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A new report published by Earthworks and Oil Change International reveals that fossil fuel companies' claims of reduced methane emissions rely on unreliable technology that regularly fails to detect pollution events. The Certified Gaslighting report found that methane emissions monitors operated by third-party gas certification companies only picked up one of the 23 pollution events detected by Earthworks, and “continuous” emissions monitors were offline over 25 percent of the time.
Gas certification is a method for oil and gas companies to use third-party technology to prove a reduction in methane pollution, thereby claiming a “responsibly sourced” or “next-gen” product. “Our research reveals these certification scams are deceptive, enabling gas companies to expand under the false pretense of emission reductions. This greenwashing scam must end so we can focus on what's urgently needed—phasing out oil and gas,” said Oil Change International research director Lorne Stockman.
The report recommends that state and federal regulators be extremely skeptical of certification claims and that certification should not be used instead of real oversight and regulations that prioritize the health and safety of communities.
US acknowledges harm to Tribes from Pacific Northwest dams
On Tuesday, the US government acknowledged the harm it has caused Tribes over the past century by building and operating dams in the Pacific Northwest. A new report from the Department of the Interior shows how the dams flooded Tribal villages and decimated their salmon runs while bringing electricity, irrigation, and jobs to other communities. Along with the report, the Biden administration announced a new task force to coordinate salmon recovery across federal agencies. “The salmon themselves have been suffering the consequences since the dams first were put in,” said Shannon Wheeler, chairman of the Nez Perce Tribe. “The lack of salmon eventually starts affecting us, but they’re the ones who have been suffering the longest.”
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