FIRST LOOK:

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West Coast OSW Auction Rakes In $757 Million: The first-ever auction for wind lease tracts off the West Coast concluded Wednesday, pulling down $757 million in winning bids. Government and industry officials touted the impressive bidding as evidence of the growing momentum in the offshore wind sector and for floating offshore wind specifically. While offshore wind developers can expect a welcoming policy environment, floating wind turbines have still yet to be deployed at commercial-scale in the U.S. "Everyone knows that we're going to have questions about ports, and we're going to have questions about transmission. They still haven't figured out what kind of off-take agreements they're going to do," Sam Salustro, VP of strategic comms for the Business Network for Offshore Wind, told Politico Pro. "And still, there are bids of over $100 million. I think if anything, it's showing the continued confidence broadly in the U.S. market and the U.S. regulatory system." (Politico Pro $, Utility Dive, Reuters)

Vanguard Quits NZAM And GFANZ: The world's second-largest asset manager is withdrawing from a major international financial industry effort to address climate change. Vanguard, which holds $7.1 trillion under management said Wednesday it is quitting the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. NZAM members have committed to achieving net zero carbon pollution by 2050. Vanguard will also leave the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. The move comes as Republicans are continuing their attacks on ESG investing, efforts they plan to redouble in the coming Congress. (FT $, Reuters)

New DOE Rule Would Electrify New Federal Buildings: The Biden administration will seek to electrify all new federal buildings and a new rule proposed Wednesday. The DOE rule would require new and newly renovated buildings to cut energy-related emissions 90% below 2003 levels by 2025, and complete decarbonization by 2030. "By making all new federal buildings clean and electrified, we will be setting a gold standard for new construction all across America," said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. Over the next 30 years DOE estimates the rule will reduce carbon and methane pollution from federal buildings by the annual pollution generated by nearly 300,000 homes. The new rule is a part of the Biden administration's efforts to decarbonize federal building stocks by 2045. (Bloomberg $, Reuters, Politico Pro $, The Hill)

Fossil Fuel, Especially Coal, Companies Sided Against Rail Workers: Fossil fuel companies, particularly in the oil and coal sectors, pushed Congress to deny paid sick leave to railroad workers vital to the U.S. economy and safe drinking water, Grist reports. Transporting fossil fuels, especially coal, is a major source of revenue for the railroad industry. The four major railroad companies have given tens of millions of dollars to groups denying climate science and only left the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity two years ago. “Coal has been such a huge part of rail," Justin Mikulka, a research fellow at New Consensus, told Grist. "It was in their interest to deny that coal was part of the problem.” (Grist)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Africa forum hails ‘circular economy’ solutions for climate (AP), G7 makes new $15 billion offer to Vietnam to cut coal use -sources (Reuters)

• COP27: Kerry: Climate talks should have done more on pollution cuts (AP)
• COP15: Governments gather in Canada in bid to boost biodiversity (AP), How Indigenous people are fighting to stop 'the biggest land grab in history' (Grist), A UN biodiversity convention aims to slow humanity's 'war with nature' (NPR), Conservation targets proposed for halting nature loss (Reuters, Factbox), Business, investors call for clearer regulations around nature (The Hill, Reuters), Delegates meet with a mandate to set global biodiversity goals for the next ten years (NPR), UN summit: Don’t repeat mistakes on nature, scientists warn (AP), The 30 percent goal: Is bigger always better for biodiversity? (Yale Environment 360), UN biodiversity summit seeks global agreement without US (E&E $), Officials talk biodiversity as drought stunts Kenya wildlife (AP), Indigenous activists interrupt speech by Canadian PM Trudeau at UN biodiversity conference (Democracy Now)

FOSSIL FUELED ENERGY CRISIS: Emergency EU energy measures held hostage by gas price cap dispute (Energy Monitor), Trafigura says Europe will need huge gas volumes next year (Bloomberg $)

• US WINTER PRICES: On-peak wholesale power prices this winter expected to be more than 60% higher in some regions, EIA warns (Utility Dive)
• US-UK GAS: US to boost natural gas exports to UK in energy partnership (AP, Reuters, CNBC)
• UK COAL: Britain approves first new coal mine in decades despite climate targets (Reuters, Washington Post $), What is the Cumbrian coalmine and why does it matter? (The Guardian, explainer), ‘We need the jobs’: Cumbrians divided over new coalmine (The Guardian), Cumbria coalmine approval shows Sunak does not care if he is seen as green (The Guardian)

DENIAL: A beginner's guide to hot garbage (Heated), Climate misinformation explodes on Twitter (The Verge)

GOP vs. ESG: Texas lawmaker subpoenas BlackRock for ESG-related documents (Washington Examiner)

PUT THE FUN BETWEEN YOUR LEGS: Could your next car be an e-bike? (Grist)

MEDIA: Oil ads grease editor's exit at climate startup [Semafor] (E&E $), New York Times journalists, other workers on 24-hour strike (AP, Washington Post $, Wall Street Journal $, BBC)

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: US, Europe need a grand bargain on semiconductors and electric vehicles to counter China (Wall Street Journal $)

• SIDE DEALS: Manchin not giving up on permitting reform (E&E News), Environmental leaders urge Democrats to drop deregulation bill (The Guardian), Manchin energy-permit plan left out of defense bill amid revolt (Bloomberg $), Permitting reform effort suffers setback (Houston Chronicle), What’s next for Manchin’s permitting bill (E&E News)

SCOTUS: SCOTUS may rule against enviros in high-stakes election case (E&E $)

AGENCIES: Extreme floods expose the flaws in FEMA’s risk maps (Washington Post $)

EPA: ‘Unacceptable’: EPA head says of West Virginia water issues (AP)

DOI: BLM advances 1 GW of solar in Arizona, sees potential for 31 GW of clean energy on Western public lands (Utility Dive), Interior leasing delays spur lawsuits from oil industry, Wyo. (E&E $)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: IRS takes aim at conservation easement tax loophole (E&E News)

HOUSE: ‘Victory dance’ for Climate Crisis panel in its final hearing (E&E News)

SENATE: Western senators urge agency to do more on drought (E&E $)

POLITICS: Report finds truck manufacturers are privately lobbying to weaken US climate policy (NPR)

CITIES AND STATES: Extinctions, shrinking habitat spur ‘rewilding’ in cities (AP), How states are trying to fit gas utilities into a low-carbon future (Canary Media), In phasing out emissions, Duke Energy looks to lean on new natural gas plants (Energy News Network), Youngkin inches closer to pulling Virginia from regional climate program (Washington Post $, Politico Pro $)

IMPACTS: Alaska’s northernmost city posts warmest winter temperature on record (Washington Post $), Hunger and climate change drive refugee crisis near Lake Chad in Africa (WBUR), Lightning kills 907 in India as extreme weather surges in 2022 (Reuters), Months after flood soaks priceless Appalachian artifacts, specialists still assessing damage (Yale Climate Connections), What 19th-century whaling logs tell us about 21st-century climate change (WBUR), ‘God’s plan’: Family flees amid catastrophic Nigeria floods (AP)

KIDS?: 24% of Americans reconsider having kids due to warming (E&E $, ABC)

WILDFIRES: Ancient Indigenous practice could curtail today's wildfires (Axios)

WATER: A boil-water notice in Houston made national news. In rural Texas, it’s a way of life. (Texas Tribune)

DEFORESTATION: EU agrees to ban products linked to deforestation (Grist)

RENEWABLES: Brazil, a bastion of hydropower, is gaining traction in wind and solar (Wall Street Journal $), Two solar developers vie for Enel's assets in Chile –sources (Reuters), That empty space next to highways? Put solar panels on it. (Grist)

• IEA RENEWABLES REPORT: IEA: Renewables to beat coal as largest power source by 2025 (E&E $), Solar power will beat out coal globally in 3 years: International Energy Agency (CBS)

BATTERIES: Arizona OKs massive factory for grid batteries (E&E $), Japanese company plans $810M battery plant in South Carolina (AP)

LNG: Port Arthur LNG project speeds up as it lands another European buyer (Houston Chronicle, E&E $)

OIL & GAS: High oil prices lift Saudi Arabia, bolster prince’s economic plans (Wall Street Journal $)

• GLAD SOMEONE'S WAGES ARE KEEPING UP WITH INFLATION: Exxon Mobil raises CEO pay by 10 percent as oil giant makes huge profits (Houston Chronicle)
• FOREVER CHEMICALS: Revealed: Nearly 100 potential PFAS-polluted sites in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia from fracking waste (Environmental Health News)

NUKES: Nuclear SMR developer X-energy to merge with Ares Management-backed SPAC, creating $2B company (Utility Dive)

UTILITIES: Public power, cooperative utilities face ‘deteriorating’ outlook amid financial pressures: Fitch (Utility Dive)

(ALLEGED) UTILITY CORRUPTION: Householder trial set to begin next month (Energy News Network)

GRID: Federal law enforcement warned of attacks on power plants (News Nation Now)

• NC GRID ATTACK: N.C. substation attack exposes grid risks (E&E News), Duke anticipates Wednesday recovery from firearms attacks on North Carolina substations (Utility Dive)

EVs: VW says South Africa must end coal dependence for EVs to make sense (Reuters)

CRYPTO: Ethereum's energy revamp no guarantee of global climate gains (E&E $, Gizmodo)

POLICE STATES: The draconian laws that jailed climate activist Violet Coco (The Guardian)

AVIATION: Sustainable aviation fuels are ready for takeoff, report finds (Axios), Airlines say they can go green... if you pay for it (Gizmodo)

AGRICULTURE: A new push is on in Chicago to connect urban farmers with institutional buyers like schools and hospitals (Inside Climate News)

FINANCE: Activist investors blast BlackRock’s ‘hypocrisy’ on sustainability, call for CEO ouster (The Hill), Norwegian oil fund to vote against companies without net zero targets (FT $)

WILDLIFE: A town in Washington takes a step toward recognizing the rights of southern resident orcas (Inside Climate News), Botswana investigates elephant deaths near Chobe National Park (Reuters), Rare good news from the Amazon: gigantic fish are thriving again (NPR)

INTERNATIONAL: Australia needs ‘wartime mobilisation’ response to climate crisis, security leaders say (The Guardian), India to step up gas imports to address summer power demand (Reuters), Tribes lobby lawmakers, agencies against Canada mine pollution (E&E $)

• Have no doubt: Opening a coalmine in Cumbria is a climate crime against humanity (The Guardian, Caroline Lucas op-ed)
• Ron DeSantis’s war on woke puts BlackRock on the frontline (FT, Editorial Board $)
• How to limit global warming to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius (The Hill, Jim Hartung op-ed)
• Biodiversity needs to be a climate priority (TIME, Julia Jackson and Eric Dinerstein op-ed)
• Indigenous Argentineans resist becoming 'sacrifice zone' for ecocolonialism (Truthout, Luis Martín-Cabrera op-ed)
• Can COP15 help secure a nature-positive world? (Context, Marco Lambertini op-ed)
• Justice Alito’s tone-deaf ‘joke’ about Black children in KKK robes shows just how out of touch the court is (The Grio, Sophia Nelson op-ed)
• Offshore wind must be a significant pillar of US' evolving net zero energy portfolio' (Recharge News, Stephanie McClellan op-ed)
• When accurate data are ‘bad PR (Wall Street Journal, Robert Bryce op-ed $)
• Biden starts a climate trade war (Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board $)

Meghan Markle's Hater Train Takes Twisted Track to Accusations of Climate Hypocrisy

If you had to describe Meghan Markle in just one or two words for the headline of a news story, what would you write? Would you reference her career and call her an ‘actress’? Or, if you think the most vital aspect of her identity is her proximity to the UK monarchy, you might choose ‘princess,’ or the more formal ‘Duchess of Sussex.’

Whatever it is, you probably wouldn't go with “climate crusader” or “environmental activist,” which are the two headline phrases Breitbart and Fox News recently chose.

Why? Well, that takes some unpacking.

It's not exactly a secret that rightwing tabloids love to hate women, particularly women of color. After all, misogyny and misogynoir are basically an editorial standard for disinfo outlets. 

Meghan Markle in particular has been the target of a coordinated and monetized hate campaign across multiple social media platforms. A four-part series of reports by Bot Sentinel revealed a coordinated group of 83 Twitter accounts is responsible for 70% of the website's hateful attacks against Markle and her husband Harry, the Duke of Sussex. Buoyed by a network of bots, and thanks to hate-amplifying algorithms, this hostility is extremely profitable, with just 25 predominantly Markle-focused YouTube channels raking in an estimated $3.48 million in ad revenue. (Great job monetizing witch hunts, Google!)

Attacks against Markle are not limited to shady Twitter and YouTube accounts, however. These posters are fed content by right-wing media outlets like Fox News and Breitbart, which similarly use high-profile women of color like Markle as cannon fodder for their ‘war on woke.’

The latest hit pieces frame Markle as a devoted climate activist, so that it's then hypocritical for her to be photographed boarding a private jet (which would not otherwise be a newsworthy activity for literal royalty). This is supposedly a scandal only because Archewell, the Sussex couple’s charitable foundation, pledged last year to reach net zero by 2030.

Of course, it's important to hold the rich and powerful accountable for their actions and critically evaluate all activities claiming to address climate change. Private jet use is a climate killer, and Archewell’s statement does unfortunately leave much to be desired. For example, the foundation uncritically emphasized the ‘carbon footprint’ idea, something once popularized by BP to distract people from the central role of oil and gas corporations in the climate crisis.

Fox’s and Breitbart’s low-effort attacks against Markle don't even do that bare-minimum bit of informed critique though, and instead just lazily trot out the 'private jet hypocrisy' talking points. As the Climate Action Against Disinformation coalition recently documented during the UN COP27 climate negotiations, climate opposition groups leverage the ‘private jet' meme to dismiss calls to climate action. But as the coalition explains, “COPs are necessary specifically because no amount of personal sacrifice can address the international, systemic dependence on fossil fuels.”

The recent attacks against Markle aren't new, well-informed, nobly-intentioned, or even creative, they're simply an excuse for the right-wing media to combine two of its favorite tactics: vilifying women of color and defending the fossil fuel industry.

And in case you thought that we're exaggerating the extent to which disinfo outlets drum up any conceivable excuse to attack Markle, just try and get through this piece where three Daily Mail journalists byline an attack on Meghan for daring to smile, a topic the Mail covers quite closely, if not obsessively.

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