FIRST LOOK:

Join the Climate Adaptation Forum for a conversation about migration, both international and internal. Hear about municipalities building infrastructure to welcome new residents, and from experts at the international scale grappling with broad issues of displacement and migration on June 4 at 1:00 p.m.

A Day Of Superlatives For Climate Advocates And Big Oil: Outlets and analysts used a variety of words and phrases to describe developments in the oil and gas sector yesterday, but the consensus was clear: rebel shareholders won breakthrough victories over Exxon and Chevron while a Dutch court wrecked Shell. (Some outlets were even more succinct.) All told, it was a breakthrough, no good, very bad, watershed day of reckoning for Big Oil and Gas. The shareholder wins over Exxon and Chevron show the increasing power of investment managers to force businesses and CEOs to pursue environmental and social goals, and the Dutch court's decision could set a new precedent that oil companies must dramatically change in order to meet Paris Agreement pledges. (CNN, Bloomberg $, The Verge, FT $; Commentary: The New Yorker, Bill McKibben column $)

• Little Engine No.1 That Could Hands Exxon Stunning Defeat: ExxonMobil shareholders elected at least two new board members with climate and clean energy expertise, nominated by activist hedge fund Engine No. 1 and opposed by the company's management. BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, supported three of the four nominees put forward by Engine No. 1, joining other institutional investors including multiple state pension funds to send a clear signal to the company’s notoriously climate-unfriendly management. Even with two of the board's 12 seats still undetermined, as of Thursday morning, this is a stunning rebuke of Exxon leadership, who have rejected calls to take climate change more seriously. (New York Times $, Washington Post $, AP, Earther, E&E $, The Hill, CNBC, Bloomberg $, Reuters, The Guardian, FT $, InsideClimate News, Axios; Vote tallies: Bloomberg $)
• Dutch Court Gives Shell A Shellacking: A Dutch court yesterday ruled Shell must slash its carbon pollution by 45% by the end of 2030 compared to 2019 levels to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. The landmark decision held that Shell's 2050 net-zero goal was too vague and thus failed to meet its duty of care to reduce emissions, which are on par with Russia’s, the fourth largest emitter in the world. Though questions remain about the enforcement of the ruling, which will be appealed, the court's decision could have wide-ranging impacts for oil majors around the world, and the 1,800 court cases challenging them. One of the lawyers on the Shell case told Dutch news site NU, via Earther, that because the company is headquartered in the Netherlands, “a Dutch judge can impose a judgment that should be enforced in the 80 countries where Shell is active.” (New York Times $, Earther, AP, The Guardian, CNN, Reuters, FT $, Axios, The Hill, CNBC, InsideClimate News, Bloomberg $, Reuters, Climate Home, BBC)
• Chevron Shareholders Defeat Management, Demand Scope 3 Emissions Cuts: Chevron investors adopted a proposal yesterday — over the objections of management — calling for the company to "substantially" cut climate pollution from consumers' combustion of its products. The resolution calling for Scope 3 emissions cuts, adopted with 61% approval, does not specify a specific size or timeline of the cuts, but its overwhelming support underlines shareholders' frustration with companies failing to sufficiently address climate change. Two other resolutions, one requiring a report on the business impact of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and another requiring lobbying disclosures, narrowly failed with 48% support for each. Chevron has not set any long-term targets for achieving net-zero emissions. (Reuters, Bloomberg $, S&P Global, The Guardian, Seeking Alpha)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Eyes on U.S. climate lawsuits after landmark Dutch ruling (Reuters, Factbox), the Supreme Court’s obscure procedural ruling in Baltimore’s climate case, explained (Drilled)

COP28: UAE bid for COP28 summit focuses on economic opportunities in climate action (CNBC)

DENIAL: Facebook to limit reach of personal accounts that spread misinformation (Bloomberg $, Reuters), scientists protest climate skeptic's speech at DOE lab (E&E $), top scientist cuts ties with national lab after it invited a climate denier to speak (HuffPost)

ACTIVISM: ‘You strike a match’: why two women sacrificed everything to stop the Dakota Access pipeline (Grist and Rolling Stone)

HEALTH: Climate crisis inflicting huge ‘hidden costs’ on mental health (The Guardian, Thomson Reuters Foundation)

WMO REPORT: Rising global temperatures 'inexorably closer' to climate tipping point - U.N (Reuters, AP, FT $, BBC, NPR)

CYCLONE YAAS: Tens of thousands homeless in eastern India after cyclone batters coast (Reuters, CNN), in pictures: Cyclone Yaas leaves behind a trail of destruction; at least [ten million] people affected (Weather Channel), PM Modi to visit Odisha, Bengal on Friday to review impact of Cyclone Yaas (Hindustan Times), fact check: old video of waves engulfing bridge passed off Cyclone Yaas striking Odisha (India Today), reporter asks man why he stepped out during Cyclone Yaas in Odisha. His reply is now a viral video (India Today)

AGENCIES: Prairie chickens are dying out on the Great Plains. Biden’s efforts to save them could spark fight on key oil patch (Washington Post $, E&E $), feds to unveil mandatory pipeline cyber rules — reports (E&E $, The Hill)

EPA: EPA officially nixes Trump 'secret science' rule (The Hill)

DOI: Biden administration defends huge Alaska oil drilling project (New York Times $), Interior promises lawmakers forceful drought response (E&E $)

LAWSUITS: Enviros sue over states' ozone reduction delay (E&E $)

THE HILL: Democrats losing patience with bipartisan talks (E&E $), House Democrats urge Senate to pass major public lands bill (E&E $), lawmakers look to promote industrial carbon capture (E&E $)

HOUSE: House environment coalition’s memo covers legislative priorities in congressional drafting of American jobs plan (Morning Consult), Republicans scoff at Dem water bills, grill EPA official (E&E $)

SENATE: Schumer sets vote on White House science nominee (E&E $), Senate committee unanimously approves highway bill (E&E $), key Dems eye incentives for electric ships, planes, trucks (E&E $), Feinstein wildfire push may lose bipartisan backing (E&E $), senators introduce nuclear power credit to help curb emissions (Reuters)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden to propose $6 trillion budget to boost middle class and infrastructure (New York Times $)

AMERICAN JOBS PLAN: House Democrats make new demand on infrastructure bill as Biden strains to lure Republicans (Washington Post $)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: Committee approves EPA, Interior nominees (E&E $)

CITIES AND STATES: Texas missing chance to avert deadly blackouts, experts say (AP), North Carolina panel rejects building code flexibility sought by homebuilders (Energy News Network), Maui council measure would pause hotel building permits (AP), state treasurers warn Kerry not to pressure banks on climate (Reuters)

CALIFORNIA: California may build 11.5GW of almost all carbon-free resources to replace its last nuclear plant (Canary Media), fight over solar subsidy tests California's climate commitment (Bloomberg $)

PUBLIC LANDS: Greens urge Biden to create new monuments (E&E $)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Biden backs waiving vaccine patents. Is climate tech next? (E&E $)

HOLY SEE: Pope unveils green initiative, says 'predatory attitude' toward planet must end (The Hill)

IMPACTS: China braces for summer floods as 71 rivers exceed warning levels (Reuters), China says its sea levels have risen 3.4 mm a year from 1980-2020 (Reuters)

HEAT: Extreme heat drives 'high risk' summer for U.S. power, especially in California (Reuters), climate change could push temperatures at the Tokyo Olympics to the 'danger-zone' for athletes, report warns (CNN)

WILDFIRES: As drought intensifies, California seeing more wildfires (AP)

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN: Pressure builds for schools to put climate change study on curriculum (Reuters)

RENEWABLES: Coal-rich Indiana is going solar. It's not easy (E&E $), Denmark plans to build a massive wind-energy hub on artificial island in the North Sea (Yale Climate Connections), European energy giants team up to develop large-scale offshore wind project in North Sea (CNBC), from powerful tidal turbines to huge wave machines, Scotland is becoming a hub for marine energy (CNBC)

"RENEWABLES": Environmentalists want NC governor to halt pellet plants (AP)

CALIFORNIA & FLOATING WIND TURBINES: Biden administration opens up California coast for 4.6 GW of offshore wind development (Utility Dive, The Guardian), it’s all coming together for floating wind turbines (Earther, E&E $, E&E $), waves and seaweed challenge France’s plans for floating wind (Bloomberg $)

EFFICIENCY: California is changing the way it values energy efficiency to look beyond resource savings (Utility Dive)

OIL & GAS: Canada's Suncor Energy aims to cut emissions one-third while boosting oil production (Reuters, Bloomberg $), green group eyes infrastructure bill as vehicle for Arctic refuge reversal (The Hill), oil producers face costly transition as world looks to net-zero future (FT $)

ORPHANED WELLS: Several injured after gas well ignites in St. Mary Parish oil and gas field (KATC, AP, WAFB, KLFY) 

PLASTICS “SUSTAINABILITY”: US Chamber group launches plastics sustainability effort (E&E $)

COAL (COUNTRY): The plan to turn coal country into a rare earth powerhouse (Grist), Australian children lose bid to block coal mine expansion (AP)

UTILITIES: PG&E to ante up $150M for botched outages, recent wildfires (AP), San Diego keeps utility monopoly alive. A setback for climate? (E&E $), TVA faces inquiries into role in anti-regulatory lobbying (E&E $)

WATER: Oregon’s communities of color face clean drinking water inequities, report says (Oregon Public Broadcasting), migrant communities distrust Oregon's drinking water, report finds (Salem Statesman Journal), As drought worsens, tensions erupt over control of SoCal’s largest water supplier (LA Times $), desalinization workshop set in Indian Wells (Navajo Times), farmers buy land, make camp by shut Oregon irrigation canal (AP), 

GRID: Northeast fight brews over renewables, grid market rule (E&E $)

EVs: Ford aims to make electric vehicles 40% of global sales by 2030 (FT $), Ford says it will invest $30 billion in electric vehicles by 2025 (Axios), Nissan in advanced talks to build battery gigafactory in UK (FT $)

AVIATION: Tax soaring private jet use to fund green flying, says report (The Guardian)

BUSINESS: Employees call on Amazon to address environmental harm to communities of color (The Hill), Amazon workers are petitioning the company to bring its pollution to zero by 2030 (Earther, Bloomberg $)

CARBON PRICING: CO2 border tax would help U.S. reach climate goals — report (E&E $), the surprising truth about the oil and gas sector’s position on a carbon tax (Canary Media)

FINANCE: Canada's top pension funds boost investments in high-carbon oil sands (Reuters), Climate voluntarism won’t deliver needed bank action, Aviva says (Bloomberg $)

BITCOIN: Major bitcoin mining region in China sets tough penalties for cryptocurrency activities (CNBC), Wall Street’s ESG gold rush has conjured a ‘green Bitcoin’ (Bloomberg $)

WILDLIFE: Antarctic seals are helping scientists learn more about melting glaciers (CNN)

INTERNATIONAL: Brazil’s bid to outsource Amazon conservation finds few takers (New York Times $), royals see climate future of Orkney (Sky News), Greek environmentalists fear windfarm scars on mountain forests (Reuters), solar firm seeks to seize Lesotho’s share in undersea cable (Bloomberg $)

• Care needs to be a part of the climate conversation (Atmos, Ai-jen Poo interview)
• Bank CEOs prepared for a grilling, got squabbling instead (Bloomberg, Brian Chappatta column $)
• Capital markets must lead the transition to a net-zero economy (CNBC, Henry Fernandez op-ed)
• Congress must make Biden’s vision for the oceans come true (Bloomberg, Jean Flemma, Miriam Goldstein, and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson op-ed $)
• Most Americans support soil carbon storage as a climate strategy (The Hill, Jonathon Schuldt, Shannan Sweet, and Johannes Lehmann)
• In the race to electrification, who is getting left behind? (The Hill, Levi Tillemann and Khaled Hassounah op-ed)
• Biden’s budget: why investing in innovation is crucial to reach US climate goals (The Conversation, David Hart analysis)

Denier’s Poll Findings Debunked By Denier’s Own Poll

Yesterday was a good one for the climate, and a bad one for Big Oil. In Europe, a Dutch court ruled that Shell has to reduce emissions 45% by 2030, after 30% of its shareholders voted last week to demand a more ambitious climate plan. A lawyer for Friends of the Earth Netherlands, Roger Cox, called it “a turning point in history… the first time a judge has ordered a large polluting corporation to comply with the Paris Climate Agreement. This ruling may also have major consequences for other big polluters.” 

Speaking of other big polluters, a campaign to replace climate deniers with more reality-based experts on ExxonMobil’s board succeeded yesterday, and Gregory Goff and Kaisa Hietala will bring their expertise on energy and climate into the upper echelon of the company’s ranks. Seems that even among business types there is a growing recognition that climate denial’s a bet that’s not just risky, but already losing. 

And even the loser’s own polling shows as much. Not that they’d admit it, of course. According to the headline for a Valerie Richardson story at the Washington Times, “One-third of Americans unwilling to spend $1 to fight climate change.” Richardson barely rewrites the Koch et al-funded Competitive Enterprise Institute's press release about a poll of 1,200 registered voters, telling readers that “35% were unwilling to spend any of their own money to reduce the impact of climate change, with another 15% saying they would only go as high as $10 per month. Another 6% said they would be willing to spend between $11 and $20 per month. At the other end of the spectrum were those who said they would part with between $901 and $1,000 per month on climate — they numbered 1%.” 

Richardson also reports that “the penny-pinching on global warming came even though 67% of respondents said they were very concerned or somewhat concerned about climate change. That said, 53% said climate was not a factor in their 2020 election vote, while only 6% said it was the top issue.” 

CEI didn’t release the actual toplines and questions to the poll, which was no doubt quite biased, given that it was conducted by the polling firm KellyAnn "alternative facts" Conway sold to the people who propagated the Swiftboat disinformation attack on then-presidential-candidate John Kerry. On the other hand, they did publish a glossy and graph-y slide deck. 

And amazingly, it shows a much different picture than Richardson’s regurgitation of CEI’s press release. For example, when asked about “the most important issue facing the United States,” only 5% of people said “climate change.” But that’s the same percentage as answered “national debt,” and more than those who responded “National security”, two of the biggest rhetorical fronts conservative free market groups hide their regressive, greedy, climate-denying and racist agenda behind. Somehow, though, “Climate just as important as national security and debt to voters” was not the headline CEI got Richardson to write! 

On climate, they found that even 41% of conservatives (and 39% of Republicans) are concerned about climate change, and overall, 45% of voters factored climate change into their decision on who to vote for President! While yes, only 6% considered it the “top issue,” another 19% considered it “a major factor,” and another 20% considered it a minor factor. All together, nearly half of registered voters were thinking about climate change at the ballot box, according to a poll by people who would prefer no one think about climate change, ever. 

Then we get to the question about the amount of “your own money you would be willing to personally spend each month to reduce the impact of climate change.” First, however, the obvious: people shouldn’t have to spend any of their own money on climate change. The companies who knowingly profited by polluting the climate should be responsible for cleaning up that pollution. So even the most militant climate activists might answer zero, on perfectly reasonable and ideologically consistent grounds. 

In fact, slightly more reliable polling done by yours truly found that 68% support generating government revenue for an economic stimulus package by requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a tax on their carbon pollution, and another 63% support a tax on the fossil fuel industry to help pay for additional coronavirus stimulus checks for average Americans. Admittedly those are not exactly the same questions, but clearly people want money in their pockets and not in the pockets of fossil fuel companies!

Putting CEI's intentionally biased framing aside, people seemed much more willing to spend their own money than CEI wants you to think. Because while 50% of people are only willing to spend $0-10, the other half of registered voters are willing to pay more than $10 a month of their own money to fight climate change! 

While only 35% of people aren’t willing to pay to clean up a mess they didn’t make, 36% of registered voters are willing to pay at least $50 a month, and overall 63% are willing to give at least $10 of their own monthly income to climate action. With something like 200,000,000 registered voters in the United States, that translates to a combined personal budget for climate action of $1.26 billion dollars a month, or $15.12 billion dollars a year. That’s a lot of solar panels and wind turbines!

But again, it shouldn’t be on individuals to solve this systemic problem. ExxonMobil alone made $178.6 billion last year causing climate change, maybe CEI can poll them to see how much they’re willing to spend to clean up their mess?

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