Chemical Industry Publication On Climate Change Provides A Wealth Of Relevant Info

By Charles Gabrys, Team O.I.L. Co-Lead

A key effort driven by Team O.I.L. (Oil Industry Liaisons) is to liaise with the oil and gas industry, a major stakeholder in the climate change debate, in order to explain CCL's preferred policy and see how it fits with companies' business strategies. Team O.I.L. seeks to understand the industry’s position on climate change and carbon pricing, foster productive conversations, and educate policy makers on that progress and on the substance of the underlying issues.

Furthering our mission of broad education, Team members Liz Fisher (CA Contra Costa) and Larry Kremer (TX The Woodlands) contributed their expertise to a 2020 year-end special issue of Chemical Engineering Progress devoted entirely to climate change. Written to be accessible to general audiences as well as the members of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the issue covers just about everything that anyone has heard about climate change, from geologic history to melting permafrost to the costs of various abatement technologies. With plenty of illustrations and references, the special issue is available free on the journal's website.

To support CCL's local lobby groups, Team O.I.L. has written several short papers on features of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act that have come up in lobby meetings and can be informed by our industry expertise. They are available in the Files section of our CCL Community group homepage. Larry Kremer is the lead author of one paper on carbon capture and storage, important since companies that sequester CO2 in secure geologic formations are eligible to earn a credit of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act's carbon fee. Before joining CCL staff, Rick Knight led another research effort describing the pros and cons of possible points of carbon fee assessment along the oil and natural gas value chain. And two newer members, Ray Williams (CA Contra Costa) and Paul Burke (CA Conejo Valley), along with Larry, Anna Scott (TX Austin), and Jim Rine (MI Detroit) have just completed a review of the sources and mitigation strategies for methane, a greenhouse gas 28-35 times more potent than CO2.

Ray says, "I joined Team O.I.L. because of their deep industry expertise, the science-based approach to examining climate issues, and the collegial way in which this team conducts its business. I encourage anyone regardless of your industry experience to join Team O.I.L."

Team O.I.L. meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays each month at 8:00 pm ET / 5:00 pm PT. Our next call on February 24 will feature David Bailey, Research Director at the Climate Leadership Council, giving us his forecast for climate legislation this year. To join Team O.I.L. and find out more information about how to join our upcoming calls, visit our main action team homepage