Who’s In The Cool Kids Club? — According to Politico, “The White House is holding a summit today on the technologies that companies and regulators will use to solve the methane problem. But the industry facing those regulations — oil and gas — is smarting over not making the guest list. A spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute said in a statement that the organization was ‘disappointed’ oil and gas producers were not invited, arguing they are the industries ‘driving the most reductions in methane emissions.’ Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the American Gas Association, said in a statement ‘it is disappointing that the White House would hold a methane summit without recognizing the progress that continues to be made by the natural gas industry and excludes the very organizations that are driving this progress today and into the future.’ Instead, the invite list from industry are mostly tech companies working on methane detection and reduction, who will participate in the event’s ‘innovation showcase,’ a White House spokesperson told ME. They include Aclima, Honeywell, LongPath, Scientific Aviation, Teledyne FLIR, Carbon Mapper, Bridger Photonics, GHGSat and MethaneSAT.” [Politico, 7/26/23 (=)]
White House Launches Methane Emission Task Force To Boost Leak Detection. According to Reuters, “The Biden administration on Wednesday launched a Cabinet-level task force that will corral federal agencies to use technology to detect leaks of the potent greenhouse gas methane and help federal and local officials enforce methane regulations. The task force was launched at the same the White House is holding its first methane summit, which is gathering federal, state, tribal and local leaders involved in programs targeting methane emissions, as well as companies that have developed methane detection technology like optical gas imaging cameras and satellites. Although short-lived compared with carbon dioxide, methane is 80 times more potent and is responsible for nearly a third of planetary warming so far, making it a target for policy-makers seeking to combat climate change.” [Reuters, 7/25/23 (=)]
Mitigating Climate Change Due to Methane From Natural Gas. According to Yahoo, “In order for natural gas to contribute to the energy transition effectively, it's vital that the industry continue to advance its current work to mitigate methane emissions associated with natural gas production and transmission. Methane is a primary component in natural gas and a contributor to climate change. As one of North America's largest energy infrastructure companies, Enbridge moves about 20% of all natural gas consumed in the U.S. and operates North America's third-largest natural gas utility by customer count, delivering service to about 15 million people in Ontario and Quebec. We believe natural gas has a critical role to play in the transition to a low-carbon economy-both by replacing emissions intensive fuels such as coal and as a reliability-enhancing complement to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.” [Yahoo, 7/25/23 (=)]
Methane Emissions From Biological Sources May Be Higher Than Estimated. According to AZO Clean Tech, “The findings imply that sunlight activates MDSA to produce large amounts of chlorine atoms, which then use photocatalysis to oxidize atmospheric methane and tropospheric ozone. According to the study, MDSA, which is primarily made up of sea salt aerosol from the ocean and wind-borne dust from the Sahara Desert, is the main source of atmospheric chlorine over the North Atlantic. The research is based on a combination of global modeling and laboratory and field observations, including air samples from Barbados that showed seasonal depletion of the stable isotope 13CO, an anomaly that scientists had been puzzled by for two decades.” [AZO Clean Tech, 7/25/23 (=)]