FIRST LOOK:

The American Lung Association will host a briefing webinar on its 22nd annual 'State Of The Air' report tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. ET. Info and registration are HERE.

UMWA Announces Conditional Support For Transition From Fossil Fuel: The United Mine Workers of America, the country's largest coal miners' union, will support a "true energy transition" away from coal and fossil fuels that includes jobs for "anybody that loses their job because of a transition in this country," Cecil Roberts, the UMWA president, said Monday. The union's support, though qualified, could be a major boost for President Biden's efforts to fight climate change, in large part because of the power held by West Virginia senator Joe Manchin. Manchin, who chairs the Senate Energy Committee, joined Roberts for the announcement. The UMWA announcement also included a plan outlining its calls for numerous provisions to give preference to dislocated miners in renewable energy hiring, full funding for programs plugging and cleaning up abandoned oil and gas wells and coal mines, and investment in carbon capture and sequestration technology. Manchin also announced his support for the union-backed PRO Act and called for directing clean energy tax credits to states where fossil fuels jobs have been lost. “We talk about a ‘just transition’ all the time,″ Roberts added. “I wish people would quit using that. There’s never been a just transition in the history of the United States.″ (AP, E&E $, Politico Pro $, The Hill, Reuters, NBC, Al Jazeera, New York Times $, Vice, Grist; Commentary: Washington Post, Paul Waldman and Greg Sargent analysis $)

Hope For Caffeine In A Warming Climate: Scientists have rediscovered a wild variety of coffee in Sierra Leone that could be key to keeping humanity caffeinated in a world heated by climate change. As temperatures rise around the world, the territory in which coffee can be cultivated is shrinking, with research indicating global production of Arabica coffee could be cut in half in the next 30 years. The rediscovered species, called Coffea stenophylla, can grow at much warmer temperatures and crucially, it tastes good too! "Being somebody who's tasted a lot of wild coffees they're not great, they don't taste like Arabica so our expectations were pretty low," botanist Aaron Davis told BBC News. "And we were completely blown away by the fact that this coffee tasted amazing." (BBC, Reuters, The Conversation, ScienceAlert)

Nearly All Old Pipelines Still Just Left On The Floor Of The Gulf Of Mexico, GAO Says: Offshore oil and gas drillers have discarded and abandoned more than 18,000 miles of pipelines on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico since the 1960s, a report from the Government Accountability Office says. The industry has essentially recovered none of the pipelines laid in the Gulf in the last six decades; the abandoned infrastructure accounts for more than 97% of all of the decommissioned pipelines in the Gulf. The pipelines pose a threat to the habitat around them, and maritime commerce as hurricanes and erosion can move sections of pipeline. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement does not conduct undersea inspections even though surface monitoring is "not always reliable for detecting ruptures," according to the GAO. (E&E $, Wall Street Journal $)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Huge plastics plant faces calls for environmental justice, stiff economic headwinds (Washington Post $), 'this wasn’t policing, this was murder': day 16 of Chauvin trial consists of lengthy closing arguments before the jury deliberates verdict (The Root, NewsOne, The Grio, NPR, ABC), Oath Keepers official brags about having ‘active duty’ officers in far right group (The Grio)

DENIAL: ‘A great deception’: oil giants taken to task over ‘greenwash’ ads (The Guardian), climate commentary spikes during a crisis. It's often wrong (E&E $)

ATMOSPHERIC CO2 ISN'T THE ONLY THING THAT'S HIGH: Cannabis is choking the planet. it doesn’t have to (Atmos)

EXXON: ExxonMobil’s climate pitch to Biden: A $100B carbon project that greens hate (Politico, New York Times $, Axios)

REAL ESTATE: The climate real estate bubble: is the U.S. on the verge of another financial crisis? (TIME)

CLIMATE SCIENCE REFRESHER: The science of climate change explained: facts, evidence and proof (New York Times $), world must sharply cut emissions by 2030 to meet Paris climate goals (Axios)

ACTIVISM: 'War means blood': can a treaty stop Latin American activists being killed? (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

AGENCIES: Deb Haaland’s top priorities for Interior Department: climate change and environmental justice (Grist), Haaland, Regan to make debut Hill appearances in new roles (E&E $), Regan joins VP on the road to tout infrastructure plan (E&E $)

TREASURY: Yellen picks investor [John Morton] as Treasury climate czar, sparking backlash from the left (Politico, Reuters, Axios, Wall Street Journal $, The Hill, Washington Examiner)

STATE DEPARTMENT: Blinken calls on U.S. diplomats to challenge countries lagging on climate (Reuters), Blinken: U.S. 'falling behind' China on climate, clean energy (Politico Pro $)

THE HILL: Dems make clean energy jobs pitch as GOP touts alternatives (E&E $), House Republicans introduce alternative climate bills (E&E $), Ocasio-Cortez will reintroduce Green New Deal this week (E&E $), Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez introduce 'Green New Deal for Public Housing' (The Hill), Senate, House take up drinking water, wastewater bills (E&E $)

WHITE HOUSE: 9 things to watch ahead of Joe Biden’s climate-palooza (Politico Pro $), what to expect from this week's White House climate summit (Axios), CNN to host climate crisis town hall with Biden administration officials (CNN), FAQ: America's new promise on climate (NPR)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Amid Biden climate push, a question looms: is America’s word good? (New York Times $, Axios), U.S. must halve emissions to galvanize global climate action - UN chief (Reuters), ‘no action on anything’: Australia increasingly isolated as US and others ramp up climate ambition (The Guardian)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY, CHINA: John Kerry's mission hinges on one country: China (E&E $)

AMERICAN JOBS PLAN: Biden 'prepared to compromise' on infrastructure, wants Republican proposal by May (Reuters), Biden to Republicans: show me your infrastructure plan (Politico Pro $), liberals warn Biden against lengthy talks with GOP (Politico Pro $), push for split package picks up bipartisan steam (E&E $), Manchin: infrastructure package could be divided into four bills (Politico Pro $), the details in Biden’s infrastructure plan that could bring Republicans to the table (Grist)

POLITICS: How politics is shaping Biden’s infrastructure proposal (Washington Post $), with climate clock ticking, activists push Biden to act faster (Reuters)

CITIES AND STATES: As states thwart climate progress, progressives pitch a lifeline to green cities (HuffPost), cities up the ante on their climate pledges (Axios), Jackson [Mississippi] won’t release email about 2020 water system problems (AP), Louisiana representative boldly offers to make his state a ‘sanctuary’ for fossil fuels (Earther), Mississippi Power plans to shutter coal, gas plants (E&E $)

TEXAS: Blackouts brought huge military bills, resilience lessons (E&E $), Ice storm aftermath: more climate extremes ahead for Galveston (InsideClimate News), severe weather this summer could cause another Texas power crisis (Texas Tribune)

INTERNATIONAL GEOSTRATEGERY: Competition heats up in the melting Arctic, and the US isn’t prepared to counter Russia (The Conversation)

IMPACTS: ‘Relentless’ climate crisis intensified in 2020, says UN report (The Guardian, Reuters), for South Korea's youngest 'sea women', warming seas mean smaller catches (Reuters), how the Earth's oceans protect us from climate change — and how that may 'come back and bite us' (CBS), what Earth was like last time CO2 levels were this high (Mashable)

DROUGHT: As a megadrought persists, new projections show a key Colorado River reservoir could sink to a record low later this year (CNN), Dry tinderbox conditions [in New England] raise concern about another drought (AP)

WATER: The future of western water restrictions is here (Earther), interstate water wars are heating up along with the climate (The Conversation), tiny Borrego Springs agrees to huge water cuts to guarantee its survival (Desert Sun)

WILDFIRES: Wildfire deals hard blow to South Africa’s archives (New York Times $), Firefighters battle to contain blaze on South Africa’s Table Mountain (Reuters)

ENERGY FINANCING: Coal financing costs surge as investors opt for renewable energy (The Guardian), cost of financing renewable energy fell sharply since 2010 (E&E $)

RENEWABLES: A farmer's fight for solar reveals a U.S. land problem (E&E $), as Biden targets 100% clean electricity, strategies emerge to reliably integrate rising renewables (Utility Dive), clean energy sector jobs recover, but still lag pre-pandemic levels (Politico Pro $), emissions modeling underscores need for sweeping energy transformations (Axios), NextEra inks $733 million wind purchase in latest green deal (Bloomberg $), offshore wind is poised to take off in the U.S.—but it won’t be easy (National Geographic), the climate clock now ticks with a tinge of optimism (New York Times $)

STORAGE: ConEd and GI Energy advance new model for storage deployment with Bronx project (Utility Dive)

OIL & GAS: Natural gas is getting cheaper. Thousands are paying more to heat their homes anyway. (ProPublica), 3 battles could remake the oil and gas industry (E&E $), BP to end most U.S. gas flaring (E&E $)

PIPELINES: Major North Carolina spill larger than previously thought — officials (E&E $)

COAL: CEO of Poland's PGE says coal clearly has to end as power source (Reuters)

UTILITIES: Power companies urge Biden to implement policies to cut emissions 80% by 2030 (Reuters)

EVs: Biden wants to build 500,000 EV charging stations. Where will they all go? (Grist), lithium miners in $3.1bn merger as electric vehicles fuel demand (FT $), lithium shortage threatens EV growth — report (E&E $)

OCEANS: Shrinking sea meadows store more carbon than forests. Scientists are racing to track what’s left. (Washington Post $)

ART: Painting a picture of climate change (New York Times $)

SCHOOLS: Why schools should be the center of a Green New Deal (Earther)

AGRICULTURE: The Hog Baron (Vox), why is fashion talking about regenerative farming? (New York Times $)

BUSINESS: Amazon renewables rollout highlights corporate climate push (Axios), why corporate net-zero ambitions rest on China and U.S. delivering on their climate accord (Reuters), Toyota to review climate stance as investors turn up the heat (Reuters)

CARBON CAPTURE: Clock’s running out on climate change. California says it’s time for giant carbon vacuums (LA Times $), Shell, Exxon look to profit from capturing customers’ carbon emissions (Wall Street Journal $), winners of $20M contest make concrete to trap carbon dioxide (AP, Bloomberg $)

DIVESTMENT: Oxford University receives £11m from fossil fuel firms, report finds (The Guardian)

FINANCE: EU ‘reflecting’ on conflict of interest rules after BlackRock controversy (The Guardian)

GRETA: Activist Greta Thunberg hopes US summit will treat climate change as real crisis (Reuters), Greta Thunberg to headline climate, fossil fuels hearings (E&E $), Swedish teen Thunberg joins fight against vaccine inequity (AP)

ROLLING: Extreme E: Electric SUVs star in televised off-road racing series (Yale Climate Connections)

INTERNATIONAL: Canada sets new 2030 carbon reduction target, to issue first green bond (Reuters, Politico Pro $), UK to speed up target to cut carbon emissions (BBC)

• A thirst for Oregon Water Futures Project (Statesman Journal, Alaí Reyes-Santos, Reyna Lopez and Rachel Cushman op-ed) 
• Oil companies don’t deserve reparations for fossil fuel bans. They’ll still want them (The Guardian, Nicolás Perrone op-ed)
• 17 young people on the moment the climate crisis became real to them (Teen Vogue)
• All-electric car and truck sales by 2035 would save $2.7 trillion, but will take smart policy to drive clean (Utility Dive, Amanda Myers op-ed)
• This century's energy innovation mirrors industrial revolution of early 1900s (Houston Chronicle, Chris Tomlinson column)
• Our best shot to slow climate change now: Cut methane (The Hill, Inger Andersen and Drew Shindell)
• Sen. Tammy Duckworth on hate crimes, racism, and environmental justice (The Verge, interview)
• Climate manipulation? Not all 'solutions' should be advanced (The Hill, Jennie C Stephens and Kevin Surprise op-ed)
• Climate change is the biggest story on earth. So why can’t Hollywood make good tv shows and movies about it? (TIME, Jo Nesbø op-ed)
• Out of excuses: Businesses must commit to real action on climate (The Hill, Kathleen Rogers and Greg Kats)
• We're overlooking one of the best solutions for creating clean jobs (The Hill, Paula Glover op-ed)

Revealed: How Fossil Fuel Industry Is ‘Weaponizing Equity Amidst a Climate Crisis’ 

Earlier this month when the NAACP published a report on how the fossil fuel industry throws money around to exert its power and get what it wants (more money and power, so more pollution) we used Mike Rowe’s faux-working class persona as an example of how Big Oil co-opts community leaders. 

While that was a fine national example, we’ve seen some unfortunately apt examples at both the international and state-levels that may be a harbinger of what’s to come. 

For example, in response to John Kerry’s recent climate-centric trip to India, the oil-loving-evangelicals at the Cornwall Alliance trotted out their token brown “Pro-Science, Pro-Life” research associate, Indian Vijay Jayaraj. He penned an open letter to Kerry, criticizing climate policies “from people living in energy poverty,” as though the fossil fuel industry was going to magically connect everyone currently without electricity to the grid (for free), if just the US would let them! 

Closer to home, we recently told you Big Oil was bragging about beating back climate policies in various states. But now thanks to some investigative work, we know a whole lot more about what they don’t want you to know: paying off and co-opting off minority groups to burnish their image. 

That’s one of many revelations in a major investigation by Daniel Rothberg and Riley Snyder at the Nevada Independent, who expose Southwest Gas’s “full-court press attempt to push back against legislation — and broader policy efforts by the Sisolak administration — aimed at transitioning from natural gas to electric appliances in buildings.”

Southwest Gas, a major utility provider, has been using its deep pockets to undermine efforts to reduce gas use and fight climate change, recruiting mayors and other leaders to sign on to letters, rallying opposition to kill bills in committee, and donating heavily to COVID-19 relief efforts, all as part of “a well-coordinated media campaign defining AB380 as banning ‘natural gas appliances in homes and business’ — a characterization that the bill’s drafters dispute.” 

AB380 was the name for Nevada legislation that would have required the gas utility to explain in regular reports how its own spending plans will keep prices down and electricity flowing, while also planning for meeting zero emissions by mid-century. 

But the industry wanted to stir up fear, so it framed the bill as a ban, and got to work making it look like there was a groundswell of opposition, when in fact it was just cashing in some goodwill tokens its “philanthropy” had earned. Because last year, the industry’s Western States Petroleum Association was giving gift cards to Nevada’s Black and Hispanic Legislative Caucuses, who in turn invited the WSPA and Southwest Gas to give presentations early in the legislative session, where they could frame the bill as a ban on gas. 

Ultimately, even though revisions to the bill addressed concerns over its unintended impacts on poor communities and communities of color, those efforts failed as lawmakers lobbied by the industry “raised concerns… echoing many of the arguments made by the natural gas utility and the coalition opposing the bill.” Specifically, “the coalition had repeatedly argued that the effects of AB380 would disproportionately affect communities of color, seniors and low-income households.” 

If it sounds bizarre that a climate bill that would protect people of color, seniors and low-income households from the sort of pollution that saddles them with medical bills (in addition to the health problems), that’s because it is. But a bad-faith attack on legislation that would hurt their bottom line sounding bizarre has never stopped the oil and gas industry before. Or, as the Sierra Club’s Elspeth DiMarzio told the Nevada Independent, “it is absurd that they are weaponizing equity amidst a climate crisis. Responsible energy planning was about making sure there was a plan to protect low-income communities down the road.” 

It’s absurd, but that’s not stopping them. 

If anything, it seems to be working!

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