders to two natural pipelines-Rover Pipeline and Midship Pipeline Company-following its December 2021 open meeting, and sent a related dispute involving Midship for an administrative hearing. Chairman Richard Glick has signaled in the last year his desire for a more active enforcement program,” Morgan Lewis reports. “During the construction of a 711-mile interstate gas pipeline in 2017, a large inadvertent release of two million gallons of drill mud flowed into a nearby wetland. Testing of the release by a state agency revealed the presence of diesel fuel and other chemicals that were not approved for use in drilling operations. FERC's Office of Enforcement commenced an investigation (Docket No. IN17-4). Based on interviews with witnesses and contractors, the office alleges that Rover Pipeline LLC intentionally employed or directed its contractors to employ these unapproved additives to maintain drilling progress in the face of difficult drilling conditions… “FERC's Office of Enforcement also recommended a $40 million civil penalty, and the Commission ordered Rover to show cause as to why it should not face that penalty… “The Commission ordered Midship to show cause as to why the Commission (a) should not find that Midship improperly disposed of rock and debris along the right-of-way and (b) should not require Midship to immediately remove this rock and debris… “Both proceedings also highlight the importance of adhering to certificate conditions. Though the scope and liability for each pipeline is not yet determined, in general, any cost or time initially saved by noncompliance can be quickly overcome by the cost and time associated with subsequent enforcement and remediation activities.”
WPXI: Energy Transfer Gas operations on hold after gas line explosion in Butler County
12/22/21
“For roughly ten years, Energy Transfer Gas plant has operated in Northern Butler County. On Wednesday morning, residents told Channel 11 they saw flames shooting out of pipes near the entrance,” WPXI reports. “It was around 9 o’clock and it just sounded like a huge wind coming down thru the land and I looked out the window and there were no trees moving,” Rhonda Alworth who lives nearby told WPXI. Those sounds were coming from a quarter of a mile away at the plant. Before Alworth realized it, pictures were falling from the walls as she heard a huge boom. “I hollered at my husband and I said I think we need to leave and he was like where are we going to go. He looked outside the window and we could see the fire and smoke and everything,” Alworth told WPXI. That fire quickly went out near the entrance of the facility, but firefighters told Channel 11 it left about a hundred square foot grass area burned. “Initially we were told it was a well explosion, we got out here and said it was actually in the compressor station so they were doing routine maintenance and it flashed,” David Blair who’s the Assistant Fire Chief at Bruin Fire Rescue told WPXI.
Natural Gas Intelligence: Judge Rules Energy Transfer Owes $410M For Breakup of 2016 Williams Merger
JAMISON COCKLIN, 1/3/22
“Dallas-based Energy Transfer LP owes Williams Cos. a $410 million breakup fee after nixing a plan to merge the two companies in 2016, a judge has ruled,” Natural Gas Intelligence reports. “Energy Transfer withdrew from the $33 billion merger over problems with the deal’s tax treatment and after a collapse in commodity prices at the time that eroded projected deal synergies… “After years of lawsuits and countersuits, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Sam Glasscock III concluded Wednesday that Energy Transfer must pay the deal dissolution penalty. He said the fee was required under the merger agreement.”
SeekingAlpha: Canadian oil prices approach 7-yr high - pipeline update
Nathan Allen, 1/3/22
“After a volatile Q4, Western Canada Select heavy oil prices bounced ~25% into year end as improved offtake availability reduced the pricing discount received by Canadian producers,” SeekingAlpha reports. “With Enbridge line three coming online in early Q4, adding ~250k-300kb/d of offtake to Alberta, transportation costs fell, and pricing discounts in the province moved towards historic lows. However, as torrential rains battered neighboring British Columbia in November, the Trans Mountain pipeline was taken offline and inventory levels in Alberta swelled, pushing prices in the basin lower. With Trans Mountain back online as of early December, and Enbridge line three operating smoothly, sources indicate inventory levels have fallen by ~15%, leading western Canadian select discounts back towards historic lows, and western Canadian crude prices towards multi-year highs.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
The Hill: Democrats hit pause on Biden's climate, social spending package
BY ALEXANDER BOLTON, 1/4/22
“Senate Democrats are putting President Biden’s climate and social spending plan on the back burner as they plan to debate voting rights legislation this month and hold a vote on changing the Senate's filibuster rule,” The Hill reports. “Democratic aides tell the Hill the Build Back Better bill won't be ready for floor action anytime soon and predict the wide-ranging legislation that the White House has negotiated with centrist Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) may have to be completely overhauled. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) informed colleagues Monday the Senate will turn immediately to voting rights legislation and would vote to reform the chamber’s filibuster rule by Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 17 if Senate Republicans block it… “Schumer made no mention of Build Back Better or when it might come to the floor, despite promising at the end of last year to schedule a vote on it before Christmas. Democratic aides warn that means Build Back Better probably won’t be ready to come to the floor until March or later. And whatever version of the bill comes up for a vote will be markedly different from the $1.75 trillion framework that Manchin resoundingly rejected during a “Fox News Sunday” interview on Dec. 19, aides tell the Hill.”
E&E News: Courts may overhaul energy law in 2022. Here’s how
Niina H. Farah, 1/3/22
“After a year of high-profile energy project cancellations, federal courts in 2022 are expected to speak on the role of climate in oil, gas and power rules,” E&E News reports. “In February, the nation’s highest bench will consider the scope of EPA’s authority to regulate carbon emissions from power plants. In the lower courts, judges will consider whether the Interior Department can suspend new oil and gas leasing on federal lands and how the federal government can incorporate emissions cost estimates into regulatory decisionmaking. Some of the cases will be heard by conservative judges who may be interested in blocking the Biden administration from achieving its ambitious climate goal of slashing emissions by about 50 percent from 2005 levels by 2030… “Legal experts told E&E the Biden administration is likely drafting proposed environmental rules that can endure review by a Supreme Court with a 6-3 conservative majority… “Developers of the Dakota Access oil pipeline and Spire STL natural gas project have both recently submitted pleas for help from the Supreme Court. Energy Transfer Partners LP has asked the justices to find that the D.C. Circuit unlawfully established a new test when it tossed out a key permit for violating the National Environmental Policy Act… “In the lower courts, legal experts are watching to see how judges will handle an unusual lawsuit that pits the rights of wild rice against an oil pipeline replacement project in Minnesota. The White Earth Band of Ojibwe argues that Minnesota officials violated the rights of wild rice, or manoomin, by granting a key water permit for Enbridge Inc.’s Line 3 replacement effort. While the band filed its challenge in tribal court, state officials moved the case to the federal bench. The lawsuit is now before the 8th Circuit, which appears poised to derail White Earth’s challenge. But if the band is successful, legal experts say, the case has the potential to dramatically change the way tribal law is applied outside of reservation lands, creating new hurdles for energy infrastructure developers.”
Politico: STREAMLINING PERMITS
Matthew Choi, 1/3/21
“The Army Corps of Engineers last week reissued 40 nationwide permits and one new one allowing developers to proceed swiftly with a variety of projects having only a minimal impact on streams and wetlands protected under the Clean Water Act,” Politico reports. “The permits largely hew to those proposed by the Trump administration in September 2020, with a handful of changes to strengthen scrutiny, for instance of coal remining activities. The Biden administration was facing a March deadline for reissuing the permits, but has said it will review the entire slate of streamlined permits, including the 12 that were reissued by the Trump administration in its waning days and have drawn opposition from greens and congressional Democrats.”
Politico: CCUS PROJECTS TO NOWHERE
Matthew Choi, 1/3/21
“DOE invested nearly $700 million in carbon capture and sequestration projects that were ultimately unsuccessful under the 2009 stimulus package, the Government Accountability Office found, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence,” Politico reports. “The office recommended stricter congressional and DOE oversight on similar investments going forward, especially with over $10 billion authorized for new emissions technology. DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations plans to "develop an appropriate action plan to address the GAO recommendations.”
Politico: WILL IT CAPTURE?
Matthew Choi, Zack Colman, 12/23/21
“FERC has to mull over how to deal with a Texas LNG project that is aiming to be the greenest in the world via carbon capture technology,” Politico reports. “But critics tell Politico the company’s claims are “misguided” and are casting doubt it’ll achieve its emission reduction targets. How FERC handles the venture, the Rio Grande LNG project in Brownsville, could have further consequences on how the commission reviews and verifies future projects that seek to employ capture technology to offset their emissions… “Meanwhile, critics of the project want to push for greater assurances that it isn’t a greenwashing ploy that could be mimicked in other projects, particularly as carbon capture technology grows in bipartisan support as a central element to the climate solution mix.”
E&E News: DOE unveils $1B loan for hydrogen plant. But is it ‘clean’?
By David Iaconangelo, 1/3/22
“The Energy Department’s loan office rolled out its first new award in years in the waning days of 2021, jump-starting a program seen as pivotal to President Biden’s climate agenda as legislation remains stalled in Congress,” E&E News reports. “On Dec. 23, the office announced it would guarantee up to $1.04 billion in loans for Monolith Nebraska LLC to scale up production of "clean" hydrogen, provided the company meets unspecified conditions. The company will use a rare technique for producing its hydrogen from natural gas, known as methane pyrolysis. Pyrolysis has been seen among some federal researchers as a promising way of making a low-carbon type of hydrogen that could one day be sold for prices rivaling that of traditional, emissions-intensive hydrogen. The low-carbon hydrogen could then serve as an alternative to fossil fuels in transportation and manufacturing, among other sectors. When pyrolysis is applied to natural gas, it creates both hydrogen as well as a second byproduct known as carbon black — a kind of soot that is widely used in tires and other commercial products. Monolith says it can create both products while vastly shrinking the CO2 emissions of their manufacturing, while still earning a profit. The company is planning to use DOE’s backing to finance a massive expansion of its existing Hallam, Neb., plant that produces hydrogen and carbon black. The hydrogen made there will be turned into ammonia, a popular fertilizer, and sold to agricultural buyers in the Corn Belt, according to the company. Major tire makers like Michelin and Goodyear are pledging to cut their own emissions footprints by buying carbon black from Monolith.”
E&E News: Military exempt from Biden order to cut federal emissions
By Adam Aton, 12/22/21
“There’s a Pentagon-size hole in President Biden’s plans to cut government emissions,” E&E News reports. “Biden signed an executive order earlier this month directing the government to reach 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050. It also calls for eliminating climate pollution from federal buildings and vehicles. But the executive order exempts anything related to national security, combat, intelligence or military training. That means Biden’s order covers only a fraction of federal emissions. While military leaders insist they share the president’s decarbonization goal, there is no plan for them to meet it. Since 2001, the military has accounted for 77 to 80 percent of federal energy use, according to a 2019 study released by Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. And it consumes more petroleum than any other institution in the world — more than most countries. (The administration estimates the military’s pollution is roughly 56 percent of federal emissions, but independent estimates suggest it’s much higher.) “Clearly, if you reduce [emissions from] the rest of the U.S. government but leave the military untouched or let them sort of go at their own pace — that’s not going to get you the kind of reductions that you want out of the U.S. government,” Neta Crawford, co-director of the Watson Institute’s Costs of War Project and author of the study estimating U.S. military emissions, told E&E.
E&E News: House Republicans Demand EPA Scrap Methane Rulemaking
12/23/21
“House Republicans are calling on the White House to halt EPA rulemaking to address methane emissions from the energy sector,” E&E News reports. “A letter led by Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) and 30 other House Republicans, including Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana, said the agency is jeopardizing jobs and American energy independence. ‘Unfortunately, undermining American energy independence and good-paying Americans jobs has become a hallmark of your Administration. American consumers are bearing the brunt of your actions,’ said the letter to President Biden… “The Republican letter is part of a campaign by the party to blame the administration and its climate policies for higher energy prices. It’s a strategy the GOP thinks will pay off during next year’s elections. ‘What’s most concerning is that, even in the face of blaring warning signs that an energy crisis of your doing is hurting American consumers, your Administration refuses to reverse course,’ said the letter. In contrast, yesterday a group of House Democrats called on the administration to strengthen its methane proposal.”
The Hill: Sixteen Hispanic House Democrats ask EPA for tougher methane rule
BY ZACK BUDRYK, 12/22/21
“Sixteen members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Wednesday asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to tighten its rules on methane emissions, citing the particular impact of emissions on Hispanic and Latino communities,” The Hill reports. “The members, led by Congressional Hispanic Caucus Climate Change Task Force Chair Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.), called the EPA’s latest methane rule “historic.” However, they called for two key expansions of its provisions: regular inspections for smaller oil and gas wells at risk of leaking, and further action to address so-called flaring, or burning gas it would not be profitable or safe to sell. The letter notes that about 1.81 million Latino Americans live within a half-mile of an oil and gas well, citing data from the Environmental Defense Fund… Flaring, too, is a particular concern for low-income communities and people of color, the letter says, citing research from the University of Southern California that found Black, Indigenous and Latino communities are at disproportionate risks to their health from flaring. The practice has been linked to asthma, heart issues and premature births in pregnant women. In addition to Barragán, signers of the letter include Reps. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.), Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-Ill.), Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), Darren Soto (D-Fla.), Mike Levin (D-Calif.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) and Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.).”
STATE UPDATES
Bismarck Tribune: Carbon capture dominates North Dakota energy developments in 2021
AMY R. SISK, 12/31/21
“2021 ought to be dubbed The Year of Carbon Capture in North Dakota,” the Bismarck Tribune reports. “The technology hit a milestone this year when state regulators permitted the first project intended to capture carbon dioxide from an industrial facility and store the emissions underground within the state. Numerous other projects are in the works. The effort at Richardton ethanol plant Red Trail Energy is the first expected to come to fruition in North Dakota. CEO Gerald Bachmeier anticipates the facility will start capturing and injecting its carbon emissions thousands of feet deep by mid-March 2022. The project will enable Red Trail to better market its ethanol to states such as California that have policies favoring fuels with a low carbon intensity. A federal tax credit is pushing carbon capture efforts forward… “The carbon capture projects dovetail with the goal Gov. Doug Burgum unveiled at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in May to make North Dakota carbon neutral by the end of the decade. He told the audience that the state has “hit the geologic jackpot” with rock formations that contain the right characteristics for permanent carbon dioxide storage… “A number of questions linger posed by environmentalists, landowners and others surrounding North Dakota’s embrace of carbon capture: Will the technology work as expected? Will property owners be adequately compensated for the use of their land for carbon dioxide storage? How will large-scale projects at coal plants be financed? Would the state be better off focusing on renewable energy such as wind and solar than trying to save coal?”
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska oil and gas regulators fine Hilcorp more than $50,000 for violations
By Alex DeMarban, 1/3/22
“The state agency that oversees Alaska oil production has upheld two fines against Hilcorp totaling $64,000, for violating requirements needed to prevent spills or leaks in fields in the Cook Inlet region in Southcentral Alaska,” the Anchorage Daily News reports. “The penalties, issued Dec. 29, come on the heels of a $10,000 fine issued against Hilcorp in late November for a violation at the giant Prudhoe Bay fields on the North Slope. The agency called that violation, involving a spill-prevention safety valve that was shut down during oil production, part of Hilcorp’s “substantial history of noncompliance.” In the new orders, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission continued to express concerns about Hilcorp’s record… “Hilcorp takes seriously AOGCC’s recent orders and is taking proactive measures to ensure similar incidents do not happen in the future, including better contractor management, revising procedures, and dedicating additional resources focused on well integrity,” said Luke Miller, a spokesman with Hilcorp in Alaska, in an emailed statement.
EXTRACTION
Politico: DON’T LOOK UP
Matthew Choi, 1/3/21
“The biggest holiday movie release for 2021 was a climate change movie. After (perhaps even before) watching “Don’t Look Up,” climate scientists and activists said they just felt “so seen " by the film’s depiction of two scientists (played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence) trying unsuccessfully to warn a venal, late-capitalist world of an “extinction-level” comet heading for Earth,” Politico reports. “The allegory with the non-response to global warming is not subtle — "Big Short" director Adam McKay and journalist-turned-Bernie Sanders adviser-turned-screenwriter David Sirota want you to know what this is about. Not since Al Gore’s 2006 film "Inconvenient Truth" has a climate movie reached a huge mainstream audience in this way. As of Friday, Netflix said Don’t Look Up had clocked more than 111 million viewing hours. Also it came out in a week that saw winter wildfires in Colorado — proving there’s never an off-topic moment to drop a climate film. The reviews have been icy. But the response to the response confirmed that reality is only vaguely less absurd than it appears on the screen. Immediately the film became a shibboleth for climate tribalism. People canceled their subscriptions to newspapers whose journalists thought the film (unlike the comet) failed to hit its mark. Film reviewers were accused of being “jaded” or unable to handle the criticism the film makes of, well, all of us.”
Yahoo Finance: Gas prices could eclipse $4/gallon as oil rallies in the spring: Analyst
1/3/22
“Gasoline prices climbed in 2021, and if GasBuddy is correct, they're going to keep going up this year,” Yahoo Finance reports. “Patrick De Haan is with us now. He's GasBuddy head of Petroleum analysis. Patrick, it's good to see you. You guys are looking for what, $4 a gallon gas by Memorial Day? What do you think is-- what's going to be the main driving factor behind this? PATRICK DE HAAN: Well, I think a lot of what we're expecting is a continuation of what we saw early on in the pandemic, and I should say, in 2021 demand surging as the nation recovers from COVID-19, global oil demand continues to recover. Now we are in the midst of Omicron, but so far it's less severe and so countries in the months ahead as cases eventually subside, will likely turn back to oil. We'll likely see oil demand accelerate. At the same time, oil supply has been playing a game of catch-up really since last summer when demand came roaring back and so supply is chasing demand. It won't quite catch up this year until the latter half of the year. And in the interim, the first six months of the year, we could see that national average eclipse that $4 a gallon mark as oil prices are likely to rally in the spring.”
S&P Global: Commodities 2022: North American midstream crude sector poised for small, incremental growth
Jordan Blum, 1/3/22
“North America will see more crude oil volumes flow from Western Canada and West Texas in 2022, but the crude midstream sector will count only modest, incremental growth with pennies remaining pinched and few big projects sanctioned, according to energy analysts,” S&P Global reports. “With front-month NYMEX WTI hovering above $70/b, the upstream sector is in a healthier place than a year ago, although some COVID-19 resurgence fears remain, but the ongoing energy transition and Wall Street wariness is slowing new investments, and the need for more pipelines and terminals is less dire than it was pre-pandemic when volumes were higher and a wave of infrastructure buildout was wrapping up. "I think 2022 is going to be a story of modest production growth," Matthew Taylor, an energy analyst with Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co, told S&P. "Because producers have been limited, that hasn't translated to the same cash flow uplift for midstream operators. There's not going to be the same scale of investment there was." “...Any midstream growth in the Permian will focus on connectivity, Colton Bean, also of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co, told S&P, because any need for long-haul pipelines is a few years away unless some crude pipelines are repurposed to carry NGL or other commodities… “The race to build crude export hubs offshore of Texas was swiftly halted by the pandemic in 2020, but Enterprise is now hoping to become the first mover and, if all goes as planned, build SPOT without any other Texas competition.”
Financial Post: Energy workers switch to other professions in droves as work dries up in once booming sector
Julius Melnitzer, 1/4/22
“Beset by layoffs, Canada’s energy and mining workers have been bucking tradition and seeking opportunities in other sectors — quite successfully, by all accounts,” the Financial Post reports. “The cyclical changes in the resource sector are giving way to structural changes,” Jeanette Sutherland, director of the multi-stakeholder Energy to Digital Growth Education and Upskilling Project (EDGE UP) at Calgary Economic Development, which since 2019 has trained displaced oil and gas sector professionals for IT jobs available in fields such as data science, software development and cybersecurity, told the Post. According to social media website LinkedIn’s Workforce Insights’ December newsletter, resource workers have traditionally been “much less likely” than others to switch industries. But that’s changing: by early 2020, nearly 60 per cent of displaced energy and mining industry workers starting new jobs found opportunities in other industries. Manufacturing was the foremost destination, followed by construction, software and IT services, corporate services, and finance… “Energy workers are making the switch in the midst of uncertainty around oil prices, a resource sector bent on doing more with less by using technology to improve efficiency and productivity, COVID-19 impacts, a global price war, question marks over major energy projects and attendant layoffs at major producers over the past two years.”
Western Standard: Energy projects bring economic boom to Edson, AB
Melanie Risdon, 1/3/22
“Three large energy projects near Edson, Alberta, have created an economic boom for the small town, 200 km west of Edmonton,” Western Standard reports. “Edson — population 8,400 — saw a 24% surge in residents with the addition of 2,000 workers staffing the three major construction projects in the energy sector. Contributing to the economic flurry are the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion, a pipeline project from TC Energy and the construction of the $1.5 billion Cascade Energy Project power plant. Rental vacancies sit at virtually 0% and hotels in and around the area are busting at the seams… “Edson’s mayor, Kevin Zahara, told the CBC the bustling economic activity has overall been a “hugely beneficial thing for our community.” “...Zahara told CBC the downsides that have come from the boom in population — especially for those already experiencing homelessness — include a negative impact on traffic, crime, and lack of available housing.”
Marketplace: Do methane leak detection and repair programs reduce emissions? New research suggests yes.
Andy Uhler and Rose Conlon, 12/27/21
“Methane is the second-largest contributor to climate change behind carbon dioxide, and last month the Environmental Protection Agency announced new regulations aimed at reducing methane emissions from oil and gas operators in the U.S. For the first time, regulators will require companies to aggressively detect and repair leaks that allow methane to escape — efforts that, until now, have been difficult to measure the efficacy of,” Marketplace reports. “A new study from Harrisburg University, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, suggests that leak detection and repair (LDAR) programs are highly effective at reducing methane emissions. Marketplace’s Andy Uhler spoke with Arvind Ravikumar, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and one of the researchers behind the study, about its findings. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation. Arvind Ravikumar: We found that the leak detection and repair programs that are being used everywhere in the world are highly effective. And so what we find is that even though voluntary programs can reduce emissions, leak detection and repair programs and regulations can significantly reduce more emissions compared to any voluntary mitigation efforts. And I think that’s really important to know, because this is the first time we are able to show that these regulations are actually reducing methane emissions.”
DeSmog: 2021: A Year in Photos From the Front Lines of the Climate Crisis
Julie Dermansky, 12/21/21
“This was the year the United Nations Secretary-General declared human-driven global heating a “code red for humanity.” And this selection of photos I shot for DeSmog throughout 2021 offers visual proof that his warning is merited,” DeSmog reports. “My work documents the ongoing trend of science denial becoming increasingly woven into right-wing rhetoric by steadfast Trump supporters, the impacts of extreme weather fueled by climate change, and the actions taken by climate advocates fighting for environmental justice and against pollution from the fossil fuel industry. Despite climate scientists’ repeated warnings that the world must take immediate measures to lower carbon emissions, the U.S. Gulf Coast is in the midst of a sprawling and expensive build-out of the petrochemical industry. Building new facilities to produce plastics and petrochemicals is expected to add millions of tons of greenhouse gases and millions of pounds of toxic materials to the environment every year.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Axios: U.S. oil producers plan to boost output despite rising costs
Ben Geman, 1/3/22
“Companies in the heart of the U.S. oil patch plan to keep boosting production this year despite rising costs,” Axios reports. “Driving the news: The Dallas Fed's fourth-quarter 2021 survey of oil-and-gas execs finds that "costs rose sharply for a third straight quarter." “...What they're saying: Anonymous comments take stock of the changing landscape. "The political pressure forcing available capital away from the energy industry is a problem for everyone. Banks view lending to the energy industry as having a 'political risk,'" one respondent said.
Forbes: Want To Stop Climate Change? Buy Big Oil Stock
Jeroen Kraaijenbrink, 1/3/22
“In an age in which stock trading is no longer reserved to Wall-Street and a climate crisis is becoming a reality, sustainability-driven shareholder activism was bound to happen,” Forbes reports. “And we see it happening, with increasing impact—especially in Big Oil, responsible for the largest share of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Long has the traditional shareholder model of corporations been a source of criticism, especially from a sustainability perspective. As the criticism goes, shareholders have no interest in the long-term health of a company, and most certainly not in anything that concerns the world outside the corporation—like the health of our planet and its population. But, this may be changing. Paradoxically, it may be this very same traditional shareholder model that can be key to fight climate change, achieve COP26 ambitions, and realize UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. I spoke to Mark van Baal, founder of activist shareholder group Follow This, to discuss the merits and perils of shareholder activism, in particular with respect to climate change and Big Oil. In Van Baal’s words, Follow This is “a group of over 8,000 green shareholders in oil and gas companies.” Their goal? “To get oil companies to set clear Scope 3 ambitions and targets. This means that they do not only take responsibility for their own emissions, also called Scope 1 and 2, but for all emissions in the value chain. This includes emissions caused by the products made from oil, transport, and so on. Since oil companies are not doing this on their own, they need an extra stimulus and support to get such ambitions and targets on the agenda to meet the Paris climate agreement.”
Financial Times: Oil majors under pressure as activists circle
Tom Wilson, 12/19/21
“For decades campaigners have picketed oil and gas offices, blockaded refineries and disrupted operations. Now the energy sector is facing a new kind of activism: from its own shareholders,” the Financial Times reports. “Over the past year activist investors have targeted oil supermajors ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell, commodity giant Glencore and Scottish energy group SSE. Other institutional and retail investors have also pushed for change, voting in higher numbers than ever before for climate-related resolutions. The investors vary in profile and objectives, but have all tied their campaigns to what they say has been management’s failure to plan appropriately for the energy transition. Third Point, the US hedge fund calling for Shell’s break-up, said in October that the Anglo-Dutch supermajor had “too many competing stakeholders” resulting in “an incoherent, conflicting set of strategies attempting to appease multiple interests but satisfying none”. Elliott Management has targeted SSE, saying the company has the assets to profit from a low-carbon future but “continues to disappoint”. The arrival of activist investors in the energy sector at this moment of global upheaval is “no surprise”, Nick Stansbury, head of climate solutions at Legal and General Investment Management, the UK’s largest asset manager, told FT. “Activists typically turn up after long periods of underperformance when they detect that headwinds are becoming tailwinds and where they see an open door to push on with other investors,” he told FT. “This is an industry which has both allocated capital badly and generated poor shareholder returns for a very long period of time.”
Reuters: Analysis: How 2021 became the year of ESG investing
By Ross Kerber and Simon Jessop, 12/23/21
“Investors concerned about climate change and social justice had a bumper year in 2021, successfully pushing companies and regulators to make changes amid record inflows to funds focused on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues,” Reuters reports. “Extreme weather becoming more frequent and events highlighting social justice issues, such as the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, contributed to ESG rising to the top of the agenda of investors, companies and policy makers. A record $649 billion poured into ESG-focused funds worldwide through Nov. 30, up from the $542 billion and $285 billion that flowed into these funds in 2020 and 2019, respectively, the latest Refinitiv Lipper data shows. ESG funds now account for 10% of worldwide fund assets. Stocks of companies rated highly for their sustainability efforts also notched gains. The MSCI World ESG Leaders' index has risen 22% so far this year, compared with the MSCI World Index's gain of 15%. Investors flexed their muscle to challenge companies' ESG credentials, culminating in a landmark board challenge against oil major Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N). Support for social and environmental proposals at the shareholder meetings of U.S. companies rose to 32% in 2021 from 27% in 2020 and from 21% in 2017, according to the Sustainable Investments Institute. "It was a watershed year," Tim Smith, a director at investment management firm Boston Trust Walden, told Reuters.
Bloomberg: Why Green Stocks Are Slumping During an ESG Boom
Tim Quinson, 12/22/21
“Despite a drop in clean-energy stocks and intensifying concerns about widespread greenwashing, the market for investment products sold as being ESG-related had another record year by most yardsticks,” Bloomberg reports. “Issuance of sustainable loans and bonds, where proceeds are supposedly earmarked for environmental projects or to further a company’s social goals, exceeded $1.5 trillion, including about $505 billion of green bond sales; ESG-focused exchange-traded funds attracted almost $130 billion in 2021, up from $75 billion a year ago; and investment in early-stage climate tech companies approached $50 billion. It also was a year of big fees for U.S. managers of sustainable funds, with revenue climbing to almost $1.8 billion from $1.1 billion in 2020, according to data compiled by researchers at Morningstar Inc… “Even with the stock market slide, this year was still the first since the Paris climate agreement in late 2015 that more money went into green bonds than debt issued by oil, gas and coal companies.”
Pensions & Investments: New York State Teachers takes action on fossil fuels
ROBERT STEYER, 1/3/22
“The New York State Teachers' Retirement System, Albany, has frozen $1.04 billion in fossil fuel company investments and will divest $66.3 million in fossil fuel holdings as part of a new policy on climate change-impact investing,” Pensions & Investments reports. “The $148.1 billion pension system's governing board announced the policy following a Dec. 28 board meeting. According to a news release, the board: Will divest its holdings in publicly traded companies that derive more than 10% of their revenue from thermal coal. Has created a restricted list of companies within the system's portfolio for which the pension system will freeze "or prohibit directly held internal and passive external equity portfolios from further purchases of certain carbon-intensive fossil fuel holdings." Will conduct engagement efforts with the companies on the restricted list on their climate transition plans. The board did not identify the companies on the restricted list or those subject to divestment, and it didn't set a timetable for divesting.”
DemocracyNow: NYC Divests $3 Billion in Retirement Funds from Fossil Fuels
12/23/21
“New York City has divested $3 billion of retirement funds from fossil fuels. More city pension funds will be divested from big polluters in the coming months,” DemocracyNow reports. “Outgoing New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer said, “Today is a major victory for our planet, our children, and our pensioners. [This] is proof-positive that environmental and fiscal responsibility go hand in hand.”
OPINION
Truthout: Manchin or No Manchin, Climate Activism Is Working
Leanna First-Arai, 12/29/21
“In 2021, our atmospheric ills continued to crystalize,” Leanna First-Arai writes for Truthout. “...But we’re also building “really big things” — namely, movements — activists and scholars point out, as climate scientists stress that there’s still time to mobilize to avoid the most devastating impacts of the climate crisis. And so, this year’s climate “wins,” organizers say, are essential to take stock of. “I personally celebrate every single victory, small or large,” Joye Braun, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and national pipelines organizer for Indigenous Environmental Network, told Truthout. “You need [to celebrate] in order to keep going, to know that you can fight against these extractive industries and win,” Braun said. And the wins add up. A study by Stanford sociologist John Muñoz found that greenhouse gas emissions decline in states where there are higher levels of “pro-environmental protest.” “...In May, activist groups that played a key role in the Keystone XL cancellation launched the Pipeline Fighters Hub — a “one-stop shop” where members of the public, the media and decision makers could access information about pipeline proposals, protests and how to support those on the front lines. “When farmers, ranchers, Tribal Nations, and climate activists took on Keystone XL over a decade ago, Big Oil had a playbook to bully us,” said Jane Kleeb, the founder of activist group Bold Nebraska, in a press release. “We formed an unlikely alliance and learned how to fight back.” In the months to follow, three more fossil fuel projects, of 12 total that the hub has formally mobilized against, subsequently bit the dust. In July, Plains All American canceled the Byhalia Connection, which would have cut through a string of historically Black neighborhoods in Memphis, Tennessee; in September, PennEast announced it would no longer build a 115-mile natural gas pipeline sending fracked gas from the Marcellus Shale to New Jersey; and in December, Pembina nixed the Jordan Cove LNG export terminal project and its associated Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline, which would have crossed 485 rivers and streams and impacted Klamath territories. “A lot of those victories have come about because there have been greater alliances built,” said Braun, who is closely involved with the Pipeline Fighters Hub, noting that activists are increasingly savvy about fossil fuel developers’ manipulative and racist tactics.
PennLive: Major modifications to the Mariner East 2 pipeline will reap major rewards | Opinion
Earl Baker is former County Commissioner and state senator from Chester County. He chaired the Senate’s Labor and Industry Committee, 12/31/21
“The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) approval of the long awaited major modification for Mariner East 2 pipeline, which traverses the entire state for over 300 miles, is a major step forward for the Commonwealth,” Earl Baker writes for PennLive. “It is my opinion that there must be a critical balance in our highly technical society, and one which needs regulation by the government, between the regulators and the regulated. This modification represents achieving that balance. The modification is being made to a portion of the pipeline that runs through Marsh Creek in Chester County. The engineers on the project took all the necessary measures to properly evaluate all possible options when it came to considering the best, and safest path forward for the pipeline… “You can also look to the wide support this modification has received. There has been more support than opposition, and from a wide base. Many people recognize the beneficial economic and environmental factors that come along with this modification. Tom Melisko, Business Manager for International Union of Operating Engineers Local 66, states “Pennsylvania’s energy industry has grown to support real jobs and significant investments – and Mariner East is a big part of that.” He continues, “Energy Transfer’s pipeline network continues to be a strong catalyst for our state’s energy infrastructure buildout.” “...The approval of the modification for the Mariner East pipeline is a step in the right direction for Pennsylvania consumers. The increased ability to move energy safely throughout the state, and the increased energy production as a result will prove to be a win for communities, the environment, and workers.”
Globe and Mail: Canada is an energy superpower – and that doesn’t just mean oil
THE EDITORIAL BOARD, 1/4/22
“...What the headlines have in common is that when they say “energy” they mean fossil fuels – especially oil and natural gas. That’s long been the accepted shorthand. Many oil and gas companies have “energy” in their name. And at the International Energy Agency, or IEA, the “E” really should have been an “O.” It was founded after the 1973 oil crisis, and for decades its focus was oil. But the future is going to require all kinds of energy – solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, bioenergy (and yes, fossil fuels too). Even the formerly oil-centric IEA has shifted; last May, it issued a landmark road map to net zero by 2050. It’s time for Canada to redefine “energy,” the Globe and Mail Editorial Board writes. “It may seem pedantic but words matter. Canada is a leader in many forms of energy, but one is prioritized by daily language, elevating one fuel as synonymous with energy. This narrow focus shapes investments, public policy and thought. This page supported Ottawa buying the Trans Mountain oil pipeline, but however necessary that may have been, it is a (very expensive) focus on just one type of power. If Canada believes in a broad definition of “energy” – and to limit climate heating, we must – then its meaning has to expand beyond fossil fuels… “Oil and gas are remarkable forms of energy. They propel cars, heat homes, power factories. They have also enriched Canadians. But they come with serious environmental costs. Producing and processing oil and gas accounts for 26 per cent of Canada’s climate-heating emissions, with most of the rest coming from using those fossil fuels. That has to change, and it can.”
Chicago Sun Times: A burning issue: Building more natural gas power plants hurts the environment
CST Editorial Board, 1/2/22
“Why is Illinois still building natural gas-powered power plants?,” the Chicago Sun Times Editorial Board writes. “The need to convert to renewable energy sources couldn’t be clearer. Signs of havoc from climate change are around us every day. We’re seeing record-setting temperatures, stronger storms, more severe droughts, enormous wildfires, historic floods and more. Much of that is caused by burning fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases and warm the planet. Yet plans are going forward for the Lincoln Land Energy Center, a gas-fired plant near downstate Pawnee in Sangamon County, about 13½ miles south of Springfield. A draft permit is being considered by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, a bitter pill to swallow for environmentalists who negotiated Illinois’ new clean energy law. Two other gas plants, already approved during the Bruce Rauner administration, soon will be operating downstate near Elwood and Morris… “The latest gas-fired plants are probably the last ones that will be built in Illinois. They need to run for at least 20 years for investors to make a profit, and the clean energy law sets a goal of 100% clean energy in the power grid by 2045. But new plants that burn fossil fuels make an effort in the future to postpone clean energy deadlines more likely. The harder it becomes to keep Earth’s temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius, the harder it becomes to imagine people in future years doing what they won’t do today.”
The Hill: We should harness oil companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Hugh Helferty, Ph.D., led major research and engineering organizations for ExxonMobil, the largest U.S.-based oil company, 12/22/21
“The U.S. is nowhere near on track to meet the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction commitments it made last month at the UN climate summit COP26 in Glasgow,” Hugh Helferty writes for The Hill. “But regulating carbon dioxide emissions from the oil and gas industry, a seemingly obvious step, would go far in achieving these goals. I’ve been in this industry for over 30 years, and it’s clear to me what is needed: government regulation to harness the capabilities of major oil and gas companies. Specifically, the U.S. government should establish a requirement that any oil and gas produced needs to be offset by sequestering an equivalent amount of carbon. Over 80 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions come from burning oil and natural gas. Global GHG emissions from the manufacture and use of oil and gas sold by just the two largest U.S.-based companies, Chevron and ExxonMobil, total 1.4 billion tons — equivalent to one-quarter of all U.S. emissions. Clearly, oil companies have a major role to play in reducing emissions. Fortunately, they are exceptionally capable at developing and deploying the technologies that are needed to tackle this problem. What is needed is the regulatory driver to make it happen… “A similar regulatory approach can be used to drive oil companies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Failure to offset emissions by sequestering an equivalent amount of carbon should result initially in financial penalties — and ultimately in loss of the right to produce U.S. oil and gas. Given that the U.S. is the world’s largest oil and gas producing country, companies will have a strong incentive to comply. The standard should be phased in over time. For example, if it started by requiring that 3.5 percent of carbon produced needs to be offset in 2023 and increased 3.5 percent each year, net-zero emissions would be achieved by 2050. This will unleash the innovative capacity of the industry, forcing oil giants to focus their resources on developing and deploying the technologies needed to comply.There are already several existing methods that companies could use to achieve the goal. Some might use carbon capture and storage, while others would employ nature-based solutions such as planting trees... “Oil companies have the resources to be contributing to a greener future. The government should use regulation to harness oil industry capability and shift some of this burden to the companies that are producing and profiting from the emissions.
Gizmodo: This Year Has to Be the Beginning of the End for Big Oil
Molly Taft, 12/23/21
“It seems like everyone had a pretty rough 2021, and no wonder—we’ve had to contend with an ongoing global pandemic, crumbling political infrastructure, climate disasters with no end, and all of Joe Manchin’s ongoing bullshit. But there’s one thing that put a little bit of a spring in my step, and that’s that Big Oil had an even worse year. While we’re by no means out of the woods when it comes to the oil industry’s grip on our political system, in 2021 we got to see what it looks like to make fossil fuel interests really squirm,” Molly Taft writes for Gizmodo. “Oil interests were already not thrilled with the prospect of a Biden administration after four years of oil-friendly Trump policies; Biden showed them they had something to worry about when, on the day of his inauguration, he pulled permits for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. The administration hasn’t totally knocked it out of the park by taking it to Big Oil since then, but it’s a big turnaround from the Trump era… “But it certainly feels like something has shifted. Businesses, politicians, and regular people are more attuned than ever to the role the oil and gas industry has played in getting us to the dire place we are today. People are fed up with decades of manipulation and are increasingly calling for action. And it’s clear the industry is on the defensive. It’s employing all the tools in its arsenal, dreaming up new buzzwords, making new pledges, launching new PR campaigns, taking over social media, and generally hoping to convince us that it’s part of the climate solution—as long as oil companies can keep drilling. Sure, Big Oil had a bad year. But now is not the time to let up the pressure. If we know anything about this industry, it’s that it’ll do everything to stay in power.”
Washington Post: Greta Thunberg on the State of the Climate Movement... and the roots of her power as an activist
KK Ottesen, 12/27/21
“Student and climate activist Greta Thunberg, 18, burst improbably onto the world stage in late 2018 when what began as a one-person school strike outside the Swedish parliament ended up galvanizing a global climate movement to demand immediate action to prevent environmental catastrophe,” the Washington Post reports. “Thunberg’s school strike spread in Sweden and around the world, inspiring a youth-led global climate strike movement, Fridays for Future, which urged cuts in carbon emissions. Her speeches at major political gatherings, including the World Economic Forum, the British Parliament, the U.S. Congress and, most recently, the United Nations climate summit known as COP26, have castigated leaders for failing future generations with their “fairy tales of eternal economic growth.” Or, as she said in one speech, “How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.” “...Are you inspired by any of the world leaders, by President Biden? If you call him a leader — I mean, it’s strange that people think of Joe Biden as a leader for the climate when you see what his administration is doing. The U.S. is actually expanding fossil fuel infrastructure. Why is the U.S. doing that? It should not fall on us activists and teenagers who just want to go to school to raise this awareness and to inform people that we are actually facing an emergency… “Right now, what’s holding us back is that we lack that political will. We don’t prioritize the climate today. Our goal is not to lower emissions. Our goal is to find solutions that allow us to continue life [as it is] today. And, of course, you can ask, “Can’t we have both?” But the uncomfortable truth is that we have left it too late for that. Or the world leaders have left it too late for that. We need to fundamentally change our societies now. If we would have started 30 years ago, it would have been much smoother. But now it’s a different situation. But also, it has just shown how fast social norms can change. And I think that can be something that we can learn from it. If I would have gone up to someone and shaken hands with them during the worst part of the pandemic, that would have been totally unacceptable. But just before the pandemic, everyone did that. It changed, basically overnight, people’s mindsets. And that just shows the possibilities.”
Ted Glick: Marching to Biden’s House on New Year’s Day
Ted Glick works with Beyond Extreme Energy and is president of 350NJ-Rockland, 1/3/22
“At the rally preceding our “Occupy Biden,” New Year’s Day march in Wilmington to the house of the President, I read this poem, created the day before specifically for this event,” Ted Glick writes. “...Some of those who stopped seemed to think we were anti-Biden, but we explained that we weren’t. We explained that we were there to press him to exert much stronger leadership on the climate emergency, as well as on a number of other justice and survival issues. There’s no question that some Biden supporters were not pleased with what we were doing. Their view was that we should go after Manchin and Sinema. We said, yes, they need to be pressured, for sure, but the fact is that Biden is the President, he has powers neither of them do, and he should be using them now to lead on this rapidly deepening existential crisis. We undertook this action thinking, hoping, that the Bidens would be in their home ¾ of a mile from our encampment at some point during this winter holiday week, and they were! Wednesday evening they came from their Rehobeth Beach, De. house to this one, apparently via a helicopter which went overhead about the 7 pm time we had been told by friendly press they were supposed to arrive. By the next morning we had set up people with signs at either end of the long road they lived on. And then on Friday, a 15 car, black-SUV’s-prominent Biden motorcade, came right past us at our checkpoint on Route 141 and then right by our camp. We all chanted, “Biden Be Bold,” as loud as we could. It was a definite highpoint… “It is outrageous that the heavily compromised, $1.75 trillion Build Back Better act was not passed last year. But even if it had been, more is needed. And that more is only going to happen because of a massive political mobilization this year, in the streets and to the polls.”