FIRST LOOK:

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) will hold a briefing on the opportunities for cutting greenhouse gas pollution from food waste. Tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. EST.

NYC Set To Vote On New Building Electrification: New York City is set to phase out gas in new construction with the city council reportedly planning to vote next week on the measure. The legislation, which is expected to pass, would require electricity-powered heat and hot water in new buildings under seven stories by 2024 and all other buildings in 2027. Burning fossil fuels for space and water heating accounts for nearly 40% of New York City's climate pollution. “It was intense because there was a whole bunch of back-and-forth over not only timelines but what a lot of us saw as loopholes in earlier drafts,” Alex Beauchamp, the Northeast director of Food & Water Watch, told Politico. “All of that stuff we won on and got struck out.” While it is of course the largest city to enact such a measure, New York City is the latest in a drumbeat of municipalities nationwide that have acted to cut climate pollution and protect human health by electrifying their buildings. Research shows people of color are disproportionately subjected to PM2.5 pollution associated with residential gas combustion. The health impacts of this disproportionate exposure can be seen in the higher rates of mortality in these communities, including chronic respiratory diseases like asthma. (Politico Pro $, TheRealDeal, Real Estate Weekly, The Independent; Building electrification momentum: Utility Dive)

Ocean Carbon Removal Has Promise, Needs Rules And Research: The ocean provides a major opportunity for pulling carbon out of the atmosphere, but more research is needed on the science and governance of those efforts, two new reports say. The current state of knowledge on Ocean CDR approaches (including artificial upwelling, seaweed cultivation, and actions to make the ocean less acidic) is inadequate, according to a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. That report calls for a $125 million research program to better understand overarching challenges for ocean-based CO2 removal approaches, including the potential economic and social impacts. A complimentary Aspen Institute report charts out the first steps to develop a code of conduct for ocean-based carbon removal efforts, especially important because of the complicated nature of maritime sovereignty. (NASEM: Washington Post $, Reuters, Earther, The Hill, AP, HuffPost; Aspen Institute: Axios)

Flood Insurance Rates Rise With Risk Levels: More than a million American homeowners are set to see higher flood insurance rates as inland flooding becomes more common, the AP reports. The rate hikes are part of a FEMA effort to revamp insurance policies and rates to more accurately reflect increased flood risks, which have strained the National Flood Insurance Program, especially in areas where flood insurance is not required. “We’ve learned that the old way of looking at risk had lots of gaps, which understated a property’s flood risk and communicated a false sense of security,” David Maurstad, a senior NFIP executive, told the AP. Climate change, primarily caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, is increasing flooding risks across the country by increasing the strength of hurricanes and the intensity of rainstorms. (AP; Climate Signals background: Flooding, Extreme precipitation increase, Hurricanes)

Biden Orders Government To Reach Net-Zero By 2050: President Biden issued an executive order Wednesday requiring the federal government to achieve net-zero climate emissions by 2050. “The government is a significant driver of demand,” former deputy treasury secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin told the Washington Post, adding that the federal procurement's $650 billion purchasing power, according to the AP, can influence markets without new laws or regulations. The EO requires the government to reduce its overall emissions by 65% and run on entirely renewable-generated electricity by 2030. It also requires that the government's 300,000 buildings use carbon-free electricity 2030 and its 600,000 vehicles be electrically-powered by 2035. Some environmental advocates praised the move, while others panned it as insufficiently urgent. (Washington Post $, AP, Axios, Politico, Grist, E&E News, New York Times $, The Hill) (CNBC)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Many tribal homes don't have clean water, and the road to getting it is lined with hurdles (KUNC), what's next for the Line 5 court battles? (Michigan Advance)

COP27: African Union urged to bring political clout to Egypt climate talks (Climate Home)

(CLIMATE) DIPLOMACY: Germany's Scholz says any threat to Ukraine unacceptable (Reuters), UN climate boss: 'we need to understand' young people's frustration (Washington Post $), UN climate chief: COP26 put nations on notice to act fast (Reuters)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: A plea to make widespread environmental damage an international crime takes center stage at the Hague (InsideClimate News), DOJ: Juliana is not like Supreme Court groundwater fight (E&E $), Friends of the Earth sues Britain over Mozambique LNG project (Reuters)

UMMMMMM: Heavy rain triggered Indonesia's volcano eruption. This could happen more (CNN, The Conversation)

DENIAL & DISINFORMATION: [Disinfo Defense League] demands Congressional action in regulating racialized disinformation on online platforms (NewsOne)

FOSSIL VOLATILITY: Gas prices will fall below $3 per gallon in 2022, government projections say (USA Today)

DON'T LOOK UP: ‘Don't Look Up’ is a satire in the mold of ‘Dr. Strangelove’ and ‘Idiocracy’ (Washington Post $), ‘Don't Look Up’ team on the urgency of addressing the climate crisis: “we’re literally living in the movie” (Hollywood Reporter), Don't Look Up is an absurdist mirror of our reality — before it just becomes a regular mirror (The Verge), Don't Look Up first reviews: armageddon with a brain (Rotten Tomatoes), review: ‘Don't Look Up,’ but there’s a scattershot satire headed your way on Netflix (LA Times $), Leo, JLaw are trying to warn us in ‘Don't Look Up’ (AP), Don't Look Up is a climate movie about more than disaster (Earther), "Don't Look Up" skewers our response to climate change (Axios), Don't Look Up — DiCaprio and Streep struggle in calamity comedy (FT $), DiCaprio calls 'Don't Look Up' a 'unique gift' to climate change fight (Reuters), 'Don't Look Up' delivers a scathing satire that occasionally veers off course (CNN), Don't Look Up: mixed reviews for Leonardo DiCaprio satire (BBC), Leonardo DiCaprio's a 'huge nerd,' says Don't Look Up science adviser (CNET)

EPA: D.C. Circuit allows EPA to reconsider Trump-era refinery exemptions (Politico Pro $), EPA-linked consultant undercuts agency’s PFAS concerns (E&E News)

DOE: DOE loan chief fleshes out clean energy plans (E&E News), nuclear and carbon capture companies seek $20B as DOE revives loan program (Utility Dive), new US energy standards would force incandescent light bulbs into retirement (The Guardian)

DOT: Biden admin targets roads built under racist policies (E&E News), Buttigieg rebuffs Musk, stresses need for EV subsidies (E&E $)

SOCIAL COST OF CARBON: Judge appears open to scrapping Biden carbon metric (E&E News)

BUILD BACK BETTER ACT: Rep. Katie Porter breaks down the Build Back Better Bill and how it helps you (MSNBC), 10 things you didn't know are in the Democrats' Build Back Better bill (CNN), ‘potemkin jobs’: GOP has no love for Civilian Climate Corps (E&E News), Confidence and concern mix as Dems undergo 'Byrd bath' (E&E $), methane fee, clean energy tax credits set for 'Byrd bath' review (Politico Pro $)

THE HILL: Rep. Ayanna Pressley moves to strip Rep. Lauren Boebert of committee assignments for being a raging islamaphobe (NewsOne), the climate bill includes billions in funding.will it be spent fairly? (New York Times $)

HOUSE: ‘Reckless misuse of resources’: House approves $778 billion military budget (The Real News), US House passes measure clamping down on products from China's Xinjiang region (Reuters)

SENATE: Manchin quietly discusses Senate rules changes with Republicans (The Hill), Manchin warns about inflation as Democrats pursue Biden spending bill (The Hill),Senate banking chairman expects fed nominee hearings in January (Bloomberg $), Senate Democrats face deadline pressure on ‘build back better’ bill (Bloomberg $), Manchin says he wouldn’t defy parliamentarian on immigration (AP), Sen. Stabenow on Build Back Better: 'we are in the final days of negotiation' (MSNBC)

WHITE HOUSE: Inside Joe Biden’s 2-day Zoom plan to rescue democracy (Politico), western officials urge Biden to designate more monuments (E&E $)

POLITICS: Another eye-popping inflation reading is ahead. Next year could look very different. (Politico Pro $), ‘critical energy theory’: right wing declares war on ‘woke’ climate policy (MSNBC)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: [Saule Omarova] Finance nominee who criticized fossil fuels withdraws (E&E $), Biden nominee withdraws name after GOP ‘red scare’ campaign (MSNBC), VP Kamala Harris casts tie-breaking vote to confirm Rachael Rollins as first Black woman US Attorney for Massachusetts (NewsOne), Oregon lawmakers push for state divestment from fossil fuels (AP)

TRIBES: Seeking tribal sovereignty through solar (The Hill)

CITIES AND STATES: Cascadia is known for strong climate action. So why are emissions still rising? (Grist and InvestigateWest), DeSantis offers sea-rise proposal, treading carefully on climate (Bloomberg $), New Mexico regulators deny Avangrid bid for PNM Resources (Reuters), Kansas City Mayor: public transportation, broadband are key infrastructure (MSNBC), Youngkin wants Virginia out of carbon-reduction initiative (AP)

CALIFORNIA: Who should pay to fix California’s sunken canals? (High Country News), food waste becomes California’s newest climate change target (AP), leaking California oil pipe’s safeguards not fully working (AP)

IMPACTS: Greenland is crying — can it be saved from mining and climate change? (The Hill), National Trust to fell at least 30,000 trees hit by ash dieback (The Guardian), nature’s air sensors are growing on your street (Grist),the world's newest nation is both drying up and drowning (CNN)

SKI SEASON: Colorado ski resorts start to feel nervous with lack of snow and above-average temperatures (CBS), after warm start to snow season, Colorado resorts look for relief (New York Times $)

DROUGHT: California drought forces dire restrictions (CBS), mountain valley might hold the key to vanishing water (E&E $)

OK?: Golf courses on borrowed time as Earth's weather patterns become wilder (CNN, CNN)

RENEWABLES: California plan to slash solar incentives spurs lobbying blitz (E&E $), cities are turning airports into solar farms (Earther),planned $4bn offshore windfarm could fully power Alcoa Portland aluminium smelter (The Guardian),US approves $500M for First Solar's module factory in India (Axios)

BUILDINGS: How the iconic Sydney Opera House is cutting carbon pollution (Yale Climate Connections)

LNG: Cheniere asks for more time to build Texas Corpus LNG expansion (Reuters),the US looks to beat Qatar to become the world's top LNG exporter In 2022 (OilPrice)

OIL & GAS: A new warning on oil investment (Axios), can US phase out natural gas? Lessons from the Southeast (E&E News), top producer EQT backs US natural gas exports, calls Warren's criticism "misguided' (Reuters), US oil executives reject Biden officials’ criticism over tight supply (FT $), oil CEOs raise alarm over market's readiness to drop fossil fuels (Reuters), oil executives take to conference stage to rebut harsh portrayal on climate (Reuters), OPEC official hits at 'misguided' efforts to pare oil and gas (Reuters)

PIPELINES: Meet a clean water activist fighting to protect Virginia streams from the Mountain Valley Pipeline (Energy News Network)

COAL: Appeals court won't undo Don Blankenship conviction (E&E $), Greece wants to make coal ancient history (Grist)

UTILITIES: Major US utilities plan nationwide charging network, anticipating 22M EVs by 2030 (Utility Dive)

EVs: BP enters US EV charging services market (Axios, Canary Media), electric vehicle and 'compact’ city combo could reach emissions targets (Reuters), move over, electric cars: E-boats are coming — and investors are on board (Canary Media), oil major BP wants to plug in America's EVs (E&E $)

SHIPPING: New global shipping task-force aims for greener, safer work (Thomson Reuters Foundation, explainer)

CARBON PRICING: EU carbon price may hit 100 euros this year, buoyed by gas price surge (Reuters)

PHILANTHROPY: How the MacArthur Foundation’s working to avert climate catastrophe (Chronicle of Philanthropy), Mackenzie Scott keeps donations secret in latest giving spree (Bloomberg $)

FINANCE: Climate alliance falls short on climate-related shareholder votes (Bloomberg $)

PLASTICS: Plastics, fertilizer, and synthetic rubber: report calls out chemical industry’s use of fossil fuels (Grist)

WILDLIFE: Darwin in a lab: Coral evolution tweaked for global warming (AP)

INTERNATIONAL: Agencies will feed manatees in unusual bid to stem die-off (E&E News), coalition and Labor claim Australia’s aging coal plants won’t close early, but the figures don’t add up (The Guardian), EU paves way for cheaper internet, bicycles, solar panels (Reuters), Germany’s new climate minister aims for green economic miracle (Politico EU), Peru to revamp oil royalty model, prepares renewable energy auction (Reuters),Trafigura plans $540 million hydrogen plant at its Australian lead smelter (Reuters),UK accused of ignoring climate pact over $20 billion gas plant (Bloomberg $),UK tax breaks for oil and gas under scrutiny from climate activists (The Guardian),UK ‘embarrassed’ into funding Mozambique gas project, court hears (The Guardian),seven pages will decide the future of green hydrogen in Europe (Energy Monitor)

GOOD RIDDANCE: Statue of Robert E. Lee to be melted and repurposed by Black-led museum (Atlanta Black Star)

• Exporting gas means higher monthly energy bills for American families (The Hill, Dave Cortez op-ed)

• The Guardian view on green finance: doing business as if the planet mattered (The Guardian, Editorial board)

• Climate can't wait: Biden must use his power to end new fossil fuel leasing (The Hill, Randi Spivak op-ed)
• Desalination plant company not shy about asking for government handouts (LA Times, Steve Lopez column $)
• Radical passion is a family matter for me and my 98-year-old mom (New York Times, Tom Morello op-ed $)

Majority Of Sources of Climate Denial Online Is Industrial Disinfo, Not Well-Meaning Morons

Yesterday on reddit, we happened to notice a “list of recommended alarmist-free sites” and, ever curious about new sources for content, we were eager to check out what sorts of places a regular /r/climateskeptics poster goes for their climate denial. We know who the professionals are, but what amateur climate content might an amateur poster have found? 

Unfortunately, there wasn’t really much new, as the list was heavy on professional disinformation sources. And on top of that, a bunch of the links haven’t been updated in ages. 

Out of 35 links, the first seven links were affiliated with Heartland (6 directly, the 7th being Heartland fellow Anthony Watts’ blog), followed by Steve Milloy’s Big Tobacco-created Junk Science, followed by Climate Depot, CFACT, CO2Coalition, denial aggregator ClimateChangeDispatch, GWPF’s rebranded NetZeroWatch, and CoolerHeads. This means only one of  the first 13 links, ClimateChangeDispatch, is not a part or product of the industry’s professional disinformation machine. 

Or, 12 out of the first 13 links to non-alarmist content are propped up, at least in part, by the fossil fuel industry’s past or present funding. 

Later in the list, there’s 9 more nodes in the professional climate contrarian ecosystem (Dr. Judith Curry, MasterResource, Cornwall Alliance, the International Climate Science Coalition, Science & Environmental Policy Project, Cato, SPPI, NIPCC, WiseEnergy, and CO2Science). 

That makes 22 of the 35 links to people funded by or affiliated with the fossil fuel industry, who spread climate disinformation at least semi-professionally. (Dr. Judith Curry is a retired professor with a side-business consulting for the fossil fuel industry on weather forecasting and a real passion for emphasizing her doubts about climate science.) 

The remaining are mostly just those individuals who seem to do it because they take some perverse delight in being wrong in public, like above-group-feted scientist Roy Spencer, Australian blogger Joanne Nova, ClimateAudit’s Steven McIntyre, and climate conspiracist in denial about being a debunked conspiracy theorist, Tony Heller. 

Aside from climate denial’s reliance on the fossil fuel industry, the other thing that really stood out was how many of the websites are barely publishing, if at all. While the Cooler Heads email goes out every Friday, continuing the brand that Exxon started funding back in 1998, the listed link to their prime-name website, GlobalWarming.org, hasn't been updated since May 17, 2021. The Cato Institute quietly shuttered its science center in May 2019, only a few months after SPPI’s most recent website update, and YouTuber 1000Frolly hasn’t updated in 10 months (with the next most-recent from July, 2019). 

Tom Harris has basically stopped posting at the International Climate Science Coalition website since this summer, though it appears the videos he’s making with his not-hostage not-disney-princess granddaughter are still getting posted to YouTube for their literally dozens of fans.

Of the 35 links, 5 are essentially defunct. Of the remaining 30 sources of climate denial, 22 are pro’s, meaning 73% of the still-publishing links from this organic user's list of climate content serve as a form of false advertising backed by the fossil fuel industry’s funding.

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