The Challenge
The meteoric rise of shale oil and gas drilling in the United States poses a significant challenge to efforts aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is estimated that about 2 percent (13 billion kilograms) of natural gas production is leaked from U.S. facilities each year, contributing aggressively to climate change. Yet, regulators and many firms are unable to comprehensively monitor emissions—relying on infrequent on-site facility inspections to detect leaks. Without reliable estimates of methane emissions, regulators cannot efficiently target leaks, incentivize their prevention, and achieve climate benefits.
Our Approach
The epicenter for work on this challenge is largely the state of Colorado. Home to a sizeable and growing shale oil & gas industry, the state was also the first to pass regulations aimed at reducing methane emissions from oil and gas operations and remains on the forefront of methane regulation. Realizing the rare position of Colorado, the E&E Lab formed a unique partnership with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to identify tools that can successfully address the gap in methane emissions monitoring and enforcement. Together, the Lab and the state have piloted strategies that allow regulators to identify and remedy sources of methane emissions, doing so in a cost-effective manner that delivers maximal climate benefits without straining regulatory budgets.
Opportunities for Scale
The E&E Lab’s work with Colorado has produced a cost-effective and scalable monitoring and enforcement framework for regulating methane that could fundamentally change environmental regulation in the United States. In Colorado, where this framework is being deployed, regulators are already seeing direct benefits. But there is significant opportunity to expand this framework. Sixteen states currently produce more than 100 billion cubic feet of natural gas annually, each with their own regulatory systems that could directly benefit from the E&E Lab’s expertise in developing efficient monitoring and enforcement practices. Through partnerships with additional regulators at the local, state, and federal levels, the E&E Lab’s approach has the potential to dramatically reduce the climate impact of shale gas extraction in the United States.
