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Three Climate Leadership Openings Corporate America Can’t Afford to Miss

By Ben Ratner / Published: May 7, 2015

Too much ink has been spilled on the anti-climate furor of the Koch brothers. If we lose on climate, it won’t be because of the Koch brothers or those like them.

It will be because too many potential climate champions from the business community stood quietly on the sidelines at a time when America has attractive policy opportunities to drive down economy-endangering greenhouse gas emissions.

Corporate executives have the savvy to understand the climate change problem and opportunity. They have the incentive to tackle it through smart policy, and the clout to influence politicians and policy makers. Perhaps most importantly, they can inspire each other.

And today, they have a chance to do what they do best: lead. Corporate climate leadership has nothing to do with partisanship – it’s ultimately about business acumen.

For starters, here are three immediate opportunities smart companies won’t want to miss. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Climate, Methane / Comments are closed

While Most Wait for the Federal Government, California May Have Just Broken the Methane Puzzle Wide Open

By Tim O'Connor / Published: April 28, 2015

Methane from oil and gas operations is a serious climate risk, but also a ripe opportunity to make a huge dent in overall greenhouse emissions. This past week, one state took a big, and long-awaited, step to address the challenge.

While we wait for the Environmental Protection Agency to release draft federal methane rules this summer, the California Air Resources Board has just released a draft of the most comprehensive and forward thinking regulations to cut methane pollution from oil and gas yet.

While the April 22 proposal still needs work – such as in the area of how often equipment needs to be inspected and how best to reduce venting associated with well unloading and other activities – it’s a big and fundamental step in the right direction. It has the potential to deliver what the rest of the country needs – comprehensive equipment standards on new and existing sources for both oil and gas operations, and enhanced leak detection and repair requirements across the methane value chain.

But the benefits will be felt closest to home first. Read More »

Also posted in Methane / Read 2 Responses

NERC’s Report is Flawed: We Can Reduce Climate Pollution and Ensure Electric Reliability

By Michael Panfil / Published: April 28, 2015

If reducing climate pollution from power plants were a football game, the U.S. team would be halfway to the goal line while fans were still singing the national anthem.

That is, we have already gotten about halfway to the expected goals of the Clean Power Plan – before the rule is even final.

The Clean Power Plan is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) historic effort to place the first-ever limits on climate pollution from our country’s existing fleet of fossil fuel-fired power plants. When it’s finalized this summer, it’s expected to call for a 30 percent reduction in carbon emissions compared to 2005 levels — but U.S. power plant emissions have already fallen 15 percent compared to 2005 levels.

That’s because renewable energy, energy efficiency resources, and natural gas generation have been steadily deployed and growing for years. Even conservative estimates forecast continued growth of these resources — which makes last week’s report from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) seem really strange.

NERC’s report about the Clean Power Plan’s impacts on electric grid reliability makes predictions that starkly contrast from the progress we’re already seeing.

How did this departure from reality happen? Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Clean Power Plan, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy / Tagged EPA | Comments are closed

Methane Leaks: The Opportunity Paris Climate Negotiators Can’t Afford To Miss

By Drew Nelson / Published: April 24, 2015

When countries meet in Paris for the United Nations climate talks later this year, their representatives will come armed with the best data, research and ideas on how to reach a climate agreement and avert catastrophic climate change.

But a new report from Rhodium Group, commissioned by Environmental Defense Fund, shows that countries have so far been leaving a huge opportunity on the table: methane emissions from oil and gas operations.

Cutting methane can have a dramatic impact

The report shows that the global oil and natural gas industry is leaking a huge amount of climate-harming methane every year. When released into the atmosphere, this methane has the same climate impact as does 40 percent of carbon dioxide from the world’s coal combustion. Read More »

Also posted in General, Methane / Comments are closed

What Texas’ Elected Officials Should Know About House Bill 40

By Scott Anderson / Published: April 23, 2015

The Texas Senate is poised to vote on House Bill 40, new legislation that threatens to gut municipal rules and oversight of oil and gas drilling. The bill, an over-the-top reaction to the Denton fracking ban, stacks the deck in favor of industry and if passed, will undo almost 100 years of local home-rule authority.

That’s a big problem for Texas cities, especially since there seems to be broad misconception about what HB 40 does and doesn’t do. Despite what supporters are saying, this is not a “narrowly tailored” bill, but instead, a complete restructuring of Texas government that will drastically impact a city’s ability to protect the health, public safety and property of Texans who live in areas with heavy drilling activity.

Here are the facts: Read More »

Also posted in Texas / Tagged environment, fracking, policy, Texas Legislature | Comments are closed

The Most Carbon-Efficient Year Ever for America’s Power Industry?

By Gavin Purchas / Published: April 15, 2015

It’s been 60 years in the making and it’s finally here: America’s power generation fleet has changed so much since the 1950s, and especially over the last decade, that the amount of carbon we emit per megawatt-hour of electricity produced has dropped to its lowest point in recorded history.

In fact, 2015 could be the cleanest ever for our power industry, according to a recent report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Two major developments have driven this change:

Renewable energy projects are skyrocketing.

Based on confirmed contracts, renewable energy will hit a record 18.3 gigawatt of new build in 2015. Of that, 9.1 gigawatts will come from solar (an all-time high) and 8.9 gigawatt from wind (third-most ever).

By the end of 2014, renewables (not including hydro power) accounted for 7 percent of electricity generated in the United States. Solar and wind, alone, are expected to account for 60 percent of new capacity in 2015. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Renewable Energy / Read 2 Responses