How can scientists measure drought impacts? How do they know what’s truly an effect of drought vs. what would have happened anyway in a forest? In episode three of Season Two: Trees Remember, we meet two scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who combine satellite data with computing to discover the math behind forest behavior. They’re figuring out how drought affects a forest's ability to grow—to store carbon—not just during a drought, but years later.
How do scientists gather information from tree rings? In episode two of Season Two: Trees Remember, we take you with us as two scientists gather tree core samples in the forest and then process them into a treasure trove of information about tree memories of past climate. We explain how these scientists use tree rings in a unique way compared to past tree ring studies. And we explore why this team focuses on ecosystems where water is scarce and why that matters for humans.
What is tree memory? And why is one group of curious scientists dedicating years to studying it? In episode one of Season Two: Trees Remember, we answer those questions and explain why understanding tree memory in the Southwest is especially important for understanding humanity’s future.
Throughout this season we have been diving into a central question: Is it time to start calling oil & gas companies energy companies? In the final episode of season 1 of Life in the Greenhouse, we finally arrive at an answer through three interrelated conversations spanning greenhouse gas disclosure regulations, low-carbon transition plans, and the role of oil & gas in international climate negotiations. Thank you for tuning into Life in the Greenhouse!
Show notes
Ross’s Section
SEC Disclosure Law: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/audit/articles/sec-climate-disclosure-guidance.html
SEC disclosure law is held up in court: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/esg/sec-freezes-climate-rules-after-challengers-pushed-for-pause
Legal updates on California’s GHG disclosure bill: https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/2024/02/litigation-updates-on-californias-new-climate-disclosure-laws/
CSRD The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmcgowan/2024/05/01/eu-delays-some-esg-sustainability-reporting-requirements-until-2026/?sh=dd087bc7ceb5
Brandon’s Section
ClimateAction 100 Net-zero indicators: https://www.climateaction100.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Climate-Action-100-Net-Zero-Company-Benchmark-Framework-2.0..pdf
SBTi scope 3 statement from April 2023: https://sciencebasedtargets.org/news/statement-from-the-sbti-board-of-trustees-on-use-of-environmental-attribute-certificates-including-but-not-limited-to-voluntary-carbon-markets-for-abatement-purposes-limited-to-scope-3
SBTi letter from staff in response to scope 3 statement: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/gvjkqr4k4cdtt57qit9s6/SBTi-Staff-Response-to-the-Board-of-Trustees-April-9-Statement.pdf?rlkey=o38yubknqezjqzim44wjtk5fb&e=2&dl=0
Grist article on SBTi scope 3 situation: https://grist.org/accountability/a-climate-pledge-verifier-said-it-would-allow-more-carbon-offsets-its-staff-revolted/
Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor: https://newclimate.org/sites/default/files/2024-04/NewClimate_CCRM2024.pdf
Scope 3 flexibility claim: https://vcmintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Scope-3-Flexibility-Claim-Beta.pdf
PLOS article on oil & gas clean energy claims vs reality: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8849545/pdf/pone.0263596.pdf
IEA data on oil & gas expenditures: https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2023/overview-and-key-findings
Transition Pathway Initiative: https://transitionpathwayinitiative.org/publications/uploads/2024-setting-the-standard-assessing-oil-and-gas-companies-transition-plans
Erica’s Section
COP28 Director-General dismisses criticism of his boss, says summit needs new mindset: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop28-director-general-dismisses-criticism-his-boss-says-summit-needs-new-2023-06-06/
ExxonMobil is suing investors who want faster climate action: https://www.npr.org/2024/02/29/1234358133/exxon-climate-change-oil-fossil-fuels-shareholders-investors-lawsuit
‘A Trojan horse of legitimacy’: Shell launches a ‘climate tech’ startup advertising jobs in oil and gas: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/26/shell-climate-tech-startup-onward-oil-gas-jobs-greenwashing
Carbon offsets have been the center of some high profile scandals over the past few years, but what else is there to these stories? Why does the voluntary carbon market exist and how do we know if carbon offsets are actually making a difference? Tune in to Life in the Greenhouse to learn about all the shades of green in the carbon offset market.
Show Notes:
0:53 ClimeCo: https://shop.climeco.com/offset/air-travel/
3:50 Carbon Accounting, Reporting, and Management Lab at Northern Arizona University: https://carml.rc.nau.edu/about/
10:10 Refrigerant destruction: https://www.recoolit.com/
11:45 Oil derricks in CA: https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/oil-derricks-california-old-photos/
12:26 Over half a million oil derricks in the US: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-29709-3
12:54 Oil well shut down: https://www.carbonpath.io/
18:01 Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market “The 10 Core Carbon Principles”: https://icvcm.org/the-core-carbon-principles/
19:11 Project Protocol: https://ghgprotocol.org/project-protocol
23:37 “In Juneau, Alaska, a carbon offset project that’s actually working” Grist, January 2024 (subtitle: Visiting Alaska is an emissions-heavy prospect. An innovative program has tourists ease that by helping buy heat pumps for locals.)
29:47 The Great Cash-for-Carbon Hustle The New Yorker 10/16/2023, about South Pole (company) and a great history of carbon credits plus the Zimbabwe Kariba project
34:06 Revealed: more than 90% of rainforest carbon offsets by biggest certifier are worthless, analysis shows Guardian 1/18/2023, about studies into Verra, the world's leading offset certifier
37:38 Oil companies relying on carbon offsets: https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/carbon-offsets-2023/companies.html
38:55 Oxy claimed a shipload of crude oil was entirely carbon neutral: https://www.reuters.com/article/climatechange-fossilfuels-offsets-insigh-idINKBN2C31AO/
Countless companies, including fossil fuel companies, have pledged to achieve net zero emissions. This sounds like great news! But there’s more to the story. We’re talking about what net zero really means and how a company could actually get there while explaining the importance of the Science-Based Targets Initiative.
Show Notes:
2:00 The Carbon Accounting, Reporting, and Management Lab (CARML) at Northern Arizona University
8:12 2015 Paris Agreement, relevance to the history of net-zero targets, net-zero targets cover 91% of global economy: Net Zero: A short history
14:50 Net Zero Tracker
16:12 Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi)
20:03 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) special report, “Global Warming of 1.5 ºC”
21:21 SBTi policy on fossil fuel companies
26:21 article about the CO2 pipeline failure in Satartia, Mississippi: “The U.S. is expanding CO2 pipelines. One poisoned town wants you to know its story” from NPR
27:25 ExxonMobil highlighting enhanced oil recovery
27:35 Oxy and net-zero oil
31:05 Net Zero Tracker report Ross references
35:20 List (dashboard) of companies with net-zero targets that the SBTi has validated
35:40 CDP
Extreme Makeover: The Oil and Gas Edition is afoot. The companies we’ve long known as fossil fuel companies are telling us they’re actually energy companies committed to finding solutions to climate change. We’re not so sure, so we’re parsing it out using greenhouse gas accounting and discussing the concept of emission scopes along the way.
Show Notes:
1:40 The Carbon Accounting, Reporting, and Management Lab (CARML) at Northern Arizona University
2:46 “And because we are so dependent on these fossil fuels, we consume A LOT—just take oil for example. Around the world humans burn about 4.2 billion gallons of oil every single day.
4:36 Current concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere measured at Mauna Loa, Hawai’i
6:42 Keeling Curve
12:57 Drilled podcast homepage
18:12 "Most captured CO2 is used in enhanced oil recovery" 2022 IEEFA analysis
18:40 “[T]ools we can use to investigate the question of branding claims vs. reality”
21:53 “For example, burning one gallon of gasoline in a motor vehicle results in about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.” See the EPA’s GHG Emission Factors Hub.
31:35 “Today, we're zooming in on ExxonMobil's recent $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Gas in October 2023.”
35:43 The Climate Registry emission factors (2023)
Climate change is a problem driven by fossil fuels. And yet, companies we’ve long known as producers of fossil fuels are rebranding themselves as key players in the fight against climate change, all while spending billions of dollars exploring for more oil & gas. We’ll spend our first season examining this rebrand using greenhouse gas accounting as our investigative tool.
