RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Even Before The Paris Agreement Takes Effect, Hundreds Of Corporates Are Voluntarily Offsetting Emissions
By Steve Zwick, Ecosystem Marketplace.
In 2007, as airlines around the world were lobbying to prevent the regulation of greenhouse-gas emissions from passenger flights, Delta Airlines started looking for ways to reduce its emissions – first by increasing fuel efficiency, and eventually by investing $1 million in a massive effort by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to buy up old farms across the Lower Mississippi Valley and restore them to their natural, forested state so that trees can absorb enough carbon dioxide (CO2) to offset some of Delta’s greenhouse gasses. TNC scientists say the project will mop up more than 100 million tons of CO2 over the next 70 years, and Delta is helping to finance it by purchasing offsets to reduce its carbon footprint, but the exact amount of emissions reduced is being determined through a rigorous process certified under the Verified Carbon Standard.
Airlines aren’t subject to mandatory caps in most countries, but Delta acted voluntarily anyway. Then, when the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) began negotiating the inclusion of international flights in Europe’s cap-and-trade program, the airline decided to improve its carbon-market proficiency by voluntarily keeping 2014 emissions below 2012, even as passenger miles increased.
As earlier, it aimed first to reduce emissions by saving fuel, with offsetting as an additional tool to get it under its target. So the company worked with aviation authorities to overhaul its routes and with airports to reduce taxiing time around the world; it even reduced the amount of ice it carried and eliminated hefty duty-free brochures to drop the weight of its planes. These efforts enabled it to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by more than 159,000 metric tons of “CO2 equivalent”, or “tCO2e”, which is a standard that measures all greenhouse gasses based on their warming impact. By cutting down on waste, the company saved more than $46 million in 2014, according to its sustainability report, but it wasn’t enough to stay below 2012 levels.
Report Highlights Rapid Growth and Significant Future Opportunity for California's Clean Transportation Technology Industry
By CALSTART, via Market wired.
PASADENA, CA--(Marketwired - August 08, 2016) - A new CALSTART report indicates that California's climate and energy policies are not only helping to protect the environment and improve air quality, but are also helping to accelerate growth of the clean transportation technology industry in the state.
The report, "California's Clean Transportation Technology Industry: Time to Shift into High Gear," profiles the development of a burgeoning manufacturing sector that is producing zero- and near-zero emission light, medium and heavy duty vehicles, as well as clean fuels, engines, vehicle components, and new mobility services.
"This report shows that California's forward-looking air quality, climate, and energy policies -- like AB 32 and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard -- along with incentive funding are creating jobs and making California a leader in the fast growing global clean transportation technology industry," said CALSTART President and CEO John Boesel. "What we are finally seeing is a tremendous synergy between the state's policies, its culture of innovation, and its human capital. These factors together over the past five to seven years have created nearly 20,000 new high quality jobs in the state," Boesel said.
Central Valley must fight to remain a hub for clean fuels jobs
By Russ Teall and Neil Koehler, The Fresno Bee.
Huron resident Juan Castaneda used to jump to a new seasonal agricultural job every two or three months. After taking classes at West Hills Community College, Juan landed a job eight months ago with biofuel producer Biodico through the college’s Workforce Connection program, supported by the Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board.
Juan now works to transform feedstock into clean biofuel. His new job is more “sustainable” not only from an environmental perspective, but also for his quality of life: Juan went from temporary, unreliable work to a full-time, permanent career with benefits.
Brown Gears Up for Fight Over California Climate Effort
By Alejandro Lazo, The Wall Street Journal.
SAN FRANCISCO—Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown has launched a political-action committee to preserve California’s cap-and-trade program—setting up a potential battle over the state’s environmental policy.
Cap and trade aims to reduce carbon emissions by imposing a limit on the amount of CO2 released by industry and then selling a finite number of permits every quarter for businesses to meet those allowances.
California, the first state with a comprehensive cap-and-trade system, launched its program in 2012. After robust permit sales early on, the program has become beset with political and legal challenges, and demand for carbon permits has shrunk.
California files 1st state Clean Power Plan compliance draft despite SCOTUS stay
By Robert Walton, Utility Dive.
Dive Brief:
- California is the first in the nation to develop a compliance plan to meet Clean Power Plan goals, but because the state is already a leader in clean energy and emissions reductions there is little new that it will need to do, ClimateWire reports.
- The plan largely continues the state's cap-and-trade program and other measures in place for a decade, but adds a federally-enforceable "backstop" mechanism in case its program is not successful.
- The U.S Supreme Court stayed the Clean Power Plan in February but California said it would develop a compliance plan regardless. Overall, the law targets a 32% reduction in carbon emissions from the power sector by 2030. California's target reduction is 13.2%.
Santa Monica Considers “New Generation” of Bus Engines
By Niki Cervantes, Santa Monica Lookout.
August 4, 2016 -- Santa Monica City buses, already fueled by renewable natural gas, are likely to start running soon with many engines that produce near-zero Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions, City officials said.
A $7 million five-year proposed contract headed to the City Council on Tuesday would install ISL G Near-Zero 0.02 NOx emission engines on 60 buses in the Big Blue Bus (BBB) system, a report to the council said.
BBB’s current fleet includes 200 buses.
Nitrogen Oxides are a family of "poisonous, highly reactive gases" that form when fuel is burned at high temperatures, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Wynne defends move to put cost of cap-and-trade in delivery line on bills
By Keith Leslie, the Canadian Press.
TORONTO – Premier Kathleen Wynne is defending the decision to bury the cost of Ontario’s cap-and-trade plan in the “delivery” line on natural gas bills.
The Ontario Energy Board announced last week that costs related to the Liberals’ climate change plan would not appear in a separate line item on consumers’ bills for natural gas, which is used to heat most homes in the province.
Wynne said Thursday that the government doesn’t interfere with decisions made by an arms-length agency like the energy board, which she pointed out consulted the industry and public before issuing its directive on carbon pricing.
California cap and trade could go to ballot
By Jeremy B. White, Sacramento Bee.
The fight to extend California’s climate change program could mean putting the issue before voters, a top aide to Gov. Jerry Brown said on Thursday as the governor launched a new ballot measure committee.
In publicly proclaiming the possibility of shifting from the Legislature to the ballot box, the Brown administration underscored its commitment to fortifying its climate change efforts, which the governor has placed at the center of his fourth and final term, despite resistance from some legislators.
As the legislative session accelerates into its final stretch, the fate of California’s cap-and-trade system has dominated talk at the Capitol. Established under the auspices of a 2006 bill, the system requires businesses to buy permits for the climate-altering emissions they put into the air.
Postal Fleet Services Selects Ryder for Natural Gas Vehicle Solution in Four States
Via Business Wire.
MIAMI--Ryder System, Inc., a leader in commercial fleet management, dedicated transportation, and supply chain solutions, announced that Postal Fleet Services, Inc. signed a Ryder ChoiceLease Full Service agreement for 20 compressed natural gas (CNG) heavy-duty vehicles supporting mail delivery operations in Orlando, Fla., Lafayette, La., Jackson, Miss., and La Vergne, Tenn.
Postal Fleet Services has relied on Ryder for fleet leasing and maintenance solutions for more than 10 years. The 20 CNG fueled vehicles will now be added to the existing fleet of Ryder diesel-powered vehicles that already supports Postal Fleet Services’ mail distribution operations. The vehicles will be serviced by Ryder’s maintenance network of best-in-class natural gas trained technicians within Ryder’s maintenance facilities that meet the unique compliance requirements for servicing advanced fueled vehicles.
Clinton campaign studying alternative to U.S. ethanol mandate
By Valerie Volcovici and Rory Carroll, Reuters.
Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign has solicited advice from California regulators on how to revamp a federal regulation requiring biofuels like corn-based ethanol be blended into the nation's gasoline supply, according to campaign and state officials.
The move is the clearest sign yet that, if elected, Clinton would seek to adjust the regulation, called the Renewable Fuel Standard, possibly hurting her chances in corn-growing states like Iowa where she faces a tough battle against Republican rival Donald Trump in the Nov. 8 election.
The Renewable Fuel Standard, created by Congress in 2005, mandates that transportation fuel sold in the United States contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels.
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