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US, France debate whether Paris climate treaty would be ‘legally binding’

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke by phone Friday with French President Francois Hollande to discuss the upcoming Paris climate conference — with both leaders emphasizing their personal commitment to reach an “ambitious and durable” treaty to avert the worst effects of global warming, the White House said. The call came a day after Hollande and France’s foreign minister responded to comments by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who said Wednesday that the December agreement in Paris was “definitely not going to be a treaty.” Kerry also said the text would not set “legally binding reduction targets.” Leaders from nearly 200 countries are set to meet on Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 in the French capital to formalize national pledges to cut carbon emissions and plans to transition to renewable energy. The meeting is meant to culminate in the signing of a global climate treaty that would phase out […]

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New EPA Rules Could Raise Energy Prices

Critics of the Environmental Protection Agency ’s Clean Power Plan say the new regulation will cost up to $292 billion and potentially raise electricity prices in 47 states. “States should be braced to pay higher costs,” said Laura Sheehan , senior vice president for communications for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity . “Consumers only lose in the Clean Power Plan.” The numbers came from NERA Economic Consulting , a firm based in Boston that said it used state-of-the-art economic modeling to get its results. In an email to Watchdog.org, EPA officials disagreed with the NERA study, which was funded by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, which is dead-set against the Clean Power Plan. “EPA has not reviewed this report,” the agency email said. “EPA’s extensive analysis shows that the CPP is effective, achievable and affordable.” The EPA has estimated that the CPP will cost $8.4 […]

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Will the Paris climate talks deliver the world we need? Not likely.

Even as governments set climate targets, they’re working hard to expand the extractive global economy with measures that could deepen the climate crisis. We need to leave more than 80 percent of known oil, coal, and gas reserves in the ground to avoid triggering catastrophic climate change. That means shifting away from an economy driven by digging, pumping, and burning fossil fuels to one that puts people and the planet first. On this the science is simple, but the politics are fraught. The upcoming UN summit in Paris, where governments from almost every country on Earth will meet to hammer out a new global climate deal, would seem the logical place to set that change in motion. These forums are the only place where nations sit together as equals, at least ostensibly, to address what’s truly a global problem. So can these talks deliver an agreement that moves us […]

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CLIMATE COUNTDOWN: When’s a warming treaty not a treaty?

AP Photo/Jacques Brinon WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s the elephant in the negotiating room that few officials want to acknowledge: Whatever international deal comes out of Paris climate talks, it likely won’t be a treaty that needs ratification by a reluctant Republican U.S. Congress. That’s not the only complication in Paris. China, the U.S. and India don’t want the international community dictating their carbon dioxide emissions, but they do want to do something about ever escalating greenhouse gas levels and the rising temperatures they cause. So they have to come up with an agreement that doesn’t dictate binding, internationally set targets or require U.S. Senate approval – and yet gets the job done. At least partly. To do so, they must reach a pact that has as many twists and turns as a pretzel. "It’s a reality that the world is coming to grips with," former Vice President Al Gore […]

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Scientists say Greenland just opened up a major new ‘floodgate’ of ice into the ocean

Hills protruding from the fog near lower Zachariae Glacier. Credits: NASA/John Sonntag As the world prepares for the most important global climate summit yet in Paris later this month, news from Greenland could add urgency to the negotiations. For another major glacier appears to have begun a rapid retreat into a deep underwater basin, a troubling sign previously noticed at Greenland’s Jakobshavn Glacier and also in the Amundsen Sea region of West Antarctica. And in all of these cases, warm ocean waters reaching the deep bases of marine glaciers appears to be a major cause. The new fast-moving glacier is the Zachariae glacier or Zachariæ Isstrøm, located in the far northeastern part of Greenland. In a new paper in Science , Jeremie Mouginot of the University of California-Irvine and his colleagues find that the ocean-based glacier, which contains 0.5 meters or a foot and a half of potential sea […]

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It’s Already Happening: A Message to COP 21

STREE. REPORTAGE SUR LE SITE DE GAL CONDRUSES DANS LE CADRE DE LIEGE EN TRANSITION. Photo Michel Tonneau STREE. REPORTAGE SUR LE SITE DE GAL CONDRUSES DANS LE CADRE DE LIEGE EN TRANSITION. Photo Michel Tonneau With fewer than three weeks to go until the start of COP21, the UN’s climate negotiations in Paris, a question arises: Will this gathering make the slightest difference? For Rob Hopkins, editor of a new book from Transition Network, 21 Stories of Transition , answer is yes – but a different kind of yes than the global leaders meeting in Paris probably have in mind. He wants decision makers to reimagine their role as being ‘community enablers’ whose task is to deepen, connect and extend initiatives that are already out there. A huge upsurge in transformative local projects is evident around the world, argues Hopkins; the priority is not for global leaders to […]

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Is the Paris Climate Conference Designed to Fail?

The last time this much public attention was focused on the climate talks was in the lead-up to the Copenhagen conference in 2009. We should not forget how that turned out. (Image: via PabloSolon.com ) Ed. note: Portions of Brian’s latest book, Towards Climate Justice , were adapted for this article. From the end of this month through early December, much of the world’s attention will be focused on Paris, the site of the upcoming round of UN climate negotiations. This is the twenty-first time diplomats and heads of state will gather under the umbrella of the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a document first put forward at the landmark 1992 “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro – the same global conference where the elder George Bush told the world that the “American way of life is not negotiable.” The UNFCCC process has had its ups and […]

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Climate talks: High pressure in Paris

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El Nino may stir grain markets more than Black Sea drought

El Nino could have a bigger impact on grain and oilseed markets than drought in Russia and Ukraine, which may be alleviated before the crucial spring growth period, analysts said on Wednesday. "You can’t have a drought problem overnight," David Hightower, president of research firm The Hightower Report, said of conditions in Russia and Ukraine. Speaking at the Global Grain conference in Geneva, he said El Nino, however, could have far-reaching effects if it lowers palm oil output in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia. A 10 percent drop in palm oil exports next year would require 4.7 million tonnes of alternative edible oils to be supplied for the world market, he said. "We don’t know what the impact of El Nino is going to be but China and India are much more significant (consumers) than in the previous El Nino cycle." Tightening supply in oilseed markets could spill over […]

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Why are oil and gas companies calling for more action on climate change?

Smoke is released into the sky at a refinery in Wilmington, California March 24, 2012. This year many of us have increased our advocacy on this issue. And last month, companies responsible for a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply in the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) threw their support behind a new global agreement at the forthcoming UN talks in Paris. For oil and gas companies to take such a stance has been described as "unusual" — and even "unprecedented". However, in fact, in BP we have publicly acknowledged the risk and have been working to address it since the 1990s. So why do companies that produce oil and gas want to see more done to tackle climate change? The first reason is simply that we want the planet to be sustainable in the future. We have the same hopes and fears for our children […]

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El Nino threatens ‘millions in east and southern Africa’

Some 11 million children are at risk from hunger, disease and water shortages in east and southern Africa because of the strengthening El Nino weather phenomenon, the UN children’s charity has said. It has caused the worst drought in more than 30 years in Ethiopia, Unicef said. Its effects could also be "particularly harsh" in Somalia, amid fears of flooding, it warned. El Nino is caused by Pacific Ocean warming. "The weather phenomenon, among the strongest on record, is likely to cause more floods and droughts, fuel Pacific typhoons and cyclones and affect more areas if it continues strengthening as forecast over the coming months," Unicef said in a statement . It said 8.2 million people in Ethiopia faced food insecurity, while an estimated 350,000 children needed treatment for severe acute malnutrition. "To make matters worse, the weather phenomenon may also bring flooding to some areas of the country […]

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Keystone’s death bolsters ‘keep carbon in the ground’ camp

A depot used to store pipes for Transcanada Corp’s planned Keystone XL oil pipeline is seen in Gascoyne, North Dakota November 14, 2014. For environmentalists dedicated to killing it, President Barack Obama’s rejection of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline unleashed a moment of euphoria. Activists celebrated with tequila shots at Sierra Club headquarters in San Francisco and in Lafayette Square across from the White House, site of the first anti-Keystone protests in 2011, when to most people it was just another pipeline. But last Friday’s presidential “no” to the 1,200-mile (1931 km) pipeline out of Alberta’s oil sands may signal more than just a single, if remarkable, win for environmentalists. It stands to sharpen the fissure in the green movement between those who believe direct action can jar the world off its fossil fuel habit, and others who say only a collaborative approach that engages governments and corporations can […]

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Everything You Need to Know About the Exxon Climate Change Probe

For years, energy companies have couched the possible effects of climate change-related regulations in public reports to investors as "uncertain," "difficult," or "not possible" to reasonably predict. Now a probe by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is raising questions as to whether the companies knew more than they were letting on. Exxon Mobil received a subpoena last week by the state official seeking documents from as far back as the 1970s in a probe that aims to determine whether oil giant lied to investors and consumers, or withheld information about the effects of climate change. On Sunday, meanwhile, Schneiderman reached a settlement with the largest U.S. coal miner, Peabody Energy, in which the company agreed to include more detailed disclosures in reports to investors about the potential costs of climate-related regulations. Exxon has denied implications that it lied to investors or the public. Peabody neither admitted nor denied […]

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Oil Price Drop Threatens Industries That Help Cut Global Warming

The plunge in oil prices risks undermining efforts to reduce the pollution blamed for global warming, especially projects designed to wring more from each barrel of oil, the International Energy Agency concluded in its annual assessment of markets. If the cost of crude remains near $50 a barrel until the end of the decade, cheaper conventional fuels would hold back the development of electric cars and biofuels that are helping curb carbon emissions, IEA said. It also estimated about $800 billion of efficiency improvements in cars, trucks and airplanes would be lost. The findings illustrate the complexity of the United Nations mission to secure a historic deal on reining in fossil-fuel emissions by the end of the year. While lower oil prices are helping the world recover from an economic slump, they’re also raising competitive pressures on technologies such as wind and solar power and making some projects take […]

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IEA praises Canadian carbon capture initiative

Shell starts a first-of-its-kind carbon storage operations at an oil sands facility in Canada to the praise of the International Energy Agency. Photo courtesy of Royal Dutch Shell PARIS, Nov. 9 (UPI) — The launch in Canada of the world’s first carbon capture project for oil sands is a welcome statement from an industry under the microscope, the IEA said. With momentum building for the U.N. climate negotiations in Paris, the International Energy Agency said the Canadian oil sands industry was taking remarkable steps with the launch of a novel carbon capture and storage project, which is meant to reduce emissions from oil-sands processing facilities in Alberta. Royal Dutch Shell last week started operations at its Quest CCS project, which the company said would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1 million tons per year by storing it deep underground. "The launch of the Quest CCS project in Alberta, Canada, […]

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Keystone XL decision may indicate changing energy landscape

President Barack Obama’s stance on the Keystone XL oil pipeline planned from Canada may be a reflection of a changing energy landscape in North America. Despite the rejection, some analysis says Canadian oil will still find its way south. Pool Photo by Michael Reynolds/UPI WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) — U.S. and Canadian statements regarding the decision on the Keystone XL oil pipeline may reflect a changing energy landscape in North America. Industry supporters, and leaders whose economies depend in part on oil revenue, expressed frustration with the U.S. decision to deny TransCanada’s permit to build the cross-border pipeline. But from the economic standpoint, many statements reflect evolving priorities in the new era for oil. In its record of decision and national interest determination of the pipeline, the U.S. State Department, charged with vetting the project, said there were questions about the necessity for additional North American pipeline capacity given […]

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Keystone’s Dead. Here’s What’s Next on the Enviros’ Hit List

Oil tankers at a rail yard in Richmond, Calif., in 2014. Barack Obama belittled the Keystone XL pipeline debate even as he brought it to a close . The project, which would have delivered heavy, oil-sands crude from Western Canada to the Gulf Coast, "has occupied what I, frankly, consider an overinflated role in our political discourse," he said Friday. "It became a symbol too often used as a campaign cudgel by both parties rather than a serious policy matter." Mr. President, the cudgelers are just getting started. The environmental movement is on the march again, perhaps more so than at any time since concerns about acid rain led Congress to pass the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. As political symbols go, Keystone XL was a potent one. It hung over the White House for several years and sparked all-around congressional fury. And, as a bonus for the […]

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Greenhouse gases hit new milestone, fueling worries about climate change

Haze shrouds the Musi River as vehicles drive across the Ampera Bridge in Indonesia. (Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg) Greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere reached another grim milestone earlier this year as carbon dioxide levels surpassed the symbolic threshold of 400 parts per million across much of the planet, the premier global meteorological association confirmed in a report to be released Monday. Figures compiled by the World Meteorological Organization showed strong growth — and new records — in the concentrations of all three of the most important heat-trapping gases, continuing a long-term trend with ominous implications for climate change, the group said. The report is likely to add to concerns about global warming in a year that climate experts say is almost certain to surpass 2014 as the hottest year in recorded history. “We are moving into unchartered territory at a frightening speed,” WMO Secretary General Michel Jarraud said of the […]

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The war against Exxon Mobil

The Exxon Mobil refinery in Baytown, Texas, in 2008. (Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters) If you care about free speech, you should pay attention to the campaign now being waged against Exxon Mobil. More than 50 environmental and civil rights groups have written Attorney General Loretta Lynch urging her to open a “federal probe” of the giant energy firm. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have also joined the chorus. The charge is that Exxon Mobil “systematically misled the public” on climate change, even as its executives recognized the dangers. New York’s attorney general has already launched an investigation . What’s behind the latest assault are two recent pieces of investigative journalism that, based on company documents, concluded that Exxon Mobil played a double game. In the 1970s, when global warming began attracting scientific attention, the firm “assembled a brain trust [that deepened] the company’s understanding” of climate change, reported InsideClimate News. But […]

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Exxonomics 101

“You don’t need 100,000 marines to secure windmills in North Dakota.” The New York Times, which is quickly becoming to print media what Fox is to television news, has done what no first year news stringer should do. It buried the lead. It buried the lead on what is likely to become one of the most important stories of all time. Hidden in the science section of its November 6th daily edition is this headline from a story by Clifford Kraus: More Oil Companies Could Join Exxon Mobil as Focus of Climate Investigations. Kraus’s lead is: HOUSTON — The opening of an investigation of Exxon Mobil by the New York attorney general’s office into the company’s record on climate change may well spur legal inquiries into other oil companies, according to legal and climate experts, although successful prosecutions are far from assured. The story goes on to describe the […]

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The Oil Industry Has Been Put on Notice

There were two huge developments today, both for the oil industry and the earth’s climate. New York’s top lawyer issued a subpoena to Exxon, seeking information on whether the world’s biggest oil explorer deceived the public for almost 40 years about climate change. Hours later, President Obama announced that the U.S. would reject the Keystone pipeline. The rejection of Keystone is more symbolic than substantive. The pipeline would have added $3.4 billion in economic growth but contributed to climate change by speeding up production of oil-sands crude, which is about 17 percent more carbon-intensive than the conventional barrel. Rejection will neither halt oil-sands production nor damage the broader economy. Perhaps anticipating rejection, TransCanada had asked to postpone the final review earlier this week. The investigation of Exxon could have more far-reaching implications. Alleged disinformation by oil companies has long been compared to the actions of big tobacco, which eventually […]

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Exxon Mobil calls climate change accusations inaccurate

Exxon says it’s received a subpoena from New York seeking more information into climate change research that environmental advocates say is misleading. Photo by Katherine Welles/Shutterstock ALBANY, N.Y., Nov. 6 (UPI) — U.S. supermajor Exxon Mobil says it’s aware of a New York probe into climate change research, but stressed many of the charges made against it are misleading. InsideClimate News has produced a series of reports suggesting the energy company deliberately campaigned to cast doubt about the impacts of climate change even though Exxon’s own scientists roughly 40 years ago warned the issue may threaten its core business. The news site is reporting the company was issued with an 18-page subpoena by the New York Attorney General’s office seeking full disclosure of its research on climate issues and what it may have shared with its board of directors, among other things. Accusations made against the oil company are […]

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ExxonMobil climate statements investigation puts energy groups on notice

Sign up for quick access to a wealth of global business news, including: ExxonMobil climate statements investigation puts energy groups on notice Newspaper + Premium online Newspaper + Premium online Premium Full FT.com subscription Premium Full FT.com subscription Standard Full news & archive Standard Full news & archive Trial Try Premium online Trial Try Premium online Price Monthly Annual $66.30 $11.77 per week $53.00 $9.25 per week $36.00 $6.45 per week $1.00 for 4 weeks $1.00 for 4 weeks FT Alphaville plus selected FT blogs yes yes yes yes Unlimited FT.com article access yes yes yes yes Unlimited mobile and tablet access yes yes yes yes Unlimited fast FT yes yes yes yes 5 year company financials archive yes yes yes yes The LEX column yes yes no yes ePaper access yes yes no yes Three exclusive weekly emails yes yes no yes Daily newspaper delivery yes no no […]

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More Oil Companies Could Join Exxon Mobil as Focus of Climate Investigations

HOUSTON — The opening of an investigation of Exxon Mobil by the New York attorney general’s office into the company’s record on climate change may well spur legal inquiries into other oil companies, according to legal and climate experts, although successful prosecutions are far from assured. Many oil companies have funded lobbying efforts and research on climate change, so prosecutors would most likely be able to search through vast amounts of material. The industry has also resisted pressure for years from environmental groups to warn investors of the risks that stricter limits on carbon emissions could have on their businesses, although that appears to be changing. “ Exxon Mobil is not alone,” said Stephen Zamora, a professor at the University of Houston Law Center. “This is not likely to be an isolated matter.” Energy experts said prosecutors may decide to investigate companies that chose to fund or join organizations […]

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Obama rejects Keystone XL pipeline in win for greens

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday rejected the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada in a victory for environmentalists who campaigned against the project for more than seven years. "The pipeline would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to our economy," Obama told a press conference. He said it would not reduce gasoline prices, and shipping "dirtier" crude from Canada would not increase U.S. energy security. The denial of TransCanada Corp’s more than 800,000 barrels per day project will make it more difficult for producers to develop the province of Alberta’s oil sands. It could also put the United States in a stronger position at global climate talks that start in Paris on Nov. 30 in which countries will aim to reach a deal to slow global warming. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who determined the pipeline was not in the country’s interest before Obama’s final decision, […]

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Trudeau Seeks Fresh Start With Obama After Keystone Rejected

PlayCurrent Time 0:00/Duration Time 0:00Remaining Time -0:00Stream TypeLIVELoaded: 0%Progress: 0%00:00Fullscreen00:00MutePlayback Rate1Subtitles subtitles off Captions captions settings captions off Chapters Chapters No compatible source was found for this video.Foreground—WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan—OpaqueSemi-OpaqueBackground—WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan—OpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindow—WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan—OpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyDefaultMonospace SerifProportional SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional Sans-SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsDefaultsDonexShare & EmbedCopy CodeAdvertisement Why Did Obama Kill the Keystone XL Pipeline? Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was let down by President Barack Obama’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline while acknowledging the move gives him a fresh start with the U.S. after the controversial pipeline frayed relations. “We are disappointed by the decision but respect the right of the United States to make the decision,” Trudeau said Friday in a written statement . “The Canada-U.S. relationship is much bigger than any one project and I look forward to a fresh start with President Obama to strengthen our remarkable ties in a spirit of friendship and co-operation.” The rejection arrived on […]

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Obama Keystone Rejection Stings Oil Producers Less After Crash

PlayCurrent Time 0:00/Duration Time 0:00Remaining Time -0:00Stream TypeLIVELoaded: 0%Progress: 0%00:00Fullscreen00:00MutePlayback Rate1Subtitles subtitles off Captions captions settings captions off Chapters Chapters No compatible source was found for this video.Foreground—WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan—OpaqueSemi-OpaqueBackground—WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan—OpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindow—WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan—OpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyDefaultMonospace SerifProportional SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional Sans-SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsDefaultsDonexShare & EmbedCopy CodeAdvertisement What Obama’s Rejection of Keystone XL Means for Canada President Barack Obama’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline solidifies what the market has been saying for months — there’s less appetite for expensive Canadian oil sands in an era of $45 crude. The $8 billion pipeline to transport crude from Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico first proposed by TransCanada Corp. in 2008 has lost its urgency as the industry endures the worst price crash since the 1980s. Producers are shelving projects and reducing drilling, and after waiting so many years for the line’s approval, they can afford to wait longer for a new one. They’ve also found other […]

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Keystone XL Battle in Washington Belied Pipeline’s Actual Impact

PlayCurrent Time 0:00/Duration Time 0:00Remaining Time -0:00Stream TypeLIVELoaded: 0%Progress: 0%00:00Fullscreen00:00MutePlayback Rate1Subtitles subtitles off Captions captions settings captions off Chapters Chapters No compatible source was found for this video.Foreground—WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan—OpaqueSemi-OpaqueBackground—WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan—OpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindow—WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan—OpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyDefaultMonospace SerifProportional SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional Sans-SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsDefaultsDonexShare & EmbedCopy CodeAdvertisement Obama: Keystone Would Not Serve U.S. National Interests The fight over the Keystone XL pipeline had all the elements of a classic Washington scrap: protests, political ads, scores of lobbyists on retainer. What was sometimes missing in the seven-year struggle, energy analysts say, was an accurate accounting of the project’s impact on the environment or the economy, the twin issues that drove the debate. Environmentalists said Keystone XL, which TransCanada Corp. first applied to build in 2008, raised the risks of climate change by encouraging greater production of Alberta’s tar sands. But a U.S. environmental review found the project’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions would be small. Republican […]

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Exxon Mobil Investigated in New York Over Possible Lies on Climate

Photo An Exxon Mobil refinery in Los Angeles, Calif. The New York attorney general is investigating the oil and gas company. Credit T. Fallon/Bloomberg, via Getty Images The New York attorney general has begun a sweeping investigation of Exxon Mobil to determine whether the company lied to the public about the risks of climate change or to investors about how those risks might hurt the oil business. According to people with knowledge of the investigation, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman issued a subpoena Wednesday evening to Exxon Mobil, demanding extensive financial records, emails and other documents. The focus includes the company’s activities dating to the late 1970s, including a period of at least a decade when Exxon Mobil funded groups that sought to undermine climate science. A major focus of the investigation is whether the company adequately warned investors about potential financial risks stemming from society’s need to limit […]

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New York investigating Exxon over climate statements: source

A view of the Exxon Mobil refinery in Baytown, Texas in this file photo from September 15, 2008. The New York attorney general has launched an investigation into whether Exxon Mobil Corp ( XOM.N ) misled the public and shareholders about the risks of climate change. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman subpoenaed the company on Wednesday evening, demanding extensive financial records, emails and other documents, a source familiar with the investigation said on Thursday. Exxon on Thursday said it was weighing a response to the subpoena. The company has included information about the business risk of climate change for many years in its quarterly filings, corporate citizenship report and in other reports to shareholders, company spokesman Richard Keil said. The New York Times first reported the news on Thursday. ( nyti.ms/1HuEJC8 ) The Exxon investigation might expand to other oil companies, according to the people with knowledge of the case, […]

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Exxon Probed by New York in Toughest U.S. Climate Crackdown Yet

New York’s decision to probe climate change disclosures by Exxon Mobil Corp. marks the most aggressive state action yet on the financial effects of burning fossil fuels. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued a subpoena to the company on Wednesday seeking a lengthy list of documents and disclosures, including communications with trade associations and industry groups, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the probe isn’t public. The request seeks information dating from the 1970s to the present, the person said. The investigation is seeking information on whether the world’s biggest oil explorer lied to investors and the public for almost 40 years about the impact of climate change on profits, the person said. As a manufacturer of 10 million gallons of gasoline and other fuels every hour of every day, Exxon is one of the world’s largest sources of […]

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U.S., China lead in emissions, IEA finds

China and the United States account for a bulk of the total global emissions, but China’s per-capita rate far exceeding the rest of the world. File photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI PARIS, Nov. 4 (UPI) — More than half of all global emissions came from 10 countries, with China and the United States leading the pack, the International Energy Agency said. Analysis published Wednesday by the IEA, which has headquarters in Paris, said emissions of carbon dioxide related to the energy sector increased globally by 2.2 percent in 2013, compared with a 0.6 percent increase the previous year. Data show that about 60 percent all of emissions generated in 2013 came from 10 countries. China and the United States accounted for the bulk of the emissions, with 26 percent and 16 percent of the total, respectively. Per-capita emissions, meanwhile, increased globally by 16 percent between 1990 and 2013. China in […]

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Coalition of 18 States to Move to Defend Carbon-Emissions Rules

WASHINGTON—A group of 18 states is expected to ask a federal court on Wednesday to intervene in support of Obama administration greenhouse-gas regulations that require significant emissions cuts from hundreds of U.S. power plants. The move will mean most states in the nation are taking sides in a legal battle over a top Environmental Protection Agency initiative on reducing carbon-dioxide emissions. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who is leading the coalition seeking to let the EPA’s new rules, called the Clean Power Plan, stand, said they are “a critical step forward in responding to the threat of climate change.” Mr. Schneiderman said the intervening states were committed to joining the EPA in defending the regulations aggressively. Mr. Schneiderman said in a written statement that the regulations were “firmly grounded in science and the law” and incorporated strategies that his state and others were using to cut power-plant pollution […]

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Imagine If Exxon Had Told the Truth on Climate Change

Like all proper scandals, the #Exxonknew revelations have begun to spin off new dramas and lines of inquiry. Presidential candidates have begun to call for Department of Justice investigations, and company spokesmen have begun to dig themselves deeper into the inevitable holes as they try to excuse the inexcusable. (Worst idea: attack Pulitzer prize-winning reporters as “ anti-oil and gas activists ”) As the latest expose installment from those hopeless radicals at the Los Angeles Times clearly shows, Exxon made a conscious decision to adopt what a company public affairs officer called “the Exxon position.” It was simple: “Emphasize the uncertainty.” Even though they knew there was none. Someone else will have to decide if that deceit was technically illegal. Perhaps the rich and powerful have been drafting the laws for so long that Exxon will skate; I confess my confidence that the richest company in American history can […]

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How Climate Change Is Threatening Iraq’s Fragile Security

Iraqi protesters chant slogans as they wave national flags during a demonstration against corruption in Tahrir Square in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, October 16, 2015. In a telling exchange during the first Democratic primary presidential debate earlier this month, the candidates were asked to articulate the greatest threat to US national security. “It’s certainly the chaos in the Middle East,” answered Lincoln Chafee, the former senator and governor of Rhode Island who later dropped out of the race. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders responded to the question by citing the “global crisis of climate change.” Whether you agree with either candidate’s assessment, it’s a mistake to talk about global conflict and climate change without highlighting how the two phenomena are inextricably linked. Extreme weather and resource scarcity exacerbated by climate change are worsening the effects of war, from the Middle East to sub-Saharan Africa, with civilians often bearing the brunt of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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‘Intolerable’ Heat May Hit the Middle East by the End of the Century

Photo Pilgrims prayed in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in September. A study warning of "intolerable" temperatures in some Middle East population centers due to climate change could have severe consequences for the annual hajj pilgrimage. Credit Ahmad Masood/Reuters By the end of this century, areas of the Persian Gulf could be hit by waves of heat and humidity so severe that simply being outside for several hours could threaten human life, according to a new study published Monday. Because of humanity’s contribution to climate change , the authors wrote, some population centers in the Middle East “are likely to experience temperature levels that are intolerable to humans.” The dangerously muggy summer conditions predicted for places near the warm waters of the Gulf could overwhelm the ability of the human body to reduce its temperature through sweating and ventilation. That threatens anyone without air-conditioning — including the poor, but also those […]

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Obama Carbon Rules to Face Lawsuits, Congressional Tests

WASHINGTON—What could be a yearslong legal and political battle over the Obama administration’s main climate-change initiative formally kicked off Friday, with two dozen states filing a lawsuit against regulations aimed at cutting U.S. carbon emissions. The states sued in a federal court here to challenge the rules, which seek to reduce carbon output from hundreds of power plants across the nation. Congressional Republicans also said Friday they would introduce measures in the coming week seeking to block the rules. The moves will put pressure on the administration from the two other branches of government and, if successful on either front, could cast uncertainty over the rules into the next presidential administration. The legal challengers are expected to contest the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority on a range of grounds, some of them little explored by the courts. Industry associations and companies, including coal producer Murray Energy, also began filing separate […]

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Oklahoma Earthquakes Are a National Security Threat

In the months after Sept. 11, 2001, as U.S. security officials assessed the top targets for potential terrorist attacks, the small town of Cushing, Okla., received special attention. Even though it is home to fewer than 10,000 people, Cushing is the largest commercial oil storage hub in North America, second only in size to the U.S. government’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The small town’s giant tanks, some big enough to fit a Boeing 747 jet inside, were filled with around 10 million barrels of crude at the time, an obvious target for someone looking to disrupt America’s economy and energy supply. The FBI, state and local law enforcement and emergency officials, and the energy companies that own the tanks formed a group called the Safety Alliance of Cushing. Soon, guards took up posts along the perimeter of storage facilities and newly installed cameras kept constant surveillance. References to the giant […]

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Exxon slams report for cherry-picking climate legacy

Exxon critical of climate reporting news website it says cherry-picked company information on climate track record. Photo by Katherine Welles/Shutterstock. IRVING, Texas, Oct. 22 (UPI) — U.S. supermajor Exxon Mobil took aim at climate activists for what the company said were inaccurate and misleading accounts of its position on climate issues. InsideClimate News has produced a series suggesting the energy company deliberately campaigned to cast doubt about the impacts of climate change even though its own scientists warned the issue may threaten its core business. Ken Cohen, Exxon’s vice president of public and government affairs, said the reporting was inaccurate and deliberately misleading . "These activists took those statements out of context and ignored other readily available statements demonstrating that our researchers recognized the developing nature of climate science at the time which, in fact, mirrored global understanding," he said in an emailed statement. Reporting from InsideClimate News drew […]

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Study: Strong Oklahoma quakes caused by industrial activity

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A sharp rise in earthquakes in Oklahoma in the past 100 years is likely the result of industrial activities in the energy-rich state, such as oil and natural gas production, a new study suggests. The paper by the U.S. Geological Survey, which singled out the state of Oklahoma, was released online this week and will be published in December’s Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. It concludes that injection of massive amounts of the byproduct of oil and gas production – chemical-laced wastewater – deep into the earth has induced the quakes. The paper dates wastewater injection methods to the 1920s in Oklahoma. The modern-day process that produces the byproduct wastewater is known as fracking, or forcing millions of gallons of water, sand and other additives deep into the ground to free up pockets of natural gas. Both the energy industry and scientists agree […]

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USGS ties quakes to Oklahoma oil production

USGS study finds an increase in seismic activity in Oklahoma linked to oil activities in the state. Photo by Calin Tatu/Shutterstock RESTON, Va., Oct. 21 (UPI) — An increase in seismic activity in Oklahoma since 2009 may be in part related to activity associated with oil production, the U.S. Geological Survey finds. "In Oklahoma, seismicity rates since 2009 far surpass previously observed rates at any time during the 20th century," Susan Hough, a USGS seismologist, said in a statement. "Several lines of evidence further suggest that most of the significant earthquakes in Oklahoma during the 20th century may also have been induced by oil production activities." Energy consultant Wood Mackenzie said Oklahoma shale was on par with the Eagle Ford basin in Texas and the Bakken shale in North Dakota with production expected to pass 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2020. Oklahoma is the No. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Strong Oklahoma Quakes Linked to Industrial Activity, Study Says

TULSA, Okla.—A sharp rise in earthquakes in Oklahoma in the past 100 years is likely the result of industrial activities in the energy-rich state, such as oil and natural gas production, a new study suggests. The paper by the U.S. Geological Survey, which singled out the state of Oklahoma, was released online this week and will be published in December’s Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. It concludes that the injection of massive amounts of the byproduct of oil and gas production—chemical-laced wastewater—deep into the earth likely induced the quakes. The paper dates wastewater-injection methods to the 1920s in Oklahoma. The modern-day process that produces the wastewater is known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which forces millions of gallons of water, sand and other additives deep into the ground to free up pockets of natural gas. Both the energy industry and scientists agree that fracking doesn’t directly cause […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Even BP admits, some existing oil reserves are unburnable

The idea of a carbon bubble — the scenario in which fossil fuel-related investments become “stranded assets” as the world moves away from fossil fuels — has been gaining mainstream credence in recent months. From coal communities seeking help to transition from fossil fuels to vastly improved renewables that are competing directly with carbon emitting fuels , there are good reasons to question the idea that fossil fuel demand will continue to grow in the coming decades. Still, I wasn’t expecting the latest development in the carbon bubble story. The new economics of oil As reported over at The Guardian, oil giant BP has just admitted that some existing fossil fuel reserves are unburnable , and that some oil will have to remain in the ground if we are to have any hope of keeping global climate change within “safe” (which, at this point, really just means “less dangerous”) […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Devastating Chart Shows Why El Niño Won’t Fix the Drought

Click to Open Overlay Gallery The California Aqueduct in the Mojave Desert near Palmdale, CA. Steve Proehl/Corbis This story originally appeared on Mother Jones and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. In California, news of a historically powerful El Niño oceanic warming event is stoking hopes that winter rains will ease the state’s brutal drought . But for farmers in the Central Valley, one of the globe’s most productive agricultural regions, water troubles go much deeper—literally—than the current lack of precipitation. That’s the message of an eye-popping report from researchers at the US Geological Survey. This chart tells the story: To understand it, note that in the arid Central Valley, farmers get water to irrigate their crops in two ways. The first is through massive, government-built projects that deliver melted snow from the Sierra Nevada mountains. The second is by digging wells into the ground and pumping water […]

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CEOs of 10 major oil and gas companies commit to 2 degrees C climate target

* Call for effective climate deal at Paris summit * ‘Clear’ policies needed to meet 2 degrees target * Focus on efficiency, gas, CCS, renewables The CEOs of 10 major oil and gas companies on Friday made a joint declaration on climate change, calling for an effective global agreement at a United Nations climate summit in Paris in December. The 10 companies — which make up almost a fifth of all oil and gas production and supply nearly 10% of the world’s energy — declared their support for an effective agreement at the 21st Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Parties to the so-called Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) are BG Group, BP, Eni, Pemex, Reliance Industries, Repsol, Saudi Aramco, Shell, Statoil and Total. Article continues below… Every Monday, Capitol Hill newshounds Brian Scheid and Herman Wang analyze, dissect and debate the key […]

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Energy groups commit to tackling climate change

Sign up for quick access to a wealth of global business news, including: Energy groups commit to tackling climate change Newspaper + Premium online Newspaper + Premium online Premium Full FT.com subscription Premium Full FT.com subscription Standard Full news & archive Standard Full news & archive Trial Try Premium online Trial Try Premium online Price Monthly Annual $66.30 $11.77 per week $53.00 $9.25 per week $36.00 $6.45 per week $1.00 for 4 weeks $1.00 for 4 weeks FT Alphaville plus selected FT blogs yes yes yes yes Unlimited FT.com article access yes yes yes yes Unlimited mobile and tablet access yes yes yes yes Unlimited fast FT yes yes yes yes 5 year company financials archive yes yes yes yes The LEX column yes yes no yes ePaper access yes yes no yes Three exclusive weekly emails yes yes no yes Daily newspaper delivery yes no no For 4 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple