| Tillerson Keeps it Vague: ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson reconfirmed his belief that greenhouse gas emissions are changing the world’s climate during his Senate confirmation hearing for Secretary of State Wednesday. However, Tillerson wiggled out of elaborating on how severe of a threat he thinks climate change is or providing thoughts on policy solutions. On international action, Tillerson asserted that the US must “[maintain] its seat at the table about how to address the threat of climate change” and mentioned the US was “better served” by staying in the Paris Agreement. Scroll down to the Denier Roundup for full coverage of the hearings. (New York Times $, Washington Post $, The Atlantic, Climate Home, Time, Mother Jones, Climate Central, Nature, Greenwire $. Commentary: Bloomberg, Eric Roston analysis, The Hill, Rush Holt & Tom Wang op-ed.)
As Tillerson Waffles, Exxon Must Show Its Cards: A Massachusetts judge ruled Wednesday that Exxon Mobil must turn over 40 years of documents related to its internal research on climate change to state AG Maura Healey. The decision marks a major victory for Healey and others seeking answers on how much Exxon knew about climate change based on internal scientific research, and how much the company hid from the public and stakeholders. At his Wednesday hearing hours before the judge’s announcement, Tillerson repeatedly backed away from answering questions around the Exxon investigation and called scientists’ ability to predict the effect of increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere “very limited.” (Judge: AP, Reuters, Huffington Post, Fortune, Boston Globe $. Tillerson: CNN Money, Vox, Mashable, ThinkProgress.)
Fossil Fuels Make Guest Appearance at Sessions Hearing: Despite the numerous race-related skeletons in Sen. Jeff Sessions’s closet, some time was spent at his confirmation hearings discussing his various financial ties to the fossil fuel industry and how that might affect his approach to environmental and energy issues as Attorney General. Sessions was questioned on his failure to disclose oil income on land he owns in a national wildlife refuge, first reported this week by the Washington Post. Sessions also waffled back and forth on climate change during his hearing, acknowledging it is “plausible” but questioning “how much is happening and what the reaction would be to it.” Sessions has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from fossil fuel industries and an Alabama Power-owned utility is his largest corporate donor. Next week, the oil and gas parade continues: mark your calendars for EPA chief nominee Scott Pruitt’s confirmation hearing, announced for Wednesday the 18th. (Sessions leases: Motherboard, ThinkProgress Climate change: LA Times $. Utility: Bloomberg, Grist. Pruitt date: Greenwire $. Commentary: The Hill, Judith Browne Dianis, and Erich Pica op-ed.)
New DOE Policy to Strengthen Scientists: Outgoing Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced a new “scientific integrity policy” Wednesday, which may indicate a midnight move from the Obama administration to protect scientists and scientific work from a possibly hostile Trump presidency. “The cornerstone of the scientific integrity policy at DOE,” the eight-page memo reads, “is that all scientists, engineers, or others supported by DOE are free and encouraged to share their scientific findings and views.” While Moniz did not mention Trump or the future administration in his remarks, DOE refused to provide the names of scientists working on climate last month in response to an ominous questionnaire sent by the Trump transition team. (Washington Post $, Politico Pro $, The Verge, E&E $)
A Carbon Sink the Size of New York: New scientific mapping has revealed the world’s largest carbon sink in a peat swamp in the Congo Basin in central Africa. The swamp, measuring larger than New York State, is estimated to contain the equivalent of twenty years worth of US greenhouse gas emissions in carbon – roughly 30 billion tonnes, or 30% of the world’s peatland carbon reserves. Scientists emphasize the need to keep this peat forest intact and protected from agricultural developments in order to keep the massive amount of carbon in the ground. (New York Times $, Washington Post $, Guardian, Reuters, Mashable) |
