EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 9/30/22
PIPELINE NEWS
KMA: ISAC looking into land impact study regarding carbon pipelines
KSFY: Landowners gather to hear concerns about carbon pipelines
Dakota Free Press: Bengs Proposes Limit on Eminent Domain for Carbon Dioxide Pipelines
KHQA: Carbon dioxide pipeline proposal draws opposition, action
KFYR: Landowners, legislators push back against carbon pipeline
KETV: Carbon capture pipeline making progress in Pottawattamie County
Bloomberg: Enbridge Says Taxpayer Backstop Key in Indigenous Pipeline Deal
Clean Technica: Last Gasp For Mountain Valley Pipeline Natural Gas Project
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Reuters: Aging offshore oil platforms targeted in greens' new lawsuit
InsideEPA: House Science Panel Floats Bills To Boost Methane Emissions Scrutiny.
STATE UPDATES
The Advocate: St. Helena imposes moratorium on carbon capture injection wells; Livingston debates issue
NWI Times: New state law allows for underground storage of captured carbon in Indiana
EXTRACTION
NPR: Research shows oil field flaring emits nearly five times more methane than expected
Washington Post: Nord Stream spill could be biggest methane leak ever but not catastrophic
Bloomberg: Massive Shell-Led LNG Project Takes Shape on Canada’s West Coast
Reuters: Canada's Enbridge buys U.S. green power firm Tri Global
Reuters: Canada's Teck eyes spinoff or divestment of Fort Hills oil sands stake
Press release: Cenovus to help advance sustainable energy opportunities for First Nations
CLIMATE FINANCE
Common Dreams: Activists Call Fed Pilot Program to Assess Banks' Climate Risk a 'Welcome First Step'
OPINION
Truthout: Grassroots Climate Organizers Led the Way to Scrapping Manchin’s Dirty Deal
The Hill: We miscalculated our climate tipping points: This decade is critical
PIPELINE NEWS
KMA: ISAC looking into land impact study regarding carbon pipelines
Ethan Hewett, 9/29/22
“Officials with the Iowa State Association of Counties are pursuing a study to discover the possible land impacts of proposed carbon pipelines,” KMA reports. “That's according to Mills County Supervisor Richard Crouch, who also serves as the ISAC Board of Directors President. Crouch tells KMA News the board was approached to look into a ground impact or compaction study of areas potentially impacted by proposed carbon pipelines through Iowa State University… “Crouch says the hope would be to present the study's results to the Iowa Utilities Board -- the governing body in the state for hazardous liquid pipelines. "Where it goes through property, the types of soil, you know not every county has the same type of soil, the rainfall and that stuff -- you know how soon could you work after a rainfall," Crouch told KMA. "There's several things that they're looking at and we just thought it would help out in giving it to the Utilities Board and saying, 'hey, this is a problem that the farmers will have." Crouch adds the study could include the impact on the county itself, land value, and crop loss… “Crouch feels the study is vital to provide the possible impacts in writing, which he adds is typically stronger protection for landowners… “Additionally, Crouch gave a brief presentation to the Mills County Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday regarding a pipeline ordinance. Crouch told KMA they are looking at working off of an ordinance that has been proposed in Shelby County, which he feels would give the county and its residents a "seat at the table."
KSFY: Landowners gather to hear concerns about carbon pipelines
Cooper Seamer, 9/29/22
“The topic of carbon dioxide pipelines has become a hot one in South Dakota over the summer. That’s bringing together many who live in towns and out in the country about what planned projects could mean for them,” KSFY reports. “Betty Strom, a Lake County resident, is no stranger to pipelines on her land. An oil pipeline currently runs through her property, and now she’s concerned about carbon dioxide pipelines that could be making their way to the state. “I think more people are catching on and wanting to know more about it. But we still have a lot of people that don’t know, or think they can just say no and then they won’t bother them anymore. But that’s not how it works.” Strom told KSFY. Landowners and individuals in Moody County gathered in Flandreau Thursday night to hear concerns from Strom and others about potential pipelines. Strom said they’re worried about what other projects could be in the future. “These tax credits are really lucrative. And so, there are a lot of companies looking at that. We’re afraid we’re going to become a pipeline highway through South Dakota.” Strom said. That concern is also coming from the group South Dakota Easement Team, concerned about how close regulations allow pipelines to come within buildings and homes. “We need to have proper setbacks and depths. Because right now federal guidelines say, and it doesn’t even pertain CO2 pipelines, is that the pipe has to be buried three feet deep, and it can’t come within 50 feet of your house.” South Dakota Easement Team member Rick Bonander told KSFY. Questions about the use of eminent domain also came up... with Strom and others stating that they don’t want pipelines on their land that won’t benefit them or their neighbors. “Eminent domain is supposed to be for public use. You, nor I, nor the public is going to be using that CO2.” Strom said.”
Dakota Free Press: Bengs Proposes Limit on Eminent Domain for Carbon Dioxide Pipelines
CORY ALLEN HEIDELBERGER, 9/26/22
“Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Brian Bengs would like to bring the controversial carbon dioxide pipelines into his campaign against Republican Senator John Thune,” Dakota Free Press reports. “While Senator Thune seems to think farmers can make some money sequestering their CO2, he hasn’t said much about his Iowa Republican friends’ plan to seize land via eminent domain to lay pipes from ethanol plants in the five-state area to a CO2 burial site in North Dakota. Candidate Bengs, however, is ready to stand with landowners and, if sent to Washington, work on legislation to protect their property rights from this specific land grab:.. “If elected, Bengs is committed to sponsoring legislation to disqualify carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects that use eminent domain to secure private property easements amounting to more than 10% of the total project length within a single state. Note that Bengs is already offering compromise. He’s not calling for a total ban on eminent domain for CO2 pipelines. He’s setting a high bar: Summit Carbon Solutions and other developers would have to get voluntary easements for 90% of their route before they could force the holdouts along the remaining tenth or less of the route to surrender their land rights.”
KHQA: Carbon dioxide pipeline proposal draws opposition, action
Zach Richardson, 9/29/22
“Navigator Heartland Greenway proposed a plan to build a 1,300-mile liquid carbon dioxide pipeline,” KHQA reports. “...This proposal is nothing new to residents in McDonough County, and now, county board member Mike Cox says people are voicing their concerns. "We've heard about this for quite a while and didn't really know what our part would be," Cox told KHQA. "Grass roots, community, the people that are impacted did a lot of research and connected with us on it and kind of advised us to some degree that this is a major issue for us." “...In a statement, Lee County supervisor Matt Pflug told KHQA many residents aren't in favor of the proposal and have sent a letter of concern to the Iowa Utility Board. Sangamon County sent a news release stating many of their residents also have concerns, and the county has filed a petition for leave to intervene in the proposal before the Illinois Commerce Commission. Now, McDonough County has followed suit and recently voted 18-1 to intervene in the case as well. "We didn't see anything that was of value that it was bringing to the county," Cox told KHQA. "So, the safety of our residents and county and even people who visit our county was a concern." Cox told KHQA the vote to intervene is a result of rising concerns about the safety of the people and animals… “Cox told KHQA the McDonough County Board hopes to be able to form a coalition with the other counties involved to take on this fight together.”
KFYR: Landowners, legislators push back against carbon pipeline
Joel Crane, 9/29/22
“Carbon capture is popular among those in the energy industry, but there are a lot of people who aren’t particularly thrilled by the idea,” KFYR reports. “There’s a massive carbon capture project underway that’ll span five states and carry millions of tons of carbon dioxide to North Dakota every year so it can be stored underground. But some landowners from across the region are speaking out against it. Kurt Swenson, who lives south of Beulah, is skeptical about the carbon capture project. “Our private property rights that are granted by the Constitution are incredibly important to us. They give us the right to protect what is ours, and in this case, we have the right to exclude others from our private property,” Swenson told KFYR. “There are very good things that could come out of this, but what’s happening today is that we’re bypassing constitutionally protected private property rights.” That’s why Representatives Rick Becker and Jeff Magrum have announced legislation to protect those rights. “This legislation will clarify that eminent domain may not be used to procure easements for carbon dioxide pipelines and prevents landowners from being financially ruined for trying to fight it in the court system,” Representative Becker told KFYR… “The legislation will be introduced when the session begins in January.”
KETV: Carbon capture pipeline making progress in Pottawattamie County
9/29/22
“A controversial carbon capture pipeline is continuing to make progress,” KETV reports. “Carbon Summit Solutions said it's reached easement agreements with 72% of landowners in Pottawattamie county. The company said it will invest $23 million into the county during construction… “Advocates argue it could cut down on greenhouse gas emissions from ethanol, but critics worry about safety and the company's potential use of eminent domain.”
Bloomberg: Enbridge Says Taxpayer Backstop Key in Indigenous Pipeline Deal
Esteban Duarte, 9/29/22
“A taxpayer backstop is a key piece of the financing for Enbridge Inc.’s C$1.12 billion ($820 million) sale of a pipelines stake to a group of indigenous communities,” Bloomberg reports. “Athabasca Indigenous Midstream LP raised C$865.2 million in the bond markets on Tuesday while the remainder is being funded with a C$250 million equity loan guaranteed by the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation, or AIOC, a provincial government agency. As an industry, “we’ve got the assets, we can help create the structure, in this case we helped with the financing, but there is a big role for the government to play,” Max Chan, senior vice president of corporate development at Enbridge, told Bloomberg. AIOC’s involvement is “a guarantee for the equity piece essentially so I think it’s a nice elegant solution. It’s not cash, but they are providing basically, the balance sheet, the credit worthiness of government.” A group of 23 First Nation and Métis communities are taking an 11.57% stake in seven Enbridge-operated pipelines in the Athabasca region of northern Alberta, in what the Calgary-based company said is the largest energy-related indigenous economic partnership transaction in North America to date. “The AIOC is sort of a necessary ingredient in this,” Chan told Bloomberg. “What I’m hoping, if you look at replicability, is that other provincial governments and the federal governments take a look at what’s been done here.”
Clean Technica: Last Gasp For Mountain Valley Pipeline Natural Gas Project
Tina Casey, 9/29/22
“Natural gas stakeholders thought they had the new Mountain Valley Pipeline in the bag over the summer,” Clean Technica reports. “Well, that was then. New federal legislation that would have cleared the way for Mountain Valley and other fossil energy projects has been stripped from a must-pass spending bill by its own sponsor, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV). The move surprised nobody who has been paying attention, but it does send up plenty of red flags for fossil energy stakeholders. Like the notorious Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline, the Mountain Valley Pipeline has come to symbolize the fossil energy industry’s insistence on ambitious but badly outdated infrastructure projects… “Regardless of Manchin’s affection for the natural gas industry or the rightward drift of voters in his home state, the Mountain Valley Pipeline faces an uncertain future. So does natural gas, for that matter. Although the industry seems firmly entrenched at present, stakeholders should take a lesson from the experience of the coal industry. Coal was king in West Virginia for generations, until natural gas knocked it off the top of the energy pile. Now natural gas is threatened by a host of newcomers, including West Virginia’s unique geothermal assets. New legislation in West Virginia has also broken up a longstanding solar energy bottleneck. As of last year the state only hosted 18 megawatts in installed solar capacity. That will be eclipsed many times over by the new 250-megawatt SunPark array, which will sprawl over a former coal field.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Reuters: Aging offshore oil platforms targeted in greens' new lawsuit
Clark Mindock, 9/28/22
“A lawsuit filed Wednesday by groups seeking a fresh review of federal safety plans and a halt on new drilling in the Pacific Ocean cite an oil spill off California’s southern coast last year to highlight the dangers of aging offshore rigs,” Reuters reports. “Plans for the Beta offshore oilfield just under 10 miles southwest of Huntington Beach were first issued in the 1970s and 1980s and have remained unchanged since, despite a requirement under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) update the analysis to reflect the best available science and data, according to the lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity in California federal court. The complaint points to the dangers of aging equipment by referring to a 2021 oil spill that released at least 25,000 gallons of crude into the Pacific Ocean near Huntington Beach. It also cites current science showing that fossil fuel extraction contributes to climate change. The 2021 spill occurred when ships' anchors cracked the cement casing of a pipeline traveling from a drilling platform to the shore. The company operating the pipeline, Amplify Energy Corp, agreed to pay $18 million in state and federal penalties over the incident, which killed birds and fouled beaches… “As long as offshore drilling is going on in the Beta field, the next oil spill is a matter of when, not if," she told Reuters.
InsideEPA: House Science Panel Floats Bills To Boost Methane Emissions Scrutiny.
9/29/22
“Lawmakers on the House science committee are floating three bills to ramp up scrutiny of methane emissions by multiple federal agencies, including legislation that would direct EPA to conduct a pilot study quantifying oil and gas operations’ methane emissions in a prelude to a possible national methane ‘census,’” InsideEPA reports. “The proposals build on a prior committee report and hearing that developed recommendations for improving monitoring, quantification and control of methane emissions, at a time when EPA is developing first-time rules to curb methane from existing oil and gas sources and strengthening standards for new equipment. While the immediate route to enactment is unclear, it is possible that the legislative proposals could be attached to pending or future appropriations bills for the relevant agencies. The pilot study directive to EPA surfaces in a bill from science committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), dubbed the Methane Emissions Research Act of 2022. The legislation would require EPA, in consultation with other agencies, to conduct a two-year pilot study that measures and quantifies emissions from two large oil and gas regions of the country -- to be chosen by the agency -- through use of innovative methane measurement and quantification technologies, according to a fact sheet. EPA would then be charged with reporting the study results to Congress, while also explaining how the results could inform a subsequent recurring national census of oil and gas emissions; how methane measurement and quantification could improve the quality of federal greenhouse gas inventories, and additional research needs. A second bipartisan bill from Reps. Sean Casten (D-IL) and Peter Meijer (R-MI) would establish a research, development and demonstration program at DOE in support of technologies to detect, quantify and ‘significantly mitigate methane emissions,’ according to a summary.”
STATE UPDATES
The Advocate: St. Helena imposes moratorium on carbon capture injection wells; Livingston debates issue
LARA NICHOLSON and JACQUELINE DEROBERTIS, 9/27/22
“St. Helena’s police jury passed a year-long moratorium Tuesday night on construction of injection wells used in carbon capture, the latest move among southeast Louisiana parishes echoing growing concern about the technology,” The Advocate reports. “...None of the state’s current carbon capture projects touch St. Helena, though parish officials say energy companies have been considering St. Helena for future projects. Parish officials say they want more time to research possible effects before letting industry construct any injection wells. “The parish is saying, ‘Let’s take a year and really look into this to see what they’re trying to do and what potential dangers we need to be aware of,” Roderick Matthews, St. Helena’s emergency management director, told The Advocate prior to the meeting. “We want to make sure it’s going to be safe and not put anyone in harm’s way.” Other parishes in the region are taking similar actions — Livingston Parish issued its own year-long moratorium earlier this month in response to two projects being considered for that parish… “As the St. Helena police jury meeting was underway Tuesday, Air Products and OxyChem conducted a meeting in Livingston Parish to answer questions from parish residents. There was standing room only at Livingston Parish’s council chambers. The council had pitched the meeting as an opportunity to hear from the companies seeking to open carbon capture hubs in the parish, and allow residents to directly interrogate them… “Eric Harrell, a resident from the Holden area, described the carbon sequestration action as a point-of-no-return for the parish. “Protect the people in this parish,” he said. “Once it’s done, it’s over with.” By the time representatives with Air Products and OxyChem took to the podium, the mood in the room was strained. Wayne Rowe, an Air Products director, acknowledged the tension and admitted the company should have communicated their plans sooner.”
NWI Times: New state law allows for underground storage of captured carbon in Indiana
Joseph S. Pete, 9/27/22
“Gov. Eric Holcomb and many local elected officials from both parties gathered at the BP Whiting Refinery for the ceremonial signing of a bill that allows underground storage of captured carbon dioxide,” NWI Times reports. “The new law would potentially allow the BP Whiting Refinery to become a hub of carbon dioxide capture and sequestration by sending carbon emissions captured from steel mills and other factories through pipelines to underground caverns just north of Lafayette, where it would be stored… “State Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, authored the legislation. He told NWI some would prefer to see an overnight switch to solar and wind, but that this approach established a more realistic pathway. "One side wants to ignore it all, the other side do it overnight," he told NWI. "You need to lay the foundation that makes it happen over time." "...We've talked to Toyota, which is different from some of the other automotive manufacturers in saying electric is not the end game," he told NWI. "It's going to be multiple sources. We're going to have carbon for a long time. The battery for a truck is so big it reduces capacity, so probably hydrogen cells, so probably compressed natural gas. So we're going to have carbon with us for a long time. The question is what are we going to do with it. There are only a few places in the country that are as optimal as Indiana is with its caverns." “...Indiana is one of the top 5 states with clean energy under construction, Holcomb told NWI. "We believe in an all-of-the-above portfolio that speaks to reliability and affordability.”.
EXTRACTION
NPR: Research shows oil field flaring emits nearly five times more methane than expected
LAURA BENSHOFF, 9/29/22
“Flares, or fires lit at oil and gas wells to burn off excess gas that cannot be transported and sold, are a common sight at oil fields around the world. Some are even visible from space,” NPR reports. “But a new study published in the journal Science Thursday found that the process is not eliminating nearly as much methane, a greenhouse gas many times more potent than carbon dioxide, as assumed. "Our findings indicate that flaring is responsible for five times more methane entering the atmosphere than we previously thought," Genevieve Plant, lead author and assistant research scientist at the University of Michigan, told NPR… “Flaring is a way to convert unsellable gas into compounds such as carbon dioxide, which still cause global warming but are less harmful in the near-term. Flares are designed to eliminate at least 98% of the methane that passes through them, and that is the default amount used when estimating the emissions they create. But that assumption had not been rigorously tested in the real world, Plant told NPR, "so that's why we went to study it." “...They found that the flaring in these locations only converted about 91% of methane released from the ground into other compounds. Some of that was due to a small percentage of flares that weren't lit and were therefore releasing methane directly into the atmosphere. The rest was due to inefficient flaring, although the study does not investigate why some flares release excess methane… "It isn't shocking to see these results," Rob Jackson, professor of Earth System Science at Stanford University, told NPR. He also studies the climate impacts of methane but was not involved in the new study. He says these findings show, "We can't just rely on what the best case scenario for emissions is."
Washington Post: Nord Stream spill could be biggest methane leak ever but not catastrophic
Meg Kelly, Ellen Francis and Michael Birnbaum, 9/29/22
“The two explosions in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea resulted in what could amount to the largest-ever single release of methane gas into the atmosphere, but it may not be enough to have a major effect on climate change, experts say,” the Washington Post reports. “While sudden influxes of methane from underwater pipelines are unusual and scientists have little precedent to fall back on, the consensus is that with so much methane spewing into the atmosphere from all around the globe, the several hundred thousand tons from the pipelines will not make a dramatic difference. “It’s not trivial, but it’s a modest-sized U.S. city, something like that,” Drew Shindell, a professor of earth science at Duke University, told the Post. “There are so many sources all around the world. Any single event tends to be small. I think this tends to fall in that category.” New data released Wednesday by the Danish Energy Agency allowed scientists to produce preliminary estimates of the amount of methane released. If all that gas reaches the atmosphere, it would be equivalent to about 0.1 percent of the estimated annual global methane emissions, according to scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Gas Hydrates Project… “A worst-case calculation by Thomas Lauvaux, a researcher with the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences in France, equated it to what comes from about 1 million cars in a year — compared with the about 250 million cars operating in the European Union alone.
Bloomberg: Massive Shell-Led LNG Project Takes Shape on Canada’s West Coast
Robert Tuttle, 9/29/22
“Near the tiny seaside fishing town of Kitimat on the coast of British Columbia, a colossal project is taking place that will profoundly alter the global liquefied natural gas market,” Bloomberg reports. “Billed as the largest private-sector construction project in Canada’s history, the estimated C$40 billion ($29 billion) development includes a liquefaction plant, pipeline and gas drilling. Even after four years of construction, and with 9,000-ton LNG modules now rearing up amid the cloudy, forested landscape, completion isn’t scheduled until the middle of the decade. Yet amid a global energy crunch, and with Europe on the brink of the worst energy crisis in half a century, the operation of the LNG Canada project can’t come soon enough. Its first phase is expected to produce 14 million tons of chilled, liquefied natural gas per year for export by ship, almost equal the amount of gas used by Poland. An as-yet-unconfirmed second phase would double the plant’s capacity. The business case for that “looks very compelling,” Jason Klein, chief executive officer of LNG Canada Development Inc., the global consortium led by Shell Plc that’s behind the project, told Bloomberg. “We have substantially de-risked Phase Two by building Phase One.” “...The project has weathered a number of hurdles in a country where dozens of LNG projects have been proposed and many canceled. The start of construction, in 2018, followed years of regulatory delays. In July, TC Energy Corp. raised the price tag of the pipeline that will supply the plant by 70% to C$11.2 billion ($8.2 billion) after Covid-19-related delays and indigenous protests slowed construction. Although the pipeline won’t achieve the returns it initially expected, TC Energy told Bloomberg discussions with LNG Canada for a second phase are “well advanced” and will allow the project to generate a “competitive” return.
Reuters: Canada's Enbridge buys U.S. green power firm Tri Global
Nia Williams and Ruhi Soni, 9/29/22
“Canadian energy infrastructure firm Enbridge Inc (ENB.TO) on Thursday said it has acquired U.S.-based renewable energy developer Tri Global Energy (TGE) for $270 million and assumed its debt,” Reuters reports. “Dallas-based TGE is the third-largest onshore wind developer in the United States, and has monetized more than 6 gigawatts (GW) of utility scale solar and wind projects since its inception in 2009… “Enbridge is best known for its network of pipelines that ship the bulk of Canadian crude to the United States, but the company said it is focused on growing its renewables portfolio, which currently makes up about 5% of the company.”
Reuters: Canada's Teck eyes spinoff or divestment of Fort Hills oil sands stake
Nia Williams, 9/29/22
“Canada's Teck Resources (TECKb.TO) said on Thursday it could pursue a spinoff or divestment of its stake in the Fort Hills oil sands project if the value of the asset is not reflected in Teck's share price,” Reuters reports. “The comments come a day after French company TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), another partner in the Fort Hills mine in northern Alberta, said it is planning to spin off its oil sands assets to create a new company… “Teck owns a 21.3% stake that produces around 20,000 barrels per day, however the project has struggled with operational issues and the company had previously said it may sell its interest. "We have been clear that if we don't see the value of the Fort Hills asset reflected in Teck's share price, we will pursue other options, which could include spinoff or divestment," spokesperson Chris Stannell told Reuters… “Stannell did not comment on whether Teck would collaborate with TotalEnergies to create a spinoff.”
Press release: Cenovus to help advance sustainable energy opportunities for First Nations
9/29/22
“The First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) is pleased to announce Cenovus Energy Inc. (Cenovus) as a new member of its Sustaining Partners Program. The program furthers FNMPC’s ability to advance relationships between its members and the private sector on issues of mutual interest. Cenovus, along with existing program members CIBC, Colliers Project Leaders, COWI, Gowling WLG, IBI Group and New Gold Inc., will benefit from an exclusive relationship with FNMPC that will be focused on advancing progressive Indigenous business initiatives between the partners and FNMPC members. In working with these companies, FNMPC will further advance strategies that promote meaningful Indigenous inclusion in major developments and articulate Indigenous perspectives concerning environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment standards and sustainable business practices generally.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Common Dreams: Activists Call Fed Pilot Program to Assess Banks' Climate Risk a 'Welcome First Step'
BRETT WILKINS, 9/29/22
“Members of the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition on Thursday welcomed a U.S. Federal Reserve pilot program to study banks' exposure to climate risks while warning that more robust action from the Fed and the nation's banking system is needed to rein in Wall Street's fossil fuel funding,” Common Dreams reports. “According to the Fed, the "pilot climate scenario analysis exercise," which will begin early next year, is "designed to enhance the ability of supervisors and firms to measure and manage climate-related financial risks" amid a worsening planetary emergency fueled, in part, by the policies and activities of central and commercial banks. Six of the biggest U.S. banks—Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo—will participate in the program, which "is exploratory in nature and does not have capital consequences." Akiksha Chatterji, lead campaigner at the advocacy group Positive Money U.S., said in a statement that "the new climate scenario exercise is a welcome first step and indicates that the Fed is finally beginning to take climate risks seriously, after lagging behind international counterparts." "Climate scenario analysis is a useful exercise to assess some of the serious risks that climate change poses to financial institutions, but we need the Fed to move from exploring to acting," Chatterji added. "We have enough information about the dangers of climate change to justify regulatory and supervisory action now, such as penalizing banks' excessive and reckless fossil fuel lending. To truly safeguard financial stability, the Fed must further introduce policies that reflect the high risk of fossil fuel investments."
OPINION
Truthout: Grassroots Climate Organizers Led the Way to Scrapping Manchin’s Dirty Deal
Denali Sai Nalamalapu, 9/29/22
“Frontline climate leaders just secured a huge win by stopping West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s pipeline bill from weaseling into the Senate’s key funding bill,” Denali Sai Nalamalapu writes for Truthout. “...The importance of this national victory being accomplished by frontline organizers cannot be understated. Frontline leaders joined forces together to lobby and call their representatives, tell their stories, and rally in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere, with the support of “Big Green” environmentalists. This was made possible by years of relationship building amongst frontline organizations and, notably, efforts to repair the relationships between grassroots organizations and Big Greens. On the latter, there is still a lot to be done, but this was a significant step where big organizations followed the lead of the grassroots and uplifted their voices, even after grassroots voices were left out of conversations about the Inflation Reduction Act that many of these Big Greens trumpeted as a win… “I joined the Mountain Valley Pipeline fight in part because the people in West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina that this pipeline is targeting are continually sacrificed for political and financial gain and I have seen the same thing done to my communities over centuries. I have fostered life-long friendships in this moment and with the land that the pipeline threatens… “The reason I am in the climate movement is to make sure that voices like mine from communities like mine are listened to. This fight against Manchin’s dirty deal felt like a moment where they finally were. In early September, I helped organize a rally in D.C. to stop this deal and that rally featured Appalachian, Indigenous, Black and working-class organizers on the front lines of environmental injustice fights. Seeing them on the stage with a crowd of 600 people and representing hundreds of thousands of people from across the country felt historic… “The climate movement is stronger coming out of this win and that is because we followed those on the front lines. In order to avoid the worst of the climate crisis and ensure a livable future, we must keep that up.”
The Hill: We miscalculated our climate tipping points: This decade is critical
Paul Andrew Mayewski, Ph.D. is the director and professor at the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine. Anders Beal is an associate in the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 9/29/22
“Despite the knowledge that the planet is rapidly warming, efforts to respond to the crisis have been far too slow. A growing risk factor now emerging is that the timeline for some of the direst impacts of climate change could be overly optimistic,” Paul Andrew Mayewski and Anders Beal write for The Hill. “Cascading effects in the natural world — from the savannization of the Amazon to the release of permafrost methane in Siberia — could very well speed up projections much earlier than predicted. There is also a certain level of hubris emerging within some policy and scientific circles, assuming humanity can stave off the worst effects of the climate crisis by betting on carbon-capture technologies or risking unknown consequences from geoengineering. Policymakers should begin talking about the here and now, with concrete reductions in emissions each year. The phase-out of fossil fuels is moving in the opposite direction and represents an existential threat to the planet. Without greater ambition, without serious bipartisan efforts to address the most critical issue of the century, we are leaving behind an unthinkable legacy. We cannot let the planet become uninhabitable for future generations… “Some scientists are shifting gears, considering civil disobedience and political efforts to urge greater action. Why risk the impartiality of science, with what has been considered a problem for economists or urban planners to solve? Because our time for meaningful action has been slated for just a few short years this decade… “Without significant movement to curtail emissions in the short-term, our future may look catastrophically worse, with little remedy after the fact — leaving both our planet and our legacy as its stewards far beyond repair. “