Asian Development Bank to fund closures of coal power plants

Asakawa says move would shut facilities five or 10 years earlier than planned

Exhaust billows from a coal-fired power plant in Suralaya, Indonesia: The Asian Development Bank plans to set up funds to finance the early retirement of such plants. © Reuters

YUICHI SHIGA, Nikkei Staff Writer

October 6, 2021 18:00 JST

MANILA -- The Asian Development Bank plans to create funds, possibly next year, to facilitate early closures of coal-fired power plants in Southeast Asia. The new funds will buy such plants and take an active role in their management.

Working with governments and financial institutions, the ADB plans to launch the funds in countries such as Indonesia that rely heavily on coal for power generation, aiming to speed their transition to a low-carbon economy.

"To coincide with the United Nations' COP26 climate summit, the ADB will revise its energy policy. For a start, we will stop extending loans to build new coal-fired power plants. We will also establish funds to help retire existing plants before the end of their life cycles," said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa in an exclusive interview with Nikkei. COP26 will open in late October in Glasgow, Scotland.

The funds will be financed with government grants and long-term, low-interest loans and solicit investments from financial institutions. Several lenders are believed to be showing interest. The ADB aims to set up a fund to buy power plants and another to promote renewable energy in Southeast Asia. It has started consultations with the governments and utilities in coal-dependent countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Asakawa did not disclose the size of the funds, but they could be huge. Coal-fired power plants can cost more than 300 billion yen ($2.7 billion), depending on their generating capacity. The first purchase is expected in 2022 or 2023.

"Asia accounts for about 60% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. It is also vulnerable to natural disasters triggered by climate change. The ADB has set a goal of investing $80 billion in projects to address climate change between 2019 and 2030," Asakawa said.

Asian Development Bank President Masatsugu Asakawa 

(Photo courtesy of ADB)

Coal-fired power plants are typically designed to operate for 30 and 40 years. The ADB hopes that by buying the plants, it can shorten the time needed for utilities to recoup their investment and depreciation costs, so they "can be closed earlier, by even five or 10 years," Asakawa said.

Coal-fired plants account for nearly 40% of global electricity output, according to the International Energy Agency. That proportion is higher in the Asia-Pacific region, at around 60%. Reducing reliance on coal will help transform the region into a low-carbon society. Asia accounts for around 80% of global coal consumption.

If Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam replace half their coal-fired power plants with ones powered by renewable energy, their greenhouse gas emissions would fall by an estimated 200 million tons per year, equivalent to taking 61 million conventional vehicles off the road.

The hurdles to such a shift in Asia remain high. Coal is a major power source for many emerging economies in Asia because of its relatively abundant supplies. Renewable energy has a low environmental impact, but power output fluctuates depending on the weather and time of day. If a hasty shift to clean energy leads to power shortages, it could hamper efforts to nurture industries in fast-growing emerging economies. To achieve a low-carbon society, ensuring a stable power supply is essential.

Asakawa became ADB president in January 2020 after his predecessor, Takehiko Nakao, stepped down before completing his five-year term. Asakawa's second term will begin in November.

Asakawa said he has been busy responding to the coronavirus pandemic since taking office. "We've allocated a $20 billion relief package to directly supplement the state finances of emerging economies. We also launched a $9 billion vaccine initiative," he said. "But even when countries have funds, the establishment of vaccine rollout frameworks is sometimes delayed. We aim to play a part in helping improve rollout capabilities in Asia."

On top of infrastructure development, the ADB recently issued its first-ever "blue bonds" to finance projects to protect the marine environment. Japan's Dai-ichi Life Insurance and Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance have purchased the bonds. "In addition to coronavirus responses, the ADB hopes to implement projects that will help address poverty and climate change," Asakawa said.

China has been promoting its Belt and Road Initiative, which seeks to create a huge economic zone stretching from Asia to Europe. But many emerging economies are saddled with ballooning debts owed to China, and the amount of these debts remains unclear. "Internationally, we have the Paris Club, a group of major creditors that includes Japan, the United States and Europe. China and other 'emerging creditors' need to be incorporated into multinational frameworks. It's also important to persuade private-sector lenders to get actively involved in these matters," the ADB president said.

 

Pope Francis launches academic program for 'ecological conversion'

Oct 7, 2021

by Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service

 

20211007T0930-POPE-LATERAN-ECOLOGY-1509821.JPG

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, grand chancellor of Rome's Pontifical Lateran University; Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople; Pope Francis, Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO; and Vincenzo Buonomo, the university's rector, meet at the university Oct. 7. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

ROME — Academic institutions need to promote an "ecological conversion" that combines natural and social sciences with theology, philosophy and ethics to help humanity safeguard creation, Pope Francis said.

Responding to current challenges requires a new way of learning and doing that is built on "openness, creativity, wider educational offerings, but also sacrifice, dedication, transparency and honesty in choosing, especially in these difficult times," he said at Rome's Pontifical Lateran University Oct. 7.

"Let's permanently ditch this — 'it has always been done this way' — it's suicide," he said at the launch of a new chair and program of studies at the school. Such an attitude undermines credibility "because it creates superficiality and answers that are valid only in appearance," he added.

Francis and Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO, signed an agreement at the event establishing a new theological chair supported by UNESCO "On Futures of Education for Sustainability" at the pontifical university.

The signing coincided with the launch, together with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, of a new academic program dedicated to "Care for our common home and safeguarding creation." Both initiatives are endorsed by the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches.

Patriarch Bartholomew said the initiatives reflect the collaboration between the two "sister churches" and their commitment to work to protect "God's wonderful universe." They also reflect a needed interreligious and interdisciplinary approach to the urgent environmental challenges of today, especially concerning climate change, he added.

The chair will encompass the fields of theology, philosophy, law and socioeconomic aspects "in order to train and shape students [in] how to respond to the ecological crisis in a collaborative and conscientious manner," he said.

Francis praised the patriarch's decades long dedication to promoting the safeguarding of creation, quoting the patriarch's conviction that safeguarding "is a way of loving, of moving gradually away from what I want to what God's world needs. It is liberation from fear, greed and compulsion."

Addressing the complexity of threats to the planet, its inhabitants and the most vulnerable requires "responsibility, practicality and competence," the pope said.

The original mission of every university was to be a place where students and teachers dedicated to diverse fields of study could come together to discuss and find creative ways forward, he said. Today, he said, this includes forming an "ecological conscience" and conducting research on how to best protect creation.

"Academic activity is called to promote integral ecological conversion to protect the splendor of nature" by merging social and natural sciences with theological, philosophical and ethical reflection so as to impact regulations and legal standards as well contribute to "a healthy economic vision," Francis said.

The aim includes protecting creation "from nefarious deeds, perhaps inspired by policies, an economy and formation tied to immediate results that benefit a few," he added.

In a letter addressed to Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, grand chancellor of the Pontifical Lateran University, formally instituting the school's new program of studies and chair, the pope wrote that they reflect the church's efforts to live up to its duty to protect creation.

"We, believers and nonbelievers, have the duty to guarantee not an abstract [form of] sustainability or to proclaim the good of future generations, but to develop the tools for safeguarding diverse ecosystems" in ways that are scientifically valid and culturally courageous, he wrote.

The pope wrote that the new chair and studies in safeguarding creation are also meant to benefit church organizations, consecrated life, religious associations and movements and anyone who wishes "to acquire that conscience, knowledge and environmental competence needed for a commitment inspired by a just and sustainable model of the human being, life, society and a relationship with nature."

Pope at Lateran: Damage to earth threatens life itself

Pope Francis has inaugurated a new cycle of studies at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, dedicated to ecological and environmental issues, in conjunction with the Patriarchate of Constantinople and UNESCO. 

In his speech, the Pontiff underlines that the complexity of the ecological crisis requires responsibility, concreteness, and competence.

By Vatican News staff reporter

In the presence of Patriarch Bartholomew I and Audrey Azoulay, Director of UNESCO, Pope Francis issued a stark warning: As the COP26 conference draws nearer, he said, there is the awareness that “the harm we are doing to the planet is no longer limited to climate damage, water, and soil, but now threatens life itself on earth.”

In the face of this, he underlined, “it is not enough to repeat statements of principle that make us feel good.” No, he added, “the complexity of the ecological crisis, in fact, demands responsibility, concreteness, and competence.”

Speaking on Thursday morning at Rome's Pontifical Lateran University, he recalled the "Faith and Science" event that took place in the Vatican this week and included the participation of scientists and representatives of different religions. He was struck, he revealed, by the words of one of the scientists who said, "My granddaughter, who was born last month, will have to live in an uninhabitable world if we don't change things."
Universities to form ecological consciousness

Speaking in this place of learning, the Pope harked back to the original mission of 'Universitas', “where students and faculty come together to reflect and creatively work out new ways forward.” “The effort to form ecological consciousness and develop research to protect the common home passes through the Universities,” Pope Francis said.

Continuing on this point, the Pope underlined, “Academic activity is called to foster an integral ecological conversion in order to preserve the splendor of nature, first of all by reconstructing the necessary unity between the natural and social sciences with what is offered by theological, philosophical and ethical reflection, so as to inspire juridical norms and a sound economic vision.”

Ecology and Environment studies

During his discourse, Pope Francis expressed his thanks to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), for its “active attention” to this Ecology and Environment initiative.

JESUIT IDEOLOGY

It is a path, he said, that will operate together with the Patriarchate of Constantinople with "an open perspective" capable of "welcoming the attention of the Christian Churches, the different religious communities, those who are searching and those who profess to be non-believers." The cycle of studies, the Pope stressed, should therefore be a meeting point of experiences and thoughts, combining them through the method of scientific research. “The University not only shows itself to be an expression of the unity of knowledge but also the repository of an imperative that has no religious, ideological or cultural boundaries.”

Expectations for 2030 sustainable development goals receding

Warning that expectations for the 2030 sustainable development goals are receding, Pope Francis said "there is no ecology without an adequate anthropology. Without a true integral ecology, we will have a new imbalance, which will not only fail to resolve problems but will add new ones.”

Therefore, "the idea of a special cycle of studies,” the Pope underlined, “serves to transform even among believers the mere interest in the environment into a mission carried out by trained people, the fruit of an adequate educational experience. This is the greatest responsibility in the face of those who, because of environmental degradation, are excluded, abandoned, and forgotten.”

He continued by saying, “This is a work to which the Churches, by vocation; and every person of goodwill, are called to make the necessary contribution, becoming the voice of the voiceless, rising above partisan interests and not merely complaining.”

"Let's abandon the yes it's always been done this way," the Pope said, "it is suicidal ... Instead, we are called to do qualified work, which demands generosity and gratuitousness from everyone in order to respond to a cultural context whose challenges await concreteness, precision, and the ability to confront them." Hence the invitation to "sow beauty and not pollution and destruction."

Signing of the UNESCO Convention
At the end of the meeting, the Pope, along with the Patriarch and the Director of UNESCO, jointly signed the UNESCO Convention for the new cycle of studies in the "University of the Pope" on Ecology and Environment.

THE ORIGINAL 007

Queen Elizabeth I confidant used mirror with Aztec origins for occult practices: study

Jackie Dunham

CTVNews.ca Writer
 Wednesday, October 6,2021

John Dee was a close confidant of Queen Elizabeth I who delved in occult practices. (Antiquity journal)

TORONTO -- A close confidant of Queen Elizabeth I used an obsidian mirror with Aztec origins to contact otherworldly spirits in his occult practices, according to new research.

John Dee was a renaissance polymath during the 16th century who was interested in astronomy, alchemy, and mathematics, Stuart Campbell, an archeology professor at the University of Manchester, said in a press release.

“Later he became involved in divination and the occult, seeking to talk to angels through the use of scryers, who used artefacts - like mirrors and crystals,” Campbell added.

One of those scryers – a tool used to see or predict the future – was an obsidian mirror that has long been suspected of having Aztec origins, but with no records to show how Dee obtained it, it was difficult to prove.

That is until Campbell and a team of international scientists used geochemical analysis to reveal the mirror’s origins.

To do this, they studied four objects currently housed in the British Museum – Dee’s mirror, two other Aztec mirrors, and a polished rectangular obsidian slab.

They then bombarded the mirrors with X-rays, resulting in the objects also emitting X-rays, which allowed the scientists to measure the artifact’s composition. The researchers described these X-rays as “unique fingerprints” that can be compared to other obsidian artifacts to trace the origins of the materials.

According to the findings, published in the journal Antiquity, all four of the obsidian artifacts studied were made from Mexican obsidian exploited by the Aztecs.

Dee’s mirror, specifically, along with another with a similar design, originated from near Pachuca in Mexico.

The scientists said obsidian, an igneous rock occurring as a natural glass formed by rapid cooling of lava from volcanoes, had a spiritual significance to the Aztecs. It was used as part of medicinal practices, as a shield against bad spirits, and to capture souls on its reflective surface.

The rocks’ symbolic value may have made them appealing items for Europeans to collect and bring home as they conquered the Aztecs in the 16th century, the researchers theorized. The mirrors were also often viewed as magical artifacts in Europe at that time too, which may have served as additional motivation.

“The 16th century was a period in which new exotic objects were being brought to Europe from the New World, and opening up exciting new possibilities in the intellectual world of the period,” Campbell said.

The scientists said the Aztec mirrors were “novel and exotic items” that found a place in many early collections in Europe. They suggested stories about the mirrors may have been why Dee chose to include one in his occult practices.

 
THE ORIGINAL BLACK MIRROR OF SCRYING



John Dee's obsidian mirror has Aztec origins, according to new research. (British Museum)

Obsidian 'spirit mirror' used by Elizabeth I's adviser has Aztec origins

By Ashley Strickland, CNN

 October 6, 2021


Researcher Elizabeth Healey holds John Dee's obsidian mirror.


(CNN)An obsidian "spirit mirror" used by a confidant of Queen Elizabeth I is actually a product of the Aztec culture, according to new research. An analysis of the obsidian mirror, made from volcanic glass, and three other similar objects at the British Museum revealed their Mexican origins.

The obsidian mirror with the Elizabeth I connection belonged to John Dee, an adviser of hers from when she became queen in 1558 and through the 1570s. Dee served as the queen's astrologer and also consulted with her on science. This included Dee acting "as an advocate of voyages of discovery, establishing colonies and improving navigation," said Stuart Campbell, study author and professor at the University of Manchester.

"John Dee is a remarkable historical figure, a Renaissance polymath -- interested in astronomy, alchemy and mathematics -- and confidant of Elizabeth I," Campbell wrote in an email. "Later he became involved in divination and the occult, seeking to talk to angels through the use of scryers (those who divine the future), who used artifacts -- like mirrors and crystals."

The obsidian mirror used by John Dee was created by the Aztecs.

While it had been previously suspected that the mirror had been made by the Aztec culture, there were no records accompanying the object to show how it came into Dee's possession.

A team of researchers used geochemical analysis to target the four obsidian objects with X-rays. This in turn caused the objects to emit X-rays, helping the scientists determine their composition by revealing the elements of the obsidian. In addition to Dee's mirror, they studied two other Aztec mirrors and a rectangular slab of obsidian.

Archaeologists discover over 100 skulls at Aztec site in Mexico City

The analysis showed that all four were made using Mexican obsidian. Dee's mirror and a similarly designed mirror were made using obsidian from Pachuca, a city that is a source of obsidian the Aztecs used. The third mirror and the slab are made of obsidian from the town of Ucareo, another obsidian site in Mexico.

A study on the findings published Wednesday in the journal Antiquity.

The researchers estimate that Dee's mirror is about 500 years old, most likely made in the final decades before the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1521, Campbell said.

"We know that Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés sometimes commissioned items from Aztec craftsmen so he could send them back to the Spanish court," Campbell said. "So it is even possible that some of the circular mirrors like John Dee's were specially made by Aztec craftsmen at the time of the conquest of the Aztec Empire to send back to Europe."

This figure shows Tezcatlipoca, lord of the smoking mirror, with circular obsidian mirrors on his temple, his chest and his foot highlighted.

While researchers haven't been able to pinpoint the obsidian mirrors' intended use in Aztec culture, depictions remain that show circular obsidian mirrors made at this time.
"They're shown particularly in drawings of the god Tezcatlipoca, in place of a missing foot, or attached to his chest or head," Campbell said. "The mirrors that have survived may well have actually been attached to statues of the god. Tezcatlipoca was the god of divination and providence, amongst several other things, and the obsidian mirrors were probably much more than simply symbols of power -- they also seem likely to have been used for divinatory purposes."

Gold bar found 40 years ago in Mexico was part of a plunder by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés

Tezcatlipoca's name also means "smoking mirror."
The Aztecs believed that obsidian had spiritual significance, and it was used in their medicinal practices, as well as a way to ward off bad spirits or even capture souls by using the reflective nature of the volcanic glass.
Items of such significance to the Aztecs would have been intriguing to the Europeans exploring Mexico.

These are Aztec depictions of the mirrors.

"The 16th century was a period in which new exotic objects were being brought to Europe from the New World, and opening up exciting new possibilities in the intellectual world of the period," Campbell said.

Dee, the first person known to use the term "British Empire," would have been fascinated by the idea of the mirrors if he heard stories of how the Aztecs used them, Campbell said. Dee had an interest in the occult early on, and once he obtained the obsidian mirror, he used it to try communicating with spirits, according to the study.

This is a portrait of John Dee from 1594.

Understanding the origins of the obsidian mirror can help researchers retrace the paths of such objects from a time when appropriation occurred frequently.

"To me, it helps us understand something of the way in which the European voyages of discovery and engagement with other parts of the world, often through disastrous conquest, was matched by intellectual attempts to understand how the world worked," Campbell said. "Novel artifacts brought back to Europe from the Americas entered collections of nobility and of intellectuals, and were used and appropriated in the efforts of people, who -- like John Dee -- saw themselves as scientists, to understand the world in new ways."

During his time as Elizabeth's confidant and adviser, she visited him several times at his home, Campbell said. Dee was considered to be one of the reigning intellectuals of that period; he had the largest library in England and one of the greatest in Europe, Campbell said.

"The surviving record of (the library) is actually of major importance in understanding 16th- and early 17th-century intellectual thought," Campbell said.

To Dee, the supernatural was indistinguishable from science. "It may have been his growing interest in those areas of study that gradually undermined his role in the court by the end of the 1570s," Campbell said.

THE GERMAN ALCHEMIST AND OCCULT PHILOSOPHER CORNELIUS AGGRIPA USED BITUMEN, ASHPHALT AND WATCHGLASS TO MAKE A BLACK SCRYING MIRROR IN THE SAME PERIOD AS JOHN DEE

Toxic blend of "trust and power" makes Catholic Church hotbed for systemic child abuse

Issued on: 07/10/2021 -

In the wake of a major child sexual abuse investigation that counted 216,000 victims in France, spanning over seven decades, France 24 is joined by Marc Artzrouni, European Coordinator for SNAP (Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests). Mr. Artzrouni expressed amazement and gratification that the damning report had such a profound and immediate impact. "I wasn't really expecting such an impact,' admits Mr. Artzrouni, "and I'm really glad the report is reverberating throughout the world and throughout the media." Additionally, he highlights a very disturbing pattern: "Very few countries have been unaffected by this. Very few countries where there is a Catholic presence have been unaffected by this." Offering a little historical perspective, Mr. Artzrouni points out that "this report goes back to the 1950's. It's highly probable that this has been going on for centuries in the Catholic Church."

DE SADE THOUGHT SO TOO

The 120 Days of Sodom - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_120_Days_of_Sodom

The 120 Days of Sodom, or the School of Libertinage (French: Les 120 Journées de Sodome ou l'école du libertinage) is a novel by the French writer and nobleman Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade. Described as both pornographic and erotic, it was written in 1785. It tells the story of four wealthy male libertines who resolve to experience the ultimate sexual gratification

 

Is McDonald’s zero-emissions pledge more than just greenwashing?

REUTERS/SHANNON STAPLETON/FILE PHOTO

McDonald's wants to set more ambitious emission reduction goals.

FROM OUR OBSESSION

The climate economy

Every industry can be part of the solution — or part of the ongoing problem.

• 

By Michelle Cheng

Reporter

Published October 4, 2021

McDonald’s wants to achieve net zero emissions globally by 2050.

The plans are vague, but the fast-food giant said it aims to reduce its emissions across restaurants, offices, and supply chains, according to a company press release today (Oct. 4). The details on how it will update targets will be released next year, as it works with Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a nonprofit that works with the private sector on setting emission targets, McDonald’s said in an email to Quartz.

Five of the six biggest fast-food chains announced this year they will set, or have set, science-based targets to reduce their emissions, up from just two companies last year, according to a report this year from investors network Ceres and nonprofit Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return (FAIRR). McDonald’s announcement follows a similar pledge from from Yum Brands, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, which also aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Chipotle, Domino’s, Restaurant Brands International (owner of Burger King and Popeyes),  and Wendy’s have also made pledges. Restaurant Brands’s global target has not been approved yet by SBTi. Net-zero means the amount of greenhouse gas the companies produce are no more than the amount reduced via increased energy efficiency and actions such as planting trees.

McDonald’s also said it is working on implementing local solutions in renewable energy, regenerative farming, and sustainable packaging, according to the press release. For instance, the company said it plans to open a new burger restaurant in the UK this November to test solutions for reducing energy and water use, which will be a blueprint for new McDonald’s sites in the future. The restaurant will feature furniture made from recycled or certified materials by 2023 as well as packaging made with renewable, recycled, or from certified sources by 2024.

In recent years, the fast-food chain has made efforts to reduce its emissions. In 2018, McDonald’s became the first global restaurant company to set a so-called science-based target—or to formally outline how it will adopt greenhouse global emissions—approved by SBTi, to help keep global temperature from rising above 1.5%. The company also recently announced it plans to cut plastic out of Happy Meals toys and packaging  by the end of 2025.

How the food industry is combatting climate change

In the US alone, around 85 million adults, or one-third of the population over 20 years old, consumes fast food daily.

In recent years, activist investors and nonprofit groups have stepped up pressure on fast-food companies to better manage their climate and water scarcity and to set greater reduction targets.

To meet its targets, McDonald’s has a lot of work to do. It’s one of the biggest buyers of food in the world and about 80% of its total emissions come from its supply chain, in particular, its use of beef, chicken, dairy, and other proteins. The company said it has been working with partners to develop more sustainable farming practices. Animal agriculture produces around 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, driven by emissions from livestock and feed; meanwhile, feed for livestock is responsible for a third of annual global water consumption, according to sustainability groups.

Fast food companies still need to address water scarcity and pollution risks in their meat supply chains, according to Ceres and FAIRR. Efforts on how they plan to assess these risks have been limited in scale and scope, the sustainability advocates said. There has also been slow progress on disclosing their analysis of climate risk scenarios, they added.

The costs of climate change on the industry are also becoming more apparent. US livestock producers are facing 30% higher feed costs due to increasing droughts as well as storms damaging their livestock and land, according to the report, which has a direct impact on the farmers and various vendors that are vital to producing McDonald’s meals.

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QUARTZ ESSENTIALS

Facts and figures to help you put this story in context.

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  The climate economy

  Every industry can be part of the solution — or part of the ongoing problem.

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  THE MOST PRESSING QUESTION

  How do we get to net zero emissions?

  The question will define the global economy for the next century. The IPCC estimates (pdf) we need to invest at least $1.6 trillion per year through 2050 to put the planet on a safe climate trajectory. We’re spending about 20% of that figure today. And that’s just for the energy sector.  The climate economy means almost every aspect of our global system—agriculture, transportation, energy, construction—will need to be rethought and redesigned to reduce and then remove greenhouse gases from the equation. It’s the greatest challenge, and opportunity, of our time. 

  1 of 12

California’s offshore industry under fire after oil spill

'This spill should be the end of offshore drilling in California'

Author of the article:
Bloomberg News
Robert Tuttle, Amelia Pollard and John Gittelsohn
Publishing date:Oct 05, 2021 •

Environmental response crews cleaning up oil that flowed near the Talbert marsh and Santa Ana River mouth, creating a sheen on the water after an oil spill in the Pacific Ocean in Huntington Beach, California on Oct. 4, 2021.

 PHOTO BY PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Cruising along the panoramic Pacific Coast Highway that hugs the curves of California’s shoreline, it’s the salty sea breeze that typically overtakes you. This week, it’s the stench of crude oil.

The state’s worst oil spill in almost 30 years means crude is washing ashore as “tar balls” or “patties,” a sticky mess that gets caught in the sand. It’s marring some of the world’s most renowned beaches, famed almost as much for the surf as for the multi-million dollar homes that dot the hills overlooking the ocean.

The mucky scene playing out across Southern California’s coastline is reigniting the debate over an offshore drilling industry that once helped make the Golden State one of the most prolific oil-producing regions in the world, churning out more than 1 million barrels a day at its height. Today, the output from old platforms that dot the region’s shores has dwindled to just tens of thousands of barrels a day, and the risk of leaks and oil spills has risen. The disaster has also drawn fresh scrutiny of aging offshore oil and gas infrastructure around the world, built decades ago back before fracking, horizontal drilling and shale made ocean drilling less economic.

The roughly 3,000 (126,000 gallons) barrels of crude that have poured into the ocean near Huntington Beach isn’t just an environmental and economic blow. It has triggered visceral anger and revived questions about why California still has an offshore oil industry at all, five decades after it stopped issuing new drilling permits.

“This spill should be the end of offshore drilling in California,” Julie Teel Simmonds, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said by phone from San Diego. “This should be the last catastrophic spill we endure.”

This should be the last catastrophic spill we endure

JULIE TEEL SIMMONDS

It’s not just the environmentalists. Both of California’s senators — Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla — said the episode underscores the need to block offshore drilling, including through a legislative ban on new leasing off California, Oregon and Washington. The House has already tucked the measure into its version of a multi-trillion-dollar reconciliation bill designed to advance major Biden administration policy priorities.

“This is yet another preventable environmental catastrophe,” but “we have the power to prevent future spills,” Padilla said in an emailed statement.

Many of the famous sandy stretches near Huntington Beach, which has been fighting with Santa Cruz for the nickname “Surf City,” are closed and vacationers are canceling plans.

Shaun Hammon, manager of Ocean Surf Inn and Suites in Sunset Beach, just north of Huntington Beach, said while the “actual physical stuff” hadn’t yet reached the beach closest to the inn as of Monday afternoon, customers are nervous.

“It’s not only an ecological crisis,” said Chad Nelsen, who could smell the oil at his favorites surf spots this week. He serves as the chief executive officer of the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental group headquartered in San Clemente.

“It’s a community, recreation and ultimately, an economic crisis. Once a spill occurs, the toothpaste is out of the tube, the damage is done,” he said.

Once a spill occurs, the toothpaste is out of the tube, the damage is done

CHAD NELSEN

The spill, from a pipeline owned by a unit of Amplify Energy Corp., comes at a time when California has been aggressively moving to shift away from fossil fuels. Although the first offshore oil wells in the U.S. were drilled just east of Santa Barbara in 1896, it’s been reining in the industry in more recent decades. The state stopped issuing new offshore oil and gas leases after a high-profile spill in 1969 and has taken an increasingly hard line on the sector.

The days of oil production were numbered in California even before the latest leak. Governor Gavin Newsom, who declared a state of emergency late Monday to assist with the response to the spill, has banned the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035 and targeted phasing out fossil fuel extraction by 2045.

“As California continues to lead the nation in phasing out fossil fuels and combating the climate crisis, this incident serves as a reminder of the enormous cost fossil fuels have on our communities,” Newsom said in the statement.

Many of California’s offshore oil rigs have been shut and some dismantled after years of decline. Oil production in federal waters off the U.S. West Coast totaled 13,000 barrels a day in July, down from more than 200,000 barrels a day in the mid 1990s. Closer to shore, in state waters, that total was about 19,000 barrels a day in 2019.

Much of that decline happened after a break in a Plains All American Pipeline LP line near Santa Barbara in 2015 spilled thousands of gallons of crude onto a local beach, prompting the shutdown of multiple production platforms. One, Platform Holly, is currently being decommissioned and its wells plugged, but three others, Exxon Mobil Corp.’s only oil platforms off the California coast, are still maintained, but not operating. The company is trying to get the go-ahead to start them up again.

But even then, California was ranked as No. 7 last year among U.S. oil-producing states (topping for example, Wyoming, which is perhaps more well-known for its crude production).

The offshore production that continues in California may be partly because companies are reluctant to absorb the costs of shutting and decommissioning existing platforms, said Simmonds of the Center for Biological Diversity. The oil that spilled into the sea this week emerged from a pipeline linked to a network of decades-old production facilities.

“Oil and gas companies theoretically put up a sufficient bond to cover decommissioning costs, but they usually are woefully inadequate and many companies just end up declaring bankruptcy, leaving taxpayers to pick up the tab,” she said.

There are other obstacles to cutting back. The state is already facing an enormous squeeze on its electricity grid, with intermittent power from wind, solar and hydro sources proving difficult to manage amid recent bouts of extreme weather. Natural gas prices have soared as California utilities have had to burn more of that fuel.

Disrupting offshore drilling could make the state more dependent on crude imports, said Zachary Rogers, director of global oil service at Rapidan Energy.

“While there will certainly be a passionate reaction to the spill, it’s tough to say whether or not this will materially affect future production in California,” he said.

Even dwindling offshore production for some smaller oil companies makes it worthwhile, and dismantling an aging platform has costs and generates zero profit, said Deborah Gordon, senior principal in the Climate Intelligence Program at the Rocky Mountain Institute. She also pointed to the likelihood of more oil imports into the state if offshore output is curbed.

“It’s a much bigger systemic problem,” she said.

Bloomberg.com

GOOD RIDDANCE

Chris Varcoe: Demise of Canadian Energy Pipeline Association 'really short-sighted,' warns Alberta energy minister

HEY WE ARE PUMPING TAXPAYERS DOLLARS OUT FOR YOUR PR AND YOU DO THIS

'The opposition isn't going to stop just because new crude oil pipelines have been completed and built,' Sonya Savage says

Author of the article:
Postmedia News
Chris Varcoe
Publishing date: Oct 05, 2021 

The era of massive oil pipeline projects being pitched in Canada is winding down with the demise of Keystone XL earlier this year. 

PHOTO BY KRISZTIAN BOCSI/BLOOMBERG FILES

Does Canada need an organization to advocate for oil and natural gas pipelines if no new significant project proposals are coming down the road?

Aside from the owners, who will speak up for projects now underway or existing ones facing fierce opposition — such as Enbridge’s Line 5, where a new twist unfolded Monday — if the group that represents the sector disappears?

These are questions for the industry to ponder after the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA) said Friday it will stop operating at the end of 2021.

It’s clear that leaders of large pipeline companies, including Enbridge, TC Energy and Pembina Pipeline, can speak up for their individual businesses to regulators, policymakers and the public — and they will.

However, that leaves CEPA headed for extinction.

The decision to close comes after Enbridge decided to leave the 28-year-old industry association last fall, with TC Energy and Pembina Pipelines serving notice they would depart by the end of this year.

Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage, who previously worked at CEPA and Enbridge before entering politics, was blunt Monday when asked about the decision.

“It’s really short-sighted for these companies to have let the industry association fold because you know we’re going to need it again,” Savage said in an interview.

“You see the attacks and the opposition to major new pipeline projects. Well, that opposition is now targeting existing pipelines … Who is going to be advocating for the industry-wide perspective on that?”

CEPA president Chris Bloomer said the loss of the three large pipeline companies as members created a budget hole that couldn’t easily be filled.

It led to the board’s decision to stop operations by year’s end and the pipeline companies will soon be left to speak on their own behalf.

“My indication from the companies is they want to do it on their own,” Bloomer said Monday.

“And companies like TC and Enbridge, they have the capacity to do that … but the larger companies are changing, too, and their focus is different and that needs to be recognized.”

CEPA president Chris Bloomer. 

PHOTO BY STUART GRADON/CALGARY HERALD FILES

The companies certainly have the ability to hire lobbyists and experts to ensure their voices are heard in Ottawa.

In a statement, TC Energy said it is a member of various trade associations across North America and, after careful review, decided to not renew its CEPA membership.

The decision also reflects a changing period for the country’s pipeline sector. The era of massive oil pipeline projects being pitched in Canada is winding down with the demise of Keystone XL earlier this year.

While opposition to Enbridge’s Line 3 replacement project continues, the pipeline began to fill up with oil on Friday. Construction on the Trans Mountain expansion is now more than 30 per cent complete.

CEPA started as a technically focused organization that shared information and collaborated on best practices, Bloomer said. With the pipeline battles of the past decade, it shifted into an advocacy role.

But legislative hurdles, low commodity prices, the push to decarbonize, along with ongoing legal and regulatory struggles, have all made it difficult to build new energy infrastructure in North America.

“It’s a sign of the times,” said former TransCanada executive Dennis McConaghy, who has written books about the pipeline sector.

“It’s another voice lost in Ottawa.”

Former TransCanada Corp. CEO Hal Kvisle, who is chair of the Business Council of Alberta, said CEPA played a strong role over the years on technical issues, such as dealing with pipe corrosion and integrity issues.

The pipeline battles in North America today are a different matter.

It's another voice lost in Ottawa
DENNIS MCCONAGH

“The problems are so political and so difficult and of such national interest, I think an organization like (CEPA) would have a very tough time having an impact,” Kvisle said.

The battle over Line 5, an existing pipeline operated by Enbridge, highlights the presence of politics in such matters.

The pipeline ships 540,000 barrels of oil and natural gas liquids per day from Western Canada to Ontario, with the route running under the Straits of Mackinac, moving product through Michigan to Sarnia.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, citing safety concerns, wants to shut it down and revoke an easement granted in 1953 for the line to pass under the straits. The dispute is before the U.S. courts.

Enbridge and the Canadian government are working together, along with the provinces, to ensure the flow of energy to the area isn’t disrupted.

On Monday, lawyers for the federal government officially invoked a dispute settlement provision in a 44-year-old pipeline treaty signed by Canada and the U.S. to prevent authorities from blocking the transmission of oil or gas in transit between the countries.

News of the treaty being invoked came after mediation discussions between Michigan and Enbridge stopped. “Enbridge has continued to participate in the mediation process in good faith and still is hopeful that a negotiated resolution” can keep energy flowing, the company said in a statement.

Savage called Monday’s announcement good news, as discussions were at a standstill and invoking the treaty “needed to happen.” It will take the dispute out of the legal system while the treaty is discussed by the two countries.

As for the end of CEPA, Savage called it a disappointment, noting an industry group can speak with a much broader voice to governments than a single company on key matters such as building or operating existing pipelines.

“The opposition isn’t going to stop just because new crude oil pipelines have been completed and built. It’s going to find something else to oppose and they won’t have that strong voice of the industry association representing the industry as a whole,” she said.

“That is going to be problematic.”

Chris Varcoe is a Calgary Herald columnist.

cvarcoe@postmedia.com