In the News

Energy subsidies have become a hot topic on the presidential campaign trail. Jeb Bush recently called for an end to all subsidies–those that support fossil fuels as well as those aiding renewable energy. Most Democrats in the presidential race support ending tax breaks for fossil-fuel companies, but believe that subsidies for renewables are needed to help these newer industries grow rapidly. Both policy proposals are economically inefficient.

By regulating methane emissions, the EPA compels companies to act in the best interests of the public and to reduce emissions, even if individual controls aren’t immediately profitable.

It’s time for the federal government to stop leasing land to gas and oil companies, a new report argues

This is not easy to answer. Assigning a monetary value to environmental harm is notoriously tricky. There is, after all, no market for intact ecosystems or endangered species.

One of the U.S. government’s largest sources of non-tax revenue comes from the land it leases to oil, gas and coal companies. Last fiscal year, the federal government generated more than $13 billion from drilling and mining activities on its land – but it should have made hundreds of millions of dollars more. Antiquated pricing rules have given these energy companies access to federal lands at prices that ignore decades of inflation, as well as many environmental and health costs of fossil fuel production.

But despite the result, CES’ counsel Michael Livermore told Law360 that the court left the door open to future challenges on one of its major arguments: that Interior should use a quantitative rather than qualitative approach to assess the informational or option value of delaying leasing.

A large oil spill would likely hurt our economy according to Michael Livermore, an associate professor at the University of Virginia’s School of Law.

The EPA announced that it will regulate methane emissions from the oil and gas sector directly, rather than relying on voluntary programs or regulating associated pollutants. This a commonsense action that reduces a very potent greenhouse gas while directing valuable natural gas back into the supply chain. The rules, which will be unveiled this summer, will apply to all new oil and natural gas wells, but they will not address emissions from existing sources.

While critics of climate regulations often complain that the costs of pollution controls are too high, directly regulating methane would buy time on climate change and redirect natural gas back into the supply chain, at little net cost, due to the commercial value of the captured gas.

“There’s very little public information on the practice, and to date, we just simply don’t know a great deal about where and when it’s taking place,” said Jayni Hein, policy director at New York University’s Institute for Policy Integrity.