Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held public hearings in Pittsburgh and three other cities on the Clean Power Plan it released earlier this summer. The proposed rules would limit carbon pollution from existing power plants using its authority under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. The hearings attracted hundreds of speakers and thousands of observers, including environmentalists, coal miners, and other stakeholders.
The hearings sparked a high level of engagement in large part because Pennsylvania is the nation’s fastest growing producer of natural gas. Because of this, we can reasonably expect natural gas to play a significant role in Pennsylvania’s approach to future climate rules. Natural gas produces half the carbon dioxide of coal when burned and emits fewer ozone precursors and sulfur dioxide. It also produces almost no particulate matter or mercury.
But natural gas production creates another air pollutant that is just as responsible for warming the climate as carbon dioxide – methane. Methane is a short-lived but potent greenhouse gas that traps 84 times more heat than carbon dioxide over its first 20 years in the atmosphere. While addressing carbon dioxide will help us stabilize the climate 100 years from now and is important, addressing methane will start slowing the rate of warming today and is equally important.
Many policymakers look at carbon dioxide and methane as two separate options for addressing climate change. But just like diet and exercise produce better weight loss results when used in conjunction with one another, addressing both carbon and methane will deliver the best possible outcome for our climate.
The longer we allow climate change to continue, the harder it will be to slow the rate of warming. A recent White House report found that the cost of delayed policy actions on climate would result in substantial economic damage in addition to climate damage. Climate change mitigation costs would rise by 40 percent if delayed just 10 years.
Acting now on carbon dioxide and methane is a smart solution to an increasingly urgent problem. Failing to act on methane will reduce the effectiveness of carbon-focused rules like 111(d). We need to deploy both options for best results.
Andrew Sharp is PennFuture's director of outreach and is based in Philadelphia. He tweets at @RexBainbridge.
