FIRST LOOK:

Join EPIC for conversation on climate policy in the developing world with Indian MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, fmr. US Dep. Climate Envoy Jonathan Pershing, and EPIC Director Michael Greenstone. The event will be moderated by New York Times reporter Lisa Friedman. May 10 at 6:30 ET.

Biden Administration Announces New EJ Office, CEQ Hire: The Biden administration, on Thursday, announced a new effort to crack down on the disproportionate polluting of poor communities and communities of color with the creation of a new office within DOJ. The Office of Environmental Justice will aim to hold polluters accountable for the pollution they dump into "fenceline communities," and the Dept. of Justice will also reinstate the use of "supplemental environmental projects" that require polluters to fund projects in the communities they harm in exchange for lowered fines. Also on Thursday, the White House announced Jalonne White-Newsome had been appointed as the new CEQ Senior Director for Environmental Justice. Advocates praised White-Newsome and her appointment, but cautioned much more is needed to address systemic environmental racism, and raised concerns about a proposed screening tool for "disadvantaged communities" that omitted race as a factor. “It’s great, but it’s one person,” Maria Lopez-Nunez, a member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, told ICN.“It can’t just be one person in one agency that doesn’t have an accountability lever—I want to see teeth, not symbolic gestures.” (DOJ: AP, E&E News, Reuters, The Hill, CNN, Politico Pro $, Washington Post $; CEQ: Inside Climate News, Washington Post $, E&E $, Politico Pro $, Bloomberg Law)

Utility Executives, Shareholders Got Payouts As Customers' Electricity Was Shut Off During Pandemic – Report: Electric utilities have shut off power to more than 3.5 million households while their executives' compensation has "skyrocketed" during the pandemic, a new report from BailoutWatch and the Center for Biological Diversity says. The update to earlier reports from the groups finds 12 utilities are responsible for 87% of (documented) shutoffs during the pandemic; dividends for their shareholders, meanwhile, have increased by $1.9 billion (13%) and their executives have pulled in an average raise of 24%. (Utility Dive)

Extreme Heat Threatens Indian Mango Farmers: The extreme heat scorching India and Pakistan is imperiling mango crops, the Gaon Connection reports. The deadly, months-long heatwave is also threatening wheat harvests in the region at a particularly crucial time for cereal crops as the Russian invasion of and atrocities in Ukraine have cut down grain production in that region. "The flowers dried on the branches and fell off in the loo (heatwave) before they could bear any fruits. The bad timing of the garam hawa (heatwave) ruined it all," Jagdev Prasad, a mango grower in the northeastern Indian village of Pilakhna Rasidpur, said. (Gaon Connection; Wheat: The Atlantic; South Asian heatwave: Yale Climate Connections; Climate Signals background: Extreme heat and heatwaves)

Unions, Ørsted Announce Offshore Wind Agreement: Wind energy firm Ørsted and North America’s Building Trades Unions announced an agreement on Thursday to build wind farms off U.S. coasts with a unionized workforce. The deal, the first of its kind in the U.S., will set a standard for working conditions, equity, and pay standards in the burgeoning industry. “The project labor agreement signed today is proof that labor and employers working together can create an equitable clean energy transition with opportunity for everyone,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said. “When we make good on our values — workers’ rights, gender and racial justice, economic equality, and safe and healthy workplaces — then we all win.” (Press of Atlantic City, Delaware Business Now, gCaptain, RTO Insider)

ANALYSIS: Powerless in the Pandemic 2.0: Electric utilities are still choosing profits over people (BailoutWatch)

ESG: Cash keeps flowing into ESG while markets tank (Bloomberg $), Global ESG standard-setting gains speed (Utility Dive), Hedge fund Boss Hohn slams ESG engagement as ‘blah, blah, blah’ (Bloomberg $)

GREEN RESOLUTIONS: Shareholder group is pressing Comcast and Amazon for climate-friendly 401(k) options for employees (Philadelphia Inquirer)

INV€$TORS ÜBER A££ES: How treaties protecting fossil fuel investors could jeopardize global efforts to save the climate – and cost countries billions (The Conversation)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Raising awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous people (Indian Country Today), Indigenous climate migrants face unique challenges — with too few resources (Grist and Indian Country Today)

FOSSIL FUELED WAR: The US may soon export more gas to the EU, but that will complicate climate goals (NPR), Germany rents floating LNG hubs to cut reliance on Russian gas (Bloomberg $), Diesel reached ‘record highs’ last week as Ukraine war tightens inventories (Houston Chronicle), India finds Russian oil an irresistible deal, no matter the diplomatic pressure (New York Times $), Japan says difficult to immediately follow Russia oil embargo (Reuters), Russia to use Nord Stream 2 at home as Europe shuns its gas (Bloomberg $)

• EUROPE: Europe’s quest to replace Russian gas faces plenty of hurdles (New York Times $), Heat pumps, renovations could slash Europe's Russian gas use -report (Reuters), E.U.’s Russian oil ban could reduce global emissions (E&E News), Can Europe survive without Russian oil? Nuclear power may be key (Thomson Reuters Foundation), Von der Leyen’s team scrambles to find Russia oil ban compromise (Politico Pro $)

THIS IS FINE: April sets record for highest CO2 levels in human history (Axios), No rest for Texas power plants as hot weather brings them back into operation from maintenance break (Houston Chronicle)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Is Kigali the key to future climate legislation? (E&E News)

SOCIAL COSTS: Biden presses 5th Circuit to uphold key climate metric (E&E $)

ANTARCTICA: Scientists in Antarctica discover a vast, salty groundwater system under the ice sheet – with implications for sea level rise (The Conversation, Gizmodo, Wall Street Journal $)

LAND DEFENSE: Panama’s Indigenous groups wage high-tech fight for their lands (Yale Environment 360)

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE: World food prize goes to former farmer who answers climate change question: 'so what?' (NPR, AP)

SCOTUS: How Alito tipped his climate hand in anti-abortion draft (E&E $), Birth control, gay and interracial marriage, and more may be at risk if Roe v. Wade falls (Prism Reports)

AGENCIES: Why a tool for reversing Trump era rules is seldom used (Yale Climate Connections)

EPA: EPA union calls for 'climate emergency' (E&E $), EPA staff’s office return: Mice, therapy dogs, comfy shoes (E&E News)

DOE: Granholm 'deeply concerned' Commerce solar probe could foil Biden's clean energy plans (Politico Pro $), US aims to spur oil production by refilling emergency crude stockpile (FT $, Politico Pro $), Granholm talks nuclear waste, warns of gasoline price hikes (E&E $), US Energy Department to commit $2.25 billion to carbon storage program (Reuters)

DOT: Industry appeal of pipeline safety rules draws pushback (E&E $)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: Leader of Treasury’s Climate Hub touts 'agitating' role (E&E $)

SENATE: Bipartisan energy gang eyes ‘Santa’s list’ of tax credits (E&E News), Manchin says methane fee still in the mix in climate talks (Politico Pro $), Manchin open to methane fee in climate, energy talks (E&E News), Methane fee progressing as part of climate deal, Manchin says (Bloomberg Law)

POLITICS: Politics could speed up clean energy. they may also slow it down. (Wall Street Journal $)

ELECTIONS: In key House race in Illinois, climate change is on the ballot (Washington Post $), Ore. Democrat slams spotted owl protections, rakes in cash (E&E News)

CITIES AND STATES: Giant rodents 'invaded' a wealthy gated community. What happened next is a lesson for cities in the climate change era. (TIME), Gov. Newsom open to extending Diablo Canyon nuclear plant’s life, but analysts differ on feasibility and need (Utility Dive)

IMPACTS: If you want to know a country's economic future, check how far it is from the equator (TIME), Heavy rain and floods in Afghanistan kill 22, destroy hundreds of homes (Reuters), Iraqis choke under a blanket of dust as sandstorms sweep the country (New York Times $, AP)

HEAT: India's Modi asks states to prepare heat action plans amid rising temperatures (Reuters), 

• PNW 2021: Last year's Northwest heat wave was one of globe’s worst (Axios), Deadly 2021 Northwest heat wave among worst in history (E&E $)

WILDFIRES: Portrait of a lady on fire (Atmos), Why climate change makes it harder to fight fire with fire (New York Times $)

• NEW MEXICO: Large fires are raging in New Mexico, and the worst may be coming (Washington Post $), Firefighters slow advance of New Mexico blaze as Biden declares disaster (The Guardian, AP)
• OREGON: Fire risk is highest in Central Oregon to start the season (Oregon Public Broadcasting, AP)

WATER: Will California’s new water conservation measures be enough? (New York Times $)

JUST ONE?: Americans are missing a key stratum of modern knowledge (The Atlantic)

RENEWABLES: The most-hated solar company in America (Wall Street Journal $), Navigating the US solar industry’s spring of discontent (Inside Climate News), Solar market turmoil delays Ind. coal shutdown (E&E News, The Hill), Site of retired Iowa nuclear plant to become a solar farm (Yale Climate Connections), The solar boom will create millions of tons of junk panels (Wall Street Journal $)

WFH: Companies confront a new climate challenge: home offices (Reuters, Reuters, Factbox)

EFFICIENCY: Startup Enervee has a new way to help people finance efficient appliances (Canary Media)

LNG: LNG trading dropped last year as price rally deterred buyers (Bloomberg $), Japan considers financial support to boost US LNG output (Nikkei Asian Review)

OIL & GAS: World Bank: Progress stalls on gas flaring cuts (Axios), As drivers pay up, refining companies eye a 'Golden Age' (E&E $), Conoco posts a five-fold profit leap, raises shareholder returns (Reuters), TotalEnergies shareholders urge regulator to ensure climate resolution included at next AGM (Reuters)

CHUTZPAH: Amid record profits, tar sands companies want more subsidies for carbon capture (Climate Home)

PLASTICS: Big Oil sold the world on a plastics recycling myth. It may be too late to undo the damage (TIME), US plastics recycling rate slumps below 6 percent, analysis finds (Washington Post $, Wall Street Journal $)

HYDROGEN: Scottish Power, Storegga to develop green hydrogen for whisky makers (Reuters)

GRID: Major grid dilemma: Treat fossil fuels like renewables? (E&E News)

EVs: EV startup lucid to raise vehicle prices, even as losses narrow (Wall Street Journal $), Volkswagen boosts electric car investment in Spain to 10 bln euros (Reuters)

• CRATE MOTORS: Ford did what Tesla won’t (The Verge)

CRYPTO: Why fossil fuel companies see green in Bitcoin mining projects (The Verge)

CARBON REMOVAL: Tech companies are spending big to suck carbon from the atmosphere. Should the government, too? (Grist)

CCS: Chevron joins first-of-its-kind gulf coast carbon sequestration project (Grist)

RICH PEOPLE: Elon Musk isn't a climate hero (Gizmodo)

WILDLIFE: ‘Canaries in the coalmine’: loss of birds signals changing planet (The Guardian), Scientists say endangered porpoise isn't doomed — so long as humans stop killing them (NPR)

INTERNATIONAL: Indian court rules that nature has legal status on par with humans—and that humans are required to protect it (Inside Climate News), Coalition climate target consistent with more than 3°C global heating, research says (The Guardian), Growing African mangrove forests aim to combat climate woes (AP)

• Europe’s oil major discount grows ever more stark (Reuters, George Hay column)
• ‘Cash for Clunkers’ can cut gas prices, climate change — and Putin’s income (The Hill, John Sterman and David Keith op-ed)
• A ‘Marshall Climate Plan’ would aid US, Europe while averting climate catastrophe (PennLive, Larry Shapiro op-ed)
• The Commerce Department’s ill-timed solar investigation is hurting utilities (Protocol, Lisa Martine Jenkins commentary)

Elected Republicans Signing Their Names To Industry-Drafted Letters to Federal Regulators

While the fossil fuel industry’s efforts to prevent climate regulations cover many spheres, the bottom line is politics, and that’s where their investments in the Republican party have paid off most handsomely. 

As Professor Eve Darian-Smith recently wrote in the Conversation, based on her new book on how the industry is backing authoritarians, “since the 1990s, the energy sector has heavily financed conservative candidates who have pushed its interests and helped to reduce regulations on the fossil fuel industry.” 

That investment of millions of dollars in direct campaign contributions and lobbying “plays out in examples like the coalition of 19 Republican state attorneys general and coal companies suing to block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.” 

Here’s an even more recent example: HuffPost’s Chris D’Angelo reported on Monday that, according internal emails obtained by the Energy and Policy Institute, elected Republicans have been “peppering federal regulators with glowing letters in support of gas projects in their states” that “were ghostwritten by lobbyists and consultants of the two major pipeline firms.” 

At this point the dirty energy industry is so enmeshed with Republicans at every level that there is literally zero difference between industry demands and Republican policy. 

Seriously, one former North Carolina Republican Party vice chairman is now a lobbyist for a pipeline company, and he sent emails to current electeds, and “attached a number of talking points.” And while non-lazy people might edit the talking points a little to put them in their own voice, “several of those talking points are included verbatim in the letters,” D’Angelo reported. 

Similarly, in Virginia, TC Energy “distributed model letters that the Republican mayors of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake submitted in support of the company’s Virginia Reliability Project.” Virginia Beach Mayor Robert Dyer’s letter to FERC “is a carbon copy of the draft” sent to him by a consultant for TC energy as “a draft letter for your review.”  

At this point, why even bother making the distinction between the GOP and fossil fuel industry? 

That said, as Professor Darian-Smith noted, while the oil and gas industry “more than doubled” donations to republicans after Citizens United, “more than one-sixh of the money contributed to Democrats in the current cycle, as of March 31, 2022, went to Sen. Joe Manchin.” You know, the Democratic senator making millions off of the dirtiest kind of coal…

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