WASHINGTON – The oil and gas industry is under increasing pressure from investors to reduce its environmental impact. Climate activists are pushing companies like Exxon Mobil to meet the 2016 Paris Agreement and limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.
Exxon released its model for regulating methane and called for tighter regulations from lawmakers on Tuesday in response.
The Bipartisan Policy Center also brought together members of the oil and gas industry and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday to discuss evolving energy infrastructure in the United States. The representatives called on the federal government to designate a nationwide agency that would establish cohesive emissions standards across state lines.
“Concerns the public has about emissions need to be addressed,” said Alan Armstrong, CEO of Williams Companies.
But President Donald Trump’s administration has recently proposed rollbacks to the National Environmental Policy Act, a foundational law that requires environmental impact studies before implementing projects that involve federal funds, such as oil and gas land leases.
The rollbacks make it easier for companies to acquire a permit to construct pipelines and ports for oil extraction and transportation, without consideration of the environmental impact on the land or impact on nearby communities.
Companies like Williams and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are supportive of these rollbacks, arguing the decision-making for emissions standards should happen at the federal level. State climate mandates are “at odds with coherent ecological policy,” said Jason Grumet, president of the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Attempting to follow each state’s climate and environmental laws is difficult when constructing nationwide energy infrastructure, such as a natural gas pipeline, Armstrong said. And natural gas plays a big role in reducing reliance on oil, “and that might not be what people want to hear,” Armstrong said
Natural gas consumption in the United States increased by 3% in 2019, reaching a record of 85 billion cubic feet per day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Because the permitting process under the NEPA is so restrictive, it prohibits natural gas growth, increasing carbon dioxide and methane emissions, Armstrong said. And individual laws in each state compound the problem, panelists argued.
“Mayors and governors keep having their own ideas, which is very inconvenient,” Grumet said.
Colorado has its own ambitious climate goals. Gov. Jared Polis unveiled a road map to get the state to 100% renewable energy by 2040, and signed legislation to decarbonize Colorado’s economy by 90% below 2005 levels by 2050.
Tri-State Generation and Transmission, which supplies electricity to Durango, via La Plata Electric Association, announced last month that it is going to close coal-fired power plants in Colorado and New Mexico by 2030.
But to get to zero emissions, Grumet said a “vastly new national infrastructure is required.” States don’t have the geographic or economic resources to make that happen, and they need “support at the federal policy ecosystem,” Grumet said.
Scaling back NEPA and designating an agency to create and enforce standards at the national level would be better for energy infrastructure and the environment, Armstrong said.
If Colorado reaches zero emissions, but surrounding states don’t, oil and gas companies will relocate across state lines.
However, Grumet said leadership from states like Colorado is critical to push the rest of the country forward, even if they don’t achieve the goals they are proposing.
For some, Polis’ climate goals are not ambitious enough, and the state should be doing more. Members of a youth climate activist group, the Sunrise Movement, occupied Polis’ office in December and demanded an end to fossil fuel extraction in Colorado.
But Polis is focusing on consumer incentives to transition to renewable energy and encourage innovative technology in the state, such as making electric vehicles available for sale in Colorado by the end of 2020.
“Conflict between states and a lack of clear lead agencies assigned to tackle these issues” makes reaching these goals difficult, Armstrong said.
But the Trump administration is not the greatest proponent of climate solutions, Grumet conceded.
“In the absence of federal leadership, states like Colorado have stepped up and are taking action to protect our environment and way of life,” said a spokesperson for Polis on Tuesday. “There could be reasonable changes to NEPA, but undermining the fundamental purposes of the law is not in the best interest of anyone and would further increase the dangers of disasters and other adverse impacts.”
Emily Hayes is a graduate student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern for The Durango Herald.
