New York’s war on natural gas or methane is not based on issues of cost, efficiency, and benefits, but only on an ideology built on the hatred of the natural gas industry. Thus, the policies incorporated into the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act (Climate Act) are not based on facts or research but ideology. They are, in a word, irrational. This page references facts and research that contradict the selective “science” used to vilify natural gas in the Climate Act.
Viewed through a pragmatic lens, the New York obsession with eliminating natural gas is irrational. Increased use of natural gas has been responsible for most electric generation emission reductions observed in the state. Natural gas provides efficient, resilient, and safe energy to homes and businesses. Not so long ago the idea that natural gas could also be used a bridge fuel until the aspirational “green” generating resources and energy storage technologies could be tested at the scale needed, perform like a natural gas fired generating unit, and provide power at a similar cost, was generally accepted as a rational approach.
Methane Cannot Have a Significant Greenhouse Effect
- Methane and Climate summarizes an extensive paper, Infrared Forcing of Greenhouse Gases by van Wijngaarden & Happer, that uses measurements to calculate the potential impacts of methane. The following posts present simpler summaries:
- New York’s Irrational and Unsupportable Methane Obsession argues that methane cannot have a significant effect on the greenhouse effect because of its physical characteristics
- Why there’s no need to panic about methane in the atmosphere shows that the obsession about methane emissions is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of basic physics
- Methane: Much Ado About Nothing explains that the saturation effect minimizes the effect of methane on global warming
- Methane: The Irrelevant Greenhouse Gas – Water vapor has already absorbed the very same infrared radiation that Methane might have absorbed.
- Facts About Methane Ignored to Support Climate Narrative explains that methane only impacts the greenhouse effect in two very narrow absorption bands.
- The CLCPA’s Fundamental Flaw shows why the 20-year global warming potential approach in the Climate Act is fundamentally flawed
Methane Policy
- Feedback from Myles Allen – Comments on EU Methane Strategy argues that the short residence time of methane relative to carbon dioxide means that the emissions balance is important.
- New York’s Irrational and Unsupportable Methane Obsession explains that NY policy is flawed because methane cannot have a measurable effect on the greenhouse effect
- Climate Act Ramifications of the Methane Obsession explains that the rationale for the Climate Act ban on natural gas use is based on a limited number of analyses
- Methane mendacity – and madness argues that methane is being used as a tool for more emission reductions
NYS GHG Inventory
The Climate Act required the New York Department of Environmental Conservation to calculate the baseline Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission inventory and establish a value of carbon by the end of 2020. New York’s unique treatment of methane figured heavily in both documents.
- Response to My Comments on the New York Value of Carbon Guidance documents the responses to my comments.
- Response to My Comments on Part 496 – Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act 1990 Emissions Baseline documents the responses to my comments
- My Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act Part 496 Comments describes the comments I submitted on New York’s GHG inventory.
- My Methane Reference Summary documents the references that I used for my comments arguing that Howarth’s arguments are contradicted by other analysts.
- My Comments on the New York Value of Carbon Guidance Document describes the comments I submitted on the guidance document related to the NYS GHG inventory.
- Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act Methane Obsession explains why the NYS GHG inventory is twice as large as the Environmental Protection Agency and International Panel on Climate Change inventories.
- Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act 1990 Emissions Inventory Requirements explains that the Climate Act has four emission inventory components.
New York Energy Policies 