EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 2/22/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Des Moines Register: First month of Summit carbon capture pipeline comments exceed those on Dakota Access
TIME: An Effort to Make the American Corn Industry Climate-Friendly Has Turned Into a Political Melee in the Midwest
Dakota News Now: First CO2 Pipeline application filed with PUC as landowners ask about safety, eminent domain of a for-profit company
Press release: Summit Carbon Solutions Announces Financial Advisor Engagements
Resist Line 3: Come support a water protector in court this Friday!
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Feds predict NEPA delays after court nixes climate metric
STATE UPDATES
Salt Lake Tribune: Why is Colorado trying to block Utah’s proposed oil rail?
NOLA.com: One person injured in explosion, fire at Marathon oil refinery in Garyville
EXTRACTION
UPI: Analysis finds toxic chemicals in fracking wastewater
New Scientist: Most schemes to capture and reuse carbon actually increase emissions
Energy Voice: Talos and Storegga link up for third CCS project in US
TMR: Enhanced Oil Recovery Market to Expand at CAGR of 4.7% from 2021 to 2031
Politico: The group that brought down Keystone XL faces agonies of its own
Grist: PR worked for Big Oil. So can it work for climate action?
CLIMATE FINANCE
Reuters: HSBC targets 34% oil and gas emissions cut by 2030
National Observer: Climate resolution forces RBC to reckon with greenwashing
OPINION
POWHR: The ACP Was Canceled but We Still Lost Our Land
Virginia Mercury: Air and water board bills hurt businesses and communities
Globe and Mail: Biden’s White House will fight hard against Alberta’s $1.3 billion Keystone XL pipeline lawsuit
Globe and Mail: Canada needs a blueprint for a green skills revolution
The Hill: Color in the climate crisis
Albuquerque Journal: NM students need feds to restart oil and gas leases
PIPELINE NEWS
Des Moines Register: First month of Summit carbon capture pipeline comments exceed those on Dakota Access
Donnelle Eller, 2/22/22
“The first carbon capture pipeline proposal to make its way to Iowa regulators is drawing more early opposition in the state than the Dakota Access crude oil pipeline, which grabbed national attention in 2016 and 2017, when Hollywood stars joined Native Americans in monthslong protests,” the Des Moines Register reports. “So far, Summit Carbon Solutions' proposal to build a $4.5 billion carbon capture pipeline in Iowa has drawn 750 comments, according to Don Tormey, the Iowa Utilities Board spokesman. The comments — mostly in opposition — are double the number the Dakota Access project had received roughly a month after filing its permit request with state regulators in 2015, a Des Moines Register review shows. And opposition is growing. Organizers say hundreds of Iowa landowners are banding together to fight Summit's project and two other carbon capture pipeline proposals. They're refusing to sell easements for the pipelines and pledging to battle the companies in court, if necessary. Dubbed the Iowa Easement Team, the group says it has hired Domina Law, a Nebraska firm that helped stop the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have transported Canadian crude oil from Alberta to refineries in Texas. It declined to say exactly how many Iowa landowners are part of the effort. "I've been kind of amazed at the amount of resistance we've seen to these projects" so early in the process, Wally Taylor, an attorney for the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, which challenged Dakota Access and opposes the more recent carbon capture projects, told the Register. In the submitted comments, farmers, landowners and county and state officials are challenging Summit's likely use of eminent domain to force unwilling landowners to sell access for the 680-mile pipeline, which would cross 29 Iowa counties. Fifteen county boards of supervisors have filed statements of opposition to the use of eminent domain. "These are Republican Trump voters, and they're just mad about these pipelines," Taylor told the Register.
TIME: An Effort to Make the American Corn Industry Climate-Friendly Has Turned Into a Political Melee in the Midwest
ALEJANDRO DE LA GARZA, 2/22/22
“Persuading Iowa farmers to let workers dig a 1,300-mile liquified carbon dioxide pipeline network through their land was never going to be easy, but executives from Navigator CO2 Ventures gave it their best shot,” TIME reports. “Ethanol refineries in the state release tens of millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year as they ferment corn into fuel, and Navigator had seen a business opportunity in capturing those emissions and burying them underground hundreds of miles away in Illinois. But before they could build the project, they had to try to get locals on board… “I want everyone to know that, basically, this company is here to line their pockets with our land,” said one landowner. At some points during the four-hour question period, undiluted rage burst into view. “Ms. Burns-Thompson,” said an attendee, “you ought to be ashamed of yourself, representing yourself as a local Iowa farm girl and sitting on that side of the desk.” ”...But as those first large-scale projects are getting underway, growing outrage from locals has threatened to derail well-laid plans, creating what amounts to a litmus test for the possibility of building a coast-to-coast web of CO2 pipelines… “There’s reason for some observers in the climate world to be uneasy as well. Carbon capture for ethanol is controversial, but there is a growing consensus that some of it will be necessary in sectors like steel and cement for the world to draw down emissions and avoid catastrophic warming. That means that some people, somewhere, will have to let CO2 pipelines through their land. In Iowa, though, some key environmental campaigners say it won’t happen in their state. “We’re closing the doors,” Jessica Mazour, of the Sierra Club, told TIME. “We don’t want them here.”
Dakota News Now: First CO2 Pipeline application filed with PUC as landowners ask about safety, eminent domain of a for-profit company
Beth Warden, 2/21/22
“The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission is reviewing its first application for a Carbon dioxide pipeline,” Dakota News Now reports. “Summit Carbon Solutions’ application with the PUC would take CO2 originating in Iowa and move it north for burial in North Dakota… “Jake Kessner of Summit Carbon solutions says they’re building the pipeline for the farmers. “So that our ethanol plants can be competitive for decades to come, which then in which keep a strong corn market, which then keeps the strong land market for farmers. And that’s why we’re really focused on this project,” Kessner told DNN. Bill Caram of the Pipeline Safety Trust believes it’s also about money, around $40 billion to have pipelines operational by 2026. “It’s kind of this gold rush to get these pipelines built as fast as possible. Big driver right now, is there these tax credits that were put in the infrastructure bill,” Caram told DNN. For South Dakota Sierra Club Chair Mark Winegar, safety is more important. He believes safety promises will fall short. “We’ll know before it happens, we’ll fix it. It’s all BS. Don’t believe it,” Winegar told DNN.
Press release: Summit Carbon Solutions Announces Financial Advisor Engagements
2/18/22
“Summit Carbon Solutions, developer of the world's largest carbon capture and storage project, announced it has engaged Morgan Stanley and CohnReznick Capital as financial structuring advisors for Summit's $4.5 billion project, which will be capable of capturing and permanently storing over 12 million tons per year of carbon dioxide. Morgan Stanley will lead all project-level debt structuring advisory services, and CohnReznick Capital will advise Summit on tax equity financing. "Since the launch of Summit Carbon Solutions, we've seen a significant increase of market interest in the carbon capture space," said Aaron Hood, Chief Financial Officer of Summit Carbon Solutions. Mr. Hood noted that Morgan Stanley's and CohnReznick's long leadership in sustainability, along with their industrial and technical knowledge across the project finance and tax equity markets, would provide strong execution capabilities to support Summit Carbon Solutions' leading carbon capture and storage system. "As we continue to engage and work with all stakeholders in developing and constructing the largest and most advanced interstate carbon capture and storage system in the world, we're delighted to be working with these two firms."
Resist Line 3: Come support a water protector in court this Friday!
2/19/22
“For years now, water protectors from across Turtle Island have come to Anishinaabe Territories or so called Northern Minnesota and put their bodies on the line to resist Enbridge’s new Line 3 Pipeline. On March 3rd, 2021, around 50 people were wrongfully kettled and cited for coming together… “After almost a year from this March 3rd anniversary and arrest, Michele Naar, one of the water protectors who was kettled by Itasca County Sheriffs and State Troopers has trial coming up on Friday, February 25, 2022. Michele was wrongfully arrested and charged for bringing awareness to the horrific Line 3 spill and standing up for the land and water. In this upcoming trial, Michele will be going head to head with Judge Heidi Chandler as a Pro Se defendant, seeking to force the Judge to be held accountable to the willful breech of 1st Amendment rights that she experienced on March 3. Michele is inviting you to come witness and hold space at the Itasca County Courthouse on February 25. Please bring signs, supporters & friends, and warm layers. If you feel comfortable, wear formal court clothes. Court is an extremely violent place and people will show up how they feel comfortable showing up. There will be speakers and food. If you want to come, but need help coordinating logistics please email L3In-PersonCourtSupport@protonmail.com. Can't come Friday, but want to continue supporting defendants? Donate to the Legal Defense Fund here: https://www.line3legalfund.com/donate “
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Feds predict NEPA delays after court nixes climate metric
Niina H. Farah, Heather Richards, 2/22/22
“A judge’s order blocking the Biden administration’s application of an interim climate metric will cause sweeping delays in agency rulemaking and stall planned projects requiring new environmental reviews, a White House official said this weekend,” E&E News reports. “Dominic Mancini, the deputy administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, said a recent preliminary injunction barring the Biden administration from using an interim calculation of the social cost of greenhouse gases could slow finalization of at least 38 pending rules from four different agencies. The decision would also affect dozens of pending agency analyses — including those for federal oil and gas activity — leading to increased costs and more uncertainty for industry, Mancini said in a declaration filed Saturday with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. “The cumulative burden of the Preliminary Injunction is quite significant,” he said. Mancini later added, “[A]gencies are spending considerable resources and delaying a myriad of regulatory actions as they fully consider the implications of a changed scope of analyses.” “...The scramble to comply with Cain’s decision could have far-reaching implications for the already contentious federal oil and gas programs managed by the Interior Department, slowing leasing and, in some cases, new drilling.”
STATE UPDATES
Salt Lake Tribune: Why is Colorado trying to block Utah’s proposed oil rail?
Brian Maffly, 2/19/22
“The proposed Uinta Basin Railway would operate entirely in Utah, but Colorado officials are now pressuring federal authorities to block the project, which could result in thousands of tanker cars filled with Utah crude passing over the Centennial State’s mountains on their way to Gulf Coast refineries,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports. “Colorado’s Eagle County, home to iconic ski destinations like Vail and Beaver Creek, last week filed court papers seeking a judicial review of two recent decisions by the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) that approved an 85-mile line that would connect the Uinta Basin’s oil production with the Union Pacific line in Utah’s Price Canyon. The project aims to bring Utah’s waxy crude to markets outside Salt Lake City’s refineries, but that would come at a steep cost to the Colorado towns along the tracks, court papers claim. Those impacts were ignored in the STB’s environmental review, which erroneously concluded the Uinta project’s downline impacts would be negligible since there is already heavy rail traffic on UP tracks through Colorado, according to Eagle County Attorney Bryan Treu. “This is a lot more trains carrying a lot different material. You’ve got to look at what they’re carrying and how many trains are they pulling, where they’re going and how the climate has changed,” Treu told the Tribune. “They bifurcated the whole process. They looked at the transportation merits first, and then they looked at the environmental review. They didn’t do it together, which makes for a really bad review of the environmental impacts.” Colorado’s action represents yet another example of proposed shipments of Utah-produced fossil fuels running into roadblocks erected in other states. West Coast cities have enacted ordinances and taken other actions to thwart the use of their ports for coal exports, while Oregon agencies have stymied the development of a liquid natural gas terminal in Coos Bay.”
NOLA.com: One person injured in explosion, fire at Marathon oil refinery in Garyville
BY MARK SCHLEIFSTEIN, 2/21/22
“One person was injured in an early morning fire at the Marathon Petroleum refinery in Garvyille on Monday, according to a company spokesperson,” NOLA.com reports. “The fire began about 9:20 a.m., according to both the State Police and the state Department of Environmental Quality. St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre told NOLA.com an explosion occurred at the refinery… “Gregory Langley, a spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, old NOLA.com part of the refinery was put under a shelter-in-place order during the fire, meaning people would be moved to a closed area to avoid possible contamination. "Marathon continues to monitor for air quality at the facility fenceline," Langley old NOLA.com Monday, adding that four Environmental Quality teams of responders were monitoring air in the community with hand-held monitors. "No off-site monitoring has resulted in any reading above background levels," he said. Langley old NOLA.com the cause of the fire was not yet known. Marathon's firefighting team made the initial response to the blaze.”
EXTRACTION
UPI: Analysis finds toxic chemicals in fracking wastewater
2/18/22
“Fracking has already raised the ire of environmentalists for its effects on the planet, but new research sends up another red flag: The wastewater produced by the complicated oil and gas drilling process is loaded with toxic and cancer-causing contaminants that threaten both people and wildlife,” UPI reports. “...In this study, researchers analyzed untreated fracking wastewater samples from the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford formation, both in Texas, and found 266 different dissolved organic compounds. They included: a pesticide called atrazine 1,4-dioxane, an organic compound that is irritating to the eyes and respiratory tract pyridine, a chemical that may damage the liver and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which have been linked to skin, lung, bladder, liver and stomach cancers. In the water, 29 elements were also detected, including rare earth elements, selenium and hazardous metals such as chromium, cadmium, lead and uranium, according to the study…"The discovery of these chemicals in [fracking wastewater] suggests that greater monitoring and remediation efforts are needed, since many of them are listed to be dangerous for human health by the World Health Organization," study author Emanuela Gionfriddo, an assistant professor of analytical chemistry in the School of Green Chemistry and Engineering at the University of Toledo in Ohio, told UPI.
New Scientist: Most schemes to capture and reuse carbon actually increase emissions
Alex Wilkins, 2/18/22
“Most carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) technologies, which pull carbon dioxide from the air and use it for other emissions-lowering processes, emit more carbon than they capture,” New Scientist reports. “This finding suggests that CCU projects, which have attracted billions of dollars in investment, won’t do much to achieve the Paris Agreement‘s emissions targets to prevent warming by more than 1.5°C. CCU technologies take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, either capturing it directly from the air or absorbing it at polluting sources, and puts it to use in processes such as making fuel, plastics and concrete. Unlike straightforward carbon capture technology, CCU doesn’t store the CO2 for long periods. CCU technologies either use energy to convert CO2 into fuels or use CO2 itself to drive other industrial processes like oil extraction or growing plants. Kiane de Kleijne at Radboud University in the Netherlands and her colleagues assessed the life cycles of more than 40 CCU processes against three criteria: could they permanently store CO2; does the CO2 they collect come from atmospheric and natural sources; and does the process have zero emissions. Kleijne and her team found that the majority of these technologies failed to meet these criteria, with 32 of the 40 emitting more carbon than they captured. Only four methods appeared to be ready for use while also emitting low amounts of carbon. These include technologies that make use of CO2 in concrete production and for oil extraction. “If you’re stuck with such a technology that does not have the potential to really reduce emissions drastically, and preferably to net zero, then that could be a situation that’s undesirable,” de Kleijne told NS. “Engaging in some of these utilisation activities actually uses more carbon,” Stuart Haszeldine at the University of Edinburgh in the UK told NS. Many of the technologies also don’t appear ready for deployment on a large scale, so they may not be helpful in hitting the Paris Agreement’s emission targets by 2030, de Kleijne tells NS. “2030 is pretty soon, and a lot of these technologies are still under development,” she tells NS. While the analysis used assumptions about future electricity mix that could change – for example, electricity was assumed to be completely renewable by 2050 – more pessimistic assumptions could actually make CCU even more carbon intensive.
Energy Voice: Talos and Storegga link up for third CCS project in US
Ed Reed, 2/16/22
“Talos Energy has announced a new carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project in the US, where it will work with support from Storegga,” Energy Voice reports. “Talos announced an agreement to lease around 26,000 acres in Louisiana. The company said this would provide its third CCS hub. It also announced a deal with EnLink Midstream on the provision of midstream services for CCS. The area under lease is in the Iberville, St James, Assumption and Lafourche parishes. Talos said this had access to an industrial area emitting around 80 million tonnes per year of CO2. The area has three sites that can store more than 500mn tonnes of CO2. It will call the hub River Bend CCS. Talos has also signed a right of first refusal for more land in the area, covering 63,000 acres… “The Talos deal with EnLink covers capture, transportation and sequestration for emitters in Louisiana. EnLink has around 4,000 miles of pipelines in Louisiana. EnLink chairman and CEO Barry Davis said the company would use its existing network and construction capacity for CCS. Talos and EnLink have already begun offering the option to potential customers. Duncan said EnLink owned the “last-mile pipe to most industrial emission sources in the region and will complement Talos’s expertise in conventional geology, subsurface characterisation and track record of responsible operations”.
TMR: Enhanced Oil Recovery Market to Expand at CAGR of 4.7% from 2021 to 2031
2/22/22
“Analysts at TMR estimate the enhanced oil recovery market to reach the valuation of US$ 80.5 Bn by 2031. The burgeoning demand for oil & gas for industrial, commercial, and domestic use is compelling to employ enhanced oil recovery methodologies in mature oil wells… “Factors such as increasing number of aged wells and declining production from existing oilfields are fueling the adoption of enhanced oil recovery methodologies. North America is a key region in the enhanced oil recovery market. Tax benefits and subsidies offered by governments are attracting oil companies to adopt enhanced oil recovery methodologies. Furthermore, initiatives in the exploration of unconventional oil resources in the Gulf of Mexico along, and continuous exploration of shale reserves in the U.S. are fueling the expansion of the enhanced oil recovery market in the region. Initiatives for the exploration of heavy oil reserves in Canada, Mexico, China, Venezuela, and Colombia are fueling the adoption of enhanced oil recovery methodologies. Rapid decline in conventional light oil is leading to the adoption of enhanced oil recovery technologies for the exploration of heavy oil reserves that are predominantly present in Canada and Venezuela”.
Politico: The group that brought down Keystone XL faces agonies of its own
ZACK COLMAN, 2/20/22
“The group that revived a slumbering environmental movement by focusing on big targets was flying high. It was no longer just a plucky collection of friends from a Vermont college and their luminary founder, Bill McKibben. It was a global force. The $800,000 retreat at a five-star luxury resort in Killarney, Ireland in March 2019 proved it. The rise for 350.org had been meteoric. The crash would be, too,” Politico reports. “...Starting out with eight founding members in 2008, it had grown to 165 full-time employees — not including its many contractors — when staff traveled to Ireland that March… “But for all its success, the group struggled to overcome its founding by a group of white people. As 350.org matured into adolescence, its founders sought to hire people of color. They mobilized in communities such as Native American reservations, which mounted impassioned resistance to pipelines planned along lands and waters sacred to their histories and cultures. They expanded into the global South, establishing offices in Latin America and Africa…. “The fallout would lead to mass layoffs, departures, exhaustion, distrust and a protracted labor battle that exists to this day, according to internal documents, third-party audits and communications obtained by POLITICO — which made an attempt to contact all parties referenced in this story — in addition to interviews with 18 current and former staff members, most of whom were granted anonymity to speak candidly. The organization saw its U.S. program office fall from nearly 50 people in 2019 to nine entering this year… “In a matter of months, many current and former employees say, the group became a shell of its former self. One current staffer said the internal tensions have weakened 350.org’s ability to marshal mass protests and events, its historical niche in the environmental movement.”
Grist: PR worked for Big Oil. So can it work for climate action?
Kate Yoder, 2/22/22
“The people paid to brighten businesses’ images and clean up their messes have been working on behalf of fossil fuel companies for decades, helping to block policies to tackle climate change. Now, there’s pressure on public relations firms to drop their oil and gas clients — and take up the cause of the planet,” Grist reports. “Activists have recently turned their attention to Edelman, the world’s largest PR agency, which has worked with ExxonMobil, Shell, and the American Petroleum Institute, Big Oil’s powerful lobbyists. After reviewing its stance on climate change for eight weeks, Edelman announced early last month that it would be keeping its emissions-intensive clients on board (at least, for now) to guide them through a “trusted transition” to “start their journey to action” through net-zero emissions goals and other planet-friendly ambitions… “So what happens when PR firms try to clean up their act and turn the climate into their “client”? Melissa Aronczyk, a media studies professor at Rutgers and the co-author of a new book about public relations and environmentalism, argues that no matter how good the intentions, PR messaging often turns climate change into the “wrong” kind of problem. For their new book, A Strategic Nature: Public Relations and the Politics of American Environmentalism, Aronczyk and the sociologist Maria Espinoza interviewed 20 environmental advocates who had participated in pro-climate PR initiatives. They found that this kind of messaging is often too narrow for an issue as broad as climate change. Hyper-focused campaigns around recycling, eating less meat, or riding your bike seem all well and good, but they might have unintended consequences, dividing people instead of uniting them around a larger cause.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Reuters: HSBC targets 34% oil and gas emissions cut by 2030
By Simon Jessop, Tommy Wilkes and Lawrence White, 2/22/22
“HSBC (HSBA.L) aims to cut emissions associated with loans made to its oil and gas clients by 34% this decade, the bank's sustainability chief told Reuters, marking the first time that Britain's biggest lender has committed to such a target,” Reuters reports. “More than 100 banks have pledged to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and are under pressure to provide details on the deep shorter-term cuts to "financed emissions" that are needed if banks are to have any chance of meeting their goal… “HSBC is a major lender to corporate clients across Asia and some of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, and its plan is expected to set the tone for other banks in the region, most of which have yet to release targets. HSBC said its oil and gas target was based on 'absolute' reductions rather than 'carbon intensity', which measures emissions per unit of energy or barrel of oil and gas produced, and so could see actual emissions rise… “Environmental campaign group Market Forces told Reuters HSBC's targets contained loopholes that undermined their credibility, including applying the target only to 'on-balance sheet' emissions. The policy also allowed HSBC to continue to finance new and expanded oil and gas projects, it added.”
National Observer: Climate resolution forces RBC to reckon with greenwashing
By John Woodside, 2/22/22
“A shareholder advocacy group is forcing RBC to stare down a resolution that would stop it from greenwashing billions of dollars that the bank bills as sustainable,” the National Observer reports. “The resolution, filed last week by Investors for Paris Compliance, is aiming to get RBC to define “sustainable finance” in a way that precludes lending to “fossil fuel activity” and projects “facing significant opposition” from Indigenous peoples. Without tightening its criteria, the group warns RBC will increasingly face reputational and compliance risks as definitions for sustainable finance are agreed to around the world… “The shareholder vote will come in early April. An RBC spokesperson told Canada’s National Observer the bank is not yet in a position to respond to the resolution but will respond to shareholders next month. Investors for Paris Compliance director of corporate engagement Matt Price told the Observer the advocacy group has been in touch with Canada’s five biggest banks, but RBC will be the only one to face a resolution from the group this year. He said of all the banks, RBC has been the “least enthusiastic” about climate discussions, but it’s an important conversation to have because sustainable finance is a fast-growing space.”
OPINION
POWHR: The ACP Was Canceled but We Still Lost Our Land
Bill and Lynn Limpert. Bill volunteers with POWHR, 2/21/22
“There’s nothing like winning a pipeline fight after years of community advocacy,” Bill and Lynn Limpert write for POWHR. “Defeating the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) was a win for our people and planet. Hundreds of thousands of people can rest easy knowing that their lives, homes, land, and water won’t be destroyed or severely damaged by that unnecessary pipeline. Nevertheless, a lot of irreparable harm can be inflicted during a fossil fuel pipeline fight. Just because a pipeline is eventually canceled, doesn’t stop it from bulldozing through precious land and water and exhausting community members to the bone as they fight for their lives. In our case, after over four years of fighting every day, we lost our retirement home and property in beautiful Little Valley, Bath County, Virginia to the ACP. Bill worked much harder during those four years than he ever did in his career as an environmental regulator, or in obtaining his college degree. He worked for no compensation, every weekend, and every holiday. Lynn worked alongside Bill much of the time, and others in the community lit up the path forward. Some mornings, Bill got up at 4:00 AM to start his work because he could not sleep thinking about losing our property to the ACP… “We finally sold the entire property believing that construction was inevitable, as we watched one regulatory agency after another approve the pipeline. We could not live next to the pipeline. We would be stuck with a scarred, dangerous, and toxic property that no one would want to live on if the pipeline was built. Less than 100 days after we sold the property the ACP was canceled. The decision to sell, our guilt in caving into the ACP, our gut wrenching four year fight, the loss of our retirement dream, and the memories of our beautiful home and property will haunt us for the rest of our lives.”
Virginia Mercury: Air and water board bills hurt businesses and communities
Freeda Cathcart is the soil and water conservation director representing Roanoke City, 2/21/22
“SB 657 and HB 1261 are air and water pollution bills that appear to have been crafted to help the Mountain Valley Pipeline, after the State Air Pollution Control Board denied the MVP Southgate permit for the Lambert Air Compressor Station,” Freeda Cathcart writes for the Virginia Mercury. “MVP’s lobbyists have misled legislators to try to remove the “power” from environmental citizen boards and give it to the Department of Environmental Quality. Legislators were persuaded that taking away the “power” from the boards and giving it to the director of the DEQ would be good for business. However, if the bills are enacted it would create more instability for business development based on recent court rulings. Companies are being pressured by investors and workers to have good environmental, social and governance ratings. It doesn’t help a company to obtain a permit only to have the federal courts throw it out as being unlawful… “It would be prudent for the General Assembly to see how the pending court cases resolve before making changes to the state code. Let’s give the truth a chance. Changes of this magnitude deserve more time and consideration before becoming law. Attaching a re-enactment clause to SB 657 and HB 1261 would give the General Assembly a year to determine if this legislation would be beneficial or if it would do more harm than good.”
Globe and Mail: Biden’s White House will fight hard against Alberta’s $1.3 billion Keystone XL pipeline lawsuit
Lawrence Herman, a former Canadian diplomat, is counsel at Herman & Associates and senior fellow of the C.D. Howe Institute, 2/22/22
“Earlier this month, the Alberta government launched a NAFTA investment arbitration suit against the United States, seeking $1.3-billion as compensation for President Joe Biden’s cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. TC Energy, the company behind KXL, has filed its own NAFTA case, but Alberta is now seeking compensation for the province’s investment in the pipeline,” Lawrence Herman writes for the Globe and Mail. “The case is groundbreaking because for the first time it involves one government – albeit a provincial one – suing another government under the North American free-trade agreement investment provisions. This has implications for other investment disputes around the world… “One can wager that the Biden White House will pull out all stops in defending the action, putting Alberta up against the full legal resources of the U.S. government. It will almost certainly challenge Alberta’s standing as an investor, arguing it’s not a Canadian “national” or an “enterprise” as defined under NAFTA. The U.S. will go on to defend KXL’s cancellation as a legitimate carbon-reduction measure based on sound environmental science, political factors being irrelevant… “As the process unfolds, the case could raise the temperature in the bilateral relationship, not only because it’s brought by a Canadian provincial government, but because it strikes at the centre of Mr. Biden’s fossil-fuel reduction and climate-change plans. It’s about much more than the compensation claim of $1.3-billion itself, admittedly a hefty sum.”
Globe and Mail: Canada needs a blueprint for a green skills revolution
John Stackhouse is senior vice-president, Office of the CEO, at RBC. Pedro Barata is executive director of the Future Skills Centre, 2/21/22
“Canada will need to mobilize tens of billions of dollars a year if we stand a chance of getting to net-zero carbon emissions. The financial capital looks like it’s there. The human capital, less so,” John Stackhouse and Pedro Barata write for the Globe and Mail. “Coming out of the pandemic, a global energy transition is being shaped by countries that are building the right combination of green skills in engineering, skilled trades, management and other professions. Ironically, after setting a policy standard with carbon pricing, emissions regulations and cleantech incentives, Canada may be short of the skills we’ll need to put those policies to work. To make the most of our net-zero strategy, we’ll need to do more with postsecondary education, reskilling and immigration. A new study by RBC Economics and Thought Leadership estimates more than three million jobs – or 15 per cent of the current labour force – is about to undergo a green-skills transformation as employers and entrepreneurs seize on the energy transition… “Canadians know we face a historic challenge in making this shift. But by putting skills at the centre of our climate strategy, we can ensure our transition is designed, built and delivered by Canadians, for Canadians.”
The Hill: Color in the climate crisis
Antjuan Seawright is a Democratic political strategist, founder and CEO of Blueprint Strategy LLC, a CBS News political contributor, and a senior visiting fellow at Third Way, 2/22/22
Lately I’ve found myself thinking about one of the last conversations I had with the late Congressman John R. Lewis. It was a normal chat, touching on all kinds of things, but I remember him clearly saying, in that way that only he could: “As custodians of this piece of real estate called America, we have an obligation and responsibility to leave it a little greener, a little cleaner and a little better than we found it, especially for our children and grandchildren,” Antjuan Seawright writes for The Hill. “That moment has stuck with me for the better part of two years, and now I see it, or at least its core sentiment, echoing across much of America. You see, something interesting is happening right now. Whether it’s the political pushback from Trump-era deregulation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishing a report that outlines climate change’s disproportionate impacts on communities of color, or the rolling blackouts like those that have occurred in California or that happened in Texas this month, which hit Black and brown families first, and hardest, literally leaving them out in the cold, folks are beginning to see the environmental justice movement in a new and more urgent light. It’s time for politicians to understand that climate change isn’t some fringe issue owned by activists and intellectuals anymore. People care — particularly people who look like me and end up bearing the brunt of rising sea levels and stronger, more frequent storms. In short: the climate crisis has a color and it ain’t just green. It’s Black.”
Albuquerque Journal: NM students need feds to restart oil and gas leases
BY U.S. REP. YVETTE HERRELL / NEW MEXICO REPUBLICAN AND U.S. REP. BRUCE WESTERMAN / ARKANSAS REPUBLICAN, 2/22/22
“As New Mexico’s legislators returned to Santa Fe for 2022’s regular legislative session, one of their main challenges was how to spend the nearly $2 billion budget surplus the state collected in 2021,” U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell and U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman write for the Albuquerque Journal. “This surplus came in large part from revenues collected from oil and gas production on federal and state lands… “The federal government is currently unlawfully neglecting the federal oil and gas leasing program, an economic staple of New Mexico and the backbone of the state’s general fund. This neglect is leaving New Mexico small businesses in limbo and putting at risk future funding for New Mexico’s school children. From April to August of 2021, approval of certain permits for oil and gas operations on federal lands in New Mexico dropped by 86% compared to same period in 2020. The lack of approval for these necessary permits will be felt as time goes on, resulting in lost production, lost jobs and lost revenue for the state. In addition, the federal government has yet to hold a sale for new oil and gas leases in New Mexico since the Biden Administration took office one year ago. This is illegal, as a federal judge ruled in June of last year when he required the administration to hold lease sales. So far, it has yet to comply. This is disastrous for New Mexico, as revenues from lease sales are integral to paying for vital state programs like education.”