In the energy industry, we’re accustomed to seeing a mixture of government approaches to enacting policy changes — from government encouraging companies’ voluntary actions to implementing legislative and regulatory mandates. There is an important role for both. Our industry should be expected to do its part to ensure energy affordability and reliability and protect public safety and the environment, while government agencies also put requirements in place to help ensure key policy goals are achieved.
We see this dynamic playing out in real time in the natural gas sector, especially as it relates to methane emissions. Methane is natural gas. It heats homes, powers 40 percent of our electrical grid and is a foundational element to our manufacturing economy. Yet, if emitted into the atmosphere unabated, it contributes to global climate change, something we are committed to addressing through our work.
Unfortunately, proposed legislation seeks to impose a new tax on natural gas, instead of implementing policies that would promote emissions reductions.
Each of our organizations are working to further reduce the environmental footprint of the natural gas industry. The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, representing the majority of interstate natural gas transmission pipeline operators in the United States, and Project Canary, a first mover and leader in ESG (environment, sustainability and governance) data analysis, precise monitoring and independent gas certification, approach emissions reduction from different perspectives but share in the same goal: further reduce methane emissions.
