by Maia Draper & Phillip Martin
Transportation accounts for 24% of greenhouse gas emissions in Texas. Throughout the state, areas with the greatest concentration of traffic are often found to be in nonattainment — a designation from the Environmental Protection Agency that pollution levels exceed air quality standards. Texas’ cities can engage in transportation and environmental planning that reduces pollution and improves health outcomes for communities around the state.
Fall is a time for many of us to return to work after a (hopefully) relaxing summer break. For many state environmental regulators across the U.S., this fall is also an opportunity to dive in on the important issue of reducing methane emissions from oil and gas development. That’s why it is very encouraging that across the nation from Wyoming to Pennsylvania (and even in Texas) several states are already hard at work.
The EPA issued new standards to limit oil and gas methane pollution in March that for the first time apply to new and existing wells nationwide. These rules will cut pollution by 80% at covered sources according to EPA’s estimates by requiring a variety of actions like ensuring all wells are inspected regularly for leaks, swapping out polluting devices on wells and phasing out routine flaring at newly drilled wells.
The Posidonia shipping exhibition in Greece put innovation on display, yet what stood out was the industry’s cautious approach to decarbonization, particularly the absence of discussions on lifecycle analysis of marine fuels. This is crucial as we approach the 82nd Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting at the International Maritime Organization in September, where negotiations to account for the full lifecycle of marine fuels will be key to designing measures to achieve essential emissions reductions goals and decarbonize the sector.
Image credit: © European Union, 2024
By Anna Lóránt and Léa Pilsner
The EU is finalising its Delegated Act on Low Carbon Fuels, a critical piece of its hydrogen policy. This is more than just a low-stakes technical step. If done right, it could significantly advance the EU’s decarbonisation agenda, showing the ‘Green Deal in action’. The details matter because this act will lay the foundation for Europe’s hydrogen industry and shape how effectively the EU meets its climate goals.
Post-closure liability management may be a rather obscure part of the burgeoning carbon capture and sequestration , or CCS, industry. But more and more lawmakers and regulators in U.S. states and around the world recognize it’s an important piece of their climate change agenda.
By Lila Harmar and Valerie Miller
The start of summer hurricane season in the Caribbean has only just begun, yet the region has already weathered its first category five tropical storm, Beryl. Beryl caused major damage to homes, power lines and more across the southeast Caribbean, fueled by high temperatures in the Atlantic. The increase of extreme weather events fueled by climate change will continue to have outsized impacts on island nations that often face annual hurricane recovery efforts. Beryl missed Cuba but brought back memories of Ian in 2022, a tropical storm that also rapidly strengthened into a massive hurricane in very little time, causing damage across the region.
