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Fossil Fuels

Academics-For-Hire Agree Not To Disclose Fossil Fuel Funding

December 9, 2015 Lawrence Carter and Maeve McClenaghan, www.energydesk.greenpeace.org ,
By Lawrence Carter and Maeve McClenaghan for Energy Desk - The investigation raises further questions for coal giant Peabody Energy, which earlier this year was investigated by New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman over accusations that they violated New York laws prohibiting false and misleading conduct, in relation to misleading statements on the risks it could face from tightening climate change laws. Peabody have now agreed to change the way it reports the risks posed to investors by climate change. Professors Clemente and Happer were both employed by Peabody to provide testimony favourable to the company in state and governmental hearings.

Fossil Fuel Auction Delayed Under Pressure

December 8, 2015 Staff, www.popularresistance.org , , ,
By 350.org. Washington, DC — Under pressure from climate campaigners, the Obama Administration announced alast minute delay for a fossil fuel auction scheduled for this Thursday in Washington, D.C. 350.org Policy Director Jason Kowalski issued the following statement on the win: “Keeping fossil fuels in the ground has quickly become the new standard for climate leadership. The Obama administration clearly recognized that it couldn’t present itself as a climate leader in Paris if it was peddling fossil fuels at home. The win against the Keystone XL pipeline has energized a ‘keep it in the ground’ movement across the United States and around the world. You’ll see many more protests like this over the year ahead–especially that we now have such clear evidence that they work.

Protesters Want Flowers, Not Power Plants

December 6, 2015 Steve Ahlquist, www.rifuture.org , , ,
By Steve Ahlquist for RIFuture.org. Burrillville, RI - Five women were arrested on Spectra Energy property in Burrillville this afternoon, during a protest in which they attempted to plant tulips where Spectra wants to expand pipelines and near where Invenergy wants to build a new methane gas power plant. Police said that three other protesters were arrested after they made it onto on the construction site via the woods behind the the new compressor station, bringing the total number of known arrests to eight. Among those arrested was Mary Pendergast from the Sisters of Mercy in Pawtucket. in a statement she said, “By taking action today, I’m following the directive of Pope Francis to put our lives on the line for care of the earth.”

Portland, OR Is First City To Oppose New Fossil Fuel Projects

December 5, 2015 Staff, www.popularresistance.org , , ,
By Staff for Popular Resistance. Portland, OR - On November 12, the Portland city council passed a resolution against the construction of any new infrastructure that would allow fossil fuels to be stored or transported through the city or its waterways. The week prior to that, the city council voted to oppose rail projects that would carry crude oil. According to Natasha Geiling of ThinkProgress: "Together, the resolutions constitute what environmentalists are calling the strongest city-supported opposition to fossil fuels in the country.... While Portland cannot, due to interstate commerce laws, unilaterally ban fossil fuels from being shipped via rail, road, or water, it can enact local laws that limit the transportation and storage of fossil fuels within the city itself, especially if those laws are based in environmental or safety concerns.

Bill Gates’ ‘Solution’ Misses Vital Part Of Equation

December 4, 2015 Alec Connon, www.popularresistance.org , , , ,
By Alec Connon for Popular Resistance. Paris, France - Bill Gates was a rare civilian among presidents and prime ministers at the opening session of the Paris climate talks on Monday. The reason that Mr. Gates was there, sharing a stage with the likes of President Obama and Prime Minister Modi of India, was that he was announcing his latest piece of entrepreneurial philanthropy: the Breakthrough Energy Coalition. Including 28 of the world's truly super rich, the raison d' etre of the Gates-headed coalition is to provide financial support to companies that bring innovative clean energy ideas to the marketplace. An initial two billion has been pledged, and that figure is expected to rise dramatically. The coalition was announced in tandem with the Mission Initiative, a commitment that has been made by 20 nation-states, including China, the US and India, to double their investments in clean energy research and development.

More Than $3.4 Trillion In Assets Vow To Divest From Fossil Fuels

December 3, 2015 Zahra Hirji, www.insideclimatenews.org ,
By Zahra Hirji for Inside Climate News - More than 500 institutions representing about $3.4 trillion in assets have agreed to sell their investments in fossil fuel companies, divestment leaders announced on Wednesday, a nearly 24 percent increase since the movement last announced its commitment list in September. European insurer Allianz, the city of Oslo, Norway, and the London School of Economics are among the latest institutions, communities and individuals to pledge to divest at least partially from coal, oil and natural gas companies, members of the green group 350.org and nonprofit Divest-Invest said at a press conference in Paris.

Fossil Fuel Projects In Pacific Northwest Could Be Harmful As 5 Keystones

December 2, 2015 John Light, www.billmoyers.com , , ,
By John Light for MOyers and Company - President Obama’s decision in early November to reject the Keystone XL pipeline was a major victory for the environmental movement. A broad coalition came together and elevated an issue of which few were aware to one that ultimately gained national attention, and was fiercely debated by senators and presidential candidates. But now, activists in the Pacific Northwest are engaged in another fight against our fossil fuel infrastructure — infrastructure that if built, according to the Seattle-based Sightline Institute, could unleash as much greenhouse gas pollution as five Keystone pipelines. That’s the equivalent of adding as many as 22 million cars to the road.

Fossil Fuel Lobby Seen As Main Threat To Progress At Paris Climate Talks

December 1, 2015 Nick Fillmore, www.rabble.ca , ,
By Nick Fillmore for Rabble - In the early 1950s, when it became widely known thatsmoking caused cancer, giant tobacco companies formed the Tobacco Industry Research Council (TIRC). Its main goal was to deny the harmful effects of tobacco and confuse the public. The tobacco lobby wormed its way into the United Nations' World Health Organization (WHO), wreaking havoc and slowing the WHO's efforts to reduce the growing number of cancer deaths. In response WHO finally built a firewall between public health officials and industry lobbyists. Only then was it possible to better control tobacco.

Stanford Students Begin ‘Indefinite’ Sit-In Over Fossil Fuel Divestment

November 18, 2015 Zoë Corbyn, www.theguardian.com ,
By Zoë Corbyn for The Guardian - Stanford University students have begun an indefinite sit-in to protest against the institution’s investments in fossil fuels. According to protest organisers, more than 100 students attempted to enter the main administration building and office of the president on Monday afternoon. The students have been locked out but say they have encircled the building and will camp out there until Stanford acts on their demand to “completely divest” its financial holdings from the fossil fuel industry. They are demanding action before UN climate negotiations in Paris at the end of November.

Portland Passes Landmark Resolution Against Fossil Fuel Infrastructure

November 14, 2015 Andrea Germanos, www.commondreams.org
By Andrea Germanos for Common Dreams - In what climate activists are celebrating as a "landmark" win, the Portland (Oregon) City Council on Thursday unanimously voted to pass a resolution opposing the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure in the city and its adjacent waterways. "This is a huge victory for the movement and for climate stability," stated Mia Reback, climate organizer for 350PDX, which joined groups including Rising Tide, Columbia Riverkeeper, and Portland Audubon Society in supporting the resolution. Brett VandenHeuvel, Executive Director of Columbia Riverkeeper, writes (pdf) that the Oregon city's resolution "takes a strong stand against this fossil fuel infrastructure andhas the teeth to succeed."

A Kayak For Bill And Melinda

November 11, 2015 Alec Connon, www.facebook.com , ,
By Alec Connon for Gates Divest - In the last 12 months the fossil fuel divestment movement has not so much grown as exploded. Over $2.6 trillion has now committed to divestment, including commitments from venerable institutions such as Stanford University, the University of Washington, the British Medical Association and the World Council of Churches. High-profile supporters of divestment include luminaries such as the UN Secretary General, Ban KI-Moon, World Bank Chief, Jim Yong Kim, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Prince Charles.

When We Fight: Keystone XL And Delegitimizing Fossil Fuels

November 10, 2015 Scott Parkin, www.counterpunch.org ,
By Scott Parkin for Counter Punch - Near the sprawling Dallas suburb of Garland, TX where I grew up are the east Texas piney woods that are now home to the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline. In the blistering summer heat of 2012, I traveled there in support of the coalition of local Texas and Oklahoma landowners and radical environmentalists known as the Tar Sands Blockade that fought to stop the southern leg of the pipeline. A year before, Keystone XL had become a household name when over 1200 people participated in two weeks of sit-ins at the White House demanding that Barack Obama reject the pipeline. A few months after the White House sit-ins, Obama fast-tracked the permit for the southern leg with the stroke of a pen.

November 14th We Will Say Loud And Clear: #StopFundingFossils

November 7, 2015 David Turnbull, www.priceofoil.org
By David Turnbull for Oil Change International - Every year, governments funnel billions of dollars in support to the fossil fuel industry. Meanwhile, the fossil fuel industry is using those public dollars to dig up fossil fuels that we must not burn if we want a safe-climate future. So, in 2009 when G20 countries committed to ending that support, we cheered. But the cheering has ended. Year after year we hear empty promises to move forward in implementing that commitment. And year after year reports come out showing governments are still funding fossil fuels at enormous rates. Six full years ago we celebrated as the 20 richest countries in the world committed to end fossil fuel subsidies in the “mid term”. That “mid term” is upon us and it’s time to act.

Kayaktivists Tell Gates Foundation ‘Divest’

October 25, 2015 Staff, www.popularresistance.org , , ,
By Staff of Popular Resistance with information from GatesDivest.org. Seattle, WA - Kayaktivists took to the waters of Lake Washington on Saturday, Oct. 24 to visit the mansion owned by Bill and Melinda Gates. They brought an empty kayak for Bill and Melinda in case they decided to join the action. The main focus of the action was to encourage the Gates Foundation to be a world leader by divesting from fossil fuels. It is part of a new campaign, #GatesDivest, that was started earlier this year by Seattle activist Alec Connon.

World Bank Fails To ‘Walk The Talk’

October 11, 2015 , , ,
By Janet Redman for the Institute for Policy Studies. Washington, DC - At least in rhetoric, World Bank leadership has acknowledged for a quarter century that “the possible risks [of global warming] are too high to justify complacency or evasion.” The Bank itself has cautioned that unabated climate change threatens to reverse hard-earned development gains — and that the poorest countries and communities will suffer the consequences first and worst. The Bank has become increasingly visible at global climate summits and officials regularly comment on the need for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting the climate and making a transition to low-carbon development. However, a sober review of its lending practices reveals the Bank is undermining the cause it purports to champion.
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