FIRST LOOK

More than 460 environmental justice groups released a letter today calling on President Biden to nominate an environmental and energy justice champion to serve on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Climate Change Making Ocean Currents Run AMOC: Climate change has "almost complete[ly]" destabilized the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a critical aquatic "conveyor belt" that plays a major role in global temperature and weather systems, a new analysis published Thursday in Nature Climate Change reveals. Increasing ocean temperatures and, especially, the influx of freshwater from melting ice sheets and glaciers is slowing the AMOC, which includes the Gulf Stream. If circulation shuts off, North America and Europe could be plunged into extreme cold, U.S. East Coast sea levels could rise, and seasonal monsoons critical to much of the world's water supply could be disrupted. The AMOC has stopped circulating before — at the end of the last ice age, setting off a Northern Hemisphere cold spell that transformed ecosystems and threw human societies into upheaval for 1,000 years. (Washington Post $, New York Times $, Reuters, The Guardian, USA Today)

The World Is Burning: As the Senate moves forward in passing a bipartisan infrastructure bill largely stripped of provisions to address the climate crisis [More coverage is below. — Ed.] climate-fueled fires are raging around the globe. Hot, dry, and windy conditions have put Northern California under a siege of fires. The Dixie Fire is burning so much, so fast, that news coverage is struggling to keep up. The California fire burned about 40,000 acres yesterday — about one acre per second — and has reportedly forced firefighters to abandon their defense of Canyondam. As of 8:33 p.m. PDT Thursday, the fire — supercharged by heat and drought made worse by climate change — was officially the sixth-largest in California history, having burned 361,812 acres. By the time you read this, however, it will likely have surpassed 2020's LNU Lightning Complex Fire (363,220 acres) and could be well on its way to surpassing the 220 Creek Fire's 379,895. Meanwhile, much of Southern Europe and the Mediterranean stifles under brutal heat, chokes on dangerously polluted air from out of control fires, or both. Thousands are homeless in Turkey, where the infernos have killed at least eight. Finally, smoke from vast wildfires across Siberia has blocked out the sun. The blazes have pumped an unprecedented 505 megatons of CO2-equivalent climate-heating greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere with weeks of the fire season still to come and worries that even more carbon could be released from the thawing, long-frozen tundra. (Global fires: Democracy Now; NorCal: Washington Post $; Dixie Fire: San Francisco Chronicle, KPIX, Washington Post $; Historic fire acreage: Sacramento Bee; Turkey: Climate Home; Southern Europe: The Guardian, AP, Reuters; (Potentially graphic) images: Washington Post $, New York Times $, TIME; Siberia: Reuters, Moscow Times; Climate Signals background: Wildfires, 2021 Western wildfire season, Drought)

California Drought Is Very Bad, Two More Unprecedented Events Show: California's drought hit major milestones this week. On Tuesday, the state State Water Resources Control Board enacted unprecedented emergency restrictions on agricultural water use in the San Joaquin and Sacramento River watersheds. Two days later, officials were forced to shut down the Hyatt Power Plant as water levels in Lake Oroville fell below minimum levels for power generation. It is the first time the plant has shut down since it started operations 54 years ago. The outage is unlikely to cause immediate blackouts, but could contribute to rolling power outages later in the summer. It underscores the severity of drought made worse by human-caused climate change. “This is just one of many unprecedented impacts we are experiencing in California as a result of our climate-induced drought,” Karla Nemeth, director of the state Department of Water Resources, which owns the dam, told reporters. (Ag use restrictions: LA Times $, Modern Farmer, CBS, Gizmodo, The Guardian; Dam shutoff: (Mercury News, LA Times $, ABC-7 KGO News, KCRA Sacramento , Washington Post $, Politico Pro $, AP, Daily Beast; Climate Signals background: Drought)

FED: Democrats see chance to reset Wall St. oversight when top Fed official steps down (Reuters)

COAL: Coal bad bank fund dangles complex climate kudos (Reuters), China will restart coal mines including in Xinjiang as power demand surges (Bloomberg $), BlackRock joins Citi to study plan to shut coal plants early (Bloomberg $) 

INVESTING: China green energy ETFs deliver best performance in first half (FT $), global investor group begins to step up pressure on steel industry (FT $), where’s all that green bond money really going? (Bloomberg $)

EXXON: Exxon considers pledging ‘Net Zero’ carbon by 2050 (Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Reuters, Axios)

FOSSIL FUELS: Despite climate concerns, demand for dirty fuels is surging (The Economist)

ENVIRONMENTAL (IN)JUSTICE: Colvilles sue federal government over 2015 wildfire damage (AP), how to cut carbon emissions while advancing environmental justice in the US West (Canary Media), Northwest heat wave targeted vulnerable, tested climate prep (Washington Post $)

MORE COMING MONDAY: UN climate report likely to deliver stark warnings on global warming (Reuters), five key things to watch for in the U.N. climate report (Reuters Factbox)

EVs COMING: Biden tightens auto emissions standards, reversing Trump, and aims for a quantum leap on electric vehicles by 2030 (InsideClimate News, The Hill), US automakers pledge huge increase in electric vehicles (AP), Biden wants 500,000 EV charging stations. Here's where they should go (Axios)

• EXECUTIVE ORDER: Biden aims to boost sales of zero-emission vehicles (CBS), Biden calls for half of new cars to be electric or plug-in hybrids by 2030 (Washington Post $), Biden seeks to make half of new U.S. auto fleet electric by 2030 (Reuters), Biden sets goal for 50% of new US vehicles to be electric by 2030 (The Guardian), Biden targets 50 percent clean car sales by 2030 (Politico), there's a big push for electric cars, with the White House teaming up with automakers (NPR), US to set electric-vehicle sales goal of 50% by 2030 (Wall Street Journal $)
• CLEAN CARS RULES: Biden pushes U.S. to 'step up' with new clean car rules, targets (Politico Pro $), EPA proposal would jumpstart tailpipe emissions reductions in 2023 (Politico Pro $), US EPA shoots to push vehicle fuel efficiency to 52 mpg by 2026 (Reuters)

BIG OIL $OCIAL $PENDING: Facebook let fossil-fuel industry push climate misinformation, report finds (The Guardian, Grist, New York Times $), pro-fossil fuel Facebook ads were viewed 431 million times — in one year (Erie News Now)

TALK IS CHEAP: Flurry of emissions pledges still not enough to meet global climate goals (Reuters)

OLYMPICS: Olympic athletes and volunteers in Tokyo ‘tortured’ by hottest Games ever (The Guardian)

EPA: EPA renews focus on fighting climate change (CBS)

SENATE: Democrats seek $500 billion in damages from fossil fuel companies (Axios), Republicans resurrect bill to give states the keys to federal lands (HuffPost)

GOOD FAITH GOVERNANCE: McConnell vows no GOP help with debt limit hike (Politico, Reuters) (The Hill)

WHITE HOUSE: John Kerry questions long-term future of natural gas (Washington Examiner)

INFRASTRUCTURE BILL(S): As Biden aims to pass 2 big bills, things are about to get really complicated (NPR)

• BIPARTISAN SENATE BILL: Poll finds bipartisan infrastructure plan has wide support (Axios), Schumer moves to close down debate on $550B infrastructure bill (Politico Pro $), Senators gird for all-nighter 'on steroids' to propel $3.5T Democratic plan (Politico Pro $), how the infrastructure bill delivers on clean water — and how it falls short (PBS NewsHour), infrastructure bill would add $256 billion to deficit, analysis finds (New York Times $)
• BUDGET RECONCILIATION PACKAGE: Grijalva to pressure Biden, Senate Democrats for more natural resources funds in reconciliation (Politico Pro $), House Democrats press Biden for more Interior funds in reconciliation (Politico Pro $)

POLITICS: Washington’s hottest club is Joe Manchin’s houseboat (Washington Post $)

CITIES AND STATES: Three charts that show the energy transition in 50 states (InsideClimate News), how joining [RGGI] could save Western Pennsylvania kids’ lives and lungs (Environmental Health News)

TEXAS: Texas rail commissioner advocates tax credits for natural gas industry (Reuters)

FERC: A chat with the congressman trying to make 'Hot FERC Summer' happen (Earther), DC Circuit orders FERC to analyze climate, environmental justice more thoroughly (Utility Dive), Missouri pipeline owner asks court to reconsider decision to undo FERC approval (Politico Pro $)

IMPACTS: Climate change can cause plant pathogens to infect crops at higher rates, scientists say (ABC), Moody's to acquire disaster risk modeling company RMS for $2 billion (Axios, Wall Street Journal $), 1-in-100-year floods happening so often, the term may change (Good Morning America), study: people are moving to flood-prone areas, not away from them (Grist), the Greenland ice sheet experienced a massive melting event last week (Washington Post $), Biden giving states more than $3 billion for climate resilience (Reuters)

HEAT: Older adults face higher risk of heat-related illnesses (Yale Climate Connections), why the Grand Canyon is under its very own excessive heat warning (Washington Post $)

DROUGHT: Young farmers lose hope as drought closes in: ‘It’s like a sad country song’ (The Guardian), San Joaquin Valley sinks in droughts (Manteca/Ripon Bulletin), mega-drought' in Andes from climate change leaves some peaks without snow (Reuters), recreation at risk as Lake Powell dips to historic low (AP)

WILDFIRES: The world has been on fire for the past month. Here's what it looks like (TIME), wildfire smoke in Minnesota brings dystopian skies to the Midwest (Grist), wildfires threaten California communities on new financial front (The Hill), hundreds of volunteers help crews tackling Turkey wildfires (AP), At least 31 new fires spark in Washington after lightning storm, concerning state officials (K5 News)

GREENVILLE, CA: ‘We lost Greenville': Dixie Fire incinerates historic California town (CBS, AP, Axios, ABC, Washington Post $, NBC, ABC, Earther, The Hill, CBS), in photos: Dixie Fire devastates 'beloved' northern California town (Axios), town burns to ashes in raging Northern California wildfire (AP)

HURRICANES: NOAA and CSU converge on an active hurricane season ahead (Yale Climate Connections)

RENEWABLES: A rooftop solar company hires a utility veteran as chief executive (New York Times $), US Wind plans up to 1.2 GW expansion off Maryland coast, moves to boost domestic supply chain (Utility Dive)

BUILDINGS: New initiative urges contractors to work with owners to reduce building emissions (Utility Dive)

ELECTRIFICATION: Restaurant group appeals ruling for Berkeley's ban on cooking with gas (Reuters)

OIL & GAS: Emissions set to jump on gas-fueled industrial boom, study says (Bloomberg $), where Republicans Are Starting to Worry About Big Oil (Politico)

UTILITIES: Why critics say Duke Energy-backed ratemaking reforms in N.C. fall short (Energy News Network)

(ALLEGED) UTILITY CORRUPTION: Amid corruption scandal, energy money continues to flow to Ohio lawmakers (Energy News Network, Ohio Capital Journal)

WATER: Environmental impact of bottled water ‘up to 3,500 times greater than tap water’ (The Guardian)

EVs: Where we are on the road to electric vehicles (Bloomberg $)

TRANSPORTATION: Microgrids + mass transit = resilient mobility in a future clouded by climate change (Canary Media)

TRASH: Terracycle is corporate America’s favorite recycling company. it May be helping them greenwash (Earther)

IN MEMORIAM: AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, prominent US labor leader, dies (Reuters, Politico, New York Times $, NPR, Bloomberg $, AP, Washington Post $)

INTERNATIONAL: Britain to invest [$7 million]5 mln stg in climate resilience research (Reuters), Labour calls for ‘hard-edged’ end date for oil and gas exploration (The Guardian), no work, no food: pandemic deepens global hunger (New York Times $)

• It’s not the heat, it’s the damage (The New Yorker, Bill McKibben column $)
• We froze and Abbott got paid - $1 million from the billionaire profiteer of Texas' deadly storm (Houston Chronicle, Editorial Board)
• Green new deal, part I (Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board $)
• What happens when millions – or billions – of sea animals die on one day? (The Guardian, Emily Carrington op-ed)
• The Pentagon needs tech that protects the US and preserves the environment (The Hill, Ethan Brown op-ed)
• Iran’s decision-makers must shoulder the blame for its water crisis (The Guardian, Kaveh Madani op-ed)
• Deadly extreme heat has arrived: here's how policymakers can save lives (The Hill, Panama Bartholomy op-ed)
• The climate news is about to get a lot worse (Washington Post, Ishaan Tharoor column $)
• Saudi may have a super-green future after all (Reuters, Rob Cox column)
• The dirty dam truth (Boston Globe, Ryan Gellert op-ed $)
• The electric vehicle welfare state (Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board $)

Big Oil Facebook Propaganda Viewed 431 Million Times. Spending Jumped 900% After Biden’s Climate Plan Announcement

Facebook really wants you to think it’s a climate champion. Its sustainability page even says it wants to “have a positive impact on the world.” 

But “despite Facebook's public support for climate action,” Facebook’s former sustainability director Bill Weihl told Scott Waldman at E&E News, “it continues to allow its platform to be used to spread fossil fuel propaganda.”

That’s the short version of a new report from InfluenceMap that analyzed over 25,000 Facebook ads placed by the fossil fuel industry in 2020. ExxonMobil was, perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest spender with over $5 million in social, election and political ads, while the American Petroleum Institute came in second at just under $3 million. They were largely targeting Texas, buying some 54 million views there, followed by Alaska at 34 million views, which is really saying something because the entire population of Alaska is only around 700,000 people so either everyone watched one of these ads like fifty times or something’s wrong with Facebook’s ad metrics. (Oh right.) 

And what sort of messages were these ads filled with? About half were dedicated to pushing the lie that the oil and gas industry are climate saviors and were targeted particularly at women, while a third went with the 'status quo' argument, that oil and gas are critical to your everyday life (targeted at the older demographic, naturally). The industry’s economic benefits were played up in 22% of the ads, while patriotism was played up in the remaining 12% with phrases like “energy independence.” 

As Exxon disinformation researcher Geoffrey Supran told Hiroko Tabuchi for the New York Times, “over the past decade or so, the industry has gradually shifted from outright disinformation about climate science to more subtle and insidious messaging” that “work to muddy the waters to the same end — which is to stop action on climate change.” 

“Media and communication platforms need to stop being used,” he said. “They need to stop being pawns of fossil fuel propaganda and to protect the public.”

And propaganda is certainly an apt word, as these messages had a very specific political purpose. The analysts found that the day after then-candidate Biden revealed a $2 Trillion climate plan, Big Oil ramped up its spending from about $10,000 a day to $90,000 a day. They pretty much continued that pace until the election, at which point they dropped back down again. 

While the New York Times and Guardian, like E&E, cover that point explicitly, the InfluenceMap graph showing it is really incredibly striking and worth checking out in the report. 

Now, some kind-hearted, free-speech-loving or PR-inclined folks otherwise thoroughly committed to climate action might think criticizing a platform for the content of its advertisers is unfair, because advertising services should not get to determine what their clients say. And after all, environmentalists are free to advertise whatever they want, right? What’s stopping them from running ads exposing the deception of Big Oil’s ads? 

Advertisers are, apparently. Emily Atkin reported for her HEATED newsletter this week that major advertiser Clear Channel (which also goes by iHeartMedia) rejected ads from climate groups that simply said the oil and gas industry is “putting profits over people” and directing people to polluters.exposed to learn about API. They told Climate Power that they “aren’t comfortable running that.” 

Apparently the truth was too much for Clear Channel, despite the fact that they definitely run ads from denial groups that point to disinformation, as Atkin just so happened to have a picture of a denial billboard from last March exploiting the blackouts to attack renewable energy. 

ClearChannel’s logo is quite clear on the billboard.

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