EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 7/5/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Sierra Club: Who’s Afraid of a Carbon Capture Pipeline?
The Center Square: Illinois organization warns of gas leaks and explosions
World Pipelines: Tennessee Gas Pipeline proposal receives FERC approval
Pipeline Journal: Kinder Morgan To Expand Permian Basin Highway Pipeline
Zacks: Magellan (MMP) Extends Open Season for Texas Pipeline Expansion
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Wall Street Journal: Supreme Court Puts Brakes on EPA in Far-Reaching Decision
USA Today: 'Big problems': The Supreme Court handcuffed EPA on climate change. What comes next?
Reuters: Biden administration oil, gas auctions kick off with thin industry response
STATE UPDATES
Press release: EPA Urged to Reject Carbon Capture Projects in Central California
Natural Gas Intelligence: Most Permian Delaware Earthquakes Said Tied to Oil, Gas Activity
Palm Springs Desert Sun: California oil inspectors balk at quotas, say in-person reviews neglected
EXTRACTION
Reuters: Oil from U.S. reserves head overseas as gasoline prices stay high
CNN: Climate protesters glue themselves to 200-year-old masterpiece
CLIMATE FINANCE
Press release: Global faith institutions announce divestment as oil and gas companies threaten 1.5°C climate goal with reckless expansion plans
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Mountain View Today: Five ways to save at Stampede
OPINION
Lincoln Journal Star: Editorial, 6/30: Study will save time, money, pain down the line
Washington Post: The climate-change agenda can survive the Supreme Court’s EPA ruling
PIPELINE NEWS
Sierra Club: Who’s Afraid of a Carbon Capture Pipeline?
Heather Smith, 6/3/22
“Last summer, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a barn burner of a report laying out an unpleasant reality: Cutting CO2 emissions is no longer enough—countries also need to capture CO2 and store it away,” the Sierra Club reports. “Historically, the United States has been late to the party when it comes to implementing IPCC recommendations, but when the report dropped, the United States was already in the early stages of a very specific boom in carbon capture infrastructure—specifically, new pipelines that would carry captured CO2. And yet, many of the people in the path of these new pipelines are not thrilled and instead are busily trying to get the pipelines’ permits denied. The New Orleans City Council recently passed a resolution, R-22-219, which seeks to ban carbon capture infrastructure in the area… “In Iowa, at least 20 counties have filed objections with state regulators against the use of eminent domain to build several pipelines… “Compared with oil and gas pipelines, which kill a lot more than zero people every year, carbon capture pipelines might look relatively safe. But while the United States has more miles of CO2 pipeline than anywhere else in the world (5,150 miles), that’s not much compared with the 229,287 total miles of oil and gas pipelines that already exist. If the United States builds out the 60,000-plus miles of carbon capture pipeline that a recent Princeton University study recommends, odds are high that we’ll see more Satartias too. The US needs strong federal safety standards that are designed specifically for carbon capture pipelines—and doesn’t have them yet… “Kuprewicz is less boosterish. “We're getting ahead of ourselves on pipelines,” he told the Sierra Club. “For billions of dollars you can make smart people do incredibly stupid things…The way they're rushing kind of makes you wonder,” says Kuprewicz. “ ‘Gee, you're going ahead and doing these before you have safety regulations?’ The fact that the 45Q tax break for carbon capture and sequestration specifically states that enhanced oil recovery counts as sequestration means that these companies could get paid twice for the same carbon—first, via the tax break for capturing and shipping it, and again when they sell it for EOR. “The bottom line,” Kuprewicz told Sierra Club, “is if you're trying to get CO2 in the atmosphere to reduce global warming, but you've created this huge market incentive to drive and generate more oil recovery, that may be in conflict with getting rid of CO2 in the atmosphere.”
The Center Square: Illinois organization warns of gas leaks and explosions
Kevin Bessler, 7/4/22
“A new report from an Illinois advocacy group shows damaging methane gas pipeline leaks occur every 40 hours in the U.S.,” The Center Square reports. “The Public Interest Research Group, or PIRG, reports between 2010 through nearly the end of 2021, almost 2,600 gas pipeline incidents occurred that were serious enough to require reporting to the federal government. Of those, 850 of the incidents resulted in fires and 328 in an explosion. The total costs to communities from things such as property damage, emergency services, and the value of intentionally and unintentionally released gas totaled nearly $4 billion… “The report asserts many pipeline replacement programs, such as the Peoples Gas pipe replacement program in Illinois, are failing to meaningfully reduce leak rates despite spending billions of dollars – and hiking customer bills – to do so… “The PIRG report recommends that Illinois stop relying on methane gas for home heating. Instead, policy makers should incentivize and accelerate the transition to all-electric buildings and renewable sources of energy.”
World Pipelines: Tennessee Gas Pipeline proposal receives FERC approval
Sara Simper, 7/4/22
“Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, L.L.C. (TGP), a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, Inc. has received approval for its producer certified gas (PCG), or responsibly sourced gas (RSG), aggregation pooling service from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC),” World Pipelines reports. “The PCG aggregation pooling service is now available at all pooling points across the TGP system. PCG is conventional natural gas sourced from production facilities that have been certified by a qualified third party to meet certain environmental, social and governance standards that typically focus on management practices for methane emissions, water usage and community relations. The service is designed to enable shippers on TGP to purchase and sell PCG supply at non-physical pooling locations, ultimately serving end users, utilities, power plants and LNG facilities connected to the TGP system.”
Pipeline Journal: Kinder Morgan To Expand Permian Basin Highway Pipeline
7/4/22
“Against a backdrop of rising demand for natural gas across Europe (as well as a not irrational fear that all gas flows from Russia may be stop in the near future), Kinder Morgan, the American pipeline operator, has indicated that it intends to underwrite the expansion of the 689-km natural gas pipeline that brings natural gas from the Permian Basin in West Texas to export hubs around Houston,” Pipeline Journal reports. “The expansion comes as several new LNG processing plants have been proposed along the U.S. Gulf Coast to meet rising demand in Europe and Asia. The proposed LNG plants would require about 3.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of new gas supply. The expansion would add 550 MMcf/d with the higher capacity available starting in November, 2023, Kinder Morgan said. The project still requires approvals and permitting. The project will involve primarily compression expansions on PHP to increase natural gas deliveries from the Waha area to multiple mainline connects, Katy, Texas and various U.S. Gulf Coast markets, says Kinder Morgan. Pending further customer commitments, the target in-service date for the project is October 1, 2023… “A separate gas pipeline expansion that carries natural gas from the Permian Basin to points along the south Texas coast, remains under consideration, a spokesperson said. That project, called the Gulf Coast Express (GCX) expansion, would add nearly 570 MMcf/d to existing capacity.”
Zacks: Magellan (MMP) Extends Open Season for Texas Pipeline Expansion
7/4/22
“Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. MMP recently declared the extension of the partnership’s open season to solicit customer commitments for the prospective expansion of their refined petroleum products pipeline system from the Houston region to El Paso in Texas,” according to Zacks. “MMP stated that potential shippers have shown substantial interest and that the extension offers concerned customers extra time to finalize commitments. Binding commitments, however, are now due by 5:00 p.m. Central Time on Jul 15, 2022. The planned development comprises the expansion of a 265-mile pipeline segment between Odessa and El Paso and the use of the prevailing and underutilized pipeline capacity from the Houston area to Odessa. Moreover, the project will increase Magellan Midstream’s competency in transporting refined petroleum products like gasoline and diesel from the Gulf Coast refineries to El Paso, with further shipper optionality to enter markets in New Mexico through Magellan's pipeline system and Arizona and Mexico via the linkage to third-party pipelines. The expansion, which is considered capital-efficient, will augment the capacity of the Odessa-to-El Paso portion of the pipeline by approximately 15,000 barrels per day (bpd) to a new total capacity of roughly 85,000 bpd. The higher capacity can be achieved by mid-2023 after the addition of incremental pumping capabilities and the construction of operational storage at El Paso, subject to the results of this open season and the receipts of all the required permits and approvals.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Wall Street Journal: Supreme Court Puts Brakes on EPA in Far-Reaching Decision
Jan Wolfe and Timothy Puko, 6/30/22
“The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that federal regulators exceeded their authority in seeking to limit emissions from coal plants in a decision that sharply curtails the executive branch’s authority to make policy actions on a range of issues without congressional direction,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “In a blockbuster 6-3 decision penned by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court said the Environmental Protection Agency had overstepped when it devised the Obama-era regulatory scheme, known as the Clean Power Plan. The plan had been challenged by West Virginia and others. Elaborating on earlier decisions, the high court said federal agencies need explicit authorization from Congress to decide issues of major economic and political significance, drawing on a principle known as the “major questions doctrine.” “...Justice Kagan said the EPA was exercising broad authority given to it by Congress, and that the Supreme Court keeps thwarting the agency’s lawful efforts to address a climate crisis. “The Court appoints itself—instead of Congress or the expert agency—the decision-maker on climate policy,” Justice Kagan wrote. “I cannot think of many things more frightening.” “This ruling sets a troubling precedent both for what it means to protect public health and the authority regulatory agencies have to protect public health,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.), told the Journal… “The decision is a warning to regulatory agencies that they should be wary of interpreting old laws to give them broad new powers, Jonathan Adler, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, told the Journal… “Several environmental groups quickly condemned Thursday’s ruling. “Today’s decision leaves the most powerful country on Earth fighting our greatest existential crisis with one hand tied behind our back,” Aimee Delach, an analyst at the environmental group Defenders of Wildlife, told the Journal. “No country has contributed as heavily to climate change as the United States, and now we have few options to turn back the clock. This is a dark day for our planet and the countless species that may perish as a result.”
USA Today: 'Big problems': The Supreme Court handcuffed EPA on climate change. What comes next?
Kyle Bagenstose, 7/4/22
“In a 6-3 decision Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative bloc limited the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency to address climate change, experts said, but the decision could have wider implications,” USA Today reports. “...Groups pushing for more robust action on climate, which scientists warn is needed to ward off a collection of global catastrophes, said the decision handicaps the federal government's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. energy sector, the second-largest contributor of such pollutants after transportation… “ “The Supreme Court didn't say you couldn't regulate ... or that there was nothing that can be done,” Allison Wood, an attorney for the Virginia-based law firm McGuireWoods, told USA Today. But, legal experts said, it substantially limits the EPA's ability to do so… “Environmentalists said the ruling creates a Catch-22 that essentially kills the agency's ability to combat greenhouse gas emissions from power plants… “To tackle climate change, the EPA may go ahead with plans to reduce emissions from the energy sector — a step some environmental groups are urging, despite another potential legal challenge. “EPA needs to get its proposal to revise carbon limits for power plants out for public review as soon as possible,” Schaeffer of the Environmental Integrity Project told USA Today. Or the agency could fight greenhouse gas emissions in other ways. Schaeffer said the agency could implement more time-tested regulations on other harmful emissions from power plants that would curb coal production. Others argued the EPA has explicit approval to require coal and natural gas plants to install the latest generation of carbon-capturing equipment or that the agency could focus on other greenhouse gasses such as methane, which can leak from gas wells and landfills. Wood, the Virginia-based attorney who has represented the interests of industrial clients in federal cases, told USA Today she hopes the decision will result in environmental groups looking away from the EPA and toward working with corporations to improve environmental practices.”
Reuters: Biden administration oil, gas auctions kick off with thin industry response
Nichola Groom, 6/29/22
“The Biden administration's first sale of oil and gas drilling rights on federal land garnered thin industry interest on Wednesday while environmental groups filed two separate lawsuits seeking to invalidate the results,” Reuters reports. “The sales, which will continue on Thursday and cover eight states, were viewed as a test of oil industry demand for federal acreage amid soaring fuel prices and calls from President Joe Biden to increase domestic output. The first day of bidding on 120,000 acres in Wyoming wrapped up with no bids on more than a third of the 105 parcels offered, according to online auction platform EnergyNet… “After observing new obstacles to federal development, including the leasing ban and litigation, companies may have decided it’s just not worth the additional time, cost, and risk," Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, told Reuters. The Interior Department's planned sales this week will resume on Thursday. More than 90% of the acreage is in Wyoming, a major oil producing state, while the rest are sprinkled across Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Utah. A coalition of environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity, sought to invalidate the sales by suing the Biden administration as the Wyoming lease sale started on Wednesday. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington D.C., alleges that Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) violated the law by failing to adequately analyze the sales' impact on climate change. "BLM continues to recklessly lease large swaths of the western United States to oil and gas development without comprehensively reviewing these connected actions and analyzing the severity of the resulting climate impacts from the addition of thousands of tons of (greenhouse gas) emissions into the atmosphere," the groups said in the complaint.
STATE UPDATES
Press release: EPA Urged to Reject Carbon Capture Projects in Central California
6/29/22
“Citing threats to the environment and public health, more than 80 environmental justice and conservation groups urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today to stop an influx of carbon capture, use and storage, or CCUS, project applications in California’s Central Valley. The EPA is currently considering six applications and says at least 12 more are on the horizon in California. Long-term carbon capture, use and storage has never been used in the state before. The proposed projects would resurrect or prolong the life of polluting industrial facilities in predominantly low-income neighborhoods of color that already experience some of the worst air quality in the country. “Frontline communities of color and low-income communities are already overburdened with air pollution, which human-caused climate impacts are only worsening. Instead of perpetuating old, dirty fossil fuel-based infrastructure in environmental justice neighborhoods, we should invest in clean, renewable energy and reliable, equitable storage,” said Catherine Garoupa White, Ph.D., executive director of the Central Valley Air Quality Coalition and co-chair of the California Air Resources Board Environmental Justice Advisory Committee. Fossil fuel giants have promoted carbon capture and storage as a tool for cutting emissions for more than a decade, with little to show for it. Injecting and storing carbon is also dangerous to communities, since compressed carbon leaks can cause suffocation and death, and carbon pipelines are widely recognized as being dangerous and underregulated. The groups are calling on the EPA to deny the carbon injection permits for carbon capture and storage projects. Groups are also asking for commitments to accessibility and transparency during public comment periods, and they want the agency to consider only applications that disclose all project components and their potential harms. They believe such scrutiny will ultimately require the EPA to reject these projects.”
Natural Gas Intelligence: Most Permian Delaware Earthquakes Said Tied to Oil, Gas Activity
ANDREW BAKER, 6/29/22
“Increasingly frequent earthquakes in the Permian Basin’s Delaware sub-basin are mostly linked to oil and gas activity, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin (UT),” Natural Gas Intelligence reports. “Among the most prolific oil and gas producing regions in the Lower 48, the Delaware’s surface area covers about 6.4 million acres in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. Earthquakes have been rising in the region since 2009 amid growth in directional drilling combined with hydraulic fracturing (fracking)... “Researchers examined data that tracked seismicity and oil and gas production in the region from 2017 to 2020. They found that 68% of earthquakes above magnitude 1.5 “were highly associated with one or more of the following oil and gas production activities: hydraulic fracturing or the disposal of produced formation water into either shallow or deep geologic formations.” Reinjection of formation water produced alongside oil and gas, aka produced water, into disposal wells is playing a larger role than fracking in causing the quakes, according to the research. Investigators found that 43% of the analyzed quakes above magnitude 1.5 were linked with injection of produced water into shallow sedimentary formations above the fracking depth. Another 12% were linked to injection into deep sedimentary formations above the basement rock and below the fracking depth, they said. A magnitude 5.0 earthquake that occurred in 2020 in Mentone, TX, for example, “happened in a region where seismicity was strongly associated with deep produced water injection,” the authors said. Fracking, meanwhile, was linked to just 13% of the earthquakes. “However, this was higher than previously expected,” the authors said.
Palm Springs Desert Sun: California oil inspectors balk at quotas, say in-person reviews neglected
Janet Wilson, 6/29/22
“A small group of inspectors at California's oil and gas regulatory agency has been forced to do 5,000 well inspections a month across a 25,000-square-mile area, according to records and interviews, in a bid by management to drive up reporting numbers,” the Palm Springs Desert Sun reports. “Frustrated staff at the California Geologic Energy Management Division's busy inland office say it's a near-impossible task that likely contributed to the more than 40 wells belatedly discovered leaking methane near two Bakersfield neighborhoods in the past month. After inquiries by The Desert Sun about the inspection targets and a second practice known as "remote witnessing" — in which oil well reviews are done from desks rather than in-person in oil fields — CalGEM's parent agency, the Department of Conservation, said Wednesday that the quota system was wrong… “In the past, inspecting "critical" wells near "sensitive" locations was top priority. But since late 2021, following orders by a top supervisor, staff at CalGEM's inland office told The Desert Sun they felt forced to prioritize low-risk areas further from homes, where oil wells are thickly clustered and easier to inspect quickly. It's one of two tactics employed by senior managers there in an attempt to increase inspection numbers on paper, according to internal emails obtained by The Desert Sun and interviews with staff. The second practice that has raised concern among inspectors involves keeping field engineers at their desks to do brief "remote witnessing" of sensitive operations like properly plugging idle wells, or monitoring whether oil waste pumped back underground is reaching drinking water aquifers, rather than having them fully monitor the work on site.”
EXTRACTION
Reuters: Oil from U.S. reserves head overseas as gasoline prices stay high
Arathy Somasekhar, 7/5/22
“More than 5 million barrels of oil that were part of a historic U.S. emergency oil reserves release aimed at lowering domestic fuel prices were exported to Europe and Asia last month, according to data and sources, even as U.S. gasoline and diesel prices touched record highs,” Reuters reports. “The export of crude and fuel is blunting the impact of the moves by U.S. President Joe Biden designed to lower record pump prices. Biden on Saturday renewed a call for gasoline suppliers to cut their prices, drawing criticism from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. About 1 million barrels per day is being released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) through October. The flow is draining the SPR, which last month fell to the lowest since 1986… “The fourth-largest U.S. oil refiner, Phillips 66, shipped about 470,000 barrels of sour crude from the Big Hill SPR storage site in Texas to Trieste, Italy, according to U.S. Customs data. Trieste is home to a pipeline that sends oil to refineries in central Europe. Atlantic Trading & Marketing (ATMI), an arm of French oil major TotalEnergies, exported 2 cargoes of 560,000 barrels each, the data showed… “At least one cargo of crude from the West Hackberry SPR site in Louisiana was set to be exported in July, a shipping source added. "Crude and fuel prices would likely be higher if (the SPR releases) hadn't happened, but at the same time, it isn't really having the effect that was assumed," Matt Smith, lead oil analyst at Kpler, told Reuters.
CNN: Climate protesters glue themselves to 200-year-old masterpiece
Oscar Holland, 7/5/22
“Two climate activists glued themselves to a 200-year-old masterpiece at London's National Gallery on Monday, the latest in a string of disruptive protests by British environmentalist group Just Stop Oil,” CNN reports. “The pair covered John Constable's famous landscape painting "The Hay Wain" with a modified version of the image before sticking their hands to its frame. The demonstration comes just a day after five Just Stop Oil activists disrupted Formula 1's British Grand Prix by sitting on the Silverstone racetrack. Last week also saw members of the group gluing themselves to the frames of paintings in London, Glasgow and Manchester, including Vincent van Gogh's famous "Peach Trees in Blossom." Completed in 1821, "The Hay Wain" is among Britain's best-known artworks. Depicting the Stour river, which divides the English counties of Suffolk and Essex, it is considered one of Constable's quintessential paintings. The protesters' modified version saw the river replaced with a paved road, with factory smokestacks depicted in the background and airplanes flying overhead. Just Stop Oil, which is calling for the UK government to block licenses for future oil and gas extraction, has since identified the demonstrators as students Hannah Hunt and Eben Lazarus. London's Metropolitan Police confirmed to CNN that two people had been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and were later released on bail pending further inquiries.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Press release: Global faith institutions announce divestment as oil and gas companies threaten 1.5°C climate goal with reckless expansion plans
7/5/22
“In a challenge to the fossil fuel industry’s dangerous expansion plans and increasingly empty rhetoric on climate, 35 faith institutions from seven countries today announced their divestment from fossil fuel companies. Organised by the World Council of Churches, Operation Noah, Laudato Si’ Movement, Green Anglicans and GreenFaith, this latest divestment announcement comes from faith institutions in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, the UK and the US. It comes just three weeks before Anglican bishops from around the world gather for the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, UK. Participating institutions include five Church of England dioceses (the Diocese of Birmingham, the Diocese of Durham, the Diocese of Leicester, the Diocese of Newcastle and the Diocese of Worcester); two Catholic dioceses (the Archdiocese of Armagh and the Diocese of Leeds); a Church of England cathedral (Leicester Cathedral); the Methodist Church in Ireland; two United Reformed Church Synods; 11 Catholic religious orders, including the Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph in Canada, the Religious Institute of the Sacred Heart of Mary in Brazil, and the Jesuits in the United States East Province; the Catholic Theological Society of America; two Jesuit universities in the US (Marquette University and Loyola University, Chicago); and several local churches. The global divestment announcement follows an investigation by The Guardian into the world’s largest fossil fuel firms and the scores of planned ‘carbon bomb’ oil and gas projects which would push the world past the goal of limiting global heating to 1.5°C, with catastrophic impacts that could lead to the displacement of hundreds of millions of people.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Mountain View Today: Five ways to save at Stampede
7/4/22
”The Calgary Stampede's Value Days are the best way to get the most bang for your buck,” Mountain View Today reports. “Check out these five options… Suncor Family Day: Sunday, July 10 - Bring the people in your life who are family to the Calgary Stampede and celebrate with FREE fun for everyone. Admission is FREE from 8 a.m. - 11 a.m., a FREE variety show from 8 a.m. - 10 a.m. and a FREE pancake breakfast will be available until 10 a.m. (while supplies last). TC Energy Community Day: Tuesday, July 12 – Celebrating the incredible spirit that fuels our city with FREE admission for adults and children from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., while seniors receive FREE admission all day long as well as coffee and donuts 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.”
OPINION
Lincoln Journal Star: Editorial, 6/30: Study will save time, money, pain down the line
Journal Star editorial board, 6/29/22
“The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska wants an environmental impact study on a pair of proposed carbon dioxide pipelines before permits are granted to build thousands of miles of pipeline across several Great Plains states to carry gas from ethanol plants to sequestration sites deep underground in North Dakota and Illinois,” the Lincoln Journal Star Editorial Board writes. “The surprise, frankly, is that such a study is not already underway and the permitting process is moving forward without such an assessment. In fact, a study of the proposals should, if it is found to have little negative environmental impact, reduce opposition to the pipelines, make it easier to obtain the rights to build the lines on private land and reassure the public that the pipelines will have the benefits its proponents claim… “Ethanol plants have been eager to sign up for the project because moving the CO2 will reduce their “carbon intensity” scores, maintaining their access to markets, such as California, with strict standards for fuel producers… “That is nearly 40% of the corn grown in the state each year, grain that would likely have no market if the “carbon intensity” scores cannot be reduced and the plants are forced to shut down. Opponents, however, argue that the pipeline proposals are nothing but a “cash grab,” that the technology of burying carbon dioxide hasn’t been proven and the project will not do enough to curb greenhouse gas emissions from the plants. The “cash grab” allegations are, to be fair, political rhetoric aimed at stirring opponents. But the questions of the technology for transporting and burying the carbon dioxide and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions can be addressed in a study. Permitting agencies, be they county boards in Nebraska, state agencies here and in surrounding states and at the federal level, should require such a study before giving the project a go-ahead. Any delay created would simply be prudent and could likely prevent years of opposition over the use of eminent domain and environmental issues that, as of now, seems sure to occur, both in public bodies and the courts.”
Washington Post: The climate-change agenda can survive the Supreme Court’s EPA ruling
Joseph Majkut is director of the energy security and climate change program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, 7/3/22
“When the Supreme Court voted 6-3 Thursday to place boundaries on how the Environmental Protection Agency can use its authority to regulate power plants, advocates for swift action to slow global warming described the decision as a potential death knell for the climate agenda. But the situation is not nearly that dire,” Joseph Majkut writes for the Washington Post. “...This means that the EPA will have to implement simpler regulations on a plant-by-plant level. That’s a setback, but a lot can be achieved through such an approach. And more importantly, the path to decarbonizing the U.S. economy doesn’t look particularly different today than it did last week… “Some may worry that the current Supreme Court has enough skepticism about agency decisions that it will characterize nearly any aggressive regulatory move as too major for the executive branch to attempt on its own… “The decision does not rule out the agency requiring that plants run more efficiently, burn cleaner fuel mixes or install equipment to capture carbon dioxide from exhaust. Such direct regulation may not achieve as much as a cap-and-trade system, but the cost of controlling carbon emissions via technology is improving as more projects are deployed… “The Biden climate agenda’s largest domestic victory thus far was the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which focused on technology necessary to reduce emissions. To truly decarbonize, we need to build a better and more resilient power grid, establish supply chains for solar panels and critical minerals and build local support for new energy technologies. Those can’t be regulated into existence. (We might as well call for cutting red tape to allow the faster building of cleaner infrastructure.) Eventually we will need a carbon tax or economy-wide emissions cap to cut emissions in a systemic and cost-effective way but that can’t come from the EPA. The Supreme Court said this week that “major” regulation must be authorized by Congress.”