Supreme Court Serves Setback To Big Oil: The Supreme Court has refused to grant an oil industry plea to review a lower court decision that prevents fracking in the federal waters off the California coast. A 2014 lawsuit brought by the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) resulted in a federal court ruling that prevents the federal government from issuing fracking permits in the federal coastal waters near California until the government considers both “the environmental impacts of extensive offshore fracking” and “fully and fairly evaluate[s] all reasonable alternatives.” The Supreme Court refused to consider the validity of this order, keeping it in place until the federal government satisfies the conditions laid out by the lower court. “The Santa Barbara Channel is one of the most ecologically rich and important regions in the world.” Maggie Hall, senior attorney at EDC, said in a statement. “As the climate crisis escalates, ending these destructive extraction practices is a matter of survival — not just for the whales, otters and other animals in the Channel, but for all life on earth.” (The Hill, Seeking Alpha, Washington Examiner, San Francisco Chronicle $)

Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches: An unusually warm winter and subsequent late spring freeze caused Georgia to lose more than 90 percent of its peach crop this year. In 2021, the 130 million pounds of peaches produced in the Peach State were valued at around $85 million. Lawton Pearson of Pearson Farm in Fort Valley, Georgia told CNN the peach crop hasn’t been hit this bad since back in 1955. Peaches need some periods of cold weather to fruit, but the first three months of 2023 were the warmest on record in Georgia and the number of days cold enough for a healthy peach crop has been dwindling as the climate continues to warm. “We know winters are getting warmer,” Pam Knox, a University of Georgia agricultural climatologist, told Georgia NPR affiliate WABE last year. “And there’s no explanation other than human-caused global warming.” After planting, peach trees take three to four years before they can be harvested each year. (CNN, WABE, Atlanta Journal Constitution $)

Record Amount Of CO2 Now In Earth’s Atmosphere: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Scripps) has found that the levels of carbon pollution in Earth's atmosphere reached another record high last month, as it continues "a steady climb further into territory not seen for millions of years," according to NOAA. Carbon dioxide levels measured 424 parts per million in May in Hawaii, 3 parts per million more than the average found in May 2022. It’s the fourth-largest annual increase since recordkeeping began 65 years ago, and 2022 was the at least the sixth-warmest year on record as countries around the world set new national record-high annual averages. “Whatever we’re seeing weather-wise now is just the beginnings of much bigger changes,” Ralph Keeling, a geochemist at Scripps, told the Washington Post. “We are absolutely at levels unseen in human civilization,” University of Oklahoma meteorology professor Jason Furtado told the AP. “Humans are running a massive experiment on the Earth climate system via burning carbon, and the results are turning out not great for a lot of people on this planet.”  (AP, USA Today, Washington Post $, LA Times $)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Atlanta police arrest organizers of bail fund for cop city protesters (The Intercept)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) INJUSTICE: Climate crisis: rich nations undermining work to help poor countries, research suggests (The Guardian), Wealthy nations overstating climate aid, report finds (Yale Environment 360)

COP28: Top COP28 official: oil, gas should be at the climate table (Axios), Will fossil fuel phase-out make it onto the UN’s climate agenda? (Al Jazeera), UN climate chief calls fossil fuel phase out key to curbing warming but may not be on talks’ agenda (AP)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: The money behind the coming wave of climate litigation (FT $)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Global food orgs foresee mixed results from UN climate talks (Axios), UN climate talks in Germany kick off with no final agenda (Reuters), Rich countries with high greenhouse gas emissions could pay $170tn in climate reparations (The Guardian), Top US officials have ‘candid and productive discussions’ in Beijing amid ongoing tensions (CNN), Countries must put aside national interests for climate crisis, UN says (The Guardian)

THE HILL: How Green New Dealers became Washington power players (E&E $), DOE nominee has extensive energy industry ties (E&E $), After debt ceiling deal, what's left on permitting? (E&E $)

MVP: Mountain Valley calls for dismissal of permit fight (E&E $)

SCOTUS: How the Supreme Court conservative ‘supermajority’ is changing the country (CNN)

ELECTIONS: Ron DeSantis has tried to tackle climate disasters, not carbon emissions (Washington Post $)

CITIES AND STATES: More than 90% of the Peach State’s peaches were lost this year after extreme winter weather (CNN), Florida's strawberry industry threatened by climate change (Axios), Tennessee AG probes asset managers over climate change policies (Reuters), Can a New York State law solve or trigger an emerging markets debt crisis? (Reuters)

~CALIFORNIA: ‘Climate whiplash’ is the new normal for California, experts say (Yale Climate Connections)

IMPACTS: Northeast US faces wild wind and waves: weather watch (Bloomberg $), London dry spell tops three weeks, longest since last year’s heat wave (Bloomberg $)

WILDFIRES: Canada on track for its worst-ever wildfire season (Reuters), Wildfire smoke again hits the east coast. How bad is it for your health? (Washington Post $), Smoky week ahead from wildfires in Canada is expected to lead to more alert warnings for the Northeast (CNN)

WATER: ‘Improvised, spotty and belated’: Will California reform its oversight of water rights? (LA Times $)

RENEWABLES: The US clean energy manufacturing boom has begun. Now what? (Canary Media), How climate activists are working to shift trillions of dollars away from fossil fuels and into renewables (WHYY)

BUILDINGS: How a 10-story wood building survived more than 100 earthquakes (Bloomberg $) Gas stove debate boils over in Congress this week (CBS) U.S. House Republicans aim to defend gas-stove owners' 'freedoms' (Reuters) House GOP Target Gas Stove Regulations, Power of Administrative State (NTD) Berkeley Seeks Rehearing of Gas Ban Reversal (RTO Insider) WA Rep. maintains fervent push to keep gas stovetops unregulated (MYNorthwest)

WIND: US wind manufacturing makes a comeback thanks to Inflation Reduction Act

(Canary Media)

GRID: One path to more power lines? Make US grid operators share more (Canary Media)

OIL & GAS: Saudi Arabia keeps oil markets guessing — again (Axios), Top ten countries currently developing the most oil and gas fields (Energy Monitor), Fact check: Trump boasts about a massive oil purchase that never happened (CNN), Natural gas finishes higher on hotter weather (Wall Street Journal $), Russia’s oil and gas revenue shrank by over a third in may (Bloomberg $), Why you should double the US Department of Energy’s sudden projection of falling national gas demand (Forbes)

HYDRO: This Texas community has waited decades for running water. Could hydro-panels help? (Inside Climate News)

BATTERIES: When will Africa get its first gigantic battery factory? (Bloomberg $)

H2: Energy Department unveils plan using hydrogen energy to cut US emissions by 10 percent (The Hill), Constellation sets hydrogen-gas plant blending record, but more advances needed for utility-scale use: experts (Utility Dive), Underground hydrogen could supercharge green energy. First, scientists have to find it. (Wall Street Journal $), DOE finalizes national hydrogen road map (E&E $)

GRID: How a Calif. energy storage boom could save the grid (E&E $)

EVs: Regardless of what Mr. Bean says, EVs are much better for the environment than gasoline vehicles (Inside Climate News), Electric vehicles are taking off in parts of conservative Texas (Washington Post $), EV makers confront the ‘nickel pickle’ (Wall Street Journal $), Electric vehicles appeal to conservative buyers sick of gas guzzlers (Washington Post $)

TRAVEL: Tourist destinations and climate change: how to travel respectfully (Teen Vogue)

INSURANCE: Climate change is already making parts of America uninsurable (Vox), Greens target insurance to hobble gas exports (Politico $)

GREENHUSHING: Companies ‘greenhushing’ to avoid scrutiny of climate goals, Asic says (The Guardian)

FUNGI: Fungi may offer ‘jaw-dropping’ solution to climate change (The Hill)

BITCOIN: El Salvador partnership to build $1 billion bitcoin mining farm (Reuters)

MILITARY: New tool tracks military deployments to climate disasters (Scientific American)

INTERNATIONAL: A $4 billion oil pipeline creates a climate dilemma for Africa (Bloomberg $), Brazil's Lula unveils plan to stop deforestation in Amazon by 2030 (Reuters), India cracks down on critics of coal (Washington Post $), Saudi Arabia cuts oil output after OPEC members clash over quotas (Wall Street Journal $), Saudi Arabia says it will cut production to stem a slide in oil prices (New York Times $)

• Private jets are a climate disaster. Hanscom shouldn’t allow moreI (WBUR, Sabine von Mering)

House GOP Scrapes Bottom Of Koch Barrel For Latest Anti-ESG Charade

Environmental, social, and governance metrics, or ESG, are a basic way for companies to assess the business costs and risks of pollution, discrimination, and poor management. Because ESG investing means companies dealing in fossil fuels, racism, and foolishness might not get access to the same financing as clean, just, and responsible profits, it's become a major problem for the polluter-pandering Republican Party. 

Last month saw an embarrassment of an ESG hearing in the House, full of antisemitism, white supremacy, and, of course, climate denial, and now the GOP has decided to double-down with part two of the series: A joint subcommittee hearing is scheduled for today at 2 p.m. ET. 

In the first hearing, Republicans and their witnesses couldn’t convincingly refute the massive costs to state pensions, taxpayers, and consumers or the impacts on businesses resulting from the GOP’s crusade against responsible investing. The two state Attorneys General’s mediocre performances also failed to clearly articulate the dubious legal aspects of their campaign. Now, House Republicans are relying on three well-known fossil fuel industry-funded witnesses and the architects of state-based astroturf anti-ESG legislation to uphold the anti-ESG campaign's foundation: market-distorting protection of the fossil fuel industry, backed by disinformation, conspiracy theories, and outright denial of settled science. 

In no particular order, here are the deplorable witnesses scheduled to speak at today’s hearing. First, there's Jason Isaac of the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), a well-known front group for fossil fuels that received millions from the Koch Network and DonorsTrust. TPPF’s Life:Powered project evolved from past efforts to undermine the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, and Isaac, a KochPAC-supported former Texas state representative. 

As recently as 2022, Isaac perpetuated disinformation about renewable energy’s impacts on Texas power outages, allegations that have been repeatedly debunked but spread relentlessly anyway because they deflect blame from the fossil fuel industry’s catastrophic and costly failures. 

Speaking of failures, next up is Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation, which has a lengthy and intimate relationship with the fossil fuel industry that coincides with its role as a leading disseminator of ESG misinformation. The longtime climate denialist’s career as an economist has been marked by errors, deception, falsehoods, and incompetence, with leading fellow economists stating Moore has zero credibility. 

Not only is Moore professionally reliant on funding from polluters damaging the environment, he's also not a big fan of the "social responsibility" aspect either, given that he was deemed too much of a sexist to serve in the Donald Trump administration. Moore was notably compelled to withdraw his candidacy for a Trump-era Federal Reserve board position due to Republican opposition in light of his history of sexist views and comments. 

Moore thought women earning more than men was "disruptive to family stability" in 2014 (because a woman that out-earns her husband has the economic freedom to divorce); he was mad about the NCAA allowing women to referee back in 2002 ("is there no area in life where men can take vacation from women?"); and in 1994, per a Politico summary, Moore "blasted the Violence Against Women Act, a tool aimed at combating and prosecuting sexual assault and other violent crimes, as 'the most objectionable pork' in a crime prevention bill."

Moore’s sexist history might make it awkward for the third GOP witness, Mandy Gunasekara, of the Koch-funded Independent Women's Forum (IWF), a group that, if you judge by the name only, you might expect would take some issue with Moore's patriarchal misogyny. You would probably be wrong, though, as the IWF is a far-right, anti-trans group that's hiding a patriarchal mission behind a women's brand and using "Independent" as a euphemism for 'Republican, but ashamed of it for obvious reasons.' 

Mandy Gunasekara is a regular witness for House Republicans, and in her latest testimony, Gunasekara falsely associated ESG with increasing energy costs, neglecting the fact that oil and gas companies primarily cited “investor pressure to maintain capital discipline” as the main reason for not expanding fossil fuel development (not regulations, financing, or ESG). 

Between stints at Trump’s EPA, Gunasekara launched a dark money pro-Trump energy nonprofit, and she is a fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Life:Powered initiative. 

In other words, in their attempt to argue that Wall Street is "woke" for not ignoring environmental, social, and governance issues, the GOP has invited witnesses funded by a cast of characters pulled straight from a central casting call for "Captain Planet villains," including one who was too misogynistic for the Trump administration. 

It should be quite a show!

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