FIRST LOOK:

Logistical Nightmares Scar COP26 Inclusion, Hamper Negotiations: A dearth of affordable accommodation in Glasgow is causing logistical nightmares for delegations from developing nations, who are forced to spend time and energy figuring out where to spend the night instead of focusing on negotiations, Insider reports. "That's nonsensical for developing countries," a representative from a South American nation told Insider. "Right now, I'm going around in circles trying to find a place for us to stay tonight — I shouldn't be doing this, I should be concentrating on the negotiations." Another delegate from a Central Asian country said her team has had to travel 25 miles just to get to the conference each morning before waiting in line for hours before entering. The lines are a problem. Even official delegates are being made to wait in lines forcing them to miss important negotiation meetings. Concerns over access inequity have loomed over COP26 for months, typified by global COVID-19 vaccine distribution disparities, but the gulf between the approximately 30,000 credentialed people in Glasgow and the 10,000-person limit on those who can enter the conference center is compounding inequities. Leonardo DiCaprio was reportedly able to get in yesterday, however, while dozens of official delegates were barred from the rollout of the Global Methane Pledge. These compounding and overlapping (literal) barriers have created “an exclusionary, racist, ableist, classist environment,” youth activist Alexandria Villasenor said. The UN has apologized, but day three sees little change so far. (Business Insider, Climate Home, Politico EU, The Guardian; DiCaprio: Bloomberg $; Wheelchair inaccessibility: The National, The Guardian, CNN; Commentary: The National, Abbi Garton-Crosbie analysis)

G20 Responsible For Half Of World's Particulate Pollution Deaths: Half of the people killed globally by fine particulate pollution died because of fossil fuel consumption by the world's 20 richest nations, a study published Tuesday in Nature Communications found. Two million of the 4 million premature deaths from particle pollution each year are tied to goods sent to and consumed by G20 countries, meaning that the consumption of 28 G20 residents is responsible for each premature death. (Washington Post $)

Cancerous Air Pollution Hotspots: An extensive analysis by ProPublica reveals a detailed map of more than 1,000 American communities that are hotspots for carcinogenic air pollution. The worst three are in Louisiana's "Cancer Alley," five of the top 20 are in Texas, and predominantly Black areas experience double the cancer risk of white areas. "Go read this investigation on the toxic air crisis plaguing American communities," the Verge wrote of ProPublica's investigation. (ProPublica, The Verge)

Migrant Laborers Chase Disasters, Try To Survive: A new group of migrant workers, many without official documents, is growing as the climate crisis intensifies, the New Yorker reports. As climate-fueled weather disasters become worse and more prevalent, a growing number of people are following disasters the way migrant farmworkers follow the harvest. Many work for labor brokers like Servepro or Back To New, but worker protections even for documented citizens are widely under-enforced, so when a disaster has been cleaned up, "the contractors will owe thirty thousand dollars by the time the last paycheck is due,” Sergio Chávez, a Rice University sociologist, said, “instead of paying, they’ll call ICE or the police.” That's on top of the dangers of hard manual labor, mold exposure, and COVID-19. The workers have formed an identity helping communities recover after disasters, and are organizing, through groups like Resilience Force. (The New Yorker $)

Fossil Fuel Financiers Announce New Climate Finance Group: A new group of banks and financial firms that claims to be able to provide $100 trillion in private financing over the next thirty years to help countries hit climate targets launched at COP26 today. The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero is made up of more than 450 banks, asset managers, and insurers. However, the group includes major funders of fossil fuels, including J.P. Morgan Chase and BlackRock. “This announcement yet again ignores the biggest elephant in the room,'' Stand.earth climate finance director Richard Brooks told the Financial Times. “We cannot keep under 1.5 degrees [warming] if financial institutions don’t stop funding coal, oil, and gas.” (FT $, Wall Street Journal $, Bloomberg $, Washington Post $)

DAY 2 WRAP UP: To hell with drowning (The Atlantic), New promises at Glasgow climate talks (Reuters Factbox), How to measure success at COP26 (Grist), let's not choose extinction' - what they said at UN climate talks (Reuters, The Guardian, Axios), what to know about COP26 in Glasgow (Axios), the 8 early leadership lessons from UN climate change summit (Forbes), One big reason why COP26 actually matters (TIME), Whether we’re 5-2 or 5-3 down it’s all about the optics at COP26 (The Guardian)

GLOBAL METHANE PLEDGE: Around 100 nations pledge to slash methane emissions on day 2 of COP26 (CNN, FT $, AP, Reuters, Axios, Canary Media, Reuters),  Biden announces rule to limit methane leaks, targeting oil and gas industry at COP26 climate summit (USA Today, Bloomberg $, NPR, WBUR, Politico Pro $,The Guardian, AP, BBC, E&E News, Reuters, NPR), what is methane gas and why does Biden want to reduce emissions? (Wall Street Journal $), methane limits could be COP26's real legacy (Axios), Kerry’s secret to sealing a global methane deal: lower the bar (Bloomberg $)

DEFORESTATION PLEDGE: Tackling deforestation must be at the heart of our response to the climate crisis (The Guardian, Zac Goldsmith op-ed), COP26 deforestation pledge risks déjà vu moment (FT $, FT $), nations with 85% of earth's forests pledge to reverse deforestation (NPR, Reuters), Putin tells COP26 forest conservation vital to curbing climate change (Reuters), the billions set aside in Glasgow to save forests represent a fraction of spending to support fossil fuels (New York Times $), will COP26 deforestation pledge be game-changer or just more broken promises? (Thomson Reuters Foundation), donor nations commit $1.7bn to help indigenous people protect forests (Climate Home) 

A SEAT AT THE TABLE: More women are needed in climate debate, top UN official says (Bloomberg $), put more women at top of World Bank, IMF to tackle climate - Aviva CEO (Reuters)

BIDEN: Biden heads into international climate negotiations with a weak hand (Vox), Biden makes the case for democracies to lead the way on climate crisis during final day in Glasgow (CNN), Biden plans belt and road competitor at COP26 (Foreign Policy), Biden to propose rules for pipelines tied to deadly blasts (E&E $), Biden unveils global plan to combat climate crisis (CBS, Utility Dive), Biden: China's Xi made a "big mistake" not showing up to COP26 (Axios), In closing COP26 remarks, Biden pitches his $1.75 trillion spending package (Washington Post $, NBC), Biden calls climate change challenge of our collective lifetime (Today Show), Biden: Climate summit must start ‘a decisive decade of action’ (ABC)

CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM: John Kerry says COP26 is 'bigger, more engaged, more urgent' than past climate summits (CNN, The Hill, CNN), Boris Johnson says 'cautiously optimistic' on chances of COP26 success (Politico Pro $, The Guardian), with methane and forest deals, climate summit offers hope after gloomy start (New York Times $), Japan pledge brings $100 bln climate funding target closer, US envoy says (Reuters)

IT'S NOT CLICKBAIT WHEN IT'S REAL: One weird trick world leaders have to stop climate change (Gizmodo)

REALITY CHECK: Experts say pledges at COP26 won't be enough to stop extreme climate change (NPR), bankers committing to ‘net zero’ don’t agree on what it means (Bloomberg $)

TIMEFRAMES: UK’s Johnson says China being pushed to accelerate emissions cuts to 2025 (FT $)

SHOW ME THE MONEY: The US says $100 billion a year in climate aid for developing nations is within reach. (New York Times $), Biden pledged $3 billion to help the world adapt to climate change. That's not as much as it seems. (New York Times $), keep your promises on climate finance, African leaders tell West (Reuters), Japan’s Kishida pledges up to $10 billion in new climate finance (Bloomberg $), role of private sector in fighting climate change a focus at COP26 (CNBC), what COP26 pledges could mean for investors (Axios), world leaders announce plan to make green tech cheaper than alternatives (The Guardian, BBC), financial system makes big promises on climate change at COP26 summit (Wall Street Journal $), billions committed to conservation and renewables at COP26 (Axios), financial services net-zero alliances “toothless”, say campaigners (FT $), UK tells private sector it must invest big to save planet (AP), leaders depart and COP26 climate summit turns focus to money (Washington Post $), as COP26 takes on finance, the world haggles over climate funding (Washington Post $)

CARBON MARKETS: Paris article 6 deal will boost confidence in carbon markets: gold standard (S&P Global), China's top climate negotiator sees carbon market deal at COP26 (Reuters)

IT’S CALLED GROWTH: Boris Johnson used to mock ‘eco-doomsters.’ now he’s a climate champion. (Washington Post $) 

HUMAN RIGHTS: World should respond to climate change as if hit by a global war, pope tells COP26 (Reuters), climate change is highlighted as a security issue as NATO leader visits COP26 (Washington Post $)

DEVELOPING NATIONS DEMAND ACTION: We are in Glasgow to demand justice for those most affected by the climate crisis (The Guardian, Bernard Ewekia, Jakapita Kandanga, Edwin Namakanga, Maria Reyes and Farzana Faruk Jhumu op-ed), COP26 must ensure a just transition that leaves no one behind (FT, Cyril Ramaphosa op-ed $), vulnerable nations call for climate 'emergency pact' at Glasgow summit (The Hill, CNBC), ‘adapt or die:’ Africa presses for more climate support (AP, PBS NewsHour), ‘oppose this climate slavery’: a manifesto to COP26 from a west African climate activist (Forbes), Nigeria pledges to reach net-zero emissions by 2060, Buhari says (Bloomberg $)

SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina offers its creditors climate action instead of money (Bloomberg $), Brazil, once a champion of environmentalism, grapples with new role as climate antagonist (Washington Post $, New York Times $), Ecuador says it will extend protections around the Galápagos Islands. (New York Times $)

ASIA: India’s 2070 net-zero target is a first step (FT, Editorial Board $, Grist), India commits to net-zero by 2070, China envoy defends emissions, criticizes US under Trump (AP), clean energy innovation, methane cuts and getting China and India on board for net-zero can deliver progress at COP26 (The Conversation)

AUSTRALIA: Australia considering more than 100 fossil fuel projects that could produce 5% of global industrial emissions (The Guardian), Australia puts fossil fuel company front and centre at COP26 (The Guardian)

COAL: A look at India's reliance on coal (Good Morning America), Indonesia could phase out coal by 2040 with financial help (Reuters), EU, US, UK announce $8.5B deal to help South Africa phase out coal (Politico Pro $, FT $)

GRIDS: UK, India launch plan to connect world's power grids at climate summit (Reuters) 

US GOVERNORS: Louisiana governor spends time at COP26 touring one of the UK’s biggest polluters (Gizmodo), Lujan Grisham touts New Mexico’s climate policies at COP26 (New Mexico Political Report)

GRETA: No more blah, blah, blah!' Thunberg joins protesters outside climate summit (CNN), ‘you can shove your climate crisis up your arse’: Greta Thunberg sings at COP26 – video (The Guardian), Greta Thunberg is playing an inside/outside game at COP26 (Yahoo) 

WATER RIGHTS: Leaders link tackling water and climate at COP26 as crisis looms (Reuters), officials call for combined approach toward tackling climate, water crises at COP26 (The Hill), US, UAE lead $4-billion effort to help farming adapt to climate change (Reuters)

IF YOU'RE THERE: Hugs out, wet wipes in: fighting COVID and climate change at COP26 (Thomson Reuters Foundation), what it’s like to cover global climate talks (New York Times $), 

PARIS AMBITIONS AND PROGRESS: Scientists expect world to miss Paris climate targets (E&E $), US rejoins coalition pushing for 1.5 degrees Celsius goal at COP26 (Politico EU),
Japan PM promises strong push for emission cuts (AP)

CARBON REMOVAL: Biden ‘leans heavily’ on unexplored carbon removal (E&E News)

FOSSILS IN GLASGOW: Energy crisis casts shadow over COP26 (FT $), energy dealmakers play musical chairs in London (Reuters), UAE oil giant signs nuclear, solar power supply deal, but analysts call for specifics (CNBC), US says oil, gas sales damage climate — but won’t stop them (AP)

OUTSIDE THE CENTER:  'We were expecting a big rush - but it's quiet' (BBC), blah, blah, blah': protesters push for action at COP26 (NBC), protesters gather on bridge near COP26 summit venue in Glasgow (Yahoo)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: How loss of historical lands makes Native Americans more vulnerable to climate change (NPR), will BIPOC have the same access problems to booster shots as they did with the vaccine? (Prism Reports)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Tariffs to tackle climate change gain momentum. The idea could reshape industries. (Wall Street Journal $), 4 Latin American nations create fishing-free corridor in east Pacific (AP)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Juliana settlement talks leave young activists empty-handed (E&E $)

DENIAL: House Democrats subpoena oil companies over climate disinformation (Washington Post $, Axios, Politico Pro $, The Hill), 10 Facebook publishers responsible for nearly 70% of climate change denial content (Gizmodo, The Guardian, The Hill)

FOSSIL VOLATILITY: Russia keeps Europe waiting on new gas supplies (Reuters)

EXPORTED POLLUTION: Bangladesh's hazardous shipyards launch race for cleaner, safer future (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

MEDIA: BBC earns £300,000 from Saudi oil firm despite net-zero pledge (The Guardian)

WORDS MATTER: Emergency, crisis, existential threat: the evolving lingo of climate change (Yale Climate Connections)

AGENCIES: Report calls for aggressive federal hiring of climate scientists (E&E $), EPA ability to regulate power sector GHG emissions at risk as Supreme Court takes case, analysts say (Utility Dive), EPA forges ahead on power plant rule amid legal showdown (E&E News), EPA tackles methane emissions as Biden eyes climate goals (E&E News)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: Yellen to urge finance CEOs to put more funds into climate fight (Bloomberg $, Reuters)

LAWSUITS: Environmental activists planning to sue federal government over California oil spill (The Hill, AP)

THE HILL: Democrats look to establish green bank for clean energy projects (The Hill), Democrats push bills, resolution in line with climate talks (E&E $)

HOUSE: Top Democrat [Rep. John Yarmuth] dismisses need for budget report before House votes on spending plan (The Hill)

SENATE: Big earmark money in Senate energy, environment bills (E&E News), Manchin didn't sign off on framework, no 'rush' to get deal (The Hill), US Republican senators bring defense bill into social spending debate (Reuters)

WHITE HOUSE: Delays frustrate White House environmental justice advisers (E&E News), reduce fossil fuels in the long term but pump more now, Biden says, angering activists. (New York Times $, E&E News)

INFRASTRUCTURE BILL(S): Democrats work to salvage methane fee amid opposition from Manchin (New York Times $), reconciliation may be unsticking, and infrastructure with it (Politico Pro $), Democrats reach deal to lower prescription drug prices in $1.75 trillion bill (CBS, New York Times $, Reuters)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: Committee OKs FERC, parks and other nominees (E&E $, Politico Pro $), judicial pick with energy, environment background confirmed (E&E $)

CITIES AND STATES: New York rejects two new gas power plants as ‘inconsistent’ with climate law (Grist), Seattle expanding free transit for students to help cut emissions (The Hill), California turns focus to ensuring grid reliability during 2022, 2023 summer months (Utility Dive)

IMPACTS: 'Prodigious’ Alaskan storm dumps record rain, 10-plus feet of snow (Washington Post $), haunting satellite imagery shows Turkey’s second-largest lake has dried up (Gizmodo), how climate change is changing the coastline of the Chesapeake Bay (Buzzfeed), Melting tundra raises climate scientists' concerns (WBUR), storm damage to Acadia National Park reveals growing effects of climate change (WBUR), as earth warms, old mayhem and secrets emerge from the ice (New York Times $)

FIRST, WORST, LEAST RESPONSIBLE: Bangladesh’s villages bear the brutal cost of climate change (AP), burnt by the sun: Bolivia's highlands sizzle under fierce UV rays (Reuters), four ways Mozambique is adapting to the climate crisis (The New Humanitarian), 

• MADAGASCAR: Drought-stricken Madagascar a 'wake up call,' UN food agency head says (The Hill), David Muir reports on southern Madagascar on the brink of climate-induced famine (ABC)

DISPLACEMENT: By 2050, 200 million climate refugees may have fled their homes. But international laws offer them little protection (InsideClimate News), ‘I wouldn’t wish it upon any parent’: living on the frontline of global heating (The Guardian)

HEAT: 2021 pacific northwest heat wave ‘virtually impossible’ without global warming, scientists find (Yale Climate Connections)

DROUGHT: Colorado's Dolores River should be raging through canyons — instead it's nearly dry (NPR), Pecos River Basin study looks water supply under various climate change storylines (New Mexico Political Report)

WILDFIRES: How climate change could affect your home's protection against wildfires (Good Morning America)

MAKING IT REAL: Climate change scientists want you to visualize your house under water (WBUR)

GOOD FOR MORE THAN SCOTCH: Saving soggy peat bogs becomes a weapon in the fight against global warming (CBS)

RENEWABLES: As demand for green energy grows, solar farms face local resistance (New York Times $), how wind energy can help save the planet (Good Morning America), Kansas City hopes its vision for airport solar will be ready for takeoff soon (Energy News Network), Longi May be latest Chinese solar firm to see products blocked at US border (Bloomberg $)

OIL & GAS: China binges on US gas to manage energy shortage, carbon footprint (Wall Street Journal $), as world leaders seek to rein in methane, Texas' oil and gas industry pressured to cut emissions (Texas Tribune), BP says oil demand is back above 100 million barrels a day (Bloomberg $), BP posts $3.3 billion third-quarter profit, beating estimates as oil prices surge (CNBC), BP boosts buybacks as oil and gas prices create ‘cash machine’ (FT $), BP warns of 'tight' gas market over holidays (The Hill), Oil companies are ploughing money into fossil-fuelled plastics production at a record rate – new research (The Conversation)

LNG: Tight global gas markets drive up Asian spot LNG prices (S&P Global), Louisiana Is leading America’s LNG boom (OilPrice)

PIPELINES: Tribal nations are fighting a pipeline expansion putting livelihoods at risk. why do they say their voices were silenced. (Insider)

COAL: Coal consigned to history? Not yet, experts say (E&E News)

UTILITIES: Avangrid-PNM merger in doubt after New Mexico hearing examiner warns of reliability, oversight issues (Utility Dive)

EVs: Why Amazon is investing in a startup that’s shrinking the footprint of EV charging (Canary Media)

PHILANTHROPY: Ford foundation’s walker says philanthropy should be ‘uncomfortable’ (Bloomberg $)

AVIATION: Electric air taxis prepare for takeoff (Axios), United CEO says he is in favor of pricing carbon, shift to biofuel (Politico Pro $)

BUSINESS: Apple adds suppliers to clean-energy pledge, including more chip firms (Reuters), Cartels, collusion and the quest for decarbonisation (Energy Monitor)

MILITARIES: NATO chief: armies must keep pace with global climate efforts (Reuters)

CARBON REMOVAL: ExxonMobil exploring carbon capture storage in Indonesia (Reuters)

FILM: Transcending the Human Epoch (Atmos)

FINANCE: Bond investors challenge Wall Street greenwashing (Wall Street Journal $), banks ‘being let off hook by weak climate regulation’ (The Guardian), Barclays has financed $5.6 billion in new fossil fuel projects since January (The Guardian), Larry Fink sounds greenwashing alarm as fossil fuels move into private hands (Bloomberg $, CNBC)

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Simple ways to reduce carbon footprint at home (Good Morning America)

RICH PEOPLE: What happens when billionaires jump on the biodiversity bandwagon (Vox), Jeff Bezos, who recently flew into space, vows to do more to protect the earth. (New York Times $, The Hill, Barron's, BBC)

WILDLIFE: How burning of Amazon rainforest affects animals (Good Morning America)

INTERNATIONAL: [Canadian environment minister] Steven Guilbeault’s not-so-secret agenda (Politico), Gabon gambles on sustainable logging to prevent deforestation (Reuters), a novel way to reduce emissions? China tries confiscating coal from hoUSeholds. (Washington Post $)

• Pacific islanders aren’t just victims – we know how to fight the climate crisis (The Guardian, Brianna Fruean op-ed)
• Climate change mitigation: every fraction of a degree of global warming matters (Teen Vogue, Mitzi Jonelle Tan op-ed)
• The billionaire and the Bolivian train cemetery: bold epic Rare Earth Mettle (The Guardian, Al Smith interview)
• We need radical policies to reach net zero. Here’s a fairer way to do them (The Guardian, Polly Toynbee op-ed)
• There's no 'metaverse' where climate change doesn't exist (The Hill, Andreas Karelas op-ed)
• Just how clean can two billionaires really be? (Bloomberg, Andy Mukherjee and Anjani Trivedi op-ed $)
• Reducing global emissions can be simple and self-financing (FT, Raghuram Rajan op-ed $)
• To mitigate climate risks, it's time for new leadership at the FDIC (The Hill, Todd Phillips op-ed)
• Does your state's electricity system get an "F" in competitiveness? (Utility Dive, Landon Stevens op-ed)
• Access to clean, safe water is essential in the fight against climate change (CNN, Matt Damon and Gary White op-ed)
• The US has a climate debt to pay and my native land of Brazil shouldn't carry the burden alone (Blavity, Adri Maffioletti op-ed)
• Three reasons for optimism about climate change (Bloomberg, Peter R. Orszag and George Bilicic op-ed $)

69% Of Facebook’s Climate Disinfo Coming From ‘Toxic Ten’ Publishers

The Center for Countering Digital Hate released a new report yesterday detailing the top climate denial publishers, finding that just 10 outlets account for 69% of the climate denial shared on Facebook, according to their analysis of 6,983 Facebook posts.  

The assortment of inglorious outlets shouldn’t be a surprise, with Breitbart topping the list (earning it Washington Post and Forbes headlines), followed by the Western Journal, Newsmax, Townhall, MRC, Washington Times, Federalist, Daily Wire, Russian state outlets (RT.com and Sputnik) and the Patriot Post. 

These outlets — a lovely mix of dark money or fracking billionaire-backed false advertising operations, racist and far-right conspiracy mongers, and literal Russian state propaganda — have generated over $5 million in Google advertising revenue in just six months. Once Google’s recently announced ban on monetizing climate denial kicks in, that figure should drop — assuming, of course, that Google doesn’t draw giant loopholes around these outlets, as Facebook did with its CrossCheck program. 

For some reason, Facebook was not grateful to find out it could dramatically reduce the amount of climate disinformation its users are exposed to by banning just a handful of accounts. Instead, a spokesperson denied the climate denial report’s credibility and claimed that it overemphasized the problem, as the interactions described are just 0.3% of over 200 million climate interactions the site hosted in that time period. 

Which seems to us like an admission from Facebook that they could remove these bad actors and the vast majority of their users wouldn’t know or care, but apparently the site would rather make its fact-checkers repeatedly waste time on these outlets that knowingly and intentionally lie. On that, Facebook’s spokesperson told the Guardian that they’re “reducing distribution of anything rated false or misleading by one of our fact-checking partners and rejecting any ads that have been debunked.” 

But those efforts are clearly failing to stop the spread of climate disinformation, as CCDH found that 92% of the climate disinformation posts didn’t have any sort of misinformation labeling from Facebook, which certainly lines up with the recent report showing Facebook only managed to label less than 1% of the fact-checked disinformation around the Texas blackouts. 

And, of course, fact-checking is always going to be a matter of cleaning up a mess, whereas simply removing propaganda from Russian/Republican/fossil fuel interests (not that those three have anything in common) would prevent people from being misled in the first place. 

That’s why CCDH is hoping you’ll join them in “calling on Facebook and Google to stop promoting and funding climate denial, start labeling it as misinformation, and stop giving the advantages of their enormous platforms to lies and misinformation.” 

Failing that, as Faye Holder of InfluenceMap said in CCDH’s press release, “just as Big Oil has shown it can’t be left to regulate itself, so too has Big Tech. It is therefore vital for policymakers to step in to help prevent this deluge of disinformation.” 

One such policymaker, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, may be an obvious choice for spearheading such a push, with a quote of his own calling out Facebook’s profiting “when they send users down rabbit holes of climate denial” a “very dangerous business model.” 

“It’s hard to tell which is more disgusting,” the Senator continued, “Facebook propagating this disinformation, or the fossil fuel industry funding it.”

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