The Statospheric Dollar Cost Of Compensating For Global Warming

Methane Flare

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U.N. report warns world leaders about costs of climate change's impacts. "The world's leading environmental scientists told policymakers and business leaders Sunday that they must invest more to cope with climate change's immediate effects and hedge against its most dire potential, even as they work to slow the emissions fueling global warming....The report said that damage from climate change and the costs of adapting to it could cause the loss of several percentage points of gross domestic product in low-lying developing countries and island states....An early draft of the report had estimated that governments would need to spend scores of billions of dollars a year on adaptation efforts, according to a person who saw the early version, but the final summary made no mention of how much money might be needed. Before the Yokohama meeting, the Obama administration opposed setting a figure on adaptation spending." Steven Mufson in The Washington Post.

White House targets methane gas emissions. "The Obama administration outlined a new strategy Friday for addressing methane, signaling it may move to regulate a potent greenhouse gas released into the air from hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas. Methane accounts for nearly 9 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to government estimates, but recent scientific studies suggest the real number may be between 13 and 14 percent. And while methane emissions have fallen since 1990, they are set to rise by 2030 as shale oil and shale gas production expands in the United States." Juliet Eilperin in The Washington Post.

One big target of the push: The oil industry. "The first big target is the oil industry, with new Interior Department regulations coming later this year to curb venting and flaring of natural gas at wells on public lands and wider air mandates possible from the Environmental Protection Agency in 2016. Coming as part of the Obama administration's the White House's move had both symbolic and strategic value. It underscored President Barack Obama's commitment to use his executive powers to set environmental policies, effectively sidestepping Congress on those issues. It also put oil and gas companies on notice that they must do more to clean up the methane pollution all along the supply chain, from wells to the burner tip." Jennifer A. Dlouhy in the Houston Chronicle.

When Obama's 'all of the above' and global warming collide. "It's part of a promise the president made last June when he unveiled his second-term climate agenda. At the same time, it keeps alive the administration's 'all of the above' energy plan that has won praise from the energy sector while giving environmentalists pause. The strategy won't result in any new regulations on oil and gas companies -- at least not yet. Starting this spring, the Environmental Protection Agency will catalog and quantify methane released from the sector....After the agency is finished collecting data, it will 'determine how best to pursue further methane reductions' in the fall. Oil and gas drilling has surged in recent years -- a boom fueled by fracking -- and so too have fears that energy production could cause real environmental damage....This has created a political minefield for the president....A lack of clarity over how much methane is given off during natural-gas production has only fueled debate....As a result, the White House is trying to find a middle ground." Clare Foran and Jason Plautz in National Journal.