Biden’s proposal to reduce methane emissions from wells and pipelines to lower the price of the gasoline pump: a brief briefing in Egypt
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — The Biden administration is ramping up efforts to reduce methane emissions, targeting the oil and gas industry for its role in global warming even as President Joe Biden has pressed energy producers for more oil drilling to lower prices at the gasoline pump.
Smaller oil and gas wells produce just a sixth of the nation’s oil and gas, but they account for half of the methane emissions from well sites.
“Our regulatory approach is very aggressive from a timing standpoint and a stringency standpoint,” Regan said at a briefing in Egypt. The old and new rules should be able to prevent more than 80% of the energy waste, about 36 million tons of carbon emissions, he said.
Leakage from wells and pipelines is why former Vice President Al Gore and others call natural gas “a bridge to nowhere.” Gore said in the interview that a 2 to 3% methane leak is equivalent to the climate advantage of methane gas. The wildcatters are not paying attention to the methane leak. You have leaks both in the use and the process ofliquefied natural gas.
Biden accused oil companies of “war profiteering” and had raised the possibility of imposing a windfall tax on energy companies if they don’t boost domestic production.
Besides the EPA rule, the n ew climate and health law approved by Congress in August includes a methane emissions reduction program that would impose a fee on energy producers that exceed a certain level of methane emissions. The fee, set to rise to $1,500 per metric ton of methane, marks the first time the federal government has directly imposed a fee, or tax, on greenhouse gas emissions.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/11/11/1136061205/biden-methane-emissions-epa-rules-climate-change-gas-prices
The Willow Project: Climate Concerns over the Nuclear Oil and Gas Emissions Control Planed by the U.S. Department of Energy and Natural Resources
“We can’t leave half of the problem on the table and expect to get the reductions that we need to get and protect local communities from pollution,” said Jon Goldstein, senior director of regulatory affairs for oil and gas at the Environmental Defense Fund.
The oil industry generally welcomes regulation of methane emissions, but prefers a single national standard.
The American Exploration and Production Council, which represents the largest independent oil and gas companies in the U.S., said it appreciates changes made by EPA as the rule was developed, but still has concerns to make it truly workable. Anne Bradbury, the group’s CEO, said that they would continue to work with the EPA.
The White House has indicated that it may lower the scope of the controversial oil drilling project which has drawn fierce criticism from climate advocates.
The Willow Project is a large and decades-long oil drilling venture that the state of Alaska says will create jobs and boost domestic energy production.
But environmental groups have remained staunchly opposed to it, fearing the effect of the planet-warming carbon pollution from the hundreds of millions of barrels of oil it would produce. Young voters have taken to social media to oppose the proposal, with posts that have earned them tens of millions of views. A petition is on Change.org that wants to stop the willow project.
The project would create enough oil to emit 9.2 million metric tons of carbon pollution a year, which would add 2 million gas-powered cars to the roads. Climate groups claim that it will release hundreds of million of metric tons of carbon pollution over the course of 30 years, making it the most polluted country in the world.
According to two people with knowledge of the plans, the Biden administration is looking to reduce the number of approved drilling pads from three to two in a bid to alleviate the criticism.
The White House is considering cutting the most sensitive drill site, according to a source. The final environmental impact statement was filled with details about how the project will affect the environment, and how it will mitigate carbon emissions.
“I don’t see people rejoicing in the climate community over any amount of drill pads being opened up in the petroleum reserve,” one climate advocate who has been engaged with the White House in recent weeks told CNN.
Alaska had two Republican senators on Wednesday. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, the first Alaska Native in Congress, slammed the idea of reducing drill pads to appease environmental groups.
“If they go to two pads, we have told them we will view it 100% as a full denial,” Sullivan said. “Conoco has made it clear it would not be economically viable, and we have warned the White House: Don’t try to be cute.”
No matter where the administration ultimately lands on the massive oil project, it could face lawsuits from multiple sides that could hold the project up further.
The group Earthjustice is preparing a lawsuit against the project if it is approved. Legal options could be pursued if the drill pad sites are reduced. Dennis Nuss said that the company is waiting to see a final decision on the project before sharing their next steps.
Tiernan Sittenfeld’s Climate Campaign Against the Biden-Hopf Oil Spill: Why the Alaska Natives Are Emboldered
TheWillow project is a big deal for climate groups because it symbolizes a new kind of win in Congress.
LCV’s senior vice President of government affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld told CNN that their group was not in negotiations with the Biden administration for a reduced number of drill pads.
“It clearly flies in the face of both his incredible climate accomplishments to date and his goal of cutting climate pollution in half by 2030,” Sittenfeld said. “Such significant swaths of the coalition that supports him are deeply opposed, and we’re seeing that this is incredibly galvanizing for young people.”
The co-founder and executive director of a group that focuses on climate and clean energy said that there is a specific thing occurring in a physical place. A single new voter will not approve the biggest American oil spill on public lands.
The project is dividing Alaska Natives. While the project has been opposed by the village of Nuiqsut, it has gotten support from other Alaska Native tribes and officials who want the jobs and revenue the project could bring.
When it comes to environment justice and protecting the environment, Alaska Natives are part of that, according to a state lawmaker. We want to make sure that everyone involved in the decision-making process keeps that in mind.
The project will likely get a final decision next week. The final decision on Willow rests with Haaland, according to the White House press secretary. Lawmakers and environmental advocates believe the White House will be the final authority on whether to approve the project.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/02/politics/willow-project-petition-concessions-biden-climate/index.html
On the equivalence between the democrats and the conservatives in the war of 1897–1910: an interview with Lisa Murkowski
In an interview with CNN, Lisa Murkowski stated that she has been a Republican with the administration. “Cooperation goes both ways.”