New Oil and Gas Methane Pact Sets Strong Goal, Raises Bar for Industry; Meeting Voluntary OGCI Pledge Now Requires New Data, Transparent Reporting

(NEW YORK) Environmental Defense Fund applauds today’s commitment by 13 of the world’s leading energy producers to limit methane emissions across their global oil and gas operations. The group of industry leaders known as the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) also announced the addition of ExxonMobil, Chevron and Occidental Petroleum.

CEOs from the OGCI companies pledged to limit emissions of the potent greenhouse gas from both oil and gas operations to 0.25 percent of total marketed product by 2025, with a stated ambition of cutting that figure to 0.2 percent. To achieve real, verifiable reductions, however, EDF says companies will need to adopt more robust measurement protocols than the estimates widely used today.

“This is a good strong goal, and these companies deserve real credit for that. The OGCI ambition sets a new bar by which the whole industry will be measured. Ultimately, the true test of leadership is transparency and results. It will be critical now for companies to follow through on their commitment, reporting on progress with actual measured emissions, fully and publicly disclosed.”

“A second challenge for OGCI is the risk that laggards in the industry hide behind their efforts, falsely claiming that the actions of an important few represent what all in the industry are doing. What we’ve learned through hard experience in the US is that voluntary efforts of leaders are no substitute for government policies that level the playing-field for all.”

·        Fred Krupp, EDF President