Stay informed

Food and agriculture is a significant contributor to climate change, emitting a whopping 30% of global emissions. That’s why EDF’s Climate Corps graduate fellowship program is launching the Animal Agriculture pilot program during the summer of 2023.

Announced at COP 27, the joint declaration by key natural gas exporters, the United States, Norway and Canada, and importers, the European Union, Japan and Singapore, demonstrates the growing recognition that the supply and demand sides of energy markets must work together to reduce global methane emissions. Methane, the main ingredient of natural gas, is …

Last year, for the first time, EDF and McGill University mapped every existing documented orphan well across our country. Shortly after, Congress passed the Infrastructure and Investment Act, IIJA, which included $4.7 billion to document, plug and remediate orphan wells.  This new funding, secured through EDF’s leadership, provides federal support for the first time for …

By John Rutecki and John Walliser On Nov. 21st, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced his administration would pursue a now-approved emergency rulemaking to finalize long-overdue volatile organic compound and methane rules for the conventional oil and gas industry. Why the need for an emergency rulemaking? Because with no public notice or hearing, Rep. Daryl Metcalfe,

Western and national conservation groups today said the draft U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) methane gas waste rule represents an important first step, but must be strengthened to eliminate the unnecessary waste of public and Tribal resources and protect American taxpayers and communities that depend on public land revenue.

Update: According to the operator, this leak has been plugged. By Adam Peltz and Jon Goldstein A natural gas storage site in Western Pennsylvania has sprung a massive gas leak that’s impacting both the climate and the communities who live in Cambria County.  The leak began Thursday, Nov. 6 at a facility operated by Equitrans …

  It’s no surprise that COP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt closed with few groundbreaking headlines. Going in, we knew it would be  a “working COP” focused on steps to advance the commitments made at previous gatherings. And while some important steps were made on technical issues and a historic agreement on funding arrangements for …

By Ben Hmiel and Jon Goldstein After three years of actively collecting methane emissions data in the Permian Basin, researchers have gained new insights that will make it easier to reduce emissions of the incredibly potent greenhouse gas methane. These insights are helping inform state and federal regulatory approaches at a critical time.  Download the …

In advance of COP27, leaders gathered to pursue high-impact solutions to the climate crisis and the intersection of green business and tech.

A new report published today by Environmental Defense Fund focused on non-operated joint ventures (NOJVs) in the oil and gas industry finds that supermajors’ climate targets to reduce methane emissions only apply to assets they operate directly.

Analysis of supermajors' non-operated joint ventures with state-owned entities shows emissions reporting from these assets remains opaque. This is a significant opportunity for supermajors to raise the bar on methane action and scale emissions reductions quickly.

It’s not an energy transition – it’s a supply increase with an emissions drop. That was the main message from industry at the North American Gas Forum in Washington, D.C. The annual conference, hosted by Energy Dialogues, brings together natural gas interests to discuss where the industry is headed, with perspectives from policymakers and civil …

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. New footage reveals rampant emissions from Canada's oil and gas industry.

The UN just launched a methane detection satellite into space called MARS that will help pinpoint where methane emissions occur and notify stakeholders.

Sarah Vogel, Ph.D., is Senior Vice President, Healthy Communities Cutting methane emissions is one of the fastest, most effective ways to stabilize the climate. It can also improve public health.    Today, 130 countries are committed to cutting methane emissions by 30% by 2030 as part of the Global Methane Pledge. As countries work to meet these …

Citing the overlapping challenges of climate, energy poverty, food security, President Joe Biden today unveiled a suite of actions to support developing countries adapt and build resilience to climate impacts, recommit to global efforts to reduce methane emissions, and create climate-smart food systems.  

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced its latest regulatory proposal to substantially reduce oil and gas methane pollution, which builds on and strengthens the agency’s initial proposal released last November.

Today the Canadian government announced it will make significant improvements to federal regulations that limit methane emissions from the oil and gas sector.

By Scott Seymour and Ari Pottens Canada has set arguably some of the most ambitious goals of any country when it comes to reducing emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane. In addition to joining a global coalition of countries pledging to reduce 30% of their methane emissions, Canada has also vowed to reduce oil …

By Edwin LaMair and Grace Smith The US Congress recently passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 that takes bold action to address the climate crisis and multiple independent analyses show the bill could reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions some 40% below 2005 levels by 2030, providing important support for President Biden’s goal of halving emissions …

  In the fall of 2021, after much effort by EDF and other stakeholders, Congress included $4.7 billion in funding as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, to close as many “orphan” wells as possible, with a focus on leaky wells near communities. Last week, the first of these wells was plugged …

Methane emissions from natural gas gathering pipelines in the U.S. Permian Basin are at least 14 times greater than Environmental Protection Agency national inventory estimates, according to new peer-reviewed research from EDF, Stanford University and the University of Arizona.

A new study out today in the journal Science finds that climate-warming methane emissions from flaring, the practice of burning off gas rather than capturing it for productive use, are five times higher than government estimates — primarily due to unlit and malfunctioning flares. Researchers conclude that flares are combusting at a 91% efficiency rate,

This blog was authored by Alice Alpert, Senior Climate Scientist at EDF. Meaningful methane emission reductions are not only possible—such efforts can potentially have a massive impact on warming. Readily available methods to reduce methane can deliver a whopping 0.25°C of avoided temperature rise by 2050. This year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Farms, ranches and forests can get the U.S. 17% of the way toward the national goal to cut emissions in half by 2030.