FIRST LOOK: 

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Fed nominee Raskin withdraws after fight over her climate stance: Fossil fuel interests and Sen. Joe Manchin (D, WV) dashed the hopes of Biden’s nominee for a top regulatory post at the Federal Reserve, calling Raskin insufficiently committed to an “all-of-the-above energy policy.” Raskin drew criticism for arguing that climate change is a threat to financial stability, and Republican senators fretted Raskin would discourage banks from lending money to fossil fuel companies. The withdrawal clears the way for Senate action on four other nominations, including a second term as Fed chairman for Jerome Powell. “Addressing the transition of the economy as it grapples with the effects of climate change is critical to the future of American prosperity,” Raskin wrote the president in withdrawing her nomination. “I stand with the vast majority of financial regulators and central banks in the United States and abroad recognizing these facts.” (NPR, CNN, Reuters, New York Times $, Washington Post $, The Hill, Bloomberg $, FT $)

Climate change will worsen pollen season, new study finds: Pollen levels could triple in some places as the world warms, and allergy season will start more than a month earlier and be far more intense, new research shows. Pollen season in the U.S. used to start around St. Patrick’s Day, but now often starts around Valentine’s Day as a warming climate prompts plants to bloom earlier and keeps them blooming later, releasing more pollen. Increased levels of carbon dioxide pollution from burning fossil fuels also helps plants produce more pollen, study co-author and University of Michigan professor Allison Steiner told ABC News. By the end of the century, pollen season could begin as much as 40 days earlier than it has in recent decades and annual pollen counts could climb by up to 250 percent. (ABC, CNN, NBC)

Fed court denies Exxon's attempt to halt climate change investigations: Exxon Mobil has been trying to sue the attorneys general of New York and Massachusetts, who are investigating whether the oil giant lied to investors and the public over its knowledge of climate change. The decision comes after a lower court rejected the lawsuit Exxon filed against New York in 2016, claiming the state discriminated against the company and violated the company’s constitutional rights. Exxon wanted to revive the case so it could seek the return or destruction of documents the company gave New York during the state investigation. (Reuters, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg $)

Enviro law firm sues Shell board of directors for failing to prepare for the energy transition: ClientEarth claims Shell’s board has failed to implement a climate strategy that aligns with the landmark Paris Agreement and therefore violated an U.K. law that requires company directors to promote the firm’s success and to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence.The lawsuit is the first-ever attempt at holding a company’s board of directors personally liable “for failing to properly prepare for the net zero transition.” The legal action comes less than a year after a Dutch court made a landmark ruling that Shell must dramatically reduce its carbon emissions, a decision Shell is appealing. (CNN, CNBC,The Guardian, FT $)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Indigenous communities meet in Ecuador to demand end to extractive industries (Reuters)

SCOTUS: What to know about the EPA supreme court case that could give polluters free rein (Gizmodo)

DOE: DOE chief of staff announces departure, touting massive funding boost (Washington Examiner)

HOUSE: House Democrats call on Biden to restart climate negotiations in stalled spending plan (CNBC)

CITIES AND STATES: On the Outer Banks, structures rise and fall as climate change looms (Star News Online), God will help US fix climate change, so 'drill baby drill,' West Virginia governor says (Gizmodo), Advocates urge Illinois landowners to prepare for risks from CO2 pipelines (Energy News Network), Consumers Energy threatens to drop coal retirement plans based on proposed Michigan PSC decision (Utility Dive)

CALIFORNIA: California's climate fight may send its power demand soaring 90% (Bloomberg $)

UKRAINE: War in Ukraine does not diminish NATO’s need to act on climate, report says (Scientific American), Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows the true cost of fossil fuels (Grid News)

DROUGHT: As drought deepens, Californians are saving less water  (LA Times $)

WILDFIRES: People Deserve to Know Their Houses Are Going to Burn (Atlantic)

KXL: Could the Keystone XL pipeline help lower U.S. gas prices? (CBS)

COAL: Some EU members turn back to coal to cut reliance on Russian gas (Climate Home), Coal prices rise to record levels on Russia supply fears. (New York Times $)

SOLAR: Rooftop solar companies enter fray over North Carolina net metering proposal (Energy News Network), Solar trade probe poses threat to U.S. projects, developers say (Bloomberg $)

UTILITIES: Eye on Utilities: ‘Nobody at the PUCO seems to respect the consumer in Ohio’ (Energy News Network), Dubai utilities giant DEWA to go public in April as IPO boom gets underway (CNBC), Power Industry Quietly Pushes New York to Endorse Non-Renewable Energy (New York Focus)

WIND: Orsted’s North America chief says $4.4bn wind auction was ‘missed opportunity’ (FT $)

OIL & GAS: Oil Market Faces Biggest Supply Crisis in Decades Unless OPEC Boosts Output, IEA Says (Wall Street Journal $), Citing a Chevron Tanker, Ukraine Seeks Tougher Restrictions at Russian Ports (New York Times $), Gazprom Hikes Gas Exports as Buyers Stock Up Amid Cutoff Fears (Bloomberg $)

TV: Jon Stewart Confusingly Seems To Side With Fossil Fuel Companies In New Apple TV+ Show (HuffPost)

METHANE: Sierra Club files motion to halt rebates on natural gas water heaters (CBS), Study finds flaring can impact the health of people 60 miles away (NM Political Report)

ACTIVISM: ‘So angry’: climate activists distraught after court reverses climate change 'duty of care' ruling (The Guardian), Australian court overturns teenagers' landmark climate ruling (CNN), Australia’s environment minister doesn’t have to care about the kids, court rules (Gizmodo), Pattie Gonia and fellow activists on the intersection of social justice and climate action (Outside Business Journal)

CLEAN ENERGY: Inflation is at a 40-year high. Is clean energy the solution? (Grist)

FINANCE: SEC plans to force public companies to disclose greenhouse gas emissions (Washington Post $)

GIGAFACTORY: VW and Goldman Sachs-backed Northvolt plans German gigafactory (CNBC)

SUSTAINABILITY: The next level in sustainability: nature restoration (New York Times $)

TRANSIT: BART ridership hit a post-pandemic high last week. Is it because of high gas prices? (San Francisco Chronicle), It's time to treat e-bikes like vehicles (Bloomberg $)

EVS: Volkswagen Considers Making Electric Truck in U.S. (Wall Street Journal $)

INDUCTION: TikTok Phenom Jon Kung on Why They Love Induction Over Gas (Dwell)

WHEELER: Trump EPA chief to serve as adviser to Youngkin after losing confirmation fight (The Hill)

INTERNATIONAL: EU countries back plan for world-first carbon border tariff (Al Jazeera)

• Is battling back-to-back disasters distracting us from fighting the climate crisis? (The Guardian, Jeff Sparrow op-ed)
• Can Germany break up with Russian gas? (New York Times, Paul Krugman op-ed $) 
• Clean water is key to conservation equity (The Hill, Shanna Edberg op-ed) 
• Women still earn 83 cents on the dollar compared with men. Let's fix that. (USA Today, Charlotte A. Burrows op-ed)
• Put climate reparations at the top of every wealthy country's agenda (Fast Company, Maria Reyes op-ed) 
• Florida's anti-solar bill helps Vladimir Putin. DeSantis should veto it (Miami Herald, Mark Hertling op-ed)
• Will our future be all-electric? (Dwell, Jared Brey op-ed $)

GOP Revives Pre-Re-DeBunked Disinfo From Dr. Evil, Smearing Green Groups With Fake Russian Ties

Good news, everyone! Republicans definitely care very sincerely about transparency in nonprofit donations, seemingly reversing decades of efforts to assist industry donors in concealing their disinformation networks. This could offer an unprecedented opportunity for bipartisan legislation that would make political giving more transparent, dragging the Koch network’s influence, as well as other groups, into the light. 

Just kidding!

Unfortunately, what House Republicans and their comrades in the UK are doing is attempting to resuscitate a myth propagated as a “no u” response to the reports of Russian influence helping Donald Trump during the 2016 election. How? By accusing major green groups of secretly being funded by Putin to attack fracking, thereby leaving us dependent on Russian fossil fuels. 

As usual, any evidence evaporates as soon as one looks for it. Because there is no evidence that big green groups are getting Russian money. The stories are predicated on an ASK for evidence! Specifically, House Republicans sent letters to the Sierra Club, NRDC, and LCV, asking questions that, it turns out, have already been answered. 

As Politico’s Ben Lefebvre documented in 2017, the real story here is that this attack is orchestrated by a group run by Rick Berman, who Lefebvre notes earned the moniker “Dr. Evil” for fighting in favor of every sort of evil industry. Like his campaign against Mothers Against Drunk Driving, this campaign, targeting environmentalists, began back in 2014. 

The green groups involved said at the time it was categorically false, and then even donors themselves cleared it up in 2018, clarifying that the money donated was from their own family wealth accrued in offshore funds, with the backstory documented by the Panama Papers coverage. 

No mention of all that pesky evidnece now though, and when you go each conspiracy theory-peddling rightwing tabloid talking about it in 2022 -  from Fox, Daily Mail, (twice!) the Sun,  RealClearEnergy , NewsMax, and op-ed clearinghouse The Hill, they all rely on the same baseless smears from Berman’s crew, laundered by House Republicans looking to defend Trump and score cheap political points while Putin’s soldiers invade Ukraine. 

If Republicans weren’t so adamant about shielding nonprofits from transparency, they wouldn’t now have to be sending angry (toothless) letters. 

They could write a law! They could’ve written a law back in 2017! Or 2020! But hey, there’s no better time than the present, right? 

No doubt their Democratic counterparts would be more than happy to find a way to make it so that both the Heritage Foundation and Sierra Club have to provide a greater degree of transparency! 

Surely we can get some bipartisan applause for transparency!

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