FIRST LOOK(s):

Biden Signs Trillion Dollar Bipartisan Infrastructure Package: President Joe Biden signed the roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill into law on Monday, marking the biggest public infrastructure investment in over a decade. The legislation provides $110 billion for roads and bridges, nearly $50 billion to protect communities from the impacts of climate change, $55 billion for water infrastructure including $15 billion for replacing lead pipes, $65 billion to improve the electrical grid, $39 billion for public transit, $25 billion for airports, $7.5 billion for EV charging stations, and $5 billion for hybrid and electric school buses. Nearly all school buses currently run on diesel, exposing children whose lungs are particularly susceptible to air pollution to exhaust fumes, likely the most polluted air they’ll breathe all day, and dumping more than 5 million tons of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere every year. The law also includes nearly $5 billion to begin to plug, cap, and clean up orphaned oil and gas wells that leak planet-heating methane and other pollutants. The law aims to end the use of infrastructure projects like highways and bridges as instruments of racism, but some worry the law gives states unconcerned with equity considerations too much control. “A fundamental part of this program has always been to have the feds raise money, hand it over to the states and cross our fingers,” Beth Osborne, who was an acting assistant secretary in the Transportation Department during the Obama administration, told the New York Times. The law contains just a small fraction of the spending to cut American climate pollution included in the Build Back Better Act, which Democrats are hoping to pass before Thanksgiving. (Infrastructure law: AP, NPR, Reuters, Thomson Reuters Foundation, New York Times $, Wall Street Journal $; School buses: TIME; Orphaned Wells: High Country News, Grist, New Mexico Political Report, Bradford Era, Centre Daily Times; Environmental justice: New York Times $; Build Back Better: E&E News, The Hill)

Deluge Submerges Parts Of PNW, British Columbia: An "epic" atmospheric river dumped even more rain on the already-deluged Pacific Northwest and British Columbia over the weekend, causing flooding and landslides, along with damaging wind. Some areas have already seen more than 3 feet of water in the past month and Seattle is virtually certain to see its wettest autumn on record. Extreme precipitation and heatwaves, like the deadly "mass casualty" event the region endured this summer, are among the clearest extreme weather signals of climate change.  At one point, more than 170,000 homes and businesses were without power, and the heavy rains also shut down railroad tracks in and out of Canada's biggest port in Vancouver. Communities in British Columbia were evacuated, and about 275 people were airlifted from a highway after it was blocked by mudslides. “I definitely heard people screaming for help,” Adam Wuisman, who was driving the section of the highway when a landslide hit, told CBC News (via The Guardian). “It’s kind of helpless to feel like you’re between a very vulnerable mountainside on one side and the Fraser River on the other side. And there’s really nothing you can do about it, but hope nothing comes down on top of you.” (Washington Post $, Axios; Canadian evacuations: The Guardian; Port of Vancouver: Bloomberg $; Climate Signals background: Extreme precipitation increase, Extreme heat and heatwaves, June 2021 PNW heatwave)

Biden Administration Proposes 20-Year Chaco Canyon Drilling Ban: The Biden administration on Monday proposed a 20-year ban on oil and gas drilling in and around Chaco Canyon, a sacred tribal site in what is now northwestern New Mexico. The plan, announced at the opening of the White House Tribal Nations Summit, would remove land within 10 miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park from federal leasing for at least the next two years as an environmental study and stakeholder engagement take place. The site, once a home and trading hub for the Ancestral Puebloan civilization, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most important cultural sites on U.S. public lands. Plunder of artifacts from the site led to the passage of the Antiquities Act in 1906 and tribes have long-opposed drilling in the area. “Chaco Canyon is a sacred place that holds deep meaning for the Indigenous peoples whose ancestors lived, worked and thrived in that high desert community," Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, citizen of the Laguna Pueblo, said at the event. "Now is the time to consider more enduring protections for the living landscape that is Chaco, so that we can pass on this rich cultural legacy to future generations.” (AP, Washington Post $, Reuters, E&E $, Wall Street Journal $, Axios, Grist, New York Times $, The Hill, Politico Pro $, Washington Examiner)

OUTCOMES AND REACTIONS: Sinking Tuvalu laments watered down UN Glasgow climate pact (Reuters), COP26 climate conference’s results insufficient, Cuba says (Prensa Latina), COP26: A ‘net nothing’ summit that the UN termed a global compromise (DownToEarth), gains and disappointments from COP26, and now to tend to the gaps (Yale Climate Connections), Glasgow disappointed, but it inched the world forward on climate (Yale Environment 360), Glasgow pact slammed for betraying the global poor who suffer most from the climate emergency (Democracy Now), making sense of the Glasgow climate deal (Axios), the climate summit is over and there is a lot of discontentment (NPR), the climate deal: everything that happened at the COP26 summit (Wall Street Journal $), why COP26 leaves humanitarians wanting more (The New Humanitarian)

COAL: 'Down' and 'out'? COP26 wording clouds way ahead on climate (Reuters), China rebuffs UK criticism over coal move after climate summit (Reuters), China urges developed countries to take the lead in cutting out coal (The Guardian), Coal shares lose ground after Glasgow climate deal (Reuters), how one word on coal threatened to topple COP 26 (E&E News)

LOSS & DAMAGE: Kerry defends US opposition to 'loss and damage' fund (E&E $)

CIRCLING BACK ON NEXT STEPS: Climate leaders call for pressure on stubborn nations before COP27 (The Guardian), stop talking, start acting, says Africa’s first extreme heat official (The Guardian), the brutal gap between ambition and reality in addressing climate change (Axios), to defend fragile 1.5°C goal, Glasgow Climate Pact must get results - fast (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

FOSSILS: Why we’re only just starting to talk about actually keeping oil and gas in the ground (TIME)

AUSTRALIA ET AL.: Barnaby Joyce says Nationals did not sign COP26 pact and Australia is ‘happy with targets’ (The Guardian), Australian deputy PM mocks Alok Sharma’s emotional reaction at COP26 (The Guardian), laggards reject Glasgow pact’s 2022 call for new climate plans (Climate Home)

GLASS HALF FULL: The world has made more progress on climate change than you might think – or might have predicted a decade ago (The Conversation)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: South Carolina's Gullah Geechee face land loss from climate change, development: Part 1 (ABC)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) SEXISM: Another challenge for conservation efforts: gender inequity (New York Times $)

HOW ARE YOU, REALLY?: The road to recovery (Atmos)

DENIAL & DISINFO: Report: ‘whole of society’ effort must fight misinformation (AP), COVID denial to climate denial: how conspiracists are shifting focus (BBC), Sandy Hook families 'grateful' to win defamation case against Alex Jones by default (Connecticut Post)

FOSSIL VOLATILITY: Energy prices are surging. What can Biden do? (E&E News), Wholesale energy prices hit second highest level in at least three years (The Guardian)

PR: After COP26 and #EdelmanDropExxon, world's largest PR firm announces climate strategy (AdWeek)

LIES, DAMN LIES, AND CARBON ACCOUNTING: Countries may be under-reporting their greenhouse gas emissions – that’s why accurate monitoring is crucial (The Conversation)

GROWNUPS' FAILURES: In the fight against climate change, young voices speak out (New York Times $)

EPA: EPA enforcement lagging as workload mounts, government watchdog says (Reuters), EPA unveils new recycling push pegged to climate, justice (E&E News, Washington Post $, The Hill), EPA will not rewrite airplane emissions rules finalized under Trump (Reuters), Top U.S. environmental regulator to visit Houston neighborhoods where Black and Latino residents bear brunt of pollution (Texas Tribune)

DOE: DOE launches battery plan to reach net zero (E&E $), Climate talks have wrapped up. Granholm weighs in on the highlights (NPR)

THE HILL: Democrats return from Glasgow bullish about climate action (E&E News)

HOUSE: House panel heads for partisan showdown on bipartisan bill (E&E News)

SENATE: Manchin, Barrasso to probe rising energy prices worldwide (E&E $), Schumer urges Biden to tap oil reserves in order to lower gas prices (Axios)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden weighs choice of Jerome Powell or Lael Brainard as Fed chair (Wall Street Journal $), Biden names former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to oversee infrastructure plan (Reuters, E&E News)

INFRASTRUCTURE BILL(S): CBO to release full cost estimate for 'Build Back Better' plan by Nov. 19 (Reuters, Politico Pro $), will Biden’s climate plan survive the budget wonks? (E&E News)

POLITICS: Manchin set to make or break Biden's climate pledge (The Hill), revolutionary change or practical help? Democrats struggle with the difference (Wall Street Journal $)

(CLIMATE) DIPLOMACY: EU and US face hard road to confront China’s dirty steel (Politico Pro $), Biden, Xi try to tamp down tension in long virtual meeting (AP, New York Times $)

CITIES AND STATES: [Ann Arbor, Michigan] offers new model for 100% clean power (E&E News), Road king Chicago flush with fed cash. Is climate a priority? (E&E $)

SCOTUS: Supreme Court rejects Volkswagen appeals on potential emissions cheating liability (Politico Pro $, AP, E&E News)

IMPACTS: October 2021: earth’s fourth-warmest October on record (Yale Climate Connections), coastal Californians, prepare for the ocean to rise 10 feet by century’s end (Grist)

HEALTH: Last year’s record-breaking power outages are a red flag for public health (The Verge)

DEFORESTATION: Organized crime is a top driver of global deforestation – along with beef, soy, palm oil and wood products (The Conversation), Palm oil land grabs ‘trashing’ environment and displacing people (The Guardian)

RENEWABLES: $1B renewable energy project expected to create 400 jobs in Caldwell, Hays counties (Austin Business Journal $), S&P projects record installation of 71 GW of US wind and solar in 2022 amid rising headwinds (Utility Dive), wind and solar grab more than 60% share of Australia’s main grid for first time (Renew Economy)

OIL & GAS: As energy prices soar, supply chain snags threaten US oil output gains (Reuters), Indigenous Amazonian leader: we must end fossil fuel extraction to protect the 'lungs of the earth' (Democracy Now), energy summit in UAE after COP26 stresses fossil fuel demand (AP), oil industry calls for inclusivity under climate efforts (Reuters), Shell leaves behind its century-old Dutch identity (Wall Street Journal $)

SOCAL OIL SPILL: Amplify Energy faces federal DOJ probe after California oil spill (Politico Pro $)

GRID: Changing climate and electricity mix renew region-wide power market ambitions for the 'Wild West' (Utility Dive)

CARS: Toyota adding hybrid powertrain production line in West Virginia (E&E $)

BUSINESS: As more companies make net-zero pledges, some aren’t as good as they sound (TIME)

FINANCE: Central banks and climate change: how they can play a role in managing the fallout (The Conversation), Engine No. 1 partner leaves hedge fund after successful challenge of Exxon (Reuters), how workers unknowingly fund the climate crisis with their pensions (The Guardian)

WILDLIFE: Why protecting the Okefenokee Swamp matters for the climate (Yale Climate Connections)

INTERNATIONAL: Can ‘the people’ solve climate change? France decided to find out. (Grist), Indonesia introduces carbon trading policy to reduce emission (Reuters), Kuwait to increase oil production while reducing emissions - minister (Reuters)

• Black Appalachian Coalition aims to shift narrative on energy, other issues (Energy News Network, Marcia Dinkins interview)
• Empty words, no action: COP26 has failed First Nations people (The Guardian, Tishiko King op-ed)
• Indigenous peoples had a clear vision for COP26, but it has not been delivered (The Guardian, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz op-ed)
• New York City’s next big chance to help save itself and the planet (Gotham Gazette, Pete Sikora op-ed)
• Past time to move on from fossil fuels (San Antonio Express-News, Andrew Dessler op-ed)
• Women climate leaders aren’t satisfied with COP26. You shouldn’t be either (Ms. Magazine)
• Global energy crisis proves that after COP26, new US policy is due (The Hill, Ariel Cohen op-ed)
• Fighting climate change offers trillion-dollar opportunities (Houston Chronicle, Chris Tomlinson column)
• COP26 took us one step closer to combating the climate crisis (The Guardian, Christiana Figueres op-ed)
• Coal trajectory is set whether it's 'phase out' or 'phase down' (Reuters, Clyde Russell)
• New England once hunted and killed humans for money. We’re descendents of the survivors (The Guardian, Dawn Neptune Adams, Maulian Dana and Adam Mazo op-ed)
• Glasgow climate summit: A glass half full (The Hill, Durwood Zaelke, Romina Picolotti, and Dr Gabrielle Dreyfus op-ed)
• Shell’s Dutch exit comes with legal side benefits (Reuters, George Hay column)
• Biden can whip inflation and build back better at the same time (Wall Street Journal, Jason Furman op-ed $)
• We must cut greenhouse gases to save ourselves, not the planet (The Hill, Kenneth Brill op-ed)
• Utility of the future? We also need fundamental changes at state regulatory commissions (Utility Dive, Stephanie Eyocko, Alicia Brown and Dugan Marieb op-ed)

Finding Information in Disinformation Around COP26: Superspreaders Abound, On Twitter More Than Facebook

We’ve spent the past few weeks immersed in the social media discussion of COP26, working with an international, collaborative effort to monitor and respond to disinformation in order to prevent it from derailing negotiations. While a daily climate disinfo readout is hardly new for us, having a dashboard aggregating thousands of strategically selected accounts across social platforms provided a larger, and more quantitative, set of tools to track the popularity and spread of disinformation. 

Looking back over what was most popular, we’re not exactly surprised by what we found, but what was interesting was the prevalence of Twitter content, which appeared to be shared much more widely than content from Facebook or YouTube. 

While the most popular content was everyone retweeting a clip of someone helping out a sloth cross the road, and deer in a convenience store, viral Covid conspiracies made up the bulk of the most-shared content every day. Once that was filtered out, though, it was the same set of professional deniers on Twitter who consistently got the most shares. Facebook posts would dot the dataset, particularly cartoons and memes from groups like “climate change is crap,” but the overwhelming bulk of the disinformation was being spread on Twitter, suggesting that despite Facebook’s steady stream of embarrassing reports, Twitter might now be the bigger problem.  

As for the subject of the disinformation, it somewhat reflected the pacing of the conference, as just getting there was the first fight. Trolls and professional trolls alike delighted in the idea that people had to travel on jets to get to Scotland, and took particular glee in pointing to (private) jet use. While the hypocrisy message is an obvious-enough easy score for them, it’s really quite ridiculous for the apparent expectation to be that people who are negotiating over solving a problem didn’t solve said problem before arriving at negotiations.

In that same vein of climate advocates not having already solved the systemic problem of our reliance on fossil fuels, before COP even kicked off factcheckers had to swat down claims that the organizers were relying on diesel generators to charge EVs, an exercise they had to repeat during the conference itself, thanks to anti-climate activists.   

During both weeks, Holocaust denier Peter Sweden was a social-celeb to climate deniers, with a bunch of popular tweets about climate and tyranny and communism, something echoed by Glenn Beck and Heartland, and China was also a recurring target for “free-market” anti-regulatory conservatives suddenly very concerned about working conditions in the mining and solar manufacturing industry. 

But over the course of the two weeks monitoring thousands of accounts and social media posts, what stood out was that every day’s top posts came from the same small cast of characters. Mainstream rightwing and Rupert-Murdoch-owned media, like Fox and Sky News Australia, were crucial in generating video clips for deniers who can’t get past mainstream media’s factchecking gatekeepers, but Holocaust denier Peter Sweden had one of the top three posts on four different days out of the two weeks, marking his success in building an audience among climate deniers that rivals (MAGA) household names like Sean Hannity, Jordan Peterson and Dan Bongino, who showed up slightly less frequently but no less ferociously. 

Other recurring characters include the professional denial set, those employed full time to spread disinformation, like Koch-alum energy lobbyist Daniel Turner, who blames renewables for fossil fuel prices, and the billionaire-funded meme-machine, Turning Point USA. 

Despite the dashboard picking up content from literally thousands of accounts, it was the same couple dozen that kept rising to the top of the pile, underscoring just how easy it would be for social media companies to slash the amount of disinformation their users are exposed to on a daily basis. 

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