EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 9/13/21
PIPELINE NEWS
The Progressive Magazine: U.S. Representatives Visit Line 3 and Call on Biden to Shut it Down
CBC: Treetop activists fear removal after Trans Mountain erects fences, cuts trees
Burnaby Now: Protesters try to block Burnaby trees from being cut down by chainsaws
Nation of Change: Indigenous resistance instrumental in stopping high-profile fossil fuel projects, says report
Resilience.org: Standing Rock is Everywhere: The Indigenous Heart of the Climate Change Fight
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Politico Morning Energy: PHILLIPS GETS THE FERC NOD
E&E News: Biden’s FERC pick may be a tipping point on clean energy
E&E News: Oil lobby targets Democrats in fight against tax plan
Reuters: U.S. House panel passes reconciliation bill protecting Arctic reserve from drilling
STATE UPDATES
Union of Concerned Scientists: New Analysis Finds Climate Change Worsens Harmful Ozone Levels in Colorado’s Front Range
EXTRACTION
Reuters: Desjardins raising up to C$500 mln for carbon capture tech
Journal of Petroleum Technology: Exxon Begins Process To Certify Emissions Efforts in the Permian Basin
RESEARCH & SCIENCE
S&P Global: US oil, gas partnership says members flared 50% less gas from wells in 2020
Texas Monthly: Fracking to a Clean Energy Future
CLIMATE FINANCE
Reuters: Offshore operators face big Ida losses as insurers trim cover
OPINION
Commonwealth Magazine: It’s now or never on addressing climate crisis
Financial Review: Why oil and gas stocks are a bargain
Colorado Sun: Colorado’s leadership on methane control is reducing greenhouse gases — and increasing jobs
PIPELINE NEWS
The Progressive Magazine: U.S. Representatives Visit Line 3 and Call on Biden to Shut it Down
BY TINA GERHARDT, 9/9/21
“On September 3, Representatives Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota; Cori Bush Democrat of Missouri; Ayanna Pressley, Democrat of Massachusetts; and Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan, held a press conference in Minneapolis calling on President Joe Biden to shut down the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline, which would transfer oil from Alberta, Canada, to Superior, Wisconsin,” The Progressive Magazine reports. “President Biden has the opportunity, and the responsibility in making good on his word to be the climate President, and must direct the Army Corps of Engineers to revoke the permit for Line 3. The voices of Indigenous people are often not prioritized,” Omar said. “We want this issue to be elevated and for it to be important enough for the President to take action.” On August 30, Omar, along with sixty-three other elected officials, sent a letter to Biden calling on him to take action against Line 3. At a roundtable on September 4, the Representatives and tribal leaders discussed the treaty violations and lack of tribal consent associated with Line 3. Afterward, they visited the Mississippi Headwaters and learned about the pipeline’s impacts on land and water from Indigenous leaders. “Enbridge can’t be trusted in Michigan, and it can’t be trusted here in Minnesota either,” Tlaib said, referencing Enbridge Line 5 in Michigan. In 2010, Enbridge created a massive oil spill in the state.
CBC: Treetop activists fear removal after Trans Mountain erects fences, cuts trees
Akshay Kulkarni, 9/10/21
“Activists aiming to stop the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in Burnaby say they fear being removed against their will after crews put up fencing and cut down trees in their vicinity on Tuesday and Wednesday,” CBC reports. “For more than a year, protesters have been occupying treetops in the Brunette River Conservation Area, which sits on the path of the planned expansion to the existing 1,150-kilometre pipeline. They say recent moves from Trans Mountain leave them worried their treetop vigil might be coming to an end. "They're sending a lot of workers on the ground to fence off these trees and to have them very isolated from our supporters that bring us food and bring in supplies every day," Timothée Govare, who has spent more than 100 days in the tree houses as part of the protest, told CBC. Govare says workers have also been cutting down trees a few metres from the protesters, and that he anticipates they will use heavy machinery in the coming days to "extract" them. "I think they're prepping for a siege. I think they will use their cherry-picker and get us out of here before we run out of food," he told CBC… “A recent report from West Coast Environmental Law projected that the expansion would be delayed into 2023, past its expected completion in December 2022… “According to the report, the cost may exceed $20 billion with the delays. It called for the next federal government to provide a transparent cost analysis of the project. “
Burnaby Now: Protesters try to block Burnaby trees from being cut down by chainsaws
Chris Campbell, 9/9/21
“Several peaceful protesters are blocking the path of Trans Mountain workers in Burnaby today (Thursday), with a goal of stopping the cutting of some of the 1,300 trees slated to fall to make way for the pipeline near the Brunette River,” Burnaby Now reports. “This action follows one person being arrested on Wednesday for blocking the path of machinery on North Road on the Burnaby-New Westminster border. “Land defenders fear for the safety of the tree sitters, whose platforms are close to trees now being felled,” said a news release as protesters aim to lend their support to those who are occupying trees in a nearby Burnaby forest. “In a prayerful action yesterday, Janette McIntosh, Presbyterian (ecumenical and interfaith justice initiatives) was arrested by RCMP for refusing to move from her seat,” said a news release. In a statement, she said, “We are in a climate emergency, so why is business carrying on as usual? Why the disconnect? Why insist on old ways based on failed economic models, when we know there are better ways to live? For public health and safety reasons we’ve all had to pivot, yet the oil and gas industry has received more subsidies than ever before! As a taxpayer and, therefore, owner of this pipeline, I am deeply frustrated that my voice and those of other concerned people are not being heeded.”
Nation of Change: Indigenous resistance instrumental in stopping high-profile fossil fuel projects, says report
By Nick Cunningham , 9/9/21
“The efforts of Indigenous peoples in North America have helped block or delay a long list of major fossil fuel projects over the past decade, successfully leading to the avoidance of a massive amount of greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report,” Nation of Change reports. “The numbers don’t lie. Indigenous peoples have long led the fight to protect Mother Earth and the only way forward is to center Indigenous knowledge and keep fossil fuels in the ground,” Dallas Goldtooth, a Keep It In The Ground organizer for Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), said in a statement. The report was coauthored by IEN and Oil Change International, a research and advocacy organization focused on transitioning away from fossil fuels. Indigenous resistance has been key in blocking at least eight major projects, including the Keystone XL pipeline, the C$20 billion Teck Frontier tar sands mine in Alberta, the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Oregon, and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, to name a few. Taken together, those delayed and canceled projects would have been responsible for nearly 800 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent, or about 12 percent of the total emissions of the U.S. and Canada in 2019. Another half-dozen projects are currently contested, including the Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota, the Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia, and the Rio Grande LNG project in Texas, for example. These projects represent another 12 percent of total U.S. and Canadian emissions, which, if opponents have their way, would bring the total carbon pollution avoided due to Indigenous resistance to 1.6 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent. That’s roughly equal to the pollution from 400 new coal-fired power plants or 345 million passenger vehicles.”
Resilience.org: Standing Rock is Everywhere: The Indigenous Heart of the Climate Change Fight
By Alan Jay Richard, 9/10/21
“This is a story of victory for the earth and of the end of the Keystone XL pipeline,” Resilience.org reports. “It also involves the Dakota Access pipeline and the Standing Rock Lakota reservation, indeed the entire world, all of which is threatened by our desperate last burst of fossil fuel exploitation. It is a story of what the dogged persistence and creativity of indigenous people and their allies can do against the kind of power we’ve been told is impossible to resist. But it’s a story without a guaranteed ending. The ending depends on us. In 2004, small indigenous nations living near the Alberta Tar Sands project, the largest unconventional oil extraction effort in the world, began reaching out for help. Not only was the project interfering with their water, fishing, and hunting infrastructure, but rare and unusual cancers were appearing… “ In 2008, approximately two dozen people from indigenous nations and environmental activist groups met to develop an overall strategy. The groups decided that the most promising activist target was the Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline, proposed by the giant TransCanada (now TC Energy) corporation to move the tar sands to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. Stopping the pipeline would rob the Tar Sands project of financial justification. The unusually expensive techniques required for extracting, transporting, and refining tar sands made them unusable when the global barrel price was low, and any increases in the cost of production would make investors flee. This small group of people had almost no support. Going up against the Keystone XL pipeline meant taking on the Republican Party, half the Democratic Party, the U.S. government, the Canadian government, and the entire oil industry. But with the presence of indigenous organizers in this group, they soon discovered they had something far more important.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Politico Morning Energy: PHILLIPS GETS THE FERC NOD
Matthew Choi, 9/10/21
“President Joe Biden named Willie Phillips, chair of the D.C. Public Service Commission since 2018, as his nominee to fill the FERC seat recently vacated by Neil Chatterjee,” Politico Morning Energy reports. “If confirmed by the Senate, Phillips would give Democrats a majority on the five-person commission at a time when Chair Rich Glick is aiming to weave more ambitious climate, renewable and environmental justice efforts in the regulators’ purview… “Phillips enjoys support in renewable circles, including from the Solar Energy Industries Association, as well as Gregory Wetstone, head of the American Council on Renewable Energy, who lauded his “deep legal understanding of the issues at stake and clear recognition of the benefits that renewable energy provides our nation’s communities.” Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.), who has spent the summer highlighting FERC's role in combating climate change, called Phillips' pick "FERCalicious". But not everyone is so keen on his selection. Environmentalists who have cast FERC as a rubber stamp organization for fossil fuel projects are fretting that Phillips may tilt toward the big industry players in his decisions. Drew Hudson, senior national organizer at Friends of the Earth, told Politico Phillips’ nomination a “gift to corporate utilities and the fossil fuel industry” in a Thursday statement, and vowed to work with Senate allies to scrutinize Phillips’ record as he heads into his confirmation process.”
E&E News: Biden’s FERC pick may be a tipping point on clean energy
By Miranda Willson, 9/10/21
“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is set to become a more significant player for the Biden administration’s clean energy agenda, as the agency is poised to hold a Democratic majority for the first time in 4 ½ years,” E&E News reports. “President Biden announced yesterday his intent to nominate Willie Phillips, chairman of the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia, to serve as FERC’s fifth commissioner. Charged with regulating wholesale electricity markets, power transmission and large natural gas projects, the five-member independent agency has enormous sway over the Biden administration’s clean energy priorities, including the goal of a 100 percent carbon-free grid by 2035, analysts told E&E. “If Phillips is confirmed by the Senate, FERC could begin to take more aggressive steps to consider the climate effects of proposed new natural gas pipelines and to eliminate market barriers for renewable energy, analysts told E&E… “Nonetheless, environmental justice groups and local organizations in Washington, D.C., said they were disappointed with the administration’s selection of Phillips to serve as one of the nation’s top energy regulators. As a commissioner and chairman on the D.C. PSC, Phillips has sided with electric utilities in the city at the expense of consumer protection and climate action, Jeff Stottlemyer, an organizer with We Power DC, a coalition advocating for local control of the district’s energy system, told E&E. “Willie Phillips represents business as usual in terms of utility regulations, which we can no longer afford,” Stottlemyer told E&E. “The Biden administration must not waste the opportunity to establish a bolder and more progressive FERC, and we therefore call for the withdrawal of the Phillips nomination.”
E&E News: Oil lobby targets Democrats in fight against tax plan
By Timothy Cama, Lesley Clark, 9/10/21
“The oil industry is targeting Democratic lawmakers in its push to preserve beneficial tax breaks, hoping to crack the party’s unity on tax savings that opponents see as subsidies for fossil fuels,” E&E News reports. “President Biden and congressional Democrats are planning to target oil and natural gas tax breaks to help pay for their massive $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation plan, arguing that they unfairly benefit the fossil fuels that are responsible for climate change.Democrats say they could bring in $35 billion over 10 years from cutting tax breaks for intangible drilling costs (IDC), enhanced oil recovery and percentage depletion… “Oil and gas companies and their allies are ramping up their lobbying to defend the tax breaks, saying the provisions are similar to those enjoyed by other industries, and they’re being unfairly targeted. The industry is also fighting Democrats’ proposal for new fees on methane emissions, saying it would increase Americans’ energy costs. The American Exploration & Production Council, which represents independent oil and gas firms, has focused its congressional advocacy efforts on preserving the IDC… “AXPC is focusing mainly on Democrats in states that have significant oil and gas drilling, she told E&E... “Opinion pieces in state and local newspapers are part of the strategy to preserve the tax breaks as well. Industry leaders and allies have written recently in Oklahoma’s The Journal Record, Pennsylvania’s The Patriot-News, West Virginia’s The Charleston Gazette-Mail and The Hill, among others… “Meanwhile, Energy Citizens, a project of the American Petroleum Institute, has been running Facebook advertisements for weeks targeting Democrats considered vulnerable in next year’s elections on oil taxes, as well as some other lawmakers.”
Reuters: U.S. House panel passes reconciliation bill protecting Arctic reserve from drilling
By Timothy Gardner, 9/9/21
“The House Natural Resources Committee late on Thursday passed legislation that will go into a wider budget reconciliation package that includes restoring protections for a pristine Arctic wildlife refuge from oil and gas drilling,” Reuters reports. “The committee approved the measure 24-13 after Republicans weighed down the process with about 100 amendments forcing Representative Raul Grijalva, a Democrat and the chairman of the panel, to extend markup of the bill into a second day after holding the first session last week… “The bill protects Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the Outer Continental Shelf from future oil and gas drilling. It also invests $3 billion in a Civilian Climate Corps, $9.5 billion for Great Lakes restoration and climate resiliency projects, and $2.5 billion to clean up abandoned hardrock mines. The legislation raises money by establishing a hardrock mineral royalty, which Democrats said will raise about $2 billion over 10 years, increasing fossil fuel royalty rates and extending royalty fees to methane emissions… “Environmentalists cheered the passage of the legislation. "Developing this National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas is simply bad business with unacceptably high costs to people, wildlife and the environment," Nicole Whittington-Evans, director of Defenders of Wildlife's Alaska Program, told Reuters.
STATE UPDATES
Union of Concerned Scientists: New Analysis Finds Climate Change Worsens Harmful Ozone Levels in Colorado’s Front Range
9/10/21
“Higher temperatures brought on by climate change since the 1950s have driven formation of ground-level ozone, a respiratory irritant that poses disproportionately high health risks in Colorado’s Front Range, according to a paper just published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, published by Springer Nature, by scientists at National Jewish Health in Denver and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). “The team quantified the historical “ozone climate penalty”—the impact that recent climate change has had on ozone concentrations—in the Denver Metro North Front Range (DMNFR), a region that has historically struggled with high levels of air pollution. The study concluded that the additional ozone attributed to recent climate warming has delayed the DMNFR’s ability to meet national ozone standards by two years. “For people living in Colorado’s Front Range, the impacts of climate change aren’t an abstraction of the future,” said Dr. James L. Crooks, a researcher at National Jewish Health based in Denver. “Ground-level ozone is a major public health concern and it’s already affecting Colorado communities in a big way.”\
EXTRACTION
Reuters: Desjardins raising up to C$500 mln for carbon capture tech
By Maiya Keidan and Shariq Khan, 9/9/21
“Canadian lender Desjardins Group is seeking to raise up to C$500 million ($394 million) on behalf of clients who need money to deploy for carbon capture technologies, a top banker told Reuters. Carbon capture, which involves taking carbon emissions from fossil fuel sources and storing or reusing them, rather than pushing them into the atmosphere, has become a hot topic as energy companies seek to make their products greener.But market participants say the technology is too expensive to develop without buy-in from the private market. Desjardins' capital raise plans could give a big boost to an industry that has been the topic of intense market debate about potential investments, but has not seen a lot of real money put in. Less than $300 million was raised for carbon capture startups globally throughout the last year, according to PitchBook data.”
Journal of Petroleum Technology: Exxon Begins Process To Certify Emissions Efforts in the Permian Basin
By Judy Feder, 9/8/21
“ExxonMobil has signed an agreement with independent, nonprofit validator MiQ to begin the certification process for natural gas produced at its Permian Basin facilities at Poker Lake, New Mexico,” the Journal of Petroleum Technology reports. “The purpose of the certification is to validate the company’s efforts to reduce methane emissions from its upstream operations amid pressure from investors and environmentalists, including activist hedge fund Engine No. 1, which won three seats on Exxon’s board earlier this year. MiQ, a partnership between RMI, formerly the Rocky Mountain Institute, and global sustainability consultancy SYSTEMIQ, will assess and certify approximately 200 MMcf of natural gas per day from Poker Lake, and Exxon said the certified natural gas could be available to customers by the fourth quarter of 2021… “MiQ has signed deals similar to the one with ExxonMobil with US shale producers Chesapeake Energy and Northeast Natural Energy. It developed and maintains its MiQ Standard, a framework that assesses and grades methane intensity, enhanced monitoring technology deployment, and operating practices that promote a culture of emissions management and continuous improvement. An MiQ-accredited independent auditor performs the assessment, and MiQ issues tradeable certificates based on the grade achieved. ExxonMobil said it is considering expanding its certification to include other Permian Basin fields and shale production areas, including Appalachia and Haynesville.”
RESEARCH & SCIENCE
S&P Global: US oil, gas partnership says members flared 50% less gas from wells in 2020
Bill Holland, 9/9/21
“Major U.S. oil and gas producers have cut the volume of natural gas flared from oil and gas wells by 50% in a year as measured by energy intensity, according to a partnership organized by the industry's largest trade group, the American Petroleum Institute,” S&P Global reports. “The Environmental Partnership, comprised of U.S. oil and gas companies, said the amount of gas flared dropped to 0.66% of oil and gas production in 2020, compared to 1.31% of 2019's total production reported by the 34 companies that contributed to the report. The report was released as Democrats in Congress consider adding a fee for methane emissions to their $3.5 trillion budget package and the Biden administration ponders direct regulation aimed at cutting emissions of the potent greenhouse gas. API favors direct regulation over any methane fee, the group's President and CEO Mike Sommers said during a Sept. 9 press conference to release the Environmental Partnership annual report. "We don't believe that it's an efficient or an effective way to reduce emissions," Sommers said, referring to the proposed fee. "The current methane fee proposal, that we've seen, actually just attacks American energy production; it is not a tax on emissions." “...While the partnership said the volume of gas flared dropped 50%, it did not provide any data on the total volumes of gas flared in 2019 and 2020, only intensity. In general, the volume of gas flared was reduced over the year while the total production of the reporting companies was roughly the same, for a less intense mix, the partnership said.”
Texas Monthly: Fracking to a Clean Energy Future
By Russell Gold, October 2021
“What may be the state’s most unusual oil well sits wedged between a creek bottom and a field dotted with newly baled hay on the northern edge of South Texas brush country,” Texas Monthly reports. “...Putting to use the oil industry’s fracking know-how, Houston-based Quidnet is pumping water about 1,200 feet underground to split open the shale and other layers of rock that lie there. If all goes well, the force of the water compresses the rock surrounding it, which creates a gap of four centimeters into which water pools as a small reservoir. The well will then be closed, and the underground water will remain under the immense pressure of the weight of the earth—and of the pumps, frac tanks, bobcats, hay bales, and everything else above it. Later, Quidnet will open the well, releasing the pressure. The four-centimeter gap will narrow, forcing the water back up to the surface, where it will spin a turbine to generate electricity. Quidnet represents a new breed of Texas start-ups that are tapping into the gusher of funding now available to clean energy companies… “They’re deploying many of the same techniques and technologies used in fracking. They’re drawing upon the same supply chain and services used in fracking. But please, they implore you, don’t call them frackers… “But it is instead a geologic battery, using what’s known as pumped-storage hydropower. When water behind a dam is released to run through turbines, it generates electricity, and Quidnet aims to do something similar with its reservoirs deep underground. During periods of electricity surpluses when prices and demand are relatively low, such as temperate nights with stiff breezes powering wind turbines, the pressurized water can be pumped into the ground and stored. It can be tapped for energy later—for example, during hot summer afternoons—when it’s needed and will fetch an attractive price.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Reuters: Offshore operators face big Ida losses as insurers trim cover
By Noor Zainab Hussain and Carolyn Cohn, 9/9/21
“Offshore energy firms are likely to face greater financial losses from Hurricane Ida than from previous storms in the Gulf of Mexico, because of reduced coverage offered by insurers, risk modeling firm RMS said on Thursday,” Reuters reports. “... The damage to U.S. offshore oil and gas production makes it one of the most costly for the energy sector since back-to-back Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 cut output for months. Insured losses to offshore platforms, rigs, and pipelines are estimated to be between $700 million and $1.5 billion, according to industry experts. That is markedly below $2 billion to $3 billion of insured losses suffered by operators during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 as estimated by the Insurance Information Institute. RMS tells Reuters, however, the current numbers underestimates the scale of total damage caused by Ida because insurers have scaled back coverage of offshore assets in the region since Katrina and other major hurricanes such as Ike in 2008. "Offshore energy coverage is quite limited, with tighter policy wording, stricter limits on physical damage," Rajkiran Vojjala, vice president, model development at RMS, told Reuters. Most insurance contracts have also cut the price per barrel on which business interruption claims are based.”
OPINION
Commonwealth Magazine: It’s now or never on addressing climate crisis
Cabell Eames is the political/legislative director of the Better Future Project/350 Mass, 9/12/21
“FOR MOST OF US, September signals the end of summer and a time to reflect and reset. This year’s need to reboot is historic as President Biden justifiably declared September “National Preparedness Month” to respond to unprecedented climate events,” Cabell Eames writes in Commonwealth Magazine. “The passing of the budget and reconciliation package is essential to sidestepping these obstacles if we are going to address the climate crisis on all fronts. Many of us are watching with bated breath as the package, which will fund climate resilience and infrastructure, progresses. The roadblocks to this critical course correction continue to spring up… “Big banks, like the ubiquitous Bank of America, continue to fund pipeline replacement projects, like Line 3 in Minnesota, all at the whim of Enbridge which has been building a greatly-contested compressor station right here in Massachusetts for years. It seems Enbridge and many other energy companies’ stated commitments to net-zero emissions are not at all supported by their actions, and they are unaffected by the current increase in severe climate events and the burdens we face. The dangers of continued fossil fuel reliance are as economic as they are existential… “Without the $3.5 trillion budget plan, we are sitting ducks against the climate crisis and those standing in the way of solving it. We can’t let fossil fuel interests box us out from saving the planet and ourselves and our words and actions must align if we are to survive.”
Financial Review: Why oil and gas stocks are a bargain
Angela Macdonald-Smith, 9/13/21
“Investors turning their backs on oil and gas stocks risk missing out on an eventual recovery in the sector once the market wakes up to the huge gap that has built between soaring commodity prices, that will boost company profits, and depressed share prices,” writes for the Financial Review. “Market sources point to a disconnect between share prices and oil and gas commodity prices that has been evident for months but is now becoming “ridiculous” given the buoyant LNG market and continuing robust crude oil prices, which are swelling cash flows for producers. The heightened wariness of investors to environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns in relation to natural gas is thought to be a big part of the problem. But some are anticipating an inevitable catch-up that could see share prices surge 30 per cent or more in a short time as the market recognises the impact of higher prices on cash flows and earnings… “Still, Mr Sala Tenna told the Review he still believed the issue was indeed mostly due to ESG factors, but that the coal sector was well ahead of gas in terms of the impact on the share register. He said ESG investors had essentially already sold out of coal producers, leaving the stocks able to re-rate, whereas in oil and gas the shake-up of the shareholding base was still under way… “I do think we’re seeing the ESG brunt being worn by the E&P [exploration and production] guys now.”
Colorado Sun: Colorado’s leadership on methane control is reducing greenhouse gases — and increasing jobs
San Miguel County Commissioner Hilary Cooper, Pitkin County Commissioner Greg Poschman, Gunnison County Commissioner Jonathan Houck and Ouray County Commissioner Ben Tisdel are members of Western Leaders Network, an organization that helps amplify the voices of local and tribal elected leaders on conservation issues in the West, 9/10/21
“Now more than ever, we need bold leadership at the local, state and federal levels as we face the immediate and severe consequences of a rapidly changing climate,” writes for the Colorado Sun. “... The state of Colorado also is making strides on climate action. Thanks to the initial leadership of then-Gov. John Hickenlooper, and sustained by Gov. Jared Polis and many state lawmakers, we have developed and continue to strengthen nationally leading rules for the oil and gas industry, including regulations that cut methane pollution, prioritize public health and increase accountability for oil and gas companies. As a result, and with the collaboration of industry leaders, Colorado has a thriving methane-mitigation industry, which has nearly doubled in size nationwide since 2017. In fact, according to Datu Research, Colorado has the second-largest methane mitigation industry in the nation with 50 employee locations, including headquarters and manufacturing facilities (California is No. 1)... “In Colorado, we know that strong methane standards mean more high-paying jobs. We have proven that climate-change mitigation measures are good for the economy. As local elected officials, we are each taking climate mitigation actions in our own county organizations… “We applaud President Biden for taking decisive action this year by placing a moratorium on oil and gas leasing on public lands while the administration conducts a review of our federal oil and gas program. This is an important first step toward long-overdue reforms to this outdated system, more responsible drilling, and cutting climate-warming emissions from oil and gas operations on our federal lands.”