Energy Exchange

Federal methane rollbacks spark new opposition from 12 major utilities

Backlash continues to grow against the Trump administration’s efforts to deregulate methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. The coalition opposing the Environmental Protection Agency’s rollbacks now includes major oil and gas companies¹, a midstream gas transmission operator, investors representing over $5.5 trillion in assets under management and 12 of the nation’s largest utilities

These utilities, who use natural gas produced by oil and gas companies for electricity generation and delivery to commercial and residential consumers, have expressed strong opposition to the proposed regulations, recognizing national standards as the “foundation” of industry efforts to reduce methane emissions.

The public comment period, which began on Sept. 24, offers downstream energy providers a key opportunity to publicly add their voice to the broad set of stakeholders supporting federal regulation of methane in the oil and gas sector.

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Posted in Methane, Methane regulatons, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

Illinois must take immediate action on the Clean Energy Jobs Act

The Clean Energy Jobs Act is one of Illinois’ biggest opportunities to become a national clean energy leader, but with the fall veto session just four weeks away, its future could be in jeopardy if legislators don’t understand what’s at stake.

The economic, environmental and health benefits of CEJA are innumerable: workforce hubs for clean energy job training; tremendous investments in renewable energy (including in low-income and environmental justice communities); expanded energy efficiency programs; and transportation electrification — to name a few.

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Posted in CEJA, Clean Energy, Illinois / Comments are closed

New bill provides California with a powerful tool to reduce emissions and improve air quality

A new bill (AB 1328) just passed in the California legislature and is awaiting Gov. Newsom’s signature. The bill requires California’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources, in consultation with the California Air Resources Board, to initiate an independent evaluation of the climate and health pollution impacts from idle, deserted and abandoned wells Just like active production sites, these inactive oil and gas wells can leak pollution, affecting communities through climate change and health impacts.

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Posted in Air Quality, California, Methane, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

2019 grades are in: OGCI companies get an “incomplete” for climate action

Earlier this week, the head of EDF’s energy program, Mark Brownstein, asked whether the oil and gas industry was serious about climate and proposed that Monday’s annual CEO meeting of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative companies, which includes BP, Exxon, Shell and others, could provide an answer.

I attended the meeting and listened for a real plan to transition to a low carbon economy. Though there were some bright spots, it was clear that however serious the industry is about climate, it’s not serious enough. If OGCI companies, individually and collectively, are going to demonstrate that industry can be part of the climate solution at the necessary pace and scale, 2020 is going to have to be a big year.

On the positive side, there is widespread agreement among OCGI members that substantial changes must be made to the energy system to reduce emissions. There were also encouraging reports about advances in methane monitoring and stated ambition to accelerate carbon removal technology, whether from the energy system or the atmosphere.

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Posted in Methane, Methane regulatons, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

Zero-emission trucks and buses can improve our climate, clean air future

This week, hundreds of officials from countries, states, cities and companies all over the world are convening in New York to discuss the future of our planet. Among the many solutions being discussed is one that sometimes gets less attention, but holds tremendous opportunity to tackle climate change and clean our air in communities across the globe: zero-emission trucks and buses.

I attended an event hosted by CALSTART where they presented information on their Global Commercial Vehicle Drive to Zero Program. This international initiative focuses on driving market development of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles through partnerships that promote supporting policies and investments. We also heard from leading government and corporate players like the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, FedEx and INGKA (formerly the IKEA Group) on the progress they are making to electrify their fleets. As Angela Hultberg, Head of Sustainable Mobility of INGKA, made clear, we are past the point of making commitments, we need to move to implement.

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Posted in Air Quality, Clean Energy, Electric Vehicles / Comments are closed

Four ways EPA methane rollbacks threaten American natural gas

At the behest of the American Petroleum Institute, the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to eliminate nationwide limits on methane pollution, sending America’s natural gas industry backwards to the days of uncontrolled emissions. This dangerous proposal threatens the climate, the communities living near oil and gas development and the increasingly vulnerable status of American natural gas in a transition to a net-zero carbon emission economy.

Any business depends on four fundamentals to operate successfully: demand from customers, acceptance from society at large, financial capital to invest and talent to do the work. America’s natural gas industry is no different.

Eliminating methane standards would increase risk to each part of this foundation, making this proposed rollback a prime opportunity for risk-conscious executives and investors to speak out this fall.

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Posted in Methane, Methane regulatons / Comments are closed