WASHINGTON – As President Joe Biden addresses a joint session of Congress, American Exploration and Production Council CEO Anne Bradbury outlined the importance of including the oil and natural gas industry in United States’ efforts to meet their climate goals:
“Climate change is a global challenge, one that can only be successfully addressed through global action. Over the last several years, the US has already reduced emissions more than any other country in the Paris Agreement, due in large part to the increased use of natural gas and our industry’s commitment to innovation and technology.
“Even under the International Energy Agency’s Sustainable Development Scenario, which is fully aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, oil and natural gas are projected to provide nearly half of the world’s energy in 2040.
“If President Biden wants to retain the United States’ leadership in climate action, he should work with the oil and natural gas industry to ensure that growing global demand for energy is met with American oil and gas – rather than with Iranian oil and Russian gas.
“Energy produced here in America is the safest and cleanest in the world, and any actions taken to reduce domestic production only undermines the president’s stated goal of addressing global climate change.
“AXPC is committed to building on the substantial progress achieved by the US oil and gas industry and working with Congress and the Administration to meet the dual challenge of addressing climate change and meeting our global demand for affordable and reliable energy.”
Oil and Natural Gas Industry Innovative Efforts to Reduce Emissions
American oil and gas producers have an irreplaceable role in meeting the challenge of global climate change. AXPC, representing large independent American oil and gas producers, supports innovative, collaborative solutions that lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while meeting the world’s growing need for abundant, low cost, reliable energy. Examples of our industry’s innovative efforts to reduce emissions and address climate change include:
- Methane Reduction Technologies: U.S. independent producers meaningfully reduce methane emissions with new technologies, including: innovative leak detection such as satellite and aircraft based sensors, replacing or upgrading high-emitting components (i.e. pneumatic controllers), enhanced design for new facilities, and investments in infrastructure.
- Hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling: through these technologies, our industry has tapped into our nation’s vast resources of affordable and reliable energy. The dramatic increase in the production of domestic natural gas is the single largest contributor to reducing U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to their lowest level in a generation. Fracking continues to improve, as greater equipment and engine efficiency and improved technologies mean less energy consumption – thus lower air emissions – per unit of energy produced.
- Carbon Capture and Utilization Storage (CCUS): a process by which carbon dioxide is removed from combustion processes, CCUS is “the only group of technologies that contributes both to reducing emissions in key sectors directly and to removing CO2 to balance emissions that are challenging to avoid – a critical part of ‘net’ zero goals,” according to IEA.
- U.S. liquified natural gas (U.S. LNG): this American innovation is one of the best ways to reduce global emissions and ensure that worldwide energy demand is satisfied in a manner that minimizes GHG emissions while maximizing reliability, and cost-efficiency.
About the American Exploration and Production Council:
AXPC is a national trade association representing the largest independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in the United States. We lead the world in the cleanest and safest onshore production of oil and gas, while supporting millions of Americans in high-paying jobs and investing a wealth of resources in our communities. Learn more at https://axpc.org/
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