The Latest
All of the most recent updates on fossil fuel industry bailouts.
News Roundups
Oil Titans work with White House, U.S Shale Rushes to Refinance Junk, and More
Daily news headlines about the stimulus and recovery from March 26 2021
News Roundups
House extends PPP, Texas regulator ousted, and more
Weekly news headlines about the stimulus and recovery from March 19, 2021.
News Roundups
Chevron revives Permian target, cleaning up abandoned wells, and more
Weekly news headlines about the stimulus and recovery.
Analysis
Sundance Energy seeks bankruptcy protection after laying off workers and approving executive bonuses
The bailout double-dipper reported a brief spike in employment when obtaining a bailout, raising questions about the truthfulness of its application.
News Roundups
Katie Porter targets Big Oil, private equity chiefs get payouts, and more
Weekly news headlines about the stimulus and recovery.
Analysis
Federal watchdog probes Ted Cruz’s oil bailout lobbying
After a Wall Street Journal investigation citing BailoutWatch, the Inspector General overseeing CARES Act bailouts has subpoenaed Cruz’s office about his efforts to expand bailouts for oil and gas.
Analysis
Dakota Access Pipeline builder Energy Transfer LP making $7B acquisition after tax bailout, mass layoffs
The deal to buy out Enable Midstream Partners after laying off 1,391 workers shows how Texas billionaire Kelcy Warren will use millions in government givebacks.
News Roundups
Is financial regulation the way to deal with climate change? Exxon loses a lot of oil, and more
Weekly news headlines about the stimulus and recovery.
Report
Urgewald: Financial Backers of Global Coal
A groundbreaking report finds that U.S. investors account for 58% of institutional investments in the global coal industry.
Analysis
Bailed-out, bankrupt oil firms pay millions in executive bonuses while laying off workers
Sen. Ted Cruz and other champions of fossil fuel bailouts said sending government funds to fossil fuels would protect workers. But the companies are giving executives bonuses, slashing jobs, and forcing investor losses in court.
Report
Friends of the Earth: Chasing Carbon Unicorns
This report argues that the current definition of net zero creates environmental and social problems through carbon offset markets, and that a shift to "real zero" targets is needed.
News Roundups
COVID's drag on oil, pollution's death toll and more
Weekly news headlines about the stimulus and recovery.
Report
Brookings: How Biden and Congress can use COVID-related corporate stimulus to boost climate resilience
Brookings arges that the U.S. should use pandemic recovery funds to incentivize corporations to better confront their own climate risk exposure.
News Roundups
Oil companies endure brutal 2020, pandemic watchdog probles Mnuchin & Cruz, and more
Weekly news headlines about the stimulus and recovery.
News Roundups
Oil majors' credit ratings under threat from growing climate risks, Bank cop halts Trump rule, and more
Weekly news headlines about the stimulus and recovery.
News Roundups
Biden halts federal drilling, Yellen promises climate team, and more
Weekly news headlines about the stimulus and recovery from Jan 22, 2021.
News Roundups
Fed's rescue helped wealthy most, Trump's ANWR flop a win for climate, and more
Weekly news headlines about the stimulus and recovery from Jan 15, 2021.
News Roundups
Time for America to finally take on Big Oil, Oil executives have mixed expectations for 2021, and More
Weekly news headlines about the stimulus and recovery from Jan 8, 2021.
Report
Haynes & Boone: Oil Patch Bankruptcy Monitor
While only three additional bankruptcies were filed in October, there have now been more than 500 bankruptcies filed in the North American oil and gas industry since 2015.
News Roundups
Republican bid to end virus lending slows relief deal, Fed joins climate network, and more
Weekly news headlines about the stimulus and recovery from Dec 18, 2020.
Analysis
Oil & Gas Dominates in "Main Street" Lending Program
New data shows that 46 fossil fuel companies have received Fed-subsidized loans since July, as the MSLP is set to expire on December 31st.
News Roundups
Mnuchin grilled over clawback, BlackRock vows shareholder votes on climate, and more
Weekly news headlines about the stimulus and recovery from Dec 11, 2020.
Analysis
Oil and gas industry nearly top bailout rolls in Texas
A trade group president says the industry has been devastated by the pandemic
Report
Urgewald: Five Years Lost
On the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, a new report details twelve new fossil fuel projects that would use a significant portion of the remaining carbon budget.
News Roundups
The oil industry is flailing, PPP loan recipients' data reveals troubling patterns, and more
Weekly news headlines about the stimulus and recovery from Dec 4, 2020.
Data
Bailed Out & Propped Up: Double Dippers
At least 66 fossil fuel companies double- or triple-dipped into government stimulus programs during the Coronavirus pandemic
News Roundups
Climate change has hit the U.S. harder than any other G20 country, hundreds of companies that got stimulus aid have failed, and more
Weekly news headlines about the stimulus and recovery from November 20th, 2020.
Data
Bailed Out & Propped Up: Data
Since the Federal Reserve announced the CARES Act stimulus package in late March, fossil fuel companies have received over $110 billion in direct and indirect benefits.
Analysis
Fed’s Fossil Fuel Bailouts Grow to Half Billion as Focus Shifts to Next Steps
The current bailout programs are a political hot potato and policymakers are discussing the next rounds of stimulus. In the meantime, the Fed program designed to prop up midsize fossil fuel companies continues to grow.
News Roundups
Fed acknowledges climate risk, Biden transition rumors, and more
Weekly news headlines about the stimulus and recovery from November 13, 2020.
Data
Bureau of Land Management Bailout of Public Lands Oil and Gas Companies
Over 200 companies that drill on United States public lands received financial benefits from the federal government's Bureau of Land Management. The BLM provided the bailout to oil and gas corporations in the form of royalty rate reductions and lease suspensions.
News Roundups
Climate change is a systemic financial risk, Fed props up the economy, and more
Weekly news headlines about the stimulus and recovery from November 6, 2020.
News Roundups
Exxon cuts 15% of workforce, New York to regulate banks on climate risk, and more
Daily news headlines about the stimulus and recovery from October 30, 2020.
Report
Congressional Oversight Commission: Sixth Report
In its sixth report, the Commission provides updates on government lending programs, and asks for more disclosure transparency from the Fed.
Report
Evergreen Collaborative: Preventing a Climate Crash
The next president can use five tools to rein in climate risk to our financial system and prevent the next economic crash.
Report
House Natural Resources Committee: Dirty Deals
Committee staff detail the major damage done to the environment, economy, and energy supply of the United States during the four years of the Trump administration.
Report
Ceres: Financing a Net-Zero Economy
In an October report, Ceres lays out how banks can discuss and mitigate their climate risk exposure.
Report
Congressional Oversight Commission: Fifth Report
In its fifth report, the Commission discusses the Municipal Liquity Facility and recommends that the SMCCF stop making purchases.
Report
PSS: Are There Offsets to Pandemic Impacts?
During the pandemic, utilities could save customers millions or billions of dollars by refinancing some portion of their existing debt.
Report
GAO: COVID-19 Loans Lack Controls and Are Susceptible to Fraud
The GAO found that the speed with which SBA implemented their pandemic loan programs may have increased their susceptibility to fraud.
Report
SIGPR: Quarterly Report to Congress
In its quarterly report to Congress, SIGPR reports the dollar amount of loans that have thus far been issued under pandemic recovery programs through the Fed and Treasury, and makes two administrative recommendations.
Report
Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis: Prioritizing Wall Street
Subcommittee staff found that the beneficiaries of the Fed's bond purchases during the pandemic have mostly benefitted corporate executives and investors, instead of workers.
Report
S&P Global: Coal in Retreat
The coal industry was already struggling before the pandemic, but the situation has darkened dramatically in recent months.
Report
SIGPR: Initial Report to Congress
In its first report to Congress, the office of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery details its activities, interpreted jurisdiction and two recommendations.
Report
Brookings: Addressing the Other COVID Crisis, Corruption
In a July report, the Brookings Institution explores how COVID-19 oversight authorities might deal with new evidence of corruption from the Trump administration.
Report
Ceres: Blueprint for Responsible Policy Engagement on Climate Change
Ceres offers a blueprint on how companies can establish systems that address climate change as a systemic risk and integrate this understanding into their direct and indirect lobbying on climate policies.
Report
E2+E4: Build Back Better, Faster
A joint report details how a federal stimulus focusing on clean energy can create millions of jobs and restart America’s economy.
Report
IMF: Global Fossil Fuel Subsidies
A 2019 IMF report finds that globally, fossil fuels are subsidized at six percent of the world's GDP, and that the U.S. is the second largest subsidizer.