Climate and Clean Air Coalition to work with oil and gas companies to reduce emissions
30 January 2013
More than a dozen Ministers from countries around the world released a statement earlier this week calling for accelerated action to substantially reduce venting, leakage, and flaring of natural gas from oil and gas operations worldwide. Specifically, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition intends to work with leading oil and gas companies to achieve substantial global methane and black carbon emission reductions.
It is estimated that more than 8% of total worldwide natural gas production is lost annually to venting, leakage, and flaring. In addition to US$27 to $63 billion in energy and economic losses, these activities result in nearly two gigatons of CO2 equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions per year, more than 80% of which are methane emissions—making oil and gas operations the second-largest source of global anthropogenic methane emissions behind agriculture.
Flaring releases substantial amounts of black carbon, which is particularly harmful to human health and areas like the Arctic.
The Climate and Clean Air Coalition aims to help companies accelerate and expand voluntary emission reductions where there are cost-effective opportunities to do so, and to showcase progress by companies that are already taking significant action. This effort will build upon and scale-up the achievements of the Natural Gas STAR International Program, the Global Methane Initiative, and the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership.
The Coalition will work with leading oil and gas companies to design collaboratively an initiative that will quickly and meaningfully achieve substantial climate, air quality, health, environmental, operational, and financial benefits. Initial CCAC engagement with interested oil and gas companies is commencing and will accelerate over the coming months. Ministers from additional CCAC countries are also expected to join the effort.
The Coalition, which was launched by six countries and the UN Environment Programme in February 2012, now consists of 28 state partners and other key institutions like the World Bank, and is already acting on several fronts to reduce short-lived climate pollutants such as methane, black carbon, and many hydroflourocarbons (HFCs).
One sure way to reduce emissions is with more clean electrification of all homes, industries, public buildings, vehicles etc.
Clean e-energy can be produced may ways including with hydrokinetic** power generating turbines installed in many rivers. (**called hydroliennes in french)
Two small test units (340 Kw each) have been running in the Saint-Lawrence river for 897 days with '0' downtime hours. Two other units have been tested under fatigue loading for 4484 days. Between 40,000 and 100,000 units of various sizes could be installed in Canadian rivers and produce enough clean e-energy for 20M to 30+M BEVs and replace most oil and NG heating systems.
USA and many other countries could produce a good percentage of their e-energy need that way?
Posted by: HarveyD | 30 January 2013 at 09:39 AM
UN says up to 4.5 million humans die each year due to the particulates from burning fuels.
As the "the second-largest source of global anthropogenic methane", and 'substantial amounts of black carbon", we can only guess how many millions of humans each year are killed by products of the oil and gas industry.
Posted by: mrfixitrick | 30 January 2013 at 01:35 PM
Oil and Gas will participate to protect their own financial interest NOT the environment.
Posted by: HarveyD | 02 February 2013 at 07:34 AM
Lots of flaring going on in the shale fields in the U.S. they could make hydrogen, ammonia and fertilizer out of that, but they would rather flare it.
Posted by: SJC | 04 February 2013 at 08:56 AM