Fossils See Circular Economy, Backlash Against Plastics Cutting Demand for Oil and Gas

The mounting global backlash against plastic pollution has fossil companies worried, as public opinion coalesces into a threat to businesses they’ve been counting on as a reliable source of demand for their own raw product.

Bloomberg Funds $500-Million Campaign to Shut All U.S. Coal Plants by 2030

Billionaire former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is donating US$500 million over three years to Beyond Carbon, a new push to phase out all remaining coal plants in the United States by 2030 and begin the process of shutting down the country’s natural gas plants.

Automakers Urge Trump to Relent on Tailpipe Emissions Standard Rollback

Seventeen of the world’s biggest automakers are urging Donald Trump to step back from his attempt to gut Obama-era tailpipe emission standards for cars and light trucks, warning that the sweeping deregulatory effort “threatens to cut their profits and produce ‘untenable’ instability in a crucial manufacturing sector,” the New York Times reports.

Drawdown is an inventory of the 100 top options for reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and stabilizing the global climate. The Energy Mix is summarizing the 100 chapters as a service to readers. Get details and buy the book here.

Kenney Unveils Fossil ‘War Room’, Faces Criticism on Carbon Tax Repeal, Wildfire Impacts

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced the cost but few details of his much-touted, C$30-million oil and gas “war room” Friday, prompting immediate pushback from the environmental groups he vowed to target during the recently-concluded provincial election campaign.

Keystone Wins Court Appeal, But Further Legal Challenges Await

Opponents of the ever-controversial Keystone XL pipeline are exploring “all available legal avenues” to halt the project, after a U.S. appeal court overturned a judge’s decision to reject its construction permit in Montana last November.

Environment Groups Declare Fossils’ Election Platform a Recipe for ‘Climate Chaos’

National environmental groups declared the fossil industry’s election campaign demands a recipe for “climate chaos” last week, after the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) issued a call for the country’s next government to displace imported oil with Canadian supplies and ramp up fossil production and pipelines.

Women, Younger Voters, and Key Provinces Cite Climate as Top Ballot Box Issue

Climate change continues to place as a top ballot box concern in the months leading up to federal election in October, with nearly six in 10 Canadians saying the issue will influence their vote and women more than men, younger voters more than older ones, and voters in Quebec, the Atlantic, and British Columbia giving higher priority.

India Bakes Under Stifling Heat Wave as Data Show Warming Trend

Much of the Indian subcontinent was blanketed in a stifling heat wave last week, with five of the 15 hottest places on the planet located in India or Pakistan and the northern town of Churu hitting a high of 50°C (122°F) on Monday.

Quirky Ontario Electricity Pricing Creates Opportunity for Battery Storage

Battery developers have become the unintended beneficiaries of a strange quirk in Ontario energy policies that has a growing number of commercial and industrial power consumers turning to energy storage to help avoid costly peak power supplies.

Cracked, Leaking Storage Tanks Point to Alarming Safety Risks for Leading U.S. LNG Exporter

A series of leaks and cracks in the massive liquefied natural gas storage tanks operated by Cheniere Energy, the Houston company that until recently had a virtual monopoly on U.S. LNG exports, is raising alarming questions about a company that has seen a decade of rapid growth and enjoyed steady support from Trump Republicans and Obama Democrats alike.

Biden Promises Pushback on China’s Funding for New Coal Plants, Fossil Subsidy Ban

Joe Biden has promised to crack down on China’s coal power spree in other countries if elected U.S. president in 2020.