EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 2/9/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Facebook: Preserve Monroe: Motion for Stop-Work Order of Appalachian Mountain Advocates
National Observer: Two more Indigenous land defenders face charges after Toronto rail blockade
Facebook: West Whiteland Residents for Pipeline Safety: A lawsuit has been filed against Sunoco related to Mariner East construction by the parents of a teenager who tragically died in Westmoreland County
KELO: McPherson County says temporary no to CO2 pipelines
Nebraska Examiner: Bill to give tax breaks to carbon capture facilities runs into opposition
WLOS: Proposed natural gas pipeline under Blue Ridge Parkway faces pushback from critics
Mother Jones: How Giving Legal Rights to an Indigenous Food Could Stop a Pipeline
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Dems slam Big Oil for ’empty promises’ at hearing
Grist: What states stand to gain if Biden hikes oil and gas royalty rates
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Oil firms suffer major setback in Colo. climate lawsuit
Albuquerque Journal: Effort to revive hydrogen energy bill fizzles in House
EXTRACTION
Bloomberg: U.S. sees record oil production next year moving even higher
InsideClimate News: To Counter Global Warming, Focus Far More on Methane, a New Study Recommends
Nature: Scientists raise alarm over ‘dangerously fast’ growth in atmospheric methane
Toronto Star: Indigenous communities look to become big players in Alberta’s carbon sequestration
Financial Post: For Cenovus and oilpatch peers, drilling takes a back seat to dividends amid cash windfall
CLIMATE FINANCE
Reuters: New York pension fund to divest half its shale companies
NBC News: 'Net-zero' promises from major corporations fall short, climate groups say
TheEnergyMix: Alberta Fossils Face Credit Crunch as Worried Investors Focus on Climate Risk
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Muskoka Radio: HLOB Fire Gets Firefighting Training Materials Through Enbridge Gas
OPINION
Niskanen Center: Congress needs to think some more about CO2 pipelines
The Hill: Linking fossil fuel sales to emissions reductions
The Hill: Lost time means a steeper climb on climate
The Hill: Orphaned oil wells costing taxpayers a bundle
PIPELINE NEWS
Facebook: Preserve Monroe: Motion for Stop-Work Order of Appalachian Mountain Advocates
2/8/22
“Yesterday, Attorney's for the Coalition who were party to the recent court cases that revoke three permits for the MVP filed a 80+page letter with FERC to tell them why they must issue a Stop Work Order for the MVP: Motion for Stop-Work Order of Appalachian Mountain Advocates et al. under CP16-10.”
National Observer: Two more Indigenous land defenders face charges after Toronto rail blockade
Morgan Sharp, 2/4/22
“Two more land defenders who took part in a Toronto rail blockade in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs last November have been charged or ticketed, with one saying Indigenous activists are being stalked and picked off one by one after an Indigenous protester was previously charged in connection with the action,” the National Observer reports. “Gary Wassaykeesic and Miguel Avila-Velarde, both well-known advocates for Indigenous rights, told the Observer they will fight the charges as part of a broader challenge to Canada’s position on Indigenous sovereignty and reconciliation. “How can you be charging First Nations with trespassing on their own territories, on their own land?” Wassaykeesic, who is from the Mishkeegogamang First Nation north of Thunder Bay and has lived in Toronto for decades, told the Observer. “Are you telling us that you conquered us?” On Nov. 21, a small group of people blocked the freight railway line at Dupont and Bartlett. The protest came days after heavily armed RCMP officers conducted a raid in northern British Columbia, where hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en Nation continue to oppose the construction of a natural gas pipeline on their unceded territory.”
Facebook: West Whiteland Residents for Pipeline Safety: A lawsuit has been filed against Sunoco related to Mariner East construction by the parents of a teenager who tragically died in Westmoreland County
2/8/22
“18-year-old Maclean "Mac" Maund, a star athlete from Penn Trafford High School was a freshman at Seton Hill studying business administration, set to play baseball for the university in the spring. But on January 25, 2020 Mac was traveling on Route 130 near Jeannette, PA when he encountered water that had pooled on the roadway and had frozen over. The ice caused his vehicle to spin out of control, and he ended up sideways in the opposite lane. His vehicle was struck by an oncoming pickup truck and Mac died of his injuries. The fatal ice patch had come from improper drainage from the ME2 work area which pooled water on the roadway that had then frozen. This tragic loss of a young life could have been avoided: 11 months earlier, on February 22, 2019 the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection received a written complaint from a resident that there was “water and ice on road from improper pipeline construction and drainage.....It needs to be fixed before someone gets hurt.”
KELO: McPherson County says temporary no to CO2 pipelines
Rae Yost, 2/1/22
“For now, McPherson County does not want any pipeline carrying hazardous material to be built in the county,” KELO reports. “Sid Feickert, a county commissioner, told KELO the county’s planning and zoning board and county commission board in January both approved a moratorium on pipelines carrying hazardous material. While Feickert told KELO that would include oil and other materials, the moratorium was passed as a developer plans to build a carbon dioxide pipeline in the county… “There is zero support locally that we can see,” Feickert told KELO of the Summit proposed pipeline. The county established the moratorium after about 50 people in opposition turned up at a January county board meeting. “The phone has been ringing off the hook (with opposition to the pipeline),” Feickert said. “It’s a really hot topic.” The county board passed the moratorium as way to “slow up the pipeline,” Feickert told KELO… “I believe it’s the most dangerous pipeline out there,” Feickert told KELO of a CO2 pipeline. He is worried that if it leaks it will cause significant harm to people and animals… “Research states that CO2 pipelines can corrode and as much water as possible needs to be removed. “If you hit a high pressure natural gas line with a piece of equipment, you get a fireball that can go 300 to 400 yards,” Hoffman told KELO. If a piece of farm equipment hits a CO2 line, a farmer is able to back away and call 911, Hoffman told KELO. Feickert told KELO leaked CO2 can hang like a cloud in low-lying areas and it can be harmful, even lethal.”
Nebraska Examiner: Bill to give tax breaks to carbon capture facilities runs into opposition
PAUL HAMMEL, 2/8/22
“A bill to ensure that Nebraska ethanol plants can qualify for state tax incentives for building carbon-capture facilities is running into opposition from a leading environmental group. The Bold Alliance, which includes Bold Nebraska, the group that led the fight against the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline, testified last week against a proposal to ensure that state ImagiNE Act tax breaks are allowed for the “capture, transport or geologic storage” of carbon dioxide, a leading greenhouse gas... “A representative from the Bold Alliance testified at a legislative hearing Wednesday that it is unnecessary to provide tax breaks for projects that are already planned in the state and that such CO2 pipelines are risky and subject to no state regulation. Advocates for the tax breaks told the Examiner building carbon storage facilities will help the state’s ethanol industry attain a “greener” rating, which will improve sales to states like California and Oregon that are seeking more environmentally friendly fuels…“It’s a very big deal,” the senator said. “It would certainly give Nebraska ethanol plants a greener rating to sell ethanol in the California and Oregon markets.” Ken Winston, testifying for the Bold Alliance, said state tax incentives should be provided to attract new businesses and new jobs to the state, not to benefit projects that have already chosen to locate here. Winston also questioned the long-term viability of CO2 pipelines as the world transitions to electric vehicles and away from gas-powered engines. He said that carbon pipelines can be dangerous, pointing to an incident two years ago in Satartia, Mississippi. A high-pressure pipeline carrying carbon dioxide mixed with hydrogen sulfide burst, releasing gas and leaving some residents confused, choking or unconscious. Forty-five people were sent to local hospitals. Victims who inhaled the gas became disoriented and acted like “zombies,” one first responder told the (Jackson, Mississippi) Clarion Ledger. Winston said that if lawmakers want to give tax incentives for such pipelines, the state should first enact regulations for siting and routing them and for reclamation of land. Lincoln Sen. Eliot Bostar has introduced LB 1186, which would regulate CO2 pipelines in the same way the Keystone XL was subject to route approval. Bostar said his bill would also set up a trust fund financed by pipeline firms so that if landowners wished to have a CO2 pipeline removed after it was shut down, funds would be available to do that… “But Bostar said he is working on an amendment to the bill to rule out tax breaks for pipelines but allow them for carbon storage facilities.”
WLOS: Proposed natural gas pipeline under Blue Ridge Parkway faces pushback from critics
Kimberly King, 2/7/22
“Days after the official window for public comment closed for a proposed natural gas pipeline under the Blue Ridge Parkway in southern Buncombe County, environmental advocates are trying to pressure the National Park Service to extend the 30-day input window before approving the project,” WLOS reports. “It’s about the history of gas pipelines that basically pollute the water,” Ken Jones, who opposes the project, told WLOS. Jones and others are concerned about drilling and potential impacts around the gas pipeline location. “They’re going to use toxic chemicals to do the drilling for the lubricant,” Jones told WLOS. Steve Norris, who also opposes the pipeline, told WLOS natural gas use continues to contribute to global warming. “This is a big deal,” Norris told WLOS. “You know the planet is in danger from stuff like this. There should be more transparency.” “...Persida Montanez, a spokeswoman for Dominion Energy, told WLOS the 760-foot section is the final part of a 10-mile, 12-inch diameter natural gas line improvement project that services customers from Arden to Enka.”
Mother Jones: How Giving Legal Rights to an Indigenous Food Could Stop a Pipeline
EAMON WHALEN, 2/9/22
“In 2018, Frank Bibeau, a member of and attorney for the White Earth band of Anishinaabe—the largest of the six federally recognized Indigenous reservations that make up the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe—had an idea,” Mother Jones reports. “By that point, for the better part of a decade, Bibeau had been part of organizing efforts to stop the construction of Line 3… “After years of dutifully participating in the state’s regulatory processes around Line 3, Bibeau was coming to realize in 2018 that he’d have to find a new strategy that went above and beyond the usual legal tactics used by environmentalists… “History had taught Bibeau that he couldn’t count on the state’s regulatory agencies to be sufficient environmental stewards, so that year, Bibeau drafted a law to be adopted by White Earth that codified Manoomin with “the right to pure water and freshwater habitat; the right to a healthy climate system and a natural environment free from human-caused global warming impacts and emissions.” “...In the final days of 2018, Bibeau’s law passed. A few weeks later, White Earth leadership sent a letter to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, alerting the newly sworn-in Democrat that they and the 1855 Treaty Authority had given wild rice legal rights, and pressing him on Line 3… “It’s kind of a perfect storm,” Thomas Linzey, an environmental attorney and executive director of the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights, an organization that works worldwide to draft rights-of-nature laws and who consulted with Bibeau and White Earth on the rights of Manoomin, told MJ. “Which is why the state has been scrambling to try to contain it. Because if it starts to actually become accepted then that case has wide-scale implications for other tribes who might use rights of nature laws to extend that protection of natural resources through their treaty rights,” Linzey said.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Dems slam Big Oil for ’empty promises’ at hearing
By Nick Sobczyk, 2/9/22
“Democrats yesterday accused major oil companies of green washing their public images by burnishing flashy greenhouse gas emissions commitments while doing little to stop their products from warming the planet,” E&E News reports. “During a hearing yesterday, House Oversight and Reform Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) described climate goals from Exxon Mobil Corp., BP PLC, Shell PLC and Chevron Corp. — the four principal subjects of the panel’s larger investigation into fossil fuel disinformation — as “empty promises.” “These pledges rely on unproven technology, and they ignore the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions created by fossil fuels,” Maloney said during the hearing. “Moreover, the industry continues to pour money into new oil and gas fields, with no plans to stop extracting.” “...It came after five board members from the companies declined to show up, with most citing scheduling conflicts. The panel instead heard from prominent scientist Michael Mann and other climate advocates. A hearing with board members is scheduled for March 8… “In short, witnesses told the committee yesterday that no major oil company is doing enough to stem catastrophic climate change. “Quite simply, what we’re seeing is that industry climate pledges are just climate disinformation and green washing,” said Tracey Lewis, policy counsel for Public Citizen.”
Grist: What states stand to gain if Biden hikes oil and gas royalty rates
Emily Pontecorvo & Chad Small, 2/8/22
“For a president who campaigned on the promise to end new oil and gas leasing on public land, Joe Biden has been dragging his feet, to say the least,” Grist reports. “A long-anticipated government report on the federal oil and gas leasing program that was released last November did not indicate any end in sight. And while the Biden administration has yet to auction off any new leases on public land, it has approved almost 900 more drilling permits than former President Donald Trump did during his first year in office, according to a recent analysis. But last week an update popped up on the Interior Department’s website that showed Biden might be ready to make a change to the oil and gas leasing program that no other administration has dared to make for the last 100 years: increase royalty rates. The notice, which was published by accident and quickly removed from the site, said the agency would increase the royalty rate on leases sold in upcoming auctions from 12.5 percent of the value of the oil or gas produced to 18.75 percent, according to E&E News. That would bring royalty rates for federal leases in line with those for oil and gas leases on state-owned lands, which range from 16.6 percent to a whopping 25 percent in Texas. Increasing the federal rate could be a boon for state governments, which receive half of the royalty revenue the federal government takes in for leases in their borders and often rely on it to fund schools, public health programs, and critical infrastructure. That’s the message of a new report from the nonprofit watchdog organization Accountable.US, which calculated just how much states are being shortchanged by the outdated federal royalty rate. It found that in 2019, Western states could have taken in additional $1.58 billion if the royalty rate had been 20 percent instead of 12.5. The worst affected state, New Mexico, missed out on $804 million in potential revenue in 2019, or about 13 percent of its budget that year.”
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Oil firms suffer major setback in Colo. climate lawsuit
By Lesley Clark, 2/9/22
“A federal appeals court yesterday agreed to keep a Colorado lawsuit before a state bench, delivering a victory to local governments suing fossil fuel companies for climate impacts,” E&E News reports. “The ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the first test of a Supreme Court decision last May that sent a host of climate liability cases back to appellate judges with instructions to consider a broader range of factors when deciding whether the challenges should be heard in state or federal court. Judges of the 10th Circuit rejected all six of the oil firms’ claims to move the case to federal court, where industry may face better odds… “This is a major victory for efforts to hold Exxon and other polluters accountable for the climate damages they knowingly caused,” Richard Wiles, executive director of the Center for Climate Integrity, a group that supports the climate liability litigation, told E&E. “Oil and gas companies are desperate to avoid having to explain their lies and deception in front of juries in state court, but once again judges have rejected their efforts to escape accountability.” “...In another climate liability case, a federal judge in Delaware yesterday put on hold a decision to move the state’s lawsuit against 31 fossil fuel firms back to a state bench, pending a decision from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals… “A separate climate liability case from Hoboken, N.J., is pending in the same court.”
Albuquerque Journal: Effort to revive hydrogen energy bill fizzles in House
BY KEVIN ROBINSON-AVILA AND DAN BOYD, 2/7/22
“A high-profile hydrogen energy bill is in limbo at the Roundhouse after an attempt to revive it through legislative maneuvering fizzled amid a deluge of criticism from environmental groups,” the Albuquerque Journal reports. “House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, announced Monday that the revived bill, which was filed after a previous proposal stalled, had been withdrawn from its only assigned House committee… “But Rep. Matthew McQueen, D-Galisteo, the chairman of the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee, told the Journal on Sunday he was “very concerned” that the new bill appears to be bypassing not only that committee but also another House panel the original bill had been assigned to. In addition, a group of about 20 youthful Indigenous advocates rallied outside the Roundhouse on Monday against both the rewritten hydrogen bill and the legislative maneuver used to bring it forward. One of the speakers, Julia Bernal of the Pueblo Action Alliance said the bill seeks to continue New Mexico’s fossil fuel industry, which she and others described as exploitative. “We are here to denounce the undermining of our democratic process,” said Bernal, who is an enrolled member of Sandia Pueblo… “The new bill ran into similar opposition as the original measure, however, as some environmental groups oppose any state promotion of natural gas-backed hydrogen production, which pulls hydrogen molecules out of the methane contained in gas, emitting substantial carbon in the process. Supporters say producers will be required to capture and sequester nearly all emissions, turning the hydrogen into a “clean” product that could be used to decarbonize everything from long-haul trucking and shipping to electric generation. But environmentalists say that, even with the modifications, the new legislation is still fundamentally aimed at creating new subsidies for fossil fuel production, since natural gas production will likely increase to supply the gas-based feedstock needed to produce hydrogen.”
EXTRACTION
Bloomberg: U.S. sees record oil production next year moving even higher
Sheela Tobben, 2/8/22
“U.S. oil production will grow even more than the government previously expected as a scorching price rally drives producers to boost drilling,” Bloomberg reports. “Oil output will average 12.6 million barrels a day in 2023, an increase from its previous estimate of 12.41 million, according to Energy Information Administration data… “This extra U.S. supply is a welcome boon for President Joe Biden, who has asked suppliers to raise production in order to help tamp down energy prices that are contributing to the highest inflation in decades. In the wake of oil prices surging to their highest since 2014, two of the largest U.S. oil companies announced they would increase production by double digits in the Permian Basin, America’s most prolific oil patch… “Global petroleum supply are expected to rise to 101.39 million barrels a day this year. That’s an upward revision from last month’s forecast of 101.05 million. The EIA expects global production will rise further to 103.47 million barrels a day in 2023.”
InsideClimate News: To Counter Global Warming, Focus Far More on Methane, a New Study Recommends
Phil McKenna, 2/9/22
“The Environmental Protection Agency is drastically undervaluing the potency of methane as a greenhouse gas when the agency compares methane’s climate impact to that of carbon dioxide, a new study concludes,” InsideClimate News reports. “The EPA’s climate accounting for methane is “arbitrary and unjustified” and three times too low to meet the goals set in the Paris climate agreement, the research report, published Wednesday in the journal Environmental Research Letters, found. The report proposes a new method of accounting that places greater emphasis on the potential for cuts in methane and other short-lived greenhouse gasses to help limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. “If you want to keep the world from passing the 1.5 degrees C threshold, you’ll want to pay more attention to methane than we have so far,” Rob Jackson, an earth system science professor at Stanford University and a co-author of the study, told ICN… “To determine a “justified” time frame, the Stanford researchers took the Paris climate goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius as a starting point, and then calculated the most appropriate time frame to meet that goal. Based on climate models using scenarios where global warming is limited to 1.5 degrees, they determined the planet would reach 1.5 degrees of warming above pre-industrial levels in approximately 24 years. “If that’s the case, and you’re using a 100-year frame for methane, then you’re not going to put enough value on reducing methane emissions compared to other greenhouse gasses,” Jackson told ICN.”
Nature: Scientists raise alarm over ‘dangerously fast’ growth in atmospheric methane
Jeff Tollefson, 2/8/22
“Methane concentrations in the atmosphere raced past 1,900 parts per billion last year, nearly triple preindustrial levels, according to data released in January by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Scientists says the grim milestone underscores the importance of a pledge made at last year’s COP26 climate summit to curb emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas at least 28 times as potent as CO2,” Nature reports. “The growth of methane emissions slowed around the turn of the millennium, but began a rapid and mysterious uptick around 2007. The spike has caused many researchers to worry that global warming is creating a feedback mechanism that will cause ever more methane to be released, making it even harder to rein in rising temperatures. “Methane levels are growing dangerously fast,” Euan Nisbet, an Earth scientist at Royal Holloway, University of London, in Egham, UK, told Nature. The emissions, which seem to have accelerated in the past few years, are a major threat to the world’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5–2 °C over pre-industrial temperatures, he says.”
Toronto Star: Indigenous communities look to become big players in Alberta’s carbon sequestration
Shari Narine, 2/8/22
“Enoch Cree Nation Chief Billy Morin is confident that once the province sees the “winning formula” in the partnership that five Indigenous communities have with Enbridge Inc., the Alberta UCP government will have no option but to give the go-ahead to the Open Access Wabamun Carbon Hub,” the Toronto Star reports. “Enoch Cree Nation has joined forces with the nations of Alexander, Alexis Nakota Sioux, and Paul to create the First Nation Capital Investment Partnership (FNCIP). The FNCIP has joined with the Lac Ste. Anne Métis community to round out the Indigenous partners in the proposed carbon capture and storage facility development for the west side of Edmonton… “Having equity in half the project, he tells the Star, means a “full seat at the table.” That translates into a say on the environmental effects, the design of the project, construction jobs, and more.”
Financial Post: For Cenovus and oilpatch peers, drilling takes a back seat to dividends amid cash windfall
Emily Jackson, 2/8/22
“Cenovus Energy Inc.’s chief executive Alex Pourbaix isn’t using higher oil prices as a reason to go on a capital spending splurge, as the Canadian oilpatch increasingly prioritizes dividends, share buybacks and debt reduction over new drilling,” the Financial Post reports. “I’m kind of old enough and bear enough scars that I guess when it comes to pricing, I’m always very cautious,” Pourbaix said on a conference call Tuesday. The Calgary-based oil producer won’t invest in projects unless they deliver acceptable returns at the bottom of the price cycle, Pourbaix said, describing that as a benchmark West Texas Intermediate price of US$45 per barrel. The price of WTI surpassed US$90 a barrel last week, hitting its highest levels in almost eight years amid geopolitical tensions and a rebound in demand for oil and gas. “Although we’re pleased to see these higher prices, it’s just not something we can count on,” Pourbaix said.
CLIMATE FINANCE
Reuters: New York pension fund to divest half its shale companies
By Ross Kerber, 2/9/22
“New York's state pension fund will sell $238 million worth of stock and debt it holds across 21 shale oil and gas companies including Chesapeake Energy Corp, Hess Corp (HES.N) and Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD.N), saying they have not shown they are ready to move to a low-emissions economy,” Reuters reports. “However, the fund will keep another 21 shale companies including CNX Resources Corp (CNX.N) and EQT Corp (EQT.N) according to material reviewed by Reuters from New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who oversees retirement assets. "To protect the state pension fund, we are restricting investments in companies that we believe are unprepared to adapt to a low-carbon future," DiNapoli said in a statement sent by a spokesman. A review found the companies being sold continue to invest heavily in high-risk and high-cost assets, a spokesman for DiNapoli's office told Reuters… “The $280 billion New York State fund is not a major holder of shale companies, but as the third-largest U.S. state pension fund its decisions are closely followed as other institutions weigh whether to move away from fossil fuel stocks.”
NBC News: 'Net-zero' promises from major corporations fall short, climate groups say
Patrick Galey, 2/7/22
“Major global corporations are using false or misleading net-zero announcements to avoid meaningful and immediate greenhouse gas emissions cuts, according to a new assessment from two climate watchdogs of the action planned by industry leaders,” NBC News reports. “The analysis of the climate pledges of 25 of the world’s largest companies, many of which are household names, suggests the pledges will only amount to future emissions reductions of some 40 percent on aggregate — a far cry from the total decarbonization needed by midcentury to stave off the most dire consequences of global heating. It identifies an apparently systematic effort from big corporations to exaggerate their climate action through “greenwashing tricks, using loopholes and omitting data,” something that experts said calls into question the credibility of net-zero plans that don’t center on rapid emissions reductions. “We were shocked and surprised at the findings, especially because many of these companies position themselves as climate leaders,” Silke Mooldijk, policy analyst at NewClimate Institute, which co-produced Monday’s assessment with Carbon Market Watch, told NBC. “If companies make such bold claims and pledges, they should back them up and also provide detail to assess the integrity of their targets and measures.” “...But scientists and analysts are increasingly concerned that some businesses are using net-zero as a way of back-loading climate action, relying on technology or nature to absorb pollution decades from now rather than focusing on reducing emissions today… “The average emissions reduction planned across the 25 corporations was less than 20 percent.”
TheEnergyMix: Alberta Fossils Face Credit Crunch as Worried Investors Focus on Climate Risk
Robert L. (Bob) Ascah/Parkland Institute, 2/9/22
“New battle lines are being drawn between Canada’s financial regulators and Alberta’s oilpatch over the country’s climate change policies,” TheEnergyMix reports. “The Bank of Canada and Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) recently released a pilot study that looked at how prepared the country’s financial institutions are in understanding and managing climate change risks. The study found that the creditworthiness of oilsands producers will fall dramatically over the next three decades… “The pilot study reported findings from a sample of six large financial institutions, including the Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank Group, Intact Financial Corporation, Co-operators Group Limited, Sun Life Financial, and Manulife Financial Corporation. These firms have loaned C$240 billion to companies in climate-exposed sectors, including about $70 billion to the oil and gas industry… “The study’s key finding was that the probability of default to exposed sectors would rise over time. This was especially true in the case of oilsands producers. Their probability of default was estimated to rise by at least 400% by 2050 under the 2°C immediate scenario. The probability of default for other oil and natural gas producers was expected to rise by 200%. In contrast, the probability of default for a renewable electricity producer is expected to fall by up to five to 15%.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Muskoka Radio: HLOB Fire Gets Firefighting Training Materials Through Enbridge Gas
2/9/22
“Enbridge Gas is helping the Huntsville/Lake of Bays Fire Department purchase firefighting training materials, through Safe Community Project Assist – a program with the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council that supplements existing training for Ontario volunteer and composite fire departments in the communities where Enbridge operates,” Muskoka Radio reports. “This year’s $250,000 donation from Enbridge Gas will be shared by 50 Ontario fire departments, including Huntsville/Lake of Bays Fire Department. Interim Fire Chief Larry Brassard tells Muskoka Radio, “This is a great opportunity for our department to improve the training materials available to our firefighters. These resources ensure our firefighters are up to date and knowledgeable with regards to current standards.”
OPINION
Niskanen Center: Congress needs to think some more about CO2 pipelines
BY ZOE KLASS-WARCH, MATTHEW BRANDON LEE, 2/8/22
“Congress believes that carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS) is one path to decarbonization. As such, the bipartisan infrastructure bill includes $2.1 billion to establish a Department of Energy (DOE) program to provide low-interest loans to CO2 infrastructure projects and $2.5 billion to expand its Carbon Storage Validation and Testing program,” Zoe Klass-Warch and Matthew Brandon Lee write for the Niskanen Center. “...Still, Congress failed to consider two fundamental issues of CO2 pipeline siting: who decides where these pipelines get built, and the degree of public input into the process – including hearing from landowners whose property will be taken for these projects via eminent domain. States control pipeline siting within their borders, so Congress is funding projects subject to very different regulatory requirements… “CO2 pipeline applicants in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas do not need to obtain all necessary permits before starting construction. This creates the risk of CO2 pipelines taking private property and proceeding with construction without certainty that the project will ultimately be built... “Although Congress is deferring to state permitting rules, it can and should ensure that federal funding is limited only to pipelines in states with comprehensive permitting regimes that minimize eminent domain abuse and elevate landowner concerns and public engagement. Regardless of state permitting rules, federally-funded pipelines should have all necessary permits before using eminent domain, and include reasonable repurchase provisions in easement agreements if the project is never built… “If CO2 pipelines are part of the decarbonization process, we shouldn’t ignore what we’ve learned about building other interstate infrastructure. Nor should we minimize the enormous sacrifice imposed on those forced to sell their property to get these pipelines built.”
The Hill: Linking fossil fuel sales to emissions reductions
Anthony Artuso is an executive scholar at the University Virginia’s Energy Transition Initiative and Darden School of Business, 2/7/22
“Over 135 countries covering nearly 90 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions have now pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century or soon thereafter. That is certainly encouraging but a gap remains between country pledges and the emission reductions needed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. More concerning is the much larger gap between the pledges countries have made and the policies they have implemented,” Anthony Artuso writes for The Hill. “...The gap between stated intentions and implemented policies could be narrowed considerably by linking fossil fuel sales to emission reductions. Here’s how that could work… “They could steadily shift their product mix toward clean energy sources, not only wind and solar but also green hydrogen, green ammonia and other carbon neutral fuels, as well as advanced geothermal energy that utilizes technology developed by the oil and gas industry. Fossil fuel companies could also earn emission reduction credits from a wide range activities including plugging methane leaks, capturing carbon emissions or removing carbon from the atmosphere using direct air capture technologies or nature-based solutions. As has been the case with wind and solar, and now with batteries and electric vehicles, directing investment to clean fuels and emission reducing technologies will lead to cost reducing innovation and economies of scale… “Like it or not, fossil fuels will remain an important part of the global energy mix for the foreseeable future. That prospect can be reconciled with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees by linking fossil fuel sales to emissions reductions. Requiring fossil fuel companies to steadily reduce net attributable emissions would leverage continued demand for fossil fuels to accelerate the transition to a carbon neutral energy system.”
The Hill: Lost time means a steeper climb on climate
Michael E. Mann is distinguished professor of atmospheric science and director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University. Susan Joy Hassol is the director of the non-profit Climate Communication and winner of the American Geophysical Union’s 2021 Ambassador Award, 2/7/22
“Most people are now aware that the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) has heated up the planet, leading to an array of devastating impacts that are now playing out in real time,” Michael E. Mann and Susan Joy Hassol write for The Hill. “What they may not know, is that this isn’t just the conclusion of the world’s climate scientists. The world’s largest publicly traded fossil fuel company’s own scientists predicted this 40 years ago, even as the industry engaged in a public campaign to deny the science and stave off policy action. A secret 1982 report by Exxon scientists made remarkably accurate predictions of both the rise we would see in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and the planetary warming that would result given business-as-usual extraction and burning of fossil fuels. They even used the word “catastrophic” to describe the potential impacts of that warming. Trillions of dollars in Big Oil profits later, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform is examining fossil fuel companies’ current climate pledges in a hearing Tuesday. Congress must understand not only did fossil fuel companies know the science, but that their denial and delay tactics continue to cost us dearly to this day… “If we are to meet this monumental challenge, we will need to use all the arrows in the quiver. We must hold fossil fuel interests accountable for the damage they have caused. There are lawsuits working their way through the courts to initiate this process. We must prevent the coal, oil and gas industry from doing further damage. Even now, they continue to expand their exploitation, even as they’re on track to produce twice the fossil fuels in 2030 consistent with holding warming to internationally agreed levels. We must incentivize the energy industry to move aggressively toward clean, renewable energy.”
The Hill: Orphaned oil wells costing taxpayers a bundle
David Jenkins is president of Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship, a national non-profit organization with 20,000 members, 2/7/22
“The bipartisan infrastructure package signed into law back in November included $4.7 billion of our tax dollars for plugging and cleaning up abandoned or orphaned oil and gas wells. These are wells that the oil companies themselves were required to plug and clean up as a condition of their drilling permit,” David Jenkins writes for The Hill. “...So, why are U.S. taxpayers footing the bill for all of this orphaned well clean up? It is because the companies responsible are being allowed to skip out on their obligations… “Unfortunately, that $4.7 billion is just a down payment. Not only is the full cost of remediating those 130,000 orphan wells likely double that amount, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the actual number of orphaned and abandoned wells could be as high as 3 million… “It’s not uncommon to see principal players from a company that just went belly-up, immediately show up as the principal players of a new company. The drilling business has essentially become a parasitic shell game. They suck wealth from our public lands, shift much of the cost of doing business onto taxpayers, and then create a new entity to repeat the process somewhere else… “Inadequate bonding has proven to be a deeply ingrained and chronic problem across at least seven administrations. Perhaps the culture at BLM has been one that favors placating oil and gas executives at the expense of everyone else. Whatever the reason, this practice creates an unfair and costly subsidy that needs to end.”