Treasury must not include negative emissions values in the published table of emissions rates or allow 45Z credits for blending fossil natural gas with biomethane or captured fugitive methane

The Clean Air Task Force warns that allowing negative emissions rates for fuels like compressed biomethane under section 45Z could lead to 'runaway credit values' and 'irresponsible expenditure of taxpayer dollars'. The organization argues that such credits would subsidize established technologies, distort markets, and potentially incentivize the addition of non-waste materials to digesters to increase methane production. Furthermore, it asserts that allowing the blending of small amounts of biomethane with fossil natural gas would over-subsidize fuels with lifecycle emissions exceeding congressional intent under the Inflation Reduction Act.

• Including negative emissions rates in the annual table for fuels such as compressed biomethane or captured fugitive methane could result in extreme fiscal and environmental consequences, including the expenditure of large amounts of taxpayer funds to subsidize established technologies like internal combustion engines burning compressed natural gas.
• The absence of a cap on credits per gallon could lead to 'runaway credit values' based on negative emissions. For example, using California LCFS data where biomethane from dairy and swine manure averages -302.75 g CO2e/MJ, per-gallon incentives could reach as high as $17, potentially leading to wasteful consumption schemes.
• Negative emissions credits could create market distortions, such as price disparities between new and existing biogas capture operations and incentives to increase methane production by adding non-waste material to digesters.
• Allowing credits for blending small amounts of biomethane or captured fugitive methane with fossil natural gas would over-subsidize fuels with lifecycle emissions that exceed the levels intended by Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

APA

Firth, S. (2024). Treasury must not include negative emissions values in the published table of emissions rates or allow 45Z credits for blending fossil natural gas with biomethane or captured fugitive methane. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/2024/08/treasury-must-not-include-negative-emissions-values-in-the-published-table-of-emissions-rates-or-allow-45z-credits-for-blending-fossil-natural-gas-with-biomethane-or-captured-fugitive-methane/

Chicago

Firth, Sammie. Treasury must not include negative emissions values in the published table of emissions rates or allow 45Z credits for blending fossil natural gas with biomethane or captured fugitive methane. Clean Air Task Force, 2024. https://www.catf.us/2024/08/treasury-must-not-include-negative-emissions-values-in-the-published-table-of-emissions-rates-or-allow-45z-credits-for-blending-fossil-natural-gas-with-biomethane-or-captured-fugitive-methane/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Firth |first1=Sammie |title=Treasury must not include negative emissions values in the published table of emissions rates or allow 45Z credits for blending fossil natural gas with biomethane or captured fugitive methane |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=19 August 2024 |url=https://www.catf.us/2024/08/treasury-must-not-include-negative-emissions-values-in-the-published-table-of-emissions-rates-or-allow-45z-credits-for-blending-fossil-natural-gas-with-biomethane-or-captured-fugitive-methane/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{firth2024treasury, author = {Firth, Sammie}, title = {{Treasury must not include negative emissions values in the published table of emissions rates or allow 45Z credits for blending fossil natural gas with biomethane or captured fugitive methane}}, publisher = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2024}, month = aug, url = {https://www.catf.us/2024/08/treasury-must-not-include-negative-emissions-values-in-the-published-table-of-emissions-rates-or-allow-45z-credits-for-blending-fossil-natural-gas-with-biomethane-or-captured-fugitive-methane/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }