EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 4/11/22
PIPELINE NEWS
E&E News: Would Keystone XL have mattered with gas prices now?
E&E News: FERC approves change to Mountain Valley pipeline plan
Roanoke Times: After losing several permits, Mountain Valley Pipeline wins one for stream boring
Canadian Press: Indigenous leaders, protesters gather in Vancouver to oppose Trans Mountain pipeline
Star Tribune: In the courtroom and the skies, tribe carries on its challenge of the Line 3 pipeline
Green Bay Press-Gazette: Why a state task force worries a northern Wisconsin oil pipeline project could bring sex trafficking crimes
MassLive.com: $40 million natural gas pipeline roasted by area groups
Truthout: Great Plains Farmers Push Back Against CO2 Pipelines Encroaching on Their Land
The Gazette: Democratic Senate hopefuls voice qualms over Iowa CO2 pipelines
Iowa Public Radio: Landowners feel powerless as lawmakers fail to resolve their eminent domain concerns
Summit Tribune: Food & Water Watch cites costs, opposition to eminent domain for carbon lines
KPVI: Page County board pursues eminent domain ban on carbon pipeline
Raccoon Valley Radio: GREENE COUNTY SUPERVISORS DISCUSS SOCIAL HOST ORDINANCE, PIPELINE CONCERNS
CBC: Investigation begins after natural gas pipeline leak, fire reported in northwest Alberta
Logistics Viewpoints: In a David versus Goliath Battle between NGOs and a Pipeline Company, Goliath is Losing
STATE UPDATES
KTVZ: OSU study: Oregonians perceive greater risk than benefit from natural gas export operations
Carlsbad Current-Argus: Abandoned oil and gas wells spread out through New Mexico's Permian, San Juan basins
EXTRACTION
Bloomberg: War Gives Oil Producers Greater Clout at Global Climate Talks
New York Times: Methane Emissions Soared to a Record in 2021, Scientists Say
National Observer: Federal rule on oil and gas projects ‘does not stand up to the facts’
Guardian: Climate activists ‘disrupt supplies from three oil terminals in England’
CLIMATE FINANCE
Financial Times: Canadian banks double financing of highly polluting oil sands
OPINION
Des Moines Register: Editorial: Carbon pipelines have a long way to go to earn Iowans' trust
Waverley Newspapers: Pipeline tramples on Iowans’ rights
PIPELINE NEWS
E&E News: Would Keystone XL have mattered with gas prices now?
CARLOS ANCHONDO, MIKE LEE, 4/8/22
“A report that the Biden administration is weighing greater imports of Canadian oil is putting a renewed focus on the canceled Keystone XL pipeline and whether it would have made any difference with today’s tight oil supply,” E&E News reports. “...Yet Anthony Swift, director of the Canada program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told E&E that projects like Keystone XL "aren’t focused on the energy we’re using today — they are focused on enabling fossil fuel production in years to come, at a moment when the international scientific community is clearly telling us that we have no more time to delay the transition to clean energy if we want to avoid catastrophic levels of climate change.” “...A White House official, however, said the pipeline would not have entered into service until 2023. It would not have done anything “to address the current supply imbalance we are seeing,” the official said. In a blog post last month, the Natural Resources Defense Council said environmental reviews from both the Obama and Trump administrations found that “the Keystone XL pipeline would not have lowered gasoline prices." “NRDC and its partners … found the majority of Keystone XL oil would have been sent to markets overseas,” the group said. Swift told E&E attempting to revive Keystone XL “is really working to revive a project that wouldn’t come online until after 2025 and would certainly be the wrong choice given the increasingly alarming reports we’re getting from the [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]." “...Also, much of the opposition to Keystone XL has come from farmers and ranchers who objected to the project’s use of eminent domain to condemn their land, said Jane Fleming Kleeb, a Democratic activist in Nebraska who spent a decade fighting the pipeline. "When Republicans talk about Keystone XL, they’re saying they support a foreign oil company using eminent domain against American farmers and ranchers,” she told E&E… “Any decision to revisit KXL is for the U.S. administration to undertake with the proponent,” the Canadian Embassy spokesperson told E&E, referring to TC Energy Corp., Keystone XL’s developer. TC Energy did not respond to a request for comment.”
E&E News: FERC approves change to Mountain Valley pipeline plan
Carlos Anchondo, 4/11/22
“Following a string of permit setbacks, federal regulators have approved the Mountain Valley pipeline’s request to change the crossing method for about 180 bodies of water and wetlands, a decision quickly panned by project opponents,” E&E News reports. “The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in an order issued Friday, amended the pipeline’s 2017 certificate to allow developers to bore under some bodies of water instead of using an open-cut method as originally approved. “Mountain Valley’s usage of trenchless waterbody crossings will result in fewer environmental impacts than the crossing method that the Commission approved under the original certificate, meaning that today’s order amending Mountain Valley’s certificate will almost certainly represent an improvement over the status quo,” FERC Chair Richard Glick said in a statement with Commissioner Allison Clements… “Glick and Clements said Friday’s order doesn’t authorize any change in the project’s route or affect any new landowners. That helps to “mitigate our longstanding concerns over the prospect of private property being condemned long before construction begins on a project that may never be fully approved,” said Glick and Clements, both Democrats… “Jessica Sims, a Virginia field coordinator with the group Appalachian Voices, told E&E that FERC’s order “brings the project — which continues to be unnecessary and destructive — no closer to completion. [Developers] are still in a holding pattern.” And David Sligh, conservation director at Wild Virginia, told E&E while boring under bodies of water may well cause less damage to surface waters “than cutting and blasting through them, there are still serious threats that must be acknowledged and completely assessed in each location.”
Roanoke Times: After losing several permits, Mountain Valley Pipeline wins one for stream boring
Laurence Hammack, 4/9/22
“After running into a series of roadblocks this year, Mountain Valley Pipeline has won approval to bore under about 180 streams and wetlands it must cross to complete the natural gas pipeline,” the Roanoke Times reports. “In a unanimous order Friday afternoon, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorized what is essentially one piece of the construction that remains unfinished due to adverse court rulings… “Mountain Valley still lacks authorizations from other agencies to ford the remaining streams and wetlands by open cut, and to pass through the Jefferson National Forest. Also unresolved is the project’s impact on endangered species… “The cascading loss of permits led pipeline opponents to call on FERC to issue a stop-work order for the pipeline… “In addressing opponents’ arguments that the project is not needed, FERC stood by its 2017 finding of a public market for the 2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas the pipeline will transport from northern West Virginia to connect with an existing line near the North Carolina line… “The evidence is clear – every setback MVP faces, every permit vacated, and every investor shying away from the project confirms what we have believed since the project’s inception: this unnecessary, fracked gas pipeline has no place in our communities,” the Sierra Club said in a statement. “It’s time MVP sees the writing on the wall and ends this beleaguered project.”
Canadian Press: Indigenous leaders, protesters gather in Vancouver to oppose Trans Mountain pipeline
Brieanna Charlebois, 4/10/22
“Protesters against the federally-owned Trans Mountain pipeline gathered outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on Saturday to show the government and investors that opposition to the project is still strong and they believe funding it would be a “risky investment,” the Canadian Press reports. “Signs that read “Don’t fund the Trans Mountain,” “Protect the Ocean” and “Protect the Land” littered the square in front of the gallery where a few hundred people gathered. Rally planners from the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation’s Sacred Trust Initiative say this marked the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began that Indigenous leaders have come together to publicly oppose the pipeline. Rueben George, manager of the Sacred Trust Initiative, told CP the pandemic restricted gatherings and hindered their outreach, but that the rally will lift spirits and signal the start of more events and public outreach… “George told CP the project now relies on funding from investors and the group hopes to send the message that it is a “stranded asset” and should not be built. “It’s not a good investment, let alone the destruction that’s going to cause,” he told CP. “We have to wake up our country again. We have to do something to create change for our future generations.”
Star Tribune: In the courtroom and the skies, tribe carries on its challenge of the Line 3 pipeline
Jennifer Bjorhus, 4/11/22
“Over two days last November, an aircraft outfitted with high-definition thermal imaging equipment flew the 340-mile length of the Line 3 oil pipeline across Minnesota. It was scouting for evidence of more construction-related damage to the state's aquifers,” the Star Tribune reports. “Oil has been flowing through the completed pipeline for months now, but the White Earth Band of Ojibwe — Minnesota's largest Native American tribe with about 20,000 members — continues fighting the project in court, and through extraordinary surveillance efforts. The band now says aerial imaging found six more sites that indicate potential breaches to public groundwater resources… “The Band and environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and MN350, which shared the cost of the $52,000 flyover, say they don't trust the process to protect the resources. "The environment is that important to us, our natural environment," White Earth citizen Dawn Goodwin, a key pipeline opponent and co-founder of RISE Coalition, an Indigenous women's environmental group, told the Tribune. "I live here and my ancestors lived here." The state already fined Enbridge for that first breach but the DNR is still working on comprehensive penalties for all three breaches. Meanwhile, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is reviewing the first incident for potential criminal charges.”
Green Bay Press-Gazette: Why a state task force worries a northern Wisconsin oil pipeline project could bring sex trafficking crimes
Frank Vaisvilas, 4/11/22
“Members of a Wisconsin task force focused on endangered women is concerned that a proposed oil pipeline could bring in some workers prone to committing sex trafficking crimes,” the Green Bay Press-Gazette reports. “We know that wherever there are pipelines, there is going to be an increase of violence against Indigenous women and girls,” Kristin Welch, member of Attorney General Josh Kaul’s Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women task force, told the Gazette. “We have seen this pattern of violence before … in Line 3, and it will happen here in Wisconsin if this reroute is allowed.” “...Four Line 3 workers were arrested in a sex sting last summer in Minnesota after responding to an ad on a sex advertisement website, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Advocates researching the epidemic of violence against Indigenous people say resource extraction projects near reservations tend to attract hundreds of men from around the country, and some bad actors can victimize Indigenous women and girls… “Advocates say companies like Enbridge should hire police to keep an eye on its workers… “Since they had that (police) response for the protesters, why can’t we do that for our murdered and missing relatives?” Welch said at a recent meeting of the task force. “They proved to us it’s possible and when they want to they can.”
MassLive.com: $40 million natural gas pipeline roasted by area groups
Dave Canton, 4/11/22
“Nearly 200 people from nearly 60 different organizations gathered in front of the federal courthouse on State Street Saturday to protest a proposed natural gas pipeline from Longmeadow to Springfield, a gas pipeline that owner Eversource said is redundant, probably won’t be needed and could cost as much as $44 million,” MassLive.com reports. “The company website calls the pipeline a “reliability project,” to ensure the flow of natural gas in the event the company’s primary pipeline is disabled. But some of the protestors said the only reliability coming from the project is profit for Eversource stockholders. “Eversource, the answer is ‘No’,” Tanisha Arena said. “Just like biomass the answer was ‘No.’ And, this time we are not going to say ‘No’ for 12 or 13 years, the answer is ‘No’. The Executive Director of Arise for Social Justice, Arena said that the people should not be forced to pay for a project that helps to destroy the environment without providing benefits to the people. “We have shouldered the burden of all the mistakes they have made, all the engineering disasters, you people blowing stuff up. The people have paid for that in the past and this time they should not have to,” she said. The short pipeline running from Longmeadow to downtown Springfield is designed as a backup source of natural gas if the primary line is out of service.
Truthout: Great Plains Farmers Push Back Against CO2 Pipelines Encroaching on Their Land
Leanna First-Arai, 4/9/22
“Farmers, ranchers, and other rural community members across five Great Plains states and Illinois — many of whom were previously sued by developers of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines wanting to build through their land — are finding their property, safety and livelihoods encroached upon yet again by corporations,” Truthout reports. “...On account of a new legal “easement team” co-op formed by a firm called Domina Law, the Krutzes, along with dozens of other landowners, got their easements back. TC Energy was forced to pay all the families’ legal fees. They thought they’d dodged a bullet, but just weeks later, in August 2021, the Krutzes got another letter, which eerily resembled the one from TC Energy. This time, it was Summit Carbon Solutions that wanted to survey their land and negotiate an easement. “It feels like you’re a little pawn. The big people get to step on you all the time,” Bob Krutz told Truthout. “You’re nothing but a pebble on the ground.” “...One of these fights is brewing in Dickson County, Nebraska, where Shelli Meyer grew up helping to raise cattle and hogs. Meyer’s farm has been in the family for four generations. Just days ahead of the holidays, in December 2021, her father handed her a letter that had arrived from Heartland Greenway. “The look on his face I’ll never forget,” she told Truthout. “All he could see in the letter was ‘eminent domain.’” “...The thought of having a portion of that land seized to bury a pipeline with unknown risks after the “blood, sweat and tears” it’s taken to keep the farm afloat has been devastating, filling the family and surrounding community with “stress and anxiety,” Meyer told Truthout… “They’re also making the case that the project will support farming communities, which Meyer doesn’t buy… Meyer says that this is illogical, and it’s insulting that developers think farmers will fall for it. In actuality, some landowners worry their insurance companies might drop their policies if a CO2 pipeline is built through their property, and they’d be left uninsured, which would have grave implications for property values.” Meyer, the Krutzes and dozens of other residents will turn to the Nebraska arm of an innovative legal co-op which helped cancel and reverse easements for landowners impacted by Keystone XL, the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipelines. “The bright side is that landowners, I think because of Dakota Access, because of Keystone XL, because of all these other pipelines around the country have seen the damage that pipelines do to property, especially farmland, that they’re really stepping up and standing up,” Jane Kleeb, of Bold Nebraska, a citizen advocacy group, told Truthout. “But our federal and state governments are way behind where the citizens are.”
The Gazette: Democratic Senate hopefuls voice qualms over Iowa CO2 pipelines
James Q. Lynch, 4/10/22
“Democratic U.S. Senate hopefuls say they have reservations about the use of eminent domain to help route underground carbon dioxide pipelines across Iowa, as well as doubts whether the proposed projects make economic and environmental sense for the state,” The Gazette reports. “The candidates — former U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer of Cedar Rapids, retired Admiral Michael Franken of Sioux City and physician Glenn Hurst of Minden — agree that removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is important, but question proposals to move the greenhouse gas through pipelines from Iowa ethanol plants to sequestration sites in other states. “The science is poor,” Hurst said during an April 4 virtual forum with the Iowa Democratic Party Rural Caucus. “As a matter of fact, it might actually add greenhouse gases with the effort to build the pipeline and move the CO2.” The issue of using pipelines to move CO2 is “thoroughly flawed from top to bottom,” Hurst added… “Eminent domain rings loud in this discussion,” said Franken, who grew up on a northwest Iowa farm. “It's unique that we're executing it for private gain, granted with a public good, but ultimately to private gain. “I do not believe it's a winner.” Hurst agreed the issue of eminent domain is of “primary importance because it's about private benefit to another private individual.” “So I would oppose this completely top to bottom,” he said.
Iowa Public Radio: Landowners feel powerless as lawmakers fail to resolve their eminent domain concerns
Kendall Crawford, 4/6/22
“In a red pickup truck, Gayle Palmquist drives through the Woodbury County farm that’s been in her family for over 100 years,” Iowa Public Radio reports. “...The pipeline is going to come from the south and run this way to the north,” she told IPR… “As the companies begin to negotiate with Iowa landowners for voluntary easements, state legislators are considering a year-long ban on the use of eminent domain for the projects. They believe the moratorium would take the pressure off landowners and help the companies get the land they need voluntarily. But, the potential delay hasn’t exactly eased farmers' minds. Many landowners still feel powerless to stop pipelines from going through their property. Many, like Palmquist, are vehemently opposed to the project running through their land. Palmquist said she’s scared of how the pipeline could impact her soil. She’s scared what would happen if the hazardous liquid pipeline burst. But, most of all, she said she doesn’t understand how a private company could be entitled to her land. “If it's approved, we're going to have problems controlling our land,” Palmquist told IPR. “This is some of the most valuable land in the world. We help feed the world. And I don’t think our land should be abused for pipelines.” “...But, many Iowa farmers feel their private land is being taken for someone else’s profit. The slogan "No Eminent Domain for Private Gain" is plastered over signs at protests and in landowner's yards.”
Summit Tribune: Food & Water Watch cites costs, opposition to eminent domain for carbon lines
4/6/22
“On April 4, the national advocacy group Food & Water Watch released a new analysis on the true cost of the three carbon pipelines proposed for the Midwest,” the Summit Tribune reports. “The group finds that federal taxpayers could waste in excess of $20 billion dollars on these projects over the next 12 years. It finds that the Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposal alone could cost taxpayers more than $7 billion, which is almost twice the amount the company claims its project will invest in the region. The Summit line is proposed to cross Hancock County. Food & Water Watch asserts that carbon capture processes and the dangerous pipelines that feed them are propped up by public funding. A single federal tax credit called Section 45Q could funnel almost $2 billion a year to Summit, Navigator, and Wolf/ADM to capture carbon from ethanol facilities to feed their pipeline projects. Over the 12 years that the projects are eligible to profit from the Section 45Q credit, the companies could make $23 billion, according to a news release. However, the federal government is only doubling down on carbon capture funding. Since 2010, it has poured more than $8 billion into carbon capture projects via direct funding and tax credits, yet most federally-funded projects failed. Despite this, in the past year alone, legislators approved a record $12.2 billion in federal appropriations to finance carbon capture projects… “A new poll released on April 6 by Food & Water Action also found that Iowa voters overwhelmingly oppose the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines… “44% are opposed to the three carbon pipelines proposed for Iowa, 35% support them, and 21% are unsure; 80% oppose allowing private corporations to use eminent domain to build these pipelines; 73% of voters say they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who supported using eminent domain to build carbon pipelines.”
KPVI: Page County board pursues eminent domain ban on carbon pipeline
4/5/22
“Page County intends to issue a statement making their thoughts on eminent domain use for carbon pipelines clear,” KPVI reports. “During its regular meeting Tuesday morning, the Page County Board of Supervisors discussed sending a letter to the Iowa Utilities Board expressing their opposition to the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines in its county. Supervisors Chair Alan Armstrong says the letter would be similar to that in Montgomery County and says he believes eminent domain should not be used in this case, especially without landowner payments… “But, Holmes says the letter would serve alongside the state effort, encouraging pipeline companies to offer more financial incentives for landowners rather than seizing land. "This shows that we are real strongly not wanting eminent domain to take place," said Holmes. "I think that what the point of the moratorium was, or whatever they called it, at the beginning of the year, was 'you guys, we're not going to let you do eminent domain this year, you need to get out there and try to buy your path.'" The board intends to talk with members of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors and draft a letter stating their opposition for approval at a future board meeting.”
Raccoon Valley Radio: GREENE COUNTY SUPERVISORS DISCUSS SOCIAL HOST ORDINANCE, PIPELINE CONCERNS
Coltrane Carlson, 4/5/22
“The Greene County Board of Supervisors met Monday in regular session,” Raccoon Valley Radio reports. “...He then reported on two proposals concerning a pipeline project from Summit Carbon Solutions. Following the discussion, the Board agreed to submit a letter of objection to the Iowa Utilities Board for eminent domain for private use. They would also act as drainage district trustees to form an agreement with the company to have requirements met before permits would be issued.”
CBC: Investigation begins after natural gas pipeline leak, fire reported in northwest Alberta
4/8/22
“A federal investigation has begun after natural gas leaking from a pipeline in northwestern Alberta caught fire Thursday,” CBC reports. “A team of Transportation Safety Board (TSB) investigators is being deployed to the Nova Gas Transmission Line site near Fox Creek, Alta., a town about 260 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, stated a TSB news release on Friday. "A natural gas leak and ignition was reported ... near Fox Creek," a spokesperson said in a statement to CBC News. No injuries have been reported, TC Energy, the line's owner, said Friday afternoon… “In a statement, TC Energy said emergency management and response procedures are in place, the pipeline is isolated and the company is working with affected customers. As a precaution, the company has notified regulators, local responders, nearby industrial operators and Indigenous communities, the statement says.”
Logistics Viewpoints: In a David versus Goliath Battle between NGOs and a Pipeline Company, Goliath is Losing
By Steve Banker, 4/11/22
“Logistics is 7.4% of US GDP. Pipeline transportation represents just half a percentage point of that 7.4% total,” Logistics Viewpoints reports. “Proponents of pipelines argue that when pipelines are properly constructed and maintained they have fewer carbon emissions associated with moving natural gas and oil than trucks or railcars. But pipelines are facing headwinds from advocacy groups; these nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) argue that all too often pipelines are not properly constructed or maintained. They argue that pipelines far from being an environmental solution, are too often a hazard that society should not be willing to accept… “Mountain Valley Pipeline is in trouble… “Groups fighting to stop the pipeline includes the Sierra Club and very small partner organizations like Wild Virginia, Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR), Virginia Scientist, and Appalachian Mountain Advocates. Mountain Valley Pipeline has had a mountain of challenges to overcome since filing a formal application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC to construct and operate the pipeline… “While not the largest of the NGO’s, Wild Virginia played a vital role in this fight. In the last annual report Equitrans Midstream complained that “the majority of environmental justice litigation matters appear to be focused on whether state or federal agencies with permitting or other decision-making responsibility have adequately considered environmental justice issues during the decision-making process.” Advocacy organizations, like Wild Virgina, raise environmental justice issues in connection with permitting legal challenges… “The primary owner of MPV, Equitrans Midstream, admitted in the risks section of this year’s annual report, which came out shortly after the rulings, that “there is no guarantee that the MVP Joint Venture will ultimately receive all necessary authorizations …” to complete this project.
STATE UPDATES
KTVZ: OSU study: Oregonians perceive greater risk than benefit from natural gas export operations
4/7/22
“When presented with proposed natural gas export operations in the state, Oregonians are more likely to perceive the environmental and public health risks than the potential financial gains, a recent study from Oregon State University found,” KTVZ reports. “To date, six natural gas export projects have been proposed along the Oregon coast but none have been built, most recently the Jordan Cove LNG project slated for Coos Bay, which was first proposed in 2004 and ultimately defeated last year. “Oregon is seen as a key location to export natural gas to large markets in Asia, so because of that, future proposals may be coming,” study author Rachel Mooney, who graduated from OSU with a master’s degree in public policy last year, told KTVZ. “But having public opposition definitely will make siting any future projects in Oregon a challenge.” “...Of the survey pool, 53% felt that natural gas export posed a great deal of risk to the global climate and regional environment, and 44-56% perceived little to no benefit to energy prices, energy security, jobs in the region or the regional economy. On the flip side, only 21-27% perceived a great deal of economic benefit in those categories.”
Carlsbad Current-Argus: Abandoned oil and gas wells spread out through New Mexico's Permian, San Juan basins
Adrian Hedden, 4/8/22
“When oil and gas wells are shut down and abandoned, dangers to local communities and the environment linger,” the Carlsbad Current-Argus reports. “Both of New Mexico’s oil-producing regions: the Permian Basin in the southeast and San Juan Basin in the northwest have scores of inactive wells, per a recent study by the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, and could be running afoul of state law. The Albuquerque-based environmental group, citing its own data on alleged inactive wells, called on the federal Bureau of Land Management to audit inactive oil and gas wells on federally-leased public land. The group hoped the audit would show if the wells identified in the Alliance’s study were in compliance, or not, with regulations. About 6,000 wells across the state were identified as not having produced oil or gas in the last year, per the study, including 2,600 on federal land. The study pointed to 100 wells it said hadn’t produced in 15 years… “In total, there were 68 orphaned wells and 16 wells with expired abandonment approvals, per the study. There were also 124 oil and gas leases provided to companies, accounting for 55,792 acres, in the area the study alleged were in violation of abandonment regulations at other facilities in the region.”
EXTRACTION
Bloomberg: War Gives Oil Producers Greater Clout at Global Climate Talks
Jess Shankleman, Jennifer A Dlouhy, and Verity Ratcliffe, 4/11/22
“Oil producers have always been an easy target at the United Nations’ annual climate summits. This year, with Russia’s war in Ukraine boosting demand for fossil fuels, they’re preparing to fight back,” Bloomberg reports. “As Western economies desperately seek alternatives to Vladimir Putin’s exports, many are working to increase supplies of energy — whether it's clean or not… “United Arab Emirates Energy Minister Suhail Al-Mazrouei summed up the industry’s change in fortune at a conference in Dubai last month. “Oil producers felt unwanted in COP26, felt like we were in a corner,” he said. “Now, we're like superheroes.” The U.K. banned oil companies from sponsorship deals at the gathering in Glasgow last November, saying that their net-zero targets weren’t credible… “It’s unlikely the industry will face the same resistance this year… “While the UAE — the hosts of 2023’s meeting — has been a relative frontrunner within the region on climate policies, becoming the first Persian Gulf oil producer to set a net-zero goal last October, it’s still squarely in favor of continuing to use fossil fuels. The country wants to shift the COP narrative so hydrocarbons are seen as part of the solution, instead of the problem, according to a person familiar with the nation’s strategy.”
New York Times: Methane Emissions Soared to a Record in 2021, Scientists Say
Raymond Zhong, 4/7/22
“Levels of methane in the atmosphere increased last year by the largest amount since measurements began four decades ago, government scientists said on Thursday, adding to concerns about the planet-warming gas, which spews from oil and natural gas operations,” the New York Times reports. “,,,Atmospheric concentrations of methane have increased steadily over the past 15 or so years, and in 2021, they rose by a record amount over the year before, reaching a new high, according to preliminary analysis by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The previous record for annual increase in methane levels had been set in 2020. “Our data show that global emissions continue to move in the wrong direction at a rapid pace,” Richard W. Spinrad, the NOAA administrator, told the Times. “Reducing methane emissions is an important tool we can use right now to lessen the impacts of climate change in the near term, and rapidly reduce the rate of warming.” “...The NOAA analysis published on Thursday indicates that levels of carbon dioxide also continued to rise rapidly in 2021. During the past 10 years, carbon dioxide concentrations grew at their quickest pace in the six-plus decades since monitoring began, NOAA said.”
National Observer: Federal rule on oil and gas projects ‘does not stand up to the facts’
By Cloe Logan, 4/11/22
“Last week, Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault announced the approval of the deepwater oil project Bay du Nord with 137 conditions, including a requirement the project achieves net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” the National Observer reports. “That same day, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) announced the requirement would also apply to all future oil and gas developments. Those opposed to all new fossil fuel developments were quick to point out that calling any oil and gas project net-zero is misleading. Even if companies could make their products without any emissions, which so far none have, all oil and gas produce emissions when burned. So-called Scope 3, or tailpipe emissions, are not accounted for in the government’s calculations, therefore the very definition of net-zero “does not stand up to the facts,” Angela Carter, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo and a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador government’s Net-Zero Advisory Council, told Canada’s National Observer. She noted N.L., along with Canada as a whole, is not on track to meet its climate targets, and new oil and gas development will further hinder those goals. Although the operation of Bay du Nord will emit less carbon than its oilsands counterparts during production, once that oil is burned, the emissions are all the same, she noted… “The lion’s share of emissions from any project, no matter how clean it is during the production stage, are released when oil is burned. Canada’s National Observer columnist Barry Saxifrage did the calculations — on average, Scope 1 and 2 emissions (which happen during production) emit 65 kilograms of carbon dioxide (kgCO2) per barrel of oil, whereas Scope 3 emissions average 430 kgCO2/barrel, or around 87 per cent of the total emissions that come from oil.”
Guardian: Climate activists ‘disrupt supplies from three oil terminals in England’
Helen Pidd, 4/10/22
“Clean energy campaigners claim to have disrupted supplies from three oil terminals in the Midlands and south-east of England, as motorists complain that some petrol stations are running short of fuel,” the Guardian reports. “The government said only one terminal was out of action on Sunday afternoon as a result of the Just Stop Oil protests, and that local police forces were working with the industry to ensure that fuel supplies can be maintained… “Hundreds of climate campaigners took to Lambeth bridge, which links Westminster and Lambeth, backed by speakers playing dance music creating a festival atmosphere. Cars and buses were stopped, but at demonstrators parted to allow ambulances to pass. By 6pm Lambeth had been cleared of protesters, while traffic resumed on Vauxhall Bridge about an hour and a half later. Police said 38 arrests had been made… “The group said supporters had dug a tunnel under a tanker route to the Kingsbury terminal in Warwickshire. “The tunnel was concealed by a modified caravan parked on the roadside and surrounded by Just Stop Oil supporters. Despite a number of police arrests, five people remain inside the caravan this morning working on the tunnel,” the group said in a statement. At 2.30am, 40 campaigners approached the gates of the Buncefield oil terminal in Hertfordshire and locked themselves on to it, blocking the entrance, the group said. This was followed at 6.30am by a further action at Inter Terminals in Grays, Essex, where about 40 people swarmed into the facility, climbed the loading bay pipework and locked on, they claimed… “In an interview on the Sunday Morning show on BBC One, Lucas said: “I am sorry that it has come to this and that this is the only way that people feel they can make their voices heard.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Financial Times: Canadian banks double financing of highly polluting oil sands
Camilla Hodgson, 4/10/22
“Canada’s top banks more than doubled their financing of highly polluting tar sands oil to $16.8bn in 2021, despite signing up to the UN’s net zero banking alliance on greenhouse gas emissions,” the Financial Times reports. “Lenders including Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their financing to the top 30 tar sands producers and six tar sands pipeline companies by almost $9bn in 2021, according to data from the Rainforest Action Network, the activist group that produces an annual comprehensive report of fossil fuel financing. All five Canadian banks, which also included Scotiabank and Bank of Montreal, committed last year to reaching net zero emissions by 2050 across their operations and portfolios when they joined the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, led by Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. The jump in financing of tar sands, one of the world’s most carbon-intensive sources of oil, comes as the banks face growing pressure from investors to step up the battle against climate change. RBC, CIBC and Scotiabank fought off shareholder proposals calling for stricter climate policies last week, while TD and BMO face similar protests at their annual meetings this week… “Five of the six largest global financiers of tar sands since the Paris climate agreement was signed in 2016 have been Canadian banks, RAN found. The other non-Canadian prominent financier was New York-based JPMorgan Chase.”
OPINION
Des Moines Register: Editorial: Carbon pipelines have a long way to go to earn Iowans' trust
Lucas Grundmeier on behalf of the Register editorial board, 4/10/22
“Three companies propose burying carbon dioxide pipelines underneath hundreds of miles of Iowa soil in order to keep planet-warming gas from entering the atmosphere,” the Des Moines Register Editorial Board writes. “It's tempting to judge their plans solely on some prominent red flags: Bruce Rastetter, the Iowa agriculture magnate whose company is planning the furthest along of the projects, is quite open about his intent to help secure longer-lasting relevance for biofuels — when instead we should be working on what comes after ethanol. The cheerleaders for these plans include former Gov. Terry Branstad, Gov. Kim Reynolds and Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig, three elected officials with abysmal records on water quality. Their hollow assurances about water inspire no confidence that mitigation of global warming is anywhere near top of mind. Too much of the advocacy for the pipelines has zeroed in on profitability. Iowa is only about six years removed from bitter clashes over an oil pipeline that secured permission to knife through the state, and now familiar battles over public use and eminent domain are surfacing. Many environmental activists oppose the carbon pipelines, whose business model at the outset rests heavily on generous federal tax credits. Spending tens of billions of dollars on climate mitigation is a great idea, groups such as Food and Water Watch argue, but why not put that sort of money toward a quicker pivot away from fossil fuels? Why invest in catching dangerous emissions when that helps perpetuate the creation of those emissions? Or participate in carbon offset markets where fuzzy accounting can mean illusory achievements? Why not focus on a wholesale rethinking of animal and plant agriculture? Even without broaching the subject of the pipeline companies' negotiations with the property owners whose land they need, it's not a slam dunk that the pipelines would benefit the average person… “If companies want buy-in from Iowans along with government approval of their projects, they should concentrate on proving that the pipelines can indeed be an effective tool in saving the planet from catastrophic warming — truly a public "necessity." To meet that high standard and earn Iowans' trust, the entrepreneurs behind the projects must do much more in coming months to support and publicize independent assessments of the technology, its financing and its effectiveness. And Iowa's regulators and lawmakers must insist on it.”
Waverley Newspapers: Pipeline tramples on Iowans’ rights
4/6/22
“Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain.” Based on Gov. Kim Reynolds’ March 9 address, Iowa landowners would think the governor was sincere in her campaign launch statement,” Jean Kampman writes for Waverley Newspapers. “...Yet landowners are being attacked by Navigator Heartland Greenway and Summit Carbon Solutions… to line their pockets by trampling rights of others. Their proposed project would result in installation of a hazardous pipeline crossing 36 Iowa counties and five states. Landowners who refuse voluntary easements are left with the threat of eminent domain which allows these companies to acquire private property without consent and transport highly pressurized carbon dioxide (CO2) to a sequestration site. Their threat eliminates the ability of landowners to negotiate on a level playing field and allows private companies to seize land without paying a fair price for years of disruptions and damages to tile, crops, soil fertility, and land values… “Gov. Reynolds, make your actions match your campaign-launch words. Don’t turn your back on landowner’s rights to benefit private companies. Stop eminent domain for private gain.”