There have been two big announcements about methane during COP28 in Dubai, UAE (see here for a detailed explanation of the climate impacts of methane emissions).
First, a coalition of oil and gas producers announced at COP28 a pledge to stop methane leaks from pipelines and to end routine flaring (a process where excess methane captured during oil production is burned) by 2030.
Second, the Biden Administration announced the finalization of a new methane rule by the Environmental Protection Agency. The new rules ban routine flaring of methane from new wells, require oil and gas producers to monitor equipment for methane leaks, and allow for new remote sensing techniques to monitor emissions of methane from operators known as “super-emitters.” These rules, when implemented and enforced, will keep the U.S. on track to meet its global promise of reducing methane 30% by 2030 and 80% by 2038.
Texans of faith know that we have an obligation to care for each other and be good stewards of the world that God has provided. The final rule announced by the EPA today reflects the Biden Administration’s commitment to combating the climate crisis and protecting public health, as well as the hard work of the faith community and our partners to save lives by reducing emissions of methane and other health-harming pollutants.
Federal regulators are committed to chipping away at the wasteful and harmful practice of routine flaring, and we are proud to be partners in that fight. Now, we turn our attention to Texas regulators, tasked with adopting a strong state plan to implement the new federal rule. This is the right, just, and reasonable way forward for the most vulnerable and impacted communities in our state.
UN Secretary António Guterres said in his address at COP28 that these announcements mean progress, but it is not enough. Much more ambitious goals are required if we are to meet the temperature target of limiting global temperature change to 1.5°C. The pledge says nothing about emissions of greenhouse gasses from other parts of the production process, or from burning fossil fuels for electrical generation.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, limiting warming to 1.5°C would require reaching net zero CO2 emissions globally around 2050 alongside deep reductions in emissions of methane and other greenhouse gasses, a much more ambitious goal.
Alongside these federal and international methane announcements, there is a developing Texas methane story. In November the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality improperly granted a permit for a liquified natural gas export facility under construction in Port Arthur. Liquified natural gas export terminals are facilities where natural gas is condensed into a liquid form, then loaded onto ships for export. Most exported LNG from Texas goes to Europe, where a ban on Russian natural gas means new supply is needed.
Construction on the new terminal is stopped for now, but it is not expected to be a permanent end to the facility. Advocates hope for action against new LNG terminals at the federal level.
Environmental and climate advocates oppose construction of new LNG terminals for several reasons. Methane emitted from the terminals worsen air quality in the vicinity of the facilities, causing respiratory problems in children and vulnerable adults. In the longer term, these terminals mean many more decades of oil and gas expansion, committing us to a devastating amount of future greenhouse gas emissions. Expanding our LNG export capacity is a step in the wrong direction.
The gap between the progress we have made as a global community, the goals we have set, and the scale of the work needed to keep global temperature change within safe limits is enormous. In a panel discussion at COP, Henry Neufeldt of the United Nations Environmental Program Copenhagen Climate Centre reported that emissions have increased, not decreased across the economy in the past year. The world is not at peak emissions, meaning that we continue to increase the amount of emissions we produce each year. Negligible progress has been made on goals set by parties at 2022’s COP in Sharm El-Sheikh. Current global temperature rise stands at 1.2°C. Neufeldt finished by saying the global community has been too slow on climate finance, too slow on planning, and too slow on implementation of climate mitigation strategies, but investing in climate action now will limit costs in the future.
The scale of the work to be done is daunting, but experts say that with global cooperation and decisive action, it is not too late to make the changes needed to limit warming to a safe level. What is required is truly good faith efforts on behalf of all parties, especially the oil and gas industry.