Floods Drive Increase In Number Of Pakistani Girls Sold Into Marriage: The catastrophic flooding that submerged one-third of Pakistan last year is driving an increase in the number of girls sold off as child brides there, Atmos reports. The increase, after child marriages had been declining in recent years, illustrates how patriarchal power structures impose disproportionate climate-related harms on women and girls and also mirrors increases in the number of child brides in other regions hit by the impacts of climate change. “We need to look at how these floods play into existing inequalities because they haven’t created brand-new experiences,” Reetika Subramanian, a journalist and researcher who runs the Climate Brides podcast project, told Atmos. “Rather, they’ve only escalated existing issues.” (Atmos)

Shell Gets Pollution Off Its Books, Nigerian Communities Suffer: As oil majors try to clean up their emissions — on paper — by selling off polluting assets like African oil wells, communities nearby are experiencing even greater pollution, the Washington Post reports. The locally-owned companies that take over the oil and gas operations are often less able to respond to crises and less responsive to international pressure for transparency and pollution reductions. This was the case in Nembe, Nigeria, where a formerly Shell-owned well sprayed oil from a leak for more than a month and has still not been cleaned up well over a year later. The overall trend mirrors what is occurring in the U.S. Permian Basin as oil majors sell off their most polluting assets to smaller, more opaque firms often owned by private equity funds. Now, even with local firms running oil operations, the centuries-long pattern of extractive industries harming African communities continues. “We were excited to see our brothers in control,” Lambert Ogbari, a fisherman in the Nembe area of the Niger Delta, told the Post, referring to the 2015 purchase of Shell’s oil license by a Nigerian company. “We thought they would understand our needs. … But it has gone from bad to worse.” (Washington Post $)

US Renewables Produced More Electricity Than Coal In 2022: Renewable energy sources generated more electricity than coal for the first time ever last year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced Monday. Wind and solar energy produced 14% of U.S.-produced electricity in 2022 with other renewables (including hydro, biomass, and geothermal) generating an additional 7%. Coal produced 20% of electricity generation and methane gas accounted for 39%. “This booming growth is driven largely by economics,” said Gregory Wetstone, president and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy. “Over the past decade, the levelized cost of wind energy declined by 70%, while the levelized cost of solar power has declined by an even more impressive 90%.” While challenges related to building the transmission lines necessary to get wind- and solar-generated electricity onto the grid, the economics of renewable energy are becoming clear. “Renewable energy is now the most affordable source of new electricity in much of the country,” Wetstone said. (AP)

ENVIRONMENTAL (IN)JUSTICE: In Braddock, imagining environmental justice for a ‘sacrifice zone’ (Inside Climate News and PublicSource)

COP28: IPCC report will likely shake up UN climate talks (E&E News)

9:37 🚂 TO THE PETROCHEMICAL DYSTOPIA: Panel to probe derailment's impact on health, environment (E&E $)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Fear of climate lawsuits spreads beyond fossil fuel industry (E&E News)

(CLIMATE) DIPLOMACY: Italy looks to slow green transition drive to shield local firms (Reuters), Nuclear row threatens EU deal on renewable energy goals (Reuters), UN considers legal standard for national climate obligations (E&E $), US and Japan strike deal on minerals used in batteries for electric cars (Wall Street Journal $), US plans ultimatum in Mexico energy dispute, raising threat of tariffs (Reuters)

UTILITIE$: How the natural gas industry cozies up to utility regulators (Grist)

GOP vs. ESG: What is ESG, the investment strategy under attack by Republicans? (Grist)

MEDIA: Fox News is fighting a $1.6 billion lawsuit. But advertisers haven't shied away (NPR)

WORKERS: US faces electrician shortage as it tries to go green (Wall Street Journal $), President is ousted in United Auto Workers election (New York Times $), Worker shortage looms over LNG boom (E&E News)

BEHIND SCHEDULE, OVER BUDGET:  Mountain Valley pipeline at a stalemate: What’s next? (E&E News)

SCOTUS: Chevron Doctrine at risk in SCOTUS fishing fight (E&E News)

AGENCIES: HUD conditions new building finance on flood precautions (E&E $)

EPA: EPA environmental justice office has cash, staff but no boss (E&E News)

DOE: DOE’s SolSmart solar technical assistance program to double its reach by 2027 (Utility Dive), New efficiency standards for air conditioners, air purifiers will save consumers up to $25B by 2055: DOE (Utility Dive), Why the US is still betting on these unusual solar projects (Heatmap $)

DOI: Haaland, Stone-Manning due on Capitol Hill this week (E&E $)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden is mysteriously defying a law that could spur 20,000 new green homes per month (HuffPost), White House threatens veto for Republican energy package (The Hill, Politico Pro $), Ghana gives Kamala Harris the red carpet treatment as VP kicks off African tour (NewsOne, Ebony, Black Wall Street Times)

HOUSE: A closer look at the big House GOP energy package (E&E News), Critical lawmakers to watch on the GOP energy package (Washington Post $), House hearing to probe climate, infrastructure law spending (E&E $)

SENATE: Whitehouse spotlights financial toll of oil dependence (E&E News), Senate hearing to showcase rifts over EPA smog rule (E&E $)

POLITICS: Chamber of Commerce leads letter urging permitting reform action this year (The Hill)

TRIBES: After nearly 200 years, the Yuchi tribe of Oklahoma reconnects with bison (NPR)

CITIES AND STATES: Eugene electrification ordinance headed to ballot after NW Natural funds signature-gathering campaign (KGW), How Massachusetts’ new DEP commissioner will bring ‘transparency and equity’ to the agency (Boston Globe $), New York has a new plan to get all the grid batteries it needs (Canary Media), North Carolina regulators slash payments to rooftop-solar owners (Canary Media), What’s known about Philadelphia's drinking water after chemical spill (Washington Post $), Communities prepare for increasing mental health struggles among transgender youth (Prism Reports), Newsom rolls back water restrictions after winter deluge in California (New York Times $)

• FLORIDA: Florida school bans Ruby Bridges movie after complaint from a single parent (New Republic, The Root, Tampa Bay Times, Black Wall Street Times, Daily Beast), Florida NAACP requests travel advisory to warn Black folks to stay out of Florida due to anti-woke nonsense (NewsOne)

IMPACTS: Famed cherry blossoms bloom early — again (E&E $), New winter storm could push California’s snowpack to record high (Washington Post $), See stunning photos of how climate change is altering our world (Gizmodo), 

TORNADOES: The exact link between tornadoes and climate change is hard to draw. here's why (NPR), South faces more severe storms, flooding after Friday's violent tornadoes (Washington Post $), Photos & videos show devastated communities in Mississippi after deadly weekend tornado (Gizmodo), Tornado recovery tough in Mississippi, one of poorest states (AP), Even small tornadoes can toss mobile homes. What about a massive one? (Washington Post $)

WILDFIRES: A scorched southwestern France braces itself for fires to come (Reuters), Burning smell in DC area probably drifted from North Carolina fires (Washington Post $, The Hill), Villagers flee as winds fan wildfire in eastern Spain (Reuters)

DROUGHT: Tourist villa pools in Tuscany may run dry in summer due to water curbs (Reuters)

RENEWABLES: After five years of bureaucratic limbo, Cape Cod clean energy program finally comes to fruition (Energy News Network), Japan's TEPCO to develop 1.9 GW of offshore wind power in Scotland (Reuters), Wind industry predicts bounceback and rapid growth in 2023 (AP), China Energy plans 1000 MW floating solar plant in Zimbabwe (Reuters)

BUILDINGS & APPLIANCES: Some seniors need help navigating new air conditioning tech (Yale Climate Connections), Your stove is the first appliance to get a battery, but not the last (Washington Post $)

METHANE: Here’s how much top US polluters must cut methane to avoid fees (Bloomberg $)

OIL & GAS: Report: Texas fracking is exacerbating the PFAS crisis (Grist and Floodlight), Oil and gas activity was catalyst for Peace River earthquakes in 2022, study finds (CBC, Truthout, GlobalNews)

PIPELINES: Army Corps delays review of [Enbridge Line 5] Great Lakes pipeline project (E&E $)

NUKES: Xcel Energy powers down Minnesota nuclear plant after finding 2nd leak of radioactive water (Utility Dive), Reuse of coal plants can cut small modular nuclear reactor development costs by 35%: report (Utility Dive)

GRID: Iowa high court suspends anti-competitive transmission law (E&E $), Iowa high court sides with LS Power, freezes transmission right-of-first-refusal law for incumbent utilities (Utility Dive), The nation’s biggest electric capacity market needs fixing, critics say (Michigan Advance), War over CMP corridor enters new phase – a jury trial (Portland Press Herald)

EVs: The paper-thin steel needed to power electric cars is in short supply (Wall Street Journal $)

• TEXAS: What to know about buying an EV in Texas (Houston Chronicle), Buying an electric car and not sure where to start? Our quiz matches you with the best fit (Houston Chronicle), Buying an EV? This tool shows how Tesla, other popular models perform on a Texas road trip (Houston Chronicle), Map: Find the EV charging stations closest to your Texas neighborhood (Houston Chronicle), Texans can receive these EV tax credits when buying a new vehicle (Houston Chronicle)

NATURE: ‘Rewilding’ parts of the planet could have big climate benefits (Inside Climate News, Yale Climate Connections, Grist)

GOING GREEN: Want to promote climate-friendly behavior? Show people how. (E&E $)

CARBON PRICING: In Brazil's Amazon, carbon credit project halted over land dispute (Context)

CARBON CAPTURE: Occidental CEO says captured CO2 must be put to work (E&E $)

ROCKS: Speeding up rock weathering can help decarbonise the atmosphere (Energy Monitor)

DEAD AND BURIED: To help Earth’s future, people are getting buried like it’s 1860 (Washington Post $)

EARTH DAY: 10 simple things to do to celebrate earth day (Teen Vogue)

BRETTON WOODS: World Bank warns of 'lost decade' in global growth without bold policy shifts (Reuters, New York Times $)

GEOENGINEERING: Mexico launches global push for geoengineering restrictions (Climate Home), How two weather balloons led Mexico to ban solar geoengineering (Reuters)

IN MEMORIAM: Walter Cole, Portland’s legendary drag queen Darcelle and civic icon, dies at 92 (The Oregonian), Darcelle, world’s oldest working drag queen, dies at 92 (AP, KATU, Portland Tribune, Washington Post $, Portland Monthly, KOIN, KPTV), Poison Waters reflects on the legacy of a mentor and an icon: Portland drag queen Darcelle (Oregon Public Broadcasting), That’s No Lady, That’s Darcelle (Willamette Week)

INTERNATIONAL: Boris Johnson’s climate adviser backs Labour’s energy security strategy (The Guardian), China and Brazil look to set up green investment fund, say Lula aides (Reuters), Europe’s big polluters win carbon-credit windfall (Wall Street Journal $), Labor agrees to absolute cap on emissions to secure Greens backing for [Australian] safeguard mechanism climate bill (The Guardian, Climate Home), Little progress made on energy efficiency in UK homes, report finds (The Guardian), Do Adani’s woes matter for India’s clean energy transition? (AP)

• Climate change is the legacy of people over the age of 60. That’s why we must protest (The Guardian, Bill McKibben op-ed)
• Fearing credit crunch, hedge funds flee petroleum (Reuters, John Kemp column)
• All hat, no cattle: House Republicans can’t match big talk with viable budget cuts (The Hill, Juan Williams op-ed)
• It’s not perfect, but the [Australia] Labor-Greens climate deal should limit emissions and fossil fuels. That matters (The Guardian, Adam Morton op-ed)
• Congress should step in to advance ocean climate solutions (The Hill, Korey Silverman-Roati and Romany Webb op-ed)
• Reporters’ diary: What women who stay can tell us about migration (The New Humanitarian, Mafdalena Rojo ad Noel Rojo op-ed)
• Why tiny ponds and singing frogs matter so much (New York Times, Margaret Renkl column $)
• Having endometriosis as a Black woman is painful in more ways than one (Essence, Michelle Cole op-ed)
• A mostly hidden problem wastes appalling amounts of water (Washington Post, Robert Gebelhoff op-ed $)
• Thanks, Ron DeSantis: Florida school district pulls ‘ruby bridges’ movie after 1 white parent complains (NewsOne, Zack Linly op-ed)

Crusade Against Responsible Investing Fueled By Billionaires And Runs On Racism

There's been some great reporting lately on the billionaire-backed campaign to use racism to activate the conservative base against "Woke Wall Street" (an oxymoron if ever there was one), as states calculate the billions of dollars in losses that Republicans' bills would lead to if passed.  

Earlier this month, for example, market-oriented CNBC'S Brian Schwartz detailed "how Trump allies and wealthy donors helped fuel the GOP fight against ESG." Of particular interest was the 1792 Exchange, a newly named group that's dedicated solely to the campaign to roll back environmental, social, and governance (ESG) guidelines for investors. It turns out that the group is a rebrand of an old group called "Constitutional Congress," and its biggest funder prior to the anti-ESG work was the National Christian Charitable Foundation, which is a dark money passthrough that provides anonymity to donors. 

Yesterday, 1792 Exchange President Paul Fitzpatrick published an op-ed in The Washington Examiner that potentially signals a new, much more specific agenda for the campaign. He targets specific climate finance groups and campaigns, calling for financial institutions to cut ties with the climate finance group CERES and vote against proxy shareholder resolutions put forward by groups like As You Sow. 

Two more of his demands of corporate America are to oppose "board members who push ESG," and then to stop "working with BlackRock and StateStreet to push ESG… through votes and 'engagement' with CEOs." Apparently, the people who claim to care about freedom don't want companies to be free to select board members who care about proper corporate governance, or be free to talk to CEOs about social issues that might effect the workplace, like racism. 

But the fifth demand is by far the most revealing: "not blocking distributions from Donor Advised Funds to groups that are unpopular with progressives, such as those misidentified as 'hate groups' by the Southern Poverty Law Center." 

Though "misidentified" would suggest that Fitzpatrick thinks the SPLC's widely renowned work on hate groups is flawed (and indeed he links to a different Washington Examiner piece suggesting as much), that's hardly a big enough fig leaf to disguise that his problem isn't with groups being mistakenly listed. After all, such a mistake would be quickly corrected by a defamation-vulnerable group like SPLC. 

The fact that a core plank of the 1792 Exchange’s policy is the assertion that it should be easier to launder money to hate groups proves that the supposedly finance-minded anti-ESG campaign isn't really about protecting corporate investments. As we explained last year, billionaires use racism to mobilize and radicalize a political base that can lobby for their otherwise terribly unpopular policies.  

And the 1792 Exchange's anti-freedom agenda is basically hiding in plain sight.

The group takes its name from the Buttonwood Agreement, "which established America's first stock exchange in 1792." Fitzpatrick explains that "signers included people of different faiths, political views, and even those who fought on opposite sides of the Revolutionary War" who all agreed that "such views should not interfere with honest and profitable commerce." 

Now, some might be hesitant to point to a time in American history where Black people were enslaved as property as their inspiration for a better economic system. But that's just the obvious reason why believing the 1792 Exchange's schtick requires complete, deliberate historical ignorance.

The more interesting reason comes from the most easily understood description of the Buttonwood Agreement that we found online. The Agreement "was a price-fixing arrangement among brokers not to undercut each other on commissions" that "remained a feature of the Wall Street financial market until 1975, when the Securities and Exchange Commission abolished them, forcing brokers to compete in terms of price." And as you might expect, the regulation led to "greatly reduced commissions and, therefore, greatly increased volume, bringing today’s Wall Street into being."

So, a group that took its name from a price-fixing agreement is arguing that 1) the market should be free from regulations, except, of course, those requiring that investors do business with fossil fuel companies and gun makers or get shunned by the state, and 2) donors should make sure it's easy to conceal funding of hate groups. 

Are these really the sorts of people you'd want to trust with your retirement fund? 

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