FIRST LOOK: 

Literally One U.S. Coal Plant Is Cheaper To Run Than Replace With New Renewables: It would be cheaper to build new renewable energy capacity than it is to continue operating nearly every existing coal plant in the U.S., a new report from Energy Innovation finds. Of the country's remaining 210 coal-fired power plants, more than 99% cost more to run than it would cost to replace them with new renewable energy, up from 62% in 2019. The nationwide median cost of existing coal power is $36/mW-h, compared to just $24/mWh for new solar. The only cost-competitive coal plant to operate compared to building new renewables, Wyoming's Dry Forks Station, is just $0.32/mW-h cheaper than new renewables. “Coal is unequivocally more expensive than wind and solar resources, it’s just no longer cost-competitive with renewables,” Michelle Solomon, a policy analyst at Energy Innovation, told The Guardian. “There’s a huge opportunity here to invest in coal communities, build local economic resilience and save money in the process.” (The Guardian, Bloomberg $, The Hill, Gizmodo, Inside Climate News, Washington Post $, Forbes $; Duke Energy: Energy News Network)

Satellite Spots NM Methane Cloud: New Mexico officials are investigating a methane cloud apparently released by oil and gas operations in the state's Permian oil and gas fields, Bloomberg reports. The methane gas, first discovered by a high-resolution satellite, appears to have originated from an APA Corp. facility. The company and state officials say they were unaware of release before being contacted by Bloomberg, though APA admitted a flaring malfunction vented methane gas into the atmosphere in late December. Methane, the main component of so-called "natural gas," traps more than 80 times more heat in the atmosphere than CO2 over a 20-year period and a growing volume of research shows EPA underestimates current levels of methane pollution. (Bloomberg $)

1% Of Shareholder Dividends Could Have Prevented 4.2 Million Utility Shutoffs: Utility companies have cut off customers' electricity an estimated 4.2 million times during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report from the Center for Biological Diversity, BailoutWatch, and the Energy and Policy Institute reveals. The first 10 months of 2022 saw 29% increases in electricity shutoffs and 76% more methane gas shutoffs over the same period the previous year. The report also shows the extent to which major utilities are prioritizing shareholder profits and corporate compensation over their customers' wellbeing. The 12 companies — led by NextEra, Duke Energy, and Exelon — responsible for 86% of shutoffs from Oct. 2020 to Oct. 2022 could have avoided shutting off power and gas to their customers behind on their bills by reducing shareholder dividends over the same period by 1%. They also paid their top executives an average of $5.9 million, per executive, per year. “That was one of the data points that really hit home because that’s just such a small scrape of the amount of money that utilities are shelling out to shareholders that could really change lives in millions of households,” CBD's Selah Goodson Bell, a co-author of the report, told The Guardian. Illinois had the most shutoffs of any state included in the report. Florida utilities probably shut off their customers' utilities more, but Florida no longer requires utilities to track disconnections. (The Guardian, Bloomberg $, The Hill; Illinois: Chicago Sun-Times, NBC Chicago)

TYRE NICHOLS: Tyre Nichols and the multi-layered adverse effects police killings have on Black America (NewsOne), White cop who wanted colleagues to ‘stomp’ Tyre Nichols is suspended (Daily Beast, Black Wall Street Times), Who is Preston Hemphill and why hasn’t the white cop in Tyre Nichols bodycam video been charged? (NewsOne), Ben Crump says the only known white Memphis police officer relieved of duty in Tyre Nichols' death pulled him from car and hit him with a Taser — yet had his identity protected (Business Insider), Initial police report on Tyre Nichols arrest is contradicted by videos (New York Times $), 7th officer relieved of duty and 3 first responders fired after Tyre Nichols' death (NPR, The Guardian, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Buzzfeed, Reuters), Tyre Nichols’s parents to attend state of the union address (New York Times $, NBC), 71 commands in 13 minutes: officers gave Tyre Nichols impossible orders (New York Times $), Rodney King to Tyre Nichols: a timeline of US police protests (Bloomberg $)

COP28: French finance minister backs pension push, UAE’s COP28 pick (AP), Lawmakers to Kerry: Oppose pick for COP 28 president (E&E $), US lawmakers urge UAE to drop oil chief as head of COP 28 (E&E $)

FOSSIL FUELED ENERGY CRISIS: German cabinet approves EU emergency measures to push renewables expansion (Reuters), Germany wants to take action to curb Russian LNG imports (Bloomberg $), New York gasoline shortage brews on EU’s Russia ban fallout (Bloomberg $), Russia’s war in Ukraine is accelerating the shift away from oil and gas, BP says (Bloomberg $, Reuters)

THERAPY: How climate change is forcing therapists to mend their field (Atmos)

FYI: Scotland’s ‘20-minute neighbourhoods’ policy addresses climate change and infrastructure; there are no plans to imprison people or limit freedom of movement (Reuters Fact Check)

BUILDING ELECTRIFICATION: Boston’s public housing is getting a green makeover (Boston Globe $), How worried should you be about your gas stove? (NPR), 6 ways to protect yourself from a leaky gas stove (CNET) Does pic show police ‘gas stove unit’ confiscating a stove? (Snopes), New York might take a second swing at electrification (Washington Post), Oak Park heading to electrification to cut emissions (Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest), New gas stove ban in MD's largest county as feds warn of safety risks (Patch) 

BRIDGES FOR SALE: Inside the high-dollar race to sell natural gas as low-carbon (Canary Media)

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: EU plans to loosen state aid rules to boost renewables investment (The Guardian, Politico Pro $, FT $, Bloomberg $, Reuters), Climate law's labor rules kick into gear, but questions linger (Politico Pro $)

AGENCIES: In climate resilience push, US federal cash flows to coastal rich (Context), Why Biden’s new protections don’t eliminate threats to the Tongass National Forest (Grist)

EPA: EPA to study water pollution tied to livestock farms (E&E $), EPA’s $100 billion climate-aid windfall spurs turmoil (Wall Street Journal $)

DOE: DOE awards $131M for carbon capture projects (Politico Pro $)

TREASURY: Why Treasury's top climate official left the government (E&E $)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden admin offers $1.7B for electric buses (E&E $), It's infrastructure week (again) (E&E $)

HOUSE: Energy and Commerce GOP sets hearing on energy expansion (E&E $), House Democrats announce Energy and Commerce leaders (E&E $), McCarthy meeting with Biden as Hill agenda ramps up (E&E News), Republican governors call on Biden to delay implementation of clean water rule (The Hill)

SENATE: Manchin hearing to dissect infrastructure law spending (E&E $), Manchin sees himself as shuttle diplomat from Democrats to McCarthy (The Hill), Manchin joins Republicans in bid to undo Biden ESG rule (E&E $), Can Joe Manchin broker a debt deal as Republicans try to unseat him? (New York Times $)

TRIBES: ‘A living spirit’: Native people push for changes to protect the Colorado River (LA Times $), Reclaiming the river: Tribes push for change on the Colorado River (LA Times $)

CITIES & STATES & DISENFRANCHISED COLONIAL TERRITORIES: Louisiana seeks to fix insurance 'crisis' in special session (E&E $), Minnesota is poised to pass an ambitious 100 percent clean energy bill. Now about those incinerators… (Inside Climate News), Puerto Rico power privatization deal casts shadow over report boosting renewables (Politico Pro $), Clean energy is taking over the Texas grid. State officials are trying to stop it. (Vox), California’s plan to keep Diablo Canyon nuclear plant online hits regulatory snag (Utility Dive)

FERC: FERC speeds up environmental reviews for 3 gas projects (E&E $)

IMPACTS: Tropical storm leaves 30 dead, 20 missing in Madagascar (AP), New Zealand’s biggest city braces for more heavy rains after deadly floods (CNN), Extreme rainfall exacerbates pollution threat from Oklahoma Superfund site (Yale Climate Connections), Valley fever cases on the rise and may worsen due to climate change (NBC), What winter? NYC goes without any measurable snowfall so far (AP, Washington Post $), Spain’s prized jamón ibérico under threat from climate crisis (The Guardian), World likely to hit key warming threshold in 10-12 years (AP, CNN, The Guardian, E&E $)

WATER: How Las Vegas declared war on thirsty grass and set an example for the desert Southwest (LA Times $), California is lone holdout in Colorado River cuts proposal (AP), In the West, pressure to count water lost to evaporation (AP), Negotiations over Colorado River cuts remain at a trickle (E&E $), Why California, other western states face growing pressure to reduce water consumption (The Hill), Why desert golf courses and artificial lakes remain untouched by the Colorado River crisis (LA Times $)

RENEWABLES: How did renewables fare during Winter Storm Elliott? (Minnesota Reformer), Eversource, Equinor, RWE, others bid on New York’s 2-GW offshore wind solicitation (Utility Dive)

LNG: How the LNG export boom clashes with climate goals (Canary Media)

OIL & GAS: BP cuts long-term forecast for oil and gas demand (FT $), Putin and Saudi Crown Prince discuss OPEC+ cooperation (Bloomberg $)

FRACKING ON THE HOME FRONT: As fracking increases in Texas, city leaders avoid scrutiny (Grist)

PLASTICS: In Israel, disposable plastics trigger culture war, test PM (AP)

COAL: First Australian coal cargoes since end of ban to enter China in Feb (Reuters), Indonesia sees record coal exports of more than 500 mln tonnes in 2023 (Reuters)

UTILITIES: Watchdog says TVA must do more to mitigate climate risks (Politico Pro $)

(ALLEGED) UTILITY CORRUPTION: NextEra charts path for renewables expansion, but campaign finance allegations loom in the background (Utility Dive)

GRID: 'Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’ public-private collaborative to focus on energy, water (Utility Dive)

EVs: The untimely death of America’s ‘most equitable’ EV rebate (E&E News), Ford cuts Mustang Mach-E prices amid EV competition (Axios, Wall Street Journal $, OilPrice), Travelcenters of America to add EV fast-charger stations (Wall Street Journal $)

ACTIVISM: Campaigners urge bond investors to shun Adani Group on green concerns (Reuters)

AVIATION: Carrier Emirates test flies Boeing 777 on sustainable fuel (AP)

BOOKS: ‘The Deluge’ is a climate nightmare — and it’s based on reality (Grist), Ben Jealous on authoritative brutality and how to end racism in America (Ebony)

BIG GREENS: Turmoil and turnover plague Audubon (E&E News)

CARBON CAPTURE: Carbon Capture Coalition names leader (E&E $), Competition heats up for US direct air capture program (E&E News)

IN MEMORIAM: Will Steffen, pioneering scientist who fought climate denialism, dies at 75 (Washington Post $)

DEATH AND DYING: From human composting to freeze-drying, new ways to plan a funeral (Washington Post $)

WILDLIFE: Dolphins, humans both benefit from fishing collaboration (AP, Washington Post $)

INTERNATIONAL: China invests $546B in clean energy, far surpassing US (E&E $), Germany pledges $222 million for Brazil environment, Amazon (AP), Is the EU bracing for an electricity market design revolution, or evolution? (Energy Monitor), Is there hope for a dying river in Kenya’s growing capital? (AP), South Africa considers national state of disaster for energy crisis (Bloomberg $), UK’s power switch-off shows future for cleaner energy grid (Bloomberg $)

• Celebrating wins and breaking down barriers on the long road to environmental justice (The Hill, Rev. Leo Woodberry op-ed)
• What the Tyre Nichols videos don’t show (LA Times, Editorial Board $)
• An open letter to the Department of Energy: Enough with the technical assistance (Utility Dive, Alicia Brown op-ed)
• EPA should ensure methane protections (Albuquerque Journal, Joan Brown op-ed)
• Oregonians fight for a moratorium on factory farms (Oregon Capital Chronicle, Lilli DiPaola op-ed)
• The Colorado River needs the feds to step in ASAP (Bloomberg, Mark Gongloff op-ed $)
• Why the North and East have had such a dreadful summer (newsroom.nz, Kevin Trenberth op-ed)

Breitbart Ramps Up Anti-ESG Coverage With Search-Hacking Sponsored Content

Lately, we've noticed that bare-bones Breitbart, having lost a ton of its advertising revenue in recent years, has taken a real interest in the right-wing fight against Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards. While it would certainly make sense for the outlet to oppose ESG measures, given its billionaire-backing, its laundering of white supremacy, and its loyalty to Donald Trump, these days it doesn't have too robust of a reporting staff, so what it covers is a pretty clear indication of what it cares about. And since it parted ways with James Delingpole last year, it hasn't cared much about climate. 

The fact that Breitbart is suddenly taking up arms in the anti-ESG culture war could have been the result of its simply reporting on what's happening in the conservative manufactured-controversy space, and at first, that's how it might've seemed. But then we noticed some ‘subtle’ signs that Breitbart is taking cues (and sponsorship money) from some bigger fish.

For example, this piece on a newly sworn-in Senator from Alabama casting her first vote to oppose a DOD pick caught our eye as odd. Why would Breitbart choose to make a whole story out of a new Senator's first vote? If the politician were one of the outlet's favored extremists in cahoots with Steve Bannon that might make sense, but Sen. Katie Britt only got an endorsement from Trump once it looked like she'd beat the primary candidate that Trump initially backed, so Breitbart doesn't have an obvious reason to attack.

So why did an editor assign Breitbart reporter Jacob Bliss to write up the supposed news about one of 35 Republicans voting against confirming a perfectly qualified nominee for a Department of Defense position? This is perhaps because the reason for her nay vote, per Bliss, was because of the nominee’s "support from the radical environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policy movement." 

Cribbing from the fossil fuel industry-funded Heritage Foundation's Daily Signal opposition research hit, Bliss scathingly reports that the nominee, Brendan Owens, has worked on "delivering equity, health and decarbonization." The horror!

Seriously though, Breitbart's echo of the Daily Signal and otherwise unjustified coverage of Britt's statement suggest its editorial motivations may not be purely journalistic.

The second red flag was another story from Jacob Bliss published on the 23rd, which is slightly more justifiably news-y. Twenty-one state attorneys general issued an anti-ESG letter to a pair of financial institutes, and, unlike its usual style of relying on other outlet's reporting, Breitbart actually had the letter itself, posted to Scribd and everything. In addition to quoting Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, Bliss also quotes a second person, and attributes both of their comments to "a statement last week." 

Bliss's sole additional source, who also issued a statement about the AG move last week, was Will Hild, head of Consumers' Research, the group The Washington Post just reported as being described as "a right-wing front group with anonymous donors seeking to stall action on climate change." Consumers’ Research has gotten millions of dollars to wage this anti-ESG campaign, and it funds groups like the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) to do so. 

Then what do we see two days after Bliss's two ESG posts at Breitbart? A headline blaring that "Leftist elites have a new woke weapon aimed at your family," complete with the disclosure that "the following content is sponsored by the State Financial Officers Foundation." 

And even as far as sponsored content goes, this one's a doozy. The transcript of the accompanying 1-minute video about how "ESG policies are a backdoor that progressives use to invade our economy" includes a whopping 17 links to SFOF's "OurMoneyYourValues" website! Phrases like the obvious "ESG" and "ESG policies" are linked, as well as "ESG agenda," "ESG claims," and even the end of the question "So how exactly does ESG work?" 

Maybe it was a mistake, and all those links are supposed to go to rigorous independent sources verifying SFOF's wild claims. More likely, though, is that this is a hamfisted attempt to game Google search results to send more traffic to the SFOF's anti-ESG website by publishing content that links the website with the hoped-for search terms. That would drive up the backlink numbers Google's algorithm uses to determine search results, making it look like the website has a lot of value because there are a lot of links pointing to it. 

So not only does Breitbart appear to be the newest recruit in the anti-ESG fight, but now they've even found a way to produce sponsored content with even less integrity than other outlets!

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