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<font size="+2" face="Calibri"><i><b>April </b></i></font><font
size="+2" face="Calibri"><i><b>4, 2024</b></i></font><font
face="Calibri"><br>
</font> <br>
<i>[ important ACTION PLAYBOOK: ]</i><br>
<b>Regulate Methane Emissions</b><br>
Take Action<br>
<br>
<b>1. Find your utility regulators</b><br>
Almost all energy utility companies either purchase or generate
energy from fossil gas. Some operate their own gas-fired power
plants, while others purchase gas-fired electricity to resell in
retail markets. Utility companies are also responsible for
delivering gas directly to homes and commercial buildings for
heating and cooking. <br>
- -
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.naruc.org/about-naruc/our-mission/regulatory-commissions/">https://www.naruc.org/about-naruc/our-mission/regulatory-commissions/</a><br>
Every state has a commission that regulates utilities. These
regulatory bodies come with a variety of names, but most are a
version of Public Utilities Commission or Public Service Commission.
Public utilities commissions (PUCs) play a role in regulating the
natural gas distribution chain regardless of whether utilities are
generating their own electricity. <br>
<br>
To find your state’s utility regulators, open the map below, click
on your state, and keep the tab open displaying your commissioners’
phone numbers. You should see 3–5 commissioners, though a few states
have as many as 7.<br>
- -<br>
<b>2. Call each commissioner</b><br>
Next, give each office number a call. Personalize the script below
for an authentic message (or write your own from scratch!). This
script works no matter what type of utility regulation structure you
have, but feel free to make it more specific using outside research
on your state’s regulatory environment. <br>
<br>
You’ll want to start by identifying your status as a resident of the
state, then make sure to be concise and specific. Be polite, but
don’t be afraid to get personal. There’s no shame in practicing
before you call! The current script should take about 2 minutes to
communicate.<br>
<br>
If they don’t pick up, don’t worry—your voicemail will be
documented. And if you prefer to leave a voicemail rather than talk
to a real person, call after hours.<br>
<br>
📞 Call Script: Methane Regulation<br>
<blockquote>Hello, my name is _______, and I'm a resident of
_________. I'm calling today to express my concerns about methane
pollution from our utilities and to discuss how our Public
Utilities Commission [swap in the correct name] can play a key
role in cleaning up our grid.<br>
<br>
As you’re probably aware, methane has 80X the global warming
effect of carbon dioxide in the short term. It concerns me that
methane leaks from the natural gas supply chain can actually
negate the environmental benefits of using natural gas over coal.
And methane poses a safety hazard due to its explosive potential.
<br>
<br>
As a [parent? resident? scientist? someone who cares about climate
change?], I think it’s imperative that our utilities are held to
the highest possible standards. [ADD A SENTENCE EXPLAINING WHY
CLIMATE ISSUES MATTER TO YOU.]<br>
<br>
I urge you to take stronger action in regulating methane emissions
from utilities, like imposing stricter leak detection standards,
efficiency requirements for aging gas infrastructure, or
rate-setting and rules that help incentivize cleaner sources of
electricity. You can also impose regulations that encourage the
switch from gas heating and cooking to electrification.<br>
<br>
Can the Commission share what steps are currently being taken to
address methane pollution? Please feel free to call me back at
__________ or email me at ____________. Thanks so much for your
time.<br>
</blockquote>
<b>3. Ask a friend to do it, too </b><br>
Network effects are powerful. Persuading friends and family to take
climate action is a crucial step toward changing cultural norms and
making real progress. Now that you’ve contacted your public
utilities commissioners, send a note to a friend along with this
playbook or the Climate Town video and ask them to email their own
regulators. Bonus points if you happen to know someone who has real
clout with their state government and you feel comfortable asking
them. <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.climatechangemakers.org/methane-regulation-all-access?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email">https://www.climatechangemakers.org/methane-regulation-all-access?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email</a><br>
- -<br>
<i>[ Find your commissioner - then call in an anti-methane leak
rant ]</i><br>
<b>National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners</b><br>
Regulatory Commissions <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.naruc.org/about-naruc/our-mission/regulatory-commissions/">https://www.naruc.org/about-naruc/our-mission/regulatory-commissions/</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<br>
<i>[ Reuters ]</i><br>
<b>Citi, JPMorgan, RBC to give new climate metric in deals with New
York City<br>
</b>By Ross Kerber and Mehnaz Yasmin<br>
April 3, 2024 (Reuters)<br>
Citigroup (C.N), opens new tab, JPMorgan (JPM.N), opens new tab and
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) (RY.TO), opens new tab will disclose a
new climate metric under agreements between New York City
Comptroller Brad Lander and the three large North American banks.<br>
Lander, who oversees public retirement assets, said on Wednesday
that the three banks will disclose their ratio of financing for
low-carbon energy projects compared with their financing for fossil
fuel projects...<br>
A JPMorgan spokesperson said the bank found common ground with
Lander on disclosing a clean energy financing ratio, with an
understanding it would take some time and resources to develop a
decision-useful approach...<br>
"We plan to disclose a clean energy supply financing ratio in our
2024 Climate Report as it aligns to our strategic objectives," she
said in an email. "Transparency and advanced disclosures on climate
performance are critical to showing the progress we are making."<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/citi-jpmorgan-rbc-give-new-climate-metric-deals-with-new-york-city-2024-04-03/">https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/citi-jpmorgan-rbc-give-new-climate-metric-deals-with-new-york-city-2024-04-03/</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<i>[ Measuring MeCCO Media and Climate Change Observatory ]</i><br>
<b>Sounding the red alert to the world</b><br>
Issue 87, March 2024<br>
March media coverage of climate change or global warming in
newspapers around the globe went up 10% from February 2024. However,
coverage in March was still down 23% from March 2023 levels. Of
particular note, in March international wire services increased 13%
from the previous month, while radio coverage dropped 3% from the
previous month. Our Media and Climate Change Observatory (MeCCO)
team has detected that the first three months of global print
coverage has seen a drop 20% compared to the first three months of
2023. Figure 1 shows trends in newspaper media coverage at the
global scale – organized into seven geographical regions around the
world – from January 2004 through March 2024.<br>
--
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/icecaps/research/media_coverage/summaries/images/87/figure1.jpg">https://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/icecaps/research/media_coverage/summaries/images/87/figure1.jpg</a><br>
Figure 1. Newspaper media coverage of climate change or global
warming in print sources in seven different regions around the
world, from January 2004 through March 2024.<br>
<br>
At the regional level, March 2024 coverage increased in all regions
from the previous month (except in Africa, which dropped 22%): the
European Union (EU) rose 2%, Latin America shot up 9%, North America
climbed 12%, Asia coverage increased 13% [see Figure 2], and Middle
East and Oceania climate change news each surged 50%.<br>
- -
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/icecaps/research/media_coverage/summaries/images/87/figure2.jpg">https://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/icecaps/research/media_coverage/summaries/images/87/figure2.jpg</a><br>
Most of the world’s oil and gas companies agreed to slash their
methane emissions by more than 80 percent by 2030 at last year’s
COP28 climate conference, and policymakers are working to hold them
to that promise. U.S. regulators proposed steep fines on methane
emissions in January and struck a deal with regulators in Europe,
Japan, South Korea and Australia last year to monitor fossil fuel
companies’ methane emissions. But so far, it’s been hard to track
companies’ progress. There are thousands of oil and gas facilities
around the world with countless pieces of equipment that can leak or
malfunction and release methane, which is odorless and invisible to
the naked eye. Companies and regulators can measure some emissions
by installing methane detectors or using planes or drones to fly
sensors over a facility, but the data is incomplete and hard to
compare between companies. Now, a new generation of satellites, led
by MethaneSAT, promises to give a more complete picture of the oil
and gas industry’s global methane emissions”.<br>
MeCCO | University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309
mecco.colorado.edu<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/icecaps/research/media_coverage/summaries/issue87.html">https://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/icecaps/research/media_coverage/summaries/issue87.html</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<br>
<i>[ few companies doing the worst ]</i><br>
<b>Just 57 companies linked to 80% of greenhouse gas emissions since
2016</b><br>
Analysis reveals many big producers increased output of fossil fuels
and related emissions in seven years after Paris climate deal<br>
<br>
Jonathan Watts Global environment editor<br>
Wed 3 Apr 2024 <br>
A mere 57 oil, gas, coal and cement producers are directly linked to
80% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since the 2016 Paris
climate agreement, a study has shown.<br>
<br>
This powerful cohort of state-controlled corporations and
shareholder-owned multinationals are the leading drivers of the
climate crisis, according to the Carbon Majors Database, which is
compiled by world-renowned researchers.<br>
<br>
Although governments pledged in Paris to cut greenhouse gases, the
analysis reveals that most mega-producers increased their output of
fossil fuels and related emissions in the seven years after that
climate agreement, compared with the seven years before...<br>
- -<br>
In the database of 122 of the world’s biggest historical climate
polluters, the researchers found that 65% of state entities and 55%
of private-sector companies had scaled up production.<br>
During this period, the biggest investor-owned contributor to
emissions was ExxonMobil of the United States, which was linked to
3.6 gigatonnes of CO2 over seven years, or 1.4% of the global total.
Close behind were Shell, BP, Chevron and TotalEnergies, each of
which was associated with at least 1% of global emissions.<br>
<br>
The most striking trend, however, was the surging growth of
emissions related to state and state-owned producers, particularly
in the Asian coal sector.<br>
<br>
This expansion, which has continued since, runs contrary to a stark
warning by the International Energy Agency that no new oil and gas
fields can be opened if the world is to stay within safe limits of
global heating. Climate scientists say global temperatures are
rapidly approaching the lower Paris target of 1.5C above the
pre-industrial era, with potentially dire consequences for people
and the rest of nature.<br>
<br>
“It is morally reprehensible for companies to continue expanding
exploration and production of carbon fuels in the face of knowledge
now for decades that their products are harmful,” said Richard
Heede, who established the Carbon Majors dataset in 2013. “Don’t
blame consumers who have been forced to be reliant on oil and gas
due to government capture by oil and gas companies.”<br>
- -<br>
The Carbon Majors research has helped to change the narrative about
responsibility for the climate crisis by apportioning emissions to
the entities that profit from taking fossil fuels out of the ground
rather than the individuals that later burn and discharge them in
the form of emissions. This ongoing study has been cited in climate
lawsuits and was the basis for the Guardian’s 2019 series, The
Polluters, which named and shamed the 20 companies behind a third of
all carbon emissions.<br>
<br>
The database has now been updated and was relaunched on Thursday on
a dedicated public access website, which is hosted by InfluenceMap.<br>
<br>
It includes a striking comparison between long-term emissions trends
dating back to 1854, and more recent developments since the 2016
Paris deal.<br>
<br>
The historical record encompasses 122 entities linked to 72% of all
the fossil fuel and cement CO2 emissions since the start of the
industrial revolution, which amounts to 1,421 gigatonnes.<br>
<br>
In this long-term analysis, Chinese state coal production accounts
for 14% of historic global C02, the biggest share by far in the
database. This is more than double the proportion of the former
Soviet Union, which is in second place, and more than three times
higher than that of Saudi Aramco, which is in third.<br>
<br>
Then comes the big US companies – Chevron (3%) and ExxonMobil
(2.8%), followed by Russian’s Gazprom and the National Iranian Oil
Company. After that are two investor-owned European firms: BP and
Shell (each with more than 2%) and then Coal India.<br>
<br>
The 21st century rise of Asia becomes apparent when the historical
records are compared with data from 2016-2022. In this recent
period, the China coal share leaps to more than a quarter of all CO2
emission, while Saudi Aramco goes up to nearly 5%. The top 10 in
this modern era is dominated by Chinese and Russian state entities
and filled out with those from India and Iran. Western capitalism
does not appear until the 11th placed ExxonMobil with 1.4%, half of
its historical average.<br>
<br>
The picture may change again in the future. The United States is by
far the world’s biggest oil and gas producer even if operations are
fragmented among many different companies rather than one state
behemoth. President Biden has granted licences to multiple new
exploration projects. Gulf states are also planning to step up their
output.<br>
<br>
ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP and Shell all have net zero emissions
targets, though their definitions of that goal and methods to
achieve it vary. Many of the companies on the list have made some
investments in renewable energy.<br>
<br>
Daan Van Acker, program manager at InfluenceMap, said many of the
entities in the Carbon Majors database were moving in the wrong
direction for climate stability. “InfluenceMap’s new analysis shows
that this group is not slowing down production, with most entities
increasing production after the Paris agreement. This research
provides a crucial link in holding these energy giants to account on
the consequences of their activities.”<br>
<br>
Heede argues that fossil fuel producers have a moral obligation to
pay for the damages they have caused and exacerbated through their
delaying tactics. He cites the proposal made by Mia Mottley, the
prime minister of Barbados, for oil and gas companies to contribute
at least 10 cents in every dollar to a loss and damage fund.<br>
<br>
He was also encouraged by actions to hold fossil fuel firms to
account. As examples, he cited the billboards that sprang up in
Houston, Texas, after a hurricane that declared: “We Know Who Is To
Blame” beside the names of oil companies, or the campaign in Vermont
to create a climate superfund paid for by polluters that would allay
the rising costs from floods, storms and heatwaves.<br>
<br>
“This is a threat to civilisation as we know it,” he said. “If
business as usual continues we won’t have a livable planet for our
children and grandchildren. We must collect political, corporate and
political will to avoid the worst threat that climate change poses.
We can do this.”<br>
<br>
The Guardian approached Exxon, BP, Chevron, Total Energies, Coal
India, Saudi Aramco and Gazprom for comment.<br>
<br>
A spokesperson for Shell said: “Shell is committed to becoming a
net-zero emissions energy business by 2050, a target we believe
supports the more ambitious goal of the Paris agreement to limit
global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. We continue to
make good progress on our climate targets, and by the end of 2023,
we had achieved more than 60% of our target to halve Scope 1 and 2
emissions from our operations by 2030, compared with 2016.”<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/04/just-57-companies-linked-to-80-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-since-2016">https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/04/just-57-companies-linked-to-80-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-since-2016</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<font face="Calibri"> <i>[The news archive - ]</i><br>
<font size="+2"><i><b>April 4, 2002 </b></i></font> <br>
</font>
<p>April 4, 2002: The New York Times reports:<br>
<br>
"President Bush signed an executive order last year that closely
resembles a written recommendation given to the administration two
months earlier by the American Gas Association, according to
documents released by the Bush administration.<br>
<br>
"The executive order called for the creation of an interagency
energy task force to accelerate the time it takes for government
agencies to review corporations' applications for permits for
energy-related projects, like power plants and the exploration of
oil and natural gas on public lands. Mr. Bush signed the order
last May.<br>
<br>
"The language in Mr. Bush's executive order is similar to a
passage in a proposed energy bill sent in March 2001 to the Energy
Department by officials at the American Gas Association, the trade
group that represents large natural gas companies and has given
more than $500,000 to the Republican Party since 1999."<br>
</p>
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