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Biden to scrap Keystone XL pipeline permit: Canadian media
Montreal (AFP) - President-elect Joe Biden plans to scrap the permit for the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline between Canada and the US, two Canadian broadcasters said Sunday. CBC and CTV cited sources and notes from Biden's transition team that indicate he will rescind the permit via executive order following his inauguration on Wednesday. The $8 billion pipeline extension would transport about 500,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada's tar sands in Alberta to refineries in coastal Texas. Owned by TC Energy and the government of Alberta, the extension was blocked in 2008 by then-presi...
AFP
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US leases long-sought Alaska oil rights in Trump's final days
New York (AFP) - US President Donald Trump's administration auctioned off 11 oil leases in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday, in a last-ditch move to expand drilling in the areas coveted by some petroleum producers before he leaves office. Major oil companies however sat out bidding for tracts in the environmentally sensitive area, and nine of the leases went to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state agency, while two went to small companies. The sale raised $14 million. The White House announced the plan to go ahead with the sale in mid-November just we...
AFP
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Dozens of nations miss deadline to boost climate ambition
Paris (AFP) - More than half the world's nations failed to submit upgraded commitments by year's end to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, straggling behind the schedule of accelerated climate ambitions set out in the Paris Agreement. Almost every country on the planet signed up to the 2015 Paris deal, which calls for capping global warming at "well below" two degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, and 1.5C if possible. The first raft of so-called "nationally determined contributions" (NDCs) would -- if fulfilled -- still see Earth become 3C hotter, but nations pledged to inte...
AFP
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Austin is winning recruits among the tech elite, but that's not Seattle's biggest danger
Civil War Gen. Philip Sheridan famously said, "If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent out Texas and live in Hell." The situation has obviously changed. Not only is Dallas a major corporate center and Houston, the nation's fourth most populous city, the capital of the oil industry, but Austin is a rising tech star. Austin's ascendency was emphasized recently when software powerhouse Oracle said it would move its headquarters there from Silicon Valley. In truth, the reality is more nuanced and the threat to Silicon Valley minimal. The same can be said for Seattle. After losing Boeing's headquar...
The Seattle Times
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Indonesia’s biofuel bid threatens more deforestation for oil palm plantations
JAKARTA — An Indonesian government program to phase out diesel for an alternative made from palm oil could spur massive deforestation for palm plantations spanning an area a fifth the size of Borneo. The biodiesel transition program, the world’s most ambitious, will require 15 million hectares (37 million acres) of new oil palm plantations, according to Arifin Tasrif, the minister for energy and mines. Speaking at a parliamentary hearing last month, he said that was how much new palm oil production would be needed to replace current oil consumption of a million barrels a day. A newly published...
Mongabay
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Energy nominee Granholm brings Detroit savvy to green push
New York (AFP) - Since stepping down as Michigan's Governor, Jennifer Granholm, President-elect Joe Biden's nominee as Energy Secretary, has spoken often about the need to boldly rethink energy policy in light of climate change. Granholm, who was officially nominated Thursday night by Biden, has sketched out a national "race to the top" whereby states could compete for clean energy funds, with the Sunbelt offering up solar energy, Texas leading on upgrading the electric grid and Michigan on revamping autos, a sector she knows intimately. An outspoken champion of Biden's during the presidential...
AFP
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PUC gives construction OK to Enbridge for Minnesota pipeline
Minnesota utility regulators Tuesday authorized their final go-ahead for Enbridge to build its controversial $2.6 billion oil pipeline across northern Minnesota.That leaves the Canadian company on the brink of beginning work, only needing a more routine stormwater permit from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).The state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Tuesday gave its OK for construction to begin. The PUC’s action was expected. It approved the overall project in February.The PUC’s action came a day after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a water quality-related constructi...
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
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Nikola, GM stock prices spike on anticipation of partnership news
The stock of both Nikola Corp. and General Motors spiked Wednesday on rumors the two had finally signed a deal in which GM would make the Nikola Badger heavy-duty electric pickup using its Ultium battery technology and be the exclusive supplier of Hydrotec fuel cells for the truck.In return, GM would get an equity stake in Nikola and other benefits of scale to save it billions in costs.Nikola stock closed Wednesday at $25.42, up 15.39%. GM’s stock price closed at $42.72, up 1.76%, after going above $44 just after noon.But both GM and Nikola spokespeople say there is nothing new to report about...
Detroit Free Press
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Indonesia’s omnibus law a ‘major problem’ for environmental protection
JAKARTA — The Indonesian government is trying to downplay the potential environmental fallout from a recently passed slate of deregulation, prompting criticism from experts.Foreign investors have joined domestic groups — ranging from labor unions to university students to religious conservatives — in flagging concerns about the so-called omnibus law on job creation that parliament passed on Oct. 5. In a recent letter to the Indonesian government, a group that includes 35 global investors, managing a combined $4.1 trillion in assets, expressed worries that the new legislation will have damaging...
Mongabay
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In Pennsylvania, fracking debate triggers political tremors
Deemston (United States) (AFP) - Bryan Latkanich says he was once "the biggest cheerleader there was" for the fracking industry -- but now blames gas wells for destroying his southwestern Pennsylvania farmhouse and his family's health.Retired teacher Rose Friend, whose family has owned a home in the area for generations, says gas producers cut down her century-old trees and made her life miserable with dust and noise pollution from never-ending lines of trucks trundling through her property.Despite their personal nightmares, both say they'll vote November 3 for Donald Trump, who has positioned...
AFP
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