Environmental Defense Fund

Running time: 2:35

Script:

"How can taking action to cut methane emissions from natural gas today help address climate change?" Why natural gas? Because natural gas is mostly methane, and, is a very potent greenhouse gas. Pound for pound, when it escapes unburned into the air. It's initially over one hundred times more powerful than carbon dioxide in trapping heat at the surface of the earth" Methane emissions speed us towards hotter temperatures, droughts, crop loss and fiercer storms that are all happening now.The United States natural gas industry is now the world’s largest. And it’s growing. With billions of dollars in new projects currently planned. This is also one of the leading sources of methane emissions to the atmosphere. But it doesn’t have to be.

Before natural gas reaches consumers, it travels from drilling wells to processing plants, from pipelines that cross the country, to city pipelines under our streets. Throughout its journey, methane escapes to the atmosphere –sometimes on purpose – and sometimes by accident. But there’s good news. There’s a range of actions that can be taken to slash methane emissions, using readily available and affordable technologies.

In fact, some actions will actually make companies money. Industry experts looked at opportunities to reduce methane emissions, with input from companies already working on the problem. They found that every year, industry can save over 100 billion cubic feet of methane at minimal cost, that’s enough to cook over 10 billion home cooked dinners!

Now is the time for industry leaders and policy makers to take action. Reducing methane emissions is good for the climate, good for communities, and good for business. If we take a common sense approach to minimizing methane emissions, while continuing to find ways to cut the carbon dioxide pollution that will impact our climate for centuries, we’ll take a big step toward reducing the impacts of climate change in our lifetime and for future generations.

Learn more about how we can cost-effectively reduce methane emissions today at EDF-dot- org-slash-methane-solutions.