Plus, gas redefined as “green energy” in Louisiana ...
From the Editor's Desk
The world over, governments give fossil fuel companies many advantages for doing business in their countries, from generous tax breaks to low royalty rates for drilling on public lands. But as Sam Bright reports in an investigation we co-published with The Guardian, rarely do officials call out such giveaways as explicitly as a "quid pro quo."
In a private meeting last year, UK chancellor Rachel Reeves suggested that Norwegian state oil company Equinor would receive a “quid pro quo” in return for higher taxes on its windfall profits. What exactly would the oil giant receive? The UK government’s carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) subsidies.
The technology is accused of being the fossil fuel industry’s go-to climate “solution” because it allows for continued oil and gas drilling, with often few results to show for the investments. Get the full story.
Case in point: Following a bombshell DeSmog investigation in January, Equinor retracted the claim that it stores 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year at its flagship carbon capture project in the North Sea. It captured just one-tenth that amount in 2023.
Across the pond in Canada’s oil sands-rich Alberta, the province recently released burdensome new rules for reclamation that make it even harder to develop renewable energy there.
As Mitch Anderson writes, “However, the stark contrast in how Alberta treats the relatively puny reclamation risks from the renewable energy sector compared to the vast unfunded liabilities from the oil patch is so brazen it almost qualifies as political performance art.”
Alberta’s outstanding liabilities for cleaning up oil sands mines alone come to at least $57.3 billion. That’s only the beginning. Read more.
In Louisiana, the state legislature recently passed a law redefining natural gas — which comprises mostly methane, a powerful climate-warming greenhouse gas — as “green energy.” En route to the governor's desk, the bill goes further, explicitly directing state utilities to use energy generated by hydrocarbons.
Guess who helped support this fossil fuel rebranding in Louisiana and other states? Climate denial group the Heartland Institute and the corporate model bill writers at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Read more.
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Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director
P.S. DeSmog continues to keep you informed about threats to our climate across the globe — from up-to-the minute reporting to essential database profiles that help others fight climate denial and delay. Can you donate $10 or $20 right now to support more of this essential work?
Photo: Equinor's Sleipner gas field. Credit: Øyvind Gravås and Bo B. Randulff/Woldcam/‘©Equinor
Alberta Is Making It Even Harder to Develop Renewable Energy
— By Mitch Anderson (3 min. read) —
The province released new burdensome reclamation requirements for wind and solar projects — the latest performance in an elaborate political troll.
Rachel Reeves Promised Oil Industry ‘Quid Pro Quo’ Over Windfall Tax in Private Meeting
— By Sam Bright (5 min. read) —
The government has been accused of making a “secret exchange deal” with fossil fuel firms to compensate for the tax hike.
Louisiana’s New Bill Would Codify Gas as ‘Green Energy'
— By Emily Sanders and Delaney Dryfoos (9 min. read) —
A bill on its way to the Governor’s desk — with connections to gas industry allies — could enshrine hydrocarbons as Louisiana’s future.
Corporate Lobbying Eroded Flagship EU Sustainability Rules – Report
— By Joey Grostern (4 min) —
An “unparalleled competitiveness hysteria” is at play, says transparency campaigner.
Food Giants’ Climate Plans Lack Credibility, New Report Finds
— By Rachel Sherrington (7 min. read) —
Danone, JBS, Mars, Nestlé and PepsiCo net zero plans marred by “patchy and unsubstantiated targets” say campaigners.
From the Climate Disinformation Database: Russell Vought
Russell Vought is director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Washington Post reported Vought to be a “self-described Christian nationalist.” In 2021, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, which the Heritage Foundation lists as an advisory board member of Project 2025. Vought is a key architect of the Heritage Foundation-led Project 2025, which as DeSmog has reported, is typical of the current Trump administration: more Trump Cabinet officials have ties to groups backing Project 2025 than don’t. In July 2024, the nonprofit Centre for Climate Reporting did an undercover investigation of Project 2025, including an interview with Vought. Vought discussed Trump’s public plan to carry out one of the largest deportations in U.S. history, saying it could help “save the country.” Once the deportation plan started, “you’re really going to be winning a debate along the way about what that looks like,” Vought said. “And so that’s going to cause us to get us off of multiculturalism, just to be able to sustain and defend the deportation, right?”
Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database, Ad & PR Database, and Koch Network Database.
