FIRST LOOK

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) will hold a briefing on Federal Policies for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Win-Wins. TODAY at 2:00 p.m. ET.

German High Court Rules Delaying Climate Action Unconstitutionally Harms Youth: Germany's highest court ruled Thursday that the country's 2019 climate law unconstitutionally saddles young people with the burden of fighting climate change by "irreversibly offload[ing] major emission reductions burdens onto periods after 2030." Olaf Scholz, Germany's finance minister, said the government would rapidly propose legislation to comply with the ruling. The case was brought by young people who argued the German plan to reach net-zero carbon pollution by 2050 backloaded too much of the required emissions cuts until after 2030. "We are super happy with the court's decision," 22-year-old plaintiff Sophie Backsen, who fears sea level rise will engulf her family's farm, told reporters. "Effective climate protection has to be implemented now and not in 10 years' time, when it'll be too late." (Reuters, The Guardian, AP, New York Times $, The Hill, BBC, NPR, Fortune, Politico EU; Government response: Reuters)

North Carolina Rejects MVP Permit, Again: North Carolina regulators denied, for the second time, a request to extend the Mountain Valley pipeline into the state. Environmental groups hailed the decision, the latest in a series of setbacks for the already behind schedule and over budget gas pipeline. The rejection of MVP Southgate comes less than two months after a federal appeals court sent the case back to the state Department of Environmental Quality for further review and to explain its denial of key water quality certifications for the controversial pipeline project. Among concerns over "avoidable and unnecessary impacts" to North Carolina waterways, the DEQ also said it would not issue a permit for the Southgate expansion until the main section of the pipeline, through Virginia, is completed, citing "MVP’s well-documented compliance issues related to work performed on the Mainline Project led to a stop work order issued by the State of Virginia.” Capturing that sense of impending stoppage, Sierra Club organizing representative Caroline Hansley said in a statement that "it’s long past time for MVP to see the writing on the wall and walk away from this project once and for all." (Politico Pro $, Roanoke Times)

EV Sales Growing, But Need Support To Grow Even Faster, IEA Says: Global EV sales grew 41% but must accelerate even faster to meet climate and energy goals, the International Energy Agency said Thursday. Under current trends, 145 million EVs, including cars, trucks, and busses, will be on the world's roads by 2030, approximately 7% of the total fleet. That is less than two-thirds of the 230 million EVs the IEA says are needed to meet its Sustainable Development Scenario, which is roughly aligned with the Paris Agreement goals. After a record 3 million EVs were bought last year, there are now 10 million electric cars on the road, with another million e-vans, trucks and busses. “Governments should now be doing the essential groundwork to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles by using economic recovery packages to invest in battery manufacturing and the development of widespread and reliable charging infrastructure,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in a statement. The Biden administration has sought to build a national EV charging network as part of its infrastructure plan and President Biden touted the opportunity to employ union electricians to install 500,000 EV charging stations across the country during his address to a joint session of Congress Wednesday evening. (Axios, The Guardian, CNBC, Reuters, Oil Price)

TAXE$ WELL $PENT: Why these CEOs got paid so much in the pandemic (New York Times $)

BIG OIL: Surprise? Oil demand is bouncing back (Forbes), Shell and BP bounce back into profit even as oil’s glory days fade (Guardian), profits surge at Shell and Total, reflecting higher oil and gas prices. (New York Times $, Bloomberg $), BP likely made at least $1 billion during the Texas power crisis (Houston Chronicle), the intensifying battle for Exxon's future (Axios)

ORPHANED WELLS: Infrastructure money could aid push to plug oil, gas wells (AP), how Biden’s plan to plug abandoned oil wells would create new green jobs (NBC), abandoned oil pipelines are a disaster waiting to happen in the Gulf of Mexico (Earther), there are massive chemical dumps in the Gulf we know almost nothing about (HuffPost), aerial view of south Louisiana oil fields offers glimpse of nationwide orphaned well issue (DeSmog)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Industries responsible for 75% of air pollution hurt communities of color more (Earther, E&E $, Axios), the pandemic exposed the severe water insecurity faced by southwestern tribes (InsideClimate News)

DENIAL: Evangelicals are losing their climate skepticism (Religion News Service)

HAMBURGLER JOURNALISM: Biden coming for burgers? How a false climate story took off (E&E $)

MEDIA: Buoyed by Biden’s climate summit, broadcast and cable TV networks provided strong Earth Day coverage (Media Matters)

ELECTRIFICACIÓN Y SALUD: Olvídate de las estufas de gas, cocinar en inducción protege al medioambiente (El Diario NY)

POLLUTION: Study links childhood NOx exposure, mental illness (E&E $)

MANIFEST AMBITION: Report: net-zero emissions targets will have real effects (Axios)

EPA: Appeals court tells EPA to ban pesticide or decide it’s safe (AP), senior lawyer [Marianne Engleman-Lado] gets waiver from Biden's ethics pledge (E&E $), judges rebuke EPA for evading ban on pesticide in food (E&E $)

DOI: Biden admin advances R.I. offshore wind farm (E&E $)

LAWSUITS: Red states ask Supreme Court to limit EPA greenhouse gas authority (Politico Pro $, E&E $)

SENATE: Democrats take victory lap after Senate methane vote (E&E $), Manchin proposes mine cleanup fee extension (E&E $), Senate overwhelmingly passes $35 billion water infrastructure bill (Reuters, E&E $, Politico Pro $)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden is pledging steep carbon cuts – but isn’t explaining how he got there (Politico), Biden’s challenge: pushing his agenda in Congress as window narrows (Wall Street Journal $)

FIRST 100 DAYS: Biden's first 100 days give climate green light - but bumpier ride to come (Thomson Reuters Foundation), Biden at 100 days: young people weigh in on the president’s performance (Teen Vogue), Biden’s first 100 days were big for clean energy. What about fossil fuels? (Grist)

JOINT SESSION SPEECH: Biden’s climate mantra? ‘Jobs, jobs, jobs’ (Grist), cheers, jeers as Biden skips the fine print (E&E $), quick takeaways from Biden's speech to Congress (Axios), Republicans plot opposition after Biden speech (E&E $)

POLITICS: Republicans pounce on Biden's climate goals (E&E $), pro-Biden group to begin ad campaign promoting his agenda in swing states (New York Times $)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: Democrats, Republicans press [Eric Lander] Biden’s top scientist on gender, race and Epstein connection (Politico Pro $), Biden's D.C. Circuit pick [Ketanji Brown Jackson] grilled on impartiality, race (E&E $)

TOMMY BEAUDREAU: Interior nominee Beaudreau sails through Senate energy committee hearing despite progressive concerns (Politico Pro $), Biden’s pick for no. 2 at Interior has numerous ties to fossil fuels (HuffPost), Beaudreau finds Republican support at confirmation hearing (E&E $), progressives look for Hill allies in opposing Beaudreau (E&E $)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Trade representative warns against clean energy war (E&E $)

CITIES AND STATES: Eliminating natural gas in housing could cost $5.9B (San Francisco Examiner), environmental justice advocates plan to hold Massachusetts officials accountable (Energy News Network), as Indian Point goes dark, New York races to swap nuclear with wind (Bloomberg $)

CALIFORNIA: California's 'white gold' rush: lithium in demand amid surge in electric vehicles (NPR), California’s carbon offset program is a complete disaster (Earther), resilient redwood forest a beacon of hope for California (E&E $)

FERC: PJM proposes to end FERC MOPR policy that raised prices for state-subsidized resources (Utility Dive), 'watershed' grid proposal would overhaul FERC market rule (E&E $)

IMPACTS: 'Poster child' of the climate crisis: California county seeks justice for area hit hard by air pollution (WBUR)

WILDFIRES: Western states prep for when 'the whole country's burning' (E&E $)

GLACIERS: Declassified satellite images show glaciers are melting faster than ever (Earther), visualised: glaciers then and now (The Guardian), world will lose 10% of glacier ice even if it hits climate targets (The Guardian)

RENEWABLES: Barcelona installs Spain’s first solar energy pavement (The Guardian), solar 'contagiousness': a key for environmental justice? (E&E $), US solar industry unveils guidelines to free supply chain of forced labor (Reuters), US Trade Rep: Solar tariffs 'very much on my mind' (E&E $)

OIL & GAS: Europe’s oil majors leave pandemic blues behind (Reuters), Greenpeace files complaint against Total CEO, alleging conflict of interest (Reuters), Harvard study says tighter oil, gas rules that allow exemptions make little difference (Denver Post), oil’s rebound greases the way for energy giants’ green pitch (Wall Street Journal $), shareholder advisory group Glass Lewis backs Shell's climate plan (Reuters)

PLASTICS: DuPont shareholders vote to compel pellet pollution reporting (E&E $), report: Americans waste 422 drink containers a year each (E&E $)

PIPELINES: Dakota Access pipeline wants review from US Supreme Court (AP), Supreme Court questions [PennEast] pipeline's land grab (E&E $)

COAL: Credit Suisse investors call for tougher coal finance policy -letter (Reuters), Decades-long decline in rural infrastructure could pose barrier to coal transition, NGO panel finds (Utility Dive)

UTILITIES: South Carolina regulators reject Dominion net metering proposal, siding with solar industry (Utility Dive), TVA shifts, weighs closing all coal plants (E&E $)

WATER: Court breathes life into Navajo fight for Colorado River (E&E $)

EVs: GM's vows "seamless" charging amid new EV launches (Axios), 20% of Californians want to ditch their EVs — study (E&E $), Biden’s bet on electric vehicles is drawing opposition from Republicans who fear liberal overreach (InsideClimate News), tires are big emitters. EVs could worsen their pollution (E&E $)

OFFSETS: The math isn’t adding up on forests and CO2 reductions (The Verge)

AGRICULTURE: Seaweed's solution for climate change (CBS)

BUSINESS: Salesforce acts on climate, requiring suppliers to set carbon goals (Reuters)

FINANCE: Energy-focused hedge fund Luminus liquidates some assets (Wall Street Journal $), ECB to challenge banks on view of climate risks, Elderson says (Bloomberg $)

RISKS?: In opposing climate and diversity proposals, [Warren] Buffett risks looking out of step (New York Times $)

NEWS YOU CAN USE: How to start tackling your home’s water — and climate — footprint (Washington Post $)

INTERNATIONAL: Kindled by 2015 fires, Indonesia thinks big on forest protection (Thomson Reuters Foundation), Qatar expands fish farming as climate change affects sea stocks (Reuters), UK aid cuts hit developing cities’ plans to protect against floods and fires (Climate Home)

• Republicans are framing climate action as 'un-American' in the most genius way (MSNBC, Emily Atkin, op-ed)
• On telling the truth unflinchingly: climate catastrophe and colonialism (Atmos, Esme Murdock essay)
• Watching a coral reef die as climate change devastates one of the most pristine tropical island areas on Earth (The Conversation, Sam Purkis essay)
• A disability should not be a death sentence during a natural disaster (Environmental Health News, Krystal Vasquez op-ed)
• From fossil capitalism to green democracy (Dissent, Lyra Walsh Fuchs)
• Biden's regulatory changes should consider who benefits from cost-benefit analysis (The Hill, Matthew Adler and Alex Raskolnikov op-ed)
• Climate isn’t about jobs, and that’s OK (Politico, Michael Grunwald analysis)
• Biden isn’t trying to cut meat consumption. But he should. (Washington Post, Stephanie Feldstein op-ed $)
• Beefless journalism (Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board $)

Schools and Stossel: Koch Funding Efforts To Insert Denial Into Education Curriculums, Universities

A new report from UnKochMyCampus shows the Koch disinformation machine has been funding universities at an accelerating pace, funding a network of over 225 campuses and non-profits with a total of $456 million between 2005 and 2019. 

In 2005 the Koch philanthropies sent out over $2 million, which grew to around $10 million a year by 2009, $12 million in 2012, and nearly $20 million in 2013 — and they were only getting started. Koch philanthropies doled out nearly $25 million in 2014, $33 million in 2015, nearly $50 million in 2016, $62 million in 2017, $87 million in 2018, and $112 million in 2019. 

What’s all this for? The report explains that Koch’s education goals are threefold. The first is to create “campus centers and think tanks that produce research that endorses/supports the Koch network’s policy agenda.” Places like the Regulatory Studies Center at George Washington University take in Koch money, and pump out pseudo-academic, “conservative” “economic” arguments for why regulations on polluters are bad that are picked up by Koch’s pseudo-media outlets like the Daily Caller or RealClearEnergy, and championed by Koch lobby groups.

The second goal of the Koch education investments philanthropies is the “mainstreaming [of] favorable ideas to the general public via curriculum and public relations strategies.” So the Koch network uses these people to make their obsession with using the “free market” as an excuse to exploit people for profit sound more mainstream and normal, since it’s coming out of your friendly local/prestigious college or university. 

And then the third thing is what really pays testament to Charles oops, sorry, forgot the 2018, no, 2019, no, 2020 rebrand- “Chuckie” Koch’s deeply rooted and long-term commitment to being the worst person ever (which came to fruition with the election of Donald Trump, who seized on Koch’s conspiracy-hungry conservative audience then staffed up with Koch’s personnel) is that they use these colleges to groom the next generation of talking heads to carry their water. 

Or, as the report puts it with slightly less sneering, these university centers are useful for “identifying sympathetic students to recruit into the Koch network ‘talent pipeline.’ Koch and his network provide large financial gifts with terms and conditions attached to the scope of research, curriculum taught, and faculty hired to mainstream ideas that validate their policy objectives.” 

If the Koch infiltration of colleges weren’t bad enough, a second revelation in the report is that they’re also sending John Stossel after your kids. Stossel, the “former FOX Business host who consistently denies the scientific evidence of global warming,” the report explains, is apparently the most kid-friendly person the Koch’s Center for Independent Thought could find to produce a “teaching series for middle and high school teachers.” How fun! 

Turns out his company, JFS Productions, “received over $1.5 mlilion from the Koch Institute from 2017 to 2019, a time when Stossel’s JFS-branded op-eds promoted longtime climate change deniers and disinformation that contradicts climate science.” 

For example of the sort of work JFS produced for Koch, see this 2020 op-ed in which he and Marc Morano reference our criticism and pretend like they’re not being paid by the industry to spread denial! 

Because what could be a better apotheosis for Koch "free market" ideology than, instead of actually trying to win in the marketplace of ideas, just buying the marketplace itself?

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