The Last Climate Frontier: Arctic Council Leadership on Methane and Black Carbon Must Start at Home

The Clean Air Task Force asserts that the U.S. must regulate domestic methane and black carbon emissions from oil and gas activities to lead the Arctic Council effectively. It calls for the EPA to cut methane emissions by 50% in five years, for the BLM to implement a 'waste' rule prohibiting unnecessary flaring on Federal lands, and for BOEM to overhaul outdated air regulations in the Alaskan Arctic.

• Arctic and near-Arctic emissions of short-lived climate forcing pollutants, specifically methane and black carbon, have a disproportionate effect on increasing temperatures and melting in the region, with emissions from oil and gas activities expected to rise as development increases.
• The Clean Air Task Force recommends that the Arctic Council, under U.S. leadership starting in 2015, seek agreements from developers to follow best environmental practices for methane and black carbon emissions from oil and gas exploration and production through consensus dialogue.
• Current EPA standards from 2012 for the natural gas industry are insufficient because they only cover newly fracked gas wells and do not address existing sources of methane pollution such as leaks, older equipment, and intentional releases.
• The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is urged to propose a 'waste' rule that prevents methane pollution from all existing and future oil and gas sources on Federal and Tribal lands and minimizes or prohibits natural gas flaring.
• The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) needs to overhaul air regulations in the Alaskan Arctic, which are over 30 years old, to require best available technologies to limit methane, black carbon, and CO2, and to mandate the use of particulate filters and ultra low sulfur diesel.

APA

Banks, J. (2014). The Last Climate Frontier: Arctic Council Leadership on Methane and Black Carbon Must Start at Home. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/2014/10/the-last-climate-frontier-arctic-council-leadership-on-methane-and-black-carbon-must-start-at-home/

Chicago

Banks, Jonathan. The Last Climate Frontier: Arctic Council Leadership on Methane and Black Carbon Must Start at Home. Clean Air Task Force, 2014. https://www.catf.us/2014/10/the-last-climate-frontier-arctic-council-leadership-on-methane-and-black-carbon-must-start-at-home/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Banks |first1=Jonathan |title=The Last Climate Frontier: Arctic Council Leadership on Methane and Black Carbon Must Start at Home |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=22 October 2014 |url=https://www.catf.us/2014/10/the-last-climate-frontier-arctic-council-leadership-on-methane-and-black-carbon-must-start-at-home/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{banks2014last, author = {Banks, Jonathan}, title = {{The Last Climate Frontier: Arctic Council Leadership on Methane and Black Carbon Must Start at Home}}, publisher = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2014}, month = oct, url = {https://www.catf.us/2014/10/the-last-climate-frontier-arctic-council-leadership-on-methane-and-black-carbon-must-start-at-home/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }