Energy Exchange: Methane Regulations

By Scott Seymour and Ari Pottens Canada has set arguably some of the most ambitious goals of any country when it comes to reducing emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane. In addition to joining a global coalition of countries pledging to reduce 30% of their methane emissions, Canada has also vowed to reduce oil […]

By Erin Murphy and Jevan Yu Methane emissions from natural gas gathering pipelines in the U.S. Permian Basin are at least 14 times greater than Environmental Protection Agency national inventory estimates, according to new peer-reviewed research from EDF, Stanford University and the University of Arizona. Gathering lines transport unprocessed gas from well sites to processing […]

A new study out today in the journal Science finds that climate-warming methane emissions from flaring, the practice of burning off gas rather than capturing it for productive use, are five times higher than government estimates — primarily due to unlit and malfunctioning flares. Researchers conclude that flares are combusting at a 91% efficiency rate, […]

A new EDF map is making it easier to access information about the communities across the country who are impacted by pollution from small oil and gas wells with leak-prone equipment. There are over half a million wells across the country that are producing less than 15 barrels of oil and gas a day. But […]

The last two months have seen encouraging momentum in the effort to tackle emissions of methane — a greenhouse gas that drives over a quarter of current warming — and the practice of flaring, which is a major source of energy waste and methane pollution. Starting with last month’s Major Economies Forum, one of the […]

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent climate change ruling has unfortunately restricted the tools available to EPA in its effort to address climate pollution from power plants. However, it’s also important to recognize that the ruling in no way changed EPA’s longstanding authority and duty to address climate pollution under the Clean Air Act to address […]

By Andrew Howell, CFA It’s annual general meeting season in the U.S. — when shareholders hold companies to account and press management to do better. A record 71 climate-related resolutions will be presented this year at public companies, more than double the number last year. But with a more ambitious suite of resolutions, fewer are […]

By Dan Grossman and Maureen Lackner Getting a comprehensive and accurate picture of the extent of methane emissions from the oil and gas industry is hard. Our scientists have spent much of the last decade detailing deficiencies and inaccuracies in the way companies — and even regulators — estimate emissions, which result in dangerous understatements […]

By Jon Goldstein and Grace Weatherall Reducing the amount of methane emitted from oil and gas infrastructure is among the cheapest and simplest solutions we have to reduce global warming quickly while protecting public health. The Environmental Protection Agency is in the midst of developing rules to curb these emissions from oil and gas producers […]

The public comment period for the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed oil and gas methane rules generated more than 400,000 individual submissions, including many from energy and financial companies that support Biden administration efforts to reduce emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas. However, our analysis of comments from energy and investment companies shows a troubling divide […]

By Jon Goldstein and Ben Tettlebaum With responsibility over one-eighth of the nation’s landmass, the Bureau of Land Management has a lot of important jobs. Chief among them is ensuring federal and tribal lands — and the minerals beneath them — are wisely and responsibly managed on behalf of the public, including U.S. taxpayers and […]

Climate pledges and statements of support from the financial industry ring hollow unless and until firms support public policies that will deliver required emission cuts. That’s at risk of happening now as major asset managers have remained silent on a proposed new Environmental Protection Agency rule requiring oil and gas producers to cut their methane […]

Last week, at the United Nations annual climate conference, Canada joined over 100 other countries pledging to reduce 30% of global methane emissions by the year 2030. Methane is a fast-acting greenhouse gas responsible for over a quarter of human-caused global warming. Reducing methane emissions, along with carbon dioxide, is absolutely critical to limiting global […]

One of the biggest accomplishments from COP26 is the global consensus around the urgent need to reduce methane emissions. More than 100 countries representing more than two-thirds of the global economy promised to collectively reduce 30% of man-made methane emissions by 2030. The agreement follows recent analysis from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which […]

Methane had a major moment on the world’s stage last week at the annual United Nations climate conference when more than 100 countries pledged to reduce global methane emissions by 30% this decade. Not only that, we also saw the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency propose enhanced protections to reduce methane pollution from oil and gas […]

By Edwin LaMair and Grace Smith Last week the Environmental Protection Agency proposed methane standards that will, for the first time, apply to the nation’s nearly one million existing oil and gas wells and other facilities. A critical step that charts a path to major emission cuts. As methane takes the spotlight on the world […]

There’s a common misconception that “marginal” or low-producing wells are nothing more than a marginal problem when it comes to the oil and gas industry’s methane emissions. The reality is that these wells make up about 80% of all active wells in the U.S, over 560,000 in total. These are not the mom-and-pop operations some […]

Over the past two weeks the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board heard from a variety of New Mexicans as they considered newly proposed rules to limit oil and gas air pollution in New Mexico. What was striking over the 10 long days of testimony is just how broad and deep the support for a suite […]

Under Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico has made oil and gas air pollution and methane reductions a focus of regulatory improvements, restoring enforcement teeth to the governor’s Oil Conservation Division and finalizing a strong methane waste rule that bans routine venting and flaring earlier this year. These critical policy efforts will reach a climax […]

Routine flaring in Texas is, well, too routine. It’s wasteful, harmful for health and the climate, and getting permission to burn gas instead of finding a productive use for it is far too easy in our state. Over 1 trillion cubic feet of Texas gas have been vented or flared by operators in the past […]