Last week, EPA Administrator Regan announced final standards to cut methane and harmful local air pollution from both new and existing facilities in the oil and gas industry.
Diverse stakeholders ranging from major oil-producing states like New Mexico to tribal air agencies to oil and gas producers and methane mitigation companies have all voiced support for the final standards.
By Istvan Bart, Climate Director
Last week, Virgin Atlantic became the first commercial airline to fly across the Atlantic ocean using 100% sustainable aviation fuels , demonstrating the incredible potential of clean, alternative fuels for flight. We need more planes flying on SAF, because if aviation were a country, it would be one of the world’s top 10 sources of greenhouse gas pollution.
Among the announcements expected at the COP28 climate talks in Dubai is a new industry standard for assessing the climate impacts of hydrogen, to be unveiled by the International Standards Organization. These standards could very quickly become the starting point for a cascade of other rules and regulations at national and state levels which set the path for how hydrogen is produced. If done well, we will have a playbook for how hydrogen deployment will help us achieve climate neutrality by 2050. But done poorly, we risk wasting money and increasingly precious time to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Last week, the third Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels, also known as CAAF/3, hosted by the International Civil Aviation Organization — the United Nations agency charged with international aviation cooperation — committed to a more sustainable future for global aviation by adopting the new ICAO Global Framework for Cleaner Fuels. This development builds on ICAO 2022 General Assembly’s adoption of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
By Dana G. Rodriguez and Dr. Charlie McKinlay
As global policies to advance the decarbonisation of shipping are to be implemented in the coming years, ports will play an important role in the transition, serving as key hubs for transport and energy systems. But ports are also home to large and diverse communities with their own unique local environmental impacts. While we strongly support first mover initiatives, such as green corridors and energy hubs, that are designed to play an important role in unlocking investments and scaling up fuels and technologies, we also want to ensure that the local socio-economic and environmental factors are more intentionally considered in the development of these hubs. If done right, inclusive and sustainable co-benefits for communities and the environment may be achieved, while also delivering emissions reductions globally.
Freight transport in Europe accounts for only 2% of vehicles on the road but is responsible for 22% of all road transport climate pollution in the EU. With e-commerce on the rise, construction booming, waste generation increasing and grocery delivery expanding, the need for urban freight plans and policies is growing.
