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Fossil Fuels

New Report Reveals Big Oil’s COVID Lobby Bonanza

Big Oil is wasting no time exploiting the coronavirus for profit. Polluters fought hard for kickbacks in the first coronavirus stimulus package and they are undoubtedly up to it again. As Trump and the GOP continue their crusade to prop up Big Oil, we must stop the fossil fuel industry from snatching more taxpayer money. Highlights of the report include: At least 11 oil and gas companies and trade associations reported lobbying on tax issues in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the $2.2 trillion stimulus package passed in March. The filings indicate that tax policy was Big Oil’s largest single intervention in stimulus negotiations. This lobbying blitz seems to have been rewarded with over $100 billion in tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the industry, especially companies like Halliburton that reported losses last year and companies like ExxonMobil beginning to report losses this year. These new giveaways are in addition to $16 billion in annual direct subsidies for oil and gas.

Under Pressure, JP Morgan Chase Demotes Former Exxon CEO

New York, NY — Bowing to pressure from climate and shareholder activists, JP Morgan Chase will be demoting former Exxon CEO Lee Raymond from his Lead Independent Director position on the bank’s board. The news was buried in a filing with the SEC released on Friday.  Stop the Money Pipeline, a coalition of over 100 groups working to pressure Wall Street institutions to stop financing fossil fuels, have been pressuring JP Morgan Chase for months to kick Raymond off the board entirely. Tens of thousands of activists with organizations such as the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth and others have sent messages in recent months calling on Chase to remove Lee Raymond from the board.

How Militarism Fuels The Climate Crisis And Vice Versa

In a strange twist, it has taken a global pandemic to significantly reduce the world’s fossil fuel emissions. The COVID-19 pandemic has utterly changed life as we know it — but it’s also laid bare how Washington’s militaristic budget priorities have left the country woefully unprepared for a crisis. With massive shortages in public health resources and shocks to the broader economy throwing Americans off their health care, states are left clamoring for help from the military to cope. All this could be a preview of shocks to come as our climate crisis continues unabated. While meaningful climate action has stalled on Capitol Hill and in the White House, planners at the Pentagon have been quietly preparing a militarized, “armed lifeboat” response to climate chaos for years.

Covid-19’s Viral Lessons For Climate Heating

London − There are some glimmers of hope discernible in the loss, confusion, and misery that’s spreading worldwide, and one is that Covid-19’s viral lessons could help to equip us all to tackle the climate crisis that’s remorselessly building up. A major side effect of the battle against the spread of the coronavirus, for example, has been a significant reduction in the amount of climate-changing greenhouse gas being pumped into the atmosphere. Power plants and factories in China and elsewhere have been shut down: the use of fossil fuels, particularly oil, has plummeted. As a result of this reduced pollution, millions of people in cities and regions across the world are breathing fresher, cleaner air. The epidemic has had other environmental consequences: residents of Venice in northern Italy say they have never seen such clear water in the city’s canals, mainly due to the dramatic drop in tourist numbers.

What Planet Are We On?

In case you hadn’t noticed, the exploding coronavirus pandemic (we’re #1!) has taken a tad of our attention lately and the definition of “the future” has largely become: When will this be over? Not surprisingly, then, much real news about our future planet has largely gone missing in action. Take, for example, a story that's received next to no attention in this country, a report on the massive bleaching of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef this year thanks to record warming waters. Think of it as Australia’s oceanic equivalent of the staggering wildfires that burned through parts of that country in such an unprecedented fashion earlier in 2020. And coral reefs around the world, crucial to the life systems that rely on them (and that we humans rely on), are suffering similarly on a planet being transformed by human activity in ways large and small.

The Climate Movement Has Gained Unprecedented Momentum Since 2018

The climate movement has started gaining momentum, and the oil and gas industry is getting scared. Fossil fuel companies have been ramping up their ad buying, placing loads of ads on social media, in magazines, and even at the global climate summits. Meanwhile, in Australia, a recent report found that the fossil fuel industry doubled its political donations over the past four years.

Tropical Forests May Be Heating Earth By 2035

London – Within about fifteen years, the great tropical forests of Amazonia and Africa could stop absorbing atmospheric carbon, and slowly start to release more carbon than growing trees can fix. A team of scientists from 100 research institutions has looked at the evidence from pristine tracts of tropical forest to find that – overall – the foliage soaked up the most carbon, most efficiently, more than two decades ago. Since then, the measured efficiency of the forests as a “sink” in which carbon is sequestered from the atmosphere has been dwindling. By the last decade, the ability of a tropical forest to absorb carbon had dropped by a third. All plant growth is a balancing act based on sunshine and atmospheric carbon and rainfall. Plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, and surrender it as they die.

A New Generation Of Climate Activists Is Reviving Fossil Fuel Divestment

A wave of student-led actions swept across the campuses of around 60 U.S. and Canadian schools last month, as students turned to sit-ins, walkouts and banner drops to pressure universities into divesting their endowments from fossil fuel companies. Called “Divestment Day” by activists, the Feb. 13 series of actions was just the latest escalation for a movement that’s been undergoing a serious revival. In fact, even just one year ago, something like the events of Divestment Day would have been unimaginable, as the movement was just coming out of a protracted lull. Since then, however, existing and newly formed divestment-focused groups have begun working together, old campaigns have adopted new tactics and the next generation of youth climate organizers has risen to the forefront.

Extinction Rebellion Tots Take Down BP

London - Children and families have held a die-in at the Science Museum in an Extinction Rebellion protest against air pollution. Protesters, including children as young as two, staged the peaceful demonstration at the Making The Modern World gallery in the central London museum on Thursday morning. The group lay on the floor for 20 minutes wearing bespoke gas masks reading Enough Is Enough On Air Pollution on and holding signs referencing the impact on children's health including poor lung development. Other signs quoted the government's figures on air pollution in London, which found there are around 9,400 excess deaths in the capital due to long term exposure to particulates and harmful gasses.

Inside Clean Energy: A Case For Optimism

I spend just about every day talking to the researchers, entrepreneurs and advocates behind the transition to clean energy. Their enthusiasm, plus the evidence of their progress, makes me feel like I'm covering the story of our lifetimes. Don't get me wrong. I'm not hand-waving and talking about how markets and innovation will solve everything, although both of these things are crucial. And I'm not minimizing the reality that the U.S. and most countries are way behind in cutting emissions enough to stave off the worst effects of climate change, or the fact that there are many bad actors. The negative indicators, from melting arctic ice to the wide-ranging effects of extreme heat, are often terrifying. But I'm optimistic, largely because of the big changes happening in the ways we produce and consume energy.

Exxon Market Value Drops $184 Billion Since 2014 Peak

ExxonMobil’s stock plunged to a nine-year low on Tuesday after posting poor fourth quarter results, leading the fossil fuel giant to plunge $184 billion since its’ market valuation since its 2014 peak, as per CNN business. Some analysts argue that Exxon’s bad quarter is emblematic of a broader decline in the fossil fuel industry.

Student Victory: Georgetown University Divests From Fossil Fuels

On the evening of February 6, 2020, Georgetown University announced its decision to divest its endowment from all fossil fuel companies. This decision comes after eight years of dedicated campaigning from GU Fossil Free; our members, past and present, could not be more proud. We are thrilled that our university has taken this important step in supporting climate justice, student voices, and financial accountability.

Divestment Fever Spreads As ‘Eco Radicals At Goldman Sachs’ Downgrade Exxon Stock To ‘Sell’ Status

"The best reason to divest fossil fuel stock is that you'd like to help preserve a livable planet. Another reason is so that you won't lose your money." Three days after CNBC host Jim Cramer pronounced fossil fuel investments as being "in the death knell phase," Goldman Sachs on Monday downgraded its stock assessment for ExxonMobil, advising investors to sell their shares of the oil and gas giant.

Global Banks, Led By JPMorgan Chase, Invested $1.9 Trillion In Fossil Fuels Since Paris Climate Pact

A report published today names the banks that have played the biggest recent role in funding fossil fuel projects, finding that since 2016, immediately following the Paris Agreement's adoption, 33 global banks have poured $1.9 trillion into financing climate-changing projects worldwide. The top four banks that invested most heavily in fossil fuel projects are all based in the U.S., and include JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi, and Bank of America. Royal Bank of Canada, Barclays in Europe, Japan’s MUFG, TD Bank, Scotiabank, and Mizuho make up the remainder of the top 10. This report comes as March has already brought deadly weather to places such as the American Midwest, where historic flooding has left four dead and farm losses could reach $1 billion...

With Passage Of NAFTA 2.0, Congress Boosts Fossil Fuel Polluters, Particularly In Mexico

NAFTA 2.0 cleared another hurdle on January 16 as the U.S. Senate approved the trade deal with bipartisan support. Officially called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the pact has some improvements but remains a handout to large corporations. This is particularly evident in the USMCA rules related to investor rights. One of the most controversial aspects of the original NAFTA was that it allowed private corporations to sue governments in international tribunals, demanding compensation for alleged violations of a wide range of investor “rights.”
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