How Certified Natural Gas is Misleading Markets and Governments

MDCRES - How Certified Natural Gas is Misleading Markets and Governments
This presentation will focus on a new report from Earthworks and Oil Change International raising questions about the legitimacy of “Certified Gas” and exposing on-the-ground failures to detect oil and gas pollution by monitors sold by one of the formerly largest certifiers of methane gas, Project Canary. The report argues that the fossil fuel industry’s recent push to label methane gas as “responsibly sourced” is unproven and incompatible with a climate-safe future and urges decision-makers to avoid these follies and shift their time and energy toward facilitating a safe, managed decline in the production, distribution, and use of fossil fuels.
You may access the report mentioned in the program here:
earthworks.org/resources/cert...
ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS:
Josh Eisenfeld joined Earthworks in September 2020 as the Corporate Accountability Communications Campaigner, working with staff across their energy program to ground truth oil and gas industry claims and hold them publicly accountable for their methane pollution.
As a fourth-generation Southwestern Pennsylvania native, Earthworks’ mission to protect those most impacted by extractive industries is extremely important to Josh. He has grown up watching the devastating economic and health effects of extraction and reliance on industrial booms. That is why he has a passion for making industrial giants pay for the externalized costs they put on the communities they operate in and eventually leave behind.
Josh is a communications specialist, social justice advocate, and filmmaker with nearly a decade of experience in digital media production. He is a graduate of Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communication, where he double-majored in Television & Film and Biology with a focus in Environmental Science.
Josh began his career as a documentary filmmaker, traveling around the world making films about social justice while also working as a producer at a nationally-recognized advertising agency where he played a key role in communicating and developing brand identities through digital media for international brands.
Andrew Klooster joined Earthworks in July 2020 as a Colorado Organizer and has since then become the Colorado Field Advocate and a certified optical gas imaging thermographic.
Andrew works with frontline Coloradans to document oil and gas pollution and expose the shortcomings in Colorado’s regulatory framework. He briefs community members, regulators, and elected officials on the health and environmental impacts of Colorado’s oil and gas development.
His passion for environmental justice brought him to this position with Earthworks but the relationships he has forged with the community members across the state who are fighting for the health of their families and the health of all present and future Coloradans are what keeps him motivated, despite long hours on the road and exposed to the elements while conducting investigations of oil and gas facilities.
The program was hosted by Greg Winchell, Program Manager. A question and answer session followed the presentation.
TIMELINE:
0:00 Presentation - Josh Eisenfeld and Andrew Klooster
38:03 Q&A
This program was organized by the Metro Denver County chapter of the Colorado Renewable Energy Society and was recorded at their September 28, 2023 meeting. Contact us at [e-mail] or visit us online at www.cres-energy.org/.
Video production by Brian Beinlich, brianbeinlich.com.
Intro/outro music: “Glimpsing Infinity” by Asher Fulero via the RUclips Audio Library.
Intro/outro video: Earthworks
ABOUT CRES:
For more than 25 years, the Colorado Renewable Energy Society (CRES) and its local chapters have provided education, policy advocacy, and community engagement to accelerate Colorado toward a 100% renewable energy future. CRES is a statewide, non-partisan, non-profit, 501(c)3 membership organization that drives environmental, social, and economic benefits for our communities by promoting all forms of renewable energy, energy efficiency, storage, high-performance buildings, and other low- or zero-carbon solutions.
CRES features several local monthly speaker series throughout the state, provides speakers, experts, and workshops, and weighs in on state energy policy.
Learn more about CRES, membership, and how you can sign up to become a speaker or volunteer by visiting our website at cres-energy.org.