Virginia Senate Bill (SB) 565 has been touted as a sensible law intended to reduce emissions of methane – a supercharged greenhouse gas that is the main component of natural gas, a valuable energy resource.
Cutting methane pollution from oil and gas is critical for safeguarding our climate, and preventing waste of this resource is also crucial for shoring up America’s energy security. U.S. oil and gas operators currently waste $2 billion of gas every year through methane leaks, venting and flaring. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the roiling of global energy markets has shown the importance of keeping these resources in the pipes, rather than our atmosphere.
SB 565, now on the way to Gov. Youngkin’s desk, hopes to achieve these goals in part by creating a category of “low-emission natural gas” that consumers would pay more for with the assurance that it’s less waste-riddled and damaging for the climate.
Unfortunately, many of the certification schemes used to designate “low-emission natural gas” rely on questionable data at best, and some have been found to underestimate emissions by over half.
Rushing forward with this legislation would leave ratepayers across Virginia paying a premium to companies that can’t actually prove their gas is any cleaner or their emissions are any lower. It’s a bad deal for consumers and the climate, and would do nothing to make the U.S. or our allies more energy secure.
Gas without methane pollution should be the standard, not the exception.
But by definition, “differentiated gas” does little to address the gas market as a whole. No matter how well they might eventually be run – and right now they have a way to go – marketing schemes promoting greener natural gas are a niche product and no replacement for concrete regulations to curb emissions.
Stakeholders concerned about the climate, such as investors or utility companies, should be loud and clear with oil and gas companies: producers of oil and gas must demonstrate that they are reducing emissions and holding them at near zero leak rates using the most modern measurement technologies and methodologies.
SB 565 would give its “low-emission natural gas” stamp of approval to companies who may not be pursuing these rigorous standards, highlighting the need for policymakers to slow down before picking winners and losers based on uncertain data.
Ensuring that the natural gas we use to heat our homes or generate electricity is produced without unchecked emissions of methane requires solid data and measurements, but an alarming share of certification programs rely on hypothetical math equations instead.
These “emission factors” are notorious for underestimating emissions, and essentially multiply an assumed amount of pollution by how much gas a company produces or the number of pieces of equipment it operates.
Surveys relying on this method have under-counted emissions by up to 60% – underscoring that while the emissions figures from these methods might look good on paper, they’re entirely removed from what’s happening in the real world.
Relying on this sketchy data also risks encouraging companies to chase down “paper emission reductions,” rather than getting out into the field to measure and reduce the very real pollution from their facilities. Furthermore, oil and gas companies are often able to cherry-pick facilities that they already know are low-emitting for certification, leaving dirtier facilities uncertified and hidden from view.
SB 565 fails to take these issues into account as written. With Virginians increasingly feeling the impacts of climate change – from an eroding coastline to more intense flooding – and seeing the importance of energy security play out on the global stage, the only emission cuts that matter are the ones that actually exist.