Oil companies at center of giant push to cut a potent greenhouse gas скачать в хорошем качестве

Oil companies at center of giant push to cut a potent greenhouse gas

The world’s leading oil producers, including those in the United States, are rolling out new plans in Dubai on Saturday to significantly reduce methane from their operations — potentially the most consequential action resulting from the first week of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP28. The effort comes as countries and companies face increasing pressure to act on a greenhouse gas that once was largely ignored but which is actually more than 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide. Negotiations in recent weeks have involved some of the world’s largest oil and industrial companies, banks, and top government officials from the United States and the Middle East pushing for a culmination of deals at the Dubai summit. At COP28 on Saturday, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan detailed final standards to limit methane at U. S. oil and gas wells, a precursor to subsequent announcements. In a proposal first made two years ago, the agency had said it would put about 900,000 new and existing wells under more aggressive requirements for preventing and stopping leaks, a move the oil industry once fought for years but which many leading companies have grown to support or accept. The announcements reflect how the oil and gas industry — long vilified by climate activists — has become central to global climate negotiations, and to this summit in particular. UAE leaders see their host status as a chance to argue that fossil fuel producers are key to addressing climate change, even though their past and ongoing emissions are major drivers of rising temperatures. Because methane is so potent, U. S. officials and climate advocates are focusing on it as one of the fastest ways to limit the acceleration of global warming. If successfully implemented, the initiatives could be a historic climate achievement, supporters say.“If you add it all together, what it amounts to is really momentum building at a time when we really need it,” said Gina McCarthy, who once was President Biden’s top climate adviser and was the first to introduce methane limits on oil and gas operations as EPA administrator under President Barack Obama. “People are ready to rally around an answer.”Global efforts on methane have taken off in recent weeks, including a breakthrough at Sunnylands, Calif., in talks between U. S. climate envoy John F. Kerry and Xie Zhenhua, his counterpart from China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter. China publicly committed for the first time to curbing methane and other greenhouse gases across its economy by 2035. That followed up on its previous announcement to push for new methane monitoring and controls by 2025. The Sunnylands deal included a planned summit on methane and other gases — those that aren’t carbon dioxide — which is scheduled for Saturday at COP28 with the UAE hosts. All data is taken from the source: http://washingtonpost.com Article Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-env... #methane #newssource #newstodayoncnn #newsworldwide #newstodayabc #newstoday #