EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 8/13/26

PIPELINE NEWS

• Detroit Free Press: Army Corps approves Line 5 tunnel beneath Straits of Mackinac

• Press release: Tribes Slam U.S. Army Corps for Approving Line 5 Tunnel

• Bloomberg: Appeals Panel Declines to Rule on Authority Over Sable Pipeline

• KTUU: Alaska LNG pipeline bill collapses as House Majority say it lacks the votes

• E&E News: SCOTUS sets a date for arguments in pipeline eminent domain case

• CBC: Pipeline contracts awarded as Ksi Lisims LNG moves closer to final investment decision

• Canadian Underwriter: A west coast pipeline is coming. How that affects the insurance of carbon capture projects

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• E&E News: EPA to trim environmental justice rules

• E&E News: Insurers attacked for siding with fossil fuel industry in Supreme Court case

• Press release: Armstrong Builds Senate Momentum for Permitting Reform as 12 New Cosponsors Join His “American Energy & Mineral Infrastructure” Act

• Reuters: US to offer 81 million acres in Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease sale

• Reuters: US power use to beat record highs in 2026 and 2027 as AI use surges, EIA says

• Reuters: US natural gas output, demand to hit record highs in 2026, EIA says

STATE UPDATES

• Politico: California energy regulator says he’s open to working with Trump on oil refineries

• KQED: Californians Vow to Fight ‘Federal Takeover’ of Coastline for Oil Drilling

• KPBS: ‘When we drill, we spill’: Coastal leaders call Trump administration’s coastal agency review unprecedented

EXTRACTION

• Financial Post: Energy sector success produces healthy bonus, incentive payouts

• CBC: Judge cites legal notice issue, dismisses First Nation’s challenge against Alberta’s oilsands cleanup program

• Gasworld: Shift CCUS funding onto producers recommends IPPR

• E&E News: Top OpenAI exec: ‘We have real work to do’ on data centers

• Reuters: Huge oil slick hitting Oman’s shoreline as agencies warn of disaster

CLIMATE FINANCE

• Corporate Knights: Debate over fossil-fuel abatement erupts in climate finance community

OPINION

• Journal News: NY needs reliable energy. The Constitution Pipeline can help

• Colorado Newsline: Coloradans shouldn’t have to pay to clean up abandoned oil wells

• Canada’s National Observer: Carney can’t buy climate cover with pocket change

• Oil Change International: Our Pain, Their Gain: Tax Big Oil’s $65 Billion War Windfall
  

PIPELINE NEWS

Detroit Free Press: Army Corps approves Line 5 tunnel beneath Straits of Mackinac
Keith Matheny, 8/12/26

“A proposed tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac bottom to house oil and gas pipelines received a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — essentially the last federal hurdle to the massive infrastructure project,” the Detroit Free Press reports. “...Critics, however, called the process rushed and flawed, failing to consider environmental consequences and all alternatives. “The Army Corps’ decision is a thoroughly flawed product of a rushed process driven by the Trump administration’s phony ‘national energy emergency,’” David Holtz, coalition coordinator for Oil and Water Don’t Mix, a coalition of over 75 organizations including businesses, tribal nations, local governments and environmental groups united in opposition to the continued operation of Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac, told the Free Press… “As part of the executive order, Trump called for federal agencies to “identify and use all relevant lawful emergency and other authorities available to them to expedite the completion of all authorized and appropriated infrastructure, energy, environmental and natural resources projects that are within the identified authority of each of the Secretaries to perform or to advance.” “...The approval of the Enbridge Line 5 Tunnel Project is a testament to President Trump’s vision to ensure our nation’s energy dominance,” Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle said.”

Press release: Tribes Slam U.S. Army Corps for Approving Line 5 Tunnel
8/12/26

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today issued a record of decision approving Canadian company Enbridge’s proposal to bore a four-mile tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac to house its Line 5 oil pipeline. Despite the federal agency’s approval, Enbridge cannot move forward with construction because Michigan’s Supreme Court recently ordered the Michigan Public Service Commission to re-do its analysis of the project. The Army Corps’ permit follows other state approvals granted last month by Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) under the leadership of Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “In contrast to her public messages, Governor Whitmer has not stood up to Enbridge — in fact quite the opposite,” said Managing Attorney Debbie Chizewer. “But for her administration granting the EGLE permit, the Army Corps could not have given its approval today and put the profits of a private company above the protection of the Great Lakes.” Under President Trump’s “National Energy Emergency” Executive Order, the U.S. Army Corps has short-circuited its review of the tunnel’s impacts, prompting seven Michigan Tribes to withdraw as cooperating agencies last March… “Today’s decision by the U.S. Army Corps is more than a procedural failure, it is a profound breach of the United States’ treaty trust responsibility to Tribal Nations,” said Bay Mills Indian Community President Whitney Gravelle.”

Bloomberg: Appeals Panel Declines to Rule on Authority Over Sable Pipeline
Taylor Mills, 8/12/26

“Sable Offshore Corp.’s pipeline will retain its federal designation after a federal appeals panel partially dismissed a lawsuit brought by environmental groups on Tuesday,” Bloomberg reports. “The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s new jurisdiction determination over the Las Flores pipeline system mooted groups’ earlier challenge to the agency’s decision to intervene last year. The ruling didn’t touch California’s ability to stop developments on its shorelines, as the panel didn’t say whether the contested portion of the pipeline fully within state waters is an interstate infrastructure…”

KTUU: Alaska LNG pipeline bill collapses as House Majority say it lacks the votes
Lars Hanson, 8/12/26

“A deal to provide tax exemptions for the proposed liquefied natural gas pipeline has fallen flat for lawmakers, and as it stands, there aren’t plans to move the gas line forward,” KTUU reports. “The governor pushed forward legislation to provide tax exemptions to clear the way for a gas line, but the House Bipartisan Majority Caucus said in a statement that it doesn’t have the votes. House Majority leadership said “intractable differences” over a property tax relief provision in the proposed HB 4001 had fractured support across party lines, with opposition coming from both majority and minority members… “The Senate Bipartisan Majority Caucus told Alaska’s News Source Wednesday evening the caucus doesn’t plan to reconvene next week. Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, said earlier this week the bill had a “low-fat milk” version of a corporate income tax the caucus has fought for — and opponents say killed the last version of the bill. The bill’s apparent collapse comes during the third consecutive special session on the Alaska LNG project and triggered a sharp rebuke from the governor who called the legislature’s failure to act “deeply disappointing.” “...The Legislature’s decision to not return to Juneau to take action on the proposed property tax change needed to advance the Alaska natural gas pipeline project is deeply disappointing and has consequences that extend well beyond this session… “With the third special session now effectively over without a vote, the question of whether the Alaska LNG project can advance before a new governor and legislature take office looms large.”

E&E News: SCOTUS sets a date for arguments in pipeline eminent domain case
Mike Soraghan, 8/11/26

“The Supreme Court has set oral arguments for Nov. 9 in an eminent domain case that has pitted North Dakota landowners against a gas company over how much they should be paid for having a pipeline trenched across their land,” E&E News reports. ”The legal question for the justices in Hoffmann v. WBI Energy Transmission is whether courts should turn to federal or state law in such disputes. The case has worked its way through the court system as the Trump administration pushes to make it easier to build gas pipelines across the country, which means more disputes between companies and landowners over how much companies should pay when they take property from unwilling sellers… “The ranchers and other landowners say they should be entitled to the legal fees and other costs they racked up in their successful challenge of WBI Energy Transmission’s appraisal of what they were owed for taking their property for the 12-mile natural gas line.”

CBC: Pipeline contracts awarded as Ksi Lisims LNG moves closer to final investment decision
Matt Preprost, 8/12/26

“A B.C. company is part of a joint venture that has won a major contract for the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project,” the CBC reports. “The Nisga’a Nation and Western LNG say the Surerus Murphy Joint Venture will build the first segment of the new pipeline from northeastern B.C. to Ksi Lisims LNG on the north coast. The joint venture recently built portions of the Coastal GasLink and TransMountain expansion projects, and is currently building the Eagle Mountain pipeline for Woodfibre LNG… “Eva Clayton, president of Nisga’a Lisims Government, told CBC the nation is committed to building the project using Canadian business and local companies. Contractors will be required to develop an Indigenous participation plan for hiring and contracting… “The proposed $30-billion export facility has so far lined up buyers for half its 12-million tonne annual output… “A positive final investment decision would see construction start on the facility and pipeline in early 2027.”

Canadian Underwriter: A west coast pipeline is coming. How that affects the insurance of carbon capture projects
Jason Contant, 8/12/26

“The federal and Alberta governments’ recent agreement to advance a west coast pipeline has brought the insurance implications of such a project into the spotlight,” Canadian Underwriter reports. “...This project not only involves an Alberta-to-British Columbia pipeline, but also the Pathways Project, which the feds say will be “one of the world’s largest carbon capture and storage projects.” From an insurance perspective, there are “two adjacent markets here, and it’s worth keeping them distinct,” Patrick Rengger, a commercial account executive at Hub International, tells Canadian Underwriter. The first market insures the physical project — the pipeline, capture facility, and storage complex. The second insures the carbon credits themselves, separate from the physical infrastructure… “The insurance implication of the newly announced pipeline “is that CCS creates a genuinely new risk chain — capture, transport, and long-term subsurface storage — and the storage piece in particular doesn’t fit neatly into existing frameworks,” Rengger he tells CU… “For example, one of the trickiest liability questions in shared CCS infrastructure is when multiple emitters feed CO₂ into the same pipeline and storage complex and one delivers ‘off- spec’ CO₂ that contaminates the shared system, who pays?” Rengger asks… “Other risks include the possible leak of CO₂ once stored (if a cap cracks, for example) and the related costs of restoration, and losses to carbon credits. Products can cover the full asset lifecycle, from front-end engineering design through long-term underground plume migration and pipeline transport.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

E&E News: EPA to trim environmental justice rules
Kevin Bogardus, 8/12/26

“EPA plans to take down another pillar offering aid to underserved communities struggling with pollution, a longtime target of the Trump administration,” E&E News reports. “The agency on Tuesday sent a rule for review to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs that would rescind parts of EPA’s nondiscrimination regulations, according to an online notice. The rollback would align the agency with an executive order President Donald Trump signed last year to cut the use of “disparate impacts” — where neutral rules are found to adversely affect people based on race, sex and other protected classes — in government policy. EPA has relied on disparate impact analysis to elevate environmental justice work, aiming to ensure federal relief reaches low-income and minority areas. During the Biden administration, the agency found Black residents in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” faced high health risks. The investigation was later closed after blowback from Republican elected officials in and outside the state.”

E&E News: Insurers attacked for siding with fossil fuel industry in Supreme Court case
Saqib Rahim, 8/13/26

“They hoped to make the U.S. property-insurance industry an ally, but now, climate advocates are accusing insurers of selling out to oil and gas producers in a pivotal Supreme Court case over climate liability,” E&E News reports. “A court brief by insurance groups, which supports the fossil fuel industry’s effort to avoid liability for extreme weather damage, reveals how insurers are ignoring the need to protect their policyholders against climate change, advocates say. The brief “on behalf of Big Oil is the clearest public confirmation yet of where their loyalties lie,” the Center for Climate Integrity, which supports lawsuits against large energy companies, said in a recent statement. Dave Jones, a climate expert and former California insurance commissioner, said in his own recent Supreme Court brief that insurers have placed the “well-being of the fossil fuel sector” over the millions of homeowners they insure. Insurers have a financial interest in the fossil-fuel industry because they insure and invest in oil and gas projects, Jones added. This is amplifying climate change, even as insurers use extreme weather as a justification to raise home-insurance prices on policyholders and declare large swaths of the U.S. uninsurable, he said. A representative for an insurance group told E&E there is no alignment with or endorsement of the fossil fuel industry.”

Press release: Armstrong Builds Senate Momentum for Permitting Reform as 12 New Cosponsors Join His “American Energy & Mineral Infrastructure” Act
8/12/26

“Senator Alan Armstrong (R-OK) is growing momentum behind comprehensive permitting reform, announcing 13 additional Senate cosponsors for S. 4944, the American Energy and Mineral Infrastructure (AEMI) Act… “The growing support comes as the Senate left Washington for the August recess without producing a bipartisan permitting reform package. Negotiators say they are making progress and hope to unveil an agreement in September, but significant issues remain unresolved — including Clean Water Act and National Historic Preservation Act reviews — and the shrinking legislative calendar leaves little time to turn a deal into law. Against that backdrop, Armstrong is working to reinvigorate conversations on permitting reform in the Senate by advancing concrete provisions that find bicameral and bipartisan support… “Senator Alan Armstrong (R-OK) said, “Our national energy infrastructure is like a bridge: nobody really cares about it until it falls down, and the cracks are starting to show right now. We have a narrow window to act, and we cannot afford to let this opportunity pass us by. I am grateful to my 17 Senate colleagues who are co-sponsoring the AEMI Act. Together, we recognize that America cannot afford another year of delay.”

Reuters: US to offer 81 million acres in Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease sale
Nichola Groom and Timothy Gardner, 8/12/26

“The Trump administration on Wednesday will offer more than 81 million acres (32.8 million hectares) in the Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drillers as part of an effort to boost domestic energy production with regular offshore lease sales,” Reuters reports. “...The Interior Department will offer 15,100 unleased blocks located between 3 and 231 miles (4.8 to 372 km) offshore on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. Water depths range from 9 feet to more than 11,100 feet (2.7 to 3,380 meters), according to a document posted on a government website. According to a pre-sale document released on Tuesday, 12 companies submitted a total of 69 bids on 330,000 acres, or about 0.4% of the 81 million acres offered in the Gulf of Mexico, which Trump renamed the Gulf of America under an executive order. The second auction in March generated nearly $47 million in high bids for 25 blocks across roughly 141,000 acres. That was far less than the first auction in December mandated by the 2025 law, which yielded $279.4 million in high bids.”

Reuters: US power use to beat record highs in 2026 and 2027 as AI use surges, EIA says
Scott DiSavino, 8/11/26

“U.S. power consumption, which hit its second straight annual record high in 2025, will rise further in 2026 and 2027, driven by AI-hungry data centers and electrification, the Energy Information Administration said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) on Tuesday,” Reuters reports. “...Demand is surging in large part due to data centers dedicated to artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, and as homes and businesses use more electricity and less fossil fuels for heat and transportation. The EIA, however, said it lowered its forecast for electricity demand in Texas in 2027 after the state’s governor announced a pause on new data center development on August 3… “As renewable output rises, the EIA said the share of power generation from coal will slide from 17% in 2025 to 16% in 2026 and 15% in 2027, while the share of natural gas will hold at 40% in 2026 and 2027, the same as in 2025. The percentage of renewable generation will rise from around 24% in 2025 to 25% in 2026 and 27% in 2027, while nuclear power’s share will hold at 18% in 2026 and 2027, the same as in 2025, according to the outlook.”

Reuters: US natural gas output, demand to hit record highs in 2026, EIA says
Shariq Khan and Scott DiSavino, 8/11/26

“U.S. natural gas supply and demand will both rise to record highs in 2026, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook on Tuesday,” Reuters reports. “The EIA projected dry gas production will rise from a record 107.6 billion cubic feet per day in 2025 to 111.2 bcfd in 2026 and 116.0 bcfd in 2027. The agency also projected domestic gas consumption will rise from a record 91.9 bcfd in 2025 to 92.0 bcfd in 2026 and 94.8 bcfd in 2027… “The agency forecast average U.S. liquefied natural gas exports would rise from a record 15.1 bcfd in 2025 to 17.4 bcfd in 2026 and 18.6 bcfd in 2027… “The agency projected carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels would decline from a three-year high of 4.904 billion metric tons in 2025 to 4.818 billion metric tons in 2026 as oil, gas and coal use decreases, before edging up to 4.843 billion metric tons in 2027 as gas use increases.”

STATE UPDATES

Politico: California energy regulator says he’s open to working with Trump on oil refineries
Camille von Kaenel, 811/2

“A top California energy regulator said he’s open to working with the Trump administration to keep the state’s struggling oil refineries open — while also slamming the administration’s efforts to restart offshore oil production and buy out offshore wind leases,” Politico reports. “California is “very focused” on maintaining refinery capacity, said California Energy Commission chair David Hochschild on Tuesday at POLITICO’s The California Agenda: Sacramento Summit, signaling rare alignment with the Trump administration on energy policy… “We’ll work in good faith with the Trump administration wherever we have common cause to keep gas prices down,” Hochschild said. He declined to say whether he would support the Trump administration if it were to find a buyer for a refinery in Benicia scheduled to close, saying he would “evaluate on a case-by-case basis.”

KQED: Californians Vow to Fight ‘Federal Takeover’ of Coastline for Oil Drilling
Ella Jackson, 8/11/26

“State lawmakers, Indigenous leaders, advocates and business groups gathered in Santa Monica on Monday to challenge the Trump administration’s efforts to open the California coast for oil drilling and other industrial projects,” KQED reports. “The stakeholders rallied ahead of an in-person meeting held by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reviewing California’s Coastal Management Program, which speakers at the press conference considered to be an attack on California’s right to protect its coastline. “This federal administration is bent on industrializing our coast,” California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said, addressing a crowd of dozens, many of whom brandished protest signs or wore oceanic blue T-shirts with the slogan ‘No Federal Takeover.’ “For the first time in over four decades, through Republican and Democratic presidential administrations, this is the first administration moving aggressively to expand new offshore oil drilling,” Crowfoot said… “Bixby said that the coastal economy generates over $50 billion in annual revenue, with offshore oil making up just 1% of that figure today.”

KPBS: ‘When we drill, we spill’: Coastal leaders call Trump administration’s coastal agency review unprecedented
Tammy Murga, 8/11/26

“Public hearings this week could influence the future of oil production, rocket launches and other federal industrial projects off California’s coast,” KPBS reports. “The Trump administration is evaluating the state’s Coastal Commission and other coastal agencies. Depending on the outcome, the state could lose its authority to review and regulate projects that involve the coastline… “The current federal administration is behaving in an unprecedented way, and they are very excited to advance offshore oil drilling and other types of projects off the California coast,” Jennifer Savage, the Surfrider Foundation’s California policy manager, told KPBS…. “Lutnick ordered the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to assess California’s compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act, which “aims to balance competing land and water issues through state and territorial coastal management programs,” according to NOAA. He said the review should also look into whether California has interfered with “offshore oil production, maintenance of pipelines, and desalination.”

EXTRACTION

Financial Post: Energy sector success produces healthy bonus, incentive payouts
Devon Dekuyper, 8/13/26

“The economic turmoil and global political instability of 2025 didn’t upend the fortunes of Alberta’s biggest companies, or those leading them,” the Financial Post reports. “...The median base salary for named executives at the companies reviewed was up 5.8 per cent year-over-year. Additional boosts to bonuses, cash compensation and long-term incentives led to an almost 19 per cent jump in total compensation. Annual bonuses rose 27 per cent for all named executives, with CEOs seeing an almost eight per cent collective increase… “The oil and gas sector saw an 8.9 per cent increase in market cap year-over-year, and a 32.1 per cent increase in total shareholder return… “Seven of Alberta’s 10 highest-paid executives were oil and gas industry leaders, including top earner Toby McKenna, CEO of Rockpoint Gas Storage, who earned nearly $44 million, mostly from expected long-term incentive payouts.”

CBC: Judge cites legal notice issue, dismisses First Nation’s challenge against Alberta’s oilsands cleanup program
Vincent McDermott, 8/12/26

“An Alberta judge has dismissed a First Nation’s application for a judicial review targeting the program tasked with making sure coal mine and oilsands operators have the money to clean up their operations,” the CBC reports. “In his decision Wednesday, Justice Shannon Davis of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta said he was dismissing the application for a review because the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) did not serve legal notice to all parties considered directly affected within the required six-month window. The ACFN said it had only served the Alberta government because its lawyers considered the dispute to be over the Crown’s duty to consult. Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor Energy and Imperial Oil argued they should have also been served because they would have been directly affected by any changes to the program… “The ACFN’s concerns included allegations the program underestimates operators’ liabilities, does not consider changes to global oil markets that could hasten shutdowns and fails to incentivize reclamation throughout a mine’s life… “ACFN maintains their position that Alberta has failed to uphold its constitutional obligations to ensure the oilsands mines on ACFN’s traditional territories are properly reclaimed, and that Alberta’s Mine Financial Security Program is grossly inadequate to ensure ACFN’s lands can ultimately be restored,” she told CBC.”.

Gasworld: Shift CCUS funding onto producers recommends IPPR
Dominic Ellis, 8/13/26

“Fossil fuel producers determine the volume of carbon that enters the economy and should foot the bill for carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) infrastructure funding, according to a new paper from UK think tank The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR),” Gasworld reports. “It argues the current model treats taxpayers and industrial emitters as the primary obligated party – yet they are removed from the source of the problem – and believes extending the obligation upstream distributes costs more fairly across the value chain.”

E&E News: Top OpenAI exec: ‘We have real work to do’ on data centers
Tyler Katzenberger, 8/12/26

“A top OpenAI executive said Tuesday that the ChatGPT-maker must do more to sell skeptical communities on AI data centers as politicians and voters from both parties grow increasingly hostile to the hubs that are essential for the technology,” E&E News reports. ... The computing facilities are the backbone of America’s fast-growing AI economy and essential for training more advanced models, but in many communities, angry residents are more concerned about potential energy bill hikes and environmental impacts associated with hyperscale AI projects ... Grassroots opposition is increasingly bipartisan and growing, and it’s trickling into policy. New York Democrat Kathy Hochul and Texas Republican Greg Abbott this summer became the first governors to freeze new AI data center projects in their states. Calls for data center construction moratoriums have also become a campaign rallying cry for populist candidates.”

Reuters: Huge oil slick hitting Oman’s shoreline as agencies warn of disaster
Jonathan Saul and Catherine Cartier, 8/12/26

“A vast oil spill from a leaking tanker has started to ​hit Oman’s coastline, its environment agency confirmed on Wednesday, in what threatens to become one of the world’s worst in years after spreading largely unchecked for ‌weeks,” Reuters reports. “The oil could end up impacting 40 km (25 miles) of coast near Ras Madraka as well as Masirah Island, the agency said. The slick now covers an area of more than 2,000 square km, said John Amos, an oil spill specialist who reviewed satellite imagery obtained by Reuters... “It is leaking near an island that is part of an Omani marine nature reserve that is home to wildlife including Arabian Sea humpback whales and ​Socotra cormorants… “A nightmare scenario is there’s no adequate response to keep the worst ‌from happening,” the oil spills specialist Amos, CEO of SkyTruth, a nonprofit organisation aiming to strengthen environmental conservation through the use of satellite images, told Reuters. Amos told Reuters that in this case, the vessel would “continue to break up under the steady onslaught of wind and waves and to lose the entire cargo and that could be a spill upwards of 40 to 50 million gallons.” Amos told Reuters this would rival the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in sheer size.”

CLIMATE FINANCECorporate Knights: Debate over fossil-fuel abatement erupts in climate finance community
Eugene Ellmen, 8/12/26

“A growing number of climate experts and advocates are voicing opposition to a proposal to include oil and gas abatement projects in a forthcoming Canadian sustainable investment framework aimed at attracting billions in new capital to address the climate crisis,” according to Corporate Knights. “The framework, to be known as the Canadian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy, will act as a kind of voluntary rule book for the financial industry. Its chief contribution will be to establish a consensus for activities that are considered acceptable investments under the Paris Agreement on climate change… “The financial industry is looking for sustainable investment guidance on this energy crisis, setting the stage for a debate over the Canadian version of what are now about 50 sustainable finance taxonomies in use or under development around the world. The debate boils down to whether there’s a place for oil and gas in the taxonomy. In April, about 30 climate organisations under the name Credible Taxonomy Canada called for the oil and gas sector to be excluded from the taxonomy to eliminate the possibility the industry could use it as cover to expand fossil-fuel production at a time when the scientific community is calling for it to be phased out. In contrast, the taxonomy planning council has recently proposed that there should be an abatement category aimed at encouraging the oil and gas industry to reduce its carbon emissions.”

OPINION

Journal News: NY needs reliable energy. The Constitution Pipeline can help
Heather Mulligan is president and CEO of The Business Council of New York State, 8/13/26

“This past April, the New York Independent System Operator, or NYISO, the nonprofit that manages the state’s electric grid, warned that the reliability margin for the looming summer months was just 417 megawatts — the lowest margin in recent history,” Heather Mulligan writes for the Journal News. “...This is the new normal in a state that is struggling to reach energy equilibrium, and it is why the governor’s much-repeated “all-of-the-above” strategy needs to include every possible energy generation option to preserve both public health and safety and the state’s economic competitiveness. One concrete step that fits this more pragmatic approach is the Constitution Pipeline — a 125-mile project that would bring enough natural gas from Pennsylvania to New York and New England to meet the needs of roughly 3 million homes, lowering energy costs, generating tax revenue and creating jobs in the process. For years, adding pipeline capacity in New York was considered a nonstarter. But the economic reality has changed… “The Constitution Pipeline would increase deliverability into a constrained region and help reduce the volatility that drives spikes… “New York can and should pursue its climate goals, but it must do so in a way that people can afford and businesses can plan around.”

Colorado Newsline: Coloradans shouldn’t have to pay to clean up abandoned oil wells
Aaron Kindle is the director of sporting advocacy at the National Wildlife Federation. He is a hunter and angler who lives in Salida, 8/12/26

“Coloradans know that public lands can support both a thriving energy economy and world-class wildlife habitat. Our landscapes fuel local economies through energy production while also sustaining elk herds, trout streams, clean drinking water, and the outdoor traditions that define our state. That’s why the Department of the Interior’s proposal to eliminate recently updated oil and gas bonding requirements is such a step in the wrong direction,” Aaron Kindle writes for Colorado Newsline. “At its core, this debate comes down to a simple question: Who should pay to clean up oil and gas wells after production ends? The answer should be obvious. Companies that profit from developing public resources should also be responsible for restoring the land when they’re finished. Taxpayers shouldn’t be left paying the bill because a company walked away or went bankrupt… “Across the country, tens of thousands of abandoned and orphaned oil and gas wells sit idle on the landscape. Many leak methane, contaminate groundwater, fragment wildlife habitat, and create safety hazards for nearby communities. Cleaning them up costs millions of dollars — costs that too often fall on taxpayers instead of the companies that drilled them.. “Public lands are one of Colorado’s greatest assets. They provide clean water for our communities, habitat for wildlife, opportunities for recreation, and economic benefits that extend far beyond the energy sector. They deserve management that balances development with accountability.”

Canada’s National Observer: Carney can’t buy climate cover with pocket change
Adrienne Tanner, 8/13/26

“At the risk of sounding churlish, the federal government’s new $34-million investment in climate change adaptation programs feels more like an insult than a gift,” Adrienne Tanner writes for Canada’s National Observer. “...These sprinklings of cash will no doubt be welcome, but they seem a laughable pittance when you consider the government’s top priority: fast-tracking construction of another pipeline from the Alberta oilsands to the BC coast. For all of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s talk of “decarbonized oil,” make no mistake, if additional oil is extracted from the oilsands, it will add to the world’s carbon pollution load when it is burned. And that same pollution is causing record-hot temperatures and catastrophic fires here at home and worldwide… “This should be a wake-up call for what lies in our future if we don’t stop burning fossil fuels. We’ve known about the dangers for decades… “Yet Carney’s government has placed fossil fuel extraction above all else right now… “It ignores warnings from experts who predict demand for Canada’s hard-to-process crude is about to drop off precipitously and believe oil companies themselves are unlikely to ramp up production… “Yet, instead of massive investment in sustainable energy that would actually help us reduce emissions, Canada’s government is pushing for another pipeline and tossing small amounts of cash at mitigation measures. This may allow people to weather the storms our prime fossil fuel industry causes, but it does nothing to prevent them. There is a disappointing failure of imagination at play here, and I for one expected better from a prime minister who understands all too well the perils of climate change.”

Oil Change International: Our Pain, Their Gain: Tax Big Oil’s $65 Billion War Windfall
8/12/26

“The world’s five largest international oil companies (IOCs) and five largest U.S. independent refiners made over US$65 billion in profits in the second quarter of 2026 as conflicts in the Persian Gulf and Ukraine spiked oil prices and caused refined fuel supply constraints,” according to Oil Change International. “As thousands die in the relentless bombardments of drones and ballistic missiles, the oil and gas industry reaps windfall profits in a year that was looking to be a loser before the bombs started falling… “Trump’s war against Iran, coupled with his policies such as AI and data center promotion, have led to skyrocketing energy prices in the US and globally. As conflict disrupts global oil and gas markets, people around the world pay more for basic needs while oil companies reap billions in windfall profits… “The five major international oil companies (IOCs) recorded massive jumps in profits in Q2 2026 compared to the same quarter of 2025. Their total adjusted net income amounted to $51 billion for the 3 months – that’s nearly $400,000 per minute. Meanwhile, people around the world are paying around 30% more for gasoline and diesel, with some countries, particularly in Southeast Asia, seeing increases of 80% or more… “We know that when oil and gas companies make windfall profits, the world’s richest elites reap the lion’s share… ”There are growing calls from around the world for windfall taxes. In the United States, civil society organizations have called on Congress to stop Big Oil’s war profiteering by implementing a windfall profits tax. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse told the Associated Press, “It’s fair to put a windfall profits tax on inordinate windfall profits rather than cut off children’s food programs.” Whitehouse introduced a bill back in March that would impose a windfall profits excise tax on crude oil and rebate the tax collected back to taxpayers. So far, Congress has not acted… “Now is the time to tax oil and gas profits and use the revenue to alleviate energy poverty in the short term by issuing rebates for low-income families and in the long term by supporting a just transition away from fossil fuels.”