Apologies to readers who received yesterday's Hot News this morning. This morning's edition of the newsletter is below. 

FIRST LOOK

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) is holding a briefing about the Justice40 Initiative and how it can deliver benefits to frontline communities on Friday, April 8 from 1:00-2:30 PM ET.

Hunger Crisis In Africa Due to Climate Change And Exacerbated By Russia/Ukraine Conflict: Nearly 350 million people across Africa — a quarter of the continent's people — face severe food insecurity as soaring wheat prices follow failed rains, COVID-19, and desert locusts, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned yesterday. At least 27 million Africans currently face hunger, a number that could rise to 38 million by June, Oxfam said earlier this week, due to below-average rainfall  Drought currently covers approximately 90% of Somalia, where 650,000 livestock perished in February alone and 1.4 million children are on the brink of acute malnutrition.  Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is making things worse by impeding the wheat trade. Wheat accounts for a third of the average national cereal consumption in East Africa, up to 90% of which is met by imports primarily from Russia and Ukraine and wheat prices have skyrocketed 80% since the invasion. “The brutal truth is at the moment Africa is not on the global agenda," said Gabriela Bucher, executive director of Oxfam International "2022 cannot be the year in which hundreds of thousands die from an avoidable hunger crisis in East Africa.” Last month, after 30 years the IPCC finally used the word “colonialism” in its sixth assessment report. The panel’s working group two report, which looked at the impacts of climate change on people, listed colonialism not only as a driver of the climate crisis but also as an ongoing issue that is exacerbating communities’ vulnerability to it. The famine that has been triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine is also a direct result of the failure of international efforts to tackle the climate crisis and to step up action on climate adaptation and mitigation in an equitable manner. “Trauma is real and people are suffering in silence,” Jane Meriwas, executive director of the Samburu Women Trust in Kenya, said last month. “Let’s not close our eyes and say that Africa is not suffering and focus a lot on Ukraine. Let’s not turn a blind eye to this crisis because all of us are equal.” (ICRC: Reuters, The Root, Wall Street Journal $; Oxfam: Deutsche Welle; Africa food insecurity: The Conversation, Politico; Climate Signals background: Drought) 

Top Funders Are Slow to Take The Climate Justice Pledge: Last year, the Donors of Color Network challenged top climate funders to direct 30% of their grantmaking to Black, Indigenous, and people of color-led groups accountable to their communities. To date, funders have committed up to $100 million annually to climate justice groups. However, only 11 of the 40 funders asked to invest in climate justice have answered the call. At least 16 foundations are either “in conversation” about the pledge or have not responded and six top funders have publicly refused. “I understand culture work takes time, but we really don’t have any more time. This is a crisis that we’re in, and we’ve had decades to work on this,” said Isabelle Leighton, acting executive director of the Donors of Color Network. Smaller funders outside the DCN's top 40 have signed on, consistent with a trend of smaller funders taking bolder, justice-focused approaches. "Big green" groups are overwhelmingly white, but while small, diverse, justice-oriented groups are taking on the same big polluters as legacy groups and securing significant wins, they are often shut out from funding. “You have organizations with one paid person being paid a third of what a big green legacy group staffer is being paid, working 18 hours a day and pulling together volunteers. No comms support, no development support,” said Mark Magaña, founding president and CEO of GreenLatinos. “It’s just astonishing that we think, ‘this is the strategic way of doing things.’ It’s not. We’re not going to get to where we need to be in time.” (Inside Philanthropy $)

Caribbean Alliance Created To Promote A Climate Justice Agenda: The Caribbean Climate Justice Alliance, launched recently to amplify vulnerable voices and communities in the region, Loop reports. The CCJA is the product of a regional coalition and a grassroots movement of leading civil society organizations, academia, creatives, and other non-state actors to transform policy and practice and catalyze action for climate justice and a just transition in the Caribbean. “Climate justice has to be a fight against injustice. At the international level, where we as Caribbean islands contribute the least but have to carry the heaviest burden and suffer the largest impact,” said Yves Renard, regional coordinator, Panos Caribbean. “At the national and local level, it’s about the disproportionate impact on certain communities and livelihoods. It is also intergenerational – if we compromise the future of the next generation, then it is unfair and it has the right to claim justice.” The alliance is working to develop and implement a collective advocacy agenda, setting out the priority areas and actions to promote climate justice in the region. (Loop)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Hunger in Africa surges due to conflict, climate and food prices (Reuters),  Hunger crisis in Africa affects over 300 million people (The Root), Podcast addresses how climate change affects Black communities (The Root), Cleanup of abandoned uranium mines stirs demand for workers (Indian Country Today)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: EU tours gas lobby events, amid escalating climate crisis (Observer), When will the world reach 1.5C of global heating? (The Guardian), Cities drive climate change, and can provide a solution, UN says (Thomson Reuters Foundation), UN: 18 nations have gone green on climate, raked in green (AP)

FOSSIL FUELED WAR: As Ukraine war squeezes energy, UK looks again at fracking, As Ukraine war squeezes energy, UK looks again at fracking (AP), Russian Energy Ministry expects to delay choice of new renewables projects (Reuters), Some German power plants could go offline if Russian coal banned now, ministry says (Reuters), As Russia’s war in Ukraine disrupts food production, experts question the expanding use of cropland for biofuels (Inside Climate News), European Union proposes Russian coal ban in new sanctions (New York Times $), Why Germany can’t just pull the plug on Russian energy (New York Times $), How much oil does the US. import from Russia and why did Biden ban it? (Wall Street Journal $), US wants more oil from Canada but not a new pipeline to bring it (Wall Street Journal $), EU proposes ban on Russian coal, working on oil sanctions (CNBC), How the war in Ukraine could speed up Europe's climate plans (NPR), ESG rating firms reeling as war exposes Russian blind spot (Bloomberg $)

IPCC: UK ‘too slow’ over climate crisis despite stark IPCC report (The Guardian), Author of UN climate report says climate problem is getting worse but ‘solutions are getting better’ (New York Post), UN releases new report on climate change (CBS), IPCC cites cryptocurrency as carbon emissions factor in latest climate report (The Block), Yes, colonialism caused climate change, IPCC reports (Atmos), Stopping climate change is doable, but time is short, UN panel warns (New York Times $), Climate experts say the world 'is at a crossroads,' but offer hope with concrete actions (Arizona Republic), Cities drive climate change, and can provide a solution, UN says (Reuters), Food, farming and forestry must be transformed to curb global, Food, farming and forestry must be transformed to curb global warming, UN says (Reuters), UN report warns it’s “now or never” to avert climate catastrophe (Democracy Now)Now or never': Only severe emissions cuts will avoid climate extremes -UN report (Reuters) warming, UN says (Yahoo), IPCC: We can tackle climate change if big oil gets out of the way (The Guardian), UK ‘too slow’ over climate crisis despite stark IPCC report (The Guardian), IPCC points to need for 'radical action' as climate clock ticks down (Thomson Reuters Foundation), One last climate warning in new IPCC report: ‘now or never’ (Inside Climate News), IPCC report reveals ‘bleak and brutal truth’ about climate emergency, say campaigners (The Real News), IPCC report: oil, renewables and ‘stranded assets’ (E&E News), Carbon removal ‘unavoidable’ as climate dangers grow  (E&E News), Major UN climate change report: key takeaways (Axios)

AGENCIES: US solar industry in 'existential crisis' from Commerce solar tariff investigation (S&P Global)

EPA: EPA plots asbestos ban in landmark rule (E&E News), EPA moves to ban the most common type of cancer-causing asbestos (Washington Post $), EPA proposes ban on common type of asbestos (The Hill)

BUILD BACK BETTER ACT: Sinema throws cold water on Build Back Better revival (Axios)

THE HILL: New business GOP alliance crumbles over climate (E&E)

HOUSE: House Democrats tell USPS to pump the brakes on gas-guzzling truck contract  (Washington Post $), White House reportedly seeking to up canadian oil imports — without Keystone XL (Washington Examiner)

SENATE: Daily on energy: Manchin pumps the brakes on Biden electric vehicle push (Washington Examiner), Manchin calls on Biden to be 'open-minded' about fossil energy (Washington Examiner)

WHITE HOUSE: White House releases analysis of climate risk to government (E&E News), White House climate adviser: "We can no longer wait" to cut emissions (Axios)

POLITICS: Gallup finds worries about environment have grown since Trump (The Hill), Reporter’s notebook: Biden taps strategic petroleum reserve to help lower gas prices (Washington Examiner)

ELECTIONS: Mehmet Oz goes all in on fracking to woo Pa. voters (E&E News)

CITIES AND STATES: Lawmakers fail to override key element of gov’s climate plan (Sacramento Bee), California's in for summer water shortages after officials find just 2.5 inches of snowpack (Gizmodo)

IMPACTS: Intense storms rolling through southeast, producing tornadoes (Washington Post$), 2022 generated most March tornadoes on record in US (Washington Post $), The story of climate change right now in 9 charts (CNBC), Developers are flooding arizona with homes Even as historic western drought intensifies (CNBC)

RENEWABLES: Turbines are an eyesore? Sounds like a wind-up (The Guardian),Charity linked to UK anti-onshore wind campaigns active again (The Guardian), Boris Johnson blows cold on onshore wind faced with 100-plus rebel MPs (The Guardian), Global Wind, Solar Production Hit Highest Benchmarks Ever in 2021, But Coal Also Kept Pace (EcoWatch), Ask these 10 questions if you want to get rooftop solar (Canary Media), Do renewables need carbon markets? (Energy Monitor), Biden hasn’t done anything to help renewables, solar CEO says (Bloomberg $), Wind energy needs dramatic increase to hit net-zero goals, new report says (CNBC)

BUILDINGS: A battle over banning gas and oil hookups in new buildings (New York Times $), Forced out by fire, she had 30 minutes to pack up a life (Washington Post $)

STORAGE: Winter not quite done as US gas storage activity flips back to withdrawals (S&P Global)

METHANE: New satellite-driven methane calculations could add visibility into US natural gas emissions (S&P Global)

OIL & GAS: We have the tools to slow warming (New York Times $), Here are the five states with the highest gas prices today (The Hill), High energy prices challenge wall street’s green shift (Wall Street Journal $)

UTILITIES: Vulcan Energy inks 20-year geothermal energy supply deal with Germany’s MVV (Reuters), China Nuclear Power Co's first-quarter electricity output up 15.5% (Reuters), What is net metering? And other solar terms explained (Canary Media), Customers, advocacy groups and elected officials oppose ConEd's proposed double-digit rate increase (Utility Dive)

EVs: As EV sales soar, automakers back higher fuel standards (Yale Environment 360), Mercedes-Benz teases debut of new, Alabama-built electric SUV (AL.com), Here’s how slowly New York City is moving on electric vehicles (New York Times $), Mercedes-Benz to increase energy independence with new solar, wind investments (Reuters), Here’s how slowly New York City is moving on electric vehicles (New York Times $), Latin America's EV challenges (Axios), GM CEO says hybrid work helped speed up EV program (Axios)

BITCOIN: There’s a new way to quickly send US dollars around the world with bitcoin (CNBC)

ACTIVISM: Vegan documentarian tells the inside story of the lab-grown meat industry (TIME)

BUSINESS: Climate scientists' message to the financial world: dig deeper (Reuters), Oil eases on pandemic worries, strong US dollar (Reuters), Wall St falls on fears of hawkish Fed, fresh Russia sanctions (Reuters), Getting a Job in the Solar Industry: What You Need to Know (EcoWatch), World’s biggest solar firm sees profits cut by power price hike (Bloomberg $), Goldman upgrades generac, bets on increased adoption of company’s clean energy products (CNBC)

CARBON REMOVAL: Carbon removal now ​‘unavoidable’ part of fighting climate change, UN says (Canary Media), Climeworks raises $650 million to scale up carbon capture technology (TIME)

FOOD: The newest meatless meat is made from air (CBS)

HEALTH: Poor air quality affects 99 percent of humanity, per new WHO data — what we can do (Green Matters)

MINING: Money for abandoned uranium mine cleanup spurs questions about design, jobs (New Mexico In Depth)

WILDLIFE: Exploring recent changes in bird morphology—probably due to global warming (Phys.org), With US protection, a tiny toad could upend a geothermal project (New York Times $)

INTERNATIONAL: Africa looks to renewables to curb warming, boost economies (AP)The perilous road to recovery in Madagascar’s cyclone-hit east (Al Jazeera), Ministers launch fracking study, paving way to end moratorium in England (The Guardian), The world is on fire, Come and see' says Spanish PM after Musk tells country to build solar park (Reuters), South African dairy farmers eye carbon credits while curbing emissions (Reuters), Poland shuns gas in new energy plan as coal makes a comeback (Bloomberg $), European gas fluctuates as supply risks counter weather outlook (Bloomberg $)

• A game changer in the fight against climate change (Newsweek, Peter Garrretson op-ed)
• Shifting human behaviour is a massive opportunity to fight the climate crisis (Thomson Reuters Foundation News, Mindy Hernandez op-ed)
• Putin’s war has started a global food crisis (Sara Menker and Rajiv Shah, New York Times, Sara Menker and Rajiv Shah op-ed $)
• Bucha Escalates Putin’s Risks (Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. Wall Street Journal, Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. op-ed $)
• Putin’s Ukraine Invasion Is About Energy and Natural Resources (Wall Street Journal, David Knight Legg op-ed $)
• Actually, humanity can still avoid climate catastrophe (Washington Post, Editorial Board)
• The world is running out of time to blunt climate change. Where’s the urgency? (LA Times Editorial Board $)

Denier Reactions To Latest Climate Report Proves They’re Not Doing Their Homework. What’s Worse Is, They Don’t Have To. 

One of the great ironies of the fossil fuel industry’s disinformation machine is that despite how generously it’s funded, and how long it’s been operating, it’s not exactly a well-oiled machine. One of the (many) great tragedies? It doesn’t need to be. 

The ad agencies and PR shops that individual companies pay to burnish their public image with slick ad campaigns are certainly earning their keep. But the various fronts and pro-fossil lobby groups who serve as the disinfo attack dogs, AKA the climate-counter movement in now-IPCC-approved parlance, are often just objectively bad at their jobs. 

This week’s IPCC release is a perfect example. Dealing with the outlook for mitigating climate change, it’s all about the social dynamics of politics, policy, and economics, complicated territory rife with nuance that could be fertile ground for disinformation. 

But that would require actually engaging with the report, which is of course giant and complicated. It’d be much easier to just prattle off some nonsense and rest assured that any reporter gullible enough to publish it is probably only putting it in front of an audience that’s not exactly primed for critical thinking and being (actually) skeptical of people confirming priors. 

Take Pat "40% fossil fuel funding" Michaels' response to the IPCC WG3 report, sent as a press release by the industry funded Competitive Enterprise Institute. Keep in mind that this isn’t an off-hand tweet, this was their official response, sent out to the press. They claim the report “deals in politically-convenient fictions rather than fact-based reality.” 

What fictions does the report deal in? And what facts does it leave out? And how long will it take before Michaels says something false? 

Let’s see! 

To start, Michaels’s statement begins simply enough, that “today’s IPCC report detailing mitigation and adaptation to climate change…” But wait! The Working Group 3 report published Monday is just about mitigating climate change. It doesn’t deal with adaptation, and it’s an important distinction, because adaptation is the express subject of the Working Group 2 report, which came out a month ago! 

Michaels very first sentence is flawed because he apparently doesn’t even know what report he’s responding to! The bulk of his statement deals with the physical science attributing warming to fossil fuels, which is the subject of the Working Group 1 report published last fall. 

He complains that the IPCC report, a review of peer-reviewed papers, “makes no mention that the German government, for now, has put coal possibly back into its energy mix.” 

Yes, a review of scientific literature, bound by the laws of time and causation to cover only those peer-reviewed studies that were published before the report is drafted, does not cover news from after the report was finished. It also fails to assess the climate ramifications about a country “possibly” burning more coal. The IPCC can’t time travel to cover studies based on a country considering doing something?!

What an incredibly cogent and intelligent point from one of the leaders of climate disinformation!

If Patrick Michaels had to be good at his job, he might have bothered to write a statement that was actually about the new IPCC report. But because he’s built a career on polluter welfare, he can dash off a statement attacking the IPCC’s 3rd report by conflating it with the 2nd, and then claiming it doesn’t address the content covered by the first. 

And his funders keep cutting checks so he doesn’t have to get a real job, because disinformation doesn’t have to make sense. It doesn’t have to convince anyone, it certainly doesn’t have to be trenchant or cutting or even strategic. 

It just has to exist in the public conscious to work as a filibuster for those defending polluter profits.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up to receive Hot News every morning!

Send updates or feedback to nkauffman@climatenexus.org
Submit events and other items for consideration for a First Look using this form
Some articles require logins or subscriptions ($)