FIRST LOOK:

Check out Climate Central's just-launched global Climate Shift Index, revealing the influence of climate change on daily temperatures in 1,000 cities worldwide.

Things Are Not Great Right Now, Multiple Major Reports Confirm: Atmospheric greenhouse gas levels hit new highs in 2021, climate pollution is rising, and countries' pledges to reduce their emissions are insufficient — but, Russia's war and atrocities in Ukraine could accelerate the global shift to clean energy. The amount of heat-trapping CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere all rose to record levels in 2021, the UN's World Meteorological Organization said Wednesday. Levels of methane, which traps more than 80 times more heat in the atmosphere than CO2 over a 20-year period, rose the most of those three gasses and at the fastest pace since regular measurements began 40 years ago. As world leaders prepare to meet for COP27 in Egypt next month, global collective promises to cut climate pollution are "nowhere near" what is needed meet the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, the UN's 2022 NDC Synthesis Report warned, likely leading to a cataclysmic 2.5°C (4.5°F) of warming by 2100. The global fossil fuel turmoil in the wake of the Russian war in Ukraine and methane gas blackmail of Europe could, however, be an inflection point in the clean energy transition and accelerate the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, the International Energy Agency said in its flagship World Energy Outlook report released this morning. (Atmospheric GHG levels: AP, The Guardian, NBC; Methane increase: Washington Post $; European Methane: The Guardian; Insufficient pledges: E&E News, AP, Reuters, The Guardian, CNBC, The Hill, Axios, Bloomberg $; IEA: AP, New York Times $, Politico EU)

Dearth Of Clean Water After Nigerian Floods Fuels Cholera Outbreak: The dangers of waterborne pathogens in floodwaters have received increased coverage in the U.S. over the past week as horrifying descriptions of brain-eating amoebas and flesh-eating bacteria have claimed lives in Nevada and in Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, respectively. In Nigeria, where the worst flooding in over a decade has killed more than 600 people already, the lack of clean, safe drinking water could fuel a cholera outbreak could devastate the country. Already, thousands of suspected cholera cases have been reported as a UN-described "worrying upsurge" of cholera sound the world and especially in the Middle East and Africa has led WHO officials to suspend the standard two-dose vaccine regime, instead using a single-shot dosage, to enable more people to be vaccinated, albeit less effectively. As world leaders prepare to attend COP27 — claimed by organizers to be the "African COP" despite advocates from numerous African countries being prevented from even attending the conference — the UN warned on Wednesday that close to 1 million people living in areas of Somalia controlled by, or under the influence of, the al-Shabab extremist group are at especially great risk as the drought parching the Horn of Africa fuels a food crisis bordering on famine that has already killed thousands. (Nigeria Cholera dangers: CNN; Cholera vaccine shortage: CNN; Somalia drought: AP; NIgeria flooding photo essay: The Guardian; Waterborne disease and climate change: Gizmodo; Brain-eating amoeba: E&E News, AP; Flesh-eating bacteria: Washington Post $, The Guardian; Climate Signals background: Extreme precipitation increase, Drought)

EPA Announces Clean School Bus Grants: Children in nearly 400 school districts in Washington, D.C., several tribal nations and U.S. territories, and all 50 states will soon be breathing less-polluted air on their way to and from school thanks to new school buses purchased with federal grants. Vice President Kamala Harris and EPA Administrator Michael Regan announced roughly $1 billion in grants on Wednesday for "clean" (mostly, but not exclusively) electric school buses. Nearly all school buses currently run on diesel, exposing children whose lungs are particularly susceptible to air pollution to exhaust fumes, likely the most polluted air they’ll breathe all day.“It doesn’t make sense to send our kids to school on buses that create brain-harming, lung-harming, cancer-causing, climate-harming pollution,″ Molly Rauch, public health policy director for Moms Clean Air Force, told the AP. “Our kids, our bus drivers and our communities deserve better.″ (AP, E&E $, The Hill)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: The energy system is ‘inherently racist,’ advocates say. How are utilities responding to calls for greater equity? (Utility Dive), Woman sentenced to 6 years after registering to vote despite felony sues Tennessee for emotional distress (The Grio)

JUST ... DON'T?: A gas industry PR flack compares fossil fuel opponents to Hitler (New Republic)

HEALTH: Report: human health is ‘at the mercy of fossil fuels’ (Grist)

FOSSIL FUELED ENERGY CRISIS: Stop dismantling German windfarm to expand coalmine, say authorities (The Guardian, OilPrice), Why Russian LNG exports to Europe exploded this summer (OilPrice), World bank: Energy prices set to decline in 2023 after sharp rise in 2022 (OilPrice, Reuters), Europe’s energy crisis raises firewood prices, theft fears (AP)

• TOO MUCH GAS: First comes the sub-zero gas prices, then the flaring in Texas (Bloomberg $), Gas crunch eases in Europe — but the respite might not last (AP).  Europe fends off energy crisis with huge stockpile of natural gas (Gizmodo), Why natural gas prices are plunging 40% (E&E $)

COP27: Kerry: US open to talks on contentious climate financing (AP), COP27 host is hopeful geopolitics won’t derail climate pledges (Bloomberg $), ‘It’s the fault of climate change’: Pakistan seeks ‘justice’ after floods (FT $), Global crises pushing climate efforts off track, COP27 hosts warn (Politico Pro $)

• FINANCE PLEDGES: Big banks and UN green finance group clash in alliance (Wall Street Journal $), More banks than ever have net-zero commitments. Now what? (E&E $)

(CLIMATE) DIPLOMACY: Biden administration huddles with European energy officials as gas tensions climb (Politico Pro $), US, EU launch formal group to discuss conflict over EV subsidies (Reuters), Climate Questions: Who are the big emitters? (AP)

DENIAL & DELAY: Is green-hushing the new greenwashing? (Context explainer), Fossil fuel companies sponsor Australian sports to the tune of $14m-$18m a year, researchers find (The Guardian)

OOPS: Nova Scotia touted its huge ‘green’ energy plant. Turns out it’s powered by coal (The Guardian)

MOUNTAIN VALLEY PIPELINE: Court poised to block key Mountain Valley pipeline permit (E&E News)

GOP vs. ESG: How Republicans weaponised climate investing (FT $)

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: More solar manufacturing is coming to the US thanks to climate law (Bloomberg $)

SCOTUS: Washington ethics group asks if Congress will ever investigate Clarence and Ginni Thomas (The Root)

EPA: Racial disparities beset EPA, state wastewater funds (E&E News)

DOE: Schools to get $80 million from new Energy Department program (Politico Pro $)

DOI: Burn boss arrest puts Forest Service wildfire strategy on the line (E&E News)

TREASURY: US Treasury launches industry outreach on clean energy tax credits (Reuters)

LAWSUITS: Judges question greens' standing in Trump NEPA rule challenge (Politico Pro $)

THE HILL: ‘Unconditional friend’: Meet the man shadowing Manchin (E&E News)

ELECTIONS: Dems play defense: Gubernatorial races to watch (E&E $), In Georgia, Warnock’s climate activism contrasts sharply with Walker’s deep skepticism (Inside Climate News), Oil companies helping fund Republican takeover plans (E&E News), Pennsylvania’s dairy farmers clamor for candidates who will cut environmental regulations (Inside Climate News), Ryan Zinke’s return to Washington far from certain (E&E News), Senate debates feature permitting, drought, fracking talk (E&E $), US midterm outcome in certain states could affect approach to energy (Reuters), Arizona’s Sen Kelly slams California on Colorado River use (AP)

CITIES AND STATES: Chicago institutions just got $25 million to study local effects of climate change. Here’s how they plan to use it (Inside Climate News), Fight to protect right whale, lobsters roils Maine politics (E&E News), NC governor wants sales mandate for commercial trucks, vans (AP)

• CALIFORNIA: Building with nature: Can reviving a marsh save this California town from sea level rise? (LA Times $), California carbon emissions fell 9% in pandemic’s 1st year (AP), California’s tech millionaires can’t agree about tax to fund EVs (Bloomberg $)

FERC: FERC approves MISO reliability contract to keep Ameren Missouri’s Rush Island coal plant operating (Utility Dive), FERC updates winter assessment after Texas grid operator pushback (Politico Pro $)

IMPACTS: Australian governments urged to scrap ‘one-in-100-year’ flood standard and update risk maps (The Guardian)

10 YEARS AFTER SANDY: Superstorm Sandy legacy: Recovery far from equal on NY shore (AP), How sunken basketball courts could protect New Yorkers from the next superstorm sandy (Grist), 10 years after Superstorm Sandy, building local resilience (Atmos), Shore town fixed eroded beach despite denial from New Jersey (AP), 

HEAT: "Virtually every child" will be exposed to frequent heat waves by 2050 (Axios, The Hill)

DROUGHT: What it looks like as drought strangles the mighty Mississippi (Washington Post $)

WATER: Battle of the Alps? Water woes loom amid climate change (AP)

DEFORESTATION: What Brazil's election means for the Amazon rainforest (Reuters, explainer)

OZONE: Antarctic ozone hole shrinks slightly (The Hill)

RENEWABLES: Economic benefits of wind, solar in rural Appalachia could top $65 billion (Yale Climate Connections), The world’s biggest source of clean energy is evaporating fast (Bloomberg $), UK wind power hits a record, easing reliance on expensive gas (Bloomberg $)

"RENEWABLES": We investigated Brazil's ethanol sector and uncovered slavery (Context)

BUILDINGS: Commercial building owners are about to get a new tool to fight climate change in Maine (Energy News Network)

LNG: China wants America's natural gas. Some lawmakers are worried. (Politico Pro $)

OIL & GAS: Shell 3Q earnings double, stir debate on energy profit tax (AP), Rishi Sunak will keep ban on fracking in UK, No 10 confirms (The Guardian), Energean starts gas production at Israel's Karish site (Reuters), Shell to explore carbon transport and storage options in Brunei and Singapore (Reuters)

HYDROGEN: UK trial will inject hydrogen into a gas-fired, grid-connected power station (CNBC)

UTILITIES: Regulators propose $155M fine for PG&E for 2020 wildfire (AP)

GRID: More long-distance power lines could blunt extreme weather (E&E $), National Grid, VEIR collaborating on superconductivity in transmission (Utility Dive)

EVs: EV charging station rollout hampered by outdated state, city regulations: report (Utility Dive), Hyundai breaks ground on $5.5B electric car plant in Georgia (AP), 

ACTIVISM: When soup and mashed potatoes are thrown, can the earth win? (New York Times $), Climate activists divided on souping art (Axios), Are Just Stop Oil's dramatic art museum protests hurting their own cause? (CNN)

CAFFEINE: Can scientists develop a coffee bean more resistant to climate change? (FT $)

FOOD: Food giants investing ‘record amounts’ in plant-based protein, investor report reveals (Edie), UN-backed investors set fresh targets in sustainable food shift (Reuters), Cut meat consumption to two burgers a week to save planet, study suggests (The Guardian)

BUSINESSES: Climate change "isn't hippy sh*t," will affect every line of business (Axios), GM: All US facilities will be powered by renewables by 2025 (AP), Apple calls on suppliers to decarbonize operations by 2030 (Utility Dive), High energy prices in Europe push BASF to cut costs permanently (Wall Street Journal $), The expanding push to curb industrial emissions (Axios)

SCIENCE: Sweet and musky: Scientists use photosynthesis to disarm CO2 (E&E $)

FINANCE: Gabon may sell Africa’s biggest ever sovereign green bond (Bloomberg $)

WILDLIFE: The offshore wind industry threatens North Atlantic right whales. Here's how to save them. (Protocol), Russia may again block Antarctic marine protections (AP)

INTERNATIONAL: EU targets deadly air pollution, pushes for cleaner water (Reuters), Haunted by land loss, indigenous Brazilians brace for election (Context), Saudi Arabia tells west to fix its energy problems with more investment (Wall Street Journal $), Saudi Aramco launches $1.5 bln fund, says energy transition plan flawed (Reuters), There's no cheap way to sidestep China's energy supply chains (Bloomberg $), What Britain's new prime minister might mean for climate policy (Washington Post $)

• NAACP climate director explains why now is the time to fight environmental racism (The 19th* News, Abre’ Conner interview)
• Eyes to the horizon during a crisis (Energy Monitor, Adrian Joyce op-ed)
• A global tour of key renewable energy hot - and cold - spots (Reuters, Gavin Maguire column)
• A chat with Lauren Flanagan, CEO of Sesame Solar (Canary Media, interview)
• Without regulation, we’ll never know if carbon offsets reduce emissions (The Hill, Stuart Mackintosh op-ed)
• Beyond catastrophe: A new climate reality is coming into view (New York Times, David Wallace-Wells commentary $)
• The new world: Envisioning life after climate change (New York Times, David Wallace-Wells commentary $)

Are Climate Activists Hitler? Gas Flack Compares Industry Greenwashing To Neville Chamberlain

In the past, professional climate deniers have done their job as rodeo clowns to distract the public from charging at fossil fuel companies for their responsibility for the climate crisis by, among other things, comparing climate activists to Nazis or Hitler. 

For example, back in 2009, before the House of Lords sent him a cease and desist letter and he could still honorably use his inherited title, "Lord" Christopher Monckton called youth climate activists "Hitler Youth," and then performed an encore two years later by illustrating a quote from a climate economist with a giant swastika. A couple years after that, in 2014, William Happer (Trump's climate guy) said on CNBC, "The demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler." Also in 2014, Roy Spencer published a blog post titled "Time to push back against the global warming Nazis." 

For a while, it seems like folks learned their lesson as these incidents were huge embarrassments for their respective rodeo clowns, and we hadn't heard anything like it for a while. (Also possible that in the Trump years, the right no longer found the Nazi insult to be quite so insulting…) 

But now a new clown has entered the rodeo, and oddly, it's someone who's usually a bit more buttoned up: A gas industry PR executive. 

Kate Aronoff reported yesterday at the New Republic on a keynote speech at the recent annual North American Gas Forum, on the "defining moment" the methane industry is in, and what they might do about that. 

"You might reasonably expect Adolf Hitler would not come up in such a presentation." Aronoff wryly writes wry-tes. "You would be wrong." 

Apparently John Davies, CEO of the eponymously named Davies Public Affairs, thought it would be a good idea to design, create, and share a slide of Neville Chamberlain shaking Adolf Hitler's hand, to illustrate how the industry doesn't push back on calls to ban methane. In the lead-up to the conference, he no doubt poured over the slides and his speech, perfecting the moment he would stand in front of people and say "We don't talk about how they're wrong. We don't talk about why," describing an industry that's spent more time and money on attacking the science of its harms than any other (with the potential exception of Big Tobacco).

"Are we appeasing those who call to ban us?" he asked, and answered that they instead "tell our positive story, which is so well accepted. So we don't become Neville Chamberlain. That is not a great place to be." 

Sure, but an even worse place to be is in your public relations office, dodging requests from press to comment on why you compared people who don't want to die in a climate fire or flood to the man responsible for murdering of millions of Jewish people and others he didn't like. 

Davies likely knows that now. In fact, he might have known it at the time, ending his presentation with "This is your moment to be bold." 

And you gotta admit, it is pretty bold to compare people who'd rather not constantly inhale a steady leak of toxic gasses from their stove and risk it giving their children asthma to the man who orchestrated the Holocaust. 

Still, we're guessing that the phones over at Davies Public Affairs aren't jammed up with new potential clients seeking John's advice…. 

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