Climate Point: As vote counts continue, Biden vows Day 1 climate action
Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to climate, energy and environment news from around the Golden State and the country. In Palm Springs, Calif., I’m Mark Olalde.
Trivia time. As of Wednesday, what's the only internationally recognized country in the world that's not participating in the Paris Agreement, the global plan to combat climate change? The United States of America. Which nation is the No. 1 cumulative emitter of greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution? The United States of America.
But as of Friday morning, President Donald Trump's future in the White House is dimming, while former Vice President Joe Biden makes gains in vote counts in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada. A win in any of those states would likely give him and Sen. Kamala Harris the election (USA Today has a helpful tool to track votes). Biden took to Twitter on Wednesday, pledging to rejoin the Paris Agreement on Day 1 of his potential presidency. It's only a start, though, as Republicans who are committed to inaction on climate change are still the favorites to retain the Senate.
Here's some other important reporting ...
MUST-READ STORIES
Coming out on top Down Under. It's been a wild week in the U.S., but let's briefly head abroad. Like America, Australia still loves its fossil fuels, although there are some signs of change. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports that a 25-year-old successfully sued one of the country's largest retirement funds, coming to a settlement where the fund managers agreed they "have a duty to manage the financial risks of climate change." It's big because citizens and cities around the world have begun turning to the courts — including in the U.S. — to sue fossil fuel companies while they're also pressuring public universities and pension funds to divest from coal, oil and gas.
Build back better. Sticking with the international theme for a moment, Reuters reports that the United Nations is urging city leaders to use the COVID-19 pandemic as a "springboard" to build more livable urban centers. Although the pandemic is pushing many to look for new homes outside urban centers, the U.N. report noted the relative success of some large metropolises like Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo in managing outbreaks — suggesting that overcrowding, rather than density, enabled the virus to spread. High population density, it said, eased delivery of health care and other services.
Small oil? It's been only several years since Exxon was the world's largest company by market capitalization, but the past appears much brighter than the future for the oil supermajor. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company recently posted its third consecutive quarterly loss for the first time ever and hinted that it could take a $30 billion writedown. Meanwhile, E&E is out with a story that includes perhaps my favorite quote ever from an expert: "It's like I give you $1 million and you convert it to $1 bills, and you light it on fire to make energy." That's in reference to Exxon's much-advertised plan to go green by developing algae as biofuel. It doesn't appear to be money well-spent.
POLITICAL CLIMATE
American eats. Civil Eats, which covers the country's food system, is out with a highly educational deep-dive dissecting Trump's impact on food, and I recommend taking a read. "President Trump’s agenda, focused primarily around deregulation and increasing aid to commodity farmers while cutting food aid to needy families, will have long-lasting implications," they write.
Courtroom drama. Remember when the GOP leader of Ohio's House was arrested in a massive corruption case eons ago? And by eons, I mean July. Well, the Akron Beacon Journal reports that the utility company involved in the alleged scheme, FirstEnergy, saw its debt downgraded after several executives were fired. Concurrently, Eye on Ohio and Energy News Network report that consumer advocates are crying foul as FirstEnergy slow walks the release of information pertinent to related litigation. The company did not comment on the story. To cap off the scandal's wild few weeks, Republicans stuck with their candidate, Larry Householder — even though he was indicted and stripped of the speaker's job — and he won his re-election bid easily, the Newark Advocate reports.
Turnover on downs. In Alabama, Democratic incumbent Sen. Doug Jones, the attorney who prosecuted the 16th Street Baptist Church bombers, lost his reelection bid to Republican Tommy Tuberville, a former college football coach. Our USA Today Network friends at the Montgomery Advertiser report that Jones accepts the scientific consensus on climate change. Tuberville, meanwhile, wouldn't answer the paper's questions on the topic but in the past has said the Christian god controls changes in the climate.
THERE'S USUALLY A CLIMATE ANGLE
Fish amidst the flames. In a new piece, The Arizona Republic reports on a daring rescue of fish — you read that correctly — as a wildfire and its debris engulfed sensitive Southwestern ecosystems. Ian James writes that this was one of many incidents that convinced scientists studying the aquatic world to come out publicly in support of sweeping action on climate change.
Who pays the tab? The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that an insurance company has demanded that Peabody Energy, one of the country's few remaining major coal companies, provide collateral for every single dollar of cleanup costs the provider insures. Why is this important? For several years, I investigated the system that's meant to guarantee money will be available to clean up the coal industry's mess when it disappears. I raised the alarm that this exact scenario — mining companies and insurance firms passing the buck on reclamation they can't afford — was on its way.
A coal-less future. If you're a loyal Climate Point reader, you're well-aware of the Just Transition and the important role labor plays in ensuring good jobs remain as fossil fuel industries disappear. Bringing some hopeful news, the Colorado Sun reports that in the small Colorado town of Craig, the shutdown of its coal-fired power plant was supposed to spell this economic doom, but that never really materialized.
AND ANOTHER THING
Silly Shell. I'm no social media maven, but I know one thing — don't get ratioed on Twitter. Shell didn't get the message. The other day, the oil company tried an innocuous-seeming poll, and, wow, did it go sideways. But why am I wasting space discussing an internet fail? The debate highlighted a very important point in the climate change conversation. (Take a look here, and read the replies.) Simply put, fossil fuel companies want the narrative to be that the demand side — individuals — are responsible for saving the planet by driving less and using energy-efficient lightbulbs. That's what Shell did with their failed poll. The problem, though, is that it's far too late for billions of people to automatically go green at the same time. The market, regulators and the supply side run the show, not individuals with limited choice in how they light their homes and power their cars. The Guardian has more on Shell's "greenwashing."
Scientists agree that to maintain a livable planet, we need to reduce the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration back to 350 ppm. We’re above that and rising dangerously. Here are the latest numbers:
That’s all for now. Don’t forget to follow along on Twitter at @MarkOlalde. You can also reach me at molalde@gannett.com. You can sign up to get Climate Point in your inbox for free here. And, if you’d like to receive a daily round-up of California news (also for free!), you can sign up for USA Today’s In California newsletter here. Those COVID-19 numbers are spiraling. Please wear a mask! Cheers.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Climate Point: Biden vows Day 1 climate action as vote counts continue
