👀 JOURNALISTS 👀 

Air Pollution, Lack Of Snow, Hang Over Winter Olympics: The combination of too much pollution, and not enough water and snow, is raising alarms ahead of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing. With less than two weeks before the opening ceremonies, heavy smog is driving air quality to "very unhealthy" levels, endangering the athletes – not to mention the residents of Bejing. Notably, local officials have authority to "adopt control measures" against polluting businesses and vehicles to help improve air quality. In the long term, climate change challenges the long-term viability of the Winter Olympics themselves. The Beijing Games will be the first to rely completely on artificial snow, and snowmaking efforts which is straining local water supplies. New research published by researchers at the University of Waterloo found only one of the 21 cities that has hosted the Winter Olympics over the last century can be reliably expected to host the Games in 2080. (Air pollution: Reuters, Washington Post $, Bloomberg $, Earther; Snow and water supplies: Bloomberg $, Washington Post $; Long-term viability: NPR, InsideClimate News; Climate Signals background: Snowpack decline)

Advocates Call For Environmental Justice Beyond Truck Electrification: Community advocates are calling for broader measures to mitigate and remediate environmental injustices in the areas most harmed by diesel pollution, Inside Climate News reports. New rules adopted by six states last year to boost electric medium- and heavy-duty truck markets could dramatically increase the number of zero-emissions trucks on the road. The effects, however, are not immediate, and they do nothing to address the generational impacts of concentrated industrial polluters. The Ironbound neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey, for example, has “something like 40 % of the state’s major air facilities in like five square miles,” longtime resident Melissa Miles told ICN. My sons “will never be rid of the impacts of having lived their early years in a neighborhood that’s overburdened by pollution like that.” (Inside Climate News)

Bangladesh Left In Lurch By Volatile LNG Markets: The price of methane-based gas is set to double in Bangladesh, as the small, low-lying, and often climate-ravaged nation is left in the lurch by global politics and LNG markets. State-owned gas distributors in Bangladesh have proposed nearly doubling the cost of gas, The Business Standard reported. Bangladesh is responsible for a negligible amount of climate pollution and is one of the most vulnerable nations to the ravages of climate change. Concerns over European fuel shortages last fall drove up LNG demand (and US exports). Worries about global shortages led China to purchase more gas than it needed, so it sold LNG to Europe. All of this leaves smaller countries in Southeast Asia paying the price. (Bangladeshi prices: The Business Standard; Global LNG markets: Bloomberg $, Oil Price, Bloomberg $)

ENVIRONMENTAL (AND HOUSING) JUSTICE: Bronx Fire highlights how energy-efficiency push could save lives beyond climate change (The City), how NYC’s public housing authority plans to transform the market for clean heat (Grist)

CLIMATE GEOPOLITICS: Britain urges nations to deliver on climate pledges this year (Reuters), Europe's energy reliance on Russia is a crucial shield for Putin (Axios)

ART & ACTIVISM: ‘Fighting for my future’: teenage climate activism takes off (E&E News), Portland youth are driving a highway revolt (Bloomberg $, Bloomberg $), 'if we can make a space station fly, we can save the planet': an astronaut's view on protecting the Earth (CNN), girls emerge as leaders of student walkouts over COVID concerns (The 19th* News), delivery workers cheer restroom access and tip transparency alongside AOC and Chuck Schumer (The City), ‘it’s a slow catastrophe’: artists try to tackle the dangers of rising sea levels (The Guardian)

SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM: Engine No. 1 lays its cards on the table for next proxy targets (Bloomberg $)

DOING JOURNALISM!: Reporter idles in EV for 12 freezing hours to test what happens (E&E News)

SCOTUS: Supreme court takes EPA case that could narrow Clean Water Act (Washington Post $, AP, Politico Pro $, E&E News, E&E News, The Hill, Bloomberg $), Supreme Court backs making swath of Oklahoma tribal land (E&E $), ‘you never forget it’: these are the stories of life before Roe v. Wade transformed America (The 19th* News), Supreme Court to consider landmark challenge to Harvard and UNC affirmative action policies (CNN, New York Times $)

AGENCIES: The push to get banks to consider climate-related risk (Axios, Politico Pro $)

DOE: Biden revives ‘clean energy’ program with $1B loan guarantee (AP)

DOI: Secretary Deb Haaland sees bipartisan infrastructure bill as pathway to addressing environmental racism (NewsOne), feds reverse course, seek protections for a New Mexico butterfly (E&E News)

BUILD BACK BETTER ACT: Clean energy industry makes a push for 'Build Back Better' (E&E $), Biden comments add momentum to spending bill's climate measures (The Hill)

WHITE HOUSE: Kerry warns about efforts to blunt climate change: 'we're in trouble' (The Hill, Reuters), Kerry touts natural gas for energy transition — with a catch (Politico Pro $)

POLITICS: ‘Unbought and unbossed’ at 50: Shirley Chisholm continues to inspire Black women in politics (NewsOne)

CITIES AND STATES: Three state-level climate fights to watch this year (Washington Post $), too many Maryland homes flood too often — report (E&E $), rising power plant emissions threaten New England climate goals (E&E News)

• CALIFORNIA: California’s rooftop solar war intensifies as regulators pull reform proposal (East Bay Times), California’s 'Lithium Valley' on the rise (CBS)

• TEXAS: Black Texas farmers were finally on track to get federal aid. the state’s agriculture commissioner is helping stop that. (Texas Tribune)

FERC: FERC Dems signal stronger stance on environmental justice, but tensions with GOP persist (Politico Pro $), court may back FERC approval of Midwest pipeline (E&E $)

IMPACTS: Risky moves: more Americans are relocating to climate-vulnerable areas (Yale Climate Connections), port in a storm: the trailblazing town welcoming climate refugees in Bangladesh (The Guardian)

DROUGHT: After snowy December, California suddenly turns dry, magnifying drought concern (Washington Post $)

VOLCANO: 'The whole country is covered with ash': Tongan journalist describes dusastation from volcano (Democracy Now)

DEFORESTATION: [Nordic asset manager] urges agricultural traders to act on Brazil deforestation risk (FT $)

RENEWABLES: ‘Inflection point.’ Biden faces 2 tests that could remake solar (E&E News), New York regulators tap ConEdison to help interconnect up to 6 GW of offshore wind (Utility Dive), UK government commits 32 million pounds for floating wind projects (Reuters), why doesn’t every big box store have rooftop solar? (Grist)

BATTERIES: Rio Tinto has few options to save Serbia lithium mine, none good (Reuters)

BUILDINGS: White House unveils efficient-buildings effort (Axios)

EFFICIENCY: Energy efficiency ratings aren’t actually predicting energy efficiency (Bloomberg $)

OIL & GAS: Report documents 30 Permian methane 'super-emitters' (E&E $)

NUKES: Rolls-Royce seeks bids for site to make small nuclear power plants (FT $)

COAL (COUNTRY): How Biden could close coal plants without CO2 regulations (E&E News), Black farmers are rebuilding agriculture in coal country (Yes! Magazine), Indonesia starts construction of $2.3 bln coal gasification plant (Reuters)

HYDROGEN: Here’s why one solar industry veteran is betting big on clean hydrogen (CNBC), Saudi Arabia says pink hydrogen is for girlbosses (Earther), state agencies, national labs team up in zero-carbon hydrogen effort (New Mexico Political Report)

UTILITIES: As the electric sector becomes 'tip of the spear' of decarbonization, resiliency remains key, trade group leaders say (Utility Dive)

CYBERSECURITY: Hackers hit energy companies hard last year. What’s next? (E&E News)

EVs: GM to invest $6.5 billion at 2 Michigan sites for EV, battery production (Detroit News), pop-up charging stations for EV wilderness adventures (Axios), Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi to unveil 2030 EV plan this week (Reuters), China isn’t moving away from polluting cars fast enough (Bloomberg $)

BIG GREEN: Former White House adviser [David Kieve] joins [EDF Action] (E&E $)

AVIATION: Lufthansa, Air France join forces against EU's climate plans for aviation (Reuters)

DOOMSDAY CLOCK: Stop the clock (Atmos)

BOOKS: Want to heal the planet? Stop ignoring Indigenous science. (Grist)

CARBON PRICING: Do dividends make carbon taxes more popular? Not so far, study finds (Canary Media), Norway underpaid Indonesia for forest protection results, study argues (Climate Home)

CARBON REMOVAL & CAPTURE: The buzz around carbon removal is drawing jobseekers in droves (Canary Media), Shell’s massive carbon capture facility in Canada emits far more than it captures, study says (CNBC)

FINANCE: Malaysia's mangrove-planting fishermen stumble at nature finance hurdle (Thomson Reuters Foundation), £262bn investor says it will target bosses who fail on climate or human rights (The Guardian), Aviva adds human rights to ethical investment drive (Reuters), clean energy stocks are down but still have their spark (Wall Street Journal $), ECB wipes 45% off home prices in harshest bank climate test (Bloomberg $), how the clean-energy revolution is sweeping through markets (Bloomberg $), India’s capital markets regulator proposes tighter ESG rules (Bloomberg $), JPMorgan asset arm creates new team to focus on sustainable investments (Reuters), McKinsey pegs the price tag of a livable climate at $9.2 trillion a year (Bloomberg $), top EU banks to publish 'pioneering' climate data (Reuters)

DENIAL: Neil Young demands Spotify remove his music over ‘false information about vaccines’ (Rolling Stone)

WILDLIFE: Leading the charge: wildlife experts plan for future of Nepal’s rhinos (The Guardian)

INTERNATIONAL: [European] Commission annoys everyone with its green investment rule straddle (Politico Pro $), Germany backs gas as 'transition' fuel in EU green finance guidelines (Climate Home), Sudan raises electricity prices as it pushes forward with reforms (Reuters)

LEFT BEHIND: COVID-19 vaccine delay for children under 5 leaves families of color unprotected and on their own (Prism Reports), for parents of young children, vaccines offered a glimmer of hope. Now what? (WBUR)

• Slashing California’s solar incentives would hurt low-income communities (LA Times, Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán and Kenneth Wells op-ed $)
• Cutting rooftop solar subsidies would be a huge mistake. California needs to reassess (Sacramento Bee, Editorial Board $)
• Nearly a year after Winter Storm Uri's devastation, where are we on grid resilience? (Utility Dive, Clint Vince and Barbara Tyran)
• Indonesia's coal ban sends prices soaring, other exporters fail to step up (Reuters, Clyde Russell column)
• Trump sold off the Arctic Refuge — Congress must end this risky boondoggle (The Hill, Finis Dunaway op-ed)
• Toward an energy democracy (NY Mag, Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò op-ed)
• Critics of ‘woke’ capitalism are wrong (FT, Paul Polman op-ed $)
• Environmental education is falling short. activism can help (Yes Magazine, Peter Sutoris)

What do the Tobacco-Loving Heartland Institute, Bill Cosby, Petrostates, and Racists Have in Common?

Do the New Hampshire legislators know that the experts who recently told them to pass a bill prohibiting banks from taking environmental, social and governance standards into account came from the same organization that’s actively working on behalf of the tobacco industry? 

Because last week, a “P.S.” note at the bottom of a Heartland Institute email to subscribers explained they sent “two policy experts to New Hampshire this week to testify in favor of a proposed bill that would make the abuse of environment, social, and government (ESG) scores illegal. If the legislation succeeds, Heartland will use it as a template in all 50 states.” 

Here’s the bill draft, which is pretty concise for a proposed law, prohibiting banks from “discriminatory practices” based on “social credit or environmental, social justice and governmental score.” The issue here is ESG, a basic measure of how a company treats the environment, interacts with the public, and governs itself. But, if you’re wondering what “social credit” is, congrats, you don’t have rightwing disinfo brain worms! Whoever drafted this bill does have a bad case though, as the “social credit” issue is mostly an anti-China, Russia-popularized rightwing-loved meme with scant basis in reality.

Interestingly, while looking for coverage of Heartland’s expert testimony we came up empty- instead. We did find Heartland is actively working on behalf of its Big Tobacco funders, so it seems possible that while visiting the Granite State to lobby for products that kill their users, these experts did a little side-work trying to get the state to punish banks who refuse to lend to businesses that kill their users. 

More broadly, this is just one part of a much larger fight against efforts to steer money to companies that do good things and away from those that are dangerous. For example, as Kate Aronoff reported earlier this month, Joe Manchin’s former employer ALEC is also shopping around draft bills that would similarly boost fossil fuels by law.  

Over the past decades, but particularly the past year, the idea that the financial sector can fight climate change by reallocating resources to renewables instead of fossil fuels has gained traction, particularly as Biden eyes climate hawk regulators. 

Bigger picture though, Corporate Social Responsibility, and related ESG investing is mostly about making sure companies are run by competent management (governance), don’t treat people so terribly that the brand’s reputation is ruined (social) and don’t pollute the environment so much that the government will likely need to step in and force them to clean up. It’s built, or at least popularized, and justified on the idea that any company that doesn’t meet basic ESG standards is essentially a ticking time bomb waiting for some big scandal to crater its stock price, with Nike’s child labor and sweatship scandals of the 1990’s serving as the textbook example of why these sorts of things matter for a company’s bottom line. 

Unsurprisingly, then, the fossil fuel industry isn’t particularly pleased to have lost its erstwhile backers in the finance industry, and the disinformation industry is attempting to manufacture a backlash. 

You can see it up and down the denial ecosystem. The Wall Street Journal just started a new series by columnist James Mackintosh that seeks to expose the “flaws'' of sustainable investment. We’re not going to get into the details, because they’re a distraction as Mackintosh is merely dressing up rightwing lunacy as sophisticated financial analysis. 

For example, Jordan Peterson referenced ESG in his “I quit so you can’t cancel me” op-ed, and  recently retweeted a Glenn Beck blackboard clip about ESG, for the wild-eyed conspiracy theory demographic, one that CFACT has similarly targeted with its attempt to rebrand ESG as “extreme shortages guaranteed.” 

But ultimately the policymakers are the true targets, which is why polluter-funded CEI submitted official comments on ESG regulations, and Big Oil PR man Alex Epstein has developed talking points. 

RealClear Politics, a major recipient of Koch funding, has had Rupert Darwall “researching” and publishing on ESG issues, culminating in a near-30 page screed.  

But the most glaring example is a recent letter in which major methane gas exporters complained to the UN about the “cancel culture on hydrocarbons.” Yes, they compared the fact that burning fossil fuels is causing catastrophic climate change (a fact the fossil fuel industry accurately predicted decades ago) to the conservative grievance over racists and misogynists and sexual predetors facing social consequences for their abhorrent behavior. 

Although at first glance ridiculous-sounding, it’s actually a fair comparison. These are both examples of the rich and powerful being held accountable for the harms they caused others for the benefit of themselves. And in both cases, those who complain are really just telling on themselves.

Thanks to these cancel-culture-complaining petrostates for letting us all know they’re just like Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein and a bunch of D-list celebrities fired for racist social media posts. 

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