{"id":23242,"date":"2024-05-29T12:47:42","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T16:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=23242"},"modified":"2024-05-29T12:47:42","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T16:47:42","slug":"colorado-again-leads-the-way-with-methane-verification-protocol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2024\/05\/29\/colorado-again-leads-the-way-with-methane-verification-protocol\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado again leads the way with methane verification protocol"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Nini Gu<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Developing more accurate emissions inventories with real-world measurement data of oil and gas climate pollution is key to verifying our progress toward addressing climate change.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division achieved a major breakthrough to do just that when it finalized its Greenhouse Gas Intensity Verification Protocol<\/a>, marking the first time a government agency has created a comprehensive framework for measurement, reporting and verification of methane emissions at oil and gas production sites.<\/p>\n

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For far too long methane emissions have been undercounted and underreported<\/a>, making it all the more challenging to cut them without understanding the scale of the problem and what solutions are most urgent to deploy in the field. Our efforts to establish an accurate inventory of methane emissions have been based largely on emissions factors calculations developed in the early 1990s, despite the significant advances in technology and the growth of the methane measurement industry<\/a>.<\/p>\nColorado again leads the way with methane verification protocol <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n

This groundbreaking moment was the result of a thoughtful stakeholder process and it built off of last year\u2019s historic and unanimous adoption of the GHG Intensity Verification Rule \u2014<\/a>\u00a0the first rule in the country to require the use of direct measurement technology to quantify oil and gas methane emissions.<\/p>\n

The GHG Intensity Verification Rule and the requirement for direct measurement fulfilled an obligation of the GHG Intensity Program for Oil and Natural Gas Upstream Segment<\/a>, which established a performance standard limiting the amount of pollution emitted by volume of gas produced for upstream oil and gas operations in 2021. Without quantifiable emissions metrics, Colorado would not be able to assess operators\u2019 compliance with these standards.<\/p>\n

This new protocol outlines instructions for how regulators will implement and how operators will comply with the Verification Rule. In addition to addressing performance standards, direct measurement emissions data will also help Colorado more accurately track its progress towards meeting statutory targets to reduce total climate pollution for the upstream oil and gas sector outlined in House Bill 21-1266<\/a> of 36% by 2025 and 60% by 2030 from 2005 levels. This is a critical milestone toward using real-world empirical data, and one that the APCD can continue to improve and build upon in future years.<\/p>\n

The key elements of the protocol that will help ensure a successful implementation of direct measurement programs are:<\/p>\n