Oil and gas commission looks at carbon sequestration
In fact, the U.S. still has no cap and trade system for the pollutant. But the United Kingdom and the European Union are going forward with their plans to do both. About 60 people at the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission’s International Committee Monday afternoon heard about what that part of the world is doing on the issue from Paul Lynch, the British Consulate-General in Houston.
Why it’s needed
Lynch said lastest estimates from the International Energy Agency predicts a 45 percent growth in energy demand between 2006 and 2030, with China and India responsible for as much as half of that and most of it coming from expanded use of petroleum products.
At the same time, everyone agrees petroleum reserves are getting more difficult to find and more expensive to produce. The United Kingdom, he noted, agrees that all the available oil and natural gas must be produced to help meet this demand, and that alternative energy sources are needed, too.
And the world must create a low-carbon economy, he said.
A new agency
The United Kingdom, said Lynch, has created a Department of Energy and Climate Change, believing one issue can’t be addressed without addressing the other.
It also is implementing the first mandated cap and trade system for carbon credits, and said the country, based on input from a climate change committee, is working on implementing improved vehicle mileage and pollution standards, and plans to require any new homes built soon to be carbon neutral.
It would be wrong for the nation to adopt the attitude that it should wait to go forward with its plans because it is an insignificant emitter internationally, Lynch added.
“Somebody’s got to show leadership. We think it is our job. The cost is going to be much higher if we wait 50 years to do something instead of doing something now.”
Carbon sequestration in the U.S.
Also on Monday afternoon’s agenda for the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission was a discussion of carbon sequestration programs across the U.S. from its carbon sequestration task force.
Larry Bengal, director of the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission, said the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission wants the nation to create a new framework to regulate carbon dioxide because the industry already knows how to handle and store the gas. It put out a model regulatory agency framework earlier this year. But much work on the effort remains to be done, Bengal said.
Stephen Heare, director of the Drinking Water Protection Division of the EPA, talked with committee members about a proposed rule it agency came out with earlier this year and what’s still needed to put the rule in place. A public comment on the proposed rules should end at the end of this year, he said.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment