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UNESCO Glaciers Doomed And Threatened By Climate Change: Glaciers in nearly one-third of UNESCO World Heritage sites will vanish in less than 30 years, a report by the UN organization warned Thursday. In addition to their obvious grandeur and beauty, glacier loss can cause serious water supply disruptions for millions who rely on their steady meltwaters. “They provide water resources to at least half of humanity," lead author of the report Tales Carvalho Resende told the Washington Post." As water melts, this water will accumulate in what we call glacial lakes; and as water comes, these glacial lakes might burst,” he told CNN. “And this outburst can create catastrophic floods, which is something we can see very recently in Pakistan.” More hopefully, however, the report says swift and ambitious action to limit global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F) can still save glaciers in most UNESCO sites. Among the glaciers that will be lost by 2050 are all of Africa's last remaining glaciers, including those on Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro, as well as glaciers in Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks. The report comes just ahead of COP27, where the issue of how wealthy nations should compensate developing nations for the losses and damages caused by climate change will be a major topic of negotiation. (CNN, Washington Post $, NPR, Axios, CBS, The Hill, Gizmodo; Climate Signals background: Glacier and ice sheet melt)

EPA Awards Community Air Pollution Monitoring Grants: The EPA, on Thursday, awarded grants for 132 community air pollution monitoring projects primarily in communities of color as well as other communities overburdened by fossil fuel and other industrial pollution. “The money is headed where it's needed the most to communities who've been on the front lines of pollution for generations,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan told reporters Wednesday. Of the $53.4 million awarded, nearly $500,000 will go to monitoring pollution hotspots in Lousiana's Cancer Alley. The grants, spanning 34 states, are funded by the Inflation Reduction Act as well as a COVID relief plan passed last year. PoliticoPro reports the grants will go to 23 tribes, 60 community organizations and nonprofit groups, 42 state, county, and local governments, and seven regional organizations and housing authorities. (AP, Politico Pro $, The Hill)

30 Energy Firms Emit Half Of Sector's Methane Pollution: Half of the world's energy sector methane pollution is emitted by just 30 fossil fuel companies, according to Global Energy Monitor Analysis released Thursday. A potent, but short-lived greenhouse gas, methane traps more than 80 times more heat in the atmosphere than CO2 over a 20-year period, and rapidly and dramatically slashing methane pollution is the most feasible way to limit global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F). State-owned companies ranked worst, with National Iranian Oil Co., Gazprom PJSC, and China Energy Investment Corp. making up the top three. The GEM report is consistent with other recent reports on the concentrated nature of methane pollution in the oil and gas sector, and highlights how cutting methane pollution is an efficient way to limit climate change, especially in the short term. “There are vast differences between countries in how much methane they emit for each unit of oil and gas they extract. This shows that these emissions are avoidable,” Mason Inman, one of the authors of the report, said. “About half of oil and gas methane emissions could be eliminated at no net cost to the companies, since they would capture more natural gas and be able to sell it.” (Bloomberg $)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Between Kanye and the midterms, the unsettling stream of antisemitism (New York Times $)

COP27: Adaptation, loss and damage, and African oil: What’s at stake at COP27? (Grist), Major players at the UN climate talks in Egypt (Reuters Factbox), Norway raises 2030 goal of emission cuts ahead of COP27 (Reuters), UN chief urges focus on ambition, trust at Egypt climate summit (Reuters), What tech expects from next week’s COP27 climate conference (Protocol), As other global crises collide, nations converge to address climate change (New York Times $), Climate negotiations: 30 years of melting hope and US power (AP), UN chief warns planet is heading toward `climate chaos’ (AP), War fallout, aid demands overshadow climate talks in Egypt (AP)

• US: Biden sends fewer Cabinet-level officials to this year's COP (E&E $), US House Republicans to press need for minerals at climate talks (Reuters)
• UK: Why Rishi Sunak will attend COP27 after all—but King Charles won't (TIME), Logistics meant King Charles could not go to COP27, Sunak's spokeswoman says (Reuters), Like others before him, Rishi Sunak has a Boris Johnson problem (New York Times $)
• HUMAN RIGHTS: As Egypt hosts COP27, its most famous political prisoner may die, family warns (Washington Post $)
• SHORTFALLS AND TREES: 'Climate carnage’: UN demands funding surge to save millions of lives (The Guardian), Countries hit hardest by climate change need much more money to prepare, UN says (NPR), Few corporations on pace to reach long-term net zero emissions targets: research (The Hill), Wealthy nations pledged to fund climate adaptation abroad. They’re way behind schedule. (Grist), Report: Countries need an impossible amount of land to meet climate pledges (Grist), There's a big problem with countries' plans to plant more trees (Gizmodo)

PROTESTS: Port Arthur pollution fight shows how Texas blocks citizen protests (Texas Tribune), Egypt clamps down on activism and undocumented workers ahead of COP27 (Climate Home)

COAL ASH: Over 130 power plants that have spawned leaking toxic coal ash ponds and landfills don’t think cleanup is necessary (Inside Climate News), Analysis finds ‘stunning’ lack of compliance with coal ash rules, putting groundwater at risk (Energy News Network)

WORKERS: Undocumented farmworkers face disaster discrimination (Axios)

RECORD OIL PROFITS: Cheniere revenues more than doubled in Q3 as LNG demand soared (Houston Chronicle), ConocoPhillips reports 90 percent surge in Q3 profits (Houston Chronicle), Houston offshore company Talos Energy reports more than $250 million in Q3 profits (Houston Chronicle), Permian oil production helps boost APA Corp Q3 profits (Houston Chronicle), Marathon Oil reports $817 million profit in Q3 (Houston Chronicle)

FOSSIL FUELED ENERGY CRISIS: Energy market turmoil shakes Europe's green power plan (Reuters), Europe risks huge gas shortfall next summer, IEA warns (Wall Street Journal $), Fossil fuel projects were stalled a year ago. Now they’re making a comeback. (Washington Post $), IEA says Europe must act now to avoid winter 2023 gas shortages (Reuters), UK to ban insurance on Russian oil transport ahead of G-7 price cap (Politico Pro $)

• LNG: Hidden emissions in liquid gas imports threaten targets (BBC), LNG tankers idle off Europe’s coast as traders wait for gas price rise (FT $)

MEDIA: The Weather Channel launches 24/7 Spanish-language streaming network (Yale Climate Connections)

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: EU in talks with US over new IRA law trade issues (Reuters), Europe seeks exemption from US rules on EV tax breaks (Wall Street Journal $), New tax break for clean energy draws scrutiny (New York Times $), Canada teases two-punch response to Inflation Reduction Act (Politico Pro $)

• SIDE DEALS: Manchin eyes defense bill for stalled permitting reform (E&E News)

AGENCIES: Federal landlord phasing out fossil fuel equipment (E&E News), GAO urges review of satellites’ environmental impacts (E&E News)

DOE: DOE names first-ever head of Puerto Rico grid recovery team (E&E $), How will DOE loan out $250B to make dirty energy systems clean? (Canary Media)

DOI: Groups challenge Interior oil lease on Montana tribal lands (E&E $), NPS advances plans for Alabama civil rights monument (E&E News)

WHITE HOUSE: Latest Biden SPR release sends 15 million barrels of oil to market (Politico Pro $), Meet the Biden energy expert who’s an Oval Office regular (E&E News)

POLITICS: A Republican Congress is coming for Biden’s climate wins (The Atlantic)

ELECTIONS: ‘A renewed sense of urgency’: Climate on the ballot in US midterm elections (The Guardian), Latino voters look beyond immigration, and hope candidates will, too (NPR), Three governor's races that really matter for climate policy (Washington Post $)

TRIBES: Native-run solar firm aims to lower heating emissions and costs. (Sahan Journal), In Nevada, a tribe and a toad halt a renewable power plant (Washington Post $), Canada’s first nations move to protect their lands (Yale Environment 360), 

CITIES AND STATES: How a GOP governor could derail New York’s climate law (E&E News), Ohio Power Siting Board gives approval for state’s first grid-scale battery storage project (Energy Storage News)

FERC: FERC rejects Alliant-led coalition bid to cut ITC Midwest equity ratio, reduce transmission costs (Utility Dive)

IMPACTS: A warming Siberia, wracked by wildfires, nears a crucial threshold (New York Times $), ‘Atmospheric river’ bringing rain, wind, snow to PNW (AP), Climate-related cost-of-living increases are a harbinger of future crises (Truthout), First heat, then floods wipe out farms in Pakistan's chilli capital (Reuters), Global warming twice as fast in Europe as in rest of world, study says (Washington Post $), Southern China at risk of winter drought, drop in hydropower (Reuters), It's unseasonably warm in Europe this fall. Climate researchers are feeling the heat. (NBC)

HEAT: Extreme heat costs cotton farmers billions (CBS)

HURRICANES: Lisa slams Belize as martin becomes farthest-north November hurricane (Washington Post $, Yale Climate Connections, AP)

WATER: Slow to start, federal water bill assistance program ramps up (Circle of Blue), Dammed rivers spell peril, and inbreeding, for platypuses (New York Times $)

(DE)FORESTATION: Can a nation replace its oil wealth with trees? (New York Times $)

RENEWABLES: Clean energy deployments tumble 22% in Q3 to 3-year low as delayed projects rise to 36 GW: report (Utility Dive), Court fight over banned GE wind turbine heats up (E&E $), Largest offshore wind developer raises concerns about its East Coast projects (Politico Pro $), NERC warns of cybersecurity, reliability risks as it outlines strategy for adding tens of gigawatts of DER (Utility Dive), Why the feared wave of solar panel waste may be smaller and arrive later than we expected (Inside Climate News)

• RESIDENTIAL SOLAR: Low-income households’ residential solar adoption is rising, but a stark income gap remains the US norm (Utility Dive), Middle income US households accounted for a third of rooftop solar installs in 2021 (PV Tech) 

LNG: Gas exporter Sempra Infrastructure to build new US LNG plant (Wall Street Journal $)

METHANE: Five dead after methane leak at ArcelorMittal coal mine in Kazakhstan (Reuters)

OIL & GAS: TotalEnergies to take legal action after Greenpeace says it under-reports emissions (Reuters)

PLASTICS: Global brands pledged to curb their plastic addiction. Last year shows their promises don't add up (TIME), Most home 'compostable' plastic doesn’t actually break down, study finds (Gizmodo)

PIPELINES: CO2 pipeline developers, foes clash over landowner lists (E&E News)

HYDROGEN: Race to ship clean Canadian hydrogen to Europe navigates choppy water (Reuters)

PFAS: Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ found in children’s textiles, pet food packaging (The Hill)

EVs: Saudi Arabia to build electric vehicles with Apple supplier Foxconn (Wall Street Journal $), Tesla's California EV market share slips as rivals step up (Reuters), Tesla's first European factory needs more water to expand. drought stands in its way (NPR), Trucking companies turn to electric vehicles for sustainability and savings (CBS)

ART & ENTERTAINMENT: Meet the woman planning an underwater highline (New York Times, Ximena Caminos interview $), Most TV shows and movies ignore climate change. That’s a problem (LA Times $)

HALLOWEEN: Ready to toss out your pumpkins? Here's how to keep them out of the landfill (NPR)

AGRICULTURE: Big agriculture warns farming must change or risk ‘destroying the planet’ (The Guardian), Big food companies commit to 'regenerative agriculture' but skepticism remains (NPR), Regenerative farming goes further than organic, aims to be carbon neutral (WBUR)

HARD SAME, LADIES: Cows are too stressed out to keep up with global dairy demand (Bloomberg $)

CARBON REMOVAL: Tech companies driving CO2 removal are in financial free fall (E&E News)

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: How can a historic garden adapt to climate change? (New York Times $)

WILDLIFE: This coral reef resurrected itself — and showed scientists how to replicate it (NPR)

INTERNATIONAL: Costa Rica backs away from leading oil and gas phaseout coalition (Climate Home), In meat-loving South Africa, climate concerns whet appetite for veggie burgers (Reuters), China is burning more coal, a growing climate challenge (New York Times $), ‘Bubble barrier’ among finalists for Prince William’s prize (AP), India’s air quality is dreadfully bad. Again. (New York Times $), Indian capital battles dangerous levels of air pollution (AP), Conflict, crisis fuel cholera surge across Mideast hot spots (AP), In the Amazon, a giant fish helps save the rainforest (AP)

• Saving one of Central Oregon's jewels (Bend Bulletin, Editorial Board)
• Miners are embracing renewables both for cost and image (Reuters, Clyde Russell column)
• Good climate-change news is fit to print (Wall Street Journal, Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. op-ed $)
• Why international climate summits are doomed to fail (Washington Examiner, Katie Tubb op-ed)
• 8 billion humans: How population growth and climate change are connected as the ‘Anthropocene engine’ transforms the planet (The Conversation, Manfred Laubichler commentary)
• Republican voters support clean energy: It’s time to find common ground (The Hill, Sarah Hunt and Michael Dorsey op-ed)
• How industrial clusters can help reach clean energy targets (The Hill, Sean Bushart op-ed)

Big Oil's Spent $15 Million Watering Down Climate Action In New York

In 2019, New York state passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which set emission targets and spending goals, prioritizing frontline communities and establishing other social equity goals. Now, if you only judged New York by what Fox News and other rightwing disinfo outlets said about it, you may be surprised there are any fossil fuels left in the state. But there are, and the industry has been plenty busy using its considerable resources to try and keep it that way. 

A new report from the Public Accountability Institute and LittleSis shows the extent to which fossil fuel interests are lobbying on New York's climate standards, and it's not the liberal love-fest you might expect. In addition to the $15 million spent by 10 fossil fuel interests on lobbying since 2016, they've also held multiple seats on the state’s Climate Action Council which oversees the CLCPA's implementation. 

And then there's the industry's front group, New Yorkers for Affordable Energy (NYAE). Its website claims the group is simply “dedicated to supporting access to cleaner, reliable and affordable sources of energy for residential and business consumers," but per the report, its IRS filings admit the true purpose is "to expand natural gas service." 

That IRS filing listed three founding directors: Katie Gibbs; Karen Merkel, a communications manager for National Fuel Gas Company; and Michelle Hook, Danskammer Energy VP for Public Affairs. And the address they gave was the same as "the address of Albany-based law and lobbying firm Plummer & Wigger, which also represents other fossil fuel industry clients, such as Millennium Pipeline, where Hook is a former public relations executive." 

Hook is making $10,000 a month lobbying for the group, through a contract with Virago Public Affairs, for whom NYAE is the only registered lobbying client.

But Hook's not their only lobbyist. The "Democratic-Party tied lobbying firm" SKDKnickerbocker, "a powerhouse influencer in Albany," is "lobbying for the group 'on a pro bono basis'" that the report explains doesn't mean they're doing it for free, but rather "likely means that its lobbying is incidental to a larger, paid, public relations contract." 

Unclear what that contract may be, but "one of the SKDKnickerbocker lobbyists registered to advocate for New Yorkers for Affordable Energy is the managing director of the firm’s Albany office, Morgan Hook." 

Huh, Morgan Hook is working on this project with Michelle Hook. 

If you're wondering if there's any relation there, congrats! You win a "suspicious coincidence" prize, because the report states flatly that "Morgan Hook is married to Michelle Hook." 

Talk about playing the long game! Now they're arranging marriages between fossil fuel front group operatives and public relations professionals? 

Are there any lengths to which the fossil fuel industry won't go? 

(We joke, but there is plenty more serious stuff in the report that you should go check out!)

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