At Global Summit United States, Canada Pledge To Address Climate Change

At the COP26 Summit last week, the United States and Canada made several new commitments aimed at addressing climate change.

With 20 other countries, the United States and Canada both pledged to stop public financing for fossil fuel projects abroad by the end of 2022, and steer to their spending into clean energy instead. That agreement is focused exclusively on “unabated” oil and gas operations, meaning those with carbon capture technology would still be eligible for public funds.

Then, with more than 40 other countries, Canada pledged to end its reliance on coal-fired power. The United States did not sign on to this commitment, which calls for major economies to end their coal use within 20 years.

Finally, with more than 100 countries, both the United States and Canada signed a pledge to reduce global methane emissions by 30 percent by the end of the decade. The Biden administration preceded those remarks by announcing a series of actions aimed at reducing methane. Those efforts include:

• A new Environmental Protection Agency rule that would reduce methane emissions from the entities it regulates by 74 percent compared 2005 levels. The draft rule is available here.
• Requiring states to develop guidelines that restrict the release or burn off of excess gas, or processes known as venting and flaring.
• Ensuring that companies operating oil or gas wells estimated to emit more than three tons of methane annually search for leaks every two months and fix any found.
• Requiring new oil and gas facilities to include technology that reduces emissions.
• Exploring a community mentoring program under that would allow the public to find and report large emission events.
• Implementing mechanisms to disincentive the release or burning of excess gas by proposing a regulation requiring oil and gas drillers to pay fees to the government for what is released or burned off.
• Requiring pipeline operators to cut methane leaks.

The oil and gas industry generally appears supportive of the new rules. Additionally, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce praised the efforts. Read more here.

The National Association of Manufacturers said the rules have the potential to impact directly regulated companies, technology manufacturers, downstream users of natural gas, and other industry sectors facing future greenhouse gas regulations.