EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 6/9/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Mlive.com: Line 5 shutdown would hike gas prices a half-cent per gallon, court filing reveals
Oil and Water Don’t Mix: Enbridge admits Line 5 has little effect on gasoline prices
Orange County Register: Oil spill: Congressmembers sound alarm over ‘expedited plans’ to restart pipeline that ruptured off Orange County
Press release: POET SOLD OUT FARMERS TO NAVIGATOR
The Center Square: South Dakota utilities commissioners won't dismiss application for CO2 pipeline
Windom News: County board hears update on proposed pipeline
Williston Herald: Energy Transfer facing securities class action suit over Rover Pipeline
Reuters: Pipelines unclogged, but Canadian crude now faces U.S. Gulf Coast glut
Politico: FERC OFFICIAL AIMS TO TACKLE NIMBYISM
Coalition to Stop Co2 Pipelines: Webinar: Preparing a Local Response for a CO2 Leak / Rupture
Between the Lines: West Virginia Novelist Vows to Stop Mountain Valley Pipeline
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Big Oil tees up next Supreme Court climate showdown
Politico: GREENS LAY OUT MIDTERM STRATEGY
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Explosion shuts down major U.S. LNG terminal for weeks
Energy News Network: In Ohio, researchers find EPA data doesn’t tell the whole story on fracking pollution
Reuters: California says methane-spotting flights are helping stop leaks
Carlsbad Current-Argus: New Mexico oil and gas industry prepares for federal restrictions to conserve rare chicken
Ethanol Producer Magazine: National Carbon Capture Conference & Expo opens call for speakers
EXTRACTION
InsideClimate News: Scientists Say They’ve Created a Roadmap for Cutting US Emissions in Half by 2030
E&E News: Global gas build-out threatens climate targets — report
Financial Times: Canada’s oil sands: why some of the world’s dirtiest fuel is now in hot demand
Canadian Press: Alberta First Nations want consultation, benefits from oilsands carbon storage plans
Canadian Energy Centre: National campaign promotes responsible energy Made the Canadian Way
WIRED: ‘Plastitar’ Is the Unholy Spawn of Oil Spills and Microplastics
CLIMATE FINANCE
Fossil Free California: New report reveals California pensions CalPERS, CalSTRS vote NO on Big Oil shareholder climate resolutions
Sierra Club: What’s Next in the Growing Movement to Push Banks on Climate Action?
OPINION
The Hill: Environmental and climate justice: Moment of truth for FERC
Wichita Star-Eagle: Kansas lawmakers subvert the will of the people in favor of the fossil fuel industry
PIPELINE NEWS
Mlive.com: Line 5 shutdown would hike gas prices a half-cent per gallon, court filing reveals
Sheri McWhirter, 6/8/22
“Fuel prices in Michigan would increase by less than a penny per gallon if Line 5 shut down, according to a recent federal court filing in a lawsuit between Enbridge and a Wisconsin tribe attempting to evict the company’s pipeline from its reservation,” Mlive.com reports. “Expert witness testimony filed in the federal trespass case says a shutdown of the controversial pipeline likely would cause gasoline, jet fuel and diesel prices to increase by about a half-cent per gallon in Michigan and Wisconsin, and around 5 cents per gallon in Ontario. Those figures are drastically less than what Enbridge and other fossil fuel advocates have long said would be the financial fallout at the gas pump should its Line 5 shut down. And this prediction for a half-cent per gallon price change comes from Enbridge’s own paid expert. Now opponents of the pipeline that pumps 23 million gallons a day of crude oil and natural gas beneath Great Lakes waters at the Straits of Mackinac are pointing to the federal court filing as proof Line 5 is unnecessary. They argue Enbridge officials have known that fact yet continue to tell the public the pipeline remains critical infrastructure for the economy – all while state and federal authorities consider whether to let the company build a $500 million tunnel to replace the existing underwater section of the pipeline… “The tribe filed the report into the court record as part of a rebuttal argument to show Enbridge’s argument about the financial need for Line 5 was not supported by the company’s expert… “This court filing contradicts recent predictions in an analysis for energy industry advocacy group Consumer Energy Alliance, which issued a report in February that predicted as much as a 9.47 to 11.66 percent spike in fuel prices. Four months ago, that would have been about 40 cents per gallon; at today’s prices it would be closer to 52 cents per gallon… “It’s right on brand for Enbridge to have known that and to have hidden it from the public for at least the last six months,” Sean McBrearty, coordinator of the Oil & Water Don’t Mix campaign to shut down Line 5, told Mlive. “I’m not surprised that they know that Line 5 will not impact gas prices.”
Oil and Water Don’t Mix: Enbridge admits Line 5 has little effect on gasoline prices
6/8/22
“In sharp contrast to what Canadian pipeline company Enbridge has been telling consumers and policymakers, one of the company’s experts has filed a court document that says gasoline prices will rise less than a penny in Michigan if the Line 5 oil pipeline shuts down. “My estimate of the increase in Wisconsin transportation fuel prices is the same as that for Michigan gasoline prices, i.e., approximately 0.5 cents per gallon,” wrote Neil K. Earnest, an independent energy industry consultant hired by Enbridge. Enbridge operates Line 5, which has endangered the Straits of Mackinac for 69 years. The company has spent millions to push misleading advertising and public statements. Shut down Line 5, it said, and gasoline prices in the state will skyrocket. “What we suspected for years is true, and now we hear it through Enbridge’s own words in court: The products that travel through Line 5 have no effect on gasoline prices in Michigan,” said Sean McBrearty, campaign coordinator for Oil & Water Don’t Mix. “These court filings totally vindicate the responsible and courageous leadership of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel, who have worked tirelessly to protect our Great Lakes from a massive oil spill.” The consultant’s report was part of an Enbridge court filing in Wisconsin in its fight with the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The tribe is suing the company to remove Line 5 from its lands.”
Orange County Register: Oil spill: Congressmembers sound alarm over ‘expedited plans’ to restart pipeline that ruptured off Orange County
BROOKE STAGGS, 6/8/22
“On World Oceans Day, four Southern California representatives joined environmental groups in speaking out against plans to let Amplify Energy use a streamlined, opaque permitting process to repair and restart use of its pipeline that burst last fall, spilling some 25,000 gallons of crude oil in waters off the coast of Huntington Beach,” the Orange County Register reports. “Reps. Katie Porter, Mike Levin, Alan Lowenthal and Nanette Barragán – all Democrats representing portions of Orange, Los Angeles and San Diego counties – on Wednesday shared a letter they sent to four federal agencies saying they are “alarmed” by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to let Amplify start using the 42-year-old pipeline again without conducting a full environmental review, including time for a public comment period. “This expedited approval process is unwarranted and dangerous,” the letter reads. “This is no ordinary repair – it is a repair of a decades-old, subsea pipeline following a significant rupture and leakage. Given the threat this aging infrastructure poses to our ecologically sensitive marine resources, coastal economy, and communities, this project requires site-specific analysis before the federal government grants its approval… “But the company also has been quietly pursuing plans with the Army Corps to “permanently” fix the pipeline and start using it again under what’s called a Nationwide Permit 12, or NWP 12. The permits, which fall under the Clean Water Act, are designed to streamline the approval process for oil or natural gas pipeline activities in federal waters that have “minimal adverse effects” on the environment rather than having these projects go through full, site-specific reviews. There’s no public database or reporting on projects covered by these general permits, and environmental groups have long opposed them for not adequately addressing impacts of the projects they cover. There is ongoing litigation over use of NWP 12s now, and a public review of the process – triggered by requests from the Biden administration – is wrapping up.”
Press release: POET SOLD OUT FARMERS TO NAVIGATOR
6/8/22
“Navigator CO2 Ventures announced a major partnership with POET, despite overwhelming opposition to the carbon pipelines from Iowa farmers. Kim & Ted Junker, impacted farmers who sell to POET, have been organizing farmers in their area against the pipeline projects. "We’re disgusted and disappointed that POET decided to enter into an agreement with Navigator. We had been repeatedly told by the POET in Shell Rock that they were not interested in signing with Navigator and it was not in their best interest. So what changed? Landowners and farmers feel like they’ve been sucker-punched.” Dale Janssen, another farmer in the area that is impacted by the pipelines and sells to POET stated, “The announcement of POET signing with Navigator pipeline is just another case of being told one thing and doing something else. I’ve been told by POET employees for the last 6 months that they would not be connecting with the pipeline. There is a strange smell in the air and I am afraid it is the smell of politics.” In a December 2021 Des Moines Register article, POET’s corporate affairs vice president, Doug Berven, was quoted as saying “the company can reach its goal of zero carbon emissions without a pipeline.” The recent announcement potentially impacts seven new counties that weren't previously impacted by Navigator - Adams, Bremer, Carroll, Fayette, Guthrie, Palo Alto, and Worth Counties. Because there is a significant change in the route and many new landowners will be impacted, the IUB must restart the entire informational meeting process. “It was clear that Navigator was struggling after massive outcry and opposition to the carbon pipeline projects, yet they continue to try to force this on unwilling landowners. This makes Iowa farmers question who is really on their side.” said Wally Taylor, Attorney Representing Sierra Club Iowa Chapter in the IUB docket.
The Center Square: South Dakota utilities commissioners won't dismiss application for CO2 pipeline
Kim Jarrett, 6/8/22
“The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission rejected a motion that would have dismissed an application for a proposed CO2 pipeline scheduled to run through the state,” The Center Square reports. “...SCS asked for more time to work on its application, which it initially filed in February… “The PUC agreed to grant SCS an indefinite amount of time to finish its application. The PUC denied a motion to dismiss the application. SCS did not notify the PUC about proposed changes to the route which is "failure to apply with a blackletter rule of immediately updating as to the changes of material facts," said Brian Jorde, an attorney representing landowners opposing the pipeline. "I will agree with Mr. Jorde that the application package is certainly not as complete as what I would like it to be," said PUC Chairman Chris Nelson. "I also don't think we are at a fatal juncture where we need to dismiss at this point, particularly given the motion that we approved earlier today where we extended the deadline indefinitely which will allow the commission to respond to the circumstances of the completed application package whenever we get that." The company said in March it plans are to seek easements in 2022, and construction would begin in the first quarter of 2023… “Hundreds of landowners and some local utilities in the path of the pipeline have filed opposition to the project with the PUC.”
Windom News: County board hears update on proposed pipeline
6/8/22
“Work to develop a possible pipeline to transport liquid carbon dioxide through the region, including through Cottonwood County, continues to be developed,” Windom News reports. “At Tuesday’s meeting, Cottonwood County Commissioners heard an update from Joe Caruso of Summit Carbon Solutions about progress to develop that pipeline… “Among the ethanol plants on board with using the pipeline are Highwater Ethanol of Lamberton and Heron Lake BioEnergy… “Caruso also addressed concerns over the project, noting that a pipeline has been shown to be the safest means of transporting the liquid. He added the project does not have the right to eminent domain, and that the route for the pipeline would need a permit from the Public Utilities Commission. “We want to be as open and transparent about this project as possible,” Caruso said, adding that several public forums are scheduled for later this month.”
Williston Herald: Energy Transfer facing securities class action suit over Rover Pipeline
Renée Jean, 6/8/22
“Energy Transfer faces a securities class action in New York federal court, filed by an investor who says the company downplayed its liabilities from a Federal energy Regulatory Commission investigation into the Rover Pipeline spill,” the Williston Herald reports. “FERC has proposed a fine of $40 million in connection with the inadvertent 2017 release of 2 million gallons of drilling mud, which ultimately reached the ground surface and flowed into a nearby, protected wetland… “FERC’s investigation concluded that Rover had intentionally and routinely included diesel fuel and other toxic substances and unapproved additives in the drilling mud during its horizontal drilling operation under the Tuscarawas River in Stark County, Ohio to combat drilling difficulties, and keep up with drilling progress demands. FERC also concluded that the company failed to adequately monitor the right of way at the site of the HDD Operation and that the company improperly disposed of the inadvertently released drilling mud that was contaminated by diesel fuel and hydraulic oil… “The incident adds fuel to ongoing legal disputes surrounding the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota, with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to include details about Energy Transfer’s environmental record on other pipelines that cross High Consequence Areas in a court-ordered Environmental Impact Statement.”
Reuters: Pipelines unclogged, but Canadian crude now faces U.S. Gulf Coast glut
Nia Williams, 6/9/22
“After long being deeply discounted for years because of a lack of pipelines, Canadian heavy crude is finally trading like a "North American" grade, moving in tandem with U.S. sour crudes sold on the Gulf Coast after Enbridge Inc expanded its Line 3 pipeline late last year,” Reuters reports. “Unfortunately for Canadian producers, the Gulf is awash in sour crude thanks to Washington's largest-ever release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) that will amount to 180 million barrels over a six-month period, in an attempt to tame high fuel prices after Russia's invasion of Ukraine… “The sour Gulf surplus is undermining what some market players expected to be a period of stronger WCS demand in Hardisty, as maintenance on oil sands projects reduces supply and as U.S. refineries exit turnarounds. Other factors causing the WCS discount to widen include the high price of natural gas, which increases the cost of refining heavy crude, and increased demand for lighter products like gasoline, BMO Capital Markets analyst Randy Ollenberger said in a note. Canada exports around 4.3 million barrels per day (bpd) to the United States, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, but until last year demand to ship crude on export pipelines exceeded capacity, leaving barrels bottlenecked in Hardisty. In 2018, the discount on WCS in Hardisty blew out to more than $40 a barrel, prompting the Alberta government to restrict output. Now there is sufficient pipeline capacity, WCS trades around the same level as comparable crudes like Mexico's Maya. This means Canadian producers get that value, minus the spot pipeline tariff to the U.S. Gulf Coast, which is roughly $10 a barrel.”
Politico: FERC OFFICIAL AIMS TO TACKLE NIMBYISM
Matthew Choi, 6/8/22
“Elin Katz, FERC’s director of the relatively new Office of Public Participation, is thinking about how to avoid more disorderly forms of public engagement that have plagued FERC and the power sector in recent years — such as demonstrations and lawsuits against new energy infrastructure, including pipelines,” Politico reports. “She also hopes to better educate the public about the benefits of electric transmission in particular to mitigate the “NIMBYism” often associated with the large-scale power lines needed to decarbonize the power grid. “One of my main goals is to provide a constructive outlet for public concerns,” she said during a webinar hosted by utility transmission group WIRES. “We've seen a lot of what I consider more disruptive activities around when the public becomes concerned about energy or infrastructure.” Katz also said questions remain around whether the office would provide intervenor funding — a program that would cover expenses for lower-budget groups to participate in FERC proceedings.”
Coalition to Stop Co2 Pipelines: Webinar: Preparing a Local Response for a CO2 Leak / Rupture
6/8/22
“Would you know what to do if a CO2 pipeline leaks or ruptures? On Monday, June 13 at 7pm, the Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines is hosting a webinar for emergency responders, healthcare providers, and local units of government responsible for public safety ((police, fire, sheriff, paramedics, ambulance services counties, municipalities, and townships). The purpose of this webinar is to: Review the hazards of CO2 pipelines. Discuss their potential impact of CO2 on human health. Begin dialogue with others about how to be prepared for a release of CO2, and what training and equipment is necessary. CO2 pipelines are under-regulated by the government. When they rupture, a CO2 plume can spread a mile or more. Carbon Dioxide is harmful to humans and, in high enough concentrations, can cause death within minutes… “We will be joined by the following experts: Richard Kuprewicz – Pipeline Safety; Ted Schettler, MD, MPH – Effects of CO2 on human health; Durward Pettis – First Responder. Durward is Chief of the local Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department in Yazoo County, Mississippi. Mr. Pettis rescued residents affected by the February 2020 CO2 pipeline rupture near Satartia, Mississippi, and will share both his experience as well as what first responders need to be able to respond to a rupture or leak.”
Between the Lines: West Virginia Novelist Vows to Stop Mountain Valley Pipeline
Melinda Tuhus, 6/8/22
“The Mountain Valley pipeline is being built across 303 miles of West Virginia and Virginia, with a possible extension into North Carolina. It would carry fracked gas, most likely for export as liquefied natural gas and provide no benefit to the people whose land, air and water have been impacted by construction,” Between the Lines reports. “The pipeline is about 55 percent complete and the most difficult parts of the route — water crossings and mountain grades — have not yet been constructed. Some permits have been revoked due to violations, and others have not yet been secured, so work has stopped for now. The people of the region who have been fighting the pipeline for eight years have attended hearings, submitted testimony, organized protests, and engaged in direct action such as blocking the pipeline route with cars or tree sits. Thus far 84 people have been arrested across the length of the pipeline. Becky Crabtree is a retired teacher and published author in her 60s who lives at the base of Peters Mountain on the West Virginia-Virginia border. When all the other actions she took to oppose the pipeline were ignored, she decided to lock down inside her old car, parked across the easement for the pipeline on her own property. She never agreed to sell her land to the company, so it was taken by eminent domain. Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus, who recently completed 12-days walking and driving the pipeline route with local opponents on what they called the Walk for Appalachia’s Future, visited Crabtree at her home on May 28 to hear her story.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Big Oil tees up next Supreme Court climate showdown
Lesley Clark, 6/9/22
“Climate liability lawsuits from state and local governments against fossil fuel companies could be headed to the Supreme Court for a second time,” E&E News reports. “Suncor Energy Inc. and Exxon Mobil Corp. yesterday petitioned the justices to review a lower court decision that delivered a procedural victory to Colorado governments suing fossil fuel companies for climate damages. The February finding by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the case should be heard by a state judge — rather than a federal bench, as industry wants — was the first in a string of legal losses for oil and gas companies after the Supreme Court said last year that appellate judges could consider a larger set of arguments in favor of federal jurisdiction… “Attorneys for the companies told the Supreme Court that given “the significant stakes for the parties, the questions presented here will continue to bedevil the lower courts until this court intervenes.” “...The fight over whether climate liability lawsuits belong before state or federal judges has stymied action for years as municipalities across the country have gone to court seeking payment from the oil and gas industry for the effects of planet-warming emissions. The suits were filed in state courts, but industry has sought to move them to federal benches, where a judge could find that the municipalities’ claims are preempted by the Clean Air Act… “And they warned that deciding otherwise “opens the door to countless potentially conflicting state-court lawsuits applying state nuisance law to claims seeking redress for the global phenomenon of climate change.” States and cities suing industry have maintained that their complaints do not take into account global climate change but are based on state laws that prevent consumers from being misled about products.
Politico: GREENS LAY OUT MIDTERM STRATEGY
Matthew Choi, 6/8/22
“Environmental groups’ combined $100 million midterm campaign will focus on Senate races in Arizona, New Hampshire, Nevada, Georgia, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania along with a “fluid” list of House contests to keep climate-focused Democrats in power, Heather Hargreaves, executive director of the newly formed Climate Power Action, tells Politico. “Climate Power Action is organizing polling and messaging to identify and reach voters who supported climate-focused candidates in 2020 but are at risk of not voting in the midterm, where Democratic losses of one or both chambers of Congress would imperil Biden’s climate agenda. The strategy is a shift from the 2020 focus on swing voters by instead zeroing in on so-called “dropoff” voters, Hargreaves told Politico. Environmental groups involved in the effort hope they can reach what they believe are 2 million such climate-influenced individuals with paid media and a return to in-person canvassing. Partners in the push include the Climate Reality Action Fund, Environmental Defense Fund Action Votes, League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council Action Votes and NextGen PAC.”
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Explosion shuts down major U.S. LNG terminal for weeks
Mike Soraghan, Carlos Anchondo, 6/9/22
“An explosion yesterday at a Texas liquefied natural gas terminal will shut the facility for at least three weeks, disrupting international gas supply chains and prices,” E&E News reports. “The closure quickly drove down domestic natural gas prices. It takes 2 billion cubic feet of gas a day off of the international market as LNG plants operate at peak capacity to replace Russian supply in Europe. There were no injuries at the Freeport LNG terminal less than 70 miles from Houston, but a nearby beach was evacuated and ship traffic was restricted in the area for hours… “Environmentalists and local opponents who fought the plant for years said the explosion is a stark demonstration of the dangers of the terminal and the hazards of fossil fuels. “This is terrifying. We’ve been afraid of a disaster happening ever since Freeport LNG started exporting gas,” Melanie Oldham of Freeport, Texas, who fought the construction of the facility and founded Citizens for Clean Air and Clean Water in Brazoria County, told E&E. A release from local environmental groups included descriptions of the explosions from activists in the area. One said she saw it blow up while she was at work, calling it the “biggest fireball I’ve ever seen.” Another described three explosions, followed by helicopters and emergency vehicles heading to the plant… “Freeport LNG, a privately held company, has been the subject of 11 PHMSA enforcement actions since the beginning of 2015, agency records show.”
Energy News Network: In Ohio, researchers find EPA data doesn’t tell the whole story on fracking pollution
Kathiann M. Kowalski, 6/8/22
“A recent study in a heavily fracked Ohio county found that regional air quality monitors failed to capture variations in pollution at the local level, spotlighting the need to address gaps in data on fossil fuel emissions,” Energy News Network reports. “Existing Environmental Protection Agency monitors track broad regional trends in air quality. But they don’t reflect differences from place to place within an area. And their reporting often misses short-term spikes that can affect human health, lead study author Garima Raheja at Columbia University told EHN… “The team developed a grassroots, community-based network of low-cost air monitoring stations. Each monitoring station used PurpleAir monitors. The monitors cost a couple hundred dollars each, compared to up to $100,000 or more for equipment at the regional EPA air monitoring stations, Raheja said. The equipment measures levels of fine particulate matter, or PM. Corrected data from PurpleAir monitors correlate strongly with those from reference-grade monitors, studies have found. Tweaks to the monitors also let the network track levels of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. And community members kept logs about physical symptoms or things they noticed in the area… “General trends in emissions levels were similar for the EPA monitoring stations and the local monitors. However, there were substantial variations in the emissions levels recorded by the two types of stations. Those results showed that exposure to pollutants varies throughout the study area. The results also showed multiple cases when spikes in certain emissions tracked closely with log entries about residents’ health symptoms or other events in the area, such as pipeline pigging or compressor station blowdowns.”
Reuters: California says methane-spotting flights are helping stop leaks
6/8/22
“Airborne surveys of methane plumes spewing from landfills, power plants and oil fields in California have lead to palpable reductions in leaks of the potent greenhouse gas, the state's air regulator and a non-profit group said on Wednesday,” Reuters reports. “Between 2017 and 2021, 44 California facilities voluntarily repaired methane leaks after they were notified about them as part of a pilot research program that used specially-equipped aircraft to detect and measure methane being released into the atmosphere… “The fixes prevented the equivalent of 1.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from escaping into the atmosphere, the two groups said in a statement, which is equal to taking about 250,000 cars off the road for a year. The reductions were verified with follow-up observations. The program is a partnership between the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and Carbon Mapper, a non-profit group that is an outgrowth of research that began in 2016 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory… “The announcement did not identify all the facilities that mitigated their methane emissions, but said Sempra Energy (SRE.N) gas utility SoCalGas had responded to leaks identified in a pipeline by the airborne surveys.”
Carlsbad Current-Argus: New Mexico oil and gas industry prepares for federal restrictions to conserve rare chicken
Adrian Hedden, 6/8/22
“Lesser prairie chickens once numbered in the thousands throughout the American West, thriving on the prairielands of eastern New Mexico and the American West. But in recent years, the chicken’s numbers declined amid growing development in the oil and gas and agriculture sectors throughout the region and conservationists worried the unique bird could be in danger of extinction,” the Carlsbad Current-Argus reports. “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed federal protections for the species last year under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), seeking an endangered listing for the bird in southeast New Mexico and West Texas and a threatened listing in the rest of the animal’s range which extends through Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas… “A final decision on the lesser prairie chicken’s listing was expected this month, records show, and it could restrict access to lands needed for the chicken’s recovery and impact some of New Mexico’s biggest industries. That’s why conservation bank Lesser prairie chickens (LPC) Conservation proposed a habitat conservation plan (HPC) for the oil and gas industry which was approved by the Fish and Wildlife Service June 3. It would allow oil and gas operations to occur within areas where the chicken could dwell. Energy companies buy protections from the conservation bank for the areas known as “strongholds,” while conducting certain conservation practices on the lands amid their operations, and in exchange are exempted from future restrictions should the species ultimately be listed. They receive a permit for “incidental take” which refers to a number of birds that are allowed to be killed during development. The intention, LPC Conservation Chief Executive Officer Wayne Walker told the Argus, is to save the animal in danger of dying out while also allowing essential economic drivers to continue.”
Ethanol Producer Magazine: National Carbon Capture Conference & Expo opens call for speakers
6/7/22
“The call for speaker presentation ideas is now open for the 2022 National Carbon Capture Conference & Expo (NCCC) taking place November 8-9, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa,” Ethanol Producer Magazine reports. “Placing the National Carbon Capture Conference in Des Moines this year seemed to be a perfect fit due to all of the CCUS activity currently taking place in the region,” says John Nelson, vice president of operations, sales and marketing at BBI International. “The program will focus on research, data, trends and information on all aspects of CCUS with the goal to help companies build knowledge, connect with others, and better understand the market and carbon utilization.” The first annual National Carbon Capture Conference & Expo is searching for experienced professionals to discuss key elements of the carbon capture, storage, and utilization industry.”
EXTRACTION
InsideClimate News: Scientists Say They’ve Created a Roadmap for Cutting US Emissions in Half by 2030
6/8/22
“Researchers of a new peer-reviewed study say they’ve developed the “first detailed roadmap” for how the United States can achieve its ambitious climate pledge to slash the country’s greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. It’s a critical target that, if missed, would likely jeopardize the larger global efforts to prevent devastating runaway climate change,” InsideClimate News reports. “The study, published in Science late last month by some of the nation’s leading research institutions, found that it is both technically feasible and financially beneficial for the U.S. to rapidly transition to clean power sources and electric vehicles. While ambitious, such a shift wouldn’t result in investors losing money and would keep the country on track to fulfill its commitment under the Paris Agreement, the paper’s authors said—but only if policymakers act immediately to implement the necessary changes. “The good news is that the primary barrier for meeting this target is not going to be cost. It’s really going to be about our overall policy actions,” Nikit Abhyankar, a scientist with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a co-author of the study, told ICN. But “we need to act as soon as possible, with very little room to spare.” Specifically, the study found that the U.S. can feasibly slash half its emissions in eight years by focusing on its two most carbon-intensive sectors: electricity and transportation. The study compared six separate modeling studies, but found that most of the scenarios pointed to the same solutions: By 2030, more than half of the new cars sold in the country would need to be electric and at least 80 percent of the electricity produced would need to come from solar, wind or other renewable sources. That means building about 800 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity between now and 2030. It also means increasing EV sales from its current 3 percent to more than 50 percent… “The study also found that switching to renewables and electric vehicles should no longer be viewed as cost prohibitive… “It found that, in many cases, utilities and other energy providers will spend the same amount or more running natural-gas fired power plants than ones powered by wind or solar. And, while electric vehicles have higher upfront costs than gasoline cars right now, that price difference will even out between the two over the next five to seven years.”
E&E News: Global gas build-out threatens climate targets — report
SARA SCHONHARDT, 6/8/22
“The rush to build natural gas infrastructure in response to soaring energy prices and Russia's war in Ukraine threatens global climate targets, according to a new analysis,” E&E News reports. “Rather than use the energy crunch to move away from fossil fuels, governments are investing largely in short-term energy needs that could hurt their efforts to decarbonize, researchers with Climate Action Tracker said in a report released today. “We’re about to witness a global 'gold rush' for new fossil gas production, pipelines and LNG facilities,” Niklas Höhne of NewClimate Institute, which co-wrote the analysis, told E&E. In the European Union, where a scramble for non-Russian energy is especially acute, newly planned liquefied natural gas terminals and other import infrastructure in places such as Germany, Italy, Greece and the Netherlands could supply nearly 25 percent more gas to the bloc. Those moves come as the United States, Qatar and Egypt are sending more LNG to the European Union, and as gas-rich countries in Africa are being encouraged to boost exports.”
Financial Times: Canada’s oil sands: why some of the world’s dirtiest fuel is now in hot demand
Derek Brower, 6/8/22
“When Joe Biden scrapped a permit for the huge Keystone XL pipeline just hours after entering the White House last year, a death knell seemed to be ringing for Canada’s oil sands, by far the largest supplier of foreign oil to the US.,” the Financial Times reports. “The project, which would have carried Alberta’s heavy, bituminous crude oil to Gulf Coast refineries in Texas, had been opposed for years by environmentalists, owing to the oil sands’ associated ecological impact and high emissions (greater than those of many European countries). Even before the cancellation, big European oil companies, insurers and some Wall Street investors had started fleeing a sector that was becoming a villain of the environmental, social and governance investing movement. Then, the Covid-19 pandemic triggered an oil crash that deepened the damage, forcing operators to sack thousands of workers, throttle production and slash capital spending… “Yet, 18 months later, the mood is brightening as surging oil prices start to revive the economy. Alberta’s producers — forced to contend with sub-zero oil prices just a couple of years ago — are using the windfall from $100 a barrel crude to repair their balance sheets and beef up dividends. Production is rising again. So is export capacity: a pipeline system to the Midwest has been expanded and another to the west coast is due online next year. Across the province’s oil patch, business is suddenly brisk… “Alberta’s premier, Jason Kenney, told FT Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered a new anxiety about energy security that offers “perverse vindication” for the province and its controversial oil sands sector. Political hostility is beginning to soften as leaders are “mugged by reality”, he told FT. “We’ve been saying all along — we cannot allow some of the world’s worst regimes to have a dominant role in global energy markets.” “...Yet, even if the political winds are changing, there is a bigger test facing the oil sands: whether its operations can be greened sufficiently to remain viable in a future that may demand much less oil, and certainly a lot less carbon… “Decarbonising Alberta’s oil industry will take some doing — and a lot of money. The first phase of the producers’ plan involves building the world’s most ambitious carbon capture and storage facility… “But despite years of industry talk, environmentalists say carbon capture and storage is unproven and not feasible at scale and that oil companies are touting it as a way to keep pumping more fossil fuels, whether the technology works or not.”
Canadian Press: Alberta First Nations want consultation, benefits from oilsands carbon storage plans
BOB WEBER, 6/8/22
“Several Alberta First Nations have told the province’s government and energy industry that they must be consulted and share in the benefits of carbon capture projects near their lands that are crucial to making the oil sands more climate friendly,” the Canadian Press reports. “[The companies] want to work together to reduce climate effects,” Cameron Alexis, head of Tribal Chiefs Ventures, which includes six Treaty 6 First Nations near Cold Lake, Alta, told CP. “However, those big players didn’t come in the first instance to the First Nations. We’re an afterthought and that’s not right.” The six largest oil sands producers have formed a group called Oil Sands Pathways to work together to find a way to reduce the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions and bring them to net zero. Its plans rely heavily on carbon capture and storage, which would collect carbon dioxide from large emitters at oil sands mines, pipe it to a central location and inject it deep underground in geologic formations that would keep the carbon safely out of the atmosphere. But Mr. Alexis points out much of that infrastructure, as well as the underground formations being used, would lie on or near First Nations traditional territory. “We want full consultation and full inclusion.” Mr. Alexis told CP the bands will also be looking to negotiate impact and benefits agreements. And they will want research to ensure the developments are safe for the land and the people… “Kendall Dilling, interim head of Pathways, told CP talks with First Nations are just beginning. “They want to be intimately involved in this journey,” he told CP. “Most of this infrastructure will be on their traditional lands and they want to be at the table.”
Canadian Energy Centre: National campaign promotes responsible energy Made the Canadian Way
6/8/22
“A new marketing campaign aims to build national confidence in how oil and gas is produced in Canada by presenting Canadians with a label of origin for an energy sector they can be proud of. The Made the Canadian Way campaign, launched this week by the Canadian Energy Centre (CEC), is focused on giving people across the country the answers they are seeking for how domestic energy producers are meeting the high environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance standards Canadians expect. “This campaign supports our vital mandate to promote Canadian energy as the preferred choice for the growing demand for responsibly produced energy,” said Tom Olsen, the CEC’s Chief Executive Officer. “And it comes at a time when Canadians are thinking more and more about the need for domestic energy security and increasing self-supply,” However, Canadians also continue to seek assurances that domestic energy producers are continuously raising the bar in efforts to shrink their environmental footprint, reduce emissions and include Indigenous communities in decision-making and economically beneficial resource development partnerships. The five-month campaign is built on the value Canadians place in ensuring any product they consume or purchase – whether that be coffee, diamonds, cosmetics, clothing – is sourced by countries meeting the highest environmental, human rights and labour standards. The campaign will include national television, digital, display and social media advertising across the country, with a focus on reaching high density population areas in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec… “The campaign follows a highly successful CEC awareness and advocacy campaign launched in March in key U.S. markets that further asserted Canada as the solution to help meet and secure long-term North American energy demand. The campaign, which asks Americans to ‘Look North’ for energy security targeted creative advertising and messaging to thought leaders that appeared in several key U.S. print and online publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post as well as the Google display network… “To view our television spots click here or here and for more information visit MadetheCanadianWay.ca.”
WIRED: ‘Plastitar’ Is the Unholy Spawn of Oil Spills and Microplastics
Matt Simon, 6/9/22
“ON THE EAST coast of Tenerife, the biggest of the Canary Islands, stretches Playa Grande, with its clear waters and fine sand. Clamber up one of its outcrops, though, and you may notice something amiss: Much of this rock is darker, squishier, and hotter than the rest, and dotted with colorful sprinkles. Sounds cheerful, yes, but it’s actually a diabolical new kind of pollution,” WIRED reports. “The scientists who just discovered the horror are calling it “plastitar.” It's tar from oil spills mixed with the multicolored microplastics that are spewing totally unchecked into the world’s oceans. These scientists scrutinized rock on Playa Grande, and more than half of it was covered in this noxious substance… “Most of the plastic they're looking at is degraded macroplastic, not nurdles,” Deonie Allen, a microplastics scientist at the University of Strathclyde, who wasn’t involved in the research, told WIRED. “So it is well and truly our rubbish that's doing this.” It’s important to note that Hernández-Borges and his colleagues were looking for particles as small as 1 millimeter, which means many, many smaller bits evaded detection. As microplastics science has progressed, researchers have started to test for nanoplastics—particles smaller than a millionth of a meter. A load of laundry can release trillions of these nanoplastics into the sea… “While we know where the plastics came from, the origin of this particular tar wasn’t clear. But generally speaking, whenever oil spills, it floats around and partially evaporates, thickening over time into tar balls, which then wash ashore. It’s basically super-toxic Play-Doh. “Once it gets stuck to the rock, the wave brings microplastics or any litter and pushes it into this Play-Doh,” Hernández-Borges told WIRED… “These tiny bits add to the noxiousness of plastitar, because plastics are loaded with thousands of their own chemicals, many of which are known to be toxic to humans and other animals.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Fossil Free California: New report reveals California pensions CalPERS, CalSTRS vote NO on Big Oil shareholder climate resolutions
CJ Koepp, 6/8/22
“A report released today from Fossil Free California reveals that California’s public pensions voted to oppose climate action at major fossil fuel companies and financiers during the 2022 Annual General Meeting season. This exposé comes two weeks ahead of an Assembly Committee hearing on SB 1173, a bill that would require the funds to divest from fossil fuels, that was passed only two weeks ago by the California Senate. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) are the largest fossil fuel financiers among the top pension funds in the country. While the funds claim to engage with the fossil fuel industry as stakeholders to encourage companies to mitigate climate change, this analysis reveals that CalPERS and CalSTRS voted this year to oppose shareholder proposals at fossil fuel companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, cease exploration activity, and transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. “This latest report today shows that CalPERS and CalSTRS misled us—their members—by voting against climate resolutions, despite claiming their engagement with fossil fuel companies will help bring about needed change,” said Charles Toombs, CFA President… “CalPERS and CalSTRS also wildly exaggerated the cost of divestment to the Senate Appropriations Committee last month, claiming figures as high as $100 million when their own consulting firm, Wilshire and Associates, has shown that the transaction cost associated with selling assets is “considered negligible.”
Sierra Club: What’s Next in the Growing Movement to Push Banks on Climate Action?
Ben Cushing and Adele Shraiman, 6/6/22
“As the climate crisis continues to ravage communities around the world, the financial sector—from major investors to working people managing their 401Ks—is waking up to the reality that climate change poses a massive threat to our financial system, and their own portfolios… “Nowhere was this trend more apparent than during the 2022 shareholder season, the time of the year when banks and other corporations hold annual meetings to provide financial forecasting and answer to shareholder demands. Fed up with Wall Street’s hypocrisy, investors banded together to target big banks’ financing of new fossil fuel development… “This year’s shareholder resolutions filed at six major US banks—Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs—put bank executives in the spotlight once again. For the first time, bank leaders were asked to go beyond simply making climate commitments, to creating credible plans to achieve their long-term targets… “All six major US banks—as well as Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street, the three biggest US asset managers who own major shares in each of those banks—have commitments to limit their financed emissions to net zero by 2050. Yet these major banks and asset managers continue to finance and invest billions of dollars every year into new fossil fuel expansion that directly undermines their own commitments… “In total, five of this year’s six shareholder proposals received more than 10 percent of the vote. This year’s resolutions laid the groundwork for investors to continue to push major U.S. banks to deliver real climate action, and put these Wall Street giants on notice. Pressure from customers, investors, and shareholders isn’t going anywhere.”
OPINION
The Hill: Environmental and climate justice: Moment of truth for FERC
Lt. General Russel L. Honoré (U.S. Army Ret.) served as commander of Joint Task Force Katrina in 2005 and currently leads the Green Army, finding solutions for pollution, 6/9/22
“When the White House nominated Willie Phillips in 2021 to serve as a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), many of my allies and I were both excited and concerned. While Phillips’s addition to the five-member commission gave the body a Democratic majority and its only Black member, we also knew that Phillips had worked for law firms Balch & Bingham as well as Van Ness Feldman, where he advised energy companies,” Lt. General Russel L. Honoré writes for The Hill. “...On Feb. 17, FERC adopted two new gas policy statements on a party-line vote. The first, approved as a final policy, committed the commission to consider a wide range of impacts of pipeline construction. It looked as if FERC would finally consider whether these pipelines were really needed and take environmental justice seriously. It appeared that impacts on landowners whose property the pipelines would run through, including Black rural landowners whose forebears had often owned affected land for generations, would finally be considered. Many landowners, both Black and of every other background, have seen their property taken from them against their will by pipeline companies authorized to do so, through the use of eminent domain. The second statement, approved in draft form, would require FERC to consider the climate-pollution impacts of pipelines and gas export facilities that leak climate-polluting gas and are designed to bring gas to locations where the gas will be burned, causing the release of even more climate pollution… “War or not, building dangerous gas export terminals along the Gulf Coast right in the middle of a hurricane zone is a bad idea. I saw what Hurricane Katrina did to the coast. Building even more industrial facilities along the coast doesn’t make any sense. Similarly, destroying people’s land and livelihoods just so pipeline companies can make even more money is not right. Portions of Louisiana and Texas have served as national sacrifice zones for far too long. That needs to stop. Phillips and his colleagues on FERC can make this right. They can promptly approve both policy statements. Even that wouldn’t mean they are sprinting in the right direction, but even just walking in the right direction would make an important contribution to climate and environmental sanity.”
Wichita Star-Eagle: Kansas lawmakers subvert the will of the people in favor of the fossil fuel industry
Stan Cox is a research fellow in ecosphere studies at the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, 6/8/22
“If our nation’s accelerating slide toward autocracy isn’t reversed soon, we can wave goodbye to federal action on climate. The fossil fuel industries could run wild. The United States could keep dumping billions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year, and other nations would have an excuse not to rein in their own emissions,” Stan Cox writes for the Wichita Star-Eagle. “No nation or community on Earth would be spared the consequences of the catastrophic increase of 5 to 6 degrees Fahrenheit in global temperature that would result. In the Kansas City area, intense heat waves and floods would become much more frequent and dangerous. The deadly one-two punch of unprecedented heat and extreme humidity, along with increases in ozone pollution, black mold from water damage, insect-borne diseases and other health threats could render the region almost unlivable… “More than 200 bills recently introduced in Republican-controlled state legislatures across the country would enable election outcomes that contradict the will of the voters, according to the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Protect Democracy Project. Among these 33 states, Missouri ties for the fifth largest number of antidemocracy bills introduced, Kansas for seventh… “It’s not only at the ballot box that Americans could be robbed of our right to push for climate action. The current rush toward autocracy features an avalanche of new state and local legislation that would further criminalize public protest. Not surprisingly, many of these measures to suppress nonviolent dissent reflect the authoritarian right’s love of fossil fuels. For example, some states — including Missouri and Kansas — have passed laws that would punish nonviolent demonstrators seen anywhere in the vicinity of oil or gas pipelines or power plants. Hardest hit would be the Indigenous communities, who have led the struggle against the fossil fuel industry… “In short, if the legislative and executive branches of the federal government follow the Supreme Court into the clutches of the far right, then all of us alive today, plus future generations of humans and the entire ecosphere, will be in deep, deep trouble.”