Complete list of press releases

(MEXICO CITY) – Thirteen oil and gas producers that comprise the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), including PEMEX, pledged to limit methane emissions across their global operations. The group’s members agreed to cap their methane releases at 0.2 to 0.25 percent of total marketed natural gas by 2025. Pemex is a founding member of OGCI, a CEO-led initiative that unites global oil and gas producers on key climate initiatives to reduce industry’s emissions.

The move by PEMEX comes just two months after the Mexican government issued draft methane regulations. Finalizing these rules are critical to ensuring that all oil and gas companies are operating to the standard PEMEX has committed itself to. An initial EDF analysis suggests that by meeting the OGCI target, PEMEX would likely meet or exceed the requirements of Mexico’s proposed methane rule.

“PEMEX, and the rest of the OGCI producers, are showing real leadership on methane. Taken together, the PEMEX target and the finalization of Mexico’s draft methane regulations will accelerate the modernization of Mexico’s energy industry. This concerted approach to tackling methane can lead to new economic development opportunities and boost the country’s position as a global climate leader.”

• Drew Nelson, International Affairs Director, Energy, EDF

(Washington, D.C. – Sept. 24, 2018) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Geotab today released a new report showcasing how public and commercial fleet vehicles can revolutionize the way air pollution is monitored and measured across the United States. By combining mobile air quality sensors with telematics technologies, the findings suggest that city vehicles in particular could, without changing their regular routes, measure air pollution at a never before seen scale.

“This first-of-its-kind analysis shows how public fleets can transform into urban sensing platforms and become heroes of a cleaner air story,” said Aileen Nowlan, senior manager of EDF+Business and co-author of the report. “Vehicles for animal control, waste management, and public health can play a central role in modernizing air quality monitoring and accelerating our understanding of air pollution. The hyperlocal insights generated by these smart fleets can inform solutions to address the massive health, economic and climate challenges associated with air pollution.”

Air pollution makes tens of millions of people sick each year from cardiac arrest, asthma and other respiratory illnesses – and costs the global economy $225 billion in lost labor income. Recent studies have shown that poor air quality can also have a negative impact on job performance, and vastly increase the number of sick days taken by employees.

The report, “Future Fleets: The Potential for Vehicle Based Pollution Mapping,” notes that air pollution data are currently collected by stationary monitors that are often dispersed miles apart. As a result, experts lack sufficient data to determine the true scale of problems associated with air pollution, which EDF, Aclima, the University of Texas at Austin, and Google’s work in Oakland, California showed can be as much as eight times higher on one end of the block than the other.

“Improving our ability to measure air pollution will improve our ability to manage it – and to improve rapid response rates for air-related public health emergencies,” noted Loren Raun, chief environmental science officer for the Houston Health Department, which is working with EDF test the theory by capturing data using innovative mobile sensors installed on Geotab-enabled health vehicles. “Using vehicles already driving on city roads to collect pollution data in real-time would be a game changer and could help to inform future policies.”

EDF and Geotab, a leading IoT and connected transportation company, conducted the analysis using data generated from over 1.25 million vehicles and evaluated aggregate drive histories to determine the percentage of an urban footprint covered over set periods. Top findings include:

• In small and medium North American cities, a fleet could map 50% or more of the city with just 10 vehicles, and almost 80% of the city with just 20 vehicles.
• Some cities could achieve 65% coverage in three months with just 20 vehicles. Even in just one month, 20 vehicles could attain 45% coverage.
• In Washington, D.C., where there are only five ambient air pollution monitors in the city, the top 20 public vehicles covered almost 70% of the entire city in just 6 months.

“We’re in a time of transition for fleets, where technologies to make vehicles smarter and safer are rampant and cities are on the verge of transitioning to electric transportation systems,” said Mike Branch, VP of data and analytics at Geotab. “If air pollution sensors are factored into that transition, the amount of hyperlocal data at our fingertips would be unprecedented. Telematics also allow insights to be aggregated across multiple fleets while keeping the data anonymous.”

The analysis notes that hyperlocal insights could infuse urgency and inform actions to reduce congestion, support bike infrastructure, and electrify freight as well as shared transportation – not just in Houston, but in cities across the U.S.

“In Los Angeles, we are committed to improving air quality and protecting the health of our communities,” said Lauren Faber O’Connor, chief sustainability officer for the city of Los Angeles. “We are always open to innovative approaches to air monitoring that can offer us new insights into effective policies and initiatives to achieve our goals. With one of the largest electric vehicle fleets in the country, it is exciting to see that this important city asset can be part of the solution.”

The authors suggest that leading companies can also use hyperlocal insights to bridge the gap between their climate commitments and future-ready business models for mobility, decarbonized electricity, and safe, healthy communities.

(NEW YORK) Environmental Defense Fund applauds today’s commitment by 13 of the world’s leading energy producers to limit methane emissions across their global oil and gas operations. The group of industry leaders known as the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) also announced the addition of ExxonMobil, Chevron and Occidental Petroleum.

CEOs from the OGCI companies pledged to limit emissions of the potent greenhouse gas from both oil and gas operations to 0.25 percent of total marketed product by 2025, with a stated ambition of cutting that figure to 0.2 percent. To achieve real, verifiable reductions, however, EDF says companies will need to adopt more robust measurement protocols than the estimates widely used today.

“This is a good strong goal, and these companies deserve real credit for that. The OGCI ambition sets a new bar by which the whole industry will be measured. Ultimately, the true test of leadership is transparency and results. It will be critical now for companies to follow through on their commitment, reporting on progress with actual measured emissions, fully and publicly disclosed.”

“A second challenge for OGCI is the risk that laggards in the industry hide behind their efforts, falsely claiming that the actions of an important few represent what all in the industry are doing. What we’ve learned through hard experience in the US is that voluntary efforts of leaders are no substitute for government policies that level the playing-field for all.”

·        Fred Krupp, EDF President

(RALEIGH, NC) North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality is currently reporting that at least 43 hog manure lagoons are inundated with floodwater, actively overflowing or facing structural breaches. Many farms remain inaccessible, and these numbers are likely to grow until floodwaters recede later this week.

“Hurricane Florence has been devastating for farmers, their neighbors and water quality, and the effects of this flooding will be felt for a long time.

“Flooded hog farms bring back traumatic memories for North Carolinians who experienced Hurricane Floyd and Hurricane Matthew. Solutions exist to break this cycle, but North Carolina and the hog industry must commit to implementing them. Farmers can’t fix this on their own.

“The public and private sectors must fully fund the oversubscribed buyout program that closes manure lagoons in high-risk floodplains. They must also increase investments in lagoon covers and advanced manure management technologies like manure digesters, which have the additional benefits of generating revenue for farmers, creating jobs in rural areas, and reducing the impacts of manure on public health and water quality.

“Unfortunately, hurricanes like Florence and other heavy rain events are becoming the new normal. The state and hog industry have made progress reducing flood risk during the last twenty years, but there’s much more we can do. Recovery from this disaster must include support for communities and farmers to put resilient systems in place.”

• Maggie Monast, Senior Manager for Agricultural Sustainability at Environmental Defense Fund

 

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) Today Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke finalized rules eliminating protections that reduce waste and pollution from oil and gas operations on federal and tribal lands.

“Secretary Zinke is once again putting the interests of the most poorly operated oil and gas companies ahead of the American taxpayer,” said Matt Watson, Associate Vice President for Energy at Environmental Defense Fund. “By his agency’s own analysis, this move will cost more than 299 billion cubic feet in wasted natural gas, representing lost revenue for local needs like roads and schools and more pollution for impacted communities.”

More than $2 billion of American taxpayer owned natural gas has been wasted through leaks or intentional venting and flaring from public lands since 2013. However, instead of moving to cut this waste, Secretary Zinke today finalized a rule that would eliminate key components of standards that address this problem.

At the same time the Trump administration is rolling back the BLM rule, it is attempting to eliminate the EPA methane rule—last week introducing the first of two proposals meant to first weaken and then eliminate EPA’s authority to regulate oil and gas methane. If these proposals were to be successful, the result would be a weak federal framework that would reduce oil and gas methane emissions by no more than about three percent by 2025, according to EDF’s initial analysis.

“At a time when oil and gas is facing heightened competition from cleaner, cheaper fuel sources, dismantling both the EPA and BLM rules is a self-inflicted wound—severely threatening industry’s social license to operate,” said Watson.

Earlier this year, Interior Secretary Zinke heard from more than a half-million Americans opposed to the elimination of the Methane Waste Rule. Stakeholders opposing Secretary Zinke’s action included law professors, faith leaders, tribes, Latino groups, local elected officials, health advocates and others.

A recent Colorado College poll also found that seven in 10 Western voters, including a majority of Republicans, support a strong BLM methane rule.

Zinke’s move also follows an attempt to repeal the BLM methane rule via a Congressional Review Act resolution, which was rejected in May 2017 by a bipartisan group of senators.

In seeking to justify the rollback of the BLM waste rule, Zinke has called it redundant—pointing to EPA methane regulations and state programs. Last week’s actions from the EPA show the cynicism of this claim. BLM has a fiduciary duty to get a fair return for taxpayers when oil and gas companies exploit publicly owned resources, and the BLM rule was specifically designed with that obligation in mind. If the BLM and EPA rules are both eliminated or weakened, Americans will be left with virtually no federal protections from oil and gas methane pollution.

A recent comprehensive scientific study indicates oil and gas methane emissions in the U.S. are 60 percent higher than government estimates—amounting to approximately 13 million metric tons per year, enough gas to fuel 10 million homes.

All legal documents related to prior BLM cases are available on EDF’s website.

(Raleigh, NC – September 18, 2018) – Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today deployed a mobile unit from California-based Entanglement Technologies to measure levels of Hurricane Florence-related pollution in real time.

“People in the Carolinas are going through an incredibly difficult time because of Hurricane Florence, and we are very concerned about their health and safety,” said Elena Craft, EDF’s Senior Health Scientist. “With tens of thousands of homes damaged, it is likely that the storm damaged industrial facilities and waste sites too, increasing the potential risk for exposure to harmful pollution. That is why we are using the tools we have to track this pollution, protect people’s health, and help the region recover.”

Entanglement Technologies designed the technology to provide rapid and precise information on public health risks for emergency responders and people living near chemical plants, coal ash ponds and other potential sources of toxic contamination. EDF used the same technology in the Houston area following the historic flooding of Hurricane Harvey, and discovered alarmingly high levels of cancer-causing benzene that neither the Environmental Protection Agency nor the likely pollution source had revealed.

Entanglement Technologies uses laboratory-grade analysis to identify individual pollutants, including several volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The mobile unit can measure VOCs in both air and water at very low concentrations. The company also will have an instrument with the capacity to test mercury concentrations.

EDF, meanwhile, plans to collaborate with North Carolina- and Texas-based researchers to supplement the organization’s real-time analysis with testing for additional contaminants at nearby labs.   

In the days after Hurricane Harvey, EDF deployed Entanglement Technologies in the southeast Houston neighborhood of Manchester, where the monitoring tool rapidly detected a narrow plume of benzene – roughly as wide as a city block, but invisible to the naked eye. The likely source was Valero Energy Corporation’s Houston refinery, which towers over small houses in the neighborhood. More than 95 percent of residents are people of color and 90 percent low-income. 

The finding prompted the city of Houston to purchase mobile surveillance units to measure pollution releases during future storms. It also led EPA to open an investigation into the benzene leak at Valero – an investigation that continues a year after the event.

(SAN FRANCISCO, CA) Maven’s Notebook, in partnership with Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Stanford’s Program on Water in the West (WitW), launched a new website today at www.groundwaterexchange.org to provide a central hub of science-based information related to California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).

The Groundwater Exchange is a free, collaborative online platform designed to connect water managers, water users and community members with tools and resources to support successful implementation of SGMA.

A webinar featuring a live demonstration of the Groundwater Exchange will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11. To register, visit https://groundwaterexchangewebinar.eventbrite.com.

“Information about SGMA is currently spread across dozens of different websites,” said Christina Babbitt, senior manager of EDF’s California Groundwater Program. “With the Groundwater Exchange, we’re consolidating that information onto one website where communities across California can learn more about the law and become more engaged in issues related to groundwater, which is vitally important to the health and resilience of our state.”

“In addition to consolidating resources, water managers and community members involved in developing the site wanted to be able to share their experience and learning with one another. The Groundwater Exchange has an online forum to meet that need—here users can ask questions, share materials and engage with members of the water community,” added Tara Moran, the WitW Sustainable Groundwater Program lead. “We are really excited to be supporting a broader dialogue within the California water community.”

Groundwater contributes 40 percent of California’s annual water supply in a normal year and more than 60 percent in a dry year, according to the California Department of Water Resources. During the historic drought that ended in 2017, the state’s largest water users—agriculture and cities—over-pumped groundwater, which reduced river flows, caused land to sink faster than ever before, and left many poor communities without access to groundwater.

Prior to passage of SGMA in 2014, groundwater was largely unregulated in California. This historic legislation presents a significant opportunity for California to protect this fundamental resource for future generations.

SGMA led to the creation of more than 250 local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) tasked with developing and implementing plans to bring groundwater conditions into balance by as early as 2040. The California Department of Water Resources has provided substantial SGMA materials to the agencies, but many agencies have limited financial, technical and personnel resources. Moreover, additional SGMA resources have been developed by nonprofits and academic experts.

“Given the complexity of groundwater management, the California Department of Water Resources greatly appreciates the collaborative efforts to develop the Groundwater Exchange, as it will help to ensure SGMA’s success,” said Taryn Ravazzini, the department’s deputy director, special initiatives. “The platform will undoubtedly serve as a valuable forum to promote information exchange among Groundwater Sustainability Agency members, decision-makers and local stakeholders.”

Key features of the Groundwater Exchange include:

• A forum to post questions, start discussions and share materials.
• An introduction to SGMA, including frequently asked questions, publications on public engagement in English and Spanish, and links to organizations that help give community members a voice in water policy and decisions.
• Searchable maps and a basin watch list that alerts users when new information about their basin becomes available.
• A calendar and news section consolidating the latest content related to SGMA from across the Internet.
• Weekly email updates featuring new content on the Groundwater Exchange and upcoming events.

“Sustainably managing groundwater is one of the most important and complex challenges that California will face in the coming decades,” said Andrew Fahlund, senior program officer at the Water Foundation. “The Groundwater Exchange brings together the best people and ideas to achieve this crucial goal.”

“California’s agriculture industry is vital to the production of our ingredients, and we are committed to improving water sustainability in the state,” added Jeff Hanratty, applied sustainability manager at General Mills. “We are proud to support the Groundwater Exchange, which will help water managers implement their Groundwater Sustainability Plans, balancing water needs for people, agriculture and the environment.”

The Groundwater Exchange was created with funding from the Water Foundation, General Mills and the California Department of Water Resources.

To learn more about the Groundwater Exchange, visit www.groundwaterexchange.org.

(TRENTON, NJ – Sept. 17, 2018) The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities today voted in favor of opening the application process for investment solicitations for offshore wind projects of 1,100 megawatts in capacity. This is the largest solicitation of offshore wind capacity to date in the United States, and helps New Jersey get closer to its goal of reaching 3,500 megawatts of offshore wind by 2030.

“Governor Murphy’s leadership is clearing the path to make New Jersey an engine for growth in the clean energy economy. This groundbreaking decision will give the state an edge to dive into an abundant clean energy resource, creating more jobs and cutting harmful pollution.” 

• Mary Barber, Director, New Jersey Clean Energy

(Washington, D.C. – September 17, 2018) The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to refuse help to downwind states will put the health millions of Americans at risk from avoidable smog, according to Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

“EPA’s irresponsible decision to deny these petitions will cause unnecessary risk to the health of millions of Americans,” said EDF Senior Attorney Graham McCahan. “Maryland and Delaware have offered proven and affordable solutions to the problem of dangerous air pollution that is encroaching on them from neighboring states. We’ll keep working to help them – and other downwind states – provide cleaner, safer air for their people.”

EPA announced today that it has denied four petitions from Delaware and one from Maryland asking that the agency uphold its obligations under the Clean Air Act’s “Good Neighbor” safeguards to reduce smog-forming pollution from upwind coal power plants in other states.

Smog is linked to premature deaths, hospitalizations, asthma attacks and long-term lung damage. States that are working to reduce smog are often undermined by dirtier air that blows across their borders – about 70 percent of Maryland’s smog problem originates from air pollution in upwind states, for instance.

Maryland’s Good Neighbor petition asked EPA to require upwind coal plants to operate their already-installed pollution controls during the summer ozone season.

EPA dragged its feet and did not answer the petition for months, compelling Maryland’s Attorney General to file suit. (EDF and a coalition of health, environmental, and Maryland citizens groups also filed suit in support of Maryland.)

On June 13 the U.S. District Court ordered EPA to act on Maryland’s petition. The court was “troubled by EPA’s apparent unwillingness or inability to comply with its mandatory statutory duties within the timeline set by Congress.” (Opinion, page 14). This was the fourth time this year that a court has ordered EPA to stop delaying actions to protect public health from smog.

Today EPA announced that it was rejecting the petitions from both Maryland and Delaware.

EPA claims that it will address the problem through another Clean Air standard – the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule – but the state of Maryland has already outlined that won’t work in its recent comments to the agency.

Maryland’s decades-long efforts to reduce smog and other dangerous pollution in the state has been undermined by 36 coal-fired power plant units in five upwind states – Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. EDF prepared maps showing the pollution and impacts from these coal units – which have already-installed pollution controls but are not being fully operating them.

Power plants in Pennsylvania and West Virginia are significantly contributing to Delaware’s smog problem and making it harder for the state to meet our national smog standard and keep its people safe.

(WASHINGTON, DC) International oil and gas major Royal Dutch Shell today announced a strong, quantifiable target to limit methane emissions to near-zero levels by 2025 from managed assets globally. The goal is stringent, time-bound, and covers both oil and gas side emissions, earning it high marks on this 5-point scale. Shell is the third global producer this year to set a methane reduction goal; BP announced its target in April and ExxonMobil in May. “Shell’s industry-leading target makes clear that the race to near-zero methane emissions is on. Strong commitments like this suggest to investors, governments, and business partners alike that an operator is serious about its positioning in a cleaner energy economy.

“Company leadership on methane does not stop with setting targets. Follow through with good data and transparency are vital – as is leadership in standing up for strong, sensible methane policy that can improve performance across the industry.”

           ·  Ben Ratner, Senior Director, EDF+Business

(SAN FRANCISCO) Gov. Jerry Brown announced today at the close of the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco that the state of California will develop and eventually launch a satellite to track and measure emissions of climate-warming emissions including methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The new effort offers an important complement to Environmental Defense Fund’s MethaneSAT, scheduled for launch in 2021.

An initiative of the California Air Resources Board, the satellite is intended to detect concentrated “point sources” of climate pollutants, monitoring leaks and other anomalies at specific locations where emissions are known to occur. EDF’s MethaneSAT, on the other hand, will provide broader, more frequent coverage, quantifying emissions from oil and gas fields producing at least 80 percent of global output roughly once every four days. It’s designed to quantify total emissions from oil and gas infrastructure and track both known and previously unknown emission sources.

For example, when MethaneSAT waves the red flag about an emissions spike in a given field, the California instrument would then zero in on specific facilities and pinpoint the larger sources. It’s like having two camera lenses — wide angle and telephoto — that together produce a more complete picture of the methane problem.

“This new initiative is a critical part of Governor Brown’s bold commitment to harness leading-edge technology in the fight against climate change,” said EDF President Fred Krupp. “These satellite technologies are part of a new era of environmental innovation that is supercharging our ability to solve problems. They won’t cut emissions by themselves, but they will make invisible pollution visible and generate the transparent, actionable data we need to protect our health, our environment, and our economies.”

EDF experts have been coordinating efforts with the California team. Working together and providing robust, independent data streams, the two missions will produce an unassailable trove of publicly transparent data that enables rapid monitoring of emission rates in key regions around the world. The information, available free of charge to citizens, companies and countries alike, will improve national methane accounting, identify opportunities for companies and countries to make reductions, and help monitor their progress over time.

Click HERE for more background on different methane satellite technologies.

Human-made methane emissions from oil and gas, agriculture, and other sources are responsible for 25 percent of the warming the world is experiencing today. Methane emissions present a key opportunity to slow the rate of warming now, even as the de-carbonization of the world’s energy systems continues. EDF’s goal is to reduce global oil and gas methane emissions 45 percent by 2025. This would deliver the same 20-year benefit to the climate as closing 1300 coal-fired power plants — one-third of all the coal plants in the world. They aim to virtually eliminate oil and gas methane emissions by 2050.

Brown also announced that California plans to work with EDF and others to create a new Climate Data Partnership to serve as a common platform for reporting data from these and other satellite systems studying climate variables and the earth’s atmosphere. By making that information available to companies, governments and the public, the aim is to empower climate advocates and foster the rapid adoption of new, more effective emission reduction efforts by both public and private sector decision makers worldwide.

“The best way to think of these projects is as a set of overlapping circles, like the Olympic rings,” said Tom Ingersoll, the former CEO of Skybox Imaging and Universal Space Network, who is leading EDF’s MethaneSAT project. “Multiple methods of assessing methane emissions lead to a more complete and actionable set of insights than any single method can by itself.”

(SACRAMENTO, CA – Sept. 14, 2018) Governor Brown has signed a series of bills that will further galvanize California’s clean energy transformation, capping a momentous legislative session and final term in office.

“Clean energy and climate protection are winning strategies for a strong economy and healthy planet,” said Lauren Navarro, Senior Policy Manager, California Clean Energy at Environmental Defense Fund. “California’s new commitments raise yet another call for other states and countries to join in. States can’t wait for direction from Washington; they need to take the future of clean energy development into their own hands.”

The package of enactments by Governor Brown and the Legislature include:

• A nation-leading Executive Order (B-55-18) to make California carbon neutral by 2045, while ensuring utilities provide customers with 100 percent carbon-free energy by the same date (SB 100);
• Major initiatives to transition away from fossil fuel use in the building sector by expanding an electrification incentive program (SB 1477);
• Analysis of the emissions-reduction potential from existing buildings (AB 3232); and
• Updated accounting standards for natural gas emissions in California to account for the fuel’s full footprint (AB 2195).
  
  “Governor Brown concluded his final legislative session with a clean energy tour de force,” said Navarro. “The governor and legislature have ensured the state will continue to lead in protecting current and future generations from climate change.”

(Chicago – September 13, 2018) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit today upheld a clean energy policy created by the state of Illinois and reaffirmed states’ right to craft critical energy, environmental, and public health policies for their citizens.

“This is a resounding victory for Illinois, and for all states that are working to transition to clean energy in order to reduce unhealthy air pollution and address the growing threat of climate change,” said EDF Senior Attorney Michael Panfil. “The court recognized Illinois’ fundamental authority to craft a strong clean energy policy – an authority that can provide profound benefits for the health and safety of Illinois families.”

EDF was part of a broad coalition that filed an amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief supporting Illinois’ right to establish its own clean energy policies.

The case is Electric Power Supply Association v. Star. It was previously heard by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, which ruled in favor of Illinois — affirming the state’s public policy authority. Today the Seventh Circuit upheld that decision.

Opponents objected to a state policy that is part of the Illinois Energy Future Jobs Act – an effort to reduce dangerous pollution, create jobs in Illinois, and save families money on their power bills.

The Illinois policy will provide Zero Emission Credits (ZEC) to non-polluting power generators. Opponents argued that it was discriminatory and violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution because it usurped the authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

But the court ruled that:

“The Commerce Clause does not cut the States off from legislating on all subjects relating to the health, life, and safety of their citizens, [just because] the legislation might indirectly affect the commerce of the country” and “because states retain authority over power generation, a state policy that affects price only by increasing the quantity of power available for sale is not preempted by federal law.” (Opinion, pages 8 and 6)

The court went on to say that:           

“The absence of overt discrimination defeats any constitutional challenge to the state’s legislation.” (Opinion, page 9) 

(SAN FRANCISCO) Innovators around the world are developing new satellite technologies to map and measure emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas responsible for about a quarter of the global warming we’re experiencing today. The development comes just as the Trump administration launches a new attack on rules to control this pollution. Friday morning at California’s Global Climate Action Summit, Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp will explain how EDF and others are turning to space-based solutions to drive emissions reductions on Earth, unlocking a crucial avenue for climate protection. 

“MethaneSAT is part of a new wave of environmental innovation that makes invisible problems visible, then helps people solve them,” said Krupp. “Armed with powerful data-gathering technologies, citizens, businesses, universities, local governments, and non-profits like EDF are redefining environmentalism and picking up where the federal government right now is leaving off.”

In an April TED Talk, Krupp announced that EDF is developing MethaneSAT, a compact, purpose-built satellite designed specifically to map and measure methane emissions virtually anywhere on the planet. Data will be available publicly, giving investors, advocates, and the general public a crucial tool to keep industry and regulators focused on reducing emissions.

Progressing Quickly

Now entering into its next major development stage, MethaneSAT will have the ability to measure and map methane emissions from oil and gas fields producing more than 80 percent of global oil and gas production about every four days, quantifying total emissions and tracking both known and previously unknown emission sources. With a wide field of view and low detection threshold, it is designed to measure emissions that other projects have been unable to detect.

Satellite technology is essential for achieving ambitious emission reduction targets. EDF’s goal is to reduce global oil and gas methane emissions 45 percent by 2025. This would deliver the same near-term benefit to the climate as closing 1300 coal-fired power plants — one-third of all the coal plants in the world. The organization aims to virtually eliminate oil and gas methane emissions by 2050.

“Reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry is the fastest, most cost-effective way we have to slow the rate of warming right now — even as we work to rapidly decarbonize our energy system,” said Krupp. “Speed and scale are essential. Satellite data will help companies and governments locate problem sites, identify solutions, and measure progress. And the data will help citizens hold them accountable.”

Other Satellite Efforts

Some methane satellites look at very large areas – thousands of square kilometers – to assess the big picture, while others are being built to take a close-up look at specific point sites. MethaneSAT fills a gap between the two approaches, with the ability to map total emissions from an area with much lower detection thresholds, as well as both known and unknown sources, quantify emissions, and provide regular worldwide monitoring at close intervals.

Other methane satellites include Claire, launched in 2016 by a private company called GHGSAT, which looks at small areas and has a relatively high detection limit. A sister satellite is scheduled to go online next year. Conversely, TROPOMI, launched in 2017 by the European Space Agency, offers global coverage but with lower resolution and a higher detection limit than MethaneSAT.

Each of these systems is designed for a particular purpose, and together they offer excellent synergy. For example, GHGSat could take a close-up look at a particular facility in a region covered by MethaneSAT. Similarly, MethaneSAT might target regions of interest identified by TROPOMI to determine emissions at a finer scale and greater resolution.

“The best way to think of these projects is as a set of overlapping circles, like the Olympic rings,” said Tom Ingersoll, the former CEO of Skybox Imaging and Universal Space Network, who is leading EDF’s MethaneSAT project. “Multiple methods of assessing methane emissions lead to a more complete and actionable set of insights than any single method can by itself.”

At the Global Climate Action Summit today, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), India’s leading manufacturer of utility vehicles and part of the $20.7 billion Mahindra Group, announced its commitment to become a carbon neutral company by 2040. M&M will be working with Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to meet its carbon neutrality commitment. For over 25 years, EDF has combined cutting-edge science, economic expertise and unexpected partnerships to help high-impact companies – including Walmart, KKR and FedEx – transform business as usual in their products, operations, supply chains and advocacy.

“Mahindra is a household name in India and its leadership matters. By pledging to reach carbon neutrality in its operations, Mahindra is sending a clear message that investment in climate-smart growth is good for business. This commitment can unlock collaboration, innovation, and results. 

“Mahindra and Mahindra’s path to its carbon neutrality commitment has been paved with many strong actions on renewable energy and energy efficiency over the years. This experience is exactly what makes bold corporate commitments on climate action possible.

“Climate neutrality is an ambitious goal, and one Environmental Defense Fund wholeheartedly supports. It’s now important to execute and show results, because climate commitments don’t mean much without climate action. 

“EDF hopes to see other companies in fast-growing economies take similar strong steps to put our planet back a path to climate stability.”

•    Richie Ahuja, Senior Director for Global Climate at Environmental Defense Fund.