Black And Brown Communities Disproportionately Exposed To PFAS: A new study by Harvard researchers finds that communities of color are more exposed to per- and polyfluorinated substances, the toxic “forever chemicals” colloquially known as PFAS. These chemicals used in industrial facilities, military fire training areas, airports and waste facilities have been linked to cancer and other illnesses. The study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, examined over 44,000 water samples from nearly 8,000 communities across 18 states and found that Black and brown people face significantly greater odds of receiving water contaminated with PFAS compared to white communities. It’s the first peer reviewed study to examine the relationship between PFAS contamination and risk in communities of color. Lead author Jahred Liddie told Grist, “We know that there’s the forces of discrimination, segregation that kind of shape how pollution around the U.S. is patterned.” Historic redlining cited industrial sites that are often the source of PFAS and other pollution near communities of color. (Grist, Axios, Phys.org)

Biden Admin Wants To Allow Conservationists To Lease Federal Land: The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has proposed opening leasing of federal land to conservationists, giving them the chance to compete with the oil, mining, and grazing interests who are already allowed to bid for access to federal land and its resources. BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning told the AP that the proposed changes would address rising pressure from climate change and development. “It makes conservation an equal among the multiple uses that we manage for,” Stone-Manning said. “There are rules around how we do solar development. There are rules around how we do oil and gas. There have not been rules around how we deliver on the portions of (federal law) that say, ‘Manage for fish and wildlife habitat, manage for clean water.’” BLM has a history of more industry-leaning policies for the more than 1 million square kilometers of land the agency manages, an area twice the size of California. Public hearings on the proposal will begin this week and continue throughout the summer. (AP, The Hill, Fox News)

Environmental Campaigner Freed Early From Vietnamese Prison: Nguy Thi Khanh, the founder of the GreenID Vietnam campaign group and one of Vietnam’s leading environmental activists has been freed from prison five months early. Khanh was imprisoned for not paying enough tax on prize money she received for winning the Goldman environmental award. She won the award due to her work bringing scientific research on the impacts of coal to Vietnamese state agencies and officials, and advocating for a cleaner, more sustainable energy system and future. Khanh posted to her Facebook page that she had, “endless happiness to be back in the midst of family’s love, to meet and hug loved ones after 16 months of being isolated.” (Climate Home News)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) INJUSTICE: Devon Parfait, Louisiana tribal chief, on climate change and preserving customs (Teen Vogue), Getting a silent killer out of the kitchen (Washington Post $)

IRS: IRS details which renewable energy components must be made in the US to qualify for IRA tax credits (Utility Dive)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden admin launches $11B program to electrify rural America (E&E $)

AGENCIES: Forest Service approves Mountain Valley pipeline path (E&E $)

GOP: The conservative case for climate action (Deseret News)

MOCHA: Cyclone Mocha's quick, brutal path (Gizmodo), Tropical Cyclone Mocha's intensification fits climate-driven pattern (Axios)

CITIES AND STATES: Nothing to sneeze at: Allergy season in the Twin Cities is getting longer (Axios), Colorado to bar utilities from charging customers for lobbying (Canary Media),  Colo. enacts record clean energy plan, boosts renewable goal (E&E $)

~CALIFORNIA: Scientists take flight to map California’s vast snowpack and measure flooding threats (LA Times $), New California budget means a $6 billion cut, and future uncertainty, for climate spending (Mercury News), Scientists race to study Hawaii’s vanishing permafrost (E&E $)

ALASKA: The foul chartreuse sea (Yale Climate Connections)

IMPACTS: North Carolina beach houses have fallen into the ocean. Is there a fix? (Washington Post $), If your house was falling off a cliff, would you leave? (New York Times $), Punishing heatwave grips Pacific north-west as wildfires rage in western Canada (The Guardian), Climate change is making crabs lose their sense of smell — and seafood may never be the same (Salon)

UNDER THE SEA: Microsoft inks deal to pay for CO2 stored below the sea (Bloomberg $)

AMMONIA: Japan plan to use ammonia for power could boost pollution tied to premature deaths (Bloomberg $)

ETHANOL: US lawmakers want to boost ethanol’s green appeal as EVs threaten fuel use (Bloomberg $)

DENIERS: Cabinet ministers join outspoken climate science deniers at national conservatism conference (DeSmog), Montana Is paying a climate denier to give expert testimony in upcoming trial (DeSmog)

WIND: Østerild test centre: Where the biggest wind turbine competitors are helping each other out (Energy Monitor), Whale deaths cause drop in offshore wind support — N.J. poll (E&E $), California tests waters of offshore wind strategy (E&E $)

OIL & GAS: US plans to buy 3 million barrels for strategic oil reserve (Bloomberg $), Fire breaks out at Marathon refinery in Texas; 1 worker dead (AP), Germany sets stage for G7 clash with push to endorse gas (FT $), Sumitomo Mitsui rules out funding $5 Billion Uganda oil pipeline (Bloomberg $), A crucial climate technology provokes fears in oil country (E&E $)

PUMP: Arnold Schwarzenegger rips critics who accused him of flying to climate conference on private jet (Fox News)

HYDRO: As the harms of hydropower dams become clearer, some activists ask, ‘is it time to remove them?’ (Inside Climate News)

ACTIVISM: Vietnamese anti-coal campaigner freed early from prison (Climate Home)

EVs: Gas-powered cars won't die off any time soon (Axios), UK launches first full-sized autonomous bus service with top speed of 50 miles per hour (CNBC), The new EV gold-rush: Automakers scramble to get into mining (Wall Street Journal $), PG&E seeks to pull out of plan for 1,400 Calif. EV chargers (E&E $), Graphite supplier for electric batteries plans $800M Ga. plant (E&E $)

CCS: NYC skyscrapers turning to carbon capture to lessen climate change (AP), Democrats bet billions on carbon capture, but the government isn’t ready (E&E $)

CARBON BUDGET: Carbon budget of listed firms to run out by Oct 2026 (Reuters)

COFFEE: Climate change imperils coffee. A rescue plan is brewing in Vietnam. (Boston Globe $)

INTERNATIONAL: EU countries to finalize 42.5% renewable energy target (Reuters), South Africa beats climate goal as blackouts slash emissions (Bloomberg $), Pacific Island leaders urge world to put aside differences in combating impact of climate change (AP), Climate change brings warmer, wetter weather to Trinidad (New York Times $), Why some countries find it hard to move away from fossil fuels (New York Times $), Ukraine Is planning its green Reconstruction even as war rages on (Bloomberg $), Puerto Rico’s power play: How should billions of energy dollars be spent (Politico $)

• Graduates, my generation wrecked so much that’s precious. How can I offer you advice? (New York Times, Margaret Renkl $)

• Want to save the planet? Re-industrialize (Bloomberg, Andy Mukherjee $)

• God save the king? What about the planet? (The Guardian, Stewart Lee)

• Whales are the new trees: neither will save the climate. (Bloomberg, Mark Gongloff $)

• We can’t bulldoze our way out of the climate crisis. Maryland’s new forest protections propel nature-based solutions (Maryland Matters, Hedrick Belin)

• How Big Oil is manipulating the way you think about climate change (Salon)

#LaGiustaCausa: Italian Oil Giant Eni Is Latest Corporation To Face Climate Lawsuit

Exxon knew. Shell knew. Total knew. BP knew. Chevron knew. Now, we’re finding out that Eni also allegedly knew about the dangers of burning fossil fuels, and instead of warning the world and leading the transition to green energy, the Italian oil company chose to trick the public and harm the planet in order to rake in massive profits, just like all the other oil corporations.

On May 9, Greenpeace Italy, advocacy group ReCommon, and 12 Italian citizens announced the first climate lawsuit in Italy, which seeks to hold the country’s largest energy company accountable for “past and potential future damages resulting from its contribution to climate change, of which ENI was well aware but chose to ignore for decades.”

The plaintiffs are pointing to an Eni research report from 1970 that refers to the “catastrophic” climate consequences of burning fossil fuels. The company allegedly used lobbying and greenwashing tactics to downplay the risks of its products and push for more fossil fuel usage.

According to DeSmog, “Eni’s company magazine Ecos made repeated references to climate change during the late 1980s and 1990s — while running advertising campaigns promoting natural gas, which is mostly comprised of planet-warming methane, as a ‘clean’ fuel.” Eni’s past ads shamelessly exclaimed things like “Welcome friend methane!” and “Your methane helps Italy stay beautiful.”

Ben Franta, Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Sustainable Law Programme, told DeSmog, “These findings reinforce and add to the pattern found in previous research: Oil majors understood the catastrophic effects their products would have on the world, yet failed to warn the public, concealed their knowledge, denied the problem, and obstructed efforts to solve it.”

The plaintiffs are seeking to force Eni to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030. This goal is in stark contrast to Eni’s current climate pledges, which advocacy organization Oil Change International has called “grossly insufficient.”

While Eni claims to be working toward the Paris Agreement goals in the long term, the corporation is ramping up fossil fuel production in the short term. “Eni took a bath of green paint,” Simona Abbate of Greenpeace Italy told DeSmog. “But no color is enough to comply with the Paris Agreement.”

The lawsuit also seeks to hold the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance and the public investment bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti accountable for their role in influencing Eni’s choices as the company’s main shareholders. If the plaintiffs win the case, these government bodies will have to adopt “policies that guide their participation in the company by setting and monitoring ENI’s climate objectives in line with the Paris Agreement and human rights.”

In response, Eni is staying true to its sleazy track record and is apparently considering legal action against ReCommon for alleged defamation.

Best of luck to the plaintiffs as they champion #LaGiustaCausa (#TheJustCause) and try to hold Eni accountable in this groundbreaking lawsuit.

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