EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 4/4/23
PIPELINE NEWS
Reuters: Mountain Valley Pipeline's West Virginia water permit tossed by court
Washington Post: Controversial pipeline blocked — again — over impact on water quality
Appalachian Voices: Court vacates critical West Virginia water permit for Mountain Valley Pipeline
KCHA: As Expected, House Carbon Pipeline Bills Stalls in Senate
Monroe News: As legal sparring continues, Army Corps pushes Line 5 permit timeline to 2025
WIBW: Mill Creek cleanup continues months after Keystone Pipeline oil spill
Louisiana Weekly: Lake Charles group forms to dismantle eminent domain laws
OilPrice.com: Hydrogen Pipeline System Is Starting To Take Shape In Europe
WASHINGTON UPDATES
White House: Joint Statement on U.S.-EU Task Force on Energy Security
Lexology: White House CEQ Launches Task Forces to Promote Beneficial CCUS Projects
Washington Post: Biden administration announces investments in ‘energy communities’
STATE UPDATES
Associated Press: Alaska oil plan opponents lose 1st fight over Willow project
Politico: Environmentalists Alarmed By Push To ‘Undermine’ New York’s Climate Law
KQED: Could Carbon Removal Be California's Next Big Boom Industry?
Nevada Independent: A federal climate bill promised to fix oil leasing. But are the reforms being implemented?
EXTRACTION
Associated Press: Methane from Gulf oil production undercounted — study
Canadian Press: Syncrude Canada faces five charges in death of worker at oilsands project in 2021
The Energy Mix: Fossils Crave ‘Certainty’ after Federal Budget ‘Kicks CCS Down the Road’
Guardian: Revealed: UAE plans huge oil and gas expansion as it hosts UN climate summit
CLIMATE FINANCE
Press release: New TV Ad Targets Vanguard Customers, Employees: “If it’s bad for the environment, it’s bad for your retirement”
OPINION
Bridge Michigan: Opinion | Line 5 critics aren’t serious about environmental protection
PIPELINE NEWS
Reuters: Mountain Valley Pipeline's West Virginia water permit tossed by court
Clark Mindock, 4/3/23
“A federal appeals court on Monday vacated a water permit needed by developers to restart construction on the Mountain Valley pipeline in West Virginia, marking the latest setback for the $6.2 billion project,” Reuters reports. “The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found several defects in the review the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection conducted before issuing the permit. Construction can't restart in the state until the agency reconsiders the permit, which is needed before the 303-mile proposed pipeline can cross through the state’s streams and wetlands. A spokesperson for developer Equitrans Midstream Corp told Reuters the company is reviewing the decision, adding the project has undergone "unprecedented" environmental reviews and is being built to "higher environmental standards than any similar project" in the state. Landowners and environmental groups including the Sierra Club sued in 2022, asking the 4th Circuit to toss the permit. They told the court the agency ignored Equitrans' history of violating state water regulations when it issued the permit under the Clean Water Act. A unanimous three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit agreed those violations, which included 139 state stormwater permit violations and dozens of state water quality standards violations, warranted closer scrutiny… “The bulk of the unfinished portions of the pipeline either cross streams and rivers or go through the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia. The federal government is currently considering whether to reissue a permit for the forest crossing, and the 4th Circuit last month upheld a Virginia water permit needed for stream crossings in the state.”
Washington Post: Controversial pipeline blocked — again — over impact on water quality
Rachel Weiner, 4/4/23
“A controversial mid-Atlantic natural gas pipeline project held up for years in litigation won a rare victory in federal court last week. It was short-lived,” the Washington Post reports. “Days after blessing a permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline to cross streams and wetlands in Virginia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit said the company could not move forward in neighboring West Virginia. The difference, according to the court, is that West Virginia assumed the pipeline builders would comply with state storm water and water quality requirements despite finding that they had violated both many times… “Dirty water from pipeline construction sites has also been reported by Virginians along the construction path, and Mountain Valley Pipeline settled with the state for $2.15 million over alleged failures to control sediment and storm water runoff. But Virginia regulators did not find that those failures violated water quality standards, unlike regulators in West Virginia who found dozens of those violations… “The environmental groups that challenged both permits argued in their briefs that Virginia officials failed to properly evaluate the pipeline’s impact on water quality… “The project, on hold since late 2021, needs approval from both states to move forward with the 303-mile route… “The pipeline has faced so many setbacks in the Fourth Circuit that Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) unsuccessfully tried to make approval of the project a condition of last year’s climate bill.”
Appalachian Voices: Court vacates critical West Virginia water permit for Mountain Valley Pipeline
4/3/23
“Today, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit vacated the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Clean Water Act § 401 certification for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, finding that the agency’s justification behind its conclusion that the pipeline would not violate the state’s water quality standards was deficient… “Mountain Valley Pipeline has devastated water resources in West Virginia, receiving citations for scores of violations of water quality standards and racking up at least $550,000 in fines for failing to timely and adequately control runoff along the construction route. The court identified multiple failures by West Virginia in issuing the certificate. Specifically, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection did not sufficiently address the history of MVP’s water quality violations, did not include a condition requiring MVP to comply with the construction stormwater protection permit, and did not adequately explain why they waived review of location-specific antidegradation policy. Without a § 401 water quality certification from West Virginia, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cannot issue the related Clean Water Act § 404 water quality permit that MVP needs for its stream and wetland crossings. In addition, MVP still has not received authorization to cross the Jefferson National Forest. Now that the developers behind the MVP will have to reapply for a 401 water quality certification in West Virginia, the timetable for the project is even more uncertain. “Today’s ruling uplifts the tireless efforts of every single coalition member and volunteer fighting to protect land, water and people,” said Russell Chisholm, managing director for the Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights Coalition. “Mountain Valley Pipeline’s assurances don’t match the facts as documented in violation after violation. MVP should abandon their ill-fated project because we will defend every stream and river crossing that can still be saved from permanent harm.”
KCHA: As Expected, House Carbon Pipeline Bills Stalls in Senate
Mark Pitz, 4/3/23
“As expected, a House-passed bill to set new guidelines for development of carbon pipelines was tabled last week in the Senate,” KCHA reports. “The bill would have required developers like Summit Carbon Solutions and Navigator CO2 Ventures, which target Floyd and Chickasaw counties among others to construct the underground pipelines, to get voluntary access to 90 percent of the properties along the pipeline routes before eminent domain authority could be used to force the other landowners to grant access to their property. While that bill was not considered in the senate, Republican Majority Leader Jack Whitver told KCHA the conversation isn’t over… “Republican State Senator Sandy Salmon, who represents District 29 including Chickasaw, Bremer, Butler and most of Floyd counties, told KCHA, “It is disappointing and dismaying to see that nothing has been taken up. But the session is not over yet and leaders can still take it up and those of us supporting property rights protections will continue to urge them to do so.” It’s possible the Iowa Utilities Board review of the three proposed pipeline projects will not be completed before the 2024 legislature reconvenes.”
Monroe News: As legal sparring continues, Army Corps pushes Line 5 permit timeline to 2025
Ren Brabenec, 4/4/23
“The future of Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline remains unclear as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently pushed the permitting timeline to spring 2025,” the Monroe News reports. “As the twin oil pipelines at the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac turn 70 years old, the proposed Enbridge Line 5 Tunnel Project has been delayed at least another two years, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District… “After receiving more than 17,000 public comments, the Army Corps of Engineers said it needed more time to consider the environmental impacts of the tunnel… “Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy expressed disappointment at the delay. “While we are supportive of a thorough, comprehensive, and carefully considered permitting process that ensures adequate opportunity for review and comment, we are disappointed with the extended timeline for a project of this scope,” Duffy told the News… “Critics of the tunnel say no oil should be transported through the Straits, as a spill could devastate more than 700 miles of shoreline. Critics cite Enbridge’s 2010 spill and the devastation it caused as evidence that Line 5 needs to go… “The devastation of the 2010 spill galvanized millions of Michigan residents to oppose Line 5. All 12 federally recognized Indigenous tribes in Michigan have opposed the continued operation of the pipeline and the proposed tunnel, saying a spill in the Straits would be catastrophic… “Enbridge’s tunnel proposition may have been pushed to 2025, but litigation seeking to void Enbridge’s use of the 1953 Line 5 easement remains ongoing. In February 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan — which last August shot down Nessel’s attempt to bring the case back to state court — made way for Nessel to appeal that decision to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The issue of which court holds jurisdiction over the lawsuit is a crucial detail in the legal battle because legal scholars have said a Michigan state court is more likely to rule in favor of Nessel. In contrast, Enbridge would be more likely to prevail in federal court. No decisions have been reached at this time.”
WIBW: Mill Creek cleanup continues months after Keystone Pipeline oil spill
Sarah Motter, 4/3/23
“Personnel remain on scene as cleanup efforts at Mill Creek continue into April following the December Keystone Pipeline oil spill,” WIBW reports. “The Environmental Protection Agency announced that its on-scene coordinators will remain at the site of the Keystone Pipeline rupture which discharged 14,000 barrels of oil into Washington County’s Mill Creek in early December. Since the spill happened, the EPA said it has deployed more than 30 members to provide technical advice and assistance to support the response. It has also used contractor resources to provide on-the-scene and remote technical support to the responding team members… “The installation of a temporary water diversion system in January produced two beneficial results: A reduction in oil-related contaminants that impacts the surface water downstream of the oil-impacted segment of Mill Creek; The ability to conduct submerged oil assessments and perform cleanup of submerged oil from the creek bed, sediment and shoreline of Mill Creek… “It also said additional personnel remains on-scene to build a higher capacity diversion system and two surface water treatment impoundments. These allow for the separation of oil and water to happen on-scene. The EPA also noted that the separated water will then be treated and tested to ensure it meets discharge limits established by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment before it can be put back into the creek downstream of the oil spill.”
Louisiana Weekly: Lake Charles group forms to dismantle eminent domain laws
Ryan Whirty, 4/3/23
“With the help of a national organization dedicated to stopping the use of eminent domain laws that allow petrochemical companies to seize private property, southwest Louisiana property owners have joined with an organization recently formed to combat the construction of pipelines and other gas-industry related infrastructure through their community,” the Louisiana Weekly reports. “Defend Our Land, a Lake Charles-based organization, has been formed as a branch of the national Property Rights and Pipeline Center, which is committed to battling the legal mechanisms that allow oil and gas companies to snatch private property without landowner consent… “Defend Our Land has targeted two proposed gas projects in particular. One would construct a natural-gas pipeline through Cameron Parish as well as neighboring communities. The other project on the boards would run a carbon dioxide pipeline underneath Lake Maurepas, infrastructure that opponents believe could expose the lake and neighboring communities to millions of tons of toxic materials a year… “Lori Simmons, the Texas/Louisi-ana community organizer for PRPC, told the Weekly the organization has so far been able to spread the word through affected communities… “She told the Weekly some citizens have alleged outright dishonesty on the part of the company, which reportedly tries to exploit residents’ naiveté and ignorance about land-use and property-rights issues. “They tell stories of the company representatives often lying [and] saying things that are misleading, and tak[ing] advantage of people who don’t know their landowner rights. The land agents will say, ‘All of your neighbors have signed, you’re the only hold-out,’ even if that is not true. And no one ever follows up to make sure people on the pipeline route were even notified properly. We often come across landowners who say ‘I didn’t know that – the PL company didn’t tell me that.’” She added that she “also see[s] landowners that have been devastated by the news of all the proposed projects coming into the area.”
OilPrice.com: Hydrogen Pipeline System Is Starting To Take Shape In Europe
Rystad Energy, 4/3/23
“New hydrogen infrastructure is starting to materialize as the world seeks to accelerate its path to net zero,” OilPrice.com reports. “There are very few shortcuts to a sustainable future and simply switching existing oil and gas infrastructure to hydrogen is not always viable. At the heart of this challenge is physics, hydrogen has a high gravimetric energy density and a low volumetric energy density. This means that among options, hydrogen pipelines will be far better than vessels at moving hydrogen over short to medium range distances. Today, over 4,300 kilometers already exists for hydrogen transportation with over 90% located in Europe and North America. Rystad Energy estimates that there are about 91 planned pipeline projects in the world, totaling 30,300 kilometers and due to come online by around 2035… “As supply scales up and moves from areas with abundant and renewable energy to demand centers, long transmission lines will be a necessity and these pipelines would require larger diameters and higher pressure for cost effectiveness and consequently higher steel grades… “According to Rystad Energy research, Spain, France, and Germany are among the countries committed or considering cross border pipelines to facilitate energy flows, while the UK with its extensive gas grid finds itself in a fantastic position to switch from natural gas to hydrogen.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
White House: Joint Statement on U.S.-EU Task Force on Energy Security
4/3/23
“One year ago this week, the United States and the European Union (EU) stood up a joint U.S.-EU Task Force on Energy Security launched by President Biden and President von der Leyen. The Task Force has made major progress in meeting its goals to reduce the EU’s reliance on Russian energy, including by diversifying its natural gas supplies in alignment with its climate objectives and reducing its overall demand for natural gas. The United States more than doubled its target to ensure delivery of an additional 15 billion cubic meters (bcm) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the EU. Last year, U.S. exports to the EU were 56 bcm, up from 22 bcm in 2021… “In the coming months, the Task Force will continue to work on keeping a high level of U.S. LNG supplies to Europe in 2023 of at least 50 bcm. This is necessary given the challenging supply situation and the need to ensure storage filling for the next winter 2023-24… “Further, the Task Force will help to implement U.S. and EU efforts to reduce methane emissions, both in bilateral trade and at the global level, by supporting domestic and international measures to promote increased monitoring, reporting, and verification, as well as transparency, for methane emissions data in the fossil fuel sector. As discussed at the Task Force meeting in November 2022, both sides also plan to pursue initiatives to reduce flaring, venting, and leakage in oil and gas value chains, including through innovative purchasing frameworks to incentivize the capture of this gas to bring to market such as the EU’s proposed “you collect, we buy” approach. The Task Force will further facilitate these efforts to reduce methane emissions and increase the liquidity of natural gas that minimizes flaring, methane, and CO2 emissions across the value chain.”
Lexology: White House CEQ Launches Task Forces to Promote Beneficial CCUS Projects
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, 4/3/23
“The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) announced on March 24, 2023 membership in two new task forces to inform responsible development of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration (CCUS). The task forces are required by the Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies (USE IT) Act. They have a broad mandate to provide recommendations that ensure CCUS projects – including carbon dioxide pipelines – are permitted in an efficiant manner, reflect the input and needs of a wide range of stakeholders, and deliver benefits rather than harms to local communities. CEQ noted. One task force will focus on CCUS permitting and development issues on Federal lands and the Outer Continental Shelf. The other will focus on CCUS permitting and development issues on non-Federal lands… “CEQ provided greater specificity on the missions of these Task Forces in its published invitation for nominations, stating the duties of the Non-Federal Task Force will be to: Inventory existing or potential Federal and state approaches to facilitate reviews associated with the deployment of CCUS projects and carbon dioxide pipelines, including best practices that avoid duplicative reviews to the extent permitted by law; engage stakeholders early in the permitting process; and make the permitting process efficient, orderly, and responsible; Develop common models for state level carbon dioxide pipeline regulation and oversight guidelines that can be shared with states in the geographical area covered by the Non-Federal Task Force; inventory current or emerging activities that transform captured carbon dioxide into a product of commercial value, or as an input to products of commercial value… “The individuals announced as members of the task forces will be formally appointed once the task forces are chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act.”
Washington Post: Biden administration announces investments in ‘energy communities’
Maxine Joselow, 4/4/23
“The Biden administration on Tuesday announced new investments in “energy communities,” or places that have historically relied on fossil fuels to power their economies,” the Washington Post reports. “The investments include: The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service will release guidance on how developers of clean-energy projects can claim billions of dollars in “bonus” tax credits for projects in energy communities under the Inflation Reduction Act; Treasury and IRS will partner with the Interagency Working Group on Energy Communities to provide a searchable mapping tool that helps identify areas that may be eligible for the bonus credits; The Energy Department will allocate $450 million from the bipartisan infrastructure law to advance renewable projects on lands that have been used for coal mining…”
STATE UPDATES
Associated Press: Alaska oil plan opponents lose 1st fight over Willow project
BECKY BOHRER, 4/4/23
“Environmentalists lost the first round of their legal battle over a major oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope on Monday as a judge rejected their requests to halt immediate construction work related to the Willow project, but they vowed not to give up,” the Associated Press reports. “The court’s decision means ConocoPhillips Alaska can forge ahead with cold-weather construction work, including mining gravel and using it for a road toward the Willow project. Environmentalists worry that noise from blasting and road construction could affect caribou. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason said she took into account support for the project by Alaska political leaders — including state lawmakers and Alaska’s bipartisan congressional delegation. She said she also gave “considerable weight” to the support for Willow by an Alaska Native village corporation, an Alaska Native regional corporation and the North Slope Borough, while also recognizing that project support among Alaska Natives is not unanimous. Environmental groups and an Alaska Native organization, Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, had asked Gleason to delay construction related to Willow while their lawsuits are pending. They ultimately want Gleason to overturn the project’s approval, saying the U.S. Bureau of Land Management failed to consider an adequate range of alternatives… “Bridget Psarianos, lead staff attorney with Trustees for Alaska, told AP that Gleason’s decision is “heartbreaking for all who want to protect local communities and prevent more devastating climate impacts in the Arctic and around the world. We will do everything we can to protect the region while the merits of our case get heard.”
Politico: Environmentalists Alarmed By Push To ‘Undermine’ New York’s Climate Law
Marie J. French, 4/2/23
“Gov. Kathy Hochul is supportive of the change, which was also proposed in a bill sponsored by Energy Committee Chair Sen. Kevin Parker on Monday, and it has come up in budget negotiations,” Politico reports. “Some other Senate Democrats are not supportive of the proposal. ‘The 20-year methane accounting reflects the reality of the climate impact of burning natural gas,” said Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan), who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee, in a statement. “It is one of the strongest parts of the [state’s climate law]. Giving in to the polluter lobby by weakening our methane accounting will kneecap all our efforts going forward.’ New York is the one of only two jurisdictions to use a 20-year time horizon to account for the damaging effects of planet-warming gasses instead of 100 years. Maryland’s 2022 climate law also uses the 20-year metric. This important distinction was a key provision pushed by supporters of the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act passed in 2019. It makes methane, the main component of natural gas, more potent than under the longer accounting timeline. Backers tell Politico this more accurately reflects the short-term warming impact of greenhouse gasses and the urgency around reducing emissions.”
KQED: Could Carbon Removal Be California's Next Big Boom Industry?
Laura Klivans, 3/30/23
“...Those corn stalks, leaves and cobs would normally get plowed back into the field they came from in Half Moon Bay, or be left to decompose, releasing the carbon inside them back into the atmosphere. Only some of these leftovers are needed to maintain soil health and prevent erosion,” KQED reports. “The rest will get ground down to dust, injected into the 1,000-degree belly of a large metal cylinder — called a pyrolyzer — and be transformed within seconds into three products: a gas, an ash — or “char” — and a viscous black goo that looks like molasses and smells like barbecue sauce, called bio-oil. “The gas is then burned to heat the process,” Kinetic, co-founder of the company Charm Industrial, told KQED. “The char is returned to the field as a soil additive, and the bio-oil is pumped underground as a permanent carbon-removal technology.” Charm has sequestered some 6,000 tons of carbon since 2020, when Kinetic, who has a background in aerospace engineering, first invented the bio-oil sequestration technology… “The company uses physical equipment and even old, abandoned oil wells to send the bio-oil underground — one of the many approaches in the burgeoning field of carbon removal… “Unlike carbon capture, which involves trapping polluting greenhouse gasses at their source of emissions, carbon removal entails pulling the gas out of the atmosphere through either nature-based approaches, like conserving existing wetlands, or technological methods, like the one used by Charm… “Decades ago, San Francisco and the Bay Area were home to the explosion of the information technology sector,” Assemblymember Matt Haney, a San Francisco Democrat, told KQED. “It started small and then it grew to transform the world. We want to have the Bay Area be the similar home for carbon capture and carbon removal.”
Nevada Independent: A federal climate bill promised to fix oil leasing. But are the reforms being implemented?
Claire Carlson, 4/2/23
“Despite its reputation as the largest climate bill ever enacted in the United States, the Inflation Reduction Act passed last year did not trigger an end to leasing federal public land to drill for fossil fuels, as some environmental groups had advocated for,” the Nevada Independent reports. “The legislation did, however, tighten the rules for oil and gas leasing. It implemented reforms to a process that has long benefited the fossil fuel industry, especially in Nevada where there is rampant speculative leasing in which companies lease public land but fail to develop the parcels, preventing the land from being managed for other interests, including for conservation. Or at least that was the intent. Although the law is meant to clamp down on speculative leasing, an upcoming lease sale in Nevada has several environmental groups concerned the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which oversees federal land, is shirking the required reforms… “In November, an internal U.S. Bureau of Land Management memorandum provided more detail for how the new oil and gas reforms should be enforced by employees. It recommended federal land managers reject all nominations that are over three years old or submitted anonymously. But in Nevada, 31 of the 35 land parcels — a total of roughly 63,000 acres — being considered for a lease sale in July meet that criteria for rejection, according to an analysis from the Center for Western Priorities, a conservation advocacy organization. Some environmental groups see the July lease sale as a test of how the administration implements the reforms across the region. And it comes at a time when federal land managers are looking to strengthen protections for public land. Earlier this week, the Bureau of Land Management announced it was accepting public comment on a proposed rule that environmentalists said would better balance restoration and conservation with fossil fuel extraction and energy development.”
EXTRACTION
Associated Press: Methane from Gulf oil production undercounted — study
4/423
“Offshore oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico are releasing far more climate-changing methane than official estimates show, according to a new study published Monday,” the Associated Press reports. “Using data collected from aircraft in part, climate scientists found the additional methane coming from oil and gas platforms in the Gulf region raises their carbon intensity — the amount of climate-changing gas per unit of energy in the fuel — to twice as much as estimated by U.S. agencies like the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Reductions in both methane and carbon dioxide emissions are essential to lessen the future severity of climate change, the study notes. "You don't have to travel halfway around the world to find unusually high emissions in oil and gas fields," Rob Jackson, a Stanford University climate scientist who was not involved in the study, told AP. "It's happening right here in our backyards."
Canadian Press: Syncrude Canada faces five charges in death of worker at oilsands project in 2021
4/3/23
“Oilsands giant Syncrude Canada Ltd. has been charged in the death of a worker north of Fort McMurray, Alta.,” the Canadian Press reports. “The Alberta government says on June 6, 2021, in Fort McKay a worker was operating an excavator to build a berm when the bank slumped into the water. It says the cab of the excavator was fully submerged and the worker drowned. Syncrude faces charges under Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, including failure to ensure the health and safety of a worker. Other charges include failure to ensure the health and safety of their worker by permitting the worker to operate the excavator on a ramp with an over-steepened slope, failure to comply with Energy Safety Canada safety rules, and other offences.”
The Energy Mix: Fossils Crave ‘Certainty’ after Federal Budget ‘Kicks CCS Down the Road’
4/3/23
“Canada’s fossil industry is still looking for greater certainty about the future of its proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, in spite of a pledge in last Tuesday’s federal budget to support major emissions-reducing projects,” The Energy Mix reports. “Look, we have set some very aggressive climate targets in Canada. You can’t kick the can down the road,” carbon capture advocate James Millar told The Canadian Press, arguing that’s exactly what the federal government did when it provided no additional details around its previously stated intention to reduce the risk of investing in pricey emissions-reduction projects by essentially guaranteeing the future price of carbon. “...While Canada has already announced an investment tax credit that will help to offset some of the up-front capital costs of carbon capture projects, companies have so far been hesitant to pull the trigger and go ahead with proposed large-scale projects. The Pathways Alliance, for example, a consortium of oilsands companies, has proposed building a $16.5-billion carbon capture and storage transportation line to combat emissions from existing oil sands infrastructure in northern Alberta. But the group has not yet made a final investment decision, saying it needs to know its project will be competitive with those in the U.S. before proceeding… “But Greg Pardy of RBC Capital said in a research note that in spite of some “enhancements” to the previously announced investment tax credit, budgetary support for carbon capture and storage was “somewhat limited—perhaps even disappointing.” “In our view, Canada’s federal government needs to shift into much higher gear when it comes to incentivizing decarbonization investment if it is to achieve its bold climate change ambitions,” Pardy said. A report from BMO Capital Markets published just before the release of Tuesday’s budget said Canada’s policy framework for large-scale deployment of carbon capture and storage disadvantages producers here compared to the U.S., “despite claims to the contrary from some proponents of the environmental lobby.” Climate community analysts have been critical of any additional federal support for carbon capture, calling it akin to a subsidy for oil and gas companies that enables them to increase production when the world should be scaling down fossil fuel usage.”
Guardian: Revealed: UAE plans huge oil and gas expansion as it hosts UN climate summit
Damian Carrington, 4/4/23
“The United Arab Emirates, which is hosting this year’s UN climate summit, has the third biggest net zero-busting plans for oil and gas expansion in the world,” the Guardian reports. “...The CEO of the UAE’s national oil company, Adnoc, has been controversially appointed president of the UN’s Cop28 summit in December, which is seen as crucial with time running out to end the climate crisis. But Sultan Al Jaber is overseeing expansion to produce oil and gas equivalent to 7.5bn barrels of oil, according to new data, 90% of which would have to remain in the ground to meet the net zero scenario set out by the International Energy Agency. Adnoc is the world’s 11th biggest oil and gas producer and delivered more than a billion barrels of oil equivalent (BBOE) in 2021. However, the company has big short-term expansion plans, the new analysis shows, with plans to add 7.6 BBOE to its production portfolio in the coming years – the fifth largest increase in the world… “In November 2022, Adnoc announced a $150bn investment over five years to enable an “accelerated growth strategy” for oil and gas production. Independent experts rate the UAE’s climate targets and policies as “highly insufficient”, while the UN secretary general recently called for the “ceasing [of] all licensing or funding of new oil and gas”. Recent statements by Al Jaber also appear difficult to reconcile with Adnoc’s huge plans for new oil and gas production. At a “Road to Cop28” conference in Dubai on 15 March, Al Jaber said: “We [the world] have to rapidly reduce emissions.” The following day, at an International Energy Agency roundtable event, he said: “Oil and gas companies need to align around net zero.” In February, Al Jaber said: “We in the UAE are not shying away from the energy transition. We are running towards it.” Just 10% of Adnoc’s expansion is compatible with the IEA’s scenario for the world to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Press release: New TV Ad Targets Vanguard Customers, Employees: “If it’s bad for the environment, it’s bad for your retirement”
4/3/23
“A new television and digital ad is warning Vanguard’s customers of the risk that climate change poses to their retirement futures. The ad will begin airing today (Monday, April 3, 2023) on CNBC on cable systems in Chester County, Pennsylvania – the home of Vanguard’s headquarters and where many of the company’s top executives and employees live… “This new spot, entitled “Reaping What They’ve Sown,” is part of a larger ad strategy targeting Vanguard customers and Vanguard employees, from the Vanguard S.O.S. campaign. The purpose of the campaign is to shine a spotlight on Vanguard’s role in fueling the climate crisis and urging the company – the world’s second largest asset manager – to improve its climate practices for the sake of its own clients and the planet. Despite acknowledging that climate change is a material risk to investors, Vanguard has failed to release a comprehensive plan that integrates climate risk into its investment strategies. In March, more than 1400 investors sent a letter to Vanguard’s general counsel warning that the firm may be breaching its fiduciary duties by failing to mitigate climate risk… “Vanguard has $300 billion invested in fossil fuels – making it the #1 or #2 biggest investor in fossil fuels worldwide… “We’re airing this ad where Vanguard’s executives and employees work and live so they are reminded first-hand of the consequences of their decisions. This is part of a larger strategy to engage Vanguard and to educate the firm’s clients about the risks to their portfolios,” said Roberta Giordano of the Vanguard S.O.S. campaign.
OPINION
Bridge Michigan: Opinion | Line 5 critics aren’t serious about environmental protection
Jason Hayes is the director of energy and environmental policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-market research and educational institute in Midland, Mich., 4/3/23
“Last week a commentary in Bridge Michigan argued that President Biden should have placed a move away from fossil fuels on the top of his agenda when he made his first trip to Canada as president. It also encouraged him to close an essential pipeline that transports petroleum products from western Canada to the American Midwest as well as Ontario and Quebec. Closing the pipeline, however, would harm both nations, especially in the Great Lakes region,” Jason Hayes writes for Bridge Michigan. “...Line 5 is the most important energy provider in the region, yet the authors of the commentary demand its closure. They say it is septuagenarian, arguing that it was “built to last only fifty years.” They also point to the unrelated rupture of Line 6B, an Indiana-to-Ontario pipeline that befouled the Kalamazoo River in July 2010. The contention appears to be that if one pipeline has leaked, another almost certainly will… “But we could, instead, remember that in 2017 the pipeline passed a pressure test similar to tests it took back in 1953 before it went in the water. We could recognize that the walls of the Line 5 pipeline “are three times as thick … as those of a typical pipeline.” We could also acknowledge that the pipeline is continuously monitored and inspected. Those of us who want to protect the Great Lakes and simultaneously maintain supplies of essential energy should demand that state and federal government officials stop holding up the construction of the Line 5 Tunnel… “Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has added to the delay with various lawsuits against Enbridge. But if people in the “shut it down” coalition were serious about dealing with the challenges of delivering necessary fuels while also protecting the environment, they would turn their critiques toward time-wasting tactics such as we’re seeing from the Army Corps and Michigan’s attorney general. Instead, critics applaud every legal and regulatory tactic that further stalls construction of the tunnel, meaning the “septuagenarian” pipeline continues to operate, right where it has, since 1953. The pipeline’s opponents say there could be a spill. Yet, they also oppose a plan to develop a less risky alternative. In doing so, they end up extending the life of a pipeline they deplore. The irony goes unnoticed.”