EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 7/31/26
PIPELINE NEWS
Reuters: Enbridge pipeline trespassed on Wisconsin tribal land, must be moved, US appeals court finds
E&E News: California Dems mobilize to stop pipeline land grab
Northern Light: Larsen pressures Coast Guard for answers over oil spill preparation
NTV: Boone County amends zoning rules to address CO2 pipelines
Spectrum News: Proposed Enbridge pipeline raises concerns over property rights, environment in Chatham County
Pipeline & Gas Journal: Tennessee Gas Files FERC Request for Cumberland River Pipeline Integrity Project
Natural Gas Intelligence: Data Center Opposition Not Slowing Natural Gas Pipeline Buildout, TC Energy Says
Reuters: Enbridge beats second-quarter profit estimates on higher Mainline volumes
Eastsider LA: Remediation efforts continue after East LA. oil spill
Press release: Virtual Film Screening: VS. GOLIATH: Appalachia
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Trump bets Chevron’s fall lets him rewrite rules for imperiled wildlife
E&E News: Trump admin draws fire for plan to lift Biden-era oil ban near national park
E&E News: Senate GOP to add ethanol legislation to farm bill
Ohio Capital Journal: Federal government will put 2,840 acres of Ohio’s only national forest out to bid for fracking.
Independent: Trump insists Andy Burnham will ‘open up North Sea’ for oil drilling
Bloomberg: Interior Allowed to Take Another Look at Oil Lease Sale Analysis
The Center Square: Opponents speak against mining at ancient Indigenous site
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Judge casts doubt on New York’s polluter pays climate law
Billings Gazette: ExxonMobil withdraws application for Montana’s first carbon capture project
Gasworld: Agricultural company launches CCS operations at Kansas ethanol plant
Utility Dive: California’s carbon-pricing program generated $36.2B for climate initiatives: report
EXTRACTION
Heatmap: Over 530 Local Laws Now Seek to Ban or Restrict Data Centers
Reuters: Carney plays down idea of curbing Canadian oil supplies to US amid trade war
Reuters: China generates less than half of its electricity from coal for the first time
Reuters: Ksi Lisims LNG inks 20-year supply deal with German utility Uniper
Amnesty International: Shell, oil spills and human rights in Nigeria: What you need to know
OPINION
Forbes: The New Environmental Movement Could Change AI’s Trajectory
PIPELINE NEWS
Reuters: Enbridge pipeline trespassed on Wisconsin tribal land, must be moved, US appeals court finds
Jonathan Stempel, 7/30/26
“A U.S. appeals court found Enbridge liable for trespass for running a pipeline under land belonging to a northern Wisconsin tribe, but gave the Canadian energy company more time to reroute the pipeline and ordered a recalculation of damages,” Reuters reports. “Thursday’s decision by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago addressed appeals from a federal district judge’s June 2023 order that Enbridge pay the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians $5.15 million in restitution plus an additional sum for ongoing trespass, and move the pipeline within three years. That deadline expired last month, but had been put on hold. Circuit Judge Michael Scudder urged the district judge to adopt measures to ensure that Enbridge reroute the pipeline “as soon as possible.” “...Writing for a three-judge panel, Scudder said the three-year timetable to move the pipeline was too aggressive, but a shutdown risked harming consumers, sparking international fallout with Canada, and violating a 1977 U.S.-Canadian treaty governing transit pipelines. “Make no mistake: Enbridge must remove the pipeline from the [tribe’s land],” Scudder wrote. “The grace period we direct the district court to afford Enbridge is the product of the broader public context in which the pipeline operates, and it does not reflect our approval of the company’s behavior.”
E&E News: California Dems mobilize to stop pipeline land grab
Andres Picon, 7/31/26
“California’s Democratic senators are making a full-throttle push to quash an amendment working its way through Congress that would give a lifeline to a contentious oil pipeline in their home state,” E&E News reports. “Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff want to kill a provision in the House’s defense policy bill that lawmakers adopted by a single vote last week, mostly along party lines, that would allow the Pentagon to seize land along the Santa Ynez pipeline system in central California. The amendment, sponsored by Texas Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt, would empower the Trump administration to keep oil flowing to California users — including military installations — after an 11-year stoppage following a spill. “This amendment is a power grab that threatens both states’ rights and California’s coastline and environment,” Padilla said in a statement. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t become law.”
Northern Light: Larsen pressures Coast Guard for answers over oil spill preparation
Nolan Baker, 7/29/26
“U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (D-Everett) is putting pressure on the U.S. Coast Guard to update its oil spill prevention plans in response to a proposed Canadian oil pipeline that would terminate near Point Roberts,” Northern Light reports. “The pipeline would span west from oil fields in Alberta to the coast of B.C., ending at the Roberts Bank port in Delta — neighboring Point Roberts and just a few miles from Blaine… “On July 21, Larsen — the top Democrat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee — demanded answers from the Coast Guard on whether it was monitoring the potential pipeline, and to inform Congress on how it planned to update the Canada-United States Joint Maritime Pollution Contingency Plan, which covers marine oil spill prevention and cleanup procedures. “I’m really limited in what I can do to raise concerns from the U.S. side,” Larsen said in an interview with Northern Light. “I know that my constituents, from Lummi and Swinomish tribes … to folks who live in the San Juans, all of them have very serious concerns about the potential of an oil spill, which won’t respect the water border at all if it does happen.” Larsen said he has still not received any written response from the Coast Guard. Media inquiries from Northern Light were not returned prior to press time… “Larsen told Northern Light the Coast Guard has not prioritized protecting the Salish Sea, and has been too focused on immigration enforcement operations along the U.S.-Mexico border. “We need to make sure the Coast Guard is doing its job and not focused on other issues that are not related to their job,” Larsen told Northern Light. “There’s a lot of concern in Congress about whether the Coast Guard as a whole has the focus it needs on its statutory duties versus being dragged down to the southern water border in order to do work.”
NTV: Boone County amends zoning rules to address CO2 pipelines
Emma Leek, 7/30/26
“Boone County commissioners have updated the county’s zoning regulations to address carbon dioxide pipelines, a topic that has drawn repeated public debate as companies pursue new pipeline projects across Nebraska,” NTV reports. “...On Monday, commissioners voted to amend zoning rules so CO2 pipelines have permitted use in Agriculture-1 and Industrial-1 and Industrial-2 zones, and conditional use in Agriculture-2 and Agriculture-3 zones. Boone County Commissioner Vice Chairman Brian Yosten said the change gives the county more authority to review proposals and ensure developers follow federal guidelines. “Previously in Boone County...there was there was no regulations or anything. So if they came in, they came in. But now it gives us the authority to review what they’re doing and make sure they’re following the federal guidelines,” Yosten said. During public discussion, residents turned out to make sure commissioners heard their general concerns. Summit Carbon Solutions has announced plans to build a pipeline across Nebraska with a final destination of Wyoming. Shelli Meyer, with the citizen group Bold Nebraska, said the group is concerned about legal issues related to land ownership and about safety. “So it will have a gas plume that you can’t smell or see pretty much. And with petroleum or natural gas, you either have a flame that you see or you have black gook coming out of the pipe. This is totally different,” Meyer said… “Yosten said they have heard residents’ concerns, including fears about contamination and public exposure, but said he believes the risk is limited… “We want to make sure that they provide enough protection for landowners, or also wanting to make sure that these companies don’t try to use eminent domain for private gain, to do what they want to do and make billions of dollars off of these folks,” Meyer said.”
Spectrum News: Proposed Enbridge pipeline raises concerns over property rights, environment in Chatham County
Ryan Hayes-Owens, 7/30/26
“A proposed 28-mile natural gas pipeline through Chatham County continues to divide residents with some landowners saying they’re concerned about private property rights, environmental impacts and how the project could reshape their rural community,” Spectrum News reports. “Enbridge’s proposed Chatham County System Expansion Project would run from Siler City to Moncure… “Before construction can begin, Enbridge contractors are surveying land along potential routes, a process that requires access to private property and has become a major concern for some landowners. For Tony Williamson, the land represents generations of family history. “The African American church gathered here, and they had baptisms here in this spot,” Williamson told Spectrum. “I can feel it... I can feel it coming off the water right now. It’s such a spiritual place.” “...The pipeline proposal has also raised broader concerns among residents about transparency and the potential use of eminent domain. John Alderman, another concerned resident, wants more information about the project and its long-term impacts. “Taking land, not announcing any of the reasons why they do what they’re going to do, why they’re doing it. The public needs a statement,” he told Spectrum… “I think we have to fight this as Americans, as citizens,” Deyrup told Spectrum. “This is not how our Constitution works. You don’t get to just say, ‘we have arbitrarily decided you need a pipeline and you’re going to pay for it, and we’re going to take your land.’”
Pipeline & Gas Journal: Tennessee Gas Files FERC Request for Cumberland River Pipeline Integrity Project
7/31/26
“Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. (TGP) has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for authorization to move forward with a $16 million pipeline replacement project beneath the Cumberland River in Cheatham County, Tennessee,” Pipeline & Gas Journal reports. “The company filed its request July 15 under its blanket certificate authority, proposing to replace existing 24-inch-diameter sections of Line Nos. 500-1 and 800-1 with new 30-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline segments where the lines cross beneath the Cumberland River. The project also includes abandoning the existing 24-inch pipeline segments in place and replacing four 24-inch mainline valves with new 30-inch valves on both sides of the river. Known as the Cumberland River HDD Project, the upgrade is intended to allow Tennessee Gas Pipeline to perform federally required integrity assessments under the terms of a special permit issued by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).”
Natural Gas Intelligence: Data Center Opposition Not Slowing Natural Gas Pipeline Buildout, TC Energy Says
Christopher Lenton, 7/30/26
“Data centers, electrification, and LNG exports across North America are driving an unprecedented surge in natural gas demand, executives at Canadian midstream giant TC Energy said on Thursday,” Natural Gas Intelligence reports.
Reuters: Enbridge beats second-quarter profit estimates on higher Mainline volumes
Pooja Menon, 7/31/26
“Enbridge beat estimates for second-quarter adjusted profit on Friday, as the Canadian pipeline operator benefited from higher volumes of liquids transported on its Mainline system,” Reuters reports. “Pipeline operators are benefiting from increasing demand for natural gas, utility infrastructure and power supply for data centers, which has helped Enbridge generate steady growth even amid geopolitical tensions and commodity price volatility… “It added more than C$1 billion of projects to its secured growth backlog this quarter with the sanctioning of the Line 5 Relocation project in Wisconsin, bringing the total backlog to about C$41 billion… “CEO Greg Ebel said the company was well positioned to capitalize on a favorable growth environment and would continue to provide more visibility on its 5% growth outlook and extend it further into the future.”
Eastsider LA: Remediation efforts continue after East LA. oil spill
7/28/26
“The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a motion directing departments to continue community engagement and provide updates on cleanup, testing and available resources related to the East L.A. oil spill that occurred in May,” Eastsider LA reports. “...Today’s motion reflects my continued commitment to ensuring residents have access to answers, transparency, and the support they need, while making clear that their concerns will not be forgotten,” said Supervisor Hilda Solis, who represents cities and unincorporated areas in East L.A. During Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Solis convened county departments to provide an update on the status of environmental testing, cleanup efforts, public health impacts, community outreach and steps being taken to hold the parties responsible for the oil spill accountable… “The broken pipe released an estimated 25,000 gallons of crude oil from an underground pipeline… “Residents of East L.A., nearby communities and elected officials said the spill added to longstanding concerns about environmental injustices… “County departments remain involved in the recovery effort, according to officials. They have also provided outreach to help businesses and residents affected by the oil spill with the claims process.”
Press release: Virtual Film Screening: VS. GOLIATH: Appalachia
7/30/26
“Join us for a free national screening series of VS. GOLIATH—a powerful new documentary series following everyday people across the United States as they stand up to the fossil fuel industry and fight for the future of their communities. We will be screening the 4 episodes on the first Tuesday of the month from July-October. Deep in the hollers of the Blue Ridge Mountains, construction of a monstrous fracked gas pipeline is tearing through mountaintops, forests, and streams, bearing down on rural communities. Army Veteran Russell Chisholm swore an oath to protect and serve his country, and now, as the waters, forests, and way of life he calls home come under threat, he’s been called to defend his community from the domestic threat of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. He joins with community members from West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina, including farmers, veterans and Indigenous leaders who rally together to resist. All across the country, members of Fossil Free Media, Sierra Club, Third Act, Union of Concerned Scientists, Center for Biological Diversity, People Vs. Fossil Fuels, 198 Methods, Climate Hawks Vote, Food and Water Watch, 350 Local Groups Network, GreenFaith, Climate First!, Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community, Climate Reality Project Greater New Orleans, United Women in Faith and many more will come together in living rooms, offices, and in homes to watch this powerful series of ordinary people going up against the fossil fuel industry.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Trump bets Chevron’s fall lets him rewrite rules for imperiled wildlife
Ian M. Stevenson, 7/29/26
“For decades, presidents of both parties and the Supreme Court have agreed that federal law prevents developers from destroying habitat critical to vulnerable wildlife. The Trump administration is now making the case that a landmark Supreme Court ruling ending judicial deference to federal agencies gives it room to reverse that longstanding interpretation,” E&E News reports. “The problem: Many environmental lawyers told E&E the high court’s 2024 decision doesn’t go nearly that far. If they’re right, one of the administration’s biggest efforts to narrow the Endangered Species Act could face an uphill battle in court. “There will be a bitter fight over this rule in the courts,” Ben Cowan, an environmental attorney at the firm Troutman Pepper Locke, told E&E… “The rule change upends an approach that has been the law of the land since the Supreme Court decided in 1995 that federal regulators reasonably included habitat protections in safeguards for two vulnerable birds… “The rule change itself promises to be a boon for industry by cutting away requirements ranging from the need for incidental take permits in many instances to limits on logging or drilling projects.”
E&E News: Trump admin draws fire for plan to lift Biden-era oil ban near national park
Heather Richards, 7/30/26
“The Trump administration’s proposal to end a Biden-era oil ban around the Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico is sparking pushback from some tribal governments, state leaders and environmental groups,” E&E News reports. “The administration plans to lift a 20-year ban on oil and gas lease sales and new mining claims near the park, arguing the policy had unfairly cut off energy resources that could be responsibly produced… “The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks and the Association of National Park Rangers argued in a letter that Chaco has already been damaged by more than 37,000 oil and gas wells that have been drilled in the area… “The letter was signed by dozens of former National Park Service employees. Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland implemented the leasing ban in 2023 to protect thousands of archaeological sites of the Chacoan civilization… “During a hearing Wednesday, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, defended the Biden-era plan to “protect thousands of individual archaeological and cultural sites.”
E&E News: Senate GOP to add ethanol legislation to farm bill
Grace Yarrow, 7/30/26
“Senate Republicans will include language to permanently allow year-round sales of E15 fuel in the farm bill they plan to mark up next Thursday, according to two people familiar with the plans,” E&E News reports. “The E15 language that senators are planning to attach to their package is a scaled-back version of the bill the House passed in May. The House bill narrowed exemptions for certain small refiners, a provision that became a sticking point for some GOP senators. Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) is set to formally schedule the farm bill markup for Aug. 6. His bill will include E15 language that more closely mirrors legislation championed by Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), the two people, who were granted anonymity to discuss the private negotiations, told E&E.”
Ohio Capital Journal: Federal government will put 2,840 acres of Ohio’s only national forest out to bid for fracking.
Megan Henry, 7/30/26
“Nearly 3,000 acres of land in Ohio’s only national forest will be auctioned for fracking in September,” the Ohio Capital Journal reports. “The Bureau of Land Management announced 41 parcels totaling 2,840 acres in Wayne National Forest will go up for a bid on Sept. 15. The announcement was made earlier this month and these parcels are in Monroe and Washington counties… “Ohio Environmental Council Senior Attorney for Land and Water Nathan Johnson told the Journal putting out bids to frack Wayne National Forest is concerning… “The BLM’s overall plan is to lease out 40,000 acres for fracking in Wayne National Forest, Johnson told the Journal.”
Independent: Trump insists Andy Burnham will ‘open up North Sea’ for oil drilling
Jane Dalton, 7/30/26
“US President Donald Trump has claimed that Prime Minister Andy Burnham told him he would ‘open up the North Sea’ for oil drilling, asserting that this action would make the UK ‘a really rich country’ due to vast reserves,” the Independent reports. “Speaking at a White House briefing, Trump estimated the North Sea holds up to 700 years’ worth of oil, criticising the UK for its reliance on windmills and importing oil from Norway despite its own significant resources. Trump contrasted Burnham’s alleged commitment with his previous inability to persuade Sir Keir Starmer to pursue North Sea oil extraction during his premiership.”
Bloomberg: Interior Allowed to Take Another Look at Oil Lease Sale Analysis
Shayna Greene, 7/29/26
“The Interior Department won its bid to reevaluate its analysis for an oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico after a federal court granted the request,” Bloomberg reports. “Judge Amit P. Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia signed a minute order allowing Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to reconsider its decision authorizing Lease Sale 261. Healthy Gulf and other environmental groups in 2023 challenged BOEM’s approval of the lease sale alleging a faulty environmental analysis.”
The Center Square: Opponents speak against mining at ancient Indigenous site
Liam Hibbert, 7/29/26
“Opposition has grown against federal plans to allow oil and gas drilling at a more than 1,000-year-old Indigenous UNESCO site, which features the ruins of an ancient New Mexico community,” The Center Square reports. “New Mexico activists and Indigenous political leaders have expressed widespread opposition to plans by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to revoke protections for the 338,690-acre site that surrounds the much smaller Chaco Culture National Historical Park. That was seen during the BLM’s two-week public comment period that was to end just before midnight Mountain Daylight Time on Wednesday… “The decision came after years of pressure from Indigenous leaders – progress they said the Trump administration is eager to reverse with this decision.”
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Judge casts doubt on New York’s polluter pays climate law
Lesley Clark, 7/31/26
“An Obama-appointed federal judge on Thursday sharply questioned a New York law designed to force polluters to pay for the effects of climate change, offering an early signal that courts may be skeptical of a strategy that has become a prime target of President Donald Trump’s Justice Department,” E&E News reports. “Chief Judge Brenda Sannes of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York had tough questions for state attorneys over whether the 2024 New York Climate Change Superfund Act — one of two of its kind in the U.S. — encroaches on powers reserved for the federal government… “Modeled after the “polluter pays” model of the federal Superfund program, which created a tax on chemical and petroleum industries to clean up hazardous waste sites, New York’s law seeks billions of dollars from energy producers to fund climate adaptation costs. The law aims to charge fossil fuel producers $75 billion over 25 years, with payments pegged to historical emissions of those companies’ products. Trump’s DOJ — along with red states and energy trade associations — have challenged New York’s law and a similar one in Vermont… “A federal judge heard arguments in a challenge to Vermont’s law in March but did not indicate which way she might rule. Other states have considered similar legislation and could be encouraged by a favorable ruling, though the cases are likely to land before the Supreme Court.”
Billings Gazette: ExxonMobil withdraws application for Montana’s first carbon capture project
Alex Mitchell, 7/30/26
“A plan to construct Montana’s first carbon capture project seems to have died last week, after an ExxonMobil subsidiary withdrew a proposal to pump the gas thousands of feet beneath a remote patch of prairie in the southeastern part of the state,” the Billings Gazette reports. “Denbury Solutions had asked the Bureau of Land Management for permission to build 15 injection wells on on federal, state and private lands… “The proposed 156-square-mile plan was known as the Snowy River CO2 Sequestration Project. BLM previously limited access to government land for the project in July 2025, when it said it would only allow a two-track access route and a 0.3-mile stretch of road to a single test well site. Denbury appealed BLM’s decision less than a month later. Yet after waiting for a decision for nearly a year, Denbury filed a motion to withdraw the initial appeal on June 11 before it could be decided upon… “The withdrawal of the application to BLM indicates a likely end to the planned project or a significant reduction in plans… “But once the current iteration of the project garnered public attention in 2024, it began to draw overwhelming opposition from ranchers, conservationists and residents in the county with a population of 1,415 people. BLM noted those concerns in its move to limit advancement of the project… “Montana’s Northern Plain Resource Council had organized around the issue for more than two years and cheered the withdrawal in a statement shared with the Gazette. “This is an encouraging outcome for Montana,” Steve Summers, a Northern Plains Resource Council member, told the Gazette. “We’re grateful to everyone who took the time to get informed, ask questions, and make their voices heard. The lesson here isn’t about one project, it’s about what engaged citizens can accomplish. The public process only works when the public shows up, and when they do, they become plan makers instead of plan takers.”
Gasworld: Agricultural company launches CCS operations at Kansas ethanol plant
Sophie Gregory, 7/31/26
“US agricultural processing company Purefield Ingredients (Purefield) has commissioned a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) facility with capacity to capture 150,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year in Russell, Kansas,” Gasworld reports. “...The high-purity CO2 stream generated through these fermentation processes will be captured and transported via a dedicated pipeline for permanent geological sequestration. PureField has also started the planning process for an expansion to double both its ethanol production and carbon sequestration capacity. In April, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved Purefield’s application to geologically sequester CO2 from its Russell operations at its Class VI injection well located six miles away.”
Utility Dive: California’s carbon-pricing program generated $36.2B for climate initiatives: report
Zoya Mirza, 7/30/26
“California’s Cap-and-Invest program — a carbon-pricing mechanism that places a firm cap on major sources of greenhouse gas emissions throughout the state — has generated $36.2 billion for climate investments since its inception in 2013, according to a new report from the California Air Resources Board,” Utility Dive reports. “CARB, the agency tasked with managing the program and implementing California’s climate laws, noted in the report that $15.5 billion from this figure has already been deployed across 122 programs to back over 600,000 projects that aim to deliver clean air, energy efficiency, affordability and emissions reductions. The report, released to the state legislature last week, also noted that 76% of the funding deployed specifically targets disadvantaged and low-income communities and households.”
EXTRACTION
Heatmap: Over 530 Local Laws Now Seek to Ban or Restrict Data Centers
Robinson Meyer, 7/30/26
“...Washington has yet to pass major data center regulation. But the backlash is already reshaping local zoning and land use codes across the country, according to an extensive review of public records conducted by Heatmap Pro. “...More than 500 counties or municipalities now actively restrict or block new data centers, according to the review. This tally includes only the most severe constraints — such as steep setback requirements, impossible noise limits, or outright bans on permit approvals — that all but forbid the construction of a data center. The overwhelming majority of these restrictions have been enacted since the beginning of the year. Nearly 190 have been passed since June 1… “More than 50 data centers have been canceled so far this year after facing local pushback of some kind, according to a Heatmap Pro review of press accounts, public records, and project cancellations. That’s more than twice as many projects as were canceled under similar circumstances in all of 2025, according to our data… “More than 200 pending data center projects are now being fought at the local level nationwide… “Roughly 40% of data center projects that faced some kind of local challenge over that period were eventually canceled, according to Heatmap Pro data. But that figure has gone up in recent months. Today, a data center project that’s challenged by local activists has about a 50% chance of being canceled. A contested data center now has roughly the same odds as a contested solar or wind farm of getting canceled, Heatmap Pro data suggests… “ Many of the ordinances are — at least on paper — set to expire in the coming year to give local officials time to create their own schemes for regulating data centers in the absence of federal regulation. But many restrictions on wind and solar energy were also initially described as temporary. Officials have still renewed them year after year in order to avoid dealing with a controversial issue. Even when local moratoriums do not always kill projects, they can ensure that an already troubled project gets the boot.”
Reuters: Carney plays down idea of curbing Canadian oil supplies to US amid trade war
7/29/26
“Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday played down the idea of curbing oil supplies to the United States to gain leverage in a trade war, saying that would harm Canada’s reputation,” Reuters reports. “President Donald Trump, who has already imposed a raft of tariffs against Canada, on Tuesday said he did not care about renewing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade deal… “Canada is a major shipper of crude to the United States and Carney, in response to a question about potentially using oil as a bargaining lever, dismissed the idea. “Being a reliable supplier is important. Canadians are reliable. Canadians can be trusted… we have many exports and commodities. One of the biggest commodities, arguably the best, is trust,” he said. “People trust us, and so when you’re the supplier of a key commodity, a key service, you have got to think really hard about not supplying.”
Reuters: China generates less than half of its electricity from coal for the first time
7/30/26
“China, the world’s largest coal consumer, generated less than 50% of its electricity from the fossil fuel in the six months to June, marking a first for the country which has been promoting the use of renewable energy, officials said,” Reuters reports. “Coal’s share of the power mix was 49.7%, Xing Yiteng, deputy director general of the energy administration’s development and planning office, told a news conference on Thursday. Renewable energy’s share grew to 41.2% — the first time it topped 40% — and of that wind and solar accounted for 24.6%, Xing added. Natural gas and nuclear make up the balance… “China’s targets call for increasing wind and solar to 30% of its power mix by 2030, but Gao Yuhe, Greenpeace East Asia’s project manager, told Reuters that goal could be hit by 2028, helped by more rooftop solar-plus-battery deployment.”
Reuters: Ksi Lisims LNG inks 20-year supply deal with German utility Uniper
7/29/26
“German utility Uniper says it has signed an agreement to purchase liquefied natural gas from the Ksi Lisims project planned for the northern British Columbia coast,” Reuters reports. “Uniper and Ksi Lisims LNG say in a joint news release that the Duesseldorf-based company will purchase two million tonnes per year of LNG for up to 20 years, with first deliveries expected in 2032. They say the deal marks the first major long-term LNG supply agreement between Canada and Germany… “Houston-based Western LNG is the lead developer and future operator of Ksi Lisims alongside Rockies LNG, a consortium of Canadian natural gas producers, and the Nisga’a Nation, on whose lands the $10-billion project would be located.”
Amnesty International: Shell, oil spills and human rights in Nigeria: What you need to know
7/29/26
“The Niger Delta is one of the world’s largest wetlands and also one of its most valuable oil-producing regions. For decades, oil spills, gas flaring, waste dumping and failed clean-ups have devastated communities who depend on its land, rivers and creeks for food, water and livelihoods. Amnesty International’s research has shown that Shell’s record there is not only an environmental scandal. It is a human rights crisis… “Its export economy has consisted majorly of oil and gas ever since, making up more than 90% of the country’s total exports for years… “Meanwhile, oil companies were exploiting Nigeria’s weak regulatory system. They did not employ sufficient measures to prevent environmental damage, and they frequently failed to properly address the devastating impact that their bad practice has on people’s lives… “Amnesty International has repeatedly called on Shell to: clean up oil pollution; compensate affected communities; repair the damage caused by decades of oil operations; respect people’s right to remedy; remain accountable, even after selling or leaving parts of its Niger Delta business. Oil companies made billions from the Niger Delta. They must not be allowed to leave behind poisoned land, polluted water and communities still fighting to be heard.”
OPINION
Forbes: The New Environmental Movement Could Change AI’s Trajectory
John Kostyack, 7/29/26
“A new BNEF forecast predicts U.S. data center electricity demand will surge to 194 gigawatts by 2035, an 83% increase from its forecast of just eight months ago. Hyperscale data centers installed to date are already causing significant environmental and financial harm, and this projected growth could cause much greater damage,” John Kostyack writes for Forbes reports. “Fortunately, a powerful new environmental movement is emerging and is well-positioned to win policy guardrails… “Substantial environmental and financial harms have already been caused by state and local officials’ fast-tracking of data center approvals in the roughly three years since the hyperscale development boom began. Policy guardrails must now be put in place, prior to any additional approvals, to prevent irreversible damage to the global climate as well as local air and water quality, freshwater supplies, and household finances. Fortunately, a new environmental movement has emerged just in time to make the case for these guardrails. As Abre’ Conner of the NAACP, one of the key leaders working with the frontline communities that are shaping the public narrative and creating the momentum, has stated, this latest iteration represents one of “largest expansions of people recognizing their power” in recent U.S. history… “The research firm Data Center Watch reports that in just the first three months of 2026, advocates blocked or delayed at least 75 data center projects nationwide worth about $130 billion, matching the total for all of 2025. More than 300 local bans and moratoriums have now been enacted nationwide. The movement has also demonstrated its impact with state policy makers. This month New York Governor Kathy Hochul enacted the first statewide data center moratorium and Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed legislation imposing the first statewide energy consumption tax on data centers… “This is a remarkable change from just two years ago, when state and local policy makers were competing to see who could award the more generous subsidies, and even waiving local zoning, to attract data centers… “A second feature that makes the movement so powerful is that it is truly bottom-up, arising from communities facing data center proposals and driven by energetic community leaders… “A third feature of the movement is the ideological diversity of the people who have coalesced around the values of environmental protection and economic fairness… “Finally, the movement gains its strength from the powerful idea of restoring democracy… “Today, the new environmental movement is fighting back and winning, including by voting to replace elected representatives not willing to truly listen to their concerns.”