Fossil Fuels - Climate Extra

Analysts Expect Major Climate Focus In DOE’s LNG Export Policy Review

Global gas market analysts are expecting the Biden administration’s review of the new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export approval process to focus on the fuel’s climate change effects, compared with prior reviews of whether LNG exports are in “the public interest.” However, they are underscoring that officials must balance such climate considerations with trade and geopolitical concerns amid expectations that Asian countries’ demand for LNG will rise in the coming years. The Energy Department’s (DOE) LNG policy review is considering...

SAB Finalizes Critiques Of Proposed Oil & Gas GHG Reporting Updates

EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) is finalizing its warnings that EPA’s proposed updates to oil and gas sector greenhouse gas reporting requirements could either miss large emissions releases or overestimate the size of the events that are detected, while urging EPA to consider alternatives that could boost accuracy of reported emissions. In what appears to be new language aimed at achieving more accurate reporting, the board’s Jan. 17 final report urges EPA to “convene a group of experts to advise...

DOE Finalizes Closely Watched Efficiency Standards For Gas, Electric Stoves

The Energy Department (DOE) is finalizing first-time energy efficiency standards for electric and gas cooktops, adopting a compromise proposal from environmentalists and appliance manufacturers while also downplaying concerns expressed by gas utilities and Republican lawmakers. Environmental groups are applauding the Jan. 29 rule , though the final standards will impose less stringent requirements than what DOE first proposed in February 2023, especially for gas stoves -- perhaps to quell vocal opposition to the rule from some groups. The regulation would...

DOE Launches Broad Review Of Climate, Other Effects Of LNG Exports

Top Energy Department (DOE) and White House officials are formally launching a broad review of how officials study the climate change and other effects of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export proposals as part of their threshold “public interest” determinations, a move that will pause pending export applications for months amid industry fears of chilled investment in the sector. “As our exports increase, we must review export applications using the most comprehensive, up-to-date analysis of the economic, environmental and national security...

Reports Grapple With ‘Subsidies,’ Tax Revenue Linked To Fossil Fuels

Amid the transition from fossil fuels toward lower-carbon energy sources, environmentalists and other researchers are grappling with various government financial supports for fossil fuel development as well as local tax revenue derived from such projects that energy-dependent communities rely on for basic services. Changes to these revenue flows could ultimately affect the speed and scale of the energy transition -- either by discouraging investment in fossil fuel projects or easing the ability of local economies to recover from reduced production...

Biden Officials Reportedly Pause High-Profile LNG Export Project Decision

The Biden administration reportedly will delay deciding whether to approve a major proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal to assess the project’s effects on climate change, a move that some observers say could also signal delays for other LNG proposals as environmentalists press Biden officials to limit fossil fuel production. The New York Times reports Jan. 24 that the Energy Department (DOE) is “pausing” any decision on the Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) project. Instead, the Times says,...

Draft PHMSA Bill Serves As Proxy For CO2 Pipeline, Methane Leak Debates

Debate over House lawmakers’ draft legislation to reauthorize the federal pipeline agency’s programs is serving as a proxy for major disputes over various agency activities such as its proposed rule addressing methane leaks and an ongoing effort to set safety standards for pipelines carrying carbon dioxide. These debates surfaced during a Jan. 18 House Energy & Commerce climate subcommittee hearing to discuss Republicans’ draft legislation reauthorizing various programs at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The draft bill...

Despite Coal ‘Disappointment,’ U.S. Official Pleased By ‘Strong’ Dubai Deal

A top U.S. climate negotiator says the final agreement at last month’s international climate conference, including its landmark push to “transition” away from fossil fuels, was “much better than expected” even as the deal’s language regarding coal power was “a bit of a disappointment.” Regarding the final agreement at the conference in Dubai, joined by nearly 200 countries, the State Department’s deputy climate envoy Sue Biniaz told a Jan. 17 event hosted by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) that she...

Key Treasury Provision On ‘Blue’ Hydrogen Draws Advocates’ Concern

Environmentalists are criticizing a key aspect of the Treasury Department’s proposed hydrogen tax credit implementing rule, arguing it relies on an assumption that understates methane leaks from natural gas-produced “blue” hydrogen and urging officials to revise the assumption to avoid rewarding high-emissions hydrogen. The concerns contrast with environmental groups’ positive reaction to other provisions in the hydrogen proposal that set out stringent criteria for determining when hydrogen manufacturers generally reliant on production with electricity can qualify for the top tier...

In Response To EPA’s Methane Fee Plan, Oil & Gas Group Seeks Hill Repeal

EPA’s proposal to implement the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) oil and gas sector methane emissions fee is prompting renewed criticism of the underlying policy by the industry, with the American Petroleum Institute (API) ramping up calls for Congress to repeal the levy even as it supports “smart” methane emissions rules. The repeal pitch comes amid little apparent odds of success this year, though it could help to lay a foundation for more viable attempts to scuttle the statutory requirement in...

EPA Floats Methane Fee Proposal, Including Key Exemption Parameters

EPA has released long-awaited proposed implementing rules for the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) methane fee, outlining how to calculate payments by oil and gas facilities, when such payments must be made to the Treasury, and when and how officials would grant several exemptions to the fee required by Congress. Notably, the proposed rule signed Jan. 12 indicates that a crucial exemption would not take effect until EPA has approved all states’ compliance plans for the agency’s just-finalized existing source methane...

Comer Expresses Concern With White House’s Global Coal Commitment

A top House Republican is criticizing the Biden administration’s decision to join a coalition of countries aiming to phase out coal generation, and seeking additional information about the administration’s consultation with environmental groups on the matter. White House climate envoy John Kerry’s “call to ‘stop building new unabated coal power plants’ harms U.S. energy security,” House Oversight & Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) argues in a Jan. 5 letter , noting that coal supplies around 20 percent of the...

Oil Sector Slams Reported DOE Review Of Climate Criteria For LNG Exports

The head of a major oil and gas group is slamming the Energy Department’s (DOE) reported review of its process to consider proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, including the climate change effects of such projects, charging the move could chill investments in exports that help lower global emissions and boost the U.S. economy. “This administration in our view has made a lot of really bad decisions. This might be the worst,” American Petroleum Institute (API) President Mike Sommers told...

Amid Advocates’ Pressure, DOE Weighs Climate Criteria For LNG Exports

Environmentalists are welcoming reports that the Energy Department (DOE) is reassessing its policy for how to weigh climate change factors when reviewing if a plan to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) is in the “public interest,” a process advocates have long criticized because officials have never rejected such a proposal on those grounds. The move comes amid a heightened debate about whether the federal government should more aggressively limit domestic fossil fuel production after countries during last month’s international climate...

House GOP ramps up scrutiny of EPA methane initiatives

House Republicans are ramping up scrutiny of EPA’s various rules to curb oil and gas sector methane emissions, with the House Energy and Commerce Committee scheduling a Jan. 10 environment panel hearing on “EPA methane regulations and programs” that the lawmakers contend will damage the economy and energy independence. The planned hearing comes after EPA early last month released its long-pending final emissions standards for new and existing oil and gas facilities, and after the agency last July proposed updates...

Treasury Pledges Upcoming Rules For Renewable Gas-Produced Hydrogen

The Treasury Department as part of its recent proposal to implement the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) clean hydrogen tax credit is pledging to develop specific rules for encouraging hydrogen production with renewable natural gas (RNG) or “fugitive” methane, seeking input on an array of questions relevant to such emissions accounting. The process comes as Treasury’s late-December proposal for implementing the “section 45V” credit is seen as in line with calls by environmentalists and some in industry for stringent greenhouse gas...

Divided 9th Circuit Lets Stand Panel Ruling Overturning Berkeley Gas Ban

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit is narrowly denying a request for en banc review of a panel ruling that Berkeley’s ban on natural gas hookups to new homes and buildings is preempted by the Energy Policy & Conservation Act (EPCA), setting a precedent that blocks local governments from using such bans as a way to fight climate change. “The matter failed to receive a majority of the votes of the non-recused active judges in favor...

Officials Defer On Domestic Fossil Cuts As Pressure Mounts After COP28

Despite calls from the Dubai climate conference to move away from fossil fuels, the Biden administration is declining to commit to quickly reducing U.S. oil and gas production and exports, talking instead about the transition away from fossil fuels in global terms while focusing its domestic messaging on expanding renewables and other low-carbon technologies. “The U.S. has been continuing to expand a variety of forms of energy production under the president’s leadership, clean energy production is off the charts, and...

EIP Finds Lax Timelines, Mandates In EPA-Approved CCS Monitoring Plans

Environmentalists in a new report are arguing that EPA-approved monitoring plans for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects include major gaps, such as a failure to identify specific timelines for when operators would check for leaks or detail minimum monitoring requirements or methods. “As is, monitoring, reporting, and verification [MRV] plans allow for too much leeway that could lead to inadequate monitoring and allow significant carbon leaks to remain undetected and go unaddressed,” says a Dec. 14 report from the...

GOP Senators Object To EPA’s Oil & Gas Emissions Reporting Proposal

Several Senate Republicans are pressing EPA to reconsider its proposed revisions to greenhouse gas reporting requirements for oil and gas facilities, arguing they would “artificially overestimate” methane emissions and thus companies’ obligations under a looming methane “fee” on excess emissions. The advocacy adds to conflicting input to the agency on its updates to the GHG Reporting Program (GHGRP) that highlights the stakes of the pending revisions, which respond to requirements in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). That law phases in...

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