The N.C. Attorney General’s office has called on state regulators to reject Duke Energy Corp.’s proposed long-term plant construction plans, despite a debate over whether regulators have the authority to do so.
Methane, Fracked Gas & Climate
Methane (the main component in natural gas) is 100 times as bad for the climate as carbon dioxide over the short term. Less CO2 is emitted by natural gas than by coal when burned. But significant leakage of methane before burning makes gas a disaster for the climate, as revealed even more by recent science. Yet utilities and the gas industry are still feverishly promoting fracked gas.
NC WARN is working hard to connect the dots between climate change, methane leakage and the fracking boom that is driven by demand from the electric power industry.
Learn more about our methane work here.
Watch a 3-minute video by Cornell University’s Dr. Robert Howarth describing why natural gas is a disastrous strategy for the climate. More videos, PowerPoints and documentation here.
“Everything You Need to Know About Methane”, a primer by Earthjustice.
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Breakthrough UN Report Shows Stopping New Natural Gas is Key to Averting Climate Chaos — NC WARN News Release
Cut methane emissions to avert global temperature rise, UN-backed study urges — UN News Release
The Global Methane Assessment outlines the benefits of mitigating methane, a key ingredient in smog, which include preventing some 260,000 premature deaths and 775,000 asthma-related hospital visits annually, as well as 25 million tonnes in crop losses… “Cutting methane is the strongest lever we have to slow climate change over the next 25 years.”
Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions — United Nations Report
The assessment highlights the critical role that cutting methane emissions, including from the fossil fuel industry, plays in slowing the rate of global warming. Cutting human-caused methane by 45% this decade would keep warming beneath a threshold agreed by world leaders. There are multiple benefits to acting including: the rapid …
Cut methane emissions to avert global temperature rise, UN-backed study urges — UN News Release
Halting the Vast Release of Methane Is Critical for Climate, U.N. Says — New York Times
Ahead of the Climate Summit, Environmental Groups Urge Biden to Champion Methane Reductions as a Quick Warming Fix — Inside Climate News
“Very Scary Indeed” … New Science Reaffirms Duke Energy’s Huge Gas Expansion is Fueling Climate Calamity — News Release from NC WARN
Our best shot to slow climate change now: Cut methane — The Hill
Locked down for a full year now, there was at least one bright spot: The clear drop in air pollution in 2020. But now there’s even a blot on that. This week the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that methane, the second biggest driver of global warming and a major contributor to air pollution, spiked upward last year with the highest growth rate in NOAA’s 37-year record. What’s going on?
Why Duke Energy is spending $283M on retrofitting coal plants to burn natural gas — Charlotte Business Journal
Duke Energy Corp. is modifying its largest coal plants to burn natural gas for at least part of the power they produce in order to reduce coal use in the near term… Some clean-energy advocates worry the work will just extend the life of coal plants, allowing Duke to continue to recover costs for plants they say are no longer economical to operate.