This Summer Hottest On Record "By A Large Margin": When June 2023, July2023, and August 2023 all break records for the hottest of those months on record, you don't have to be a climate scientist to figure out that the summer of 2023 was the hottest summer on record, but that's exactly what scientists from the World Meteorological Organization and the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service announced Wednesday. Climate change, mainly caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, is driving up global temperatures. This year's 'meteorological summer' (June, July, and August) were the hottest on record "by a large margin," Copernicus said. “Climate breakdown has begun,” UN Secretary General António Guterres said in a statement Wednesday. “Our climate is imploding faster than we can cope with extreme weather events hitting every corner of the planet. Surging temperatures demand a surge in action. … We can still avoid the worst of climate chaos – and we don’t have a moment to lose.” (Washington Post $, AP, The Guardian, Grist, Gizmodo, Axios, FT $, CNBC, Politico EU, FT $; Climate Signals background: Global Warming)

Biden Issues New Alaska Drilling Protections: The Biden Administration canceled seven oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and strengthened safeguards against oil drilling across more than 10 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The canceled leases, the last of those still outstanding from a Trump administration lease sale on January 6, 2021 Interior Secretary Deb Haaland described as "seriously flawed and based on a number of fundamental legal deficiencies." The new NPR-A safeguards would permanently ban oil and gas extraction from 10.6 million of the reserve's nearly 23 million acres (and can be expanded as local communities can nominate other areas for similar protections) but would not halt drilling at ConocoPhillips' $8 billion "Willow" project the administration approved earlier this year — a decision that incited strong blowback from environmental advocates. While the new protections do not make up for the Willow approval, Deirdre Shelly, campaigns director for the Sunrise Movement, told the New York Times, the new announcements are “exactly the sort of thing young people and people in the climate movement want to see from the president.” California Rep. Jared Huffman echoed the sentiment. “I regard this as a good news day,” he told Politico. “Especially since there’s no bad news with it. We’ve had a lot of these days where it’s a spoon full sugar to make the medicine go down. But this is nothing but good climate news.” (New York Times $, Washington Post $, AP, The Hill, Grist, Axios, Bloomberg $, FT $, Reuters; Nominations for additional protection: Politico)

Texas Pays Bitcoin Miners To Do Nothing, Asks Families To Cut Demand In Order To Keep Grid Online Through Intense Heat: Texas families were once again asked to reduce their electricity use to keep the state's electrical grid from failing on Wednesday. The state, which boasts a GDP larger than Italy, has pleaded with its residents to keep its grid online 10 times this summer as extreme heat and fossil fuels' unreliability have increased demand and constrained supply. At about 7:30 Wednesday evening ERCOT, the state's grid operator, issued a Level Two emergency alert — the first of its kind since Winter Storm Uri in 2021 — with just 2,300 megawatts of operation reserve available. With extreme heat fueled by climate change, and earlier sunsets limiting solar energy output, September evenings are a particularly tenuous time for a grid beset by unexpected coal- and gas-fired power plant failures. Asking families to cool their homes less and not run the dishwasher isn't the only thing Texas is doing to keep its electrical grid online, however. It's also paying Bitcoin miners to just sit there. ERCOT paid Riot Platforms, one of the state's largest Bitcoin miners, $31.7 million in August (presumably not in crypto) to pause their energy-intensive operations, the firm said Wednesday — more than the $13.5 million it paid Riot in Q2 of this year, and more than it paid the firm across all of 2022. (Level 2 emergency: (Houston Chronicle, Texas Tribune; Septembers: Heatmap $; Bitcoin payouts: Bloomberg $, CNBC; Extreme heat and heatwaves)

COP CITY: More than 60 'Stop Cop City' activists hit with RICO charges in Georgia (Gizmodo, Grist), Human rights group will pay lawyers to defend ‘Cop City’ protesters (Black Wall Street Times)

COP28: Developing countries propose $100bn climate damage fund (Reuters), Companies call for more action on carbon, subsidies at COP28 (Reuters), Paris Accord architect says COP is ‘a circus’ that’s not needed (Bloomberg $)

FOSSIL FUELED ENERGY CRISIS: EU must curb Russian gas supply to avoid being ‘held hostage’ (FT $), G7 price cap limits Russian oil revenue, but Moscow has no shortage of buyers (OilPrice), India importing Russian oil is a ‘win-win’ for the world economy, says India’s No. 1 oil company (CNBC)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: In historic legal win, Montana teens see an end to climate change denial (ABC)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Biden's G20 plan: Bidenomics for the world (Axios), Climate change goals emerge as sticking point in G20 Sherpa meet, sources say (Reuters), G-20 aims to triple renewables and gives caveat to fossil fuels (Bloomberg $), New EU climate chief to explore controversial carbon capture strategy (FT $), The US committed to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, but like other countries, it’s struggling to make progress (The Conversation)

• AFRICA CLIMATE CONFERENCE: African leaders call for debt relief to help tackle climate crisis (The Guardian, Bloomberg $), African leaders call for new global taxes to fund climate change action (Reuters), African leaders skirt over fossil fuels in climate summit declaration (Climate Home), As Africa Climate Summit promotes solar, off-grid power ramps up below the Sahara (AP), Climate summit touts Africa's role as clean energy 'superpower' (Context), Ethiopia demands a common position on climate change in Africa (Prensa Latina), Kenyan activist at Africa climate summit: fund green transition on continent & phase out fossil fuels (Democracy Now)

DENIAL & DISINFO & "EDUCATION": US ‘university’ spreads climate lies and receives millions from rightwing donors (The Guardian), Oklahoma follows Florida in allowing PragerU in schools (The Hill, Black Wall Street Times), Texas fracking billionaire brothers fuel rightwing media with millions of dollars (The Guardian), Florida Public School teachers wary of a new school year with new restrictions (Prism Reports)

WHO TO KNOW: 50 climate leaders driving fresh solutions to our planet’s biggest problems (Grist)

INSURANCE: Climate to become expensive, not uninsurable: Zurich CEO (Bloomberg $)

INCARCERATED PEOPLE: Texas prison lockdown over drug murders renews worries about lack of air conditioning in heat wave (AP)

REAL ESTATE: Homebuyers check climate risk when picking a house, Zillow says (E&E $)

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MODELS: Private equity profits from climate disaster clean-up – while investing in fossil fuels (The Guardian)

EPA: Watchdog faults EPA oversight of refinery fenceline monitoring (Politico Pro $), Why Biden's methane fee could backfire (Washington Post $)

DOE: Biden to appoint Marootian to new DOE role after nomination stalls (Politico Pro $), DOE announces $125M in grid modernization, power resilience grants (Utility Dive)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden administration to delay aviation fuel subsidy guidance until December, sources say (Reuters)

THE HILL: 81 Democrats call on Biden administration to pursue tighter climate standards for heavy-duty vehicles (The Hill)

SENATE: Senate GOP frown on tying disaster funds to Ukraine aid (Washington Post $)

ELECTIONS: The Saudis will have a say in US elections (Axios), After primary, Rhode Island looks set to have its first Black member of Congress (New York Times $)

CITIES AND STATES: States withhold cooling aid for the poor as heat gets deadlier (Politico), As Ohio makes way for fracking beneath state parks, locals call for transparency (Columbus Dispatch), Cleveland regional planning agency building community input into climate change plan (Inside Climate News), Ken Paxton may be impeached, but his anti-environment legacy will live on (Grist), Order not to use tap water in West Virginia community enters fourth week after plant malfunction (AP)

• CALIFORNIA: LA emergency storm response system doesn’t do enough to consider unhoused residents (Prism Reports), The fight over California community solar: ​‘It’s everyone vs. utilities’ (Canary Media)

FERC: Ninth Circuit largely upholds FERC PURPA reform decision affecting small solar, wind (Utility Dive)

AIR POLLUTION: World meteorologists point to ‘vicious cycle’ of heatwaves and air pollution (The Guardian, Reuters), In a small French town where Houston-based LyondellBasell is a fixture, residents complain of unending pollution (Grist/Public Health Watch/Houston Landing)

IMPACTS: ‘A harrowing summer’: extreme weather costs hit US as 60m under heat alerts (The Guardian), 20 percent in new poll say climate change could force them to leave their homes (The Hill), Alaskan fishers fear another bleak season as crab populations dwindle in warming waters (AP), California and Florida grew quickly on the promise of perfect climates in the 1900s – today, they lead the country in climate change risks (The Conversation), CDC issues alert on rare 'flesh-eating' bacteria in coastal waters (Axios), Climate change is hurting Six Flags, SeaWorld and Disney World (CNN), Why the Arctic is being threatened by war and climate change (Bloomberg $), Burning Man’s climate reckoning has begun (Grist), Burning Man's Fyre Fest moment is coming to a close (Gizmodo), The Burning Man disaster is ‘a teachable moment’ about climate change (Washington Post $)

STORM DANIEL: Extreme rains cause flooding in Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, killing 14 (New York Times $), In photos, video: Storm Daniel floods buildings and traps cars in Greece (Washington Post $), People trapped and towns flooded as storms hit Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria – video (The Guardian), The death toll from flooding in Greece rises to four and more than 800 rescued from rising water (AP)

HEAT: Are heat days the new snow days? Schools are canceling class as temperatures soar (CNN), How many people are really dying from heat? (Grist), Nausea, brutal heat: Phoenix airport workers file safety complaints (Washington Post $), The heat wave is shutting schools down just as kids return to class (Washington Post $, AP, New York Times $), Southerners slammed by rising temperatures, energy bills (Yale Climate Connections), Phoenix on track to set another heat record, this time for most daily highs at or above 110 degrees (AP)

• TENNIS: In ‘brutal’ US Open heat, Daniil Medvedev warns during his win that a player is ‘gonna die’ (AP), At the US open, stifling heat causes some players to lose their cool (New York Times $)

WILDFIRES: America’s fire spotters aren’t ready to fade away just yet (New York Times $), Evacuation order lifted for northern Canadian city after weeks of fire danger (AP), Father files first-of-its-kind wrongful death lawsuit against Maui, Hawaii over wildfires (ABC), North America’s summer of wildfire smoke: 2023 was only the beginning (The Conversation), The US is spending billions to reduce forest fire risks – we mapped the hot spots where treatment offers the biggest payoff for people and climate (The Conversation)

HURRICANES: Deadly flooding from cyclone washes away houses and swamps streets in southern Brazil (AP, NBC), Floods from Tropical Storm Haikui kill 2 and displace thousands in China’s Fujian province (AP), Missing windsurfer from Space Coast is second Florida death from Idalia (AP)

• LEE: Hurricane Lee charges through open Atlantic waters as it approaches northeast Caribbean (AP, The Hill), Tropical Storm Lee rapidly intensifying, expected to become a Cat 4 Saturday (Yale Climate Connections, Axios)

DROUGHT: The Great Salt Lake is shrinking rapidly and Utah has failed to stop it, a new lawsuit says (AP, The Guardian)

WATER: As Colorado River shrinks, California farmers urge ‘one-dam solution’ (LA Times $), Summer of record heat deals costly damage to Texas water systems (Inside Climate News)

DEFORESTATION: Agribusiness giant Cargill is in activists’ crosshairs for its connections to deforestation in Bolivia (Inside Climate News)

RENEWABLES: Calif. pushes Western grid plan to help unlock renewables (E&E $), China’s breakneck solar expansion starts to meet power grid resistance (Bloomberg $), Indonesia's state utility plans to build 32 GW renewable energy capacity (Reuters)

• WIND: America’s wind-farm revolution is broken (Wall Street Journal $), Why the US offshore wind industry is in the doldrums (Reuters explainer), ‘Marvels of engineering’: The wind turbines that can float (Yale Climate Connections), European renewables hit three-year low as wind malaise deepens (Bloomberg $), Moody’s downgrades Ørsted outlook to negative amid US offshore wind struggles (Utility Dive), US offshore wind projects seek looser subsidy rules in fight for survival (Reuters)

BATTERIES: Another US EV-battery recycler just raised a massive funding round (Canary Media), India to offer $452 million in incentives for battery storage (Reuters)

LNG: Environmentalists lose latest court battle against liquified natural gas project in Louisiana (AP), Pacific Energy-Enbridge venture Woodfibre to supply 100% of its LNG to BP(Reuters)

• AUSTRALIAN STRIKE?: An escalating dispute at major gas facilities in Australia could drive up European prices, analysts say (CNBC), Chevron LNG workers extend talks, delay strike by one day (Bloomberg $), European gas fluctuates as traders await Australia strike news (Bloomberg $)

METHANE: Australia coal mine expansions threaten more methane, study says (Bloomberg $)

OIL & GAS: Emerging markets set for ‘wild ride’ on moves in dollar and oil (Bloomberg $), New Pennsylvania legislation aims to classify ‘produced water’ from fracking as hazardous waste (Inside Climate News), Saudi cuts send world diesel prices soaring (Wall Street Journal $)

PLASTICS: After a year and a half, negotiators finally have a draft of the global plastics treaty (Grist)

PIPELINES: CO2 pipeline project denied key permit in South Dakota; another seeks second chance in North Dakota (AP)

HYDROGEN: What is green hydrogen and why is it touted as a clean fuel? (AP)

UTILITIES: Duke Energy Progress rate hike order also cuts rooftop solar payments for businesses (WFAE), In unexpected move, New Hampshire utilities voice support for solar net metering (Energy News Network), Utility partnerships with the automotive sector: How electric companies are preparing for EV growth (Utility Dive)

GRID: During groundbreaking of SunZia transmission line, lawmakers discuss the future of New Mexico’s electric grid (New Mexico Political Report), Google vet wants to turn your hot water heater into a 'virtual power plant' (Axios), New concerns about US energy grid's durability against climate change (CBS)

EVs: Architect of China’s EV strategy sees future for hydrogen vehicles (Bloomberg $), As EVs fill rental-car lots, drivers feel jittery (Wall Street Journal $), How utilities are partnering with GM, BMW, Lyft and others in the auto sector to accelerate EV adoption (Utility Dive), Mercedes-Benz’s new little G-Wagen will be electric, not cheap (Bloomberg $)

CARS: European carmakers bet on a future with e-fuel vehicles (FT $)

AVIATION: ‘E-fuels’ are catching on as a way to decarbonize air travel (Canary Media), Soaring fuel costs trigger airline warnings (OilPrice)

BUSINESSES: IKEA stores owner Ingka plans recycling expansion (Reuters), Rulemakers upbeat on climate reporting, some companies not sure (Reuters)

CARBON REMOVAL: Microsoft will use carbon-absorbing rocks to meet climate goals (Wall Street Journal $)

FINANCE: BlackRock voted against Glencore's climate progress report (Reuters), Climate commitments are ‘not political,’ says Nicolai Tangen (CNBC)

INTERNATIONAL: Brazil's Lula legalizes more Indigenous reservations in Amazon (Reuters), Colombia delays first-ever offshore wind bidding round (Reuters), Discovery links South African companies with power suppliers (Bloomberg $), How Mexico came to have the weakest climate policy in the G20 (Energy Monitor), India seeks more natural gas amid emergency measures to end blackouts (Reuters), UK could lose global climate leadership, says former energy minister (Reuters), Wanted: Young Indonesians for next generation of forest defenders (Context)

• SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa to face pressure from trade partners to ditch coal (Bloomberg $), South African insurer Discovery enters renewable power trading (Reuters)

• School officials are still arguing about teaching climate change (Washington Post, Editorial Board $)
• Tired of feeling hopeless about climate change? Take a look at these charts. (Washington Post, Amanda Shendruk op-ed $)
• A new tool in the fight to save the planet? A 6th-century Roman doctrine. (Washington Post, Bina Venkataraman and Amanda Shendruk op-ed $)
• Why you should give a damn about America’s dams (The Hill, Dan Reicher, Tom Kiernan, and Malcolm Woolf op-ed)
• Forests are no longer our climate friends (New York Times, David Wallace Wells column $)
• Approving new coalmines while pledging climate action is an untenable position – and the Albanese government knows it (The Guardian, Adam Morton op-ed)
• From horse pollution to climate change, innovation saves the day (The Hill, Harlan Ullman op-ed)
• Burning man 2023 is a climate-crisis parable (Bloomberg, Lara Williams column $)
• As home insurance premiums spike, governments must act (Washington Post, Robert Gebelhoff column $)
• Overlapping crises could fracture the global financial system (FT, Vinod Thomas op-ed $)

(Election) Denial Has Consequences: Proud Boys Get Decades In Prison For Seditious Conspiracy

In November of 2020, two months before Trump's supporters stormed Congress on January 6th in an attempt to prevent the peaceful transition of power to duly elected President Biden, election deniers held a dress rehearsal in DC. We made the rare move of getting off of the internet and into the streets, and reported out in a two-parter that the event "wasn’t just one last hit of the ol’ Trump Rally high, it was an incitement to overthrow the election, to ignore its results, and keep fighting for Trump." Particularly worrying was that among the attendees "were groups like the Proud Boys, for whom political violence is a prerequisite for advancement within their organization." 

Fast forward a few years and this week, leader of the Proud Boys Enrique Tarrio received a 22 year prison sentence for his conviction of seditious conspiracy, the longest yet of the 300 sentences handed down for Jan. 6 insurrectionists. 

Other Proud Boy leaders Joe Biggs and Zach Rehl received 17 and 15 years, respectively, for breaching police lines leading others to storm the building and being caught on camera macing police officers before leading others into the Capitol building for a photo shoot while smoking in a senator's office. Dominic Pezzola, the Proud Boy who used a police riot shield to break a Capitol window and let insurrectionists in before filming himself smoking a celebratory cigar inside the Capitol, was sentenced to 10 years last week. 

Hopefully by the time they get out, the rest of us will have figured out how to make it harder for deniers to use the internet and social media to disrupt democracy.

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