EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 6/3/22
PIPELINE NEWS
New York Times: E.P.A., Reversing Trump, Will Restore States’ Power to Block Pipelines
E&E News: EPA proposes reversing contentious Trump water permit policy
Grand Forks Herald: North Dakota Supreme Court will not rehear case establishing DAPL documents as public record
WWTV: State’s Line 5 Lawsuit Awaits Federal Judge Decision
S&P Global: Eyeing CO2, Trailblazer seeks to move 392-mile gas pipe from FERC's purview
Press release: EDF Moves to Defend Gas Pipeline Safety, Environmental Standards in Court
Bloomberg: Columbia Pipeline Ex-Executives Settle $13 Billion Merger Case
The Center Square: Natural gas: 'Hedging' and pipeline capacity an issue for Pennsylvania production
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Green group ads push Biden to reject Alaska oil project
STATE UPDATES
Yahoo News: Climate change could spell the end for Midwestern corn, study finds
Associated Press: As natural gas expands in Gulf, residents fear rising damage
Palm Springs Desert Sun: 21 oil wells now found leaking methane near California homes
Anchorage Daily News: Another oil company backs out of leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
EXTRACTION
Axios: A CEO's quest to make LNG a climate policy
Bloomberg: Miracle Fuel Hydrogen Can Actually Make Climate Change Worse
OPINION
Reuters: U.S. gas production must accelerate to meet LNG export demand: Kemp
New York Daily News: Sorry, natural gas pipelines aren’t temporary: We must pivot decisively now to save the planet
PIPELINE NEWS
New York Times: E.P.A., Reversing Trump, Will Restore States’ Power to Block Pipelines
Lisa Friedman, 6/2/22
“The Biden administration on Thursday will move to restore authority to states and tribes to veto gas pipelines, coal terminals and other energy projects if they would pollute local rivers and streams, reversing a Trump-era rule that had curtailed that power,” the New York Times reports. “For 50 years, the Clean Water Act has given states and tribes the ability to review federal permits for industrial facilities and block projects that could discharge pollution into local waterways. Without their certification, the federal government cannot approve a project… “Some states have used their authority under the Clean Water Act to stop or delay fossil fuel projects… “In 2020, Andrew Cuomo, who was governor of New York at the time, denied a permit for a pipeline that would have shipped natural gas into his state from Pennsylvania, based on the project’s “inability to demonstrate” that it could comply with water quality standards. In 2020, the Trump administration implemented a rule to curtail that review power and limit the time during which states and tribes could grant or deny permits. Trump officials argued that Democratic states were essentially conducting climate policy under the guise of a law intended for a different purpose. They said they wanted to curb abuses of the law that were holding fossil fuels projects “hostage.” Environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers accused the Trump administration of fast-tracking big energy projects at the urging of the oil and gas industry… “The Biden administration’s proposed changes essentially would restore the conditions that existed before the Trump presidency. They come as Mr. Biden is calling on the oil and gas industry to step up production to relieve high prices at the pump. Energy trade groups told the Times they were concerned the new regulation could block infrastructure they believe is needed to meet demand… “Republicans criticized the Biden administration’s plans as adding needless red tape while allowing fossil fuel opponents to create barriers for oil and gas projects. “It should not take longer to get the permits and permissions for a pipeline than it does to build one,” Karen Harbert, president of the American Gas Association, said in a statement on Wednesday. She told the Times companies were “concerned that the proposed rule will veer from the intent that Congress had when authoring the Clean Water Act and will allow some states to delay and increase costs for essential energy infrastructure.”
E&E News: EPA proposes reversing contentious Trump water permit policy
Hannah Northey, Pamela King, 6/2/22
“EPA proposed a rule today that would reshape critical state and tribal permit reviews under the Clean Water Act, reversing a Trump-era policy that roiled Capitol Hill, industry and environmental groups,” E&E News reports. “The proposed rule lays out a process under the law’s Section 401 by which developers of pipelines, power lines, mines and other projects request federal permits to discharge into regulated waterways and wetlands. For the first time, the EPA proposal allows states and tribes to take part in defining a “reasonable time” to conduct such reviews — an issue that’s sparked political fights in the past — and restore flexibility on what states and tribes consider when reviewing applications, according to an EPA fact sheet… “The proposal appears to broaden the scope of what states and tribes can consider when reviewing permit applications and eases strict deadlines that would have been imposed under the Trump administration’s rule. Under the Biden administration proposal, for example, developers would be able to request a meeting with regulators a month before requesting a permit, a move that could prompt early coordination. The proposed rule also lays out what applicants would need to show to request a permit. And the proposal allows states and tribes to take part in determining what constitutes a “reasonable period of time” to review the request for certification, a clock that starts ticking when states or tribes receive a developer’s permit application… “The EPA proposal also clarifies that when states, tribes or territories receive a request for certification, they can look at “whether the activity as a whole will comply with water quality requirements, which include water quality-related state or Tribal laws.” EPA said such an approach would allow “a certifying authority to holistically evaluate the water quality impacts of a federally licensed or permitted project.” “...The Biden EPA is restoring some of the discretion to the certifying authorities that the Trump rule had limited through imposition of a one-year time frame and by limiting the scope of their review,” Ben Cowan, a Houston-based environmental attorney with Locke Lord LLP who works with large pipeline and energy projects, told E&E. “It provides more definition to the process, which could be helpful, but it’s giving the certifying authorities the ability to review projects more broadly.”
Grand Forks Herald: North Dakota Supreme Court will not rehear case establishing DAPL documents as public record
Jeremy Turley, 6/2/22
“The North Dakota Supreme Court swatted down a last-gasp effort by the developers of the Dakota Access Pipeline to keep internal documents out of the public eye,” the Grand Forks Herald reports. “The high court ruled in late April that five-year-old documents connected to a partnership between Dakota Access Pipeline operator Energy Transfer and a private security firm are public record. Less than a month later, justices rejected Energy Transfer's request for a rehearing of the case. Petitions for rehearings are rarely approved. The Supreme Court's April decision upheld a district court ruling that rejected an effort by Energy Transfer to keep private 16,000 documents pertaining to a partnership formed with security contractor TigerSwan during the pipeline protests near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in 2016 and 2017. In the unanimous decision, the Supreme Court affirmed that Energy Transfer did not present any legitimate exemptions that would keep the trove of documents from being a public record. First Look, the publisher of nonprofit news outlet The Intercept, sued a state regulatory board to access the records. Forum Communications Company, which owns Forum News Service, joined First Look with an amicus brief in Energy Transfer's case before the North Dakota Supreme Court.”
WWTV: State’s Line 5 Lawsuit Awaits Federal Judge Decision
Eric Lloyd, 6/2/22
“The entire Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference was taking part just miles from the controversial Line 5 pipeline through the Mackinac Straits,” WWTV reports. “While most everyone agrees on the tunnel currently planned to be built under the Straits, there is debate over what to do with the pipeline now. Some say it is an outdated threat to the Great Lakes while others say it is safe. Currently the state is suing the pipeline owner, Enbridge, to immediately seize operations until the tunnel is built. Enbridge says that will drastically increase heating and fueling costs for Michiganders. The state’s lawsuit is waiting in federal court while they want it placed back in state court. “We think it was a delaying tactic and we filed a motion to remand it and bring it back to state court where it should be heard,” Dana Nessel, Michigan’s Attorney General, told WWTV. “We’re waiting for the federal judge in this case to issue a ruling. We had a briefing that was all submitted so we are just waiting on the court.”
S&P Global: Eyeing CO2, Trailblazer seeks to move 392-mile gas pipe from FERC's purview
Maya Weber, 6/2/22
“Trailblazer Pipeline has proposed to remove 392 miles of natural gas pipeline, slated for conversion to CO2 transportation, from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission jurisdiction, and plans to lease capacity from Rockies Express Pipeline to replicate the existing gas transportation service for shippers,” S&P Global reports. “Trailblazer and REX, both units of Tallgrass Energy, filed the application for certificate and abandonment with FERC on May 27, stating the proposal would result in more efficient use of existing facilities and minimize construction of new pipelines to serve CO2 transportation needs (CP22-468). Trailblazer is seeking to repurpose the abandoned pipeline for CO2 shipment from possible sources in Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado to a sequestration site in Wyoming or Nebraska, the companies told FERC. They sought authorization in the second quarter of 2023, in line with what they termed a market desire for the project in the first quarter of 2024. Tallgrass in January announced that it received a grant from the Wyoming Energy Authority to fund development of a commercial-scale CO2 sequestration hub in the Denver-Julesburg Basin in eastern Wyoming, slated for service in 2024. In May, it unveiled a sequestration agreement in which Tallgrass would capture CO2 from ADM's corn-processing complex in Nebraska and ship it to the Wyoming hub for underground storage. Under the application at FERC, new REX facilities would allow for continuity of gas flows for Trailblazer firm service through leased capacity from REX. Those new REX facilities include two new laterals totaling about 41 miles of pipe, eight pipeline taps each, and five new booster compressor stations totaling about 7,800 hp. The companies also asked FERC to approve the lease arrangement, which involves 902,000 Dt/d of existing capacity from the REX/Trailblazer Lone Tree receipt point to the East Cheyenne Gas Storage point and 827,000 Dt/d of existing capacity from East Cheyenne Gas Storage point to the Trailblazer East Saline delivery point… "The project results in the removal from service – the abandonment – of approximately 902,000 Dt/d of natural gas transportation capacity and 20,000 hp of gas-fired compression facilities, with the addition of less than 8,000 hp of gas-fired compression facilities," they said.
Press release: EDF Moves to Defend Gas Pipeline Safety, Environmental Standards in Court
6/2/22
“Environmental Defense Fund has moved to intervene in a lawsuit to defend the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) safety and environmental standards for gas gathering pipelines. “There are more than 435,000 miles of gas gathering pipelines in the United States, the vast majority of which have never been nationally regulated,” said EDF senior attorney Erin Murphy. “PHMSA’s rule establishes long overdue, common sense standards that will improve safety and reduce methane and other harmful pollution from gas gathering lines across the country.” Gathering lines transport unprocessed gas — which contains the potent climate pollutant methane, as well as volatile organic compounds and other hazardous air pollutants — from production areas such as well sites to processing facilities. With the domestic boom in unconventional shale drilling over the last 20 years, there has been significant buildout of gathering line infrastructure – with increased mileage, pipe diameter, and pressure. Higher pressure and larger diameter pipelines pose a greater safety and environmental risk. Recent research found that gathering lines accounted for one-fifth of identified methane emissions from major sources in the Permian Basin… “PHMSA’s gathering line rule requires owners and operators of all onshore gas gathering lines to file annual reports and report incidents for the purpose of monitoring safety and determining the need for future regulations to address risks to the public and the environment. The rule also establishes a new category of gathering lines — Type C, applicable to more than 90,000 miles of pipeline – that are subject to emergency planning and damage prevention standards. A subset of Type C lines comprising more than 20,000 miles of pipeline are also subject to leak detection and repair and corrosion control standards. GPA Midstream, an industry group, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit challenging the rule. EDF is now asking to join that lawsuit in defense of the rule.”
Bloomberg: Columbia Pipeline Ex-Executives Settle $13 Billion Merger Case
6/2/22
“Two former top executives at Columbia Pipeline Group Inc. exited investor litigation over its $13 billion sale to TransCanada Corp., when a Delaware judge approved a $79 million class action settlement that doesn’t release any claims against the Canadian energy company,” Bloomberg reports. “Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster signed off Wednesday on the agreement, which resolves allegations that ex-CEO Robert Skaggs Jr. and former chief financial officer Steven Smith “tilted the playing field towards TransCanada” during deal talks in a bid to “maximize the value of their retirement benefits.” The case will continue against Calgary-based TC Energy Corp.—the former TransCanada…”
The Center Square: Natural gas: 'Hedging' and pipeline capacity an issue for Pennsylvania production
Anthony Hennen, 6/2/22
“A recent dip in natural gas production should not obscure Pennsylvania’s production growth, though some financial and infrastructure barriers stand in the way of the industry’s response to high prices,” The Center Square reports. “Compared to natural gas production in the first quarter of 2021, production declined by 0.6% in Pennsylvania, according to a report from the Independent Fiscal Office. The production volume from horizontal wells was 1.851 billion cubic feet, compared to 1.863 bcf in 2021… “Production growth could ramp up for the rest of 2022, but the current high price of natural gas won’t necessarily drive large increases. Pipeline capacity is an issue, as is “hedging.” Companies minimize risk by hedging on the price of natural gas because it can be volatile. Though the price of natural gas in May was $8.14 per million BTU, companies are hedged at prices between $2 and $3… “Though hedging minimizes losses and volatility, in this case it also puts a constraint on production… “Industry advocates also point to pipeline capacity issues as a barrier to production. “Folks are responding to price signals but, keep in mind, there are other factors in play as well,” Dave Callahan, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, told Center Square. “Leader after leader of various energy companies who have operations here in Pennsylvania keep pointing to infrastructure and pipeline capacity as definite needs. We need the right policies to get the pipe in the ground.” The MSC estimated 7 billion cubic feet of pipeline projects were “put on the shelf” for various reasons. “That capacity is desperately needed to get product out of a very productive region like the Appalachian region.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Green group ads push Biden to reject Alaska oil project
Timothy Cama, 6/1/22
“Climate change activists are putting $75,000 into a new advertising campaign to fight a major proposed oil and natural gas drilling project in Alaska,” E&E News reports. “The League of Conservation Voters said today its digital ads will run in Washington with the aim to push decisionmakers, particularly at the Interior Department, to reject ConocoPhillips Co.’s $6 billion Willow project in the Arctic. The proposed development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska was approved near the end of President Donald Trump’s time in office, and the Biden administration initially let it proceed. A court last year halted it and asked the Biden administration to reconsider its environmental impacts. “The Willow Project would lock us into decades more of dirty, dangerous, and costly fossil fuels at a time when the transition to clean energy could not be more important for our communities and our economy,” Alex Taurel, director of LCV’s conservation program, told E&E.
STATE UPDATES
Yahoo News: Climate change could spell the end for Midwestern corn, study finds
Ben Adler, 6/1/22
“The midwestern Corn Belt — which roughly covers parts of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas — will be “unsuitable” for cultivating corn by 2100 if climate change continues on its current trajectory, a new study finds,” Yahoo News reports. “The future climate conditions … will significantly reshape biophysical suitability across the Central and Eastern U.S., causing a near collapse of corn cultivation in the Midwestern U.S. by 2100,” the study, published in Environmental Research Letters, concludes. Using climate and soil data, Emory University environmental studies professor Emily Burchfield modeled where crops would be successfully grown in a warmer future. Burchfield found that under scenarios with high or moderate greenhouse gas emissions, the climatic conditions necessary to grow corn, soy, alfalfa and wheat will all shift notably northward, “with the Corn Belt becoming unsuitable to the cultivation of corn by 2100.”
Associated Press: As natural gas expands in Gulf, residents fear rising damage
CATHY BUSSEWITZ and MARTHA IRVINE, 6/2/22
“The front lawn of Lydia Larce’s home is strewn with debris: Remnants of cabinets and chunks of pink shower marble lie between dumpsters. She lives in a FEMA trailer out back, her home in shambles more than a year after Hurricane Laura tore through Lake Charles,” the Associated Press reports. “...Developers plan to build a series of liquefied natural gas export facilities across Southwest Louisiana, already the heart of the industry. Even in a state with a heavy industrial base, these facilities are among the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in Louisiana. “They’re an absolute powerhouse for greenhouse gas emissions,” Naomi Yoder, a staff scientist at Healthy Gulf, a nonprofit that advocates for clean energy, told AP. That’s because these export facilities tend to burn off, or flare, natural gas. Greenhouse gases are raising global temperatures and fueling extreme weather, from wildfires to violent storms like the ones that have pummeled Larce’s hometown. “We all are living in chaos,” Larce told AP. For a while, it looked as though an era of steadily expanding fossil fuel facilities might be ending… “Yet since Biden became president, the U.S. has become the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas as demand for the fuel, known as LNG, has escalated… “Seizing the opportunity, the natural gas industry promoted U.S.-produced LNG as a way to fill the gaps, and prices for the fuel have skyrocketed. American terminals are now exporting gas at full capacity, which is why the expansion of the terminals has accelerated. It is along the Gulf Coast, in a line from Louisiana to Texas, where the new and proposed export terminals are clustered. Talk to some locals and government officials and you’ll hear unqualified support for the facilities in this battered region… “But some long-time residents — often the ones who’ve lost the most to the storms — dispute those claims, saying that few of those coveted jobs end up going to people who grew up in the region… “I feel Southwest Louisiana has been made a sacrificial lamb,” Roishetta Ozane, a single mother of six and an organizer for Healthy Gulf, told AP. An outspoken critic of the expansion of LNG facilities, Ozane warns her neighbors that the emissions worsen global warming and violent storms and impair their community’s air quality. She has raised money, organized food drives and helped neighbors navigate government agencies to obtain relief after disasters hit.”
Palm Springs Desert Sun: 21 oil wells now found leaking methane near California homes
Janet Wilson, 6/2/22
“A total of 21 oil wells have been found to be leaking methane in or near two Bakersfield neighborhoods, and more than two dozen are being tested by state and regional air regulators,” the Palm Springs Desert Sun reports. “California Geologic Energy Management Division, or CalGEM, said in an update on its website that state and regional air regulators are in the area again today to interview residents and take additional methane readings. Repairs are at various stages for the nearly two dozen wells, several of which were found to be leaking at least 50,000 parts per million of methane — a level at which the colorless, odorless gas can explode if ignited. Six wells owned by Sunray near the Morning Star neighborhood were tested again on Wednesday and are no longer leaking after a contractor hired by CalGEM temporarily plugged them. Work continues on seven idle wells operated by Zynergy in the same area. CalGEM inspectors confirmed that four of the wells are repaired and no longer leaking methane. Contractors are on site Thursday to work on the remaining three wells. A state staffer told The Desert Sun last week that California's top oil regulator was "lying" about the level of risks at the sites, and said methane can build up underground in tight spaces and explode also. Since then, CalGEM announced it was installing pressure monitors on at least some of the wells as they are repaired or closed off.”
Anchorage Daily News: Another oil company backs out of leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Alex DeMarban, 6/2/22
“The only oil company that bought a single lease in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge early last year has canceled its lease, according to the U.S. Interior Department,” the Anchorage Daily News reports. “The move by Regenerate Alaska is the latest example of the industry stepping away from possible oil and gas development in the 19-million-acre refuge. Hilcorp and Chevron have also canceled their interest in separate, older leases, on a small tract of Alaska Native corporation-owned land within the refuge’s boundaries. Those oil companies spent $10 million to exit their deal with Arctic Slope Regional Corp… “But early last year the Biden administration blocked exploration in the refuge, raising questions about the future of the leases and possible development. The Interior Department suspended the leases for further review after calling the sale process legally flawed. Congress in 2017 required the lease sale… “88 Energy′s departure leaves just two lease holders. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority acquired seven leases covering about 370,000 acres. The state agency is suing the federal government over the lease suspension… “With ANWR exploration facing stiff political resistance, other potential developers have looked to oil prospects on state land west of the refuge, and in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, another chunk of federal land in northern Alaska.”
EXTRACTION
Axios: A CEO's quest to make LNG a climate policy
Andrew Freedman, 6/2/22
“EQT Corporation boss Toby Rice, whose company is the largest U.S. natural gas producer, hopes to win support for a gigantic expansion of exports to displace carbon-spewing coal plants abroad,” Axios reports. "This is the biggest green initiative on the planet, hands down, full stop," he tells Axios in an interview Friday. “...He wants help with permits, not money. "We've got to be able to build pipelines and LNG facilities faster than we've ever done it before. That's why we need the political support," he said, noting the proposal does not envision on public financing. There are leaps of faith here too. Rice touts EQT's efforts to curb emissions, but industry-wide performance is uneven. Another problem is the potential that new pipelines and other infrastructure will lock in higher use for many decades. But Rice calls pipelines flexible. "We can be smart about the infrastructure that we build, and we can make sure that we build this pipeline infrastructure that is ready for the next transition in energy, which is making sure these pipelines are hydrogen-ready." The plan also promotes carbon capture taking hold in the power sector in the future… “Rice said renewables are not capable of being reliable energy providers. He cited their intermittency and the soaring costs of raw materials… “Between the lines: Rice's main goal is to use LNG to displace coal use abroad, but policymakers have different ideas of how to target coal… “Rice's proposal also runs counter to climate studies showing that dramatic cuts in fossil fuels, including natural gas, must occur in the near term to avert climate change's most damaging consequences.”
Bloomberg: Miracle Fuel Hydrogen Can Actually Make Climate Change Worse
David R Baker, 5/30/22
“A world desperate for a climate-friendly fuel is pinning its hopes on hydrogen, seeing it as a way to power factories, buildings, ships and planes without pumping carbon dioxide into the sky,” Bloomberg reports. “But now scientists are warning that hydrogen leaked into the atmosphere can contribute to climate change much like carbon. Depending on how it’s made, distributed and used, it could even make warming worse over the next few decades, even if carbon poses the bigger long-term threat. Any future hydrogen-based economy, they say, must be designed from the start to keep leaks of the gas to a minimum, or it risks adding to the very problem it’s supposed to solve. Some ideas now being tested, like shipping hydrogen in pipelines built to hold natural gas or burning it in individual homes, could cause an unacceptable level of leaks… “Hydrogen’s warming potential was never a problem before, as its use was largely limited to oil refineries and chemical or fertilizer plants. But now governments worldwide are investing billions to build a hydrogen economy, seeing the gas as one of the only options for decarbonizing many industries that can’t easily run on electricity. President Joe Biden has set aside $8 billion to build at least four “hydrogen hubs” where the fuel will be produced and used, and states are gearing up to compete. US utility companies that now deliver natural gas see it as a savior, announcing more than two dozen hydrogen pilot projects in the last two years… “We’re at risk of proceeding with the build-out of new infrastructure that’s essentially going to repeat all those past harms,” Julie McNamara, deputy policy director for climate and energy with the Union of Concerned Scientists, told Bloomberg. “We don’t have the time or luxury to get it wrong.”
OPINION
Reuters: U.S. gas production must accelerate to meet LNG export demand: Kemp
John Kemp, 6/2/22
“U.S. natural gas production will have to accelerate significantly if the country is to keep growing record export volumes without creating shortages for consumers at home,” John Kemp writes for Reuters. “Gas exports in the form of LNG were up by 674 billion cubic feet or 87% in the first three months of 2022 compared with the same period in 2019. Domestic consumption was flat over the same period, selected to span the pandemic, according to the latest monthly data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration… “Rapid growth in LNG exports, in excess of domestic production, has put increasing downward pressure on gas inventories and upward pressure on prices… “Reflecting the anticipated shortage of gas, futures prices for the current year compared with one-year forward have moved into a record backwardation… “The U.S. gas industry has been very successful in marketing its production to consumers in Europe and Asia who are anxious to diversify their sourcing and lock in reliable supplies. Now the industry must show it can produce enough gas to feed the export machine.”
New York Daily News: Sorry, natural gas pipelines aren’t temporary: We must pivot decisively now to save the planet
Clara Vondrich is the former director of Divest Invest and a Public Voices fellow with the OpEd Project, in partnership with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, 6/3/22
“Svitlana Romanko holds a key that can open two doors. The first is the door to peace for her homeland, Ukraine. The second is the door to a more habitable Earth for us and future generations. The Ukrainian climate activist and lawyer is presenting this key to delegates at the Stockholm+50 environmental conference happening now in Sweden. Her message: End the global fossil fuel addiction that fuels Putin’s war machine,” Clara Vondrich writes for the New York Daily News. “...U.S. climate leadership has also faded in the fog of war. President Biden and his team are calling on fossil fuel producers to radically ramp up production and have opened new swaths of federal lands to drilling. In an attempt to stabilize gyrating energy markets, Biden has even dispatched envoys to try to broker deals with the Saudis, Venezuela and UAE. The administration is fast-tracking fossil gas plants and LNG terminals with economic lives of half a century or more, all while promising to ”walk and chew gum at the same time.” “...This is not what Svitlana, and the hundreds of NGOs backing her, have in mind when they call on the world to get off Russian energy. The climate doesn’t give a damn about the provenance of carbon emissions… “There is nothing short-term about hundreds of miles of new pipelines. There is nothing temporary about a buildout of new LNG terminals, themselves just part of a vast matrix of steel and diesel, including drilling rigs, heavy trucks, pipelines and tanker ships. Once the billions have been sunk and the oil and gas are flowing, companies and petrostates have every incentive to keep them going. Most of these new pipes and plants will just be hitting their stride in 2050 — the year by which major economies have pledged to zero out emissions… “Rather than blow smoke at the next big climate conference, world leaders should convene an urgent meeting with the world’s top solar, wind and battery manufacturers and installers, as well as experts in green building and transport systems. They should use 21st-century tech to advance a 21st-century Marshall Plan to rebuild the West after the ravages of the fossil fuel era. Together, countries and companies should come to an agreement on the best enabling policies to let cleantech thrive so that we might survive… “We can be free from the tyranny of petrostates and the tyranny of climate. The key is one and the same: Replace fossil fuels with renewable energy now, not after this crisis, or the next.”