FIRST LOOK:

A major new report from Rainforest Action Network profiles 60 banks, including JPMorgan Chase, B of A, Citi, and Wells Fargo, and their lending, financing, and underwriting of polluting companies and projects since the Paris Agreement.

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Climate Change Impacts Compound Each Other To Make Lots Of Things Worse: Drought and extreme rainfall, both exacerbated by climate change, are increasing air pollution and landslide risks, compounding the impacts of continued extraction and combustion of fossil fuels. As drought conditions in the U.S. push east, wildfires are following. Hundreds of thousands of acres have burned in Colorado and Texas in the last few weeks alone, and on Tuesday red flag warnings covered nearly 10 million people across multiple Plains states while fires burned southeast of Birmingham, Alabama. New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences finds dangerous particulate pollution (also known as PM2.5) from wildfires will increase regardless of emissions reductions. Without reductions, air pollution could triple, with extremes in fire and resulting pollution of 2017-2020 occurring every 3-5 years. Extreme precipitation is also increasing due to climate change, thus increasing risks of dangerous landslides. Longer and more extreme wildfire seasons, however, are compounding the danger by incinerating the vegetation that holds mountainside soil in place during heavy rains, even years after the burn. (Drought and wildfire risks: CNN; Red flag warnings: Washington Post $, CNN; Alabama: AP; Wildfire pollution: Inside Climate News, Yale Climate Connections; Landslide risks: The Atlantic; Climate Signals background: Drought, Wildfires, Extreme precipitation increase)

Sunlight Is Best Disinfectant? Commerce Dept. Investigating If Chinese Panels Circumvent Forced Labor Tariffs: The Commerce Department is investigating if solar panel manufacturers are circumventing tariffs — imposed because Chinese solar panel companies using forced labor of Uyghur Muslims — by using factories in Southeast Asia, and U.S. solar energy industry groups are furious. The investigation could result in retroactive tariffs of up to 240%. About 80% of panels installed in the U.S. last year came from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, the four countries under investigation for assembling solar panels with Chinese parts to ship to the U.S. Labor unions support the import restrictions and Mamun Rashid, the CEO of Auxin Solar, the company whose petition instigated the investigation, described the practice as "backdoor dumping" that "undercut[s] American manufacturers and workers." Heather Zichael, head of the American Clean Power Association, warned its implications are "apocalyptic" for the solar energy industry, adding “America’s solar workers and the clean energy community are watching and will remember.″ The Department of Commerce’s final report isn’t expected until early 2023. (AP, Utility Dive, E&E News, Reuters, Politico Pro $, The Hill, MarketWatch, Houston Chronicle, Axios, Reuters, Bloomberg $, Wall Street Journal $)

Campaign Launches To Clean Up Bitcoin:  As the White House opens a request for information on whether digital assets “impede or advance efforts to tackle climate change,” a new campaign launched to “Change the Code Not The Climate.” Multiple climate groups and a billionaire are launching the effort to pressure those invested in Bitcoin to lessen the massive environmental impact of the cryptocurrency. Some argue that’s an impossible goal and would only further entrench the already-wealthy’s hold over the system, and would likely still be incredibly inefficient and not be much better than the previous system. Bitcoin mining already consumes as much power as Sweden, and in some cases is keeping open coal and methane gas power plants that would otherwise or have already been shuttered, solely to fuel the computer processes that "produce" the cryptocurrency. “It’s particularly painful to see this in the electric sector because that is precisely the place where the US has made most of its progress in the last decade,” Michael Brune, the former head of the Sierra Club who is leading the campaign, told the Guardian. “There’s no way we can reach our climate goals if we are reviving fossil fuel plants." (Campaign: Bloomberg $, The Guardian, E&E News, The Verge, Fortune, Wall Street Journal $; White House: Protocol, Axios)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Why are Indigenous people being left out of climate conversations? (Phys.org)

HOME: For the Kayapó, a long battle to save their Amazon homeland (Yale Environment 360), Climate gentrification poses big risk in Florida — study (E&E $), For climate migrants in Bangladesh, town offers new life (AP)

FOSSIL FUELED WAR: How Europe's response to Russia's war in Ukraine could shape the climate change future (Yahoo), What are Europe's options in case of Russian gas disruption? (Reuters, Factbox)

• LNG: Can US natural gas relieve Europe from Russian supply dependency? (FT $), The LNG export boom is draining US natural-gas supplies and lifting prices (Wall Street Journal $)
• US POLITICS: Pennsylvania lawmakers push pro-fossil fuel bills, citing Russia’s war and need for energy security (WHYY), Consumers have to pay a price for the principle that invasion isn’t acceptable, commodity strategist says (CNBC)
• GERMANY & POLAND: Poland to end Russian oil imports; Germany warns on gas (AP), Germany wants to cut all Russian fossil fuel imports, foreign minister says (Reuters), Germany, urged to ‘stop Putin’s war machine,’ resists embargo on Russian energy (Washington Post $), Putin should think about the consequences of asking for energy payments in rubles, germany says (CNBC), Polish Cabinet approves law to ban Russian coal imports (Reuters)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: The climate promise vs. policy gap is huge (Axios), After US fails to pay its debt, UN’s flagship climate fund warns of austerity (Climate Home), UN climate fund warns of project cancellations because US hasn't paid up (Washington Examiner)

(CLIMATE) LITIGATION: 'I should be able to go outside': why a Utah teen is suing over polluted air (Gizmodo)

DENIAL: Facebook drives sceptics towards climate denial (BBC), Are Fox News' climate change articles ever credible? A deep dive (Green Matters)

EXTRACTIVE HARM: Desperate for cash, Afghans toil in mines that are deadlier than ever (New York Times $)

SORRY ABOOT THOSE EMISSIONS, EH?: Canada lays out C$9.1 bln roadmap to meet 2030 climate targets (Reuters), Trudeau climate plan seeks 42% cut in oil and gas emissions (Bloomberg $), Trudeau’s EV plan misses mark on hiking demand, auto group says (Bloomberg $)

TAKING 1L PROPERTY LAW HYPOS TO THE NEXT LEVEL: ‘Nobody knows what happened’: the row over the non-vanishing Irish lake (The Guardian)

MEDIA: Breaking down each broadcast TV network’s coverage of climate change in 2021 (Media Matters)

AGENCIES: Companies may soon have to reveal a hidden risk: carbon emissions (Wired)

EPA: Biden renews push for environmental justice boss at EPA (E&E News), Top takeaways from our conversation with US environment chief (FT, Michael Regan interview $), US environment agency chief defends push for greater oil supply (FT $)

DOE: Biden's proposed budget includes nearly $45B for climate and clean energy, a 7% increase for DOE (Utility Dive)

DOI: BLM would undergo a major hiring spree under Biden budget (E&E News), Interior's budget plan is where its EV ambitions meet the road (E&E $)

WHITE HOUSE BUDGET: Here’s what Biden’s budget would do, and not do, for climate change (New York Times $), 7 numbers to know in Biden’s budget plan (E&E News), Climate and energy takeaways from Biden's budget pitch (Axios), Biden budget tackles 'climate crisis' with focus on jobs, infrastructure and research (USA Today), Biden pitches record Everglades funding, but GOP wants more (E&E News), Biden wants record $11 billion in climate aid. Congress may not deliver. (Washington Post $, E&E News), How Biden’s budget would change the energy sector (E&E News), What’s in Biden’s $5.8 trillion budget proposal? (Grist)

HOUSE: Natural Resources chair says three oil execs refusing to testify (The Hill, E&E $), Democrats blast oil execs for skipping hearing on gas prices (Axios), Oil companies refuse to participate in gas price hearing, angering Democrats (Washington Examiner), 6 oil execs to testify as Dems probe high gasoline prices (E&E $)

SENATE: Senate climate hawks announce 500-day energy independence plan (The Hill)

• MANCHIN: 'A stunning portrait of political corruption': Exactly how Joe Manchin made millions from coal (Salon), Senator Joe Manchin’s conflict of interest (New York Times, The Daily), Manchin shoots down Biden's new billionaire tax plan (The Hill), Manchin: GOP treatment of Jackson 'disgraceful,' 'embarrassing' (The Hill), The climate advocates who have Manchin's ear (Politico Pro $)

POLITICS: Biden’s global quest for oil triggers political pushback (Wall Street Journal $)

ELECTIONS: This Texas city’s water crisis is shaping a Democratic congressional primary (HuffPost), The wildest election in America: the race to replace Don Young (New York Times $)

CITIES AND STATES: Maryland House OKs bill to help address climate change (AP), Gov. Newsom outlines a peace agreement on California water. Will the fighting finally end? (Sacramento Bee $)

FERC: House Dems: FERC grid policy will worsen CO2 emissions (E&E $), Journalism group: FERC silences staff with ‘gag policy' (E&E $)

IMPACTS: Antarctica heat wave brings enormous temperature jump (Bloomberg $), Global losses from catastrophes reached $270 billion in 2021 (Bloomberg $), The discovery of Shackleton’s wreck is as disquieting as it is amazing (New York Times $)

NOW 'NOT HEATWAVES' ARE LESS DANGEROUS!: UK lifts bar for heatwaves after global temperatures soar (Bloomberg $, The Guardian)

WILDFIRES: Three months after a wildfire swept through, displaced Colorado residents struggle to rebuild (The Guardian)

TREES: Does planting trees actually help the climate? Here's what we know. (Grist)

"TREES": Amazon rainforest NFTs put greenwashing on the blockchain (Gizmodo)

MATT DAMON!!!: Matt Damon wants you to care about water (TIME)

RENEWABLES: Altus power secures $600 million solar panel partnership (Wall Street Journal $), [International Renewable Energy Agency]: ‘Radical action’ needed to hit climate goals (AP, The Hill), New York reaches record solar power production peak of 2,328 MW (S&P Global), Solar’s first trillion watts arrives during a wartime energy transition (Bloomberg $), Global wind and solar growth on track to meet climate targets (Reuters)

EFFICIENCY: A heat pump might be right for your home. Here's everything to know. (New York Times, Wirecutter $)

LNG: Investors give thumbs up to Biden's LNG push (Axios), Tellurian starts building $16.8B Driftwood LNG (Houston Chronicle)

OIL & GAS: As gas prices soar, what can the oil industry do to stop it? Here's what energy experts say. (Houston Chronicle), Saudi energy minister says oil alliance OPEC+ will leave politics out of output decisions (CNBC), Texas oil and gas jobs make biggest leap in over a decade; second highest in 30 years, group reports (Houston Chronicle)

• PERMIAN METHANE: Researchers: Permian methane emissions higher than expected (E&E $)

PLASTICS: A plastic bag’s 2,000-mile journey shows the messy truth about recycling (Bloomberg $), Reading up on plastics and climate change (Yale Climate Connections)

COAL: StanChart to phase out direct coal financing by 2032 (Reuters)

EVs: How switching to EVs would improve health in the US (The Verge), Vietnamese carmaker to build electric vehicles in North Carolina (AP), US looks to increase metals imports for EV batteries (The Hill)

HYDROGEN: Experts say blending hydrogen into gas pipelines won’t work (Canary Media), Fortescue and E.ON sign deal to replace Russian gas with Australian green hydrogen (FT $, Wall Street Journal $), German hydrogen-station operator raises $120 million for growth (Bloomberg $), In the battle over electric vehicles, could hydrogen win? (Greenbiz)

UTILITIES: US power utilities begin adding Scope 3 emissions to climate goals (S&P Global), NextEra sees no financial impact from US solar import investigation (Reuters), Utilities hyping hydrogen’s promise risk hitting ‘dead ends’ in climate fight (Bloomberg $)

PHILANTHROPY: MacKenzie Scott’s green giving expands, sending millions to the front lines of climate change (Chronicle of Philanthropy)

BASEBALL: Boston Red Sox pledge to make Fenway Park carbon neutral (Axios)

AVIATION: India says sustainable fuel one key to cleaner aviation sector (Bloomberg $)

BOOKS: In a climate crisis, the future relies alarmingly on big tech (New York Times $), Octavia E. Butler's 'Parable Of The Sower' is HuffPost Readable's April book pick (HuffPost)

POETRY: A poetic look at ‘Earth’s Black box’ of data on humanity’s climate action and inaction (Yale Climate Connections)

FINANCE: How a bond becomes green (Bloomberg $)

WILDLIFE: Advocates: Nations must move faster to protect biodiversity (AP)

INTERNATIONAL: Colombia presidential candidate Petro's oil, pension proposals give investors pause (Reuters), Budget papers show [Australia's] Morrison government plans to cut climate spending if it wins election (The Guardian), China moderates 2022 gas output growth, ups power generation target -NEA (Reuters), Ecuador’s high court rules that wild animals have legal rights (Inside Climate News), Europe has a unique chance to phase out SF6 – the world’s strongest polluter (Energy Monitor), Johnson’s big push on UK nuclear power leaves investors wary (Bloomberg $), UAE energy minister warns of poverty and economic stagnation if energy affordability isn’t tackled (CNBC), UK parliament hunger strike ‘out of desperation’, climate activist says (The Independent), UK rules out windfall tax on North Sea oil firms to help fund energy bills (The Guardian), Ukrainian climate activists say they don’t want the US’s fracked gas exports (Truthout), What Europe can learn from Portugal’s accelerated coal exit (Energy Monitor)

• New best practices are unlocking demand-side management value in utility online marketplaces (Utility Dive, Daniel Talero op-ed)
• Russian gas and oil must be replaced by carbon-free fuels if we want peace on earth (MarketWatch, Helen Clark, Dan Smith, and Margot Wallstrom op-ed)
• How to defeat Putin and save the planet (New York Times, Thomas Friedman column $)
• We can eat our way out of climate change (Boston Globe, Tim Fitzgerald op-ed $)
• Be afraid of nuclear war, not climate change (Wall Street Journal, Bjorn Lomborg op-ed $)

GOP Pretends Big Oil’s Massive Profits and High Prices Are Because of Biden’s Withdrawn Nominees, And Fox News Buys It

A month and a half ago, we made fun of the Heartland Institute for claiming “dozens of actions” by President Biden “have increased energy costs,” then only listing eight things, many of which were proposed rules that haven’t gone into effect yet, but have somehow nevertheless influenced gas prices. 

But where most people see nonsense, the GOP saw a solid line of research for the Republican Study Committee, who recently released its own version, just as ridiculous, and just as credulously reported by Fox News as Heartland’s was by the Examiner. 

The RSC, led by Rep. Jim Banks, put together a much lengthier list of 81 “actions” that still failed to find any actual policies that had any more of an impact on gas prices than the whole pandemic thing. But they have to cover for their fossil fuel donors somehow! The industry made billions in 2021, its CEOs are profiting off of the war in Ukraine, and they’re largely refusing to produce more because they want to keep up these profits. Since 'Pay more so our Big Oil benefactors can afford to keep donating to my reelection campaign!' isn’t exactly a winning political message, they’re blaming Biden, and a compliant rightwing media will dutifully carry their propaganda. 

What are Republicans claiming Biden has done to raise gas prices? There are the fact-checked classics like canceling Keystone, which wouldn’t be done yet anyway, and lots of mentions of his support for clean energy, which by some sort of imagined transitive property of energy, somehow raises gas prices. Similarly suspect are all the entries about how asking companies to disclose climate costs are “disincentivizing oil and gas production,” which is a nice tacit admission that fossil fuels cause climate change, probably the closest we’ll get to the GOP accepting that fact. 

Biden’s revocation of a Trump rule allowing oil and gas on federal lands to kill more birds apparently raised gas prices by “increasing regulatory burdens,” another admission that the fossil fuel industry can’t do its job without killing wildlife. Fossil fuels being dirty is hardly Biden’s fault, though!  

Then there’s all the time-travel-required complaints, like how Biden’s 2022 budget would tax oil and gas producers, somehow raising prices in 2021, or the DOJ Climate Action Plan and other proposed efforts across the government to transition to electric vehicles, which despite reducing demand for gas and therefore lowering prices, they include as a cause of rising prices. Same for proposed rules on car emissions, which would encourage non-gas-transport, which somehow raised gas prices on August 23rd of 2021, despite the fact that the report actually shows prices dropping from the previous entry, in which the RSC noted gas prices rising for two weeks in August, with a blank space where Biden’s policy causing such a rise is supposed to be. 

Our favorite entries that show exactly how serious the RSC is, and how desperately they’re scraping the bottom of the oil barrel to come up with ideas, are the ones about Biden’s nominees, like Saule Omarova and Sarah Bloom-Raskin, who had to withdraw their nominations. Not only did these people not have time to actually carry out their supposedly anti-carbon agenda in the government, they didn’t even end up in the position! They had literally zero control over anything, and yet just the utterance of their name was apparently so powerful that it caused forced oil and gas companies to jack up prices. 

Sure, maybe in an alternate universe where they’re confirmed, and after a year or two of implementing policies, these folks would be able to be credibly blamed for raising gas prices. But unless the GOP can somehow prove that Saule Omorova and Sarah Raskin’s climate agenda is so powerful they can travel through time and across the multiverse to assert authority they don’t yet have, they don’t have a case here. 

They are, though, ready to grant that sort of time-traveling power to their opposition, as the last “Biden Action” that’s apparently responsible for high gas prices is an “upcoming” environmental justice meeting. 

Who knew climate action was so easy! No need to actually implement policies, we just have to schedule meetings to discuss environmental policies! 

Surely, though, if meetings were all it took to solve the fossil-fueled climate crisis, it’d be done!

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