FIRST LOOK:

Climate Signals now has a new look, and a new website to go with it! The website is a resource for attribution science connecting indicators of human-caused climate change to extreme events such as wildfires, hurricanes, droughts, heat waves, and floods. Make sure to check it out.

Insurance Companies Worried About Climate Change: Climate change has surpassed insurance companies' concerns over diseases and pandemics, according to a new report released yesterday by French insurance company AXA. The report, which surveyed 3,500 insurance professionals, showed that global warming ranked number one among insurers' biggest concerns. “Climate change is back at the top of the agenda,” AXA Chief Executive Officer Thomas Buberl said in a statement. “This is good news since last year we feared that the explosion of health risks may overshadow the climate emergency.” Climate risks have been on insurance companies' radars for some time: climate worry also was at the top of the survey in 2018 and 2019, but the recent IPCC report illustrated how widespread and destructive climate-related disasters already are and will continue to be if the world does not rapidly reduce fossil fuel combustion while scaling up global resilience and adaptation efforts. The survey also found that more than four-fifths of the professionals surveyed lack faith in governments to combat the crisis.

(Bloomberg $)

Native American Tribes Ask President Biden To Keep His Promise and Protect Bears Ears National Monument: Bears Ears National Monument is facing imminent threats of drilling and mining as more than 200 days into the process of reviewing the boundaries and status, President Biden still has not taken decisive action to restore its protection. In 2016, former President Barack Obama designated 1.35 million acres of sacred cultural sites and areas of spiritual significance to the Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe, and Pueblo of Zuni as a national monument. The Trump administration reduced the protected boundaries by 85 percent, leaving Bears Ears open to new mining claims, and several uranium and vanadium claims have already been staked. The dangers now facing this monument also threaten the health of Indigenous people because uranium mining and associated waste in the water, soil, and air surrounding development sites have been linked to health threats like cancer and kidney disease. Clark W. Tenakhongva, vice chairman of the Hopi Tribe, and Henry Stevens Jr., a representative of the Navajo Nation, wrote to President Biden last week, stating, “We have tried to be patient and respectful as we await your decision on restoration. However, the longer action is not taken, real harm, much permanent, is occurring on this sacred landscape.” (Axios, Washington Post $, The Hill)

Air Quality Monitoring Helping Sacramento Tackle Longstanding Inequities: 

As part of a $500,000 pilot program, the City of Sacramento is installing 100 air quality monitors in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. Research shows that levels of air pollution can vary widely by city block, with major health consequences. This is compounded in communities of color, with Black, Asian-American, Latino, and Indigenous families, in particular, breathing more air pollution than white families because they are more likely to live near highways, refineries, ports, and other sources of harmful pollution. “We (already) have very high-performing regulatory monitors,” said Jennifer Venema, who leads the City of Sacramento Office of Climate Action and Sustainability, “but what we haven’t had is block-by-block neighborhood coverage.” The data from the monitoring could help school district officials determine the best method of educational instruction (in-person or virtual) for students based on the current air quality near their home or school. While measuring pollution alone won’t resolve inequities, city officials believe this data will be critical to creating future climate change policies and help ensure that investments are being made where they will have the largest benefits to health and equity. (Sacramento Bee $) 

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: The hidden climate messages in ‘reservation dogs’ (Atmos)

COP26: How German coalition wrangling could affect COP26 mood (The Guardian)

DENIAL: Vanilla Ice’s ‘Ice Ice Baby’ Samsung remix is the cringiest greenwashing campaign I have ever seen (Gizmodo)

AGENCIES: GAO: Give highway agency more power to fight climate change

(E&E $)

EPA: Pressure on EPA mounts to issue stricter car rule (E&E $), EPA’s “scientific integrity” program lacks teeth, group alleges (Environmental Health News)

DOI: Interior Department to review New Jersey offshore wind proposal (The Hill), Interior withdraws Trump rule that would've made public lands drilling cheaper (The Hill)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: Biden admin revokes Trump-era fossil fuel royalty regs  (E&E News $), solar trade woes cast a pall over Biden’s climate goals (Politico), on climate change, Biden $3.5T plan making up for lost time (AP), 21 states urge Biden to consider stricter car emissions rules than proposed (The Hill), environmentalists urge Biden to toughen auto emission proposal (Bloomberg $), Biden bets it all on unlocking the Manchinema puzzle (Politico), climate migration is here. Is Biden ready? (E&E $)

THE HILL: US Democratic lawmakers urge Biden not to reduce biofuel mandates (Reuters), Pelosi invokes climate conference in spending push (The Hill)

HOUSE: Pelosi says it would be a 'dereliction of duty' if infrastructure goes in 'wrong direction' on climate (The Hill)

SENATE: Manchin details concerns with Democrats' climate plan (E&E News $)

POLITICS: Exxon splits with lobbyist who divulged climate strategy (E&E $), industry lobbyists aim to pick apart Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending bill (Wall Street Journal $)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: ‘Neglected danger’: Nukes not in forefront in speeches at UN (AP)

CITIES AND STATES: A Detroit law promised residents a voice in redevelopment projects. many say their concerns remain unheard (Energy News Network), In Illinois, energy law’s coal-to-solar commitments spark hope, skepticism (Energy News Network), congestion pricing is coming to New York. Everyone has an opinion. (New York Times $)

CALIFORNIA: A bitter dispute ends as California water agencies pledge cooperation on Colorado River (LA Times $)

IMPACTS: Hot, dry, and smoky: Iconic Yellowstone has much to lose with climate change (Yale Climate Connections), fungus found in Yellowstone hot spring is key ingredient in new meat substitute (Yale Climate Connections), Americans' concern about climate hits all-time highs (Axios), for the first time, most Americans say global warming is currently harming US (Truthout), air pollution linked to millions of birth complications across the globe (Environmental Health News), 5 cases of West Nile Virus ID’d in NM (Navajo Times), cities and homeowners look for ways to prevent flood deaths in basement apartments (NPR), children born in 2020 will experience up to 7 times more extreme climate Events (NPR)

DROUGHT: Historical drought likely to persist in Calif. and Nev. (E&E $)

WILDFIRES:  Homes evacuated by wildfire burning in Colorado mountains (AP), in an era of record wildfires, insurers have made fire coverage unaffordable (Truthout), long wildfire seasons also mean extended periods of dangerous air quality (NPR)

HURRICANES: Entergy resisted upgrading New Orleans’ power grid. When Ida hit, residents paid the price (Energy News Network), Hurricane Sam regroups, as the Atlantic simmers with potential activity (Yale Climate Connections), Hurricane Sam swirling over Atlantic with Category 4 winds (AP)

RENEWABLES: Thinktank wants $259m in royalties directed to coal mining towns as renewables take over (The Guardian), renewable energy's share of German power usage falls on lower wind output (Reuters), tariffs, seizures expose U.S. solar industry's vulnerability to imports (Reuters), Diageo plans to make its booze with renewable energy, despite extra cost (Wall Street Journal $), Swiss solar panel maker Meyer Burger plans first US factory (Bloomberg $)

METHANE: EU lawmakers back clampdown on potent greenhouse gas methane (Reuters), state, federal actions show growing push for a nuclear role in reaching net-zero emissions (Utility Dive), utility paying up to $1.8B in settlement for worst methane gas leak in US history (The Hill)

OIL & GAS: Pandemic brings forward predictions for peak oil demand (Reuters), South Africa cuts its 2030 emissions cap by a third (Climate Home), OPEC long-term outlook with crude at 3-year highs: rosy (AP), OPEC predicts a winner in global energy transition: OPEC (Wall Street Journal $), Exxon, Chevron lack a certain je ne sais quoi (Wall Street Journal $), investors see natural-gas crunch spilling into crude market, lifting oil prices (Wall Street Journal $), Jim Justice offers half of coal business to settle debts (Wall Street Journal $), home heating sticker shock: the cost of natural gas is up 180% (CNN), pandemic shopping spree fuels rebound in shipping emissions EU says carbon market cash can ease cost of energy crisis (Bloomberg $)

PIPELINES: ‘Stop Trump pipelines’ coalition responds to Biden’s UN remarks (Navajo Times)

COAL: Australia's top coal-exporting state may halve carbon emissions by 2030 (Reuters)

EVs: Ford unveils record $11B bet on sprawling EV factories (E&E $), Ford to bolster electric vehicle production in multibillion-dollar push (The Hill), electric cars have hit an inflection point (The Atlantic)

ACTIVISM: From protests to proposals, activists face climate talks test (Reuters), why solarpunk gives me hope for the future (EcoWatch)

AVIATION: Green costs to push up travel prices but demand to stay (Reuters), high-flying electric aviation startups enthrall investors (Canary Media)

CARBON PRICING: The latest on big business positioning on carbon pricing (Washington Examiner)

CARBON REMOVAL: Can the world’s most polluting heavy industries decarbonize? (Grist)

DIVESTMENT: Harvard cracks on fossil fuels and a dam breaks (Politico)

FINANCE: Indian shares open flat as tech erases energy gains (Reuters), TotalEnergies to buy back shares and boost renewables investment (Reuters), climate change replaces pandemic as insurers’ biggest worry (Bloomberg $),  the commodities surge comes for oil (FT $), BHP shareholders urged to vote against climate plan (FT $)

FOOD: Carbon-light cooking with kelp (Atmos)

WATER: Desalination can make saltwater drinkable — but it won’t solve the U.S. water crisis (Washington Post $)

PHILANTHROPY: $5B conservation plan offers new approach, but faces hurdles (AP)

GRETA/VANESSA: Climate activists Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate scold global leaders for lack of action (Washington Post $), young activists bemoan climate inaction, demand more say (AP)

LABOR: Steelmakers forge ahead on cleaning up their notoriously dirty industry (Canary Media)

IN MEMORIAM: Myron Dewey, who documented resistance to Dakota Access Pipeline, killed in car accident (Democracy Now)

PUBLIC LANDS: Grazing lands should count for conservation goals (E&E $)

WILDLIFE: Scientists say brighter clouds might protect great barrier reef from climate crisis (EcoWatch), the Klamath, dam removal may come too late to save the salmon (Yale Environment 360), advocates say wind farm plans interfere with fertile fishing areas (NPR), US says ivory-billed woodpecker, 22 other species extinct (AP)

INTERNATIONAL: Welsh government calls on Westminster to help fund safety of coal tips (The Guardian), EU lawmakers vote to prolong fossil fuel gas subsidies until 2027 (The Guardian), climate pressure on Scott Morrison grows after NSW promises to cut emissions in half by 2030 (The Guardian), billions in welfare kitty, yet India's mining villages stay buried in poverty (Reuters), EU lawmakers back clampdown on potent greenhouse gas methane (Reuters), China energy crunch triggers alarm, pleas for more coal (Reuters), little fluffy clouds may help save Australia's Great Barrier Reef (Reuters), Portugal bets on pricey offshore wind, solar farms (Reuters), Australia's top coal-exporting state may halve carbon emissions by 2030 (Reuters), Japan's Chubu Electric to buy 20% stake in Vietnam renewable energy firm Bitexco (Reuters), EU leaders to discuss soaring energy prices (Reuters), Al Gore makes appropriately hedged bet on UK power (Reuters), China’s power crunch could fuel anti-climate backlash, analysts warn (Climate Home),, China’s power cuts may foreshadow shortages of global goods (AP), the energy crises roiling Europe and China — and beyond (Axios), , coal resurgence in Colombia is coming at just the right time (Bloomberg $), panic buying of fuel in UK sparks fears doctors, teachers will be unable to get to work (CNBC)

• Southern California’s beaches are running out of sand (LA Times, Brett Sanders op-ed $)
  
  
• Why have governments not fixed them? (The Guardian, Max Wakefield op-ed)
  
  
• Power is a double-edged sword for global metals sector (Reuters, Andy Home column)
  
  
• With forward capacity auction success, batteries are winning in New England   (Utility Dive, Todd Olinsky-Paul op-ed)
  
  
• California finally gets serious about offshore wind (Energy Monitor, Justin Gerdes op-ed)
  
  
• Focus on methane is timely and appropriate (The Hill, Rob Jackson and Daphne Wysham op-ed)
  
  
• How to disrupt America's history of rebranding misinformation as 'science' (CNN, Nicole Hemmer op-ed)
  
  
• Is Australia's nuclear submarine deal a distraction from international climate action? (The Hill op-ed) 

WSJ Column Ignores WSJ Reporting To Blame Renewables For Fossil Fuels’ Failures

Have you ever heard of the Covid-19 pandemic? Or the UK’s decision to leave the European Union? Of course you have. And of course deniers have too, but you wouldn’t know it judging by a spate of recent pieces seeking to blame renewables for the fact that it’s fossil fuels that are expensive and unreliable. 

At the Washington Times, an op-ed by “energy attorney” and utility consultant Terry Jarrett blamed renewables for the Texas blackout, and the resulting $46 billion it spent on electricity that week, despite the fact that it was the state’s deregulated and gas-heavy grid that drove up prices. 

Over at the Koch-funded RealClearEnergy, the (ashamed) Koch crony Daniel Turner also blamed “energy-rich” Texas’s blackout on renewable energy, because it “is incapable of producing the same amount of energy and cannot withstand the elements.” Not mentioned is the recent federal report that determined the two main causes of the blackout. The first was power plants not being weatherized, and it was mainly the gas plants that froze. The second was that gas transmission systems couldn’t withstand the elements either, so the gas plants that weren’t frozen couldn’t get deliveries. Overall, 60% of the power that cut off was from gas failures.  

You wouldn’t know that by reading the Wall Street Journal’s opinion page, though. They rejected the factual findings of gas’s failures in an editorial last Friday, and on Monday editorial board writer Allysia Finley brought a new bogus argument to their pages. 

In their never-ending quest to falsely disparage renewables, Finley wrote that “increased global demand has caused the price of coal to triple and the price of natural gas to increase fivefold over the past year.” Hmm, now, what were coal and gas prices like last year, during the global pandemic that shut down travel and business across the planet? Finley doesn’t say, instead continuing with “Europe’s cap-and-trade scheme has pushed prices even higher.” 

Ah yes, it’s not that prices are recovering after falling so far during the pandemic that prices went negative, or what Wall Street Journal reporters described as expert opinion that the “short-lived” “surge in coal demand is unique to the pandemic” as well as the fact that when it comes to prices, “the rise is off a low base after an exceptional fall in demand last year.” 

And the UK’s issues with importing energy from the EU is all because of Boris Johnson’s totally sincere climate pronouncements, not that whole “Brexit” business that promised to make importing things from the EU more of a hassle. 

At least according to the WSJ’s opinion page. Ask it’s fact-checked reporters, and you might find a different story.

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