RECAPS & PREVIEWS: COP26: what is the climate summit in Glasgow and why does it matter? (Wall Street Journal $, Vox), COP26 won’t keep the world to 1.5°c. have the talks failed? (TIME), countries battle over new climate targets in final days of COP26 (FT $), cities will be the focus of COP26 on thursday. Here's what you need to know. (Washington Post $), -2°C or 1.5°C? How global climate targets are set and what they mean (Washington Post $), this will set Africa on fire: Nnimmo Bassey of Nigeria blasts progress of talks at UN climate summit (Democracy Now), Uganda's Vanessa Nakate says COP26 sidelines nations most affected by climate change (NPR)
PARIS AMBITIONS AND PROGRESS: UN chief says global warming goal on ‘life support’ (AP), COP architects furious at lack of climate justice at pivotal summit (Nature), COP26 is doomed, and the hollow promise of ‘net zero’ is to blame (The Guardian, Yanis Varoufakis op-ed),Glasgow conference set to fall short of goal to avert catastrophic climate change, report finds (Yahoo), renewables industry ponders how to scale up at COP26 (Energy Monitor), activists, experts say draft UN climate change agreement isn't strong enough (Yahoo)
LOSS & DAMAGE: EU calls on COP26 nations to step up to help vulnerable nations (Reuters), COP26 – a tragedy in two acts where the rich nations knife poor countries in the back (The Guardian, John Vidal op-ed)
COP26 DRAFT TEXT: COP26 draft text annotated: what it says and what it means (The Guardian), ‘devoid of ambition’: secret negotiators on the COP26 draft text (The Guardian), COP26 draft agreement conveys ‘alarm and concern’ (PBS NewsHour), as details of COP26 deal emerge, a push to cut emissions faster and phase out fossil fuels (Washington Post $, The Hill, Wall Street Journal $, NPR), COP26 draft criticised for lack of financial help for vulnerable countries (The Guardian), what's in the draft deal for the COP26 climate summit? (Reuters Factbox), UN releases draft accord in COP26’s final stretch as data show global temp. set to climb 2.4°C (Democracy Now), climate text pushes nations to act faster. Will it survive? (E&E News), the Guardian view on the Cop26 draft outcome: raise the bar (The Guardian, Editorial Board)
TRANSPORTATION: As COP26 car pledge underwhelms, delegates ask: where are the bikes? (Climate Home), at COP26, Pete Buttigieg makes a pitch to decarbonize American transport, (Grist, New York Times $), COP26 sees pledges to transition to electric vehicles, but key countries are mum (NPR, Axios), transit use must double to meet 1.5°c goal (Bloomberg $), countries, companies pledge to reach 100% EVs by 2040 (E&E News), four of world’s five largest vehicle makers fail to back COP26 emissions agreement (FT $), Biden officials tout car rules at COP 26 (E&E $), CEO says Daimler committed to EVs, but talk should not center on bans (The Hill), efforts to cut car, plane and ship emissions get small boost (AP), thirty countries and six automakers commit to entirely zero-emissions trucks by 2040 (The Hill)
US: Pelosi defends America's 'moral authority' on climate action (The Hill), who is the world’s greatest climate champion? (The Nation, Mark Hertsgaard commentary)
UK: Boris Johnson appeals to delegates to 'get on and do it' as COP26 climate talks stall. here's where the deal stands (CNN), Boris Johnson urges negotiators to ‘pull out all the stops’ as the UN summit nears its end (New York Times $), COP26: Boris Johnson says critical warming target of 1.5C is possible but ‘anything but a done deal’ – live (The Guardian), Johnson warns MPs as Tory corruption furor interrupts climate talks (Bloomberg $)
CHINA: Asia coal power pipeline to shrink by two thirds after China finance cut (Reuters), China coal's last hurrah comes too late for old mining towns (Reuters), China’s top COP26 delegate says it is taking ‘real action’ on climate targets (The Guardian)
INDIA: India wants $1 trillion before it raises targets to cut emissions (Bloomberg $)
EU: EU’s big climate ambitions have the scent of wood smoke (Washington Post $), in France, the people the climate summit forgot (New York Times $)
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia denies playing climate saboteur at Glasgow (AP), in emotional video at UN climate summit, Ireland’s former president slams Saudi Arabia and world leaders (Washington Post $)
PACIFIC ISLANDS: Sinking Tuvalu prompts the question: are you still a country if you’re underwater? (Washington Post $), Tuvalu official delivers one hell of a climate speech (Gizmodo, Democracy Now)
MISINFORMATION: On Twitter, fossil fuel companies’ climate misinformation is subtle – here’s what I’m seeing during COP26 (The Conversation, Jill Hopke analysis)
FOSSILS: COP26: OPEC's Saudi Arabia, UAE push emissions reduction, not fossil fuel extinction (SP Global, Reuters), those are not diesel generators at the COP26 climate change meeting in Scotland (PolitiFact), proposed Glasgow accord calls for tougher targets, phasing out coal, and ending fossil fuel subsidies (Yale Environment 360), fossil fuels have been formally targeted at a global climate summit for the first time (Quartz), why has it been so hard to get fossil fuels mentioned in u.n. climate deals? (Washington Post $), China and India among 22 nations calling for key section on emissions to be ditched from COP26 agreement (CNN), as details of COP26 deal emerge, a push to cut emissions faster and phase out fossil fuels (Washington Post $)
FINANCE: ESG investing has a blind spot that puts the $35 trillion industry’s sustainability promises in doubt: supply chains (The Conversation), who pays for climate change? (NPR), Glasgow climate talks take aim at finance: 'we need to rebuild it' (Politico Pro $), climate finance isn’t charity, says Indian minister at COP26 (AP), this Kenyan family got solar power. high-level climate talks determine who else will (NPR),
PRIVATE INDUSTRY: Fashion industry to miss emissions target despite COP26 pledge (FT $)
SHIPPING: 19 countries pledge green shipping corridors at COP26 (Politico Pro $), countries at COP26 launch plan for net-zero shipping lanes (Reuters), UN climate summit lands pledges to slash emissions from cars, planes and ships (Reuters)
AVIATION: 20 countries pledge ‘ambitious actions’ on aviation emissions at COP26 (Politico Pro $), airlines aim for climate neutral travel take-off, here's how (Reuters explainer)
CARBON: COP26: article 6 talks grind forward as countries seek common ground (S&P Global)
YOUTH ACTIVISM: At COP26, youth activists from around the world call out decades of delay (InsideClimate News), youth activists petition UN to declare ‘systemwide climate emergency’ (The Guardian, Gizmodo, Axios)
INDIGENOUS ACTIVISM: Youth, Indigenous people bring climate frontlines to the forefront at COP26 (National Catholic Reporter)
WATER: World’s ‘calamitous’ water crisis being ignored in climate talks – WaterAid (The Guardian)
FAITH: ‘Time is running out’: Pope Francis calls for prayer as the summit nears its end. (New York Times $)
TRANSPARENCY: Look beyond COP26 summit to real world for climate action, says top UK scientist (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
OUTSIDE THE CENTER: ‘Projection fight’ breaks out on side of COP26 venue in Glasgow (The Guardian), UN projects ‘go away’ onto side of its own building in fight with activists (Gizmodo) |
(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Building a workforce equity agenda starts with dismantling white supremacy (Prism Reports), why white voters with racist views often still support Black Republicans (FiveThirtyEight)
DENIAL & DISINFORMATION: A woman warned us about climate change 165 years ago. Naturally, we ignored her. (NBCLX), Google, Meta, among tech giants urged to adopt definition of climate disinformation and misinformation (Forbes), Marc Thiessen’s column in The Washington Post relies on incorrect and cherry-picked claims by Bjorn Lomborg; scientists provide needed context (Climate Feedback)
FOSSIL VOLATILITY: Heating bills expected to skyrocket over higher fuel costs, potentially colder winter (CBS), home heating prices expected to spike (Good Morning America), Colorado Springs Utilities rates to spike again: It's official (The Gazette)
FORESTS: Defending the elders of Fairy Creek (Atmos)
PEOPLE NOT POZOS: Nalleli Cobo: the young activist who led her LA neighborhood against Big Oil (The Guardian)
TANGIER ISLAND: What a tiny island in Chesapeake Bay teaches us about the costs of sea level rise (Grist)
GREAT USE OF RESOURCES: The global climate wall: wealthy nations prioritize militarizing borders over climate action (Democracy Now)
AGENCIES: Commerce tells solar manufacturers to reveal identities or face tariff petition rejection (Politico Pro $), DOJ to investigate the grossly overlooked and mismanaged waste removal in majority Black alabama county (The Root, Grist), Justice Department sues Uber for overcharging people with disabilities (Axios)
EPA: Biden’s proposed auto emissions crackdown will be strengthened, EPA chief says (Bloomberg $), EPA air reg’s price tag: huge, politically toxic — and wrong (E&E News), Regan says EPA will 'keep our pens moving' on power plant rules (Politico Pro $)
DOE: Energy Dept to hire 1,000 workers in infrastructure boost -officials (Reuters)
DOI: Tribes to get more help in coping with climate change (E&E $)
DOT: Buttigieg warns of sharp rise in aviation emissions without rapid change (The Hill)
EXECUTIVE BRANCH: SEC chair Gensler seeks to scrutinize private fund fee arrangements, 'side letter' provisions (Reuters), Powell or Brainard? Biden weighs his pick for US Fed chair (Reuters)
THE HILL: Tensions rise among Republicans over infrastructure bill and whether any agreement with Biden should be tolerated (Washington Post $), Calif. lawmaker presses EPA on renewable fuels for electricity (E&E $),
WHITE HOUSE: Biden administration clarifies it's not weighing Line 5 shutdown (The Hill), Democrats press Biden to consider oil export ban, SPR release (Bloomberg $), Hopi leaders attend Biden restoration of Bears Ears (Navajo Times), rising oil prices put Biden in a bind over climate pledges (Wall Street Journal $), White House announces $785 million of pandemic relief funds will support communities of color (The 19th* News), White House clarifies position on Line 5 shutdown (E&E $)
INFRASTRUCTURE BILL(S): Climate experts and activists applaud Biden's Build Back Better climate agenda: 'This is a game changer' (CBS)
POLITICS: Left grows impatient with Biden’s regulatory plans (E&E News)
CITIES AND STATES: Phoenix — the hottest big city in the US — hires first-ever heat mitigation officer (WBUR), the climate fight hits cities (Axios), what 100% EVs means for Washington state (E&E $)
CALIFORNIA: After years of delays, southern California’s new smog regulation promises to save lives (Grist), California's last nuclear plant needed for 100% clean grid — experts (E&E News), California agency sues 3M, others over groundwater contamination (Reuters)
TEXAS: Democrat running for Texas agency that regulates the energy industry focusing his campaign on furor over power grid failure (Texas Tribune, HuffPost)
FERC: FERC approves transmission rules for SEEM market, dismissing open access concerns (Utility Dive)
IMPACTS: Extra-high tides offer a glimpse into the future as sea level rises (NPR), Depression-era program left some New England communities more vulnerable to sea-level rise (Yale Climate Connections), glaciers, disappearing at alarming rate, prove no match for global warming (WBUR), the impact of extreme weather explained by a climate scientist (Bloomberg $)
DISPLACEMENT: Frustration, defiance in village to be abandoned to the sea (AP)
DROUGHT: Metropolitan Water District declares drought emergency in Southern California (LA Times $), photos show Kenya’s drought has left animals starving to death (Washington Post $)
WILDFIRES: Wildfire hits rugged, remote area of North Carolina (AP)
HURRICANES: Hurricane Ida showed us the future of climate catastrophe. Mutual aid showed us a way out. (The Real News)
RENEWABLES: US rejects bid by solar manufacturer group for tariffs on Asian imports (Reuters), planned GE power and renewable energy spinoff poised for major growth, analysts say (Utility Dive, E&E News), new electricity project in Washington takes a twist on hydropower (Crosscut and Energy News Network), when the wind drops – keeping renewable energy supplies steady (The Guardian)
BUILDINGS: The National Building Museum wants to be at the center of the climate change conversation (Washington Post $)
EFFICIENCY: How ‘cool roofs’ can help fight climate change (New York Times $), renovations are a massive missed opportunity to address climate change (Bloomberg $)
METHANE: Madrid defends waste handling despite landfill methane leaks (AP)
OIL & GAS: Oil companies face default risk in net-zero world — Moody's (E&E $)
PLASTICS: Greece’s popular islands are crowded — with plastic (Bloomberg $)
COAL: ‘Danger unites us’: coal miners on the frontline of clean energy (The Guardian), coal exports rebound thanks to rising gas prices (Axios), in Australia’s coal country, the mines are booming — but their costs are ever present (Washington Post $)
EMISSIONS, SCOPES THEREOF: Miners have a pesky pollution problem: their customers (Wall Street Journal $)
HYDROGEN: How green hydrogen is made (Wall Street Journal $), Manchin’s favorite clean-energy plan could be obsolete before it starts (Bloomberg $)
UTILITIES: Northeast utilities are spending billions on resilience, and the investments are paying off (Utility Dive), Evergy’s conflicting power plans undermine stakeholder input, critics say (Energy News Network)
(ALLEGED) UTILITY CORRUPTION: Judge orders arrest of Puerto Rico power company chief executive (New York Times $, Politico Pro $, NBC, Bloomberg $)
WATER: As cities grow, wastewater recycling gets another look (AP)
GRID: 2020 was the worst year yet for power outages in the US (The Verge), Texas blackouts prompt New York ISO to consider 'once in a century' winter events (Utility Dive)
EVs: The role of electric vehicles in the push for environmental justice (Environmental Health News), how much do electric vehicles cost to ‘fill up’ compared with buying gasoline? (Wall Street Journal $), Ng: Canada ‘disappointed’ by Biden’s EV tax credit proposal (Politico Pro $), Pentagon looks to Detroit in military EV push (E&E $), Rivian completes largest IPO since Alibaba (Axios), this startup aims to make it easy for corporate fleets to go electric (Canary Media)
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF: 7 ways to get proactive about climate change instead of feeling helpless: Lessons from a leadership expert (The Conversation)
ACTIVISM: The climate activists stealing Big Oil’s playbook (Politico EU)
AVIATION: Airlines rush toward sustainable fuel but supplies are limited (Bloomberg $)
AGRICULTURE: Worst to come: pasta makers fret over durum wheat supply crunch (Reuters), farmers take on ‘post-apocalyptic’ food crisis (Bloomberg $), water war: is big agriculture killing Brazil’s traditional farms? (Yale Environment 360)
FOOD: Nine charts that show why the US needs to tackle food emissions (The Guardian)
BOOKS: 'A process of violence': Indian author Amitav Ghosh on how colonialism fueled the climate crisis (Democracy Now)
BUSINESS: The fight to save the world™ (Gizmodo), meat industry groups promise to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (Modern Farmer)
CARBON REMOVAL: US firm buries oil made from farm waste, in costly carbon tech (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
FINANCE: Big investors get tougher with companies over climate change (FT $), group launches fact-check for finance firms' net-zero pledges (E&E $), net zero asset managers fall short of targets set by scientists (Bloomberg $)
INTERNATIONAL: Australia lobbied Unesco to remove reference to 1.5C global warming limit to protect heritage sites (The Guardian), Germany's Greens still keen on finance ministry in coalition talks (Reuters), will new governments in Germany and Norway take serious action on climate crisis? (The Real News)
|
Is CNN’s Fareed Zakaria Part Of A New Fossil Fuel Front Group’s Efforts To Portray Methane Gas as a ‘Natural Ally’ For Clean Energy? Or Just A Natural Ally of Natural Gas?
Yale and Harvard graduate Fareed Zakaria is a trusted journalist on CNN, columnist at the Washington Post and editor at the Atlantic. If you wanted to sway the public, he’d be a great person to have in your corner.
Unfortunately, he appears to be squarely in the gas industry’s corner, with multiple Washington Post columns about how “we will need gas to replace coal in developing countries,” and how we need gas here in the U.S. too, while last year he wrote that that Bernie Sanders was wrong to oppose, you guessed it, natural gas. And while this sort of “bridge fuel” rhetoric was widespread a decade ago, Zakaria’s embrace of it nowadays raises a bunch of big red flags.
And indeed, if it seems like Zakaria’s efforts to promote a fossil fuel as a way to solve the climate problem caused by fossil fuels is something coming straight out of the fossil fuel industry, sure enough an excerpt of his recent Washington Post column calling for gas exports can be found on the website of “Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future.”
Who are these “natural allies” of renewables that are enamored with Zakaria? No, it’s not batteries, improved efficiency, or transmission lines, or anything that actually helps make a clean energy future happen.
“Natural gas is accelerating America’s transition to a clean energy future” says the home page, “by partnering renewable resources with natural gas, we can reach our climate goals faster without sacrificing reliability and affordability.”
Wow! Sounds too good to be true! And, of course, it is. Natural gas is getting in the way of renewables, and as Texas showed this winter it’s hardly reliable, and as the current energy price spike shows, fossil fuels are hardly affordable.
So who’s behind this obvious front group? That’s not quite so obvious.
Like most shady groups who don’t want you to know the industry they’re championing is paying them to do so, Natural Allies For A Clean Energy Future doesn’t actually list who those allies might be. No “staff” or “about us” page to speak of, but instead a few pages of “news,” “policies,” “resources,” and a “media library” with links to some (not actually publicly posted) YouTube videos that are basically indistinguishable from the oil industry’s greenwash and woke-wash, like this one featuring a Black woman in a white labcoat talking about how great the switch from coal to gas has been, or this one with a little white girl pushing a little Black girl on a skateboard and a voiceover about what great partners natural gas and renewables are. Aww! So sweet!
Oddly, though, these allies aren’t too eager to let the public know who, exactly, they are.
But we’ve found some clues! It turns out the group’s executive director is Susan Waller, who prior to joining Natural Allies For A Clean Energy Future in 2020 was the VP of “Stakeholder Engagement & Enterprise Public Awareness Programs” at the gas pipeline company Enbridge, and before her three years there, she spent 9 years as a VP for natural gas company, Spectra Energy, and before that she had a bunch of different jobs at various natural gas-related companies.
Waller is also the 2021 chair of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, so suffice to say that the group promising that natural gas is a climate solution is being led by someone who’s spent her career advocating for natural gas, not policies to address the climate crisis
We also happened to notice that Energy in Depth, the PR-group-run oil and gas front, recently posted a link to the Natural Allies For Clean Energy website about how it’s “protecting families from higher costs,” which would certainly suggest that the group’s deeply enmeshed in the organized denial and professional disinformation space.
And sure enough, at least one of their funders is a natural gas company, as Cheneire energy lists a $250,000 annual membership fee in a 2020 disclosure.
So while there’s no proof that Zakaria’s getting any money for producing content perfectly matching the gas-backed-group’s messaging and placing it in the Washington Post, he probably should be. C'mon Fareed, you don't need to work 'for exposure' anymore. Stand up for yourself! After all, the group’s clearly got the cash! |
|