Answer: U.S. oil and natural gas companies.

According to a study released today, U.S.-based oil and natural gas company investments in renewable energy accounted for nearly one-fourth of the money invested in renewables by all U.S.-based private industry and the federal government over the past nine years. More than $6.7 billion supported development of energy sources such as wind, biofuels and solar power.

The study also found that nearly half of all investments made to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were made by U.S.-based oil and natural gas companies. In fact, between 2000 and 2008, they spent $58.4 billion to reduce GHG emissions, more than either the federal government or all other U. S.-based private industries combined. The study--"Key Investments in Greenhouse Gas Mitigatio... more »

A new study by the Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) found that state regulations governing oil and natural gas field operations are "adequately designed" to protect ground water. The study, "State Oil and Natural Gas Regulations Designed to Protect Water Resources," was a collaborative effort between GWPC, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Its goal was to examine the language of state oil and natural gas regulations and evaluate it with respect to water resource protection.

Why is this important? A few news articles in recent months have questioned the efficacy of the regulations and have asserted that certain oil and natural gas operations could be harmful to drinking water. These articles have focused primarily on the practice... more »

In a conference call with reporters today, API President and CEO Jack Gerard said the Waxman-Markey bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is "unacceptable as drafted." He said the bill's potential economic impact cannot be overstated and called on Congress to conduct a thorough analysis.

Jack pointed to three provisions that should be addressed. First, the cap-and-trade allowances must be equitable "as we transition to a carbon-constrained economy." As he explained, various industrial sectors would be held responsible for their carbon emissions and those of their customers. If a sector is to be held responsible for 10 percent of the carbon, the sector should receive 10 percent of the allowances under the cap-and-trade system. The bill now stipulates that refiners would receive only 2 per... more »

Members of Congress trying to hammer out a bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have reached agreement on the distribution of valuable carbon dioxide permits. As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, more than 50 percent of the emission allowances will be donated to electric-power distributors, automakers and other industries. Only 2 percent of allowances will go to refiners.

API President and CEO Jack Gerard responded to these developments saying that "while the proposal is meant to solve a serious environmental challenge and spur growth in our weak economy, its inequitable system of allocations will have a disproportionate adverse impact on consumers and producers of gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, crude oil and natural gas." He goes on to mention that the bill's goals are admirab... more »

Congress has passed thousands of laws during its long history and frequently, questions are raised about how to interpret them. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the EPA has the statutory authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicles under Clean Air Act--although the law was written to control other emissions in certain locations. Similarly, the EPA this year agreed to use its authority under the Clean Water Act to review the risks of carbon dioxide absorbed into seawater.

Last Friday, an effort to use the Endangered Species Act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was stopped by the Obama administration. The Interior Department decided that despite the fact that the polar bear is listed as a threatened species, the law cannot be used to regulate gre... more »