Presenters at EV’s 9/20 Congressional Briefing on Methane Mitigation (L-R): Dr. Ilissa Ocko, Senior Advisor to the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate; Energy Vision President Matt Tomich; and Suzanne Hunt, Generate UpCycle Vice President for Policy.
About 40 people attended in person at the Congressional Visitor Center in Washington, D.C., with over 50 more watching the event live on Zoom.
The focus of the event was Energy Vision’s recent report, Meeting the Methane Challenge, which provides the first concrete, data-driven roadmap for how the U.S. can reach the goal it made under the Global Methane Pledge (along with over 150 other countries). Congressman Jim Costa (D-CA 21), a longtime champion of sustainable agricultural practices, water conservation and the use of anaerobic digesters (ADs) to capture methane from manure, cosponsored the briefing.
In her opening remarks, Energy Vision Founder Joanna Underwood said, “it has taken a very long time to get to this moment. It’s been 45 years since international scientists first met on the topic of climate change. At last, we arrive here to discuss both a finally agreed upon international goal for tackling this challenge and a practical agenda for action – focused on methane reduction.”
Congressman Costa then spoke about his supportive track record on climate and agriculture, his family farm-oriented values, and his priorities for the future. He places particular emphasis on promoting dairy manure ADs to cut methane and boost farmers’ income, as embodied in his bill, the COWS Act.
Dr. Ilissa Ocko, Senior Advisor to the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, followed by discussing the role of methane in global warming and the importance of cutting this potent greenhouse gas quickly, which is very doable. She reiterated that cutting methane soon is the strongest lever available to slow global warming in the coming decades, since methane breaks down rapidly in the atmosphere and would not be replaced.
Next, EV President Matt Tomich explained the findings of Meeting the Methane Challenge, authored by Energy Vision’s Director of Research and Publications, Michael Lerner. He said that fully implementing the New Source Performance Standards set by the EPA this year for the oil and gas industry would cut methane by over 17% and that an expanded AD industry could get the U.S. to its 30% goal or beyond.
Tomich emphasized that building 4,700 ADs, a cost-effective technology, to process food waste and manure, would cut annual U.S. methane emissions 13.6% at a capital cost of $74.2 billion – with the vast majority of funding coming from the private sector. But in order to unleash that wave of private sector investment, the top immediate priority is for the federal government to provide greater clarity about AD/renewable natural gas (RNG) projects’ eligibility for incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act. Another valuable legislative action would be to expand the Renewable Fuel Standard’s incentives for use of low-carbon fuels from on-road vehicles (the only eligible category now) to also include trains, oceangoing ships, and planes. A 2-page summary of EV’s report with a list of important options for congressional action was provided to briefing attendees.
Generate Upcycle Vice President for Policy Suzanne Hunt then gave an industry perspective about how substantial time and resources are necessary to plan, fund and carry out a digester project, and how the government could facilitate the private sector in advancing this critical work.
Lastly, Kevin Abernathy, the General Manager of the Milk Producers Council, underscored the California dairy industry’s enormous success in cutting methane through digesters producing RNG. He noted that this has been by far the most cost-effective part of California’s entire methane reduction plan.
Afterwards, the speakers fielded questions from the in-person and virtual audience. One important point that came up repeatedly was the need for RNG projects to be granted access to gas pipelines so they can reach the growing markets for this clean fuel.
The event concluded on an upbeat note that by pursuing the methane mitigation measures that are available now – oil a nd gas industry regulations and ADs – we could meet the 2030 goal, setting a model for other countries. It’s an exciting time to be in the thick of this pressing D.C. policy debate!
