Climate Change Was Really Bad Last Year, UN Report Confirms: Last year's climate-fueled disasters really were that bad, the UN World Meteorological Organization confirmed this morning. The concurrent droughts, flooding, heat, and wildfires and the knock-on effects they cause, all represent the present, and disproportionately inequitable, costs of failure to sufficiently slash fossil fuel use and address the climate crisis. “Communities and countries which have contributed least to climate change suffer disproportionately,” Omar Baddour, head of the Climate Monitoring and Policy Division at the WMO, told CNN. Atmospheric levels of heat-trapping CO2 and methane reached record highs, along with global sea levels and ocean temperatures and acidity — all while Antarctic sea ice and European glaciers hit record lows. Average global temperatures over the last eight years are the highest on record. (AP, Reuters, CNN, CBC)

Desperate Hunger Widespread In Cyclone-Battered Madagascar: Wide swaths of Madagascar face catastrophic food shortages following the one-two-three punch of cyclones in about a year, the AP reports. Cyclone Batsirai slammed the island in February 2022, followed two weeks later by Cyclone Emnati, and Cyclone Freddy in February of this year. Tropical Storm Ana also hit Madagascar in January 2022. Freddy badly damaged 60%-90% of agricultural areas in the southeast where more than a quarter of the population does not have enough food and is at risk of hunger. Mothers, unable to feed their children, are reportedly attempting to sell them in the desperate hope they will be able to be fed. Food insecurity is especially dire in remote, rural areas. In a health center in Mananjary, Iavosoa, a single mother of two in her early 20s, told the AP, “If my daughter is in this state, it’s because we don’t have enough food where we live.” Soaravo, Iavosoa's 10-month-old daughter, barely weighs 4.4 pounds. “I had dysentery for two months. I had almost no milk. I was exhausted," Iavosoa said. “And then she (Soaravo) got sick, too. And then Cyclone Freddy came. (It) ravaged our village and completely destroyed our house." Food insecurity was a serious problem across multiple regions of the country already, “But with the repeated climate shocks of the past year, their resilience has been exceeded,” Brian Willett, head of mission in Madagascar for Doctors Without Borders, told the AP. “Today, 1 in 4 children is acutely malnourished. Without medical support, these children are at risk of dying.” (AP)

Biden Pledges Int'l Climate, Deforestation Funds, GOP Seeks To Gut IRA: President Biden pledged $1.5 billion for international climate and deforestation funding on Thursday. During the virtual gathering of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, which collectively accounts for about 80% of global climate pollution and GDP, Biden said, "With the right commitment and follow-through from every nation ... on this call, the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees can stay within reach." Biden pledged to double the U.S. contribution to the Green Climate Fund to $1 billion and said he would seek to secure $500 million for Brazil’s Amazon Fund to combat deforestation there. Biden's calls for "commitment and follow through" came the day after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Republicans would raise the debt ceiling — paying bills Congress has already accrued — if Biden and Democrats agree to repeal wide swaths of the Inflation Reduction Act. Defaulting on U.S. debt would have catastrophic effects on the U.S. economy and destabilize global financial markets. Repealing major portions of the Inflation Reduction Act would, among many other things, cause tens of thousands of job losses in GOP states. (Biden: Reuters, Politico, E&E News, FT $, The Hill, Bloomberg $, S&P Global, Climate Home; Deforestation: Washington Post $; GOP demands: E&E News, Reuters, factbox, The Hill, E&E News, The Hill; Default: Washington Post $; Red states: Politico)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Why 4/20 still can’t be celebrated equally (Black Wall Street Times)

COP CITY: Atlanta police shot Cop City protestor at least 57 times, autopsy reveals (Gizmodo)

FOSSIL FUELED ENERGY CRISIS: Germany, Poland and others are pushing for new sanctions on Russia’s nuclear energy (CNBC), Pakistan to receive its first cargo of cheap Russian crude (OilPrice), US, allies weigh export bans on everything to Russia (OilPrice)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Canadian court rejects youth climate case (E&E $)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Indigenous Maasai ask the united nations to intervene on human rights abuses (Grist), UN: Protecting Indigenous health also protects the environment (Grist)

GOP vs. ESG: These anti-ESG Republicans are longtime supporters of green power (Bloomberg $)

AGM SZN: Pension schemes to target BP’s Lund over backtrack on climate pledges (FT $)

MEDIA: The tax break that could save Fox millions in its Dominion settlement (New York Times $), BuzzFeed News will shut down (CNN, Variety, Daily Beast, New York Times $, The Atlantic)

CONSERVATION: Restricted access (Indian Country Today and Grist)

ROADMAPS: What’s needed to reach net-zero this century, according to the IEA (Bloomberg $)

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT: The most-cited number about the Inflation Reduction Act is probably wrong, and that could be a good thing (Inside Climate News)

SCOTUS: Judicial record undermines Clarence Thomas defence in luxury gifts scandal (The Guardian), Concerns about Justice Clarence Thomas' disclosures are sent to judicial panel (NBC), 'No one is above the law': House Democrats call on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to resign (USA Today), Sen. Durbin invites Roberts to testify on supreme court ethics amid thomas revelations (Washington Post $, CNBC, Bloomberg $, The Hill, USA Today), Clarence Thomas inspires [&Pizza] promo deal that made 'every pie on sale, just like' the Supreme Court Justice following report he accepted vacations from GOP donor (Business Insider)

AGENCIES: Agency watchdogs: Biden spending brings 'particular risks' (E&E $), DOJ reaches multimillion-dollar settlements against oil and gas companies it says were failing to control harmful leaks (CNN), IRS guidance ‘appears to overestimate’ extent of energy communities under IRA: Charles River Associates (Utility Dive), NOAA system helps weathercasters predict and monitor deadly flash floods (Yale Climate Connections)

• OLD-GROWTH FORESTS: US has inventoried old-growth forests. Will protection be next? (Washington Post $, AP), Biden plans protections for old-growth forests (E&E News)

EPA: EPA proposes to ban most uses of methylene chloride, a toxic solvent (Washington Post $, Politico Pro $), EPA agrees to make Pennsylvania cut Chesapeake Bay pollution (AP, E&E News, Politico Pro $), EPA's troubled chemicals division gets new boss (E&E $), Over $2B in earmarks landed at EPA — watchdog (E&E $), Regan defends EPA tailpipe rules on Capitol Hill (E&E $), US settles air pollution cases with three natural gas processors (Reuters)

DOE: US commits to $3 billion loan guarantee for Sunnova to expand solar access (Reuters, Bloomberg $, Canary Media, Bloomberg $, The Hill, Wall Street Journal $)

DOI: 9th Circuit clears way for Willow construction (E&E $), Takeaways from Haaland's contentious House hearing (E&E $)

WHITE HOUSE: ‘Ransom demands’: White House blasts McCarthy’s debt limit plan on manufacturing (The Hill), Biden to sign order prioritizing ‘environmental justice’ (AP), US could begin to refill the strategic petroleum reserve in fall, envoy says (Bloomberg $), White House announces bundle of sustainability investments (E&E $), White House looks to nature for climate solutions (E&E $)

THE HILL: AOC, Markey try to influence new climate law with a new green new deal (Washington Post $, The Hill), How many Dems will buck Biden on solar tariff pause? (E&E $)

HOUSE: US House Republicans squirm over Speaker McCarthy's debt ceiling proposal (Reuters), GOP case for repealing climate law: China and Wall Street (E&E News), Why the House GOP debt ceiling bill matters (Axios), House Republicans pass bill to ban transgender women, girls from school sports teams (The Hill)

SENATE: Democrats’ numbers problem (New York Times $), Manchin grills Granholm over ‘budget busting’ electric vehicle rules (Politico), Manchin praises GOP’s McCarthy, slams Biden on debt ceiling bill (Bloomberg $), Marco Rubio under fire for Florida gasoline shortage (OilPrice), Sen. Cortez Masto is trying to move her party on mining critical minerals (Washington Post $)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: Biden renominates nuclear energy regulator (E&E $), Long-stalled EPA air nominee reports ‘potential' ethics lapse (E&E $)

CITIES & STATES & DISENFRANCHISED COLONIAL TERRITORIES: A mother-daughter duo wants healthy environments to be guaranteed in state constitutions (The 19th* News), Michigan committee gives $175 million for EV battery plant (AP), Climate change is here. It’s time Californians stopped clinging to the past (LA Times $)

• PUERTO RICO: Puerto Rico's water supply is being depleted, contaminated by manufacturing industry on the island, experts say (ABC), In Puerto Rico, solar power microgrids boost hurricane resilience (Context)

FERC: FERC greenlights 2 Brownsville-area LNG projects planned by Houston companies (Houston Chronicle, Politico Pro $)

IMPACTS: Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are melting rapidly and driving sea level rise, new satellite data finds (CNN), How warming upended one of Greenland's most stable glaciers (E&E $), The devil lurking in the dust (Vox), World could face record temperatures in 2023 as El Nino returns (Reuters)

HEAT: Heat and drought force Europe to accelerate climate adaptation (Bloomberg $), Intensifying cycle of extreme heat and drought grips Europe (Inside Climate News), ‘Frightening’: record-busting heat and drought hit Europe in 2022 (The Guardian, Bloomberg $), Climate crisis fuels deadly heat wave across much of Asia (Democracy Now)

WATER: Calif. snowstorms boost summer water deliveries (E&E $), Low tech makes cleaner water in Iowa; so what’s stopping it? (AP), California to meet 100% of water requests thanks to storms (AP), Saudi company draws unlimited Arizona ground water to grow alfalfa amid drought (CBS)

TORNADOES: At least 2 killed in frenetic, chaotic night of tornadoes in central Oklahoma (Yale Climate Connections), Tornado kills at least 3 in Oklahoma as storms continue in Central US (Axios)

STATE OF THE AIR: 1 in 3 Americans breathe unhealthy air, new report says (Grist)

OCEANS: California researchers attempt ocean climate solution (AP)

INSURANCE: Roaring wildfires push Colo. to create insurance program (E&E $)

RIVERS: America's 10 most endangered rivers 2023: See which waterways are most at-risk (USA Today)

RENEWABLES: Solar and wind companies are coming to rural Texas. These residents are trying to keep them out. (Texas Tribune), Sunrun, others adapt as California’s new net metering rules spur booming interest in energy storage (Utility Dive), Western Balkans see boom in solar energy but grids unprepared (Reuters)

WORKERS: The US needs 1m more electricians to hit climate goals. Can it recruit more women? (The Guardian)

BATTERIES: Black Mountain seeks buyers for $300 million battery power unit (Bloomberg $), Canada matched Biden subsidies to win Volkswagen battery plant (Bloomberg $), Mining lithium in abandoned oil fields for tomorrow’s EVs (Bloomberg $)

BUILDINGS & APPLIANCES & CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS: Ready to switch from gas to electric appliances? Here’s how (LA Times $), Germany plans to ban installation of most oil and gas heating from 2024 (The Guardian), The big problem with cement, and how to fix it (Vox)

LNG: Environmentalists protest being kept out of a meeting about a Philly port for liquefied natural gas (Philadelphia Inquirer)

OIL & GAS: Why 2 gas giants aren’t changing after Southwest winter storms (E&E News), Oil extends fall on global slowdown fears, technical correction (Bloomberg $)

COAL: China’s coal use set to rise with growing EV demand (OilPrice), 

HYDROGEN: US firms behind global counterparts on clean hydrogen initiatives but will catch up by 2030: report (Utility Dive)

UTILITIES: Electric, gas utilities face pushback from climate proposals (E&E $), EV trucks and buses need costly grid updates. Should utilities pay? (Canary Media)

GRID: Avangrid’s $1 billion power-line project prevails in Maine court (Bloomberg $)

EVs: Electric vehicle boom may force China to burn more dirty coal (Bloomberg $), The political fight over EVs is already over (Heatmap $)

TESLA: Elon Musk pins hopes on full self-driving as Tesla's next profit driver (Reuters), Tesla posts strong Q1 increase in storage deployment as EV price cuts, uncertain economy hit profit (Utility Dive, E&E $, Axios)

EXTINCTION REBELLION: [UK] Earth Day climate action organisers promise family-friendly protests (The Guardian), Extinction Rebellion tests break from disruptive climate protests (Context)

AVIATION: Airlines will hike ticket prices to pay for costly sustainable fuel (Bloomberg $)

CARBON CAPTURE: Swiss CO2 removal pioneer ramps up US hiring (E&E $)

FOOD: Why the food system is the next frontier in climate action (Yale Climate Connections)

FINANCE: The world’s biggest banks are still pouring money into fossil fuels (CNN)

WILDLIFE: Eased scarlet macaw protections prompt renewed legal squawk (E&E $)

INTERNATIONAL: Turkey gas field opening sets stage for pre-election energy giveaway (Bloomberg $), A Caribbean island's quest to become the world's first climate-resilient nation (BBC), Britons who keep gardens green should get council tax cut, study suggests (The Guardian), EU, Norway plan cooperation on carbon capture, hydrogen, draft shows (Reuters), Learn by doing, German renewables companies bid to beat labour shortage (Reuters), Norway proposes opening Germany-sized area of its continental shelf to deep-sea mining (Mongabay), What China’s economic resurgence means for the planet (Heatmap $), Early warning is first defense in India climate disasters (AP)

• Climate change is not a progressive issue. It is a medical problem (Newsweek, Neelu Tummala op-ed)
• How to ditch the Earth Day lip service (Yes Magazine, Ariella Cook-Shonkoff op-ed)
• Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas moves to reverse the legacy of Thurgood Marshall (NewsOne, Daniel Kiel op-ed)
• The US Inflation Reduction Act can spur a green race to the top (Context, Stephanie Maier op-ed)
• Biden isn’t banning gas stoves. But facts don’t stop Missouri and Kansas GOP outrage (Kansas City Star, Editorial Board)
• Why are we stuck with a Supreme Court justice who doesn’t follow the law? (LA Times, Jackie Calmes column $)
• Get ready for lower fuel prices — and slower inflation (Bloomberg, Javier Blas column $)
• Biden’s other pro-choice policy: the EPA’s market-based plan to clean up American cars (The Hill, Levi Tillemann op-ed)
• To phase out fossil fuels, the G7 must stop subsidising them (Context, Maria Mendiluce op-ed)
• Covering infrastructure costs to support commercial EV charging is worth it for utilities and ratepayers (Utility Dive, Pamela MacDougall op-ed)
• Green energy is a bigger opportunity for Australia than the resources boom. Let’s not waste it (The Guardian, Rod Sims op-ed)

'Blowfishing' Blowhards: Disinformation Tactics of Rhode Island’s Offshore Wind Opposition

The fossil fuel industry is mobilizing every possible delay tactic in the disinformation playbook to obstruct offshore wind. First, industry allies pretended to care about endangered species and began spreading disinformation about right whale deaths. Now, they’re relying on fishing disinfluencers and national security arguments in their attempt to block renewable energy projects.

Even smaller, state-level organizations are using complex disinformation techniques to obstruct offshore wind development. A recent study by Brown University’s Climate and Development Lab found that Green Oceans, a Rhode Island-based anti-offshore wind group, uses the same disinformation strategies as national campaigns.

For example, Green Oceans routinely utilizes the delay tactic of “policy perfectionism,” which “portrays a climate policy or technology as an imperfect solution, thereby encouraging disproportionate caution and discouraging necessary action.” The group emphasizes the supposed downsides of offshore wind, like the debunked claim that offshore wind harms right whales, and asserts that offshore wind turbines will lead to indirect carbon emissions by providing a habitat for phytoplankton-eating, CO2-emitting filter feeders.

Green Oceans also uses a tactic known as “blowfishing” to “overemphasize the scale and impact of filter feeder emissions” and distract from the fact that these indirect CO2 emissions are tiny compared to those created by methane gas-fueled electricity generation.

Green Oceans also tries to appeal to social justice by claiming that offshore wind will contaminate the ocean and devastate fishing communities, but it relies on cherry-picked data and misrepresentations of the state of current research on the effects of offshore wind development on fishing.

Another tactic used by the group, called “whataboutism,” will seem familiar to anybody who has been tracking the right-wing’s ongoing finger-pointing at China’s emissions. According to a 2020 article, whataboutism is a “widely deployed discourse [that] argues that other countries or states produce more greenhouse gas emissions and thus bear a greater responsibility for taking action.” Green Oceans makes “the implicit suggestion that Rhode Island does not need to transition to renewable energy because it produces less greenhouse gas emissions,” despite the fact that “Rhode Island is complicit in the climate crisis and its size comparable to other U.S. states is not an excuse for inaction.”

The study also takes care to note that Green Oceans is situated within a much larger disinformation campaign against offshore wind energy. “While direct efforts may be funded by its own members, Green Oceans’ advocacy is informed by groups with aligned missions, such as other anti-wind groups in the Northeast and fossil fuel and dark money-funded think tanks in Texas, Delaware and Illinois,” the report explains. “That is, Green Oceans is receiving an ‘in- formation subsidy’ from these groups.”

The organized opposition to offshore wind power isn’t showing signs of stopping any time soon, so renewable energy advocates should stay alert for further attacks. The “good” news is that these attacks will inevitably rely on the same predictable set of disinformation tactics that the fossil fuel industry just won’t quit using.

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