Message From the Editor

The Biden administration has hailed $4.7 billion in funding to cap orphaned oil and gas wells as a move to tackle “super-polluting methane emissions,” combat the climate crisis, and create jobs. But decarbonization expert Megan Milliken Biven fears that by granting billions of dollars to state oil and gas regulators — the very entities that enabled these environmental messes in the first place — without tighter federal rules, these public funds could be spent in ways that contradict those climate goals. Read on.

A University of Victoria economics professor who has spent years questioning whether global warming is “a real thing” is doing research supported by hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from the Canadian government. Gerrit Cornelis van Kooten holds the prestigious title of Canada Research Chair in Environmental Studies and Climate Change, a distinction reserved for “outstanding researchers acknowledged by their peers as world leaders in their fields.” But as recently as 2018, van Kooten was publicly supporting a fringe scientific argument claiming, “It is quite likely that future generations will benefit from the enrichment of Earth’s atmosphere with more carbon dioxide.” Geoff Dembicki reports.

And this week we reported on senior figures in charge of the Church of England’s investments who have close current or past ties to high-carbon companies including Shell, Drax, and BP. The revelations come as the Church faces renewed pressure to fully divest from fossil fuels after its biannual meeting earlier this month, where climate campaigners expressed frustration at the Church’s ongoing stakes in oil and gas. In 2018, the Church voted to divest from all oil and gas companies that are not in line with the Paris Agreement by 2023. Yet three years later, it continues to hold shares in Shell, TotalEnergies, and ExxonMobil — all of which are planning significant fossil fuel expansion. Adam Barnett has the story.

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Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle

Executive Director

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One Woman’s Quest to Safeguard Federal Funds Meant to Clean up the Oil and Gas Industry’s Mess

— By Julie Dermansky (10 min. read)—

After the Biden administration’s bipartisan infrastructure law was passed, the administration hailed the bill’s $4.7 billion package to cap orphaned oil and gas wells as a move to tackle “super-polluting methane emissions,” saying it will combat the climate crisis and create jobs. But it is possible that, without tight rules, these public funds could be spent in ways that contradict those goals — and go to the very entities that enabled these environmental messes in the first place.

Though the administration claims it will establish safeguards, currently there are no rules to compel state oil and gas regulators to use the federal funds in a way that prioritizes plugging the inactive and supposedly ownerless wells that are emitting the most methane, or even any methane at all. The law’s current implementation also offers no assurances that the new jobs promised for oil and gas industry workers will materialize, although it is a stated goal of the law.

The Canadian Government Is Funding A Researcher Who Spent Years Denying Climate Science

— By Geoff Dembicki (05 min. read)—

Gerrit Cornelis van Kooten holds the prestigious title of CanadaResearch Chair in Environmental Studies and Climate Change, a distinction reserved for “outstanding researchers acknowledged by their peers as world leaders in their fields.”

Church of England Fossil Fuel Ties Revealed Amid Divestment Dispute

— By Adam Barnett (5 min. read) —

Senior figures in charge of the Church of England’s investments have close current or past ties to high-carbon companies including Shell, Drax and BP, DeSmog can report.

The revelations come as the Church faces renewed pressure to fully divest from fossil fuels after its biannual meeting earlier this month, where climate campaigners expressed frustration at the Church’s ongoing stakes in oil and gas.

In a Contested Oregon Primary Race, Democrats Back Candidate Taking Fossil Fuel Money

— Nick Cunningham (10 min. read) —

Late last year, U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) announced his retirement from Oregon’s 4th District, opening up a seat that he held for more than three decades. He’s earned a reputation in Congress as a champion of transportation and climate policy: He was one of the original cosponsors of the Green New Deal in 2019, and most recently, he helped craft the bipartisan infrastructure bill that was signed into law last year, and also helped shepherd President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda through the House of Representatives, before it ran aground in the Senate.

Within hours of DeFazio making his retirement public, Val Hoyle announced her intention to seek his seat. He quickly endorsed her. Hoyle served as a representative in Oregon’s legislature from 2009 to 2017 and is currently the state Labor Commissioner. She quickly consolidated the backing of powerful Democrats, with U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) endorsing her in late January.

Gerrit Cornelis van Kooten teaches climate change economics at the Department of Economics at the University of Victoria, Canada. As Canada Research Chair in Environmental studies, Cornelis van Kooten claims that “Climate science often ignores economic considerations, and climate models do not usually include interactive economic sectors, making it difficult to explore cost-effective policy responses to climate change and its consequences.” Van Kooten is a climate change skeptic affiliated with a number of groups that actively dispute the existence of man-made climate change. He has been an “Expert” at the Heartland Institute and is currently a senior fellow of both the Fraser Institute and the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation.

Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database and Koch Network Database