UK's National Grid to step into U.S. offshore wind
Nina Chestney
Thu., May 20, 2021
LONDON (Reuters) - UK-listed grid operator National Grid has partnered with Germany utility RWE to develop offshore wind projects in the United States, it said in its full-year results on Thursday.
The company's investment arm National Grid Ventures has signed a joint venture partnership agreement with RWE Renewables to jointly develop offshore wind projects in the coastal region of the Northeast U.S.
Under the agreement, NGV and RWE will work together to explore opportunities in the U.S. offshore wind market with an intention to jointly bid in a future federal seabed lease auction.
"As the U.S. offshore wind market is opening up, we see this as a perfect opportunity," National Grid Chief Executive John Pettigrew told Reuters in an interview.
The firm is already active in U.S. onshore wind, having bought renewables developer Geronimo Energy in 2019.
In its results, the company said its underlying operating profit was down 5% to 3.28 billion pounds ($4.7 billion) from a year earlier, due to the impact of COVID-19.
The company has recommended a final dividend to bring its full-year payout to 49.16 pence, up 1.2% from a year earlier.
In March, it said it would buy England's largest electricity distribution business WPD from U.S.-based PPL for 7.8 billion pounds. National Grid said it expects that acquisition to be completed by July.
It is also it selling Rhode Island utility the Narragansett Electric Company (NECO) to PPL for $3.8 billion, which it expects to be completed in the first quarter of next year.
The process for the sale of its UK gas transmission business will be launched in the second half of this year because work needs to be done on separating it out from the rest of the company, Pettigrew said.
($1 = 0.7083 pounds)
(Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Thursday, May 20, 2021
U.K. Is Pushing for G-7 to Adopt Mandatory Climate Reporting
Alex Morales, Alessandra Migliaccio and Alberto Nardelli
Wed., May 19, 2021,
(Bloomberg) -- U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is pushing the Group of Seven economies to impose mandatory reporting of environmental risks on their big companies, people familiar with the matter said.
Under the proposals, the biggest companies would report annually on their exposure to risks and opportunities presented by climate change. It would follow guidelines set out in 2017 by the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures.
While a final communique has yet to be agreed on for the June 4-5 meeting, the people said climate disclosure is a priority being pushed by the U.K. presidency in the finance track of the G-7 talks this year. A senior U.K. official said the discussions are on a knife-edge and could yet go either way.
The drive comes as the U.K. seeks to burnish its post-Brexit credentials as a global leader on climate change. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already announced the most ambitious target to cut greenhouse gases among major developed countries, and its other aims during its G-7 presidency include persuading the other nations to phase out fossil-fuel subsidies.
Sunak spoke in the past week about the issue with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, according to the British official. The U.K. wants to make the proposal work and if it succeeds, it will mark a major step to getting markets to play their part in the transition to a net zero economy, the official said.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is expected on Thursday to order his administration to create a strategy to quantify risks for both public and private financial assets posed by climate change in yet another sign that the idea is gaining momentum.
The U.K. chancellor in November announced that the U.K. would “mandate climate disclosures by large companies and financial institutions across our economy by 2025” in measures that go “further” than the TCFD proposals. He said the U.K. was the first G-20 nation to do so.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also championed transparency on corporate efforts to address climate change , saying in December that “binding” international agreement on the disclosures is needed. Italy also supports the efforts, and is pushing the issue in its presidency of the G-20.
Michael R. Bloomberg, the founder and majority shareholder of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, is the chair of TCFD.
Alex Morales, Alessandra Migliaccio and Alberto Nardelli
Wed., May 19, 2021,
(Bloomberg) -- U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is pushing the Group of Seven economies to impose mandatory reporting of environmental risks on their big companies, people familiar with the matter said.
Under the proposals, the biggest companies would report annually on their exposure to risks and opportunities presented by climate change. It would follow guidelines set out in 2017 by the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures.
While a final communique has yet to be agreed on for the June 4-5 meeting, the people said climate disclosure is a priority being pushed by the U.K. presidency in the finance track of the G-7 talks this year. A senior U.K. official said the discussions are on a knife-edge and could yet go either way.
The drive comes as the U.K. seeks to burnish its post-Brexit credentials as a global leader on climate change. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already announced the most ambitious target to cut greenhouse gases among major developed countries, and its other aims during its G-7 presidency include persuading the other nations to phase out fossil-fuel subsidies.
Sunak spoke in the past week about the issue with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, according to the British official. The U.K. wants to make the proposal work and if it succeeds, it will mark a major step to getting markets to play their part in the transition to a net zero economy, the official said.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is expected on Thursday to order his administration to create a strategy to quantify risks for both public and private financial assets posed by climate change in yet another sign that the idea is gaining momentum.
The U.K. chancellor in November announced that the U.K. would “mandate climate disclosures by large companies and financial institutions across our economy by 2025” in measures that go “further” than the TCFD proposals. He said the U.K. was the first G-20 nation to do so.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also championed transparency on corporate efforts to address climate change , saying in December that “binding” international agreement on the disclosures is needed. Italy also supports the efforts, and is pushing the issue in its presidency of the G-20.
Michael R. Bloomberg, the founder and majority shareholder of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, is the chair of TCFD.
MEECH LAKE TOO
Quebec's push to change Constitution could impact all Canadians, experts argue
Wed., May 19, 2021
OTTAWA — Nearly three decades after the failure of the Charlottetown accord, Quebec's status as a distinct society and hand-wringing over constitutional reform are back on the table.
Quebec rolled out proposed language reforms last week that aim to make unilateral changes to the Canadian Constitution. Known as Bill 96, the legislation seeks to amend the country's supreme law to enshrine Quebec's status as a nation and its official language as French.
An initial Justice Department analysis concluded Quebec can go ahead with the changes, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters Tuesday.
But experts disagree, saying constitutional tweaks to language use require a parliamentary green light. They also warn against treating the pair of provisions as symbolic baubles on an unchanged Charter of Rights and Freedoms, highlighting potential legal implications from the Constitution on down.
Federal parties that run candidates across the country are handling with care the question of Quebec's language and identity as they look to avoid stirring up anger in the province ahead of a possible election this year, while the Bloc Québécois seizes a chance to shore up francophone protections — and votes.
The Bloc will table a motion in the House next week calling on lawmakers to pledge they'll steer clear of any legal challenges to the provisions and that Quebec does not need House support for them to go through, Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Wednesday.
"I strongly doubt that the present prime minister of Canada was raised being told every day that Quebec is a rightful nation."
Blanchet added that Trudeau likely knows if he does not fall in line with Quebec Premier François Legault's l00-page language overhaul that "he will have a huge price to pay in Quebec."
Constitutional expert Emmett Macfarlane says that at a minimum, Quebec would need to win authorization from the House of Commons and the Senate for the "official language" amendment to pass.
"The proposal cannot be accomplished unilaterally," said Macfarlane, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo.
Section 43 of the Constitution states that an amendment for "any provision that relates to the use of the English or the French language within a province" must be authorized by the Senate, the House and the legislature of the province to which it applies.
The assertion of Quebec as a nation has an even higher threshold for inscription in the Constitution, said Michael Feder, a Vancouver-based lawyer with expertise in constitutional law.
Legault's argument in favour of a unilateral edit relies largely on Section 45, which states that each provincial legislature "may exclusively make laws amending the constitution of the province."
But Feder and other critics say defining a province as a nation could have knock-on effects across the country, not just in Quebec, with the potential to rejig the structure of the federation rather than just pin on a constitutional accessory.
"I have some difficulty understanding what that means and why it’s being inserted into the Constitution if not to affect other provinces, and for that matter the federal government," Feder said.
For changes relevant to the federation as a whole, he said the standard amending formula would apply: requisite approval from the House, Senate and seven or more provinces comprising at least 50 per cent of the population.
The ramifications of the two provisions are hard to gauge, but could open the door to greater provincial power for Quebec or the exclusive use of French in its legislature, among other changes, Feder added.
"It’s sort of a bedrock principle of constitutional interpretation that provisions are read in light of one another. So once it’s in, if you’ve got a provision saying Quebecers form a nation, it has to be given meaning. You can’t just say it’s mere symbolism and we’ll do what we always did."
In 1993, a subsection was added to the Charter after the House and Senate teamed up with the New Brunswick legislature to adopt resolutions recognizing the province as officially bilingual. The amendment was "bilateral," notes a 2018 report from New Brunswick's official languages commissioner, rather than unilateral.
"If New Brunswick decided to do exactly the same thing (as Quebec currently) — or conversely decided to make English its only official language — it too could do that unilaterally. And that strikes me as untenable," Feder said.
David Taylor, a spokesman for federal Justice Minister David Lametti, said minority language rights would remain secure in Quebec regardless of the new amendment, citing Section 133 of the Constitution. It guarantees that either language can be used in courts and legislative debates in Quebec.
“It’s the interplay between those two pieces that Quebec continues to respect its obligations under Section 133," he said.
Meanwhile, angst is growing behind the scenes among some Quebec Liberals, who occupy 35 of the province's 78 seats in the Commons.
"I think it needs clarity. I think what Trudeau said was maybe interpreted not as what it was meant to be, and not as clear," said Mitchell Brownstein, chair of the Liberal riding association for Mount Royal on the Island of Montreal and mayor of Côte Saint-Luc.
"Any debate on language is not a good thing, as right now we have relative peace with respect to the issue of language in Quebec. And we’d like it to stay that way and not create another exodus of young people who have concerns.”
Macfarlane said he would have no issue with any province declaring itself a distinct society so long as the Constitution doesn't come into play.
"But just throwing up our hands because the political incentives are to accommodate Quebec is not healthy for democracy and the rule of law," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2021.
Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press
Wed., May 19, 2021
OTTAWA — Nearly three decades after the failure of the Charlottetown accord, Quebec's status as a distinct society and hand-wringing over constitutional reform are back on the table.
Quebec rolled out proposed language reforms last week that aim to make unilateral changes to the Canadian Constitution. Known as Bill 96, the legislation seeks to amend the country's supreme law to enshrine Quebec's status as a nation and its official language as French.
An initial Justice Department analysis concluded Quebec can go ahead with the changes, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters Tuesday.
But experts disagree, saying constitutional tweaks to language use require a parliamentary green light. They also warn against treating the pair of provisions as symbolic baubles on an unchanged Charter of Rights and Freedoms, highlighting potential legal implications from the Constitution on down.
Federal parties that run candidates across the country are handling with care the question of Quebec's language and identity as they look to avoid stirring up anger in the province ahead of a possible election this year, while the Bloc Québécois seizes a chance to shore up francophone protections — and votes.
The Bloc will table a motion in the House next week calling on lawmakers to pledge they'll steer clear of any legal challenges to the provisions and that Quebec does not need House support for them to go through, Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Wednesday.
"I strongly doubt that the present prime minister of Canada was raised being told every day that Quebec is a rightful nation."
Blanchet added that Trudeau likely knows if he does not fall in line with Quebec Premier François Legault's l00-page language overhaul that "he will have a huge price to pay in Quebec."
Constitutional expert Emmett Macfarlane says that at a minimum, Quebec would need to win authorization from the House of Commons and the Senate for the "official language" amendment to pass.
"The proposal cannot be accomplished unilaterally," said Macfarlane, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo.
Section 43 of the Constitution states that an amendment for "any provision that relates to the use of the English or the French language within a province" must be authorized by the Senate, the House and the legislature of the province to which it applies.
The assertion of Quebec as a nation has an even higher threshold for inscription in the Constitution, said Michael Feder, a Vancouver-based lawyer with expertise in constitutional law.
Legault's argument in favour of a unilateral edit relies largely on Section 45, which states that each provincial legislature "may exclusively make laws amending the constitution of the province."
But Feder and other critics say defining a province as a nation could have knock-on effects across the country, not just in Quebec, with the potential to rejig the structure of the federation rather than just pin on a constitutional accessory.
"I have some difficulty understanding what that means and why it’s being inserted into the Constitution if not to affect other provinces, and for that matter the federal government," Feder said.
For changes relevant to the federation as a whole, he said the standard amending formula would apply: requisite approval from the House, Senate and seven or more provinces comprising at least 50 per cent of the population.
The ramifications of the two provisions are hard to gauge, but could open the door to greater provincial power for Quebec or the exclusive use of French in its legislature, among other changes, Feder added.
"It’s sort of a bedrock principle of constitutional interpretation that provisions are read in light of one another. So once it’s in, if you’ve got a provision saying Quebecers form a nation, it has to be given meaning. You can’t just say it’s mere symbolism and we’ll do what we always did."
In 1993, a subsection was added to the Charter after the House and Senate teamed up with the New Brunswick legislature to adopt resolutions recognizing the province as officially bilingual. The amendment was "bilateral," notes a 2018 report from New Brunswick's official languages commissioner, rather than unilateral.
"If New Brunswick decided to do exactly the same thing (as Quebec currently) — or conversely decided to make English its only official language — it too could do that unilaterally. And that strikes me as untenable," Feder said.
David Taylor, a spokesman for federal Justice Minister David Lametti, said minority language rights would remain secure in Quebec regardless of the new amendment, citing Section 133 of the Constitution. It guarantees that either language can be used in courts and legislative debates in Quebec.
“It’s the interplay between those two pieces that Quebec continues to respect its obligations under Section 133," he said.
Meanwhile, angst is growing behind the scenes among some Quebec Liberals, who occupy 35 of the province's 78 seats in the Commons.
"I think it needs clarity. I think what Trudeau said was maybe interpreted not as what it was meant to be, and not as clear," said Mitchell Brownstein, chair of the Liberal riding association for Mount Royal on the Island of Montreal and mayor of Côte Saint-Luc.
"Any debate on language is not a good thing, as right now we have relative peace with respect to the issue of language in Quebec. And we’d like it to stay that way and not create another exodus of young people who have concerns.”
Macfarlane said he would have no issue with any province declaring itself a distinct society so long as the Constitution doesn't come into play.
"But just throwing up our hands because the political incentives are to accommodate Quebec is not healthy for democracy and the rule of law," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2021.
Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press
Financial players grapple with whether to divest from Alberta's oilsands
Wed., May 19, 2021
At first it community groups like churches divested from the oilpatch. Now, the movement includes some of the world's largest banks and pension funds. (Kyle Bakx/CBC - image credit)
When the New York State Pension Fund recently decided to pull the plug on its investments in Alberta's oilsands, one major player remained in its portfolio.
The fund — the third largest public pension in the United States — said in December it would transition its financial portfolio to net-zero friendly investments by 2040. It announced last month it was selling off securities in seven Canadian oilsands companies and would not make future investments in them because they don't have viable plans to adapt to a "low-carbon future."
Canadian Natural Resources and Cenovus Energy were among the companies on the blacklist, but Suncor Energy was noticeably absent. The fund decided the Calgary-based company still had the pension fund's support, for now, and would be reviewed again next year.
The organization pulled more than $7 million US out of the oilsands after evaluating companies based their transition strategies, capital expenditures, and environmental targets, among other factors.
Still, while some environmental groups applauded the fund for its divestment from the oilsands, the majority of the pension fund's support for the oilsands remains unchanged as it sticks with Suncor. It held more than than $19 million in Suncor shares as of the end of 2020.The company shows signs of being a player in a low-carbon economic transition, in part by investing in wind farms and cleaner forms of energy.
The fund's divestment on its own doesn't represent a lot of money for a sector worth billions of dollars. But it sends a powerful signal. The announcement highlights how investors are increasingly focused on climate change and comes as the effort to reduce financial support for fossil fuels shows no signs of abating.
At the same time, it also shows how some large financial players still see some value in backing the oilpatch.
The divestment movement is not new, but has grown from having community groups, such as churches, deciding to no longer invest in oil and coal companies to having major global financial players, such as Blackrock and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, follow a similar path.
The money pipeline
In the last decade, environmental groups have targeted the construction of new oil and gas pipelines as a way to stifle growth of oil production. They're now applying pressure on the financial community to choke off support to the industry.
"There's actually a global movement to try and cut off the money pipeline to sort of the big banks and big pension funds to sort of say, 'You guys have got to get out of fossil fuels,'" said Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist with Greenpeace Canada.
Banks are going to face the same kind of pressure in the next decade as oil companies have experienced over the last decade, he said.
When one financial player pulls its support of the oilpatch, the impact is minimal. However, as more groups decide to divest, the financial consequences begin to be felt more and more by fossil fuel companies as the pool of potential investors gets smaller.
"It's having an impact, but part of the thing is, I think that the world is kind of realizing that, 'OK, this is way more complicated,'" said Mark Little, Suncor's chief executive, in an interview.
Further innovation is required to reduce emissions, he said, especially in energy-intensive sectors such as steel and cement production and long-haul aviation.
"The wind farm can't be the solution to every problem. It's not. So we need to find innovative solutions," said Little.
Others say there are geopolitical risks if investors continue to turn their backs on North American oil companies, which may only benefit countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia.
"The divestment movement has just taken capital out of the most transparent and, arguably, most environmentally responsible segments of the global oil and gas industry," said Peter Tertzakian, an economist and deputy director of the ARC Energy Research Institute.
Climate concerns
Around the globe, more than 1,300 groups have divested from fossil fuels in recent years, according to 350.org, an international environmental group based in the U.S. More than two dozen banks and other large financial institutions have specifically divested from the oilsands.
Still, the precise number of firms and how much investment has been pulled from the sector is difficult to quantify. Some firms decide to divest from the entire industry, while others have certain stipulations, such as still supporting some companies with a limited amount of their oil and gas production in the oilsands.
On Tuesday, the International Energy Agency released a report detailing how the global energy industry can bring carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050 and give the world a chance of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 C. Besides projects already in development, it said there are "no new oil and gas fields approved for development in our pathway,."
The pressure facing big banks and the financial community will only intensify as the next UN climate summit, known as COP 26, approaches.
Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is advising the U.K. government as it prepares to host the November event. He has said part of the meeting will focus on how the private financial sector can "retool" so that investors take climate change into account when making financial decisions.
Pressure on banks
Canada's big banks have recently faced more scrutiny about their financial backing of the oilpatch.
RBC, Canada's largest bank, declined an interview, instead pointing to chief executive David McKay's recent comments at its annual general meeting in April.
"When we do finance responsible energy projects, they must be approved within the laws, the regulations and the policies of the jurisdictions within which they operate," he said. "I would say they must also be evaluated against international standards and our own enhanced due diligence frameworks and our human rights statement."
The oil and gas industry represents 1.6 per cent of RBC's total credit exposure, said McKay. The figure has since dropped to 1.1 per cent, a spokesperson said. RBC's loan exposure to the oilpatch is above $7 billion.
Instead of divestment, some investors try to work with companies to improve environmental performance. The strategies can even be complimentary, rather than opposing tactics.
A major investor can put a company on notice and push for change. If that doesn't work, the investor can take out the money and leave.
"Divesting from the oilpatch sends a very loud and clear message," said Jackie Cook, the Vancouver-based director of investment stewardship research at Morningstar, an American financial services firm.
She acknowledged there's also a case for having a seat at the table — but that "there's a danger that keeping a seat at the table just means you are carrying on with business as usual."
Cook points to Legal and General Investment Management, the U.K.'s largest asset manager, as an example of a firm that uses both strategies.
In the past, the firm divested from ExxonMobil because it was considered a climate laggard, but also praised another U.S. oil producer, Occidental Petroleum, for disclosing its total carbon emissions and setting reduction targets.
Voice at the table
In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change galvanized global concern over climate change as its report showed the world would need to halve emissions over the next decade to stand a chance of meeting the temperature goals in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The oilsands are responsible for about 11 per cent of Canada's total emissions, according to 2018 data from the federal government.
"Anybody in the investment management world right now probably has clients asking about this issue," said Alex Letko, a Montreal-based partner with Letko Brosseau, which manages $19 billion in assets.
The investment firm recently reviewed whether to continue investing in the oilpatch.
It looked at electric vehicle trends and forecasts for the amount of oil used in many industries, such as marine shipping and plastic production. At the same time, the group considered the ethics as climate change is an urgent problem.
In the end, it decided to stay the course, at least for now.
"We believe that actually having a voice at the table is more conducive to positive change than not," said Letko.
"Further down the line, there will be realities that perhaps will have to be reckoned with."
Wed., May 19, 2021
At first it community groups like churches divested from the oilpatch. Now, the movement includes some of the world's largest banks and pension funds. (Kyle Bakx/CBC - image credit)
When the New York State Pension Fund recently decided to pull the plug on its investments in Alberta's oilsands, one major player remained in its portfolio.
The fund — the third largest public pension in the United States — said in December it would transition its financial portfolio to net-zero friendly investments by 2040. It announced last month it was selling off securities in seven Canadian oilsands companies and would not make future investments in them because they don't have viable plans to adapt to a "low-carbon future."
Canadian Natural Resources and Cenovus Energy were among the companies on the blacklist, but Suncor Energy was noticeably absent. The fund decided the Calgary-based company still had the pension fund's support, for now, and would be reviewed again next year.
The organization pulled more than $7 million US out of the oilsands after evaluating companies based their transition strategies, capital expenditures, and environmental targets, among other factors.
Still, while some environmental groups applauded the fund for its divestment from the oilsands, the majority of the pension fund's support for the oilsands remains unchanged as it sticks with Suncor. It held more than than $19 million in Suncor shares as of the end of 2020.The company shows signs of being a player in a low-carbon economic transition, in part by investing in wind farms and cleaner forms of energy.
The fund's divestment on its own doesn't represent a lot of money for a sector worth billions of dollars. But it sends a powerful signal. The announcement highlights how investors are increasingly focused on climate change and comes as the effort to reduce financial support for fossil fuels shows no signs of abating.
At the same time, it also shows how some large financial players still see some value in backing the oilpatch.
The divestment movement is not new, but has grown from having community groups, such as churches, deciding to no longer invest in oil and coal companies to having major global financial players, such as Blackrock and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, follow a similar path.
The money pipeline
In the last decade, environmental groups have targeted the construction of new oil and gas pipelines as a way to stifle growth of oil production. They're now applying pressure on the financial community to choke off support to the industry.
"There's actually a global movement to try and cut off the money pipeline to sort of the big banks and big pension funds to sort of say, 'You guys have got to get out of fossil fuels,'" said Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist with Greenpeace Canada.
Banks are going to face the same kind of pressure in the next decade as oil companies have experienced over the last decade, he said.
When one financial player pulls its support of the oilpatch, the impact is minimal. However, as more groups decide to divest, the financial consequences begin to be felt more and more by fossil fuel companies as the pool of potential investors gets smaller.
"It's having an impact, but part of the thing is, I think that the world is kind of realizing that, 'OK, this is way more complicated,'" said Mark Little, Suncor's chief executive, in an interview.
Further innovation is required to reduce emissions, he said, especially in energy-intensive sectors such as steel and cement production and long-haul aviation.
"The wind farm can't be the solution to every problem. It's not. So we need to find innovative solutions," said Little.
Others say there are geopolitical risks if investors continue to turn their backs on North American oil companies, which may only benefit countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia.
"The divestment movement has just taken capital out of the most transparent and, arguably, most environmentally responsible segments of the global oil and gas industry," said Peter Tertzakian, an economist and deputy director of the ARC Energy Research Institute.
Climate concerns
Around the globe, more than 1,300 groups have divested from fossil fuels in recent years, according to 350.org, an international environmental group based in the U.S. More than two dozen banks and other large financial institutions have specifically divested from the oilsands.
Still, the precise number of firms and how much investment has been pulled from the sector is difficult to quantify. Some firms decide to divest from the entire industry, while others have certain stipulations, such as still supporting some companies with a limited amount of their oil and gas production in the oilsands.
On Tuesday, the International Energy Agency released a report detailing how the global energy industry can bring carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050 and give the world a chance of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 C. Besides projects already in development, it said there are "no new oil and gas fields approved for development in our pathway,."
The pressure facing big banks and the financial community will only intensify as the next UN climate summit, known as COP 26, approaches.
Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is advising the U.K. government as it prepares to host the November event. He has said part of the meeting will focus on how the private financial sector can "retool" so that investors take climate change into account when making financial decisions.
Pressure on banks
Canada's big banks have recently faced more scrutiny about their financial backing of the oilpatch.
RBC, Canada's largest bank, declined an interview, instead pointing to chief executive David McKay's recent comments at its annual general meeting in April.
"When we do finance responsible energy projects, they must be approved within the laws, the regulations and the policies of the jurisdictions within which they operate," he said. "I would say they must also be evaluated against international standards and our own enhanced due diligence frameworks and our human rights statement."
The oil and gas industry represents 1.6 per cent of RBC's total credit exposure, said McKay. The figure has since dropped to 1.1 per cent, a spokesperson said. RBC's loan exposure to the oilpatch is above $7 billion.
Instead of divestment, some investors try to work with companies to improve environmental performance. The strategies can even be complimentary, rather than opposing tactics.
A major investor can put a company on notice and push for change. If that doesn't work, the investor can take out the money and leave.
"Divesting from the oilpatch sends a very loud and clear message," said Jackie Cook, the Vancouver-based director of investment stewardship research at Morningstar, an American financial services firm.
She acknowledged there's also a case for having a seat at the table — but that "there's a danger that keeping a seat at the table just means you are carrying on with business as usual."
Cook points to Legal and General Investment Management, the U.K.'s largest asset manager, as an example of a firm that uses both strategies.
In the past, the firm divested from ExxonMobil because it was considered a climate laggard, but also praised another U.S. oil producer, Occidental Petroleum, for disclosing its total carbon emissions and setting reduction targets.
Voice at the table
In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change galvanized global concern over climate change as its report showed the world would need to halve emissions over the next decade to stand a chance of meeting the temperature goals in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The oilsands are responsible for about 11 per cent of Canada's total emissions, according to 2018 data from the federal government.
"Anybody in the investment management world right now probably has clients asking about this issue," said Alex Letko, a Montreal-based partner with Letko Brosseau, which manages $19 billion in assets.
The investment firm recently reviewed whether to continue investing in the oilpatch.
It looked at electric vehicle trends and forecasts for the amount of oil used in many industries, such as marine shipping and plastic production. At the same time, the group considered the ethics as climate change is an urgent problem.
In the end, it decided to stay the course, at least for now.
"We believe that actually having a voice at the table is more conducive to positive change than not," said Letko.
"Further down the line, there will be realities that perhaps will have to be reckoned with."
Manufacturers are newest targets for ransomware attacks, study finds
Wed., May 19, 2021
TORONTO — North American manufacturing companies are increasingly targets for cybercriminal gangs that use malicious software to shut down businesses if they don't pay a ransom, according to a report published Wednesday.
Research from Waterloo, Ont.-based cybersecurity consultancy eSentire says six known criminal gangs hit at least 292 new victim organizations globally in 2021 so far, including Bombardier Inc.
Other Canadian organizations known to have been directly or indirectly affected by ransomware include Molson Coors, B.C. equipment maker Sierra Wireless, and retailer Home Hardware.
The eSentire report says the criminal groups it tracks continue to hit governments, health care providers and school districts, but several have increased their attacks on the manufacturing sector this year.
That includes DarkSide, which the FBI has said is behind this month's shutdown of the Colonial pipeline system in the United States, and the Ryuk-Conti crime group, which eSentire says had six Canadian manufacturer victims so far this year.
Manufacturers are targets because the technical nature of their business means they can be shut down, and they are under pressure to react quickly, eSentire vice-president Mark Sangster said in an interview.
"Which of course then means you've got leverage over that company, and those companies tend to pay," Sangster added.
"When an assembly line is down, it's either extremely expensive to restart or causes delays in the supply chain and those delays lead to … secondary economic penalties like lost revenue, lost customers."
The manufacturing sector also has many private companies that are under less obligation to reveal that they've been attacked, giving their peers a false impression that they're not likely targets, he said.
"If they don't see themselves as a victim, they're sure as heck not going to invest what they need to protect their business," he added..
"And they don't know what to do, frankly, to protect themselves. That's why it's open season for these criminals."
eSentire says it doesn't know how many of the victim companies that it has identified have paid ransoms but notes some recent targets, such as Taiwan-based Quanta Computers and India-based Tata Steel, refused.
Because of the risk to their reputations, Sangster said, private companies often don't reveal when they've been shut down by a ransom attack or if they paid a ransom.
In the United States, the government requires victim organizations to report when a ransom is paid. And it could be a crime to make payments, if the receiver is listed by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control.
"We don't have any equivalency in Canada yet," Sangster said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2021.
David Paddon, The Canadian Press
Colonial Pipeline confirms it paid $4.4M to hackers
Wed., May 19, 2021
NEW YORK (AP) — The operator of the nation’s largest fuel pipeline confirmed it paid $4.4 million to a gang of hackers who broke into its computer systems.
Colonial Pipeline said Wednesday that after it learned of the May 7 ransomware attack, the company took its pipeline system offline and needed to do everything in its power to restart it quickly and safely, and made the decision then to pay the ransom.
“This decision was not made lightly," but it was one that had to be made, a company spokesman said. “Tens of millions of Americans rely on Colonial – hospitals, emergency medical services, law enforcement agencies, fire departments, airports, truck drivers and the traveling public.”
Colonial Pipeline’s CEO, Joseph Blount, told The Wall Street Journal he authorized the payment because the company didn't know the extent of the damage and wasn't sure how long it would take to bring the pipeline's systems back.
The FBI discourages making ransom payments to ransomware attackers, because paying encourages criminal networks around the globe who have hit thousands of businesses and health care systems in the U.S. in the past year alone. But many victims of ransomware attacks, where hackers demand large sums of money to decrypt stolen data or to prevent it from being leaked online, opt to pay.
“I know that’s a highly controversial decision,” Blount told the Journal. “But it was the right thing to do for the country."
Blount said Colonial paid the ransom in consultation with experts who previously dealt with the group behind the attacks, DarkSide, which rents out its ransomware to partners to carry out the actual attacks.
Multiple sources had confirmed to The Associated Press that Colonial Pipeline had paid the criminals who committed the cyberattack a ransom of nearly $5 million in cryptocurrency for the software decryption key required to unscramble their data network.
A ransom payment of 75 Bitcoin was paid the day after the criminals locked up Colonial’s corporate network, according to Tom Robinson, co-founder of the cryptocurrency-tracking firm Elliptic. Prior to Robinson’s blog post, two people briefed on the case had confirmed the payment amount to AP.
Blount told the Journal the attack was discovered around 5:30 a.m. on May 7. It took Colonial about an hour to shut down the pipeline, which has 260 delivery points across 13 states and Washington, D.C., Blount said. That helped prevent the infection from potentially migrating to the pipeline's operational controls. But there are lingering issues. Blount said Colonial is still unable to bill customers following an outage of that system.
The pipeline system delivers about 45% of the gasoline consumed on the East Coast, and Colonial, which is based in Alpharetta, Georgia, halted fuel supplies for nearly a week. That led to panic-buying and shortages at gas stations from Washington, D.C. to Florida.
Colonial restarted its pipeline a week ago, but it took time to resume a full delivery schedule, and the panic-buying led to gasoline shortages. More than 9,500 gas stations were out of fuel on Wednesday, including half of the gas stations in D.C. and 40% of stations in North Carolina, according to Gasbuddy.com, which tracks fuel prices and station outages.
___
Associated Press Writer Frank Bajak contributed to this report from Boston.
Cathy Bussewitz (), The Associated Press
Alaska health department website targeted in malware attack
Wed., May 19, 2021
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska health department website was the target of a malware attack, officials said.
A similar attack previously targeted the state's court system.
The health department in a statement late Tuesday said its website was taken offline Monday while an investigation takes place. The statement did not say when the cyberattack was discovered, and Clinton Bennett, a department spokesperson, by email Wednesday said the department could not release that information “due to security reasons, and so we do not jeopardize the investigation.”
He responded the same way to a question about whether a ransom was demanded by those involved.
Investigators were trying to determine if any personal or confidential information was compromised, the department said.
Online COVID-19 vaccine appointment scheduling and data dashboards are hosted by outside sources and can be accessed through covid19.alaska.gov, the department said.
“At this time, there are no details about who initiated the attack, why they targeted DHSS, whether this attack is related to any other recent attacks, or how long the website may be down,” the Department of Health and Social Services said in its statement.
The chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court said this month that a cybersecurity attack that resulted in the court system disconnecting its online services was first detected April 29 and that there was no ransom demand. The court system has been coming back online, announcing this week that the public could again access an online court case and records system and pay fines and fees online.
The court system said Tuesday that the ability to pay bail online was not yet restored.
The Associated Press
Wed., May 19, 2021
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska health department website was the target of a malware attack, officials said.
A similar attack previously targeted the state's court system.
The health department in a statement late Tuesday said its website was taken offline Monday while an investigation takes place. The statement did not say when the cyberattack was discovered, and Clinton Bennett, a department spokesperson, by email Wednesday said the department could not release that information “due to security reasons, and so we do not jeopardize the investigation.”
He responded the same way to a question about whether a ransom was demanded by those involved.
Investigators were trying to determine if any personal or confidential information was compromised, the department said.
Online COVID-19 vaccine appointment scheduling and data dashboards are hosted by outside sources and can be accessed through covid19.alaska.gov, the department said.
“At this time, there are no details about who initiated the attack, why they targeted DHSS, whether this attack is related to any other recent attacks, or how long the website may be down,” the Department of Health and Social Services said in its statement.
The chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court said this month that a cybersecurity attack that resulted in the court system disconnecting its online services was first detected April 29 and that there was no ransom demand. The court system has been coming back online, announcing this week that the public could again access an online court case and records system and pay fines and fees online.
The court system said Tuesday that the ability to pay bail online was not yet restored.
The Associated Press
Hackers targeted SolarWinds earlier than previously known
Wed., May 19, 2021,
WASHINGTON (AP) — The hackers who carried out the massive SolarWinds intrusion were in the software company's system as early as January 2019, months earlier than previously known, the company's top official said Wednesday.
SolarWinds had previously traced the origins of the hack to the fall of 2019 but now believes that hackers were doing “very early recon activities” as far back as the prior January, according to Sudhakar Ramakrishna, the company's president and CEO.
“The tradecraft that the attackers used was extremely well done and extremely sophisticated, where they did everything possible to hide in plain sight, so to speak," Ramakrishna said during a discussion hosted by the RSA Conference.
The SolarWinds hack, which was first reported last December and which U.S. officials have linked to the Russian government, is one in a series of major breaches that has prompted a major cybersecurity focus from the Biden administration. By seeding the company's widely used software update with malicious code, hackers were able to penetrate the networks of multiple U.S. government agencies and private sector corporations in an apparent act of cyberespionage. The U.S. imposed sanctions against Russia last month.
Also Wednesday, Ramakrishna apologized for the way the company blamed an intern earlier this year during congressional testimony for poor password security protocols. That public statement, he said, was “not appropriate.”
“I have long held a belief system and an attitude that you never flog failure. You want your employees, including interns, to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes and together we become better," he added. "Obviously you don't want to make the same mistake over and over again. You want to improve.”
Eric Tucker, The Associated Press
Wed., May 19, 2021,
WASHINGTON (AP) — The hackers who carried out the massive SolarWinds intrusion were in the software company's system as early as January 2019, months earlier than previously known, the company's top official said Wednesday.
SolarWinds had previously traced the origins of the hack to the fall of 2019 but now believes that hackers were doing “very early recon activities” as far back as the prior January, according to Sudhakar Ramakrishna, the company's president and CEO.
“The tradecraft that the attackers used was extremely well done and extremely sophisticated, where they did everything possible to hide in plain sight, so to speak," Ramakrishna said during a discussion hosted by the RSA Conference.
The SolarWinds hack, which was first reported last December and which U.S. officials have linked to the Russian government, is one in a series of major breaches that has prompted a major cybersecurity focus from the Biden administration. By seeding the company's widely used software update with malicious code, hackers were able to penetrate the networks of multiple U.S. government agencies and private sector corporations in an apparent act of cyberespionage. The U.S. imposed sanctions against Russia last month.
Also Wednesday, Ramakrishna apologized for the way the company blamed an intern earlier this year during congressional testimony for poor password security protocols. That public statement, he said, was “not appropriate.”
“I have long held a belief system and an attitude that you never flog failure. You want your employees, including interns, to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes and together we become better," he added. "Obviously you don't want to make the same mistake over and over again. You want to improve.”
Eric Tucker, The Associated Press
Pressured by protests, Colombian lawmakers nix health reform
Wed., May 19, 2021
BUCARAMANGA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian lawmakers voted against a health system overhaul bill Wednesday, giving protesters another victory after 20 days of street demonstrations that have left dozens dead and forced the government to retreat on tax reform.
Health Minister Fernando Ruiz defended the proposal, saying it would give the health care system the tools needed to deal with emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 3 million people in the South American country and caused 82,000 deaths.
Critics of the bill said it could lead to health care monopolies by strengthening the role of private “health promotion companies,” which administer resources and contract services, and by allowing mergers in some cases of private health providers with public hospitals. It would have also increased focus on disease prevention.
“The people's struggle in the streets against years and years of injustice has achieved the shelving of a reform that would have destroyed health as a right and commercialized it even more in favor of a few,” leftist Sen. Alexander López said on Twitter after the vote by Senate and House of Representatives committees.
The protests began with anger over a now-withdrawn tax restructuring that would have raised levies during the pandemic. Demonstrators later expanded their demands to include less inequality, an end to police violence and the withdrawal of the health measure.
Hundreds of people marched Wednesday in the capital, Bogota, with protesters heading to the iconic Plaza Bolivia, where the country's Congress and the Palace of Justice are. “For life and peace, stop the massacre,” said one sign. Hundreds also demonstrated peacefully in the cities of Medellin, Cali, Villavicencio, Bucaramanga and Cucuta.
“Today the youth, the university students, all of us together, are in the streets demanding a change in the country’s model, which protects industry, so there is employment for the youth,” said Hami Gómez, a student leader at National University of Colombia.
Human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch say that the death toll since the protests began has risen to 55 and that in at least 15 cases the alleged aggressors were police. The Defense Ministry said Wednesday that 15 civilians had died amid the protests and 11 more cases were being verified.
Tensions rose Monday when President Iván Duque deployed security forces to try to clear dozens of roads blocked by protesters. The blockades have prevented the transportation of medical supplies, food and gasoline and led to shortages in some areas.
The government and protest leaders grouped in the National Strike Committee have not formally sat down to negotiate after several initial meetings between the parties. The government is demanding the road blockades be lifted, while protesters are calling for the demilitarization of cities and guarantees of the right to protest.
Faced with growing international concern, Colombian prosecutor Francisco Barbosa met Wednesday with representatives of the United Nations, the Organization of American States and some European ambassadors to present a report on the progress of the investigations into killings by police.
Héctor Schamis, a delegate of the general secretary of the OAS, said: "The secretary has stated that the (road) blockades cannot continue and any situation of police violence must be investigated. The prosecutor has informed us first-hand that said investigations are being carried out.”
Astrid Suárez, The Associated Press
Wed., May 19, 2021
BUCARAMANGA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian lawmakers voted against a health system overhaul bill Wednesday, giving protesters another victory after 20 days of street demonstrations that have left dozens dead and forced the government to retreat on tax reform.
Health Minister Fernando Ruiz defended the proposal, saying it would give the health care system the tools needed to deal with emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 3 million people in the South American country and caused 82,000 deaths.
Critics of the bill said it could lead to health care monopolies by strengthening the role of private “health promotion companies,” which administer resources and contract services, and by allowing mergers in some cases of private health providers with public hospitals. It would have also increased focus on disease prevention.
“The people's struggle in the streets against years and years of injustice has achieved the shelving of a reform that would have destroyed health as a right and commercialized it even more in favor of a few,” leftist Sen. Alexander López said on Twitter after the vote by Senate and House of Representatives committees.
The protests began with anger over a now-withdrawn tax restructuring that would have raised levies during the pandemic. Demonstrators later expanded their demands to include less inequality, an end to police violence and the withdrawal of the health measure.
Hundreds of people marched Wednesday in the capital, Bogota, with protesters heading to the iconic Plaza Bolivia, where the country's Congress and the Palace of Justice are. “For life and peace, stop the massacre,” said one sign. Hundreds also demonstrated peacefully in the cities of Medellin, Cali, Villavicencio, Bucaramanga and Cucuta.
“Today the youth, the university students, all of us together, are in the streets demanding a change in the country’s model, which protects industry, so there is employment for the youth,” said Hami Gómez, a student leader at National University of Colombia.
Human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch say that the death toll since the protests began has risen to 55 and that in at least 15 cases the alleged aggressors were police. The Defense Ministry said Wednesday that 15 civilians had died amid the protests and 11 more cases were being verified.
Tensions rose Monday when President Iván Duque deployed security forces to try to clear dozens of roads blocked by protesters. The blockades have prevented the transportation of medical supplies, food and gasoline and led to shortages in some areas.
The government and protest leaders grouped in the National Strike Committee have not formally sat down to negotiate after several initial meetings between the parties. The government is demanding the road blockades be lifted, while protesters are calling for the demilitarization of cities and guarantees of the right to protest.
Faced with growing international concern, Colombian prosecutor Francisco Barbosa met Wednesday with representatives of the United Nations, the Organization of American States and some European ambassadors to present a report on the progress of the investigations into killings by police.
Héctor Schamis, a delegate of the general secretary of the OAS, said: "The secretary has stated that the (road) blockades cannot continue and any situation of police violence must be investigated. The prosecutor has informed us first-hand that said investigations are being carried out.”
Astrid Suárez, The Associated Press
Ford's big bet: Fans of
F-150 pickup will embrace electric
PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — On the outside, the electric version of Ford's F-150 pickup looks much like its wildly popular gas-powered version. Yet the resemblance is deceiving. With its new battery-powered truck, Ford is making a costly bet that buyers will embrace a vehicle that would help transform how the world drives.
Branded the F-150 Lightning, the pickup will be able to travel up to 300 miles per battery charge, thanks to a frame designed to safely hold a huge lithium-ion battery that can power your house should the electricity go out. Going from zero to 60 mph (97 kilometers per hour) will take just 4.5 seconds.
With a starting price near $40,000 (before options), Ford has calculated that an electric version of America's top-selling vehicle will appeal to the sorts of buyers who favor rugged pickup trucks prized for strength and durability. If it succeeds, it could speed the nation's transition away from petroleum burners — a cornerstone of President Joe Biden's broad effort to fight climate change.
“It’s a watershed moment to me,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said of the electric truck, which was formally unveiled Wednesday night. “It’s a very important transition for our industry.”
For the Biden administration to prevail in its push for green energy-driven manufacturing, it will need to overcome resistance as well as skepticism. Critics fear the loss of auto industry jobs in a shift away from gasoline-fueled vehicles. Because EVs are much simpler, it takes fewer workers to build them. And bottlenecked supply chains could leave automakers short of computer chips and vehicle batteries, along with other parts, for months and perhaps years.
That said, a vehicle like the Lightning is so critical to Biden's policies that even before its formal unveiling, he visited the Ford plant in Michigan where it will be built beginning next year. The president even drove the truck on a test track.
“This sucker’s quick,” he declared.
For its part, Ford is taking a significant risk by sinking so much capital into an electric version of a pickup that commands a huge and loyal following. In a typical year, Ford sells about 900,000 F-series trucks nationally. It has been America's top-selling vehicle for nearly four decades.
Gas-powered F-150s are staples on job sites across the nation, where workers haul equipment and materials and often don't see a need for change. So it could be years before Ford realizes a return on its investment in an electric F-150. This year, through April, the company has sold only 10,000 of its new gas-electric hybrid F-150s — just over 6% of the F-150's total sales.
Still, introducing a capable electric truck at a fairly reasonable price could potentially produce the breakthrough that draws many more people to battery-powered vehicles of all sizes, said Ivan Drury, a senior manager at Edmunds.com.
“If you're going to choose one vehicle in the industry that's going to do it, this is going to be the one,” Drury said. “I expect this to be a home run, and I expect it to really convert a lot of consumers' minds."
At the same time, the electric truck, due in showrooms by the middle of next year, comes at a time when American drivers remain reluctant to jettison gas vehicles. Through April, automakers sold about 108,000 fully electric vehicles in the U.S. Though that's nearly twice the number from the same period last year, EVs still account for only 2% of U.S. vehicle sales, according to Edmunds.
In addition to the Lightning, though, the growing number of fully electric offerings will help raise sales numbers. Automakers now sell 18 electric models in the U.S.; Drury expects 30 by year's end.
To be sure, Ford won’t stop building gas-powered trucks for years. They remain an enormous cash cow. A study by the Boston Consulting Group found that the F-Series generates $42 billion in annual U.S. revenue for the automaker — more than such entire companies as McDonald’s, Nike or Netflix do.
Initially, Ford expects Lightning customers to be mainly higher-income urban and suburban residents who seldom go off road or use truck beds to haul anything heavy. But the company plans a commercial version designed to make work more efficient. Ultimately, Farley expects sales to be evenly balanced between work and personal buyers.
But Ford may have a hard time selling it to people who build houses, maintain lawns or plow snow.
“It sounds good, but it’s not good for the type of business I’m in,” said Jimmie Williams, owner of a landscaping firm on Chicago’s South Side. He doesn’t think the battery will have enough range to last the 12-14-hour days his crews sometimes work maintaining about 700 properties.
He’ll stick with his three gas-powered pickups, in part because he plows snow in the winter, when cold weather can limit an EV’s range.
Others aren't ready now but might be convinced to switch in the future.
“Maybe when I'm retired,” quipped Steven Realy, a foreman for a subcontractor at a housing development in Pittsfield Township, Michigan.
Realy, 28, whose company uses diesel trucks to carry equipment and building materials, doesn't think an electric truck will do the job now but maybe in the future.
“When electric takes off more than what it is right now," he said, "I could see myself owning one, definitely.”
Yet it may be difficult to persuade some people to give up the big gas engines they're used to.
“I like my V-8,” Anthony Lane, a 26-year-old plumber in the same development, said from the driver's seat of his gleaming Chevrolet Silverado.
Aside from a charging port and a Lightning decal, Ford's new truck resembles a standard F-150. That was intentional. Ford wants the Lightning to be perceived as just as capable as gasoline versions, if not more so.
Even the base version of the electric F-150, with two rows of seats and a 230-mile estimated range per battery charge, can haul up to a ton in its bed. A high-end Lightning equipped with a longer-range battery can tow an estimated 10,000 pounds, matching many gas-powered trucks, though falling about 3,000 pounds shy of Ford’s V-8 engines.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the truck is its price, which Ford said is about equal to a comparably equipped gasoline F-150. With a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 still available on Ford electric vehicles, the base price falls to around $32,500. That’s below the lowest-priced gas F-150 with a crew cab, which starts at roughly $37,000.
The Lightning has a front trunk with plugs for power tools and lights at job or camp sites. And if the electricity goes, out, it can run your house for up to three days, which Farley expects to be a big selling point.
Competition for the Lightning is looming. General Motors says it's working on an electric Silverado. Stellantis is developing an electric Ram. Tesla's angular Cybertruck is due out this year. And startups Bollinger Motors, Nikola, Rivian and Lordstown Motors have trucks in the works.
All will face an inevitable obstacle in seeking buyers: brand loyalty. Pickup drivers often stick with one company for life. Sometimes, they choose a brand because it's been in the family for years, if not generations.
“I'm not a Ford guy,” said Lane, the plumber. “I drive Chevys my whole life.”
Once General Motors comes out with an electric Silverado, though, Lane might consider a change.
“I'll probably stick with the gas," he said. "But if they ever fully switch over to electric, I'll probably get the Chevy one.”
Tom Krisher, The Associated Press
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