FIRST LOOK(s):

COP27 Opens With Big Win For Impacted Countries On Loss & Damage: As delegates from nearly 200 countries gathered at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Sunday, the UN warned the impacts of climate change are happening now and worsening at an accelerating pace. In a historic win for poorer countries, small island nations, and global civil society, for the first time ever in UN climate negotiations loss and damage finance has made it onto the agenda at COP27. Loss and damage — compensation owed to poorer, less developed nations by wealthy nations that have caused the climate crisis by extracting and burning fossil fuels — is the key litmus test for the conference. The disproportionate damages caused by climate-fueled disasters in the countries least culpable for climate change have been especially horrific in recent months. Pakistan, inundated by disastrous floods that submerged one-third of the country just months after being broiled by record-smashing extreme heat, is leading a bloc of more than 100 developing nations demanding compensation for the irreversible losses and damages the countries have already suffered due to climate change. Civil society groups, human rights activists, and other have also raised alarm about the effective sequestration of protesters away from the conference as well serious security concerns posed by the official COP27 app which can compromise a user's location, photos, and emails. Organizers have touted the conference as the "African COP," but with African countries are already spending billions in an attempt to cope with the climate crisis, activists say that moniker must be earned. “For COP27 to be the ‘African COP’, the needs, voices, and priorities of the African people need to be reflected in the outcome of the negotiations,” Kenyan climate activist Elizabeth Wathuti told the AP. “COP27 is a chance to bring justice to the most impacted countries through global solidarity and cooperation.” (UN warning: AP, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal $, BBC, FT $, The Hill, Al Jazeera, Wired; Loss and Damage: AP, Washington Post $, New York Times $, The Guardian, New York Times $, Reuters, Reuters, CNBC, New York Times $, Reuters, explainer, New York Times $; App security concerns The Guardian; "African COP": AP; Protests: CNN, AP, AP)

Shrimpers, EJ Activists Protest LNG In Lake Charles: Shrimpers, fishermen, and climate and environmental justice advocates took to the water outside a liquefied methane industry gathering in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to call attention to the dangers posed to their communities, livelihoods, and the climate by the expansion and construction of LNG export facilities on the Gulf of Mexico. Gas exports from the Gulf have exploded (sometimes literally) since the lifting of the 2015 export ban, with the U.S. becoming the world's largest liquified methane exporter in just seven years. “It’s sad that we’re getting this shoved down our throat. It’s wrong,” Jimmy Dison, a lifelong Cameron resident and shrimper, told the American Press. The gas export infrastructure buildout, including dredging and water pollution, inflicts adverse and long-lasting impacts on those who rely upon the natural environment to earn their living. “This is way more catastrophic than any hurricane,” because once concrete pads are poured in wetlands, they are there to stay, Travis Dardar, an Indigenous fisherman and shrimper from Cameron told the American Press. “What happens in Lake Charles in the next four years will determine what happens to the world in the next 40,” said James Hiatt, a former oil and gas worker and current Southwest Louisiana Coordinator with the Louisiana Bucket Brigade. “By building more export terminals, these industries destroy our homes, raise our energy bills by exporting our gas and forcing countries to compete for limited supply, and lock us into decades of fossil fuel dependence. It’s time to choose a different future for Lake Charles and the world.” (American Press, The Lens, KSLA)

SCOTUS Will Hear Navajo Water Case; Climate-Threatened Tribes Forced to Relocate: Late last week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving a dispute between the Navajo Nation and the U.S. government. The Supreme Court will review a lower court ruling in favor of the Navajo Nation over claims to Colorado River water pursuant to treaties signed in the mid-19th century, as the River shrinks because of drought and overuse. In a separate, climate-related announcement, the Department of the Interior announced it will give tribes money to aid in their relocation from places threatened by the impacts of climate change. The program — the first of its kind in U.S. history — will help three tribes in Alaska and two in Washington with the costs of moving and rebuilding as their communities are threatened by permafrost melt, flooding, and erosion. The move reflects the fact that centuries of colonialization and ethnic cleansing of Native Americans have forced Indigenous peoples into locations that are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. (SCOTUS: AP, NBC, Politico Pro $, The Hill, LA Times $; Relocation aid: New York Times $)

OPENERS AND CURTAIN RAISERS: Climate change negotiator talks priorities and setbacks ahead of UN conference (NPR), COP27 gets off to delayed start after tussle over agenda for talks (The Guardian), COP27 kicks off in Egypt: Everything you need to know (Axios), Crucial climate talks more fragile than ever after year of turmoil (The Guardian), Four issues to watch at the COP27 global climate summit (The Hill), Who’s who at COP27: The leaders who hold the world’s future in their hands (The Guardian), World in crisis a grim backdrop for UN climate talks (AP), Major players at the UN climate talks in Egypt (Reuters, Factbox), Who’s attending COP27, and who isn’t. (New York Times $), UN chief tells climate summit, Cooperate or perish (AP)

CHECKING IN: Countries made bold climate promises last year. How are they doing? (New York Times $)

EXPLAINERS: 10 things to watch for at COP27 in Egypt (Bloomberg $), What is COP27? what you need to know about the UN climate summit. (Washington Post $), What to expect ahead of the COP27 climate summit (WBUR), What to know about COP27 as the UN climate summit convenes in Egypt (CBS), What to know about COP27, the world climate conference in Egypt (Gizmodo), What to watch at COP27: Climate justice, clean technology and money (Canary Media), What’s going on with the UN climate talks (Boston Globe $)

COP CRITICISM: 5 tensions that could derail the climate conference (Politico, E&E News), An inconvenient truth: Climate change won't be solved in this desert (Politico Pro $), COP27 host accuses countries of making empty public pledges (The Guardian), Global diplomats are talking about climate change — again. Does it do any good? (USA Today), Why COP27 matters for the climate, but maybe not as much as the hype suggests (The Verge), Environmentalists slam corporate influence at UN climate talks (Washington Post $)

ALAA ABDEL FATTAH: Amnesty: Egypt has days to save jailed activist’s life (AP)

STILL ON TRACK FOR DISASTER: As countries convene at climate summit in Egypt, reports show the world is wildly off track (CNN)

USA: At global summits, Biden aims to assert America’s leadership (AP)

CHINA: COP27 showcases US-China climate action rivalry (Politico Pro $), New US message on climate change: Make China pay (Politico Pro $)

INDIA: Why India may be "the only country that has something to show as progress at COP27," despite its coal habit (CBS)

PACIFIC: Australia will bid for 2026 climate summit, but will face pressure to do more this year at COP27 (The Guardian)

EGYPT: Egypt eyes diplomatic payoff from hosting COP27 climate summit (Reuters), Egypt faces food insecurity as it hosts climate summit (Axios), Hosting climate summit is both opportunity and risk for Egypt (New York Times $), As climate change worsens, Egypt is begging families to have fewer kids (Washington Post $)

VENEZUELA: Venezuelan President calls for decisions to mitigate climate change (Prensa Latina)

EUROPE: Macron welcomes French questions on climate ahead of COP27 (AP), UK PM Sunak to pledge accelerated renewables plan at COP27 (Reuters)

YOUTH: 'Negotiating our future': Youth set to grab power roles at COP27 (Reuters)

CLIMATE FINANCE: IMF: Rich countries and public money will ‘never close’ the climate financing gap (CNBC), CAN urges nations to keep climate change finance pledges (Prensa Latina), Carney defends dropping UN climate initiative over antitrust concerns (Reuters)

WAR IN UKRAINE: COP27 summit begins as economy, Ukraine war overshadow climate concerns (Wall Street Journal $), Ukraine war, energy crisis test COP27 climate talks (Wall Street Journal $)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Peabody Peaker plant would harm already ‘overburdened’ communities, advocates say (Boston Globe $)

FOSSIL FUELED ENERGY CRISIS: How Putin and friends stalled climate progress (New York Times $), European nations delay fossil fuel finance ban, blaming energy crisis (Climate Home News)

FIFA IS TOTALLY ABOVE BOARD, Y'ALL: Thousands of migrant workers died in Qatar’s extreme heat. The World Cup forced a reckoning (TIME)

BIG BANK$: Major banks support rainforest oil project despite problems (AP)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Some climate activists aren’t suing over the future—they are taking aim at the present (Popular Science)

GOP vs. ESG: Anti-ESG Republican rhetoric threatens fund flows as midterms loom (Bloomberg $), GOP senators open new front in war on ESG (Washington Examiner)

FLARING: Equipment that’s designed to cut methane emission is failing (AP)

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: EU warns US of potential retaliation in green subsidies dispute (Bloomberg $, Politico Pro $), Duke sees big benefits from US Inflation Reduction Act (Reuters)

EPA: EPA staffers defend environmental justice work (E&E $), EPA announcement on biofuel volumes delayed by two weeks (E&E $), EPA to test air, water in south Puerto Rico towns in a first (AP), How the Hulk took EPA to task over ‘forever chemicals’ (E&E News)

DOI: White House and Interior prep for tribal summit (E&E $), Are public lands a 'political success story'? (E&E $), Court appearance on hold for Forest Service 'burn boss' (E&E $)

• F AROUND AND FIND OUT: TikTok influencer to be charged after hitting golf ball into Grand Canyon (Sports Illustrated, Washington Post $, E&E $)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: In a shift, US. says companies are pivotal to climate talks’ success (Washington Post $), A new push for business to help pay for climate-change solutions (New York Times $)

WHITE HOUSE: White House releases net-zero road map (E&E News), Biden administration identifies ‘game-changing’ climate technology for priority investment (The Hill), Biden says he will talk directly to oil companies soon about high gas prices (The Hill)

• MANCHIN: Joe Manchin criticizes Biden over comments on closing coal plants (Wall Street Journal $, Axios, CNN, The Hill, AP, New York Times $), White House defends Biden end-of-coal remark Manchin derided (Bloomberg $, Washington Post $, Reuters, The Hill), Manchin-Biden coal clash highlights Democratic divisions at a perilous moment (Politico Pro $)

POLITICS: Four ways a GOP-led Congress will take on energy, environment (The Hill), Populists vs. the planet: How climate became the new culture war front line (Politico EU), The infrastructure lobbying frenzy is just getting started (Politico Pro $)

ELECTIONS: Midterm candidates ignore climate change at their own risk (TIME), Climate change hits local ballot boxes (NPR), Climate change eclipsed by inflation, crime, abortion in US midterm races (Bloomberg $), Nearly half of states are projected to backslide on climate policies this election (TIME), These 3 governor’s races could determine whether the midwest reaches its climate goals (Grist), A new, massive plastics plant in Southwest Pennsylvania barely registers among voters (Inside Climate News), Biden won on infrastructure. Democrats are struggling to get voters to care. (Politico Pro $), Indigenous voters, gaining influence, look to mobilize (New York Times $)

CITIES AND STATES: Corpus Christi sold its water to Exxon, gambling on desalination. So far, it is losing the bet. (Texas Tribune and Inside Climate News), Environmental justice leader named in northern Mississippi (AP), 'Groundbreaker': New Yorkers to vote on $4.2B climate bond (E&E $), In one state, every class teaches climate change — even P.E. (Washington Post $), Will Colorado’s strict oil and gas rules spread to other states? (E&E News)

• FLORIDA: Ron DeSantis avoids saying ‘climate change.’ Incarcerated Floridians are living it. (Grist)

FERC: Tensions rise over FERC policy on small-scale clean energy (E&E $)

IMPACTS: Rising Caribbean sea pushes Indigenous group off island (Wall Street Journal $), A climate reckoning for US housing: Too many homes in harm's way, 'too many zeros' in the costs (USA Today), Ancient drought caused ‘ghost interval’ for Congo carbon (E&E $), Atmospheric river blasting Northwest with heavy rain, snow and strong winds (Washington Post $), Climate change is threatening archeological treasures from Alaska to Egypt (Popular Science)

🌈🌈🌈 : Finally, a climate change silver lining: More rainbows (Inside Climate News)

HURRICANES: DeSantis warns Floridians to prepare for tropical disturbance Invest 98L (The Hill, Yale Climate Connections), Subtropical Storm Nicole forms, threatens Bahamas, US coast (AP), Subtropical Storm Nicole forms northeast of the Bahamas (New York Times $)

DROUGHT: Somalis are going hungry. Their government isn’t calling it a famine. (New York Times $), DRIED UP: Threats to Colorado snowpack pose risks far downslope (The Hill), What happens when the mighty Mississippi becomes the measly Mississippi (NPR), Historic drought threatens water reserves at California’s Lake Shasta (CBS), Drought tests resilience of Spain's olive groves and farmers (AP)

RENEWABLES: Texas moves ahead with expanded 80 MW distributed energy resource pilot designed to boost grid reliability (Utility Dive)

METHANE: Methane clouds spotted in China by high-resolution satellite (Bloomberg $)

OIL & GAS: Occidental eyes massive CO2 removal project (E&E $), Frackers say oil production slowing in the shale patch (Wall Street Journal $)

PLASTICS: The plastics industry says its bags are recyclable. California’s attorney general wants proof. (Grist)

NUKES: France’s EDF warns of lower output across nuclear fleet (Wall Street Journal $), Westinghouse focused on central Europe as nuclear power makes comeback (Bloomberg $)

COAL: Michael Bloomberg announces a new initiative to phase out coal in 25 countries. (New York Times $)

HYDROGEN: Oil companies are eying federal climate funds to expand hydrogen production. Will their projects cut emissions? (Inside Climate News)

UTILITIES: DTE Electric proposes $9B spend on 5.4 GW renewables, 760 MW storage, coal-to-gas power plant switch (Utility Dive), Michigan's largest utility aims to close coal plants by 2035 (E&E $)

GRID: CAISO avoided outages in September heat wave – a ‘remarkable outcome’ – with 4 GW storage, conservation (Utility Dive)

EVs: Alarms over EV-mineral shortages grow louder (E&E $), Don’t get fooled: Electric vehicles really are better for the climate (Yale Climate Connections), Ford, Toyota are at odds with their suppliers over EV tax credit (Bloomberg $)

AIR POLLUTION: Toxic smog engulfs New Delhi, prompting school and factory closures (Washington Post $, CBS)

OBJECTIVELY FUNNY: Climate protesters on bikes stop private planes from taking off ahead of COP27 summit (The Independent, CNBC, AP)

ARTSY ACTIVISM: Climate activists glue themselves to frames of two Goya paintings in Madrid (The Guardian), Climate protesters splatter Van Gogh in Rome with pea soup (AP), Climate protests criticized; but Germany missing 2030 goal (AP), Soup thrown at Van Gogh painting in Rome climate change protest (Reuters)

AVIATION: Delta and other firms are struggling to meet sky-high climate pledges (Washington Post $)

REAL ESTATE: For waterfront homeowners, moving can have a different meaning (New York Times $)

AGRICULTURE: Is big agriculture finally having a “come to Jesus” moment? (Mother Jones)

BUSINESSES: It’s a ‘Wild West out there’: CEO says regulation needed to keep firms in line on sustainability (CNBC), Microsoft exec says we need more climate-smart workers (Gizmodo)

MUSIC: Kehlani shouts out O’ahu water protectors at Blue Water show in Hawaii (Teen Vogue)

OPTIMISTIC?: A carbon capture company wants to sell credits on tech that hasn’t been commercially tested yet (Gizmodo)

TRAVEL: Get away, but make it sustainable (New York Times $)

WILDLIFE: Hundreds of elephants, wildebeests and zebras dead in Kenya amid prolonged drought (CNN)

INTERNATIONAL: ‘It’s f**king over!’ Lula da Silva’s victory in Brazil injects hope into global climate fight (HuffPost), Decarbonising UK public buildings to cost £25-30bn (BBC), Germany shy of 2030 climate target at current CO2 reduction rate - govt advisors (Reuters), South Africa's transition from coal could be a model for other countries (NPR, Bloomberg $, Climate Home, Bloomberg $), Will Africa ever see its ‘Great Green Wall’? (E&E News), The US and China might resume climate talks soon, Jerry Brown says (Washington Post $), In India, river erosion engulfs villages (AP, PHOTOS), As climate change worsens, Egypt is begging families to have fewer kids (Washington Post $)

• UNELECTED MONARCHY: Finalists named for Earthshot Prize; Prince William to announce winners in Boston on Dec. 2 (Boston Globe $, BBC, Today Show, Vanity Fair, People, CNN)

• The preppers were right all along (Bloomberg, Amanda Little op-ed $)
• COP27 must address mounting losses and damage to poorer nations (Boston Globe, Rachel Cleetus op-ed $)
• Hydrogen causes more problems than it would solve (Buffalo News, Bill Nowak and Lisa Marshall op-ed)
• Climate stunts and the soup heard around the world (The Hill, Andreas Karelas op-ed)
• It’s our fault if some climate protesters go too far (Bloomberg, Andreas Kluth op-ed $)
• The pollution EPA refuses to regulate (The Hill, Andrew Cohen op-ed)
• New York’s building decarbonization goals may be unachievable without a new technology boost (Utility Dive, Arnold R. Wallenstein op-ed)
• Climate change and the Lancet’s ‘heat death’ deception (Wall Street Journal, Bjorn Lomborg op-ed $)
• The world’s peatlands are climate bombs waiting to detonate (New York Times, Daniel Zarin op-ed $)
• Military bases are disproportionately poisoning communities of color (Truthout, Jonathan Sharp op-ed)
• I've been living off-grid in Manhattan for half-a-year (TIME, Joshua Spodek op-ed)
• Rishi Sunak is a fossil fuel prime minister in a renewable age (The Guardian, Keir Starmer op-ed)
• Remove carbon–but do it equitably. Carbon removal mustn’t become a new frontier for injustice (Fortune, Fletcher Harper and Cynthia Scharf op-ed)
• The Observer view on Britain’s urgent need to commit to nuclear power (The Guardian, Observer Editorial)
• Puerto Rico: A massive energy transformation is within reach (The Hill, Ruth Santiago op-ed)
• We've made big steps in fighting climate change. Here's what's next (TIME, Sen. Brian Schatz, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, and Sen. Martin Heinrich op-ed)
• Is there still time for COP27 to hold back climate catastrophe? (LA Times, Susan Joy Hassol and Michael Mann op-ed $)
• Biden embarrasses Joe Manchin (Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal Editorial Board $)

27th Annual UN Climate Negotiations Start, And The Disinfo Is Already Stale

Every year for the past 27 years, thousands of UN diplomats and climate activists from around the world assemble for two weeks to negotiate on climate action. And pretty much every year, the fossil fuel industry's professional deniers try to mess it up. This year's no different, as we can already see the first wave of attacks on COP27, the 27th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. 

One issue is always that people have to travel from around the world to atten​​d the conference, and that means emissions from flights in. Fox News is leading the way on that stupid supposed hypocrisy, with not one but two pieces on it last week. The first was that John Kerry will not use his family's private jet, and will instead travel to Sharm El Sheik, Egypt on a commercial jet. But since criticisms here were never sincere, that didn't make a difference, and Fox still had Republican insurrection-fister Josh Hawley on to say that "Biden’s cabinet is jetting around the world wasting the same fossil fuels they say they want to ban." 

And that's exactly the issue! The whole climate problem is that modern society runs on fossil fuels, and we need to enact systemic solutions because no individual action will suffice. 

But that logical reality escaped notice for the second story by Fox's newest climate denier Thomas Catenacci. This one focused on a quote from a UN spokesperson saying they'd offset the carbon emissions from COP27, and that the conference "allows for virtual participation." That's basically the entirety of the quote, which Catenacci then "balanced" with quotes from former Tobacco lawyer turned climate denier Steve Milloy. 

Despite the fact that Catenacci had, the day before, written that John Kerry would not be using a private jet, and in that very story notes that the UN is offsetting emissions, he decided to run Milloy's quote saying that it's "going to be like Davos, where you see all those private jets lined up … here you have these clowns flying around wherever they want, staying in these nice places with a huge carbon footprint." 

We can certainly expect to see more of that line of attack, and that and other examples can be found in a great Media Matters writeup by Ilana Berger. Other disinfo narratives we can expect are: the energy impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine means we should expand oil and gas; developing countries should use fossil fuels; and fossil fuels alone can get those in poverty connected to a stable electricity source. All the same sort of stuff we've seen in past years, but with the occasional update for 2022. 

Berger concludes with a link to the excellent field guide for journalists reporting on climate disinformation from the Climate Action Against Disinformation coalition, and if you'd like to get regular updates on disinfo at COP27, sign up for regular intelligence bulletins from CAAD here.

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