EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 7/3/25
(Note to Readers: The next edition of “Extracted” will be published on Monday, July 7.)
PIPELINE NEWS
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Unearthed bones, land swap, expedited review: Enbridge Line 5 tunnel review leaves tribes behind
CT Mirror: Lamont doubles down on natural gas after signing two climate-related bills
KDLL: Sullivan pitches LNG pipeline to Pentagon leadership
The State: Pipeline through SC threatens private property, rivers and swamps, state told
Appalachian Voices: July 5: Atlantic Coast Pipeline Cancellation Day!
WASHINGTON UPDATES
News From the States: Protesters outside the US House make a last stand against the GOP megabill
Bloomberg: US House Nears Passage of Trump’s Tax Bill After All-Nighter
Politico: The ‘big, beautiful bill’ is one vote away from Donald Trump’s desk
E&E News: Energy winners and losers in the Republican megabill
Politico: Senate boosts fossil fuel subsidies in GOP megabill
Politico: Pending rollback
Inside EPA: Agencies Release Proposals To Dramatically Roll Back NEPA Reviews
E&E News: Public lands backers still on guard after megabill fight
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Congress plans to scrap USDA Climate Hubs, following Trump guidance
Associated Press: Trump nominates 4 to Tennessee Valley Authority board after firing Biden picks
NPR: The White House took down the nation's top climate report. You can still find it here
STATE UPDATES
Michigan Advance: Michigan joins 14 other states in challenging Trump’s energy emergency
Santa Fe Reporter: Landmark New Mexico oil pollution lawsuit appealed to state Supreme Court
E&E News: EPA proposes draft permits for CO2 storage in southeast Texas
KBMT: EPA opens public comment on ExxonMobil's Rose CCS site proposal
Chron: Texas just handed oil companies control of produced water in new court ruling
North Dakota Monitor: Basin Electric says planned power plant not driven by data centers
EXTRACTION
Bloomberg: US Shale to Slow Drilling as Trump’s Tariffs Rattle Executives
Reuters: EU includes international CO2 credits in climate goal for first time
Guardian: EU targets 90% cut in emissions by 2040 as green groups cry foul
Financial Times: Canada’s bid to become an energy superpower
Wall Street Journal: Carbon Removal Startup Climeworks Fundraising Moves Past $1 Billion
Reuters: Bezos-backed methane tracking satellite is lost in space
Inside Climate News: NIH Scientists Link Air Pollution and Lung Cancer Mutations in Non-Smokers
OPINION
MR Online: Can carbon dioxide removal save the climate?
PIPELINE NEWS
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Unearthed bones, land swap, expedited review: Enbridge Line 5 tunnel review leaves tribes behind
Caitlin Looby, 7/2/25
“In December 2022, Enbridge, the Canadian fossil fuel giant behind the controversial Line 5 pipeline, signed a real estate agreement transferring two parcels of land near the Straits of Mackinac to Michigan’s Emmet County,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. “...Although the entire area known as McGulpin Point is one of the most important places for Odawa tribes, by swapping parcels, Enbridge potentially escaped federal review of land that tribes say is likely to have items of cultural significance. Both the Army Corps and tribes in the area contend they did not know of the land deal until much later. The county went on to pave over the land with a parking lot in fall 2023. That move – along with others identified by a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation – may have sidestepped a provision in the National Historic Preservation Act. Further, public records, court filings and emails reviewed by the Journal Sentinel, as well as multiple interviews, reveal how Enbridge leaves tribal officials feeling ignored, and how federal oversight can be manipulated to bypass protections for Indigenous lands. Tribal officials see the federal review process as insincere – a particularly dismaying situation given they are trying to protect land that is part of their identity… “Enbridge contends that the land swap was unrelated to the Great Lakes tunnel project… “Indigenous history is so embedded in the Straits region that it’s all but impossible for Enbridge to work there without disturbing or destroying burial sites and culturally important spaces and artifacts, Eric Hemenway, a descendent of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and director of repatriation, archives and records for the tribe, told the Journal Sentinel.”
CT Mirror: Lamont doubles down on natural gas after signing two climate-related bills
John Moritz, 7/1/25
“Within minutes of signing legislation on Tuesday that pledged to put Connecticut on a path toward reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, Gov. Ned Lamont flipped the script by reiterating his support for one of climate advocates’ chief causes of concern: an expansion of pipelines carrying fracked natural gas,” the CT Mirror reports. “Specifically, the Democratic governor hinted that he’d been engaged in talks with the Trump administration and state leaders in New York about building or expanding pipelines that could deliver more gas to Connecticut and the rest of New England. “We’ll see, but it’s back on the table,” Lamont told reporters, without offering further details… “The juxtaposition between the governor’s praise of the climate legislation and his embrace of natural gas was jarring for several of the advocates who have fought for years against the expansion of gas pipelines. They argue pipelines can leak potent methane gases, and increase dependency on fossil fuel power plants, making it harder for the state to fulfill its promise to slash emissions. “It was horrific to hear,” Sam Dynowski, director of the Sierra Club’s Connecticut chapter, who had posed for photos behind the governor as he signed both bills into law Tuesday, told the Mirror. “It’s as dirty as coal when you add up the combustion emissions and the leaks,” Dynowski told the Mirror. “So we cannot bring more gas into Connecticut if we really want to solve the climate crisis.” “...One project mentioned by several outlets as a potential chip in negotiations between the states and the federal government is the so-called Constitution Pipeline, which would carry fracked gas from Pennsylvania to upstate New York, where it would connect with existing pipelines serving Connecticut and New England.”
KDLL: Sullivan pitches LNG pipeline to Pentagon leadership
Ashlyn O'Hara, 7/2/25
“Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan says he’s pitching the Alaska LNG Project to the U.S. Department of Defense for potential investment,” KDLL reports. “...One of the things that we are doing right now with Glenfarne and the Department of Defense is trying to see if there's a way in which the Department of Defense can be a buyer of gas that would come down through the pipeline,” he said. Glenfarne is the private company that assumed majority ownership of the project earlier this year. A company spokesperson declined to tell KDLL whether the company is pitching the project to the Pentagon. If it’s built, the Alaska LNG Project would move natural gas from the North Slope to Southcentral for export. The long-sought project is estimated to cost $44 billion. President Donald Trump has shown interest, boosting hopes that it might finally attract investors. The proposed pipeline route passes near Alaska’s largest military bases – Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage… “Sullivan says he’s already pitched the project to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and to Hegseth’s deputy, Steve Feinberg. “The senior leaders of the Pentagon are very aware of this opportunity and that Glenfarne is quite interested in that,” Sullivan said… “The project has existing federal loan guarantees approved under former President Joe Biden. Sullivan says the program was never set up under Biden, but that he’s renewing that push under Trump.”
The State: Pipeline through SC threatens private property, rivers and swamps, state told
Sammy Fretwell, 7/3/25
“Two power companies seeking to build a large natural gas plant in South Carolina are being accused of supporting a pipeline that will needlessly affect the environment and private property as the pipe brings gas to the facility in Colleton County,” The State reports. “Those accusations, laid out in newspaper advertisements this past weekend, are coming from Carolina Gas Transmission, a company whose proposal to deliver natural gas was rejected by Dominion Energy and state-owned Santee Cooper earlier this year. Dominion and Santee Cooper have invited a Texas headquartered company to deliver natural gas to the Colleton County plant at Canadys, Carolina Gas says. The Texas company’, identified as Kinder Morgan, would run a new pipeline into South Carolina, instead of using existing pipeline corridors, as proposed by Carolina Gas Transmission, the S.C. company says. As a result, the Kinder Morgan plan “is nearly certain” to affect two rivers – the Savannah and the Coosawhatchie, the newspaper advertisement said… “The Carolina Gas advertisement provides a glimpse of how important providing natural gas to the proposed Canadys plant could be to pipeline companies as the demand for energy grows… “Meanwhile, any pipeline plan that will condemn land is sure to spark protests from property owners and legislators who have championed private property rights through the years… “The Legislature’s recent energy bill stripped out provisions to better notify property owners if pipelines were proposed for their land. Eddy Moore, who is tracking the issue for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, told The State a new pipeline is generally disruptive to communities and the environment. More specifically it can damage sensitive wetlands and rivers like those that define the Lowcountry of South Carolina. And pipelines, which operate under high pressure, can explode, imperiling people who live or work nearby.”
Appalachian Voices: July 5: Atlantic Coast Pipeline Cancellation Day!
7/3/25
“Join us in celebrating five years of shutting down the Atlantic Coast Pipeline! On July 5, 2020, community opposition forced Dominion Energy and Duke Energy to announce they were shutting down plans to build the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline. West Virginia, Virginia and West Virginia North Carolina residents united across state lines to put an end to this fracked-gas monstrosity, by holding marches, attending public meetings, monitoring construction and more. The six-year fight against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline was very much an uphill battle. Dominion Energy and Duke Energy, two of the largest monopoly utilities in the country, claimed the project was inevitable. This hard-fought victory was due to the tireless work of community members, activists and organizations who stood shoulder to shoulder to protect their land, water, air and communities.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
News From the States: Protesters outside the US House make a last stand against the GOP megabill
Ashley Murray, 7/2/25
“Protesters demonstrated against the “big beautiful bill” outside the U.S. Capitol Wednesday as House Republicans whipped votes to get the bill across the finish line and to President Donald Trump’s desk by a self-imposed July Fourth deadline,” News From the States reports. “Shelley Feist stood on Independence Avenue near the entrance to the House of Representatives holding signs above her head, one reading “Cruel Corrupt Cowards,” the other a Republican elephant with the word “Treason” written on it… “Latest figures from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office show the package would add $3.4 trillion to the nation’s deficit over the next decade, when the country is mired in record-breaking debt… “Nadine Seiler, 60, of Waldorf, Maryland, stood near a press conference by the Congressional Hispanic Conference protesting the bill. Seiler held a large spray-painted sheet above her head with a message on each side: “Free America from Big Bad Bill” and “Coming Soon Freedom in Name Only.” “...People are going to die,” Seiler told NFTS. “And I know Joni Ernst says that we all gonna die, but we gonna die faster and unnecessarily and I care about that.” “...Tiernan Sittenfeld, of the League of Conservation Voters, huddled just outside the House with a group wearing t-shirts that read “Hands off our air, land and clean energy.” “...It is bad for our economy. It’s bad for jobs. It’s going to raise people’s energy bills. And of course, it’s bad for the planet,” she told NFTS. “Any Republican who votes for this legislation is voting against the interest of their constituents, voting to kill jobs in their district, voting to kill clean energy projects, voting to make their constituents’ energy bills go up,” Sittenfeld told NFTS.”
Bloomberg: US House Nears Passage of Trump’s Tax Bill After All-Nighter
Erik Wasson, Steven T. Dennis, Ken Tran, and Jack Fitzpatrick, 7/3/25
“The US House of Representatives is on track to pass Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill Thursday, allowing lawmakers to meet the president’s self-imposed July 4 deadline after negotiating all night long,” Bloomberg reports. “...We have the votes,” Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters just after 3 a.m. on Thursday. “We’re still going to meet the deadline.”
Politico: The ‘big, beautiful bill’ is one vote away from Donald Trump’s desk
Katherine Tully-McManus, 7/3/25
“Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill” is one vote away from President Donald Trump’s desk after clearing a key procedural hurdle that sets up a floor vote early Thursday morning,” Politico reports. “Pulling an all-nighter two days after senators did the same, House Republicans were finally able to unite on the test vote around 3:30 a.m. Thursday — closing out a six-hour voting window that might have been extraordinary if the previous vote hadn’t been held open nine hours for similar reasons. The discord inside the House GOP centered on Senate changes to the megabill, which first passed the House in May… “The breakthrough came after hours of meetings between GOP leadership and holdouts, exploring what executive actions or other promises could assuage hard-line fiscal hawks who were incensed about the Senate-passed bill’s budget deficits… “In the end, only one Republican, moderate Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, joined Democrats in voting against the rule for floor consideration of the Senate-passed bill.”
E&E News: Energy winners and losers in the Republican megabill
Manuel Quiñones, 7/3/25
“Debate on the Republicans’ megabill focused largely on taxes and Medicaid, but the legislation includes a roster of contentious energy and environment provisions,” E&E News reports. “Winners: Oil and gas… “The legislation would mandate onshore and offshore oil and gas lease sales. The bill also looks to secure production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska… “Biofuels and hydrogen, both Republican favorites, emerged as winners too. Tax incentives for biofuels were extended two years to 2029, with language to encourage domestic production, while the clean hydrogen tax credit stayed intact… “Losers: Permitting reform… Republicans always knew they couldn’t do much on permitting through budget reconciliation. Still, they tried to ease approvals for pipelines, natural gas export terminals and other projects. But the parliamentarian ruled against language that would have exempted companies that paid a fee from certain litigation under the National Environmental Policy Act. She also ruled against language that would have made natural gas export proposals in the national interest as long as developers paid a fee. Pipeline provisions similarly fell off. What did survive was a provision requiring faster NEPA permitting to companies that pay a fee. Democrats have called all the fee proposals “pay-to-play” schemes.”
Politico: Senate boosts fossil fuel subsidies in GOP megabill
Ben Lefebvre, 7/1/25
“The fossil fuel industry would receive billions of dollars more in government subsidies under the version of the GOP reconciliation bill the Senate passed Tuesday,” Politico reports. “The bill — passed on a 51-50 vote — narrows government support for wind and solar while expanding subsidies for oil production, pipeline projects and coal. The bill expands tax credits for using carbon dioxide to coax oil and natural gas out of old wells and slashes how much companies have to pay the government for producing fossil fuels on federal lands. The bill would put tax credits for using CO2 in enhanced oil recovery at parity with those in the Democrats’ climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, for projects that sequestered greenhouse gases. The language, if signed into law, would cost the government an additional $14.2 billion, according to an analysis Monday by government watchdog Public Citizen. Another $3.2 billion in credits would go toward pipeline companies investing in carbon dioxide and hydrogen projects. The bill also delays by 10 years enforcement of a law that would have collected fees for methane emissions, an IRA provision heavily criticized by the oil industry.”
Politico: Pending rollback
7/2/25
“The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to reconsider its 16-year-old bedrock finding on the dangers of greenhouse gases is now in the White House’s hands — a move that sets the stage for a broad attack on a wide range of federal climate regulations,” Politico reports. “It is expected to significantly weaken — if not revoke outright — the agency’s 2009 declaration that greenhouse gases endanger human health. Vickie Patton, general counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund, told Politico the proposal “appears to be an attempt to leave EPA powerless to limit the pollution that’s increasing and intensifying deadly and costly weather like heat waves, drought, floods and storms.” “The U.S. can’t turn back now because these standards are encouraging many more affordable consumer options and supporting domestic manufacturing jobs while saving lives and protecting children’s lungs from smog and soot.”
Inside EPA: Agencies Release Proposals To Dramatically Roll Back NEPA Reviews
7/2/25
“At least five federal agencies are proposing plans to significantly scale back their procedures implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), with most moving forward without codifying them in the Federal Register or seeking public comment, though some of the notices are being published as interim final rules with comment opportunity,” Inside EPA reports. “While a host of other agencies are expected to take similar actions, the first wave of rollbacks -- from the departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior and others -- rely on similar authorities for taking the action: the revocation of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA rules at the direction of President Donald Trump; his unleashing energy executive order (EO) that revokes a Carter-era EO granting CEQ its NEPA authority and calls for speedier permitting; NEPA amendments in the Fiscal Responsibility Act; and the Supreme Court’s May 29 ruling in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, CO, that narrowed the scope of review of NEPA’s indirect effects.”
E&E News: Public lands backers still on guard after megabill fight
Garrett Downs, 7/2/25
“Advocates declared victory after Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee pulled his provision to sell public lands from the GOP’s domestic policy megabill. But many are staying on guard after Congress got closer than it’s ever been to putting potentially millions of acres on the auction block,” E&E News reports. “... Lee, a Republican from Utah, stripped his provision to sell 0.5 percent of Bureau of Land Management land to build affordable housing the day before. He cited an inability to ensure that the company BlackRock or China wouldn’t be able to purchase the lands under the budget reconciliation process, which allows the majority to bypass the Senate filibuster under strict parameters. The last-minute yank came after weeks of fierce backlash from public lands and outdoor groups— including one hunting group that Lee credited for shrinking his initial proposal by half. The groups and some prominent conservatives immediately declared victory when Lee stood down.”
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Congress plans to scrap USDA Climate Hubs, following Trump guidance
Cami Koons, 7/2/25
“Not all farmers and ranchers will agree in a discussion about climate change, but it would be difficult to find a Midwest producer who did not value climate-related data addressing drought, precipitation, temperature and frost outlooks,” the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. “These are all pieces of data gathered and distributed by the Ames-based Midwest Climate Hub, which along with the other 10 regional climate hubs under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is slated to be cut from the federal agriculture budget… “Eleven regional Climate Hubs were established as interagency departments by USDA in 2014 with the goal of coordinating across USDA agencies, and with U.S. producers, on climate resiliency strategies… “Each climate hub is a little different, depending on the needs of their region, but Laurie Nowatzke, formerly the associate director of the Midwest Climate Hub, told the Dispatch climate, in its most basic form relating to weather patterns, was a big focus for the Midwest. “A huge focus of ours was taking that sort of experienced climate and weather conditions and how that applies or affects agriculture,” Nowatzke told Dispatch. This is most seen through the ag-focus climate outlooks the hub put out monthly, and weekly during crop season… “Rod Pierce, a long-time corn and soybean farmer in central Iowa, told Dispatch the outlooks help him with both long- and short-term planning in his operation. They help him answer questions such as when is the last frost so he can plant, is it going to be dry, and importantly, what conditions are other Midwestern states facing that he should take into account when marketing his commodities.”
Associated Press: Trump nominates 4 to Tennessee Valley Authority board after firing Biden picks
Jonathan Mattise, 7/1/25
“President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced four nominees for the Tennessee Valley Authority’s board, which for months has not had enough members to take many actions because Trump fired some of former President Joe Biden’s picks,” the Associated Press reports. “TVA is the nation’s largest public utility and provides power to more than 10 million people across seven southern states… “The selections follow Trump’s firing of three Biden-nominated board members since late March. The board normally has nine members and requires five to make a quorum. It currently has three. Trump’s picks would not be seated until the U.S. Senate confirms them. Without a quorum, TVA’s board can take actions needed for ongoing operations but cannot jump into new areas of activity, start new programs or change the utility’s existing direction. Beaman is a businessman who sold his Nashville-area fleet of car dealerships. He is also a prominent Republican political fundraiser.”
NPR: The White House took down the nation's top climate report. You can still find it here
Rebecca Hersher, 7/1/25
“The Trump administration has taken down the website for the National Climate Assessment, which is the most comprehensive and authoritative source of information about how climate change is affecting all parts of the U.S.,” NPR reports. “...The National Climate Assessment is widely used by teachers, city planners, farmers, judges and regular citizens looking for answers to common questions such as how quickly sea levels are rising near American cities and how to deal with wildfire smoke exposure. The most recent edition had a searchable atlas that allowed anyone to learn about the current and future effects of global warming in their specific town or state. On Monday, the government website that hosts all of that information stopped working. The Trump administration had already halted work on the next edition of the report, and fired all the staff who worked on it… “Congress requires the federal government to publish the National Climate Assessment every four years. The last edition was published in 2023, and underscored the degree to which climate change is expensive, deadly and preventable.”
STATE UPDATES
Michigan Advance: Michigan joins 14 other states in challenging Trump’s energy emergency
Kyle Davidson, 7/1/25
“President Donald Trump’s energy emergency declaration, enacted through a Jan. 20 executive order, has drawn frequent criticism from environmentalists who argue the order serves as a front to expand the use of fossil fuels over clean energy resources. Now 15 states, including Michigan, are suing the Trump administration, arguing the emergency order could bring them serious harm,” the Michigan Advance reports. “The states, each represented by Democratic attorneys general, brought action on behalf of their residents and natural resources, arguing the federal government’s use of emergency permitting procedures bypass critical ecological, historical and cultural resource reviews. “...While the suit acknowledges the need for infrastructure to support a reliable and affordable energy supply for the states and the nation, it argues the president’s powers are reserved for actual emergencies, noting earlier in the complaint that energy production in the U.S. is at an all time high and growing. The shortcuts inherent in these powers undermine the rights of the states, the complaint argues, noting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s regulations only authorize “emergency procedures” when normal procedures would result in unacceptable hazard to human life, significant loss of property, or immediate, unforeseen, and significant economic hardship… “To prevent any potential harm, the plaintiff states asked the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington to declare the executive order unlawful and bar federal agencies from pursuing emergency permitting on non-emergency projects.”
Santa Fe Reporter: Landmark New Mexico oil pollution lawsuit appealed to state Supreme Court
Kevin Hendricks, 7/1/25
“A coalition of Indigenous, youth and environmental organizations joined community members in appealing the New Mexico Supreme Court Tuesday to hear their landmark lawsuit, which challenges the state’s alleged failure to protect public health and the environment from oil and gas pollution, as mandated by the New Mexico Constitution,” according to the Santa Fe Reporter. “The appeal follows a state court of appeals’ dismissal last month of the lawsuit, Atencio v. State of New Mexico. “By dismissing our suit, the court of appeals attempted to strike our rights to a healthy environment from the constitution,” said Johnny Juarez, a plaintiff and organizer with Youth United for Climate Crisis Action. “The Supreme Court cannot let this decision stand. The future of New Mexico’s youth depends on controlling oil and gas pollution and the constitution mandates just that.” This first-of-its-kind lawsuit aims to compel the legislature, governor and state agencies to comply with the pollution control clause of the New Mexico Constitution. Article 20, Section 21, requires the state to prevent the “despoilment of air, water and other natural resources” and protect New Mexico’s “beautiful and healthful environment.” Plaintiffs also argue the state has violated the Constitution’s equal protection and fundamental rights clauses… “The case was brought by Indigenous Lifeways, Pueblo Action Alliance, Youth United for Climate Crisis Action, Center for Biological Diversity, WildEarth Guardians, and individuals living on the frontlines of oil and gas extraction.”
E&E News: EPA proposes draft permits for CO2 storage in southeast Texas
Carlos Anchondo, 7/2/25
“EPA proposed draft permits Tuesday for Exxon Mobil's planned storage of carbon dioxide in southeast Texas,” E&E News reports. “The Region 6 office issued a public notice saying the agency plans to issue three Class VI well permits for Exxon’s Rose Carbon Capture and Storage project in Jefferson County that would draw CO2 from unidentified industrial emitters… “The project would take CO2 from “high-concentration” sources like “clean” hydrogen and ammonia facilities, according to EPA’s fact sheet… “Exxon spokesperson Margot Armentor did not address questions about a cost estimate for the Rose carbon capture project or when CO2 injection at the planned wells could begin… “EPA said the permits would allow the oil and gas major to convert existing Class V wells — which may be used to inject a variety of nonhazardous fluids like stormwater — to Class VI wells, which are used to send CO2 underground for long-term geologic storage… “The draft permits for Exxon come as EPA last month proposed granting top regulatory authority over Class VI wells in Texas to the Texas Railroad Commission, a designation that would allow the state agency to issue the permits instead of EPA. Region 6 will hold a virtual public hearing July 24, and the deadline to submit comments is on or before Aug. 1… “Occidental declined Tuesday to comment beyond its April news release that announced EPA granting the Class VI permits. The company did not say when well construction would begin.”
KBMT: EPA opens public comment on ExxonMobil's Rose CCS site proposal
Jordan Williams, Brett Strahan, 7/2/25
“ExxonMobil is one step closer to securing federal approval for its proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in western Jefferson County, as the Environmental Protection Agency has officially opened its public comment period for the Rose CCS site,” KBMT reports. “...Under the proposal, carbon dioxide would be captured from industrial facilities in Mid-County and transported through an 18-mile pipeline in liquid form to injection sites in western Jefferson County… “Initially, the project faced opposition from property owners stretching from China to Cheek, including those at Diamond D Ranch. However, ExxonMobil insists the facility will operate at a safe distance from those communities. “They are very well removed from our CCS project activity. So not near injectors. They are at least two miles from our injector wells, three miles from our pipeline activity, again in the subsurface that is at least half a mile from the subsurface activity,” Brandon Maxwell with ExxonMobil told KBMT… “A virtual public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for 6 p.m. on July 31. The EPA will accept public comments through August 4.”
Chron: Texas just handed oil companies control of produced water in new court ruling
Brammhi Balarajan, 7/1/25
“In a landmark decision, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that drilling companies—not surface landowners—hold ownership rights to produced water, the wastewater generated during oil and gas extraction,” Chron reports. “The ruling, issued in Cactus Water Services v. COG Operating, resolves a key question: who actually owns the massive volumes of produced water generated during drilling? At the core of the Reeves County court battle, as first reported by Inside Climate News, was whether produced water is classified as oil and gas waste, which would render it the property of drillers, or groundwater, which Texas law deems the property of the surface owner… “If a surface owner wishes to maintain ownership of produced water, that must be agreed upon and contracted beforehand, the Court ruled. Disposing of produced water has historically been one of the costliest burdens on oil and gas companies. However, as new potentially lucrative avenues for produced water have opened up—the question of ownership has become more contentious… “Companies have typically injected the water back underground, before concerns of earthquakes caused tighter regulations on their ability to do so… “A recent bill approved by Gov. Greg Abbott gives oil and gas companies the go-ahead to potentially do so, giving these companies clearance to treat and sell wastewater.”
North Dakota Monitor: Basin Electric says planned power plant not driven by data centers
Jeff Beach, 6/30/25
“Basin Electric Power Cooperative officials testified Monday that data centers are not behind the need for a natural gas-fired power plant in northwest North Dakota but it is getting requests from potential large-load customers,” the North Dakota Monitor reports. “...The project would generate electricity from natural gas that is abundant in North Dakota’s oil-producing region. It also would generate power by using steam produced by the plant to turn turbines. The nearly $4 billion Bison Generation Station would be the first combined-cycle power plant in North Dakota… “Benjamin Hertz, manager of power supply planning for Basin Electric, said the company is forecasting higher levels of power use from traditional customers… “Jody DeLong testified as chair of the board for North Dakota Native Vote and as a concerned citizen. He questioned the need for such a large power plant, especially if it is not needed for data centers.He called the project a “$4 billion gamble” with no explanation for how it will benefit rate-payers while adding to greenhouse gas emissions.”
EXTRACTION
Bloomberg: US Shale to Slow Drilling as Trump’s Tariffs Rattle Executives
Emma Sanchez, 7/2/25
“US shale executives expect to drill significantly fewer wells this year than planned at the start of 2025, as lower oil prices and uncertainty around President Donald Trump’s tariffs hurt profits, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas survey,” Bloomberg reports. “Almost half of oil executives said they expect to drill fewer wells in 2025 than planned at the start of the year, according to second-quarter survey results released Wednesday… “The responses highlight the headwinds facing domestic production, leading industry executives to take a cautious approach to drilling and spending in direct contrast to Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” rhetoric. Crude prices have fallen as Trump’s tariffs threaten to slow the global economy, while OPEC+ accelerates the revival of its production into a market that was already well supplied. “It’s hard to imagine how much worse policies and D.C. rhetoric could have been for US E&P companies,” an unidentified executive said in the report. “We were promised by the administration a better environment for producers but were delivered a world that has benefitted OPEC to the detriment of our domestic industry.” A majority of executives surveyed said they expect Trump’s tariffs on imported steel to weigh on customer demand over the next 12 months.”
Reuters: EU includes international CO2 credits in climate goal for first time
Kate Abnett, 7/2/25
“The European Commission on Wednesday proposed an EU climate target for 2040 that for the first time will allow countries to use carbon credits from developing nations to meet a limited share of their emissions goal,” Reuters reports. “…But following pushback from governments including France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic, the Commission also proposed flexibilities that would soften the 90% emissions target for European industries… “Reflecting Germany's public stance, up to 3 percentage points of the 2040 target can be covered by carbon credits bought from other countries through a U.N.-backed market, reducing the effort required by domestic industries. The carbon credits would be phased in from 2036, and the EU will propose legislation next year to establish quality criteria they must meet and rules on who would buy them… “The EU's climate science advisers had opposed counting credits towards the 2040 target, and said buying foreign carbon credits would divert investments from local industries. Carbon credits are generated by projects that reduce CO2 emissions abroad - for example, forest restoration in Brazil, and raise funds for such projects. However, some credits have failed to deliver the environmental benefits they claimed.”
Guardian: EU targets 90% cut in emissions by 2040 as green groups cry foul
Ajit Niranjan and Jennifer Rankin, 7/2/25
“The EU should slash its planet-heating pollution by 90% by 2040, the European Commission has announced, in a proposed change to its climate law that falls short of what its scientists have advised,” the Guardian reports. “...Green groups, however, are furious that it leaves room to count foreign carbon credits, such as planting trees and saving forests, that researchers have often found are ineffective… “The new approach to reaching the target allows the use of domestic carbon removals through the EU’s emissions trading system and offers more flexibility across different sectors of the economy. It also opens the door for limited use of carbon offsets from 2036. Critics, including scientists, have raised fears of junk offsets that are impossible to verify or that claim carbon savings for projects that may have gone ahead anyway, a concept known as “additionality”... “Green groups told the Guardian the target fell short of the EU’s responsibilities as one of the world’s biggest historical emitters of greenhouse gases… “Thomas Gelin, a campaigner at Greenpeace EU, told the Guardian the EU had a historical responsibility to cut emissions at home. “The EU’s 2040 climate targets should drive a shift away from fossil fuels, starting with an EU ban on new fossil fuel projects, towards renewables and energy saving, to cut people’s energy bills, make their homes easier to heat and cool, and clean the air they breathe,” he told the Guardian. “Instead, the European Commission relies on dodgy accounting and offshore carbon laundering to pretend to hit the lower bound of what its climate scientists advise.”
Financial Times: Canada’s bid to become an energy superpower
Jamie Smyth and Ilya Gridneff, 7/3/25
“...The flaring is part of the firing up of LNG Canada, a massive liquefaction facility that began exporting liquefied natural gas to Asia on Tuesday,” the Financial Times reports. “Backed by Shell and several Asian energy companies, the C$40bn-plus project is the first of several LNG terminals planned along Canada’s west coast. The facilities will enable Canadian producers to ship large amounts of gas beyond the US, currently its sole export market… “Boosting the LNG trade is part of a wider strategy pursued by the Canadian government, most recently by Prime Minister Mark Carney. He has pledged to turn Canada into an “energy superpower” by exploiting its abundant fossil fuel resources and reducing its reliance on US markets. It marks a shift for the ruling Liberal party, whose former leader Justin Trudeau was criticised by the resources industry for prioritising climate action over oil and gas production… “But the strategy is not easily delivered. Canada is a top five global producer of both natural gas and oil but successive governments have failed to build enough infrastructure to enable companies to export hydrocarbons to the world… “Tough environmental rules, the nation’s vast landscape, the remote location of resources and a strong anti-fossil fuel movement make it challenging to build pipelines, leaving the country hugely reliant on the US market… “Critics say a failure by Carney to grasp the opportunity to boost oil and gas exports would hurt the economy, which is bracing itself for a slowdown as Trump threatens to unleash additional tariffs if ongoing trade talks prove unsuccessful… “We don’t see Canada as risky. We see Canada as having risks that we would see elsewhere and we know how to manage those risks and that’s why we do these projects,” Chris Cooper, chief executive of LNG Canada, told FT during a tour of the facility… “But for Canada to achieve its potential as an energy superpower, the resources industry says the federal and provincial governments must sweep away regulations and support development… “First Nations opposition is cited as one of the reasons that proposals to build several oil pipelines stretching from resources-rich provinces, such as Alberta, to the east or west coasts for refining and shipping to world markets have been abandoned. A slow and uncertain regulatory process is another challenge that industry raises.”
Wall Street Journal: Carbon Removal Startup Climeworks Fundraising Moves Past $1 Billion
Yusuf Khan, 7/2/25
“Swiss carbon-removal startup Climeworks has raised more than $1 billion in total equity funding, after it secured $162 million in its latest round,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The company, which was set up in 2009 to remove carbon emissions from the atmosphere, has been backed by some of the world’s largest organizations, including Microsoft, BCG and Morgan Stanley. Its pioneering technology, known as direct air capture, or DAC, literally sucks carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using giant plants such as its Mammoth facility in Iceland, which is able to remove 36,000 tons of CO2 a year. However, last year, despite the company being synonymous with direct air capture, Climeworks pivoted to a strategy in which it acts as a buyer of credits in other forms of carbon removal, such as reforestation, enhanced rock weathering and biochar, on behalf of its customers. Typically, credits in these forms of carbon removal are much cheaper than DAC, often by at least several hundred dollars per ton of carbon dioxide removed. “What we are doing at Climeworks is creating a pathway to make carbon removal a reality,” co-Chief Executive Christoph Gebald told the Journal. “That’s the most important thing that we do, and the fundraise that we just completed is paying into that.” “...In May, the company announced a round of job cuts amid uncertainty over whether its U.S. direct air capture plant in Louisiana would be built following rollbacks in clean technology incentives from the Trump administration. Gebald told the Journal the company was in dialogue with the U.S. Department of Energy and that no final decisions had been made as of yet.”
Reuters: Bezos-backed methane tracking satellite is lost in space
Valerie Volcovici, 7/1/25
“An $88 million satellite backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos that detected oil and gas industry emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane has been lost in space, the group that operates said on Tuesday,” Reuters reports. “MethaneSAT had been collecting emissions data and images from drilling sites, pipelines, and processing facilities around the world since March, but went off course around 10 days ago, the Environmental Defense Fund, which led the initiative, said.”
Inside Climate News: NIH Scientists Link Air Pollution and Lung Cancer Mutations in Non-Smokers
Keerti Gopal, 7/2/25
“New findings published Wednesday by the National Cancer Institute link tiny, toxic air pollutants to changes in lung cancer tumors at the genomic level in people who have never smoked,” Inside Climate News reports. “...In their study, published in the journal Nature, Landi and colleagues from the National Institutes of Health’s NCI and the University of California San Diego analyzed the lung tumors of 871 nonsmokers from 28 locations across four continents. They found that the tumors of patients in highly polluted areas had many more genetic mutations than those in areas with cleaner air, and exhibited a diversity of mutations, including patterns typically found in smokers… “Notably, the study found a stronger increase in mutations due to air pollution than from exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke… “George Thurston, of the New York University School of Medicine, told ICN that although secondhand smoke is also a serious health concern, air pollution from fossil fuels is much more ubiquitous. “We are engulfed in fossil-fuel-burning pollution every single day of our lives, all day long, night and day,” he told ICN.”
OPINION
MR Online: Can carbon dioxide removal save the climate?
Ian Angus, 7/2/25
“...The most widely promoted solution is variously called Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) or Negative Emissions Technology (NET)—synonyms for using technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” Ian Angus writes for MR Online. “...Most plans assume that global temperatures will rise higher than the target and later be pulled back by carbon dioxide removal technology… “Technologies to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, now in their infancy, need a lot of attention. The editors of The CDR Primer argue that while priority should be given to cutting emissions, CDR must be deployed at the same time, because some industries will be unable to get to zero, even with a massive global effort to cut climate pollution. The scale of such emissions requires a massive investment in CDR, likely on the order of gigatons of CO2 removed per year by mid-century… “That may be what we need, but what is actually possible?... “Technologies for removing carbon dioxide from the open air, on the other hand, are new and untested. There are only a few dozen operating systems, and all are tiny, compared to the task at hand… “The best-publicized DAC installation is the Climeworks project in Iceland, whose founder predicted that it would capture 1% of the world’s annual CO2 emissions by 2025… “In fact, as an investigative report in the Icelandic newspaper Heimildin showed in May 2025, it has captured only 2,400 tons in total since 2021. Its own emissions are much higher than that… “We’re told that the technology will improve over time—just look at the exponential improvements in semiconductors, for example—but DAC faces a limitation that computers don’t: the second law of thermodynamics… “Scaling up, that means that removing one billion tons a year would require a minimum of 14 billion watts of electricity, 24 hours a day, all year, which today would mostly come from CO2 emitting power plants. Realistically, less-than-perfect CDR would require three to ten times that much energy to remove one billion tons—enough to power New York City several times over, while actually adding tons of CO2 to the atmosphere. Removing the hundreds of billions of tons actually needed to get Earth’s temperature back to preindustrial levels would require a very large fraction of the world’s energy supply—to the point where it would limit our ability to carry out other energy-hungry programs, including feeding children and combatting pandemic diseases… “Achieving that, or anything close to it, would require an emergency action program to stop all new extraction of fossil fuels, and rapidly phase out major sources of emissions. That’s where our focus must be now, not on speculative technologies that might work one day but for now only give polluters an excuse to continue polluting.”