Oil companies’ unexpected plan to tackle climate change
Many of the world’s biggest oil companies announced Saturday that they would slash methane emissions from their wells and drilling by more than 80 percent by 2030, an ambitious plan that could help curb runaway global warming.
The unexpected pledge, which could be one of the most consequential results from the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP28, underscores the fossil fuel industry’s profound influence at this year’s talks in Dubai. Sultan Al Jaber — the Emirati oil executive leading COP28 — had pushed for the international pact as a way to demonstrate how petrostates and oil and gas companies can speed the transition to cleaner energy.
Related Knowledge Center: Methane
As the production of natural gas from shale fields has expanded, so have methane emissions. U.S. methane emissions grew 27 percent from 1990 to 2009, according to the Energy Information Administration. Methane contributes about 10 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and is 25 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
Related Knowledge Center: Air emissions
More than 30 years after the last major update of the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Supreme Court has upended the ability of Congress to give the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies broad scope to combat air pollution, including the emission of greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, further Biden administration efforts to limit emissions face opposition in the courts.