Climate Change

While we rely on them for most of our energy and will likely do so for years to come, emissions from their production and use may be helping to warm our planet by enhancing the natural greenhouse effect of the atmosphere. That’s why oil and gas companies are also working to reduce their greenhouse emissions.

To start, they're closely managing their own energy use.  One strategy involves heat and power technology that turns waste heat into energy, reducing energy consumption and emissions. As part of API’s Climate Challenge Programs, refiners have committed to improve their energy efficiency by 10 percent between 2002 and 2012 and are making progress to meet this objective. The most recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show that CO2 greenhouse emissions from U.S. industry, including oil and natural gas companies, have declined and were actually below 1990 levels. In 2006, for example, improvements in energy efficiency at API member refineries -- compared to the technology used in 2002 -- produced energy savings equivalent to taking more than 528,000 cars off the road, or savings equivalent to the electricity used by more than 950,000 homes.

Companies are also expanding use of alternative energy with lower greenhouse emissions. They are researching, developing and/or marketing virtually every form of renewable or alternative energy, including solar power, biofuels, geothermal energy, and wind power. They are working with the automakers and government agencies on new fuel/vehicle technology such as fuel cells and hydrogen power. While companies must continue to meet the demands of today’s and tomorrow’s consumers for oil and gas, they are also preparing for a future in which alternatives will play a much more significant role.

On other fronts, companies are reducing natural gas flaring to cut emissions (while also adding to energy supplies) and storing CO2 underground, where it can be safely held for thousands of years. The oil and gas industry has also been implementing new emissions estimation and tracking tools to enable it to assess how well it is meeting the goals it has set for itself and report progress to the public.

To see more about what companies are doing, please look at Climate Challenge: A Progress Report. To view additional and more recent information about voluntary efforts, see Companies Address Climate Change.  Please also visit our Resources and Links page for links to member company websites and more information about company initiatives.

And just as our industry is taking action, everyone can contribute to improved energy efficiency.  The Power Is in Your Hands campaign, created by 23 companies, trade associations and nonprofits, provides consumers with information on what they can do to help.  Its website offers valuable energy efficiency information for homes, transportation, and businesses.  The campaign also encourages all Americans to take the Six Degrees of Energy Efficiency Web Challenge.