Planet Week: Big Oil’s bad news is the Planet’s good news
Welcome to Planet Week, where we highlight the last week of environmental news and what it means for our Planet.
Welcome to Planet Week, where we highlight the last week of environmental news and what it means for our Planet.
Last week, Ana became the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, researchers found that heat and smog disproportionately hurt communities of color, and a new briefing linked climate change to a growing mental health crisis.
In case you missed it, here’s what else happened around the Planet:
Monday, May 24
A grim start to the West’s fire season
The American West’s fire season is off to a rough start, reports The Associated Press. So far, 14,000 acres have burned in California — roughly five times as much land as this time last year. Abnormally dry conditions (more than 73% of California is in a drought) are likely fueling this trend.
But this isn’t just a California problem. A new study finds that forest fires are reaching higher, normally wetter elevations across the entire West, writes Fast Company. In Planet Days, we recently wrote about how a climate-changed California, with its record wildfires and drought, is raising questions about long-term livability out West.
Tuesday, May 25
Biden advances offshore wind in California
But not all is bad in the Golden State. On Tuesday, the administration announced a plan to open 250,000 acres off California’s central and northern coast for offshore wind development. The farms could generate 4,600 megawatts of electricity — enough to power 1.6 million homes.
Only three weeks ago, the Biden administration approved the nation’s largest offshore wind farm, located off the coast of Matha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. Both these moves are part of Biden’s larger goal to produce 30,000 megawatts of electricity by offshore wind by 2030. The Los Angeles Times has more.
Wednesday, May 26
Big Oil’s bad news is the Planet’s good news
And now for some more good news (unless you’re an oil exec). Let’s break down Big Oil’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day:
Activist investor firm Engine №1, which only owns 0.02% of ExxonMobil’s stock, won at least two seats on Exxon’s board Wednesday, reports The Wall Street Journal. That’s significant because Engine №1 has been vocally critical of Exxon’s climate plan, or lack thereof. Meanwhile, Reuters uncovered that BlackRock, which owns 6.3% of the oil company, backed three of Engine №1’s four candidates.
In the Netherlands, a court ruled that Shell must cut emissions 45% by 2030 — much higher than the company’s existing plans to reduce carbon intensity 20% by 2030. The ruling, which applies to Shell’s global operations, could spark more legal action against oil companies around the world, reports Bloomberg.
Ignoring the advice of the board, 60% of Chevron shareholders backed a proposal to cut Scope 3 emissions, or emissions from customers that use their product. That’s a tough proposition because, well, Chevron makes money when people burn its oil. Reuters has more.
These events served as a reckoning for Big Oil, writes Vox, signaling a shift toward legal responsibility for oil companies and executives, who must now rethink their energy investments or risk losing their jobs.
Planet may surpass 1.5 degrees in next five years
We’re inching dangerously close to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degree limit, the the mark set to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change. So close, in fact, that the world’s average temperature could pass it before 2026, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization.
“These are more than just statistics,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement. “Increasing temperatures mean more melting ice, higher sea levels, more heatwaves and other extreme weather, and greater impacts on food security, health, the environment and sustainable development.”
We‘d’ likely only see one of the next five years exceed the threshold, but it’s still a significant milestone, and the WMO warned we’re running out of time to reverse the trend. NPR breaks down the findings.
Cyclone Yaas batters India
India can’t catch a break. After one of the world’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks this year, the country saw its second cyclone in a week. Cyclone Yaas swept across India’s eastern coast, bringing 87 mph winds and massive storm surges. At least 5 people died, 25,000 homes were destroyed, and 150,000 were left homeless.
“I have never seen a tidal surge rising to this level,” Humayum Kabir, an official in the coastal district of Khulna, told Reuters. “It flooded many villages and washed away houses. Many people are marooned.”
Biden’s busy, and contradicting, week
Joe Biden had a busy week. On Monday, Biden announced $1 billion for communities preparing for extreme weather, double the amount spent last year. And on Thursday, he announced a $6 trillion budget proposal for 2022, $36 billion of which goes to fighting climate change, reports E&E News.
These moves and others clash with his administration’s recent decision to defend a major Trump-era oil project in Alaska, a project that would produce more than 100,000 barrels of oil a day for the next 30 years. But legal or not, the project would still create nearly 260 million metric tons of CO2 emissions over its lifetime.
“Not only does the project in itself have significant and long-lasting climate problems, it’s setting the stage for more emissions in the future,” Kristen Miller, acting director of the Alaska Wilderness League, told The New York Times.
Thursday. May 27
Republicans counter infrastructure plan
Nearly two months ago, Joe Biden unveiled his $2 trillion American Jobs Plan, a sweeping infrastructure bill that would also advance climate action, as we’ve written about in this newsletter.
Last week, the GOP countered the plan with one of their own, reports NPR. Seeking to narrow the discussion to traditional physical infrastructure, the counteroffer is for $928 trillion, with most money going toward “roads, bridges and major projects.”
But Democrats were unamused. Unlike Biden’s plan, the proposal would be funded by leftover COVID-19 relief, not higher taxes on the rich. The GOP proposal may also gut many of the green provisions of Biden’s original plan, The Washington Post reports. Biden must now decide whether to continue seeking compromise, or force the plan through without Republican support.
Bonus
Extinction psych outs
At least 900 species of animals have been permanently lost, and hundreds of thousands more are at risk of extinction because of human interference. But there are a few that psyched us out, like the pygmy hogs in Asia and giant tortoise in the Galapagos.
Both species were thought to be extinct for decades, if not centuries, before scientists rediscovered small populations. Now, their efforts turn to rehabilitation and conservation.
Have a great week,
Brandon and Sam