FIRST LOOK: 

The application deadline for the Metcalf Institute's 24th Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists is TOMORROW. This year's theme is coastal and inland flooding driven by climate change and the workshop will focus on environmental justice and community-led responses. More information and application info is here.

Oil Execs Making A Killing Off Russian War On Ukraine: The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been great for at least five oil and gas executives, a new report shows. Executives from Hess, Pioneer Natural Resources, Marathon, and Continental Resources have cashed nearly $99 million of stock since President Biden said he was "convinced" Putin would invade Ukraine, public records compiled by BailoutWatch and Friends of the Earth show. “The actions of these oil executives make it clear that no matter how much they groan about the Biden Administration's environmental policies and blame Putin for high prices, their focus remains entirely on lining their own pockets,” said Christopher Kuveke, data analyst at BailoutWatch. “There’s no use looking for other answers in the industry’s school of red herrings.” Also late last week, Senate Democrats introduced legislation to recoup what they argue are disproportionately high gasoline prices in the form of a windfall tax on the increased cost of oil compared to the 2015-2019 average. (Oil execs: Gizmodo; Windfall tax: E&E $, New Republic, Washington Examiner; Both: Truthout)

EPA Intro's 'Good Neighbor' And 'Double Disaster' Regs: The EPA is proposing new mandatory air pollution reductions in 26 states where power plant and other industrial emissions travel downwind into neighboring states. The rule would specifically address ground-level ozone, which causes smog and contributes to substantial respiratory health problems, including asthma. Also, on Friday, the agency also announced new safeguards on toxic pollution from chemical and industrial facilities caused by extreme weather events, often exacerbated by climate change. Such pollution often creates "double disasters" for disproportionately BIPOC and low-income fenceline communities located near chemical and industrial sites. (Good neighbor rule: E&E News, AP, Utility Dive, The Hill) (Politico Pro $, MarketWatch, Reuters, Washington Examiner; Double disasters: E&E $, Politico Pro $)

Car-Centric Status Quo Furthered By Infrastructure Law: Despite promises from President Biden and Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg, compromises made to secure Republican support for the bipartisan infrastructure package passed last year are perpetuating the nation's car-centric status quo, the Wall Street Journal reports. Even as America's dependence on (big) cars is amplifying the impact of oil price shocks set off by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, funding for new highways is easier to obtain than funding for mass transit, walking, and biking. Austin, Texas, is a case in point. Money for a four-lane expansion of I-35 through the heart of the city was never in doubt. For light rail and rapid bus lines, as well repurposing part of the interstate as parks and public spaces, however? According to Mayor Steven Adler, "Nothing is guaranteed." (Wall Street Journal $; Big cars: Slate, Wall Street Journal $)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: The far-right is trying to blame the climate crisis on immigration (Vice), First Nations begin filing claims for Canada’s multi-billion dollar water settlement (Grist), Black environmental leaders: Here's how businesses can advance climate justice (Greenbiz), Indigenous rights activist killed in northern Mexico (AP)

IPCC WG2: Latest IPCC report marks progress on climate justice (Inside Climate News)

MANIFEST DESTINY: Are gas prices too high? Or is your car too big? (Slate), As gas prices soar, buyers find fewer fuel-efficient car options (Wall Street Journal $)

FOSSIL FUELED WAR: Green groups say gas crisis makes transition to renewables even more urgent (The Hill), Defund Putin’s war machine: Ukrainian environmentalist calls for global halt to fossil fuel funding (Democracy Now), Half of Ukraine's renewables threatened with destruction, industry body says (Renewables Now), No. 10 must not cave in to Tory climate sceptics on fracking, says Ed Miliband (The Guardian), Will Nigeria’s climate change law put the brakes on gas flaring? (Climate Home)

• BANK$: The Ukraine invasion shows that banks can fix their climate problem (Quartz)

• GAS EXTORTION: Fears grow of cornered Russia cutting off natural gas to Europe (Washington Examiner), EU leaders fail to set a date to end energy dependence on Russia (Politico Pro $, Washington Examiner), Russia ready for 'harsh confrontation' with EU in energy sector: official (S&P Global), Goldman Sachs predicts what will happen to Europe’s economy if Putin shuts off the gas taps (CNBC), Here are the countries that import the most Russian oil (The Hill), How Europe hopes to wean itself from Russian natural gas (Wall Street Journal $), Ukraine reports seizure of major gas infrastructure (E&E News), 

• LNG: What LNG can and can’t do to replace Europe’s imports of Russian gas (Bloomberg $)
• BUNDLE UP FOR UKRAINE: Can turning down our radiators turn up the heat on Vladimir Putin? (The Guardian), Drive slow for America (The Atlantic), What the US can do to combat rising energy prices. Just turning on the taps is not an option. (Barron's), Why are gasoline prices so high? Ukraine-Russia war sparks price increases across US (Wall Street Journal $), Why gas prices are so high and what Biden can do about it (Axios)
• PATRIOTISM & FREEDOM: Producers remain entangled with Russia; Biden clamps down on trade (E&E $), US dependence on oil is a 'national security issue,' says Admiral Dennis McGinn (News Nation Now)
• GERMANY: Germany discussed energy cooperation with Qatar (Reuters), Germany to relax environmental rules to bolster domestic crops (Bloomberg $)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Climate change is killing her country. Who will decide if it lives? (New York Times $), Climate action lags as COVID-19 hits goals in developing nations (Thomson Reuters Foundation), ‘Betrayal’: US approves just $1 billion climate finance for developing countries in 2022 (Climate Home)

DENIAL: Trump ramps up climate denial ahead of 2024 elections (E&E $)

ELECTRIFICATION: How to shift building heat to electric? NY activists have lots of ideas (Canary Media)

• WE'RE COOKING WITH INDUCTION!: The case for induction cooking (New York Times $), Your induction stove is the first step toward plugging in the whole house (New York Times $)

COLONIZED SOLUTIONS: Can indigenous knowledge help us design a more sustainable future? (FT $)

ACTIVISM:  This 36-year-old is leading latin America to a green revolution (Bloomberg $), Tens of thousands march in climate protests across France (France24 / AFP -- CHECK OUTLET)

• THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT INTERFERE WITH NAPTIME: A growing force in the climate movement: moms (New York Times $)

CERAWEEK: At global energy conference, oil and gas industry leaders argue for fossil fuels’ future in the energy transition (Inside Climate News), Insiders debate how to secure America’s future energy needs at the industry’s biggest gathering (CNBC), As EV demand rises, Biden officials warm to new mines (Reuters), Citing concerns over China, Manchin sours on EV deployment (S&P Global), PG&E partners with Ford Motor on bidirectional EV charging (Reuters), DOE's 'Energy Earth Shots' requires private industry collaboration (S&P Global)

NEW$ YOU CAN U$E: Check your utility bill. You might be paying for a trade group to fight climate policy. (Washington Post $)

EPA: EPA floats path on electricity CO2 emissions — with an asterisk (Axios), EPA chief: CCS should exceed 'the bare minimum' (E&E $), What EPA’s new power plant plans mean for carbon (E&E News)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: SEC poised to take first stab at climate disclosure rules (E&E $)

WHITE HOUSE: An upbeat Biden ignores stalled agenda in Dem pep talk (Politico), Biden defends energy record, blames Putin for high prices (E&E News), Biden officials say they support oil and gas production. The industry is wary. (Politico), Report details White House science office problems (E&E News)

SCOTUS: Oil firms urge Supreme Court to limit tribal lands ruling (E&E $)

THE HILL: Democrats insist they haven’t abandoned climate goals (E&E News), House GOP revives allegations of green group ties to Russia (E&E $), US spending bill set to limit regulation of livestock emissions (Bloomberg $)

SENATE: Manchin on climate bill: 'I don't know' (E&E $, Politico Pro $), Manchin, GOP suggest using Defense Production Act for energy (E&E News), US energy industry is best defense against Russian violence, says Sen. Manchin at Houston's CERAWeek (Houston Chronicle)

POLITICS: An 'excruciating year': Climate activists reset with Biden's agenda on life support (CNN), Biden urged to invoke cold-war powers to blunt energy price hike (Bloomberg $), The switch to secure, green energy must bring voters in from the cold (FT $)

PUBLIC LANDS: As the US rushes after the minerals for the energy transition, a 150-year-old law allows mining companies free reign on public lands (Inside Climate News)

ELECTIONS: Republicans seize on rising gas prices amid Ukraine conflict (The Hill)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: Biden taps nominees for Defense, Interior posts (E&E $), Senate moves to confirm top OMB nominee (Politico Pro $)

• SCOTUS: Manchin says he ‘didn’t see any’ red flags after meeting with Ketanji Brown Jackson (Politico)

CITIES AND STATES: Federal regulators to reconsider controversial Springfield compressor station (Boston Globe $), Maryland agrees to 30-day gas tax suspension while others eye similar efforts (Washington Examiner), Potholes, road salt and climate change: Warmer Maine winters raise new concerns (Portland Press Herald), Washington targets 2030 as year to end new gasoline vehicle sales (NGT News), Arizona utilities seek state, not federal, regulation of ash (AP)

CALIFORNIA: California’s ambitious high-speed rail at a crossroads (New York Times $), Will California’s fossil fuel industry use Ukraine war to undermine oil, gas legislation? (Desert Sun)

FERC: D.C. Circuit again directs FERC to consider pipeline downstream emissions (Politico Pro $), Glick says FERC permitting does not limit more LNG exports to Europe (S&P Global), Glick: FERC may revisit climate policy for natural gas (E&E $)

IMPACTS: Easter Island at risk from rising seas, extreme weather (Bloomberg $), How New York City is preparing for expected rising sea levels from climate change (ABC), Western US’s worst drought in 1,200 years brings year-long fire season (Truthout)

• INSULATION FROM…: Frustrated with utilities, some Californians are leaving the grid (New York Times $)
• FLORIDA: First a hurricane, now wildfire: climate disasters are colliding in Florida (Grist), Florida’s statewide climate change response ignores cause (Miami Herald)

DROUGHT: Cash for grass: Colorado bill would pay to abandon lawns (AP)

FLOODING DOWN UNDER: Deadly climate change-fueled floods inundate Australia's east coast (Axios), Emergency chiefs slam Coalition’s ‘fumbling’ response to floods, claiming they were warned of a potential crisis (The Guardian), Mayor defends planning decisions ‘made 150 years ago’ amid calls for flood insurance support (The Guardian), Satellite images show the before-and-after of Queensland's devastating floods (Axios)

WILDFIRES: Wind-driven Hollister fire in Santa Barbara County grows to 100 acres (LA Times $)

WATER: Man-made problem? Human activity near rivers can worsen droughts and flooding, study says (USA Today), For some with salt in their wells, NY buys bottled water. For others, it paid $4M for a water hookup (North Country Public Radio)

TREES: Brazil detects record Amazon deforestation in Jan. and Feb. (AP), Tree planting is booming. Here's how that could help, or harm, the planet. (New York Times $)

EMISSIONS: Global carbon emissions from energy spiked to record highs last year (NPR)

RENEWABLES: ‘Son of Build Back Better.’ Energy CEOs eye renewables’ future (E&E News), An island paradise offers a cautionary tale for net-zero goals (Bloomberg $), Britain revisits huge tidal energy plan as Ukraine crisis continues (CNBC), California prepares for $10.5M port renovations for offshore wind development (Utility Dive), Europe’s ocean energy installations surge back to pre-COVID levels, with major increase for tidal (CNBC), Offshore wind is set to soar. Fishing groups want to pump the brakes. (Politico), Orsted says BP trying to block part of UK wind farm at sea (Bloomberg $)

"RENEWABLES": Private equity firm invests in hog manure-to-energy producer (Axios), US ethanol industry banks on carbon capture to solve emissions problem (Reuters)

A/C: The world’s biggest air-conditioning company braces for a hotter future (Bloomberg $)

BATTERIES: American Battery Factory plans battery cell gigafactories to support US storage market (Utility Dive)

MINERALS: Climate change demands action, but Nevada activists say not at the cost of species and fragile ecosystems (Las Vegas Sun)

STORAGE: Options for storing wind and solar energy go beyond batteries (Houston Chronicle)

OIL & GAS: Biden wants US oil to drill more. Here’s why they’re holding back (Bloomberg $), Ban Ki-moon warns UK against fracking as world stands at ‘dangerous’ point (The Guardian), BP, Eni clinch deal on Angola joint venture (Reuters), Gas at the crossroads of security and climate (Axios), Global gas price surge may curb China's LNG import growth in 2022 (S&P Global), Here's who stands to win from high gas[oline] prices (The Hill), In Queensland’s food bowl, farmers fear the gas bores from next door (The Guardian), Russia's war with Ukraine boosts Gulf Coast LNG (Houston Chronicle), Texas rig count jumps as the world clamors for more oil (Houston Chronicle), global oil spike roils industry executives (FT $)

• BRITISH FRACKING: Britain’s failed frackers hope for reprieve due to Russia crisis (Bloomberg $), ‘We’re ready’: UK anti-fracking activists prepare to fight resurgence plans (The Guardian)

COAL (COUNTRY): Coal prices are staging a comeback (Axios), Coal still at heart of China energy strategy after parliamentary gathering (Reuters), Coal’s on a comeback in energy-desperate Europe (E&E News), Europe ramps up coal burning with natural gas out of favor (Bloomberg $), How a coal town is preparing for a future without coal (Yale Climate Connections)

NUKES: Finland opens nuclear power plant amid concerns of European energy war (The Guardian, Bloomberg $), As Fukushima memory fades, Japan's nuclear power proponents hope for reset (Reuters), South Korea's nuclear power at inflection point as advocate wins presidency (Reuters)

EVs: Electric cars coming on fast: climate worries, sinking prices put spotlight on EV sales (USA Today), EVs won’t save us from high gas prices (The Verge), Ford, PG&E to test electric truck as power source for homes (Bloomberg $), More car buyers hunt for elusive EVs as gas prices soar (E&E $), Rivian sinks as supply-chain woes hamper production plans (Bloomberg $)

• MINERALS: Carmakers spooked over access to Russian raw materials (Politico Pro $), How a handful of metals could determine the future of the electric car industry (NPR)

POP CULTURE: Pinegrove has climate anxiety, but they’re not making it about themselves (Grist), Environmental activists disrupt Bafta red carpet in London (The Guardian), Adam McKay’s ‘Don't Look Up' inspires climate change activists in France (Variety)

AGRICULTURE: Asmeret Asefaw Berhe: How can soil's superpowers help us fight climate change? (NPR)

CARBON CAPTURE: Carbon capture pitches smallholders against big business (FT $)

INTERNATIONAL: Mumbai becomes first South Asian city to detail net-zero roadmap (Bloomberg $), France cares about green causes, but not its Green Party (New York Times $), France weighs fresh move to nationalize $30 billion power giant EDF (Bloomberg $), Greenwashing UK fashion firms to be named and shamed by watchdog (The Guardian), Nigel Farage’s ‘disingenuous’ campaign against net-zero ignores the staggering cost of climate crisis (The Independent), Tories plan big expansion of wind farms ‘to protect national security’ (The Guardian)

• Why don’t people realize how bad methane is for climate change? Bad math. (San Francisco Chronicle, Sam Abernethy op-ed)
• Climate change doesn’t have to spell doom for farms and food (Bloomberg, Adam Minter op-ed $)
• The US government doesn’t control domestic oil production. But it should. (The Intercept, Amy Westervelt op-ed)
• EQT CEO says huge boost in US lng exports needed to combat climate change (Barron's, Andrew Bary op-ed)
• A 1972 Black political convention offers a road map for fighting climate change (Washington Post, Ashley D. Farmer op-ed $)
• Freedom for Ukraine, electrification for peace and prosperity (The Hill, Sen. Martin Heinrich and Ari Matusiak)
• America can restore its energy jobs — and reduce emissions (The Hill, Cecil E. Roberts op-ed)
• The real threat to the Federal Reserve (The Hill, Dennis Kelleher op-ed)
• Government is flailing, in part because liberals hobbled it (New York Times, Ezra Klein op-ed $)
• Is this finally the year of the electric car? (New York Times, Ginia Bellafante column $)
• The geopolitics of fossil fuels and renewables reshape the world (Nature, Helen Thompson op-ed)
• War boosts need for “green Marshall Plan” (Reuters, Hugo Dixon op-ed)
• Biden and frackers could be uneasy wartime allies (Bloomberg, Liam Denning $)
• Nationalize all the oil companies (Jacobin, Matt Bruenig op-ed)
• Make no mistake, the fossil fuel industry is for profit, not the people (The Hill, Natalie Mebane op-ed)
• Manchin's energy and deficit-reduction bill can fight inflation — and Russia (The Hill, Paul Bledsoe and Ben Ritz op-ed)
• Socially responsible investing is turning into a covert war on fossil fuels (The Hill, Paul H. Kupiec op-ed)
• Initiatives at the top of America's climate and energy agenda (The Hill, Peter Schultz and Deb Harris op-ed)
• Biden needs to rapidly increase US energy production to cut Russia dependence (CNBC, Rep. Kevin McCarthy op-ed)
• Blame Sacramento, not Moscow, for California’s energy crisis (Wall Street Journal, Robert Bryce op-ed $)
• How to wean Europe off Russian gas as swiftly as possible (New York Times, Simone Tagliapietra, Georg Zachmann and Morgan Bazilian op-ed $)
• Democrats for higher gas prices (Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal Editorial Board $)
• Whitmer wants higher gas prices (Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal Editorial Board $)
• Biden’s war on oil hits consumers (Wall Street Journal, Harold Hamm op-ed $)

Canadian Campaign Demonstrates Big Oil Disinfo As ExxonMobil’s Free Speech Defense Flounders In Court

Last Thursday, the Guardian reported on findings from Eco-Bot.Net that reveal the latest case of industry woke-washing, and specifically, “Indigenous-washing,” one of many ad campaigns from TC Energy that falsely present it as being widely supported by the Wet’suwet’en people who are fiercely protesting the company’s pipeline construction. 

And it’s clearly used as a strategic weapon, as TC Energy is not merely touting their product but also ramping up ads in the wake of major news moments involving the arrest of land defenders at protests and in violent raids. (The law enforcement officials involved in these arrests have been formally accused of violating the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.) 

This tracks with standard industry behavior, disinfo researcher Geoffrey Supran told the Guardian. “The upticks in industry spending on ads directed at specific demographics and coinciding with protests appear to be classic examples of financially motivated, politically oriented, micro-targeted public affairs campaigns. There are no better predictors of fossil fuel industry ad spending than political action and media attention, and this data appears to be a case in point.”

The good news is that the years-long slog to hold the industry accountable for its false advertising took a step forward recently, when a judge ruled that Honolulu’s case should remain in state court, denying Big Oil’s request to move it to a federal court where the defendants thought they would get a more favorable hearing. 

Elsewhere, Big Oil is facing similarly tough times in court. For example, ExxonMobil’s argument that these cases are an infringement on the company’s First Amendment right to free speech was shut down by a Texas court in late Feb. And then last week, Emily Sanders at ExxonKnews could barely contain her glee at how two Massachusetts Supreme Court justices scrutinized the company’s argument in a case brought by Mass AG Maura Healy. The justices compared Exxon to a tobacco company, which was the last thing its lawyers wanted to hear. 

Much like the tobacco industry, the oil industry has engaged in a decades-long false advertising campaign. And not just the one to deceive the public about the serious risks posed by their product, but also to begin setting up this entire defense that climate disinfo is merely “free speech.” 

Amy Westervelt uncovered the history at the Guardian, with “never before published internal documents from Mobil Oil reveal that company executives created the framework of corporate free speech back in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The argument arose out of a situation, not unlike the one playing out today, with war driving up prices at the pump and oil companies wanting desperately to change the public’s perception of their industry.” 

Westervelt traces the industry’s (false) advertising history building the corporate free speech argument through to its ultimate unleashing with the 2010 Citizens United ruling, which “which opened the floodgates on corporate spending” and “blurred the line between commercial speech – a marketing message from a company to the public – and political speech, which up until Citizens United was connected only to funding or speech backing a particular candidate or policy.” 

And now they’re using that same defense in court, but as University of Oklahoma professor Robert Kerr told Westervelt, they face long odds because “it’s really deeply established even by some of the members of the current Supreme Court, that the First Amendment will never protect expression that is fraud.” So assuming this conservative-majority court sticks to the conservative legal deference to well-established precedent, it should be a losing gambit for ExxonMobil. 

Unfortunately, Kerr added, “with this Court there seems to be a majority that wants to say, 'Yes' to almost any question the corporate interests raise.”

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