EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 3/1/23
PIPELINE NEWS
Iowa Capital Dispatch: House pipeline restrictions clear committee as deadline approaches
Dyersville Commercial: Proposed pipeline legislation could buy opponents time
Bremer County Independent: Speaker Grassley hears from pipeline opponents, addresses school issues, taxes in town hall at Waverly library
KMA: Montgomery County residents quiz supervisors on pipeline ordinance
Journal Courier: Company refiles application for carbon dioxide pipeline
Fairbury Journal News: Details Emerging About Oil-Contaminated Soil Come To Light
Fairbury Journal News: Commissioners Expect TC Energy To Replace Damaged Road
KFYR: Trains vs. pipelines: safely transporting materials in North Dakota
Law360: Energy Transfer Unit Sues In Del. Over Secret Pipeline Deal
Reuters: Enbridge commits $1 bln to company turning food waste to energy
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Democrats scoff at Republican permitting plan
New York Times: Lawmakers Propose Legislation to Tighten Rail Safety Regulations
E&E News: SCOTUS could wield climate doctrine against debt relief
STATE UPDATES
Bay Journal: Report: PA gas wells routinely abandoned, left unplugged
Colorado Sun: Colorado’s air pollution permitting process for oil and gas, other industries may get a lot stricter
EXTRACTION
The Energy Mix: Alberta Faces ‘Significant Disadvantage’ by Ignoring Energy Transition, Pembina Warns
Natural Gas Intelligence: Calgary’s Pembina Pipeline Eyeing Cedar LNG FID by Third Quarter
Reuters: Canada’s Baytex Energy nears $2.5 bln deal for U.S. peer Ranger Oil -sources
Washington Post: The United States has caused the most global warming. When will China pass it?
Reuters: Policy Watch: Europe lags in race to curb methane emissions
Media Matters: How broadcast TV networks covered climate change in 2022
Al Jazeera: Can climate lawsuits force Big Oil to change its ways?
CLIMATE FINANCE
The Hill: House approves measure targeting Biden rule allowing money managers to consider ESG in retirement investing
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Guardian: EU to crack down on greenwashing with ‘proportionate’ penalties
OPINION
Guardian: Fossil fuels kill more people than Covid. Why are we so blind to the harms of oil and gas?
Canadian Dimension: By subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, Trudeau is fuelling a national emergency
PIPELINE NEWS
Iowa Capital Dispatch: House pipeline restrictions clear committee as deadline approaches
JARED STRONG, 2/28/23
“A bill that would require carbon dioxide pipeline companies to get voluntary easements for at least 90% of their routes — among other new requirements — was approved 12-7 by the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday and will be eligible for consideration beyond this week,” the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. “For me, the right and wrong here could not be more clear,” said Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, who has been the leading voice for the bill in the House. “Our constitutional protections are not for sale to the highest bidder.” House File 368 would prevent the companies from using eminent domain to force easements from landowners until they eclipse the 90% threshold for voluntary agreements. It would also give counties new authority to restrict carbon dioxide pipeline routes and delay permits for them until new federal safety guidelines are finalized, which will likely happen next year… “The committee’s vote came a day after an Iowa Senate subcommittee failed to advance a competing proposal that would only require two-thirds voluntary easements and wouldn’t apply to three current pipeline proposals… “Opponents of the pipelines worry about damage to farmland and the safety risks posed by pipeline leaks. They further argue that it’s wrong for eminent domain to be used to benefit private companies… “House File 368 moves next to debate by the full House.”
Dyersville Commercial: Proposed pipeline legislation could buy opponents time
Mike Putz, 3/1/23
“Legislation in the Iowa House on proposed carbon capture pipelines that could slow construction has garnered vastly different reactions from ethanol industry officials and a Delaware County supervisor,” the Dyersville Commercial reports. “HF368 is proposing that carbon capture pipelines, like the Navigator Heartland Greenway pipeline that would run through 25 miles of Delaware County, be delayed until certain requirements are met… “Condemnation of HF 368 was immediate from the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), labeling the legislation “a defacto ban on new projects that allow Iowa ethanol producers to install carbon capture technology.” “...The bill is a veritable cornucopia of unreasonable regulations narrowly targeted at CCS technology,” IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw told the Commercial… “Delaware County Supervisor Shirley Helmrichs told the Commercial the bill could help the county and landowners as they work to stop, or at least slow, pipeline construction through the use of eminent domain. “I also think it would be a great thing if there were some safety rules in place. The PHMSA (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration) are the ones in charge of the safety rules, but they haven’t really put any out there. If someone is doing something of this magnitude, I think there should be some things in place.” Helmrichs told the Courier additional safety measures are needed and that stakeholders need to know exactly what those are. “I think people are a lot more understanding and willing to listen if you give them straight facts and I don’t think they (the pipeline presenters) have the facts.” Helmrichs told the Commercial the Delaware County Board of Supervisors will enter into a petition to intervene, which will allow them to be involved with the IUB.”
Bremer County Independent: Speaker Grassley hears from pipeline opponents, addresses school issues, taxes in town hall at Waverly library
ANELIA K. DIMITROVA & AUBREY SCHAFBUCH, 2/27/23
“In his first town hall meeting for the new legislative session, on Friday Speaker Pat Grassley heard constituents’ concerns ranging from a proposed carbon sequestration pipeline to school choices, library books and taxes, among others,” the Bremer County Independent reports. “...Questions surrounding the proposed Navigator pipeline which is planned to go through the area kicked off the town hall, with some asking about the use of eminent domain, about the potential for lawsuits, about disclosing the investors in the project and safety issues, among many others. Grassley explained the bills going through the legislature and continued to emphasize that his focus is on the eminent domain bill, HF 368, and explained that it has momentum to move forward. When one constituent asked if there was the potential of a lawsuit by the company if the pipelines are denied permits, Grassley said: “...I’m not defending any other member, but we aren’t going to think that all of this money has already been invested and if there was to be a bill that changes that, I won’t stand here and say that that’s not a possibility.” In his newsletter to constituents, which was released after the town hall, Grassley reiterated the gist of what he said during the town hall with the constituents: “I understand that this bill may not be seen as perfect by folks on either side of this issue,” he wrote addressing the residents of House District 57, which he represents. “We want to support the ethanol industry while ensuring landowners’ rights are respected. We think this bill strikes that balance…We want to support the ethanol industry however we can, however, these pipeline companies must respect landowner rights.” Dennis Epley, the chairman of the Waverly-Shell Rock School District, said that he hopes that if a bill is passed, it includes safety measures. He added that the proposed route in Bremer County is planned to go near the new schools the district is in the process of building. “...And we all know the safety issue and how that CO2 will basically flow downhill in case there would be a rupture. And all three of these schools would be in danger…Regardless of eminent domain, we are concerned and hope that whatever action eventually comes out, the safety issue will be included.”
KMA: Montgomery County residents quiz supervisors on pipeline ordinance
Mike Peterson, 2/28/23
“Action on a proposed ordinance regulating carbon pipeline projects is on hold in Montgomery County following a public hearing Tuesday morning,” KMA reports. “After months of work, the county's board of supervisors held a long-awaited public hearing on the ordinance regulating pipelines carrying hazardous liquid materials--such as Summit Carbon Solutions' proposed Midwest Express pipeline planned to run through portions of Montgomery County and others through western Iowa. Residents aired their concerns regarding proposed pipeline projects and pushed for the ordinance's passage either in person at the courthouse board room or via ZOOM. Vicki Rossander, a former member of the county's planning and zoning commission, says the ordinance is designed to protect the county's citizens during the pipeline's construction phase, completion and operation, and decommissioning and removal. She says it also addresses what is required from pipeline companies to prepare the county in case of a rupture. "Please don't let the pipeline company tell us that ruptures and accidents never happen regarding the transportation of hazardous materials," said Rossander. "Every day, we are now witnessing on our television what is happening in East Palestine, Ohio. We can clearly see that hazardous chemicals are transported over vast areas of the country, and spills and ruptures happen. There is never such a thing as being overly prepared." “...However, Summit does not believe that the ordinance is appropriate as a matter of policy, and more importantly, we know that it would conflict with both state and federal laws," said Eric Welch, a pipeline engineer/manager with Summit Carbon Solutions. Welch also urged the board to delay action until the outcome of a lawsuit regarding an identical ordinance recently approved in Shelby County. If Shelby County wins the lawsuit, Welch claims the project's portion stretching from Montgomery County to Green Plains' Shenandoah plant would not be built. He adds a Summit victory would signal a similar outcome in a Montgomery County lawsuit. A trial is not expected until January, 2024 at the earliest. After considerable discussion, Supervisor Donna Robinson called for delaying action on the ordinance's first reading.”
Journal Courier: Company refiles application for carbon dioxide pipeline
Ben Singson, 3/1/23
“A month after temporarily halting plans for its pipeline, Navigator CO2 is attempting to put things in motion once again,” the Journal Courier reports. “The Nebraska-based infrastructure company refiled an application with the Illinois Commerce Commission on Friday, seeking permission to build its Heartland Greenway carbon dioxide pipeline in the state. The move comes after the company withdrew its previous application in late January. Navigator has been trying to build the pipeline since last year, but has been opposed by landowners and environmental activists both inside and outside Illinois on the grounds of safety, land usage and environmental harm. Most recently, the company was criticized for offering up to $630,000 a year for 30 years to McDonough County in exchange for helping the company build the pipeline. Officials in Morgan, Pike and Brown counties told the Courier that, while their respective regions had not received any similar offers, they remained open to the idea… “A map detailing its proposed route shows a branch of the pipeline running to a sequestration site in Montgomery County from a launcher-receiver site in Sangamon County. This sequestration site would accompany one planned in Christian County… “Also included in the application were several letters of support written by business, union and energy groups in states through which the pipeline would run. Those groups include the Illinois Pipe Trades Association, the National Corn to Ethanol Research Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the Illinois Manufacturers' Association and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. Hannah Lee Flath, communications coordinator for Sierra Club, told the Courier the environmental group is "alarmed" by the additional sequestration site and called on the Illinois General Assembly to regulate carbon capture and sequestration… “The Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines, of which Sierra Club is a member, will continue to organize with landowners along the pipeline's route, Flath told the Courier.
Fairbury Journal News: Details Emerging About Oil-Contaminated Soil Come To Light
Gordon Hopkins, 2/28/23
“FJN has obtained more information about the nature of the oil-contaminated soil being shipped to Nebraska from the Keystone Pipeline oil spill site in Kansas and how it is being stored,” the Fairbury Journal News reports. “TC Energy, the company formerly known as TransCanada Corporation, began shipping oil-contaminated soil and other solid wastes on January 17, 2023, to Pheasant Point Landfill in Bennington in Douglas County, northwest of Omaha. The route takes trucks hauling the waste through Jefferson County. According to County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock, TC Energy has spoken with Marlon Hopkins, TC Energy Construction Manager, who indicated the operation…”
Fairbury Journal News: Commissioners Expect TC Energy To Replace Damaged Road
Gordon Hopkins, 2/28/23
“Jefferson County Commissioners approved a design proposal for a new road to replace the one currently being used by TC Energy to transport oil-contaminated soil and other waste from the oil spill in the Mill Creek area, near Washington, Kansas, to a landfill near Omaha,” the Fairbury Journal News reports. “The route goes through Jefferson County. In addition, “clean” dirt is being taken from a dig site in Steele City and being hauled to the oil spill site. County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock has estimated at least 100 trucks per day are using that road. At a meeting on Tuesday, February 21, Schoenrock said, “They’re basically just destroying the road.”
KFYR: Trains vs. pipelines: safely transporting materials in North Dakota
Christa Kiedrowski, 2/28/23
“Train derailments capture the public’s attention and North Dakota has seen its fair share of accidents, even as recently as four days ago in Burlington. But in February alone, four derailments made headlines, including the disastrous release of toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio. Your News Leader drills into the question of the safety of railroads versus pipelines,” KFYR reports. “...There are three ways to ship goods through North Dakota: by rail, road, and pipeline. One public service commissioner says all three have pros and cons, but one is undoubtedly safer than the others. “As it relates to transporting crude oil, pipelines are by far the safest, most environmentally sound way, so having less crude by rail is a positive thing,” Julie Fedorchak, who serves on the Public Service Commission, told KFYR… “I don’t think trains are as safe as they were at one point, just overall. Obviously, pipelines aren’t 100% safe either, so it’s kind of like a Catch-22,” Scott Skokos, executive director of the Dakota Resource Council, told KFYR. Beyond the issues of less oversight and fewer workers on trains, Skokos told KFYR train derailments are easily detected but pipeline spills can leak potentially for days until they are caught and fixed.”
Law360: Energy Transfer Unit Sues In Del. Over Secret Pipeline Deal
Leslie A. Pappas, 2/28/23
“A subsidiary of midstream energy company Energy Transfer LP has sued four of its former officials in Delaware’s Chancery Court, alleging that just before Energy Transfer bought the unit in 2017, they struck a “secret, sweetheart deal” with PennEnergy Resources LLC to perpetually obligate the subsidiary to build high-pressure discharge pipelines for nothing,” Law360 reports…
Reuters: Enbridge commits $1 bln to company turning food waste to energy
Nichola Groom, 3/1/23
“Divert Inc, a U.S. company that converts rotting food into energy, on Wednesday said it has received a $1 billion commitment from Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge Inc (ENB.TO) to expand its facilities across North America,” Reuters reports. “It is the latest in a string of investments by major energy companies in biogas, which can replace traditional natural gas but is more costly to produce. President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law in August, includes subsidies for equipment to capture climate-warming emissions at places like landfills and dairy farms and convert them into gas used to heat homes or fuel vehicles. "This is historic for Enbridge because we see a huge opportunity for RNG from wasted food to be a key solution to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions," Caitlin Tessin, Enbridge vice president of strategy and market innovation said in a statement… “In addition to the $1 billion commitment from Enbridge to finance 30 sites it has selected for the digesters, Divert received an $80 million equity investment from the Calgary-based company and $20 million from investors led by Ara Partners.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Democrats scoff at Republican permitting plan
Emma Dumain, Kelsey Brugger, 3/1/23
“Republicans looking for Democratic buy-in to overhaul federal permitting for energy projects will need to try harder — or resign themselves to a partisan project,” E&E News reports. “At a House Natural Resources Committee hearing Tuesday, Democrats expressed skepticism of the GOP plan, which would make dramatic changes to the National Environmental Policy Act as a vehicle for permitting reform. But Democrats were somewhat divided on the matter, too. In one camp were those adamantly opposed to the prospect under any circumstances. Committee ranking member Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) accused Republicans of selectively identifying projects delayed by NEPA to make it appear as though the problem is more widespread than it actually is… “And in another camp were committee Democrats who said they’d like to improve energy permitting capabilities but not with the approach being endorsed by esterman and Graves were also eager to remind their Democratic colleagues that Biden administration officials have warned the billions of dollars earmarked for clean and renewable infrastructure developments in the Inflation Reduction Act would be held up indefinitely without changes to NEPA… “White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory, who was invited by Republicans to testify Tuesday, did not attend, and Republicans retaliated by setting a seat for her at the witness table so they could gesture to an empty chair… “Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), who hails from a Midwestern manufacturing state, raised eyebrows earlier this month when she declared she might support opening up NEPA, which was written by her late husband, the longtime Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.). However, she dismissed the Republicans’ suite of proposals as “not serious.”
New York Times: Lawmakers Propose Legislation to Tighten Rail Safety Regulations
Stephanie Lai, 2/28/23
“Two House Democrats plan on Tuesday to introduce a bill to tighten federal regulation of trains carrying hazardous materials, the first legislative proposal to emerge in Congress since the derailment of a freight train carrying toxic substances that has devastated a small community in Ohio,” the New York Times reports. “Representatives Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, whose district lies along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border near where the derailment occurred, and Ro Khanna of California are sponsoring the legislation, which would broaden the definition of what is considered a “high-hazard flammable train,” subject to stricter federal safety regulations. The train that derailed this month was exempt from such requirements because it was carrying less hazardous material than the threshold set by the Transportation Department. The prospects for the measure are uncertain in a divided Congress, where the derailment has touched off a highly partisan debate over rail safety, federal regulation and who, if anyone, in Washington is looking out for the plight of rural communities like East Palestine, Ohio… “I have people I represent worried about their health, their safety, their livelihoods, and are mad at this railroad and the rail industry in general,” Mr. Deluzio told the Times. “So it’s important to me and the people I represent that we do what we can to make this industry safer, that we tackle the problem of these dangerous materials and chemicals coming through our communities.” “...The bill mirrors some recommendations that the National Transportation Safety Board proposed in 2014. The Obama administration adopted a rule that required high-hazard flammable trains to upgrade their braking systems by 2023, but it was repealed by the Trump administration after Transportation Department officials reported that the costs outweighed the value of the mandate.”
E&E News: SCOTUS could wield climate doctrine against debt relief
Pamela King, 2/28/23
“Supreme Court justices Tuesday appeared to think that the Biden administration’s plan to forgive federal student loan debt for tens of millions of borrowers is a violation of a newly articulated legal doctrine that ended the Obama-era Clean Power Plan,” E&E News reports. “During oral arguments in Biden v. Nebraska, many of the court’s conservative justices questioned the position that the Department of Education program — which would cost about $400 billion over 30 years — could not be considered a “major question” that Congress must clearly authorize the executive branch to regulate. “I just wonder, given the posture of the case and given our historic concern about the separation of powers, that you would recognize at least that this is a case that presents extraordinarily serious, important issues about the role of Congress and about the role that we should exercise in scrutinizing that are significant enough that the major questions doctrine ought to be considered implicated,” Chief Justice John Roberts asked Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar… “Roberts, a member of the court’s conservative wing and one of its swing votes, in June 2022 authored the 6-3 opinion in West Virginia v. EPA that breathed new life into the major questions doctrine to stamp out the Clean Power Plan — a rule that took a wide-ranging approach to curbing carbon emissions from power plants but that had never technically gone into effect. The doctrine existed before the court’s ruling in West Virginia but had never been explicitly wielded against a federal rule. In the student loan argument, the first major questions case to arrive at the court since West Virginia was decided, the justices will have an opportunity to more fully flesh out the newly contoured doctrine.
STATE UPDATES
Bay Journal: Report: PA gas wells routinely abandoned, left unplugged
Ad Crable, 2/27/23
“A governor-ordered inquiry into how well conventional oil and gas drillers in Pennsylvania are obeying environmental laws has found a “culture of noncompliance”, with drillers routinely abandoning wells without plugging them as required to prevent the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas,” the Bay Journal reports. “Pennsylvania has more abandoned oil and gas wells than any state and the oldest oil and gas industry in the nation. The report released in late December by the state Department of Environmental Protection, which regulates the industry, also found that about 56% of well owners failed to report the amount of waste they generated, as required by law, as well as where it was taken for disposal. DEP looked at environmental compliance from conventional oil and gas operations— not from hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” — between 2017 and 2021. Violations for abandoning wells without plugging them was the most common infraction. The agency issued 3,123 violation notices to 256 companies for that problem during the five-year period and charged 15 of them with fines. “The widespread reporting noncompliance by the conventional oil and gas industry denies DEP and the public critical information about the operating status of individual wells, the overall industry and, in the case of mechanical integrity assessments, may pose a threat to public health and safety and the environment,” the report said. It warned that the cost to clean up abandoned wells may fall on taxpayers.”
Colorado Sun: Colorado’s air pollution permitting process for oil and gas, other industries may get a lot stricter
Michael Booth, 2/28/23
“Colorado’s air pollution regulators would have to scrutinize permits for pollution sources far more strictly and assess cumulative impacts on the state’s growing ozone problem before approving new oil and gas or other industrial activity, under a proposed bill backed by clean air advocates,” the Colorado Sun reports. “Democratic legislators plan to introduce a bill within days that includes extremely detailed marching orders for the state health department to overhaul air pollution permitting and carry out the promises of transformative oil and gas legislation from 2019. Advocates and many local elected officials on the Front Range argue every new well boosts metro ozone levels that already violate EPA rules, and they say the Air Pollution Control Division and Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission must reject new permits if they will add even small amounts to the problem. Colorado regulators are not following the mandates of the federal Clean Air Act to evaluate applications to emit pollutants by whether they will add to EPA-controlled toxins like ozone, Rebecca Curry, Colorado policy counsel for Earthjustice, which has been involved in talks on writing the bill drafts, told the Sun. State officials keep approving new pollution permits, and the nine-county Northern Front Range nonattainment area is periodically downgraded for ozone violations, she told the Sun… “Reps. Jennifer Bacon, of Denver, and Jenny Willford, of Northglenn, both Democrats, have said they will sponsor the air permitting reforms.”
EXTRACTION
The Energy Mix: Alberta Faces ‘Significant Disadvantage’ by Ignoring Energy Transition, Pembina Warns
Mitchell Beer, 3/1/23
“Alberta’s ability to thrive and attract investment in a world shifting to low-carbon energy will depend on the climate and energy policy choices it makes in the weeks leading into this spring’s provincial election and beyond, the Calgary-based Pembina Institute warns in a 23-page policy roadmap released last week,” The Energy Mix reports. “The global outlook for fossil fuels “has fundamentally shifted in the last 12 months,” with even fossil companies projecting “a sustained decline in global demand for oil, beginning this decade,” Pembina writes [pdf]. “If the world successfully achieves its goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 and avoiding the worst effects of climate change, that demand decline will begin sooner and be steeper—and will have a significant impact on Alberta’s industry.” “...Now more than ever before, companies are looking for opportunities to invest in climate solutions, and for jurisdictions where they can operate while meeting their own climate goals,” the roadmap says. “Choosing instead to remain out of step with the global trend towards low-emission economies would leave Alberta at a significant disadvantage in the years ahead.” “...Pembina report traces Alberta’s biggest challenges back to policy—and on inaction from the industry it currently depends on. “Unlike many of the jurisdictions Alberta is competing with for capital investments, the province has yet to commit to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050,” the roadmap states. Yet “the oil produced in Alberta remains amongst the most emissions intensive in the world, largely due to the nature of oil sands production… “The provincial grid, meanwhile, continues to bring on new gas-fired power plants, despite analysis showing that solar and wind with battery backup are less expensive to install and operate.
Natural Gas Intelligence: Calgary’s Pembina Pipeline Eyeing Cedar LNG FID by Third Quarter
ANDREW BAKER, 2/28/23
“Pembina Pipeline Corp. is aiming to sanction the Cedar LNG export project proposed for Kitimat, British Columbia (BC), by the third quarter of this year, according to management,” Natural Gas Intelligence reports. “Calgary-based Pembina, a natural gas and liquids midstream player with assets mainly in Western Canada, is developing the 3 million metric tons/year liquefied natural gas project in partnership with the Haisla First Nation. The company expects a decision by the end of March from the BC ministers of environment and energy and mines on the project’s environmental assessment… “The floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) terminal would connect Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) gas supply with overseas markets, “achieving higher prices for Canadian producers, contributing to lower overall emissions and enhancing global energy security,” Pembina management said. The company highlighted plans to power the facility with hydroelectric power plants owned by Vancouver utility BC Hydro, minimizing emissions.”
Reuters: Canada’s Baytex Energy nears $2.5 bln deal for U.S. peer Ranger Oil -sources
2/27/23
“Calgary, Alberta-based Baytex will pay a mixture of cash and stock to buy Ranger at a small premium to its current market value of $1.8 billion. It will also assume Ranger’s debt pile, which stood at $603 million as of Sept. 30,” Reuters reports. “The transaction will significantly boost Baytex’s presence in South Texas’ Eagle Ford shale basin, which currently represents around 30% of its total production, according to its website… “The Eagle Ford basin has witnessed a flurry of merger and acquisition activity in recent months, with buyers lured by its proximity to major energy hubs, including export and refining facilities on the U.S. Gulf coast... “Ovintiv Inc moved its headquarters to Denver, from Calgary, at the start of 2020 as it prioritized its U.S. assets. Enerplus Corp completed in December the sale of its Canadian operations, leaving it with assets in North Dakota and Pennsylvania.”
Washington Post: The United States has caused the most global warming. When will China pass it?
Harry Stevens, 3/1/23
“...In many ways, making things with machines was better than making things by hand. Other people, first in Europe and then in the United States and elsewhere, rushed to invent new machines that emitted carbon dioxide and other gases that trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere,” the Washington Post reports. “In the second half of the 20th century, China finally began its own era of industrialization. The pace has been astonishing, far surpassing the speed of the west’s industrial development. At this rate, it’s not a matter of whether China will eventually emit more carbon dioxide than any other country in history, but when… “Despite the West’s enormous head start, China is projected to have emitted more total carbon dioxide than all of Europe by 2039 and more than the United States by 2050.”
Reuters: Policy Watch: Europe lags in race to curb methane emissions
Angeli Mehta, 2/27/23
“Next month the European parliament is expected to vote on landmark legislation that would put a new onus on the fossil fuel sector to measure and report methane emissions and then act to reduce them,” Reuters reports. “If passed, it would help the EU meet its obligations as part of the Global Methane Pledge to cut emissions by 30% by 2030. But since the European Commission tabled proposals on methane in 2021, they have been watered down – most recently by energy ministers of the 27-member bloc. Just as other countries are toughening up on methane, Europe appears to be going backwards. Worst still, there seems no compromise in sight… “On the one hand, we have groups that are saying, ‘don't be too quick’,” Jutta Paulus, a member of the parliamentary Greens party who is co-rapporteur, or negotiator, for the legislation, told Reuters. “But we also have groups saying we shouldn't do it at all”, for fear of jeopardising security of supply. There's also disagreement on proposals for the frequency of inspections of wells and other assets - these now range from monthly to annually, whereas the Commission had proposed quarterly inspections.”
Media Matters: How broadcast TV networks covered climate change in 2022
TED MACDONALD, 2/28/23
“Breaking a decade-long trend of year-to-year fluctuation, corporate broadcast TV networks' climate coverage increased for the second consecutive year. However, climate coverage still accounted for just around 1% of all corporate broadcast programming in 2022, a figure that is woefully inadequate in the face of a worsening climate crisis,” according to Media Matters. “In our annual analysis of broadcast news climate coverage, Media Matters found that morning, evening, and Sunday morning political shows on ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox Broadcasting Co. spent approximately 1,374 minutes — nearly 23 hours — discussing climate change. This is roughly equivalent to the high-water mark of nearly 22 hours that networks achieved in 2021. The coverage was largely driven by another year of apocalyptic extreme weather events including brutal, record-shattering heat across Europe and Asia, famine exacerbated by both flooding and drought in East Africa, and historic flooding in Pakistan. In the U.S., extreme weather has exposed the vulnerability of our power system and its aging infrastructure and threatened water supplies for communities across the Southwest. The consistent volume of coverage from 2021 through 2022 — after years of advocacy by climate journalists, activists, and researchers pushing for more and better climate coverage by TV news shows — was supported by commitments from corporate broadcast networks to cover climate through collaborative initiatives like Covering Climate Now and dedicated reporting during key climate events. However, some problematic trends continued to materialize in the quality of corporate broadcast news coverage of climate change, including, for at least the sixth year in a row, an overwhelming proportion of non-Hispanic white men featured as guests in climate coverage, despite the disproportionate harm people of color suffer from climate change. Additionally, while broadcast networks are increasingly covering the impacts of, and potential solutions to, the climate crisis, they largely fail to explicitly name the primary drivers of global warming or the main impediments to climate action.”
Al Jazeera: Can climate lawsuits force Big Oil to change its ways?
3/1/23
“Despite vows to pivot away from oil and gas, fossil fuel companies continue to make record profits, leaving those concerned with the environment to wonder if anything can force polluting corporations to reform their practices,” Al Jazeera reports. “Some see a path for change in climate litigation – including a new shareholder lawsuit against Shell that says its corporate directors aren’t transitioning fast enough to renewables. The case is the first of its kind to target a company’s board of directors in a climate lawsuit. In recent years, climate litigation has become a more frequent strategy in pressuring governments and corporations to confront their roles in the global climate emergency. Such lawsuits often argue that inaction against climate change violates human rights, while other cases have focused on getting companies to stop misleading greenwashing campaigns, pay for climate adaptation and to establish legally binding commitments in cutting carbon emissions. In this episode of The Stream, we’ll look at how the courts are being used to further climate action. On this episode of The Stream, we speak with: Nikki Reisch, Director of the Climate & Energy Program, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL); Astrid Puentes, Independent consultant on climate change and human rights; and Delta Merner, Lead scientist, Science Hub for Climate Litigation.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
The Hill: House approves measure targeting Biden rule allowing money managers to consider ESG in retirement investing
RACHEL FRAZIN, 2/28/23
“The House on Tuesday approved a resolution that would repeal a Biden administration rule for retirement investments, marking the latest flashpoint in Republicans’ crusade against environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing,” The Hill reports. “The Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution was approved 216-204, with Rep. Jared Golden (Maine) as the only Democrat voting with Republicans in favor of the measure. But while a Democratically controlled Senate and White House mean that the measure is unlikely to amount to more than messaging, it is part of a broader Republican effort to oppose ESG investing. Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) in a floor speech on Tuesday characterized the regulation as being part of a “woke ESG agenda.” “Democrats and their radical environmental NGO allies will continue to work in the shadows, strong-arming and intimidating corporations and investors alike, using any means necessary, to conscript the life savings of pensioners and retirees to implement a dangerous … investment strategy,” Burgess said. The Biden rule Republicans are seeking to repeal clarifies that money managers can weigh climate change and other ESG factors when they make investment decisions… “But many Republicans argue that ESG investing could harm the fossil fuel industry — and that consideration of additional factors by money managers could come at the expense of profits.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Guardian: EU to crack down on greenwashing with ‘proportionate’ penalties
Arthur Neslen, 2/28/23
“Companies will have 10 days to justify green claims about their products or face “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” penalties, under a draft EU crackdown on greenwashing seen by the Guardian. “Inflated claims by firms about their products’ environmental bona fides have grown along with public awareness of global heating in recent years. One EU survey in 2020 found that 53% of environmental product claims were “vague, misleading or unfounded”. Authorities suspected 42% of green product gambits of being “false or deceptive” in another survey the same year. Greenwashing claims can circulate in a wild west market environment for now but the substantiating green claims directive, due in March, will force firms to comply with a new legal framework. The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) said it strongly supported the plan for beefing up market surveillance authorities to fight greenwash. But “a future EU green claims law will only be as good as its enforcement, BEUC’s director, Monique Goyens, told the Guardian. “Authorities should regularly control green claims, publicly disclose their findings, and be able to fine companies who mislead consumers.” The leaked directive takes no position on which penalties the EU’s 27 countries should use. Goyens told the Guardian phrases such as “climate positive” and “carbon neutral” should be “banned from the market altogether”.
OPINION
Guardian: Fossil fuels kill more people than Covid. Why are we so blind to the harms of oil and gas?
Rebecca Solnit, 2/28/23
“If fossil fuel use and impact had suddenly appeared overnight, their catastrophic poisonousness and destructiveness would be obvious. But they have so incrementally become part of everyday life nearly everywhere on Earth that those impacts are largely accepted or ignored (that they’ve also corroded our politics helps this lack of alarm),” Rebecca Solnit writes for the Guardian. “This has real consequences for the climate crisis. Were we able to perceive afresh the sheer scale of fossil fuel impact we might be horrified. But because this is an old problem too many don’t see it as a problem… “Violence against women (the leading form of violence worldwide) and slower forms of environmental destruction have been going on so long that they’re easy to overlook and hard to get people to regard as a crisis. We saw this with Covid-19, where in the first months most people were fearful and eager to do what it took to avoid contracting or spreading the disease, and then grew increasingly casual about the risks and apparently oblivious to the impacts (the WHO charts almost 7 million deaths in little over three years)... “The fossil fuel industry through airborne particulate matter alone annually kills far more people every year than Covid-19 has in three years. Recent studies conclude that nearly 9 million people a year die from inhaling these particulates produced by burning fossil fuel… “Astroturf organizations backed by conservatives and fossil-fuel interests have pushed false claims about health threats and organized locals against both wind turbines and solar installations… “The way we have long operated was always destructive, and it’s now a crisis larger than any in human history. Change needs to come, swiftly, and though practical change is crucial, so are changes in imagination, perception and values. The two go together, and they always have.”
Canadian Dimension: By subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, Trudeau is fuelling a national emergency
Owen Schalk, 2/28/23
“In February 2022, the Trans Mountain Pipeline announced a construction cost update: the new price tag totalled $21.4 billion. The Canadian government, and particularly Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, insisted that the pipeline was still a worthy investment despite the fact that the price tag had tripled since 2018,” Owen Schalk writes for Canadian Dimension. “As Eugene Kung writes in National Observer, “These statements were questionable at the time, and one year later, we know why. While the average Canadian is struggling with inflation and increased interest rates, TMX is getting special treatment from Canadian banks and hiding its full financial picture.” TMX owes the Canadian government almost $16 billion—a debt that increased after Freeland insisted Ottawa would not pump more public money into the project. This federal support, coupled with massive investment from Canadian banks such as BMO and TD, means that even at over $21 billion, the pipeline has retained the backing of the Trudeau government and the largest banks in Canada. This is despite the fact that BMO and TD have revealed that in order to be compensated for their loans to TMX, the pipeline will need to transport oil for the next 100 years—hardly a climate-conscious timeline for a government that has promised to move Canada toward sustainable energy. Meanwhile, TC Energy is expected to announce cost increases to its Coastal GasLink pipeline, with no criticism from the Canadian authorities backing the pipeline’s construction… “While Ottawa does not transparently report the value of its subsidies to oil and gas companies, the total was at least $4.8 billion in 2020 (according to the OECD) and may have been as high as $81 billion (according to the IMF)... “At the same time that Ottawa is shunning Canada’s global responsibility for the climate crisis, the Trudeau government continues to subsidize the industry that is fanning the flames of a national emergency. For a country that brands itself as an international climate champion, Canada’s domestic and global actions are rank with hypocrisy and unearned self-congratulation, two things that will not stem the negative impacts of climate change at home or around the world.”