FCNL is pleased to announce the introduction of the bipartisan Transparency in Energy Production Act of 2017.
On October 26th, Representative Alan Lowenthal introduced the Transparency in Energy Production Act of 2017, along with cosponsors Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ted Deutch, Carlos Curbelo, and Niki Tsongas. This bill requires the Department of the Interior (DOI) to publicly disclose the amounts and sources of greenhouse gas emissions coming from public lands. It creates an online database to monitor emissions from fossil fuel extraction, including vented, flared, and leaked natural gas. The bill also requires the DOI to report on efforts to reduce greenhouse gas pollution from fossil fuel development on public lands.
Diane Randall, Executive Secretary for FCNL, made the following statement:
“The Friends Committee on National Legislation believes that our government institutions must be held to rigorous standards of openness and transparency, yet Americans do not currently know the amount of climate pollution originating from our public lands. In order to craft effective solutions to climate change, we must have a more comprehensive understanding of our current emissions. As people of faith, we are heartened by this cooperative step in Congress towards understanding and addressing the challenge of climate change. We applaud this bipartisan effort to calculate the amount of greenhouse gas emissions coming from public lands.”
In 2016 the Government Accountability Office published a report entitled Oil and Gas: Interior could do more to account for and manage natural gas emissions. This report discusses waste of natural gas on leased federal land. In the report, the GAO found that the Department of Interior “does not have the information it needs to reasonably ensure it is minimizing waste on these leases.” The waste described in this report often comes from the practice of ‘venting’ or ‘flaring’ in which climate pollutants are released into the atmosphere. Due to the lack of information and reporting within the DOI, the extent of this pollution is largely unknown.
FCNL applauds this bipartisan effort to calculate the amount of greenhouse gas emissions coming from Federal lands. Members of both parties are coming together in recognition that our nation needs a comprehensive understanding of our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, in order to craft effective solutions. As people of faith, we are heartened by this cooperative step in Congress towards understanding and addressing the challenge of climate change.
Read a joint statement from The Wilderness Society, the Environmental Defense Fund, and FCNL.
