EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 3/10/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Guardian: Canadian pipeline groups spend big to pose as Indigenous champions
Reuters: TC Energy offers 10% stake in Coastal GasLink project to Indigenous groups
Press release: TC Energy signs equity option agreements with Indigenous communities across the Coastal GasLink project corridor
WPBN: State resolution focuses on energy independence, Line 5 pipeline
Associated Press: SD Regulators to Consider Keystone XL Pipeline's Exit
WASHINGTON UPDATES
New York Times: FACT CHECK: Republicans Wrongly Blame Biden for Rising Gas Prices
Yahoo News: U.S. oil and gas permitting has increased under Biden, data shows
Benzinga.com: Members Of Congress Buy Energy, Defense Stocks Prior To Russian Invasion Of Ukraine: Who They Are, What They Bought
Politico: GOP SC-GHG PROBE
Press release: Over 200 groups call on Biden to use the Defense Production Act to help Ukraine by accelerating the clean energy transition
The Hill: Progressive groups urge senators to reject Biden district court pick
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: EPA restores California’s right to set stricter car regs
Alaska Journal of Commerce: EPA fines Hilcorp $180K for methane leaks, reporting violations in Alaska
EXTRACTION
InsideClimate News: Carbon Capture Takes Center Stage, But Is Its Promise an Illusion?
CLIMATE FINANCE
Washington Post: Shareholders asked oil giant Chevron to cut emissions. Now some want the chairman ousted.
Press release: 120 Groups Urge Big Banks to Pull Support for Expanded Gas Exports
CBC: How much are taxpayers really subsidizing Canada's fossil fuel industry?
OPINION
The Detroit News: Editorial: Line 5 is essential to steady oil supply
Los Angeles Times: Op-Ed: The Ukraine war is a decision point — banks should stop funding the fossil fuel industry forever
PIPELINE NEWS
Guardian: Canadian pipeline groups spend big to pose as Indigenous champions
Alice McCool and Thomas Lewton, 3/10/22
“Oil and gas companies and lobby groups in Canada are heavily investing in campaigns to present themselves as defenders of Indigenous interests in the face of high-profile protests against a controversial natural gas pipeline on First Nation land, a new investigation by Eco-Bot.Net and the Guardian has found,” the Guardian reports. “I’m being a steward to my land and I’m being a defender,” read one of 21 ads targeting British Columbia in November 2021, quoting a Coastal GasLink worker from Nak’azdli Whut’en’ First Nation. As the ad conveying Indigenous support for the pipeline appeared on the Facebook and Instagram feeds of people in the Canadian province, 30 Wet’suwet’en Nation members and supporters were being violently evicted from their territory along the pipeline. Police breached two cabins with an axe, chainsaw, dog unit and snipers aimed at the door… “The fossil fuel groups spent some C$122,000 (US$95,249) on more than 400 targeted Facebook and Instagram ads over the past two years relating to various oil and gas projects throughout the country… “The vast majority of the ads, which were shown some 21m times in total, were linked to the Coastal GasLink pipeline, the site of intense protest and violent police crackdown in recent years. Analysis of Facebook advertisements from January 2020 to the present by Eco-Bot.Net, a research project exposing climate crisis misinformation and corporate greenwashing online, has found a steady flow of “Indigenous-washing” ad campaigns from TC Energy, the company behind the pipeline, and associated oil and gas lobby groups… “Using terminology such as land “defender”, “eco-colonialism” and “reconciliation”, the ads employ buzzwords and phrases used in Indigenous rights discourse to portray the oil and gas companies as aligned with Indigenous groups… “The strategy of elevating the views of Indigenous people who are in favour of the pipeline “pits folks against each other in our communities, driving that divide and conquer tactic that we’ve encountered every step of the way since colonisation,” Karla Tait, a member of the Gilseyhu Clan of the Wet’suwet’en, told the Guardian… “In the ads, oil and gas development is portrayed as necessary for Indigenous economic development and poverty alleviation.
Reuters: TC Energy offers 10% stake in Coastal GasLink project to Indigenous groups
3/9/22
“TC Energy Corp said on Wednesday it signed an option agreement to sell 10% stake in Coastal GasLink to Indigenous communities, in a attempt to give more authority to the groups who traditionally held the land for the pipeline project,” Reuters reports. “The project has faced demonstrations and opposition from environmentalists and some First Nations for several years. Some of the groups say the project will trespass over their traditional lands. Last month, the pipeline work camp was attacked by what police described as assailants brandishing axes threatening workers and damaging equipment. Calgary, Alberta-based pipeline operator TC Energy said the stake sale option was available to all 20 First Nations holding existing agreements with Coastal GasLink.”
Press release: TC Energy signs equity option agreements with Indigenous communities across the Coastal GasLink project corridor
3/9/22
“TC Energy Corporation announced signing of option agreements to sell a 10 per cent equity interest in the Coastal GasLink Pipeline Limited Partnership to Indigenous communities across the project corridor. The opportunity to become business partners through equity ownership was made available to all 20 Nations holding existing agreements with Coastal GasLink… “The equity option recognizes the important relationship that TC Energy and Coastal GasLink have with the Indigenous groups along the approved pipeline route and the desire to be true partners. The equity option is in addition to 20 agreements Coastal GasLink has with Indigenous groups along the route which provide opportunities for contracting and employment as well as other long-term benefits. “For years we have watched industry and governments generate revenues from the operations of their projects, while we live with the impacts. This investment in Coastal GasLink will finally start to shift the landscape, aligning industry and Indigenous peoples’ interests over the entire life cycle of a project,” said Chief Justin Napoleon, Saulteau First Nations which is a member of the FN CGL Pipeline Limited Partnership.
WPBN: State resolution focuses on energy independence, Line 5 pipeline
Josh Kurman/Roxanne Werly, 3/9/22
“Senate Resolution 114 was approved by the Michigan Senate Wednesday morning,” WPBN reports. “The resolution calls for the adoption of policy that will help lead to energy independence in Michigan and across the country. The resolution includes a plea for Governor Whitmer's office to call off attempts to shut down Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline. Resolution 114 states: We urge the adoption of policies that will help lead to energy independence and lower energy costs in the United States; and be it further Resolved, That we urge Governor Whitmer and Michigan Attorney General Nessel to immediately cease their efforts to shut down the Line 5 pipeline and instead work proactively to lower energy costs for the residents of this state… “Groups like Oil & Water Don't Mix and the National Wildlife Federation called the move 'predictable' in a joint statement and said the U.S. needs to focus on renewable energy sources: “Michigan shouldn’t let Enbridge and the oil industry use the war and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine to keep us from protecting the Great Lakes from a catastrophe. The oil industry’s effort to prioritize its pipeline and profits over people is as outrageous as it is predictable.” “...Two independent studies show shutting down Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline won’t have a noticeable impact on gas prices, but keeping Line 5 running puts Michigan’s economy and the Great Lakes at risk of a catastrophic pipeline rupture that would destroy up to 700 miles of Great Lakes coastline… “A spokesperson for Enbridge told WPBN shutting down Line 5 would hurt the people of Michigan and people across the region.”
Associated Press: SD Regulators to Consider Keystone XL Pipeline's Exit
3/9/22
“More than a year after President Joe Biden revoked the federal permit for the contentious Keystone XL oil pipeline, lawyers for the halted project are asking South Dakota regulators to consider nearly all activities in the state officially ended,” the Associated Press reports. “Parent company TC Energy has filed a motion with the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission asking the three-member panel to release a $15.6 million road bond that regulators required as part of the 2010 decision granting the South Dakota permit. The commission on Tuesday will also consider TC Energy's request to approve removal of the public liaison officer in South Dakota, saying her work is finished. “Keystone has no remaining activities in South Dakota that are within the scope of the permit or the conditions…Keystone has returned the workforce camp sites to the landowners and transferred the storm water prevention plan permits to the landowners. Keystone sold the pump stations to a salvage company and has no further legal responsibility for these sites," attorneys for the company wrote.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
New York Times: FACT CHECK: Republicans Wrongly Blame Biden for Rising Gas Prices
Linda Qiu, 3/9/22
“As gas prices hit a high this week, top Republican lawmakers took to the airwaves and the floors of Congress with misleading claims that pinned the blame on President Biden and his energy policies,” the New York Times reports. “... While Republican lawmakers supported the ban, they asserted that the pain at the pump long preceded the war in Ukraine. Gas price hikes, they said, were the result of Mr. Biden’s cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline, the temporary halt on new drilling leases on public lands and the surrendering of “energy independence” — all incorrect assertions…“The primary reason for rising gas prices over the past year is the coronavirus pandemic and its disruptions to global supply and demand… “In the early months of 2020, when the virus took hold, demand for oil dried up and prices plummeted, with the benchmark price for crude oil in the United States falling to negative $37.63 that April. In response, producers in the United States and around the world began decreasing output. As pandemic restrictions loosened worldwide and economies recovered, demand outpaced supply. That was “mostly attributable” to the decision by OPEC Plus, an alliance of oil-producing countries that controls about half the world’s supply, to limit increases in production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Domestic production also remains below prepandemic levels, as capital spending declined and investors remained reluctant to provide financing to the oil industry. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has only compounded the issues… “These factors are largely out of Mr. Biden’s control, experts agreed, though they said he had not exactly sent positive signals to the oil and gas industry and its investors by vowing to reduce emissions and fossil fuel reliance… “Absent the Keystone XL pipeline, crude oil imports from Canada have nonetheless increased by 70 percent since 2008, transported by other pipelines and rail. The Trump administration itself told PolitiFact in 2017 that the pipeline’s impact on prices at the pump “would be minimal.”
Yahoo News: U.S. oil and gas permitting has increased under Biden, data shows
Ben Adler, 3/9/22
“Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Republican politicians, conservative pundits and fossil fuel industry leaders have accused President Biden of weakening the U.S.’s economic power against Russia by reducing oil and gas production,” Yahoo News reports. “...But a data dashboard unveiled Wednesday by the Center for Western Priorities shows that the opposite is true. The federal government has been issuing oil and gas drilling permits more willingly than it did during President Donald Trump’s first three years in office, and it could be issuing even more if the oil and gas industry weren’t leaving many current leases undeveloped. Right now, the industry is sitting on 9,173 approved but unused drilling permits on federal and tribal lands. This is mystifying to some observers, who note that filing for those permits has already cost operators more than $10,000 each. The permits also expire after two years, with only one extension allowed. More than 26 million acres of federal land — an area comparable to the size of Kentucky — are currently under lease for oil and gas drilling. Of that, slightly more than half — 13.9 million acres, equivalent to the size of West Virginia — are not being used. Despite Biden’s stated desire to combat climate change by reducing American dependence on fossil fuels that cause global warming, his administration has readily approved oil and gas drilling permit applications. “The Interior Department, the Bureau of Land Management, under both Biden and Trump, essentially operates as a rubber stamp,” Jesse Prentice-Dunn, policy director for the Center for Western Priorities, told Yahoo.
Benzinga.com: Members Of Congress Buy Energy, Defense Stocks Prior To Russian Invasion Of Ukraine: Who They Are, What They Bought
Chris Katje 3/9/22
“Prior to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the levying of numerous sanctions on Russia by the U.S., members of Congress purchased defense and energy stocks. A report from Unusual Whales highlights that numerous members of Congress purchased stocks in the defense and energy sectors prior to sanctions being placed on Russia,” Benzinga.com reports. “Many are on committees privy to private information, including defense and energy,” UnusualWhales tweeted. “Many had not purchased energy plays before.” Here is a look at the trades: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene: Chevron Inc, Lockheed Martin, NextEra Energy Inc; Rep. Robert Wittman: SPDR Select Energy Fund; Rep. Mark Green: Energy Transfer LP, EnLink Midstream LLC; Rep. Virginia Foxx: Plains All American Pipeline LP, PPL Corp, Philips 66… “The purchases by Greene were made one day before the invasion of Ukraine, according to the report. “War and rumors of war is incredibly profitable and convenient,” Greene tweeted on Feb. 23. The revelation that Greene bought a stock like Lockheed Martin prior to the invasion didn’t sit well with colleagues. “Add this to the list of why members of Congress should never be allowed to trade stocks,” Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted. A bipartisan push is underway to ban members of Congress from owning and trading stocks while in office, but there is no official bill to vote on yet.
Politico: GOP SC-GHG PROBE
Matthew Choi, 3/9/22
“Senate Environment and Public Works ranking member Shelley Moore Capito and House Energy ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers want to know how the Biden administration is getting on developing a social cost of greenhouse gas — particularly after a federal judged blocked Biden’s social cost of carbon last month,” Politico reports. “In a Tuesday letter to EPA administrator Michael Regan, the two Republicans requested details in how the agency was creating the metrics, citing transparency concerns with how they were developed under the Obama administration. Tagged in the letter is Joseph Goffman, whom the White House said Biden would nominate to lead the Office of Air and Radiation (more on that later). He was included in the Tuesday letter in his capacity as principal deputy assistant administrator in the office.”
Press release: Over 200 groups call on Biden to use the Defense Production Act to help Ukraine by accelerating the clean energy transition
3/9/22
“Dear President Biden, We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and we want to thank you for halting oil imports from Russia. We urge you to continue to resist short-sighted policies such as scaling up domestic fossil fuel production or expanding oil and gas infrastructure or financing, which would only deepen our dependence on fuels that lead to global instability and drive further devastating climate impacts. Instead, we are calling on you to invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) to ramp up the deployment of renewable energy to transition the world off fossil fuels… “Putin’s ability to wreak such destruction on Ukraine is predicated on global dependence on fossil fuels… “You can deploy your executive powers to weaken the geopolitical power of fossil fuels, address the climate emergency, and prevent further mass suffering. We urge you to utilize the Defense Production Act to ramp up the deployment of renewable energy to transition the world off fossil fuels and generate millions of good quality, union jobs. The DPA – which you have already used to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and respond to wildfires – provides you with the historic opportunity to produce alternatives to fossil fuels, fight the climate emergency, combat Putin’s stranglehold on the world’s energy economy, and support the transition to a renewable and just economy. While we call for the use of the DPA, we implore that you use this mechanism for peaceful means, not increased militarization of the conflict.”
The Hill: Progressive groups urge senators to reject Biden district court pick
BY JORDAIN CARNEY, 3/9/22
“More than 20 progressive groups are urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject a Biden district court nominee,” The Hill reports. “The groups sent a letter, obtained exclusively by The Hill, urging Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and other Judiciary Committee members to oppose Jennifer Rearden’s nomination to be a district judge for the Southern District of New York. “Rearden’s record litigating cases defending housing discrimination, seeking to overturn worker protections, and challenging improved access to transportation for wheelchair users makes her unsuitable for this appointment,” the groups wrote in the letter… “Twenty-one organizations signed the letter, including the Bold Alliance, the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace USA and the Revolving Door Project. The outside groups, in their letter, also criticized her over her time at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and urged the Judiciary Committee to “determine whether Rearden worked on cases in which her firm defended corporations from efforts to hold them accountable” for environmental policies or human rights violations. The groups also pointed to Gibson Dunn's work representing corporations including Uber, Walmart and tobacco companies, and representing Chevron its lawsuit against former environmental lawyer Steven Donziger.”
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: EPA restores California’s right to set stricter car regs
By Anne C. Mulkern, 3/9/22
“EPA today officially restored California’s ability to set its own rules for vehicle tailpipe emissions and to require automakers to sell an increasing number of clean cars,” E&E News reports. “The Biden administration granted the nation’s most populous state a waiver under the Clean Air Act, allowing California to set mileage and greenhouse gas emissions standards that are stricter than the federal ones. It has a broad effect, as 13 states and the District of Columbia follow the regulations California has set for vehicles… :For years, California had a waiver under the Clean Air Act because the state struggles with air pollution. The Trump administration revoked it — citing a need for national uniformity. The dispute launched a protracted legal battle that ended when President Biden was elected and promised to restore the waiver. A future Republican administration could restart the battle by again reversing California’s efforts to clean up cars. But for now the waiver is essential for California to go forward with a program aimed at cutting vehicle emissions 40 percent by 2025, based on 2012 model year cars. EPA also restored the state’s ability to run its zero-emissions vehicle effort, mandating that vehicle manufacturers who sell in the state offer an increasing share of ZEVs. It also comes as California is poised to phase out gas-fueled cars. The rule being developed by the California Air Resources Board would require automakers who sell in the state to offer 100 percent zero emissions vehicles by 2035.”
Alaska Journal of Commerce: EPA fines Hilcorp $180K for methane leaks, reporting violations in Alaska
Elwood Brehmer, 3/8/22
“Oil company Hilcorp Alaska has paid fines totaling $180,580 for nearly three dozen Clean Air Act violations at its facilities across the state, according to a statement from Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 officials,” the Alaska Journal of Commerce reports. “EPA regulators determined Hilcorp did not promptly repair leaks of methane and volatile organic compounds when the issues were discovered; failed to inspect for leaks at a new facility; and did not accurately report leak inspections and repairs from 2018 through 2020, according to the agency’s statement… “The public needs to be able to depend on a major facility owner like Hilcorp obeying the rules for providing accurate and honest reporting of maintenance activities. Requirements to conduct emissions monitoring and timely repair or replacement of the (leak) sources should be at the top of this company’s priority list,” Kowalski said in the EPA statement… “The terms of the agreement specify that while Hilcorp agreed to pay $180,580 in fines, the company “neither admits nor denies the specific factual allegations contained in the consent agreement.” A portion of the Prudhoe Bay violations occurred while the large oil field was still under BP’s control in 2019 and early 2020, according to the dates in the settlement document.” “...Some local environmental groups have been sharply critical of Hilcorp since the company entered Alaska, alleging its emphasis on extracting additional production from older facilities lends to more frequent environmental problems.”
EXTRACTION
InsideClimate News: Carbon Capture Takes Center Stage, But Is Its Promise an Illusion?
Nicholas Kusnetz, 3/9/22
“With his climate agenda stalled in Congress, President Joe Biden has managed to win billions in federal spending for one pillar of his platform that is gaining increased attention globally: carbon capture,” InsideClimate News reports. “In a major win for oil, coal, utilities and other industries, the federal government is poised to make its largest investment ever—more than $12 billion from last year’s infrastructure bill—in technologies that capture carbon dioxide from smokestack emissions or straight from the air… “Supporters including Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat and one of the Senate’s most outspoken champions of climate action, point to modeling by academics and others that show the technologies could play a critical role in curbing emissions, particularly from hard-to-tackle sectors like heavy industry and shipping… “But many progressive climate groups like Greenpeace and 350.org say oil companies are promoting the technologies as a distraction to avoid phasing out their products. “The Biden administration is really doubling down on the fossil economy and the false solutions that are entrenching that fossil economy in the name of addressing the climate crisis,” Carroll Muffett, chief executive of the Center for International Environmental Law, a nonprofit advocacy group, told ICN. “I think that is a really significant failure of vision and failure of leadership.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Washington Post: Shareholders asked oil giant Chevron to cut emissions. Now some want the chairman ousted.
Peter Whoriskey, 3/8/22
“A shareholder advocacy group filed papers Tuesday asking investors in the energy giant Chevron to oust the chairman and another board member because of the company’s failure to cut carbon emissions, setting off a campaign to alter significantly the strategy of the nation’s second-largest oil company,” the Washington Post reports. “The shareholder group seeking to remove the board members argues in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that even though a majority of shareholders last year called for Chevron to “substantially” reduce carbon emissions, the company is planning only to cut as little as 5 percent of the emissions intensity from its energy products. Such shareholder efforts to oust board members are seldom successful. But a number of large investment companies and pension funds, which typically play key roles in the voting, say they are willing to use their votes to demand that companies address climate change. Last year, widespread discontent over ExxonMobil’s climate change strategy and financial performance allowed dissident shareholders to take three seats on the 12-member board. “More and more shareholders have been calling for transformational change from companies,” Eli Kasargod-Staub, the director of the shareholder advocacy group Majority Action, which is organizing the campaign at Chevron, told the Post. “If board members are failing to take action, we believe responsible shareholders will hold them accountable.” The group aims to displace from the board Michael Wirth, 61, chairman and chief executive since 2018, and Ronald Sugar, 72, a board member since 2005 and the retired chairman and chief executive of the aerospace and defense company Northrop Grumman. The group is not seeking to fire Wirth as chief executive, only to remove him from the 12-member board.”
Press release: 120 Groups Urge Big Banks to Pull Support for Expanded Gas Exports
3/8/22
“Today, 120 organizations sent letters to the six biggest American banks urging them to stop lending and support for new and expanded gas export facilities, citing environmental justice and climate concerns as well as rising home heating costs for American communities being driven by the rise in exports. More than 20 new and expanded export facilities are currently proposed to liquefy and ship methane gas from the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana to foreign markets. If built, these projects would lock in fossil fuel production for decades to come and exacerbate harm to Gulf Coast communities already facing disproportionate rates of industrial pollution from the fossil fuel industry and the impacts of extreme weather driven by climate change. Gas proponents have attempted to use current fears of gas shortages in Europe to build support for this massive buildout of new export facilities, despite the fact that this expansion would do nothing to alleviate these concerns in the short term, and would only serve to lock in decades of dependence on fossil fuels at a time when a shift in the opposite direction is necessary. The letters, signed by groups working in the Gulf Coast region, as well as national environmental and Indigenous rights groups representing millions of members and supporters, were sent to the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Citi, and Bank of America. They note that banks that continue to fund the expansion of fracked gas exports will face “both substantial financial risk – as renewables outcompete oil and gas – and significant reputational damage – as the public urgently demands responsible and sustainable investment practices.” “When banks finance fracked gas projects, they’re funding the creation of sacrifice zones. The fossil fuel industry in Southeast Texas has swallowed up our local economies, poisoned our air and water, and contributed to the increased frequency and intensity of hurricanes that we’re still recovering from,” said John Beard, founder and president of Port Arthur Community Action Network (PACAN).
CBC: How much are taxpayers really subsidizing Canada's fossil fuel industry?
Emily Chung, 3/9/22
“We've heard that Canada's fossil fuel industry gets billions in subsidies, and that it's making it harder for us to reach our climate goals. But how much funding are taxpayers actually giving the fossil fuel industry in different parts of the country? What's it used for? And what impact does it actually have? Here's a closer look,” the CBC reports. “...CAPP (The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers) says it does not consider tax measures to be subsidies, despite a report from Canada's Parliamentary Budget Officer in December showing that tax deductions by fossil fuel producers reduced annual federal tax revenue by $2.3 billion in 2019. As Canada strengthens its Paris Agreement targets, critics point to the elephant in the room — oil and gas expansion. We hear why Canada has 'one eye shut' when it comes to climate policy and what might be a first step toward a solution… “Oil Change International, a research and advocacy group focused on getting the world off fossil fuels, recently reported that Canada provided more public financing for fossil fuels than any other G20 country, averaging $14 billion annually between 2018 and 2020… “Meanwhile, CAPP, the industry group representing Canada's oil and gas producers, says on its website that Canada's oil and gas producers "do not receive government production subsidies, nor is the industry requesting or expecting any such support." “...The United Nations Development Programme, the International Energy Agency and the International Monetary Fund are among numerous groups calling for an end to fossil fuel subsidies. That's because: They distort markets and undermine climate policies. Policies such as carbon pricing would otherwise push businesses, investors and consumers to reduce fossil fuel investment, production and consumption. By making fossil fuel production and consumption artificially cheaper, subsidies: Discourage efficiency and encourage overconsumption of fossil fuels. Discourage the transition to cleaner, renewable energy technologies. Help build more fossil fuel projects.”
OPINION
The Detroit News: Editorial: Line 5 is essential to steady oil supply
3/10/22
“With gasoline prices hitting jarring levels and home heating costs projected to be up 30% for the season, imagine how much worse the impact of the energy crisis would be had Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel succeeded in shutting down Line 5. Actually, we don't have to imagine,” The Detroit News Editorial Board writes.
Los Angeles Times: Op-Ed: The Ukraine war is a decision point — banks should stop funding the fossil fuel industry forever
Svitlana Romanko, in Ivano-Frankvisk in western Ukraine, and Bill McKibben, in Vermont, have worked together for years at 350.org, the global climate organization. She founded the Stand With Ukraine campaign, calling on governments to ban trade and investment in Russian oil and gas. He founded Third Act, a progressive organizing group for people over 60, 3/9/22
“We are worlds apart now, one of us terrorized amid the wreckage of invaded Ukraine and the other entirely safe in the United States. But because we’ve been engaged in the same global fight against fossil fuels for decades, we are well-situated to see some of the key drivers behind this wretched moment, and hence some of the solutions,” Svitlana Romanko and Bill McKibben write for the Los Angeles Times. “Above all, it’s obvious that the world’s banks have amorally worked to build Russia’s oil and gas industry, the industry that funds the Russian army, and the industry that Vladimir Putin has used as a cudgel for decades to keep Europe cowering. And that’s why we cheered so loudly Tuesday when President Biden — as part of his ban on Russian oil — told American banks to make no new investments in Putin’s oil… “Indeed, Wall Street and the banks must go further and stop the ongoing funding of fossil fuels everywhere, because they are the bulwark of autocracy and the death of the natural world. The sooner we replace oil, gas and coal with cheap, safe renewable energy, the sooner we can all live in peace… “The banks have happily profited off Putin’s Russia, even after its expansionist aims were clear. The invasion of Georgia didn’t slow them down, nor the annexation of Crimea. Likewise, they’ve happily profited off fossil fuels, even after science made the climate-disaster link crystal clear. The melt of the Arctic didn’t slow them down, nor the fires of California… “Big banks have waffled and wavered over and over; just last fall at the climate summit in Glasgow they engaged in industrial-scale greenwashing as they claimed their “net zero” climate targets wouldn’t preclude them from lending to oil companies for the next round of pipelines or fracking wells. Now some may engage in bloodwashing, pretending that somehow they’re helping the people whose misery they’ve ensured by their years of backing Putin… “Ukraine is in the crosshairs now, but we all share a planet that we must protect. These hideous days represent a decision point for the world, perhaps the last one we’re going to get. The most powerful forces on the globe may be its giant banks — they’re the “capital” in capitalism. As they go, so goes our Earth, the countries that it comprises, and the world’s people that increasingly live in fear.”