FIRST LOOK: 

Ende Gelände hosts a webinar TODAY on how fossil fuel extraction and associated infrastructure (such as pipelines and LNG export terminals) from the Permian Basin to the Gulf Coast reinforce systemic environmental racism and destroy the climate. 11:00 ET/12:00pm Central (7pm CET)

South Asia Heatwave 30x More Likely Because Of Climate Change: Climate change made India and Pakistan's punishing March and April heatwave at least 30 times more likely, a study from World Weather Attribution finds. “This is a sign of things to come,” Arpita Mondal, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai, who was part of the study, told the AP. The heatwave shattered monthly and all-time temperature records across Pakistan and northwestern and central India, impacting nearly 70% of India and 30% of Pakistan — approximately 1 billion people in total, about one-eighth of the global population. The heatwave slashed crop yields in vital Indian agricultural regions, fueled hundreds of forest fires, and snowmelt in Pakistan caused a glacial lake to flood. It also illustrates the risk climate change poses to the region's economy and threatens to hurt India's credit score. The heat was especially brutal for those who lack access to cooling and/or work outside, like 42-year-old father of two Rahman Ali, who earns less than $3 per day sorting people's trash to salvage what can be sold. “What can we do?" he said to the AP. "If I don’t work...we won’t eat." The study is consistent with a UK Met Office study, released last week, which found a record-breaking heatwave like the heatwave in South Asia this year is 100 times more likely because of climate change. (Attribution: AP, Washington Post $, Reuters, The Guardian, Axios; Cooling access: Thomson Reuters Foundation; Credit risk: Bloomberg $; Possible U.S. aid: Reuters; Climate Signals background: Extreme heat and heatwaves)

New Bill Would Help Heat Pumps Replace Furnaces By Making Them Cheaper Than AC Units: A bill to be introduced in the Senate this week would seek to broaden heat pump adoption by making the high-efficiency heating and cooling appliances price-competitive with air conditioners. Heat pumps are essentially two-way air conditioners that transfer heat from outside to inside in the winter and from inside to outside in the summer. Although they are far more expensive up front than methane gas furnaces, tax credits of between $600 – $1,000 per unit means heat pumps could essentially replace traditional air conditioning units, and once installed will also heat homes more efficiently than methane gas-burning furnaces. Two-thirds of homes in the U.S. have central air conditioning. (HuffPost, Canary Media)

Action Needed On Short(er)-Term Pollutants To Limit Warming: The benefits of limiting global warming even just to 2°C (3.6°F) above preindustrial levels far outstrip the costs, according to a new Deloitte report. But action must include more than simply cutting CO2 pollution. Measures to slash more potent, shorter-lived greenhouse pollutants, including methane, HFCs, black carbon soot, and others, are also needed to hold warming below the 2°C threshold, a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes. Even at 2°C, the amount of disruption and destruction caused by climate change will still be catastrophic. “We’re simultaneously in two races to avert climate catastrophe,” said Gabrielle Dreyfus, chief scientist for the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development and lead author of the study. “We have to win the sprint to slow warming in the near term by tackling the short-lived climate pollutants, so that we can stay in the race to win the marathon against CO2.” (Deloitte: Axios; Short term pollutants: Inside Climate News, Reuters, The Guardian, Metro UK)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: As SpaceX grows, so do complaints from environmentalists, Indigenous groups and Brownsville residents (Inside Climate News), Buffalo plagued by economic neglect, segregation long before shooting, residents say (NPR)

TIME'S 100: Mia Mottley [Barbados Prime Minister] (TIME), [IPCC WG1 co-chairs] Valérie Masson-Delmotte and Panmao Zhai (TIME)

FOSSIL FUELED WAR: White House LNG task force compared to secretive Cheney oil group (Bloomberg $), IEA chief warns against energy crisis locking in fossil fuel dependence (Reuters), EU hopes energy funds can unlock deal on Russian oil sanctions (Reuters), EU plans first joint gas buying before winter (Reuters), The refinery standing between Germany and an oil embargo (New York Times $)

HOW GENEROUS: Egypt promises to allow protest, push pledges as COP27 host (AP)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Security concerns, lack of support stall Africa’s Green Wall (AP)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Oil companies suffer latest defeat in Rhode Island climate case (Bloomberg Law), Western [US] courts grapple with climate change (High Country News)

DENIAL: Climate skeptic thinktank reported to charity commission over fossil fuel interest funding (The Guardian)

HOMELAND DEFENSE: In Ecuador's Amazon, youth take up the fight against oil pollution (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

SHELL GAMES: Contractor quitting puts Shell in spotlight over climate (AP), Extinction Rebellion inspires Shell safety consultant to jump ship (Climate Home), Shell consultant quits, accusing firm of ‘extreme harms’ to environment (The Guardian)

DAVOS: Urgent need in Afghanistan is saving economy (AP), Ukraine top of the agenda in Davos as business leaders gather (Reuters), At Davos, climate debate over role of oil in ‘going green’ (AP), At Davos, Manchin offers insight into inflation, climate deal (E&E $)

SHRILL ALARMISTS: HSBC distances itself from comments by an executive downplaying climate risks. (New York Times $), Pensions watchdog warns about climate risk in rebuke of HSBC banker who downplayed danger (Reuters)

PUBLIC OPINION: Poll: most Black people worried about another white supremacist attack (Black Wall Street Times)

WINTER STORM URI: Texas could have foreseen 2021 cold-wave disaster, new study concludes (Texas Climate News)

AGENCIES: Advocacy groups support FEMA plan to track applicants' race (E&E $), Forest Service halts prescribed burns after wildfire mishaps (E&E $), Bernhardt and Zinke inquiries highlight limits of IG reach (E&E News), FEMA: proposed Hurricane Ida housing site comment period (AP)

EPA: Ex-Calif. utility aide is now EPA Region 9 chief of staff (E&E $)

DOI: Haaland to testify again on budget, oil and gas production (E&E $), Interior unveils guidance for getting coal mine cleanup money (E&E News), Judge: BLM underplayed climate risk in Colo. fracking plan (E&E News)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: SEC fines BNY Mellon over ESG claims (Wall Street Journal $)

WHITE HOUSE: No ‘simple fix’: White House charts progress on EJ agenda (E&E News), Biden exploring release of diesel fuel reserves amid high prices (Wall Street Journal $, The Hill), White House records pull back the curtain on climate meetings (E&E News), White House touts environmental spending for low-income, minority communities (Politico Pro $)

HOUSE: Rep. Watson Coleman says Sen. Cassidy’s Black maternal mortality comment ‘rooted in white supremacy’ (The Grio), House hearing looks to break flood insurance impasse (E&E $)

SENATE: Senate plows ahead with price gouging bill (E&E News)

ELECTIONS: Lawyer who filmed campaign ad half-naked may be our best chance to get oil and gas under control (Gizmodo), Georgia electrical vehicle factory becomes Kemp, Perdue campaign battle (NBC), Texas runoff to settle moderate, pro-oil Democrat’s fate (E&E News), The small, local election with potentially major climate change significance (TIME), David perdue makes racist remarks about Stacey Abrams as he ends a lackluster campaign. (New York Times $)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: Biden taps FERC Chairman Glick for a second term, potentially providing consistency amid energy transition (Utility Dive), EPA air nominee faces high-stakes confirmation hearing (E&E News)

CITIES AND STATES: California faces possible blackouts every summer until 2026 (E&E $)

IMPACTS: Tensions rise as drought worsens and heat surges across California (Washington Post $), Greenhouse gas pollution trapping almost 50 percent more heat than 30 years ago (The Hill), Kyoto cherry blossoms bloom earlier as climate warms, new study suggests (Gizmodo), New risks emerge when climate, security crises collide (E&E $)

HEAT: Climate change might be stealing your sleep (Gizmodo), Hayes: We must pay attention to ‘urgent crisis’ of extreme heat events (MSNBC)

WILDFIRES: Has California’s fire season begun? (New York Times $)

EXTREME WEATHER: At least 11 dead in wake of Michigan tornado, Canada derecho (Yale Climate Connections), More hardship as new sandstorm engulfs parts of Middle East (AP)

WATER: California is about to begin the nation’s largest dam removal project. here’s what it means for wildlife (San Francisco Chronicle), Californians could see mandatory water cuts amid drought (AP)

RENEWABLES: How developers can overcome local opposition to onshore wind projects (Energy Monitor), Idaho’s ‘wind rush’ meets opposition outside a WWII prison camp (Grist), Offshore wind farm balancing German power grid in green energy “milestone” (Renew Economy), Siemens energy picks a good moment to take wind turbines private (Wall Street Journal $), Supply chain delays and steel costs are part of ‘perfect storm’ stalling renewable energy growth (The Guardian), Interested in solar panels? Here is some advice. (New York Times $)

TRANSMISSION: ‘More, more, more’: Biden’s clean grid hinges on power lines (E&E News)

OIL & GAS: Germany is keen to pursue gas projects with Senegal, says Scholz on first African tour (Reuters), High oil prices creating headwinds for major economies (Houston Chronicle), The pain drivers feel at the pump is nothing compared to the deep wounds by diesel's soaring price (Houston Chronicle), Why shale drillers are pumping out dividends instead of more oil and gas (Wall Street Journal $)

NUKES: US moves toward supplying Romania with a new style of nuclear plant. (New York Times $), US releases environmental study for new Idaho test reactor (AP), Climate worries galvanize a new pro-nuclear movement in the US (Washington Post $)

PIPELINES: How the Colonial Pipeline attack instilled urgency in cybersecurity (Utility Dive), Minn. regulators say CO2 pipelines 'hazardous,' need rules (E&E $)

GRID: Study lays out options for New England grid operator to help cut emissions (Energy News Network)

EVs: Electric cars are cheaper to own in New Jersey than California (Bloomberg $), EV-charging microgrids are worth more than the sum of their parts. Here’s why (Canary Media), US playing catch-up on electric vehicles (Axios)

TV: Black Central Park bird-watcher Christian Cooper gets a TV show (Black Wall Street Times)

CARBON REMOVAL: Swiss Re, UBS among founding buyers in carbon removal scheme (Reuters)

FINANCE: BNY Mellon to pay $1.5M over ESG charges (Politico Pro $), ESG in oil and gas and the economics of data (Houston Chronicle)

WORMS: Worm composting, a climate-friendly alternative to the landfill (Yale Climate Connections)

INTERNATIONAL: ‘Teal’ independents coming for state MPs next in Victoria and New South Wales (The Guardian), Albanese sworn in as PM in Australia ahead of Tokyo summit (AP)

• Electric cars and lithium extraction threaten to drive even more climate harm (Truthout, Adriana Daroqui op-ed)
• Hey white America--where is the public outrage for the Buffalo shooting? (The Root, Candace McDuffie op-ed)
• Roe v. Wade draft bodes ill for air, wetlands and the EPA (Environmental Health News, Derrick Z. Jackson analysis)
• For Black voters electoral accountability starts with the Democratic primaries (NewsOne, Kayla Reed op-ed)
• Sen. Bill Cassidy proves America doesn’t care about Black women (The Grio, Monique Judge op-ed)
• Snoop Dogg and resource adequacy reality meet head on as summer approaches (Utility Dive, Ray Gifford and Matt Larson op-ed)
• I don’t give a d*mn about Walmart’s emancipation ice cream (Black Wall Street Times, Tanesha Peeples op-ed)
• A financier tells some climate-change truths (Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board $)

BloombergGov Latest Outlet To Fall For Fake GOP Conversion On Climate

Two weeks ago, Mike Pence joined the rest of the right wing dark money disinfo ecosystem in attacking ESG standards, and yet another group of conservatives pretended that they're serious about climate change, while remaining steadfast in their support for fake solutions and fossil fuels and opposition to renewables like wind and solar. 

None of that has changed, but apparently BloombergGov decided it was time for the regular media greenwashing of the GOP, and had reporter Emily Wilkins write about how the "GOP aims to revamp environment messaging by embracing renewables." 

But here's the thing: at no point in the thousand-word story does Wilkins suggest they're actually embracing renewables. "Republicans intend to put forward proposals" Wilkins reports, "that support renewable energy and environmental protections as part of their overall approach," just like we intend to lose 30 pounds by beach season, by incorporating a salad into our overall approach of a cheeseburger and fries for lunch, a pint of ice cream as a bedtime snack, and a full root beer float with three scoops every 45 minutes throughout the day. 

"We've got to do a better job messaging," Wilkins quotes Garret Graves saying, as though his message isn't that it's good that fossil fuel infrastructure and sea level rise are consuming a football field's worth of land in his state every single hour and poisoning his constituents. 

Wilkins fails to mention that Graves' biggest campaign donor is the oil and gas industry, which may make it tricky for him to take real climate action when the continuation of the oil and gas industry is incompatible with a livable climate, per the IPCC. 

Wilkins also fails to mention that the industry is heavily funding all the other Republicans quoted claiming that they've simply failed to talk about climate the right way, and there's only a scant brief quote from one Democratic congressperson, California Rep. Jared Huffman, to suggest that perhaps "at the end of the day, there's no substantive change at all." 

And indeed, Wilkins offers zero evidence of anything other than intentions to have a plan to spread disinformation around so that voters don't recognize that the GOP's refusal to act on climate is related to aforementioned oil and gas funding they receive. 

While they've made a lot of progress convincing reporters that they intend to plan to start messaging differently on the issue, there are "limits on how far Republicans say they can go on the issue" SC Rep. Nancy Mace told Wilkins, because in "conversations with Republicans," climate change is "sort of a dirty word." 

That said, Wilkins does offer evidence of something, just not that the conversion falsely implied by the headline actually took place. Quite the opposite: "In 2020, all 24 House candidates backed by the American Conservation Coalition were successful, including some who flipped swing seats." Mace, for example, flipped her seat, winning over incumbent Democratic congressman Joe Cunningham.  

While there's been zero evidence that ACC, the group that falsely calls itself a coalition to exaggerate its influence as it greenwashes the GOP, is actually changing GOP policy on climate, it apparently is helping Republicans flip seats, and thereby making it even harder to build the climate-serious majority necessary to pass policy.

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