FIRST LOOK:

The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago is hosting a conversation with FERC Chairman Richard Glick, Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., and Rob Meyer of The Atlantic, on the challenges facing the electric grid today, and the steps the Biden administration is taking—and could take—to protect and grow it on Wednesday, June 30 at 9:45 a.m. central. Register here.

Speculation On Climate Links To Surfside Condo Collapse: As hope fades additional survivors will be rescued and scores are feared dead in the rubble of the Champlain Towers condo building that collapsed near Miami Beach on Thursday, impacts due to climate change are increasingly thought to have been a possible contributing factor in the tragedy. Official investigations are just getting underway and a formal determination may take months, but a damning 2018 report warned of major structural damage to the 40-year-old building’s foundations, noting among other issues that the waterproofing beneath the pool had been improperly laid flat instead of sloped, preventing water from draining off and causing severe cracks. Researchers say the condo was in an area of reclaimed land found to be sinking at a rate of 2 millimeters a year due to natural factors such as sinkholes, as well as human activities such as fossil fuel extraction and sea level rise caused by global warming. Experts pointed to the possibility that increasingly frequent sunny day flooding, pushing brackish seawater up into the groundwater and against the porous limestone bedrock, may have corroded the building’s steel support structure and caused its cement foundation to be constantly wet and weakened. Florida’s coast has long been acknowledged as one of the areas in the U.S. most vulnerable to climate impacts, facing damage from more extreme tropical storms, coastal erosion and flooding. Combined with shoddy workmanship and lax enforcement of building codes common in Florida construction from the 1970s and 80s, the risks to Florida’s fragile coastal real estate are no longer decades or even years away, but immediate. (Champlain Towers: Washington Post $, New York Times $, USA Today, AP, AP, NPR; Sea level rise: Washington Post $, Washington Post $, Gizmodo, Slate, Palm Beach Post, Yahoo, HuffPost)

Heat Dome Shatters Records In Pacific Northwest: A brutal heat dome blanketed the Pacific Northwest over the weekend, bringing life-threatening conditions to an area unprepared for extreme heat, with a third straight day of triple-digit temperatures forecast for Monday. On Saturday, the high temperature measured at Portland International Airport hit 108°F, breaking a record of 107° set in July 1965 for the hottest temperature there since records began in 1940. The new record was shattered a day later when highs reached 112°F. Seattle had its first-ever consecutive days with highs above 100°, reaching 102° on Saturday and 104° on Sunday, also an all-time record. The region, known more for its temperate drizzle, is particularly unprepared for excessive high temperatures. Seattle ranks first and Portland third in the U.S. among cities with the highest proportion of households without air conditioning, according to the U.S. Census. Those least likely to have air conditioning are also most likely to be at risk from heat, including the poor, elderly, and historically underserved communities of color living in urban heat islands, agriculture and other outdoor laborers, and those with health conditions that make them particularly vulnerable when the temperature soars. While several thousand people were without electricity Sunday, fears the power grid would not be able to handle demand have so far not come to pass. Heat waves kill more people on average in the U.S. than any other weather-related event, and are expected to continue to become increasingly frequent and severe with the effects of climate change. (Records: AP, Axios, Washington Post $, New York Times $, CBS, FT, Reuters, Gizmodo, Mother Jones; Climate change link: The Oregonian, Seattle Times, Bloomberg, Axios; Utilities and preparation: The Oregonian, CNN, New York Times $)

Indigenous Food Systems, Under Climate Threat, Offer Guide To Sustainability: Indigenous peoples’ traditional food systems are among the most sustainable in the world, but are coming under threat from climate change, biodiversity collapse, and economic pressures, a new report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday. The report, which examined eight Indigenous groups across four continents, found people are able to use ancestral knowledge to meet most of their food needs through hunting, gathering, fishing, pastoralism and shifting cultivation, along with adaptive practices including nomadism, without depleting resources or generating significant waste. But climate change-caused impacts, such as drought, loss of wildlife, and disrupted weather patterns, are threatening Indigenous groups’ ability to continue traditional practices. More than half a billion people across 80 countries are members of Indigenous groups, living on more than a third of Earth’s protected territories. "Despite surviving for centuries, Indigenous Peoples' agri-food systems are likely to disappear in the next years due to a number of drivers threatening their future," said Juan Lucas Restrepo, Director-General of the Alliance of Bioversity-International and International Center for Tropical Agriculture, which partnered on the study. Added Yon Fernandez de Larrinoa, chief of the Indigenous Peoples Unit at the Food and Agriculture Organization: “We cannot destroy biodiversity and ecosystems and feed ourselves. Sooner or later we’re going to have more effects from climate change and pandemics.” (Reuters, InsideClimate News, UN News; Study: UN FAO)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Dispossessed, again: Climate change hits Native Americans especially hard (New York Times $), climate change puts homeowners of color at greater economic risk (Mother Jones), mega oil project in Russia’s far north threatens Arctic indigenous communities (Climate Home)

PROGRESS: Atmospheric science is overwhelmingly white. Black scientists have ignited a change (Science)

LOOPHOLES: How tax breaks for fossil fuel companies inflated profits for oil and gas drilling (New Republic)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Judge appears likely to revive kids' climate case (E&E), Big Oil’s increasing number of climate lawsuits draws parallels to Big Tobacco (CNBC), how 165 words could make mass environmental destruction an international crime (NPR)

DENIAL: The state of [Texas] climate change denial (Texas Public Radio)

AGENCIES: Federal retirement plan should consider climate change: GAO (Investment News), the SEC sets its sights on climate change (Forbes)

EPA: The EPA just announced a $50 million push to help underserved communities tackle pollution and get jobs (Buzzfeed), EPA watchdog says Trump appointees kept fired employees on payroll (Politico)

SENATE: Senate OKs bill to certify farm practices limiting emissions (AP)

IF YOU BILL-D IT: Biden shift reassures Republican senators on bipartisan infrastructure deal (Washington Post $, Politico, AP), Bipartisan deal would meet only some of nation’s infrastructure needs (New York Times $), 6 crucial climate actions the Senate left out of its infrastructure deal (Vox), Manchin: Infrastructure deal will fund local roadway projects (Bluefield Daily Telegraph), U.S. infrastructure deal would boost electric buses, but trail demand (Reuters), White House agrees to bipartisan infrastructure deal with $73B in power grid spending (Utility Dive) 

WHAT’S NEXT: Democrats prepare for messy budget fight that could derail Biden's infrastructure deal (Politico Pro $), Biden’s green allies launch major campaign as bipartisan deal shrinks from climate (HuffPost, The Hill)

METHANE: House passes resolution that would repeal a Trump-era EPA rule on methane emissions (CNN, Wall Street Journal $, Washington Post $, AP)

LINE 3: Despite pressure from pipeline opponents, Biden administration continues defense of Enbridge's Line 3 project (Detroit Lakes Tribune, AP, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, EcoWatch, Democracy Now), Biden’s climate credentials challenged by oil pipeline brawls (FT $)

POLITICS: Indiana Republicans join the new Conservative Climate Caucus. Here's what that means (Indianapolis Star)

NO NO VERY BAD: Ron DeSantis signs a bill that mandates cities keep using fossil fuels (Gizmodo)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: U.N. weather agency plans data overhaul to improve forecasts (Reuters)

CALIFORNIA: California just committed itself to “an unprecedented amount” of clean energy (Grist, Utility Dive), California’s drought and wildfire dangers rising at stunning pace (LA Times $), oil bankruptcies leave environmental cleanup bills to California taxpayers (Desert Sun), California's power grid may issue Flex Alert as scorching temperatures hit California (San Francisco Chronicle)

OREGON: State lawmakers approve bill that aims to get Oregon to 100% clean energy by 2040 (HuffPost, Oregon Public Broadcasting)

TEXAS: Far from Texas, huge gas bills stoke anger after February freeze (Wall Street Journal $), reports blame regulators, gas generation for Texas' mid-February storm blackouts (S&P Global)

SEA LEVEL RISE: Florida Keys’ fate: “The water is coming and we can’t stop it” (Mother Jones), New York embarks on a massive climate resiliency project to protect Manhattan’s Lower East Side from sea level rise (InsideClimate News)

HEAT: Human-caused climate change likely a factor in Southwest's heat wave, scientists say (Arizona Daily Star), record heatwaves are scorching eastern Europe and Siberia (Bloomberg $)

DROUGHT: Drought, the everything disaster (Circle of Blue), Central Valley town without water — again — and repairs are weeks away amid heatwave (Fresno Bee), scientists use clues from trees to put the current drought into perspective (CBS), drought woes in dry US West raise July 4 fireworks fears (AP)

FLOODING: Michigan flooding: 50 drivers rescued and 350 vehicles damaged (New York Times $), Michigan governor declares state of emergency over flooding (Axios)

WILDFIRES: Wildfires threaten urban water supplies, long after the flames are out (New York Times $), Minnesota bracing for extended drought, wildfire conditions (AP), these are the hotshot firefighters leading attacks against California wildfires. And they're quitting (CNN)

HURRICANES: Hurricane Enrique brushing close to Mexico’s southwest coast (AP), tropical disturbance headed for landfall Monday evening along U.S. Southeast (Yale Climate Connections)

RENEWABLES: With extreme weather set to stress the grid, solar and energy storage companies may see a boost (CNBC), why renewable energy stocks will thrive during a recession (The Motley Fool), renewable energy firm installs its 1,000th offshore wind turbine in UK waters (Techradar), Ohio regulators approve 3 renewable energy projects, reject wind project (Columbus Dispatch), Biden's solar imports restriction puts onus on U.S. companies (Politico Pro $)

LNG: LNG investors increasingly concerned about security and climate change (Engineering & Technology)

OIL & GAS: Oil firms and others face unprecedented pressure to come clean on climate change (Lookout Santa Cruz)

PIPELINES: The dangers and costs of America's aging oil and gas pipelines (WPTV), oil pipeline dating back to 1800s to be removed from the Musconetcong River (Lehigh Valley Live), documentary ‘End of the Line’ chronicles women in Dakota Access Pipeline battle (Forbes)

COAL: Coal prices hit decade high despite efforts to wean the world off carbon (Wall Street Journal $), fact-check: Downstate Republican blowing smoke with claim Prairie State is nation’s ‘cleanest’ coal plant (Chicago Sun-Times), Appalachian Power seeks rate increase to prolong the lives of 2 coal plants (Danville Register & Bee), China’s rebounding coal price set to fall after Communist Party centenary celebration, says top economic planner (South China Morning Post), India's coal import rises 30 percent to 22 million tonnes in April (New Indian Express)

UTILITIES: Xcel drops plan for big new gas power plant in Becker (Star Tribune $, MPR), Maine wants to take over its private electric utilities. Could other states follow? (MarketWatch)

GRID: North America on pace for bigger, greener grid — study (E&E)

BOOKS: Stories to save the world: The new wave of climate fiction (The Guardian)

BUSINESS: How brands can address climate change (Forbes), companies face growing pressure to disclose their climate change risks (CBS), businesses face big hit from new climate disclosure rules (Washington Examiner)

CARS: Honda changing course, will build its own electric vehicles (AP), where we are on the road to electric vehicles (Washington Post $)

OUR FUTURE: How to talk to your kids about climate change (Outside)

CREEPY CRAWLIES: These bacteria could help fight climate change, a 'serendipitous' finding (St. Louis Public Radio)

JOBS: 10 jobs that will help shape a zero-emissions future (Grist)

HEALTH: Heat waves can be life-threatening — for more reasons than one (Grist), air pollution’s invisible toll on your health (New York Times $)

INFRASTRUCTURE: Railways in the time of climate change (The Beam)

NATSEC: Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks explains how climate change threatens national security (Forbes), Pentagon readies climate preparation plan (E&E)

SHIPPING: Panama Canal tackles climate-change puzzle: Too little rainwater or too much (Wall Street Journal $)

INTERNATIONAL: EU countries approve landmark climate change law (Reuters) EU strikes deal on huge farm subsidies, ending three years of negotiations (Reuters), with payouts in sight, EU shifts to making 'green' recovery plan work (Reuters), Asia’s richest man plans $10 billion push into green energy (Bloomberg $, Climate Home), in Russia, some of the world’s biggest polluters are going green (Wall Street Journal $)

• Climate change is destroying my country. The nations causing it must help. (New York Times, Bernard Ferguson op-ed $)
• On climate change: We don't need a new report to know it's time to act (The Hill, Katharine Hayhoe op-ed)
• Summer is hot, but this is abnormal (The Atlantic, Kathy Baughman McLeod ope-ed)
• Health risks from heat waves send a climate alarm (CNN, Neelu Tummala op-ed)
• Time is running out in fight against climate change (Salem [Oregon] Statesman Journal, Rep. Kurt Shrader op-ed)
• The G7 can't compromise with the climate (Newsweek, Michael E. Mann op-ed)
• Grid and water (in)security: Climate change, hackers and uncertainty (The Hill, Carolyn Kissane op-ed)
• The delusion of infinite economic growth (Scientific American, Chirag Dhara and Vandana Singh op-ed)
• Salmon is an indicator species for California’s water crisis.  It’s not looking good (LA Times, James Pogue op-ed $)
• Mining holds the key to a green future – no wonder human rights activists are worried (The Guardian, Kevin Watkins op-ed)
• Renewables are key to a just energy future for Puerto Rico (The Hill, Ruth Santiago and Michael B. Gerrard op-ed)
• To solve the climate crisis we need real zero, not ‘net zero’ (The Progressive Magazine, Tina Gerhardt op-ed)

New Big Oil Plan To Disclose Emission Reductions Simply Ignores 90% Of Their Pollution

Much like the Republican Party’s greenwashing, the oil industry is responding to public pressure on climate change with empty gestures meant to make it sound like they’re taking the problem seriously, without actually doing anything serious. 

This spring, the American Petroleum Institute updated its public stance on climate, claiming it was open to a possible carbon price. But of course, there was a catch: They wanted consumers to pay the price for pollution, not the polluters. They get to look like they’re taking a big new step away from extremist climate denial, while actually remaining firm in their refusal to stop polluting or accept any responsibility for the damage their products cause. 

Last week, API took another industrial-sized-ass-covering step, announcing a new template for oil and gas companies to use to provide “transparency” (their term) about greenhouse gas emissions, and the progress being made to reduce those pollutants. Aaron Padilla of API told reporters that the template “gives a foundational picture of a company’s work to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.” 

It’s clearly meant to be a way for companies to highlight the token efforts they’re making to address climate change to ward off further government regulation. They can point to these disclosures to claim the industry is already tackling the problem. But what it really shows is that the industry is still in steadfast denial about its culpability for the climate crisis.

The template itself, provided as a one-page spreadsheet, is actually pretty simple. The first section is for their Scope 1 emissions, things like methane leaks and flaring from the drilling process. The second is their Scope 2 emissions, covering heating and cooling facilities and other indirect pollution that they generate in the course of producing fossil fuels. 

You may expect Scope 3 emissions to come next, given "Scope 3 emissions are approximately 90% of an upstream oil and gas companies' emissions, and every major investor-led group working on climate change expects such companies to report them,"  Carbon Tracker’s Robert Schuwerk explained to S&P Global. 

But they aren’t mentioned in the template, and as Schuwerk said, “leaving that out is a glaring omission.”

In an accompanying guidance doc, API addresses Scope 3 emissions only once, in a footnote acknowledging that they’re ignoring Scope 3 emissions (maybe next time!). 

Instead, they skip straight onto “GHG mitigation” efforts, like carbon capture or renewable energy credits purchased so companies can get credit for nibbling around the edges of the problem caused primarily by the products they’re selling. 

Similarly, sections 4 and 5 give companies spots to give themselves credit for reducing the intensity of their Scope 1 extraction emissions – claiming kudos for producing fewer emissions while producing fossil fuels that, once sold and burned, will completely swamp those reductions – and any other GHG reduction targets they may feel like disclosing. Lastly, section 6 is just a place for them to have a third-party verification. 

If you’re wondering, then, just how much of the climate crisis the oil industry can be trusted to address, this gives an answer: 10%, at most. 

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