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Oil and gas production could lead the world in climate change impacts caused by pollution. A recent international reportThis led to New Mexico environmentalists calling to reform fossil fuel policy.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a global body of policymakers formed by the United Nations, released its third and final climate change report this week in its sixth assessment to analyze the causes, impacts and remedies throughout the world.
The report evaluated efforts by nations to combat climate change and examined the impact of human-driven polluting activities on climate change.
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A main source of the emissions, per the report, was the fossil fuel industry, which accounted for most of the U.S.’ 23 percent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions between 1850 and 2019.
Even though technological advancements and improved practices were used in oil-and-gas operations were designed to capture more of it, the report stated that this impact was less than the increase air pollution caused by increased extraction along with other industrial activities.
“Emissions reductions in CO2 from fossil fuels and industrial processes, due to improvements in energy intensity of gross domestic product (GDP) and carbon intensity of energy, have been less than emissions increases from rising global activity levels in industry, energy supply, transport, agriculture and buildings,” the report read.
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In total, about a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions came from the energy sector in 2019, the report read.
The report mentioned fossil fuel 40 times Policymakers will find a summary of 63 pages here, and mitigating the emissions from this sector was a frequent topic and suggested ways of mitigating climate changes.
New Mexico looks to reduce fossil fuel pollution. Is it enough?
Two separate rulemakings were required by the State of New Mexico to address the issue. One to retrofit oil and natural gas operations to capture 98% of the gas produced by 2026 and to end routine flaring (or the burning of excess gases), and another to improve monitoring, leak detection, repairs at oil and natural gas sites throughout the state.
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These efforts, environmentalists argued, must be joined by adequate funding for New Mexico’s Environment Department and its Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department – the two agencies tasked with enforcing the new rules.
But Jeremy Nichols with Santa Fe-based environmental group WildEarth Guardians said the IPCC report indicated such regulations, developed with input from oil and gas companies and trade groups, would not be enough to prevent a global climate crisis and New Mexico’s contribution.
He said that the world and state should look beyond fossil fuels to seek out cleaner energy sources like solar and wind power.
Nichols stated that although New Mexico had taken steps to reduce environmental damage from extraction, the State was still complicit with ongoing oil and gas operations as well as industrial growth.
Last year, New Mexico became the U.S.’ second-largest producer of oil – second only to Texas – and its operations centered in the Permian Basin region in the southeast continued to grow in step with recovering fuel demand at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic and supply disruptions amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The latest IPCC report clearly confirms the need to rapidly transition from fossil fuels,” Nichols said. Unfortunately, while New Mexico has taken some steps to move beyond coal and encourage renewable energy development, the state continues to back unfettered oil and gas development.”
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Nichols stated that New Mexico’s oil-and-gas operations have significant environmental impacts. These include strong economic growth in the southeast corner for New Mexico communities like Carlsbad or Hobbs, and large amounts of revenue for the State.
“This isn’t just fueling more air and climate pollution within New Mexico but exporting massive amounts of greenhouse gas emissions to other states and even other countries,” he said.
“While New Mexico has taken steps to curb methane from oil and gas development, the latest IPCC report underscores that to truly confront the climate crisis, we need to start keeping fossil fuels in the ground.”
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Camilla Feibelman is the director of the Rio Grande Chapter in New Mexico of the Sierra Club. She stated that despite the danger it poses to the environment, the industry continues to play an important role in state policy, even in the face of increasing warnings from the international scientific world.
She worried industry lobbyists were able to block environmental bills like the Clean Future Act in this year’s legislative session that would have added benchmarks for greenhouse gas reductions.
This bill was passed by two committees of the New Mexico House of Representatives, but it never saw a vote on its way to the House Floor.
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Another bill, the Clean Fuel Standard Act, would have required fuel producers to meet emission caps but was killed in a deadlocked vote on the House Floor that could have sent it to the governor’s desk.
And House Joint Memorial 2, which would have placed a ballot question before voters to codify “environmental rights” into state law was stalled in the House Judiciary Committee while the senate equivalent never advanced.
“Despite the urgency of the crisis facing our children and grandchildren, we continue to coddle an oil and gas industry that cuts jobs despite increasing profit and production,” Feibelman said. “We hear over and over from oil and gas giants how much we need them.
“The truth is that even across political ideologies, Americans say we need climate action and to end our dependence on oil and gas. No matter our political party.”
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Feibelman cited a Stanford University study that showed methane emissions in Permian were higher then previously thought. This is due to the 9 percent loss of natural gas during oil extraction.
She stated that New Mexico’s role in the coming global climate crisis must be addressed by addressing this source.
“One of New Mexico’s biggest sources of climate pollution — and one of our most powerful tools to act — is methane reduction,” Feibelman said.
“Methane is 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a heat-trapping gas but disappears from the atmosphere much more quickly. That means slashing methane emissions can have a real and relatively rapid effect.”
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Adrian Hedden is available at 575-628-555516. [email protected]Or @AdrianHeddenFollow us on Twitter.
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