PIPELINE NEWS
Ekalaka Eagle: Proposed Bridger Pipeline would cut through Carter County
New York Post: Trump admin to break ground on NYC gas pipeline that riled green activists
WorkBoat: Proposed gas pipeline may revive New York Harbor dredging fight
World Spectator: Enbridge proposing Line 26 optimization project to transport oil from Cromer to the U.S.
Canadian Press: Mideast war, pipeline push serve as backdrop to oil and gas investment conference
Press release: Pipeline Threats Lands Dan River as #8 on America’s Most Endangered Rivers List of 2026
National Today: Consumers Energy launches 8-mile gas pipeline replacement project in Clawson
Pipeline Safety Trust: Cascade Natural Gas Settles for $2 Million Penalty After 2023 Incident at Undisclosed Mobile LNG Site Kills One
TBNewsWatch: Gas company confirms ‘pipeline damage’ on north side
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Trump’s decision to blockade Iran ups the ante on prices
High Country News: ‘Energy dominance’ agenda sidelines tribes
STATE UPDATES
Daily Montanan: Montana youth argue for 9th Circuit court to allow climate change case to proceed
WAFB: Opponents to Ascension carbon capture facility raise concerns ahead of LDEQ hearing
E&E News: Hawaii’s Democratic governor faces blowback for embrace of LNG
Natural Gas Intelligence: Texas Regulator Warns of Iranian Cybersecurity Threats Against Oil, Natural Gas Infrastructure
Politico: The carbon credit conundrum
EXTRACTION
The Energy Mix: In a First, Renewables Beat Natural Gas on U.S. Grid Last Month
OPINION
Cherokee Chronicle Times: Pipeline pressure... phone calls, harassing visits, coercion, intimidation and donuts
The Hub: Canada has 83% support for oil export diversification—yet incentives still favour new pipelines to the U.S.
New York Times: Gun Manufacturers Won the Ultimate Legal Shield. Big Oil Wants That, Too.
New Scientist: A key solution to climate change isn’t happening – and that’s good
PIPELINE NEWS
Ekalaka Eagle: Proposed Bridger Pipeline would cut through Carter County
4/13/26
“A massive proposed crude oil pipeline that would cross Carter County is moving through the regulatory process, and local landowners and residents have a limited window to weigh in,” the Ekalaka Eagle reports. “...The project has drawn comparisons to the long-controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which was canceled in 2021 after President Biden revoked its cross-border permit on his first day in office. Some in eastern Wyoming have taken to calling the Bridger expansion “Keystone Light.” While the two projects differ in route and scale - Keystone XL was designed to carry up to 830,000 barrels per day and would have crossed South Dakota and Nebraska - both would carry Canadian crude oil south through Montana… “Bridger Pipeline’s history of spills has drawn scrutiny as the project moves forward. In 2015, a Bridger pipeline rupture released more than 50,000 gallons of Bakken crude into the Yellowstone River near Crane, Montana… “A group called PRO-Montana has been working to help landowners understand their rights and negotiate pipeline easements. A meeting in Bainville recently drew about 50 people. Fallon County Commissioner Kevin Braun, a PRO-Montana member, said the goal is to put landowners in the best possible position when dealing with pipeline officials on easements… “Only written comments will be accepted at the public meetings.”
New York Post: Trump admin to break ground on NYC gas pipeline that riled green activists
Josh Christenson and Carl Campanile, 4/13/26
“The Trump administration will celebrate the groundbreaking of a controversial new natural gas pipeline in New York City on Tuesday — with the project set to run off the coast of the city to boost the region’s energy supply,” the New York Post reports. “President Trump strongly backs the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline and used his influence to persuade Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul to approve the permits allowing the project to proceed, despite fierce opposition from anti-fossil fuel environmentalists. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Environmental Protection Secretary Lee Zeldin will attend the event at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field, hosted by Williams Companies, the firm managing the construction… “The pipeline — which would extend from Pennsylvania through New Jersey and end on Staten Island and the Rockaways — had been stalled for years after state regulators denied permits over water quality concerns… “I, like so many New Yorkers, am extremely grateful for President Trump’s leadership, along with his National Energy Dominance Council, for getting the permits necessary to allow this project to advance,” Zeldin said. “We celebrate this incredible accomplishment and will continue pursuing every way possible to make life more affordable for all Americans.” Zeldin said next on the priority list is getting the Constitution Pipeline approved “to allow many New England residents to tap into the same abundant resources, especially during brutally cold winter months.”
WorkBoat: Proposed gas pipeline may revive New York Harbor dredging fight
Kirk Moore, 4/13/26
“Environmental activists fighting a proposed natural gas pipeline across lower New York Bay are demanding New Jersey state officials deny a tidelands permit for parts of the 23.4-mile route,” WorkBoat reports. “If approved, the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Project could provide a crucial link from inland natural gas producers in Pennsylvania to New York and New England. The impending fight echoes past years of controversy over dredging in the crowded New Jersey/New York estuary. An April 1 New Jersey public meeting on the plan was abruptly cancelled 15 minutes before it started amid intense pressure from critics who contend dredging and construction could disturb contaminated sediments in the lower bay. Opponents like the New Jersey group Clean Ocean Action are fighting gas distributor Williams, Tulsa, Okla., which originally ran into resistance over its Transco pipeline plan from New York and New Jersey state officials and opposition from environmental groups… “Now the prospect of dredging for a new pipeline could “take us back to the bad old days,” and public pressure has grown “very intense,” said Zipf, who says her group alone had lined up more than 50 commenters anticipating the April 1 hearing. “People who have been on the (tidelands) council a long time have never experienced this before.” “...Opponents suspect the high level of public interest in the project led to state officials postponing a hearing, said Zipf, adding, “we’re going to use the [extended] time to get the word out.”
World Spectator: Enbridge proposing Line 26 optimization project to transport oil from Cromer to the U.S.
Kara Kinna, 4/13/26
“Enbridge Pipelines is planning to submit a proposal later this year that would see its existing Line 26 from Cromer, Manitoba to the U.S. border reverse its south-to-north flow and transport 250,000 barrels per day of Canadian light crude oil to the U.S.,” World Spectator reports. “Currently Line 26 carries roughly 145,000 barrels per day of light crude oil from facilities in the U.S. to the Cromer, Manitoba facility. The proposal suggests deactivating an existing 12-inch pipeline from the Steelman pump station to the U.S. border, and constructing a new 24-inch pipeline segment to replace the existing 12-inch pipeline so that oil can be transported southwest from Cromer to Steelman, then south from Steelman to the U.S. A new pump station would also be constructed at Alida, between Steelman and Cromer, as part of the proposal… “The Line 26 optimization project is part of Enbridge’s broader Mainline Optimization Phase 2 project, which if approved, would add 250,000 barrels per day to Enbridge’s liquids pipeline system. This follows Mainline Optimization Phase 1, which Enbridge is currently working on implementing and will add 150,00 barrels per day by approximately the end of 2027,” Enbridge told the World-Spectator. “Combined, these two projects will advance approximately 400,000 barrels per day of oil transportation capacity to refining markets in North America. “In Canada, this could enable production growth from Western Canada and provide shippers with options to ship their products to U.S. refiners and global markets, where they can get the best price for their commodity, resulting in economic growth and prosperity for Canadians as well as additional revenue through taxation and royalty payments that can be used to pay for healthcare, education and critical infrastructure… “The other thing is that there has been a shift in public opinion with governments on both sides of the border recently, and they have realized the benefits of both economic prosperity and energy security,” adds Semko… ““Both governments, on both sides of the border have expressed an interest in developing more energy products to increase economic prosperity help to increase energy security and affordability.”
Canadian Press: Mideast war, pipeline push serve as backdrop to oil and gas investment conference
4/14/26
“Leaders of some of Canada’s biggest oil and gas producers are discussing the state of their industry with investors at a private conference as the war in the Middle East continues to roil commodity markets,” the Canadian Press reports. “Presentations at the 2026 BMO CAPP Energy Symposium, which kicks off today, are closed to the public and media, but some speakers will be participating in press interviews… “The conference is also being held amid a push in Canada to more speedily build oil and gas export infrastructure to serve markets beyond what has traditionally been this country’s biggest customer — the United States. The Alberta government, aided by industry experts, is working toward filing an application for a new West Coast crude oil pipeline this summer to the federal major projects office, which aims to speed along infrastructure deemed in the national interest.”
Press release: Pipeline Threats Lands Dan River as #8 on America’s Most Endangered Rivers List of 2026
4/13/26
“American Rivers today announced the Dan River as one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2026, citing threats from the construction of two major gas pipelines — Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SSEP) and the Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate Project (MVP Southgate) — that will cross North Carolina and Virginia and could jeopardize drinking water, wildlife habitat, and Indigenous cultural sites. “Energy production can’t come at the expense of our most vital of resources — our nation’s freshwater,” said Alice Broderick, spokesperson for American Rivers. “There is always a risk when pipelines are built along our rivers. These pipelines have to be constructed with the most stringent protections in place for the Dan River and the people that depend on it.” “The Dan River is a life source for hundreds of thousands of people and a sacred cultural corridor for Indigenous communities. Any project that risks contaminating these waters or disturbing ancestral sites must be held to the highest legal and ethical standards. Consultation with all Indigenous leadership is not optional—it is a responsibility,” said Dr. Crystal Cavalier, Executive Director, 7 Directions of Service. The pipelines have both been permitted and could jeopardize the Dan River by increasing sedimentation, chemical contamination, and destabilization of riverbanks if not done with strict adherence to water quality standards. American Rivers is urging Gov. Josh Stein (D-NC) and Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) to: Ensure state agencies enforce Clean Water Act requirements during pipeline construction. Hold pipeline companies accountable for protecting water quality, wildlife habitat, and Indigenous cultural sites. Consult with Indigenous leadership to assess potential risks and impacts for Tribal communities.”
National Today: Consumers Energy launches 8-mile gas pipeline replacement project in Clawson
4/14/26
“Consumers Energy is launching an 8-mile gas pipeline replacement project that will heavily impact the city of Clawson, as well as parts of Royal Oak and Warren,” National Today reports. “The multi-year construction work aims to replace an aging natural gas pipeline, bringing traffic disruptions but also long-term safety, reliability, and job benefits for the region’s 750,000 gas customers.”
Pipeline Safety Trust: Cascade Natural Gas Settles for $2 Million Penalty After 2023 Incident at Undisclosed Mobile LNG Site Kills One
4/13/26
“In Sept. 2023, an explosion killed a contractor who was delivering liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a tanker truck in Toppenish, WA,” the Pipeline Safety Trust reports. “The deceased was attempting to deliver LNG into Cascade’s pipeline system to support the company’s peak-shaving operations. During gas delivery, proper procedures were not followed, and the tanker truck lurched forward, removing the hoses transferring the LNG. With the hoses removed, LNG poured out of the truck and formed a vapor cloud that ignited and killed the on-the-ground contractor and burned the truck’s driver. In the aftermath of the 2023 incident, the UTC staff recommended a $5.6 million penalty on Cascade alleging that it violated 66 pipeline safety regulations. The state of Washington’s pipeline regulator found that 83 barrels of LNG were released when the driver from Southern Pines Trucking “pulled away from an active LNG transfer.” In its investigation, UTC determined that Cascade had violated both state and federal pipeline safety regulations… “Cascade’s seeming refusal to take responsibility for the safety actions of its contractors runs counter to industry-wide commitment, adoption and implementation of Safety Management Systems… “Toppenish represents a pattern all too frequent in the world of pipeline safety – a tragic incident occurs in the absence of strong federal pipeline safety regulations, only to be followed up by financially insignificant enforcement. As our nation’s oil and gas infrastructure grows rapidly, with more LNG plants slated to be built than ever before, the regulation of LNG in the United States needs to be taken seriously.”
TBNewsWatch: Gas company confirms ‘pipeline damage’ on north side
Matt Prokopchuk, 4/13/26
“Enbridge has confirmed it was called to repair damage to a portion of a natural gas pipeline in the city,” TBNewsWatch reports. “Thunder Bay firefighters were seen along High Street between Van Norman and Tupper Streets Sunday evening securing an area on the west side of the thoroughfare with traffic cones, and a sign that read “Caution” and “Enbridge” on separate wooden partitions… “Enbridge Gas crews were called to respond to pipeline damage in the High Street area,” the utility said in a statement to Newswatch on Monday. “The area has since been made safe and there is no risk to public safety at this time.” “...Newswatch requested further information about what was done to make the area safe when the company was notified. In response, the utility said “we activated our safety plan to make the area safe.” Enbridge didn’t specify whether the cause of the damaged line is known or under investigation when asked.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Trump’s decision to blockade Iran ups the ante on prices
Scott Waldman, Grace Yarrow, 4/14/26
“President Donald Trump’s decision to blockade Iranian ports is spiking oil and gasoline prices — but it also threatens to intensify shortages of key commodities such as helium and fertilizer,” E&E News reports. “Iran’s choke hold on ship passage through the Strait of Hormuz was already crimping global supplies — about a third of global fertilizer and helium supplies transit through the strait annually — but the continuing stalemate between the U.S. and Iran comes at arguably the worst time for agriculture, threatening to drive up food prices possibly for months to come even in the best-case scenario. With gas prices hovering at $4.13 per gallon, according to AAA, adding in persistently high grocery costs is a one-two punch for Republicans ahead of a midterm election that was already expected to be tough. Even if the strait reopens in the near future, fertilizer inputs such as urea, ammonia, phosphates and sulfur would take about a month to reach the United States, according to Veronica Nigh, senior economist at The Fertilizer Institute, the industry’s trade association. Other economists and agriculture industry insiders say the supply chain backlog could take years to fully recover.”
High Country News: ‘Energy dominance’ agenda sidelines tribes
Anna V. Smith, 4/13/26
“...Earlier this year, in addition to mandating expedited “emergency” processes for NEPA reviews, the Trump administration finalized its proposed elimination of standards — including public comment periods — for how federal agencies carry out NEPA environmental reviews for large-scale projects on public lands. The changes came without consultation with tribal nations and despite their strong opposition… “The announce-and-defend method of developing federal Indian policy is an inappropriate, paternalistic, unjustified, and historically inefficient method of decision-making,” the National Congress of American Indians and National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers said in a joint letter. Eliminating previous standards “ignores federal trust and treaty responsibilities, impinges on roles and sovereignty of Tribal Nations, and flouts longstanding policy and practice by failing to consult with Tribal Nations.” The federal government is legally required to consult with tribal nations on rules and policies that affect them, but so far the Trump administration has regularly bypassed consultation requirements or sped through them in order to accomplish its “energy dominance” agenda on tribal nations’ ancestral lands. Altogether, the changes represent a shift in the way that tribal nations — and the public — are able to have a say in how land in the Western U.S. is managed… “It’s all predicated on something that isn’t true: We don’t have an energy emergency,” Gussie Lord, managing attorney at Earthjustice’s Tribal Partnerships Programs, told HCN. Chipping away at public input and tribal consultation will only exacerbate issues that tribal nations face, Lord told HCN. “A lot of their resources, their cultural and environmental resources often are one and the same. The existing laws and regulations that we have are already insufficiently protective of tribal rights and resources.”
STATE UPDATES
Daily Montanan: Montana youth argue for 9th Circuit court to allow climate change case to proceed
Micah Drew, 4/13/26
“Attorneys for a coalition of youth who challenged a series of President Donald Trump’s executive orders related to energy and climate change last year argued before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to allow their case to move forward,” the Daily Montanan reports. “The U.S. District Court in Montana, which dismissed the claims in Lighthiser v. Trump, erred by ruling it did not have jurisdiction to offer sweeping relief in reviewing the legality of the executive orders, argued attorney Julia Olsen with Our Children’s Trust, the nonprofit law firm representing the youth. “Beyond question, the federal judiciary retains the authority to adjudicate constitutional challenges to executive action,” Olsen said, citing recent circuit court decisions. “And so we think there’s a clear power of Article Three here to provide redress and to remand for the merits.” Attorneys for the federal government and Montana pushed back against Olsen’s arguments during the April 13 hearing, saying rolling back the three executive orders would not not provide the plaintiffs with any relief and that the court correctly ruled it did not have the power to take up the issue… “Lighthiser v. Trump is one of a series of youth-led climate change lawsuits brought by Our Children’s Trust, an Oregon-based advocacy law firm. The case involves a group of youth plaintiffs from other climate change lawsuits, including Juliana v. United States and a landmark Montana case, Held v. Montana, along with youth from Florida, California Hawaii and Oregon.”
WAFB: Opponents to Ascension carbon capture facility raise concerns ahead of LDEQ hearing
Colin Vedros, 4/13/26
“The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) will hold an air permit hearing Thursday, April 16, for a proposed facility that will store carbon dioxide into the ground to eliminate emissions,” WAFB reports. “Before the hearing, opponents of the facility raised concerns about possible health and environmental risks at a town hall on Monday, April 13… “But some residents near the facility say the proposed project is too close to their communities and want more answers. “Silence is not an option,” Edwin Soule, a Hammond resident, told WAFB. Soule told WAFB environmental health is his top concern and wants answers about what could happen if there’s a problem with stored carbon dioxide. “What happens if a leakage occurs? You know, but it’s not a permanent solution. And we need to look at permanent solutions,” Soule told WAFB. Environmental advocacy group Earthworks and others held the town hall Monday night about the proposed Air Products plant in Ascension Parish. Organizers said for years, residents have asked questions — not just of Air Products — but of their elected leaders. They said public engagement has been limited. “Carbon capture and storage does not work. It’s never worked anywhere to scale anywhere in the world. And that it poses a great danger to neighborhoods,” said Kaitlyn Joshua, Gulf Coast campaigner for Earthworks. The town hall brought together people from five parishes ahead of Thursday’s public hearing with the state Department of Environmental Quality… “Opponents say CCS can create safety risks if there’s a leak — pointing to a past incident in Mississippi as an example.”
E&E News: Hawaii’s Democratic governor faces blowback for embrace of LNG
Jason Plautz, Carlos Anchondo, 4/14/26
“Hawaii was barely a half-century into statehood when in 2015 it set the nation’s first mandate to free itself from fossil fuels,” E&E News reports. “Now experts say that decarbonization goal could be at odds with a renewed push to bring natural gas to the state by a patchwork coalition that includes the Trump administration, Japan’s largest power company and Democratic Gov. Josh Green. The group aims to invest billions of dollars in natural gas infrastructure on Oahu, Hawaii’s most populous island, as a way to add more reliability to the state’s aging electrical grid. But opponents warn the move could lock-in a planet-warming power source that will imperil the state’s long-term climate goals. “I don’t see any way how a commitment to extending our dependence on imported fuels outside of our control meets the spirit and the letter of the law,” state Sen. Chris Lee (D), who sponsored the 2015 climate measure, told E&E.”
Natural Gas Intelligence: Texas Regulator Warns of Iranian Cybersecurity Threats Against Oil, Natural Gas Infrastructure
Jamison Cocklin, 4/14/26
“State and federal regulators are stepping up warnings that Iranian affiliates could target critical U.S. infrastructure with cyberattacks as no diplomatic solution appears in store to end the Middle East conflict,” Natural Gas Intelligence reports.
Politico: The carbon credit conundrum
Camille von Kaenel, 4/13/26
“California lawmakers have spent years trying to clean up the market that lets companies claim they’ve canceled out their emissions. Now, with lawsuits mounting and companies backing away, the goal may be shifting: just keep it alive,” Politico reports. “The voluntary carbon market, which allows companies to purchase credits to offset their carbon emissions via forests and industrial carbon-sucking machines, among other things, has been having a rough time… “All of that is the backdrop for Assemblymember Chris Rogers’ AB 1911, which is facing its first hearing in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee on Monday afternoon. The proposal would effectively set a new worldwide protection for companies making climate claims tied to carbon credits. As drafted, it would create a “safe harbor” from greenwashing lawsuits for companies as long as they showed their credits met standards approved by the California Air Resources Board, the International Civil Aviation Organization or the Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets… “The same divide is beginning to reemerge, with carbon credit registries supporting AB 1911 and environmental justice advocates still skeptical. “It’s problematic,” UC Berkeley researcher Barbara Haya told Politico. “It’s so broad it essentially allows the entire voluntary carbon market to avoid California’s consumer protections against false environmental claims, even when there are well-known quality issues with these credits.”
EXTRACTION
The Energy Mix: In a First, Renewables Beat Natural Gas on U.S. Grid Last Month
Dan McCarthy, 4/14/26
“It’s not an easy moment for renewable energy in the U.S., but the sector is still setting new records,” The Energy Mix reports. “Just look at what happened last month: Over the course of March, the nation got more electricity from renewable energy than it did from natural gas, which is typically the single-largest source of energy on the U.S. grid. It’s the first time renewables have bested the fossil fuel in the U.S. across an entire month, per data pulled from the think tank Ember. Meanwhile, emissions-free sources, a category that includes both renewables and nuclear, produced more than half of the nation’s electricity. It’s just the third time that’s happened across an entire month, the first instance being last March… “ust five years ago, the gap between gas and even the best months for renewables was yawning. Since then, the gap has narrowed, thanks in large part to the rapid expansion of solar and the steady growth of wind power… “Renewables have crossed this threshold amid serious political pushback…”But perhaps more impressive is that renewables are growing their market share while overall electricity demand climbs. Put simply, clean energy is taking a bigger slice of a growing pie.”
OPINION
Cherokee Chronicle Times: Pipeline pressure... phone calls, harassing visits, coercion, intimidation and donuts
Kathy Carter, Rockford, 4/9/26
“Interesting that IRFA’s Monte Shaw (Letter to the Editor, April 2, 2026) portrays landowners wishing to protect property rights as “noise.” He refers to a “supermajority” of landowners who “support” the [Summit] project. Let’s review how that “supermajority” was attained,” Kathy Carter writes for the Cherokee Chronicle Times. “...At that phase of the project, landowners were told “No matter what happens to the project, you get to keep the money.” “You’d better sign now, because you won’t get as good an offer later.” “You should sign now, otherwise it will go to eminent domain and you won’t get anything.” “You might as well sign; all of your neighbors have.” (Not true!) Land agents descended on confused and bewildered landowners, took donuts to residents in nursing homes, coerced vulnerable widows, made repeated calls and visits to people who had said no. ( I was one of them — more than 30 phone calls and three knocks on my door — and other landowners were harassed a lot more than I was.) And before this ever happened, the Governor had appointed her “Sequestration Task Force” and loaded it with lobbyists for Summit, investors in Summit and representatives of utility companies… “So, the real noise is that this “supermajority” was actually acquired using unethical, intimidating tactics. Once the easements were signed, there was no going back… “Numerous reports prove that corn prices are under pressure not because of weak demand, but of record production. Corn exports are surging. Ethanol exports have hit record highs, with exports to more than 80 countries, some specifically to countries with clean fuel programs. In 2025, Golden Grain paid its fourth highest shares in 20 years; Absolute Energy paid over $5,700 per share in 2025. Without pipelines.”
The Hub: Canada has 83% support for oil export diversification—yet incentives still favour new pipelines to the U.S.
Heather Exner-Pirot, 4/13/26
“Eighty-three percent of Canadians support expanding oil and gas exports outside of the United States, and 68 percent back a new pipeline to the B.C. coast, according to a late-2025 Ipsos poll. Yet as Hub contributor Heather Exner-Pirot wrote in The Hub, new pipeline egress will primarily head south to the United States, not west to Asia, in the coming years,” The Hub reports. “...And yet over 90 percent of that crude still flows to a single customer: the United States. This concentration of export dependency has always been a vulnerability. It is now an active liability. Canada must at least prepare for a scenario of universal tariffs on all exports to the U.S. The geopolitical logic for diversification has never been stronger. President Trump’s rhetoric about Canada as a potential “51st state” from which the U.S. “needed nothing” made the strategic exposure unmistakable. The November memorandum of understanding between Ottawa and Alberta—which outlines a path toward a million-barrel-a-day pipeline to the B.C. coast, paired with carbon capture commitments and Indigenous co-ownership—represents the most serious diversification effort in a generation… “Pipeline companies will not invest billions without firm shipping commitments. Producers will not invest in output growth without certainty of new export capacity. Neither will move without federal regulatory reform. The memories of Keystone XL’s cancellation, the cost overruns of the early 2010s megaproject era, and billions in stranded-barrel losses have created an industry culture of deep institutional caution. The Ottawa-Alberta MOU is a necessary first step, but it remains a memorandum, not a pipeline. The gap between announcement and steel in the ground is where every previous diversification effort has died. Northern Gateway was approved and then killed. Keystone XL survived multiple political cycles before succumbing. Energy East was abandoned. The pattern is not subtle… “The question is whether this consensus will translate into infrastructure before the next political cycle, the next regulatory challenge, or the next commodity downturn extinguishes it. History suggests the window for action is shorter than anyone in Ottawa assumes.”
New York Times: Gun Manufacturers Won the Ultimate Legal Shield. Big Oil Wants That, Too.
Dave Jones is the director of the Climate Risk Initiative at the University of California, Berkeley, and was California’s insurance commissioner from 2011 through 2018, 4/13/26
“As far back as the 1970s, some of the world’s largest oil corporations were aware that burning their products could have potentially catastrophic consequences. But they withheld the evidence, carried out a decades-long campaign that misled the public about climate science and fought the transition to cleaner and cheaper energy sources,” Dave Jones writes for the New York Times. “Eventually scientists and activists took oil and gas companies to court to try to get them to pay for their deceptive campaign and the potentially trillions of dollars in damages from disasters made worse by a climate warmed by their products. Now the fossil fuel industry has mounted a carefully orchestrated campaign to stop these cases. Backed by the Trump administration, the industry is seeking to block all climate lawsuits that seek compensation from fossil fuel producers for damages. Last month Utah became the first state to enact a law that shields companies from such climate-related claims, and Republican lawmakers have introduced similar bills in Iowa, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Tennessee. But the biggest prize the industry is after would come from Congress: total legal immunity from liability in climate cases. Putting any industry above the law — especially one responsible for creating many of the greenhouse gas emissions that have helped fuel climate-related destruction of homes, businesses and whole communities — would be beyond dangerous. If Big Oil gets its wish, it would be an injustice with lasting and cascading harm. The question of whether the industry can be held accountable for the damage from climate change is coming to a head in part because at the end of February — following the urging of the Trump administration and over 100 House Republicans — the Supreme Court announced it would hear arguments about whether the industry can be sued under state law over its role in global warming… “How the Supreme Court rules could have profound implications for dozens of other states and municipalities seeking similar recourse against oil companies. But the Supreme Court is not where the industry’s efforts to evade any accountability end. Oil and gas companies have also been lobbying Congress for a legal shield that would block communities from trying to hold them responsible for climate-linked damage… “If Big Oil were to secure immunity from liability for climate damage, the public would keep paying for the costs of climate change, while the fossil fuel companies most responsible for them would continue to pay nothing. As climate disasters mount, and the Trump administration slashes federal disaster response, the most important thing members of Congress can do is protect their constituents’ ability to make polluters pay.”
New Scientist: A key solution to climate change isn’t happening – and that’s good
Michael Le Page, 4/13/26
“Removing CO2 from the atmosphere by capturing the carbon from burning biomass is supposed to save the planet, but it looks like the flagship project will never happen,” Michael Le Page writes for New Scientist. “You’ve probably seen those nice graphs showing carbon dioxide levels and temperatures falling towards the end of the century. How is this miracle meant to be achieved? The idea is that we harvest plants, burn them for energy and then capture and store the CO2. Voila, problem solved! Except bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, or BECCS, as this idea is known, is turning out to be an unmitigated disaster. It isn’t being rolled out on anything like the scale required, in part because it’s ridiculously expensive, would be catastrophic for biodiversity if it was done on this scale and, last but far from least, it doesn’t even work. It actually increases CO2 emissions rather than reducing them on the timescales that matter.”