Melinda Taylor
Senior Lecturer, School of Law, University of Texas at Austin
Join Zoom Live Stream View Live on YouTube
Speaker Biography:
Melinda E. Taylor is a senior lecturer at the University of Texas School of Law, where she teaches courses on environmental and energy law, including the environmental impacts of energy development, and works on interdisciplinary projects designed to reduce emissions with researchers from the colleges of engineering, geosciences, business, and public policy. She has extensive experience developing interdisciplinary approaches to solve real-world environmental challenges. Her academic research focuses on implementation of the Endangered Species Act and policies to encourage collaboration on energy siting decision making.
Taylor founded the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Energy, Law and Business at U.T. in 2015. Prior to joining the faculty of the University of Texas, Taylor was the Director of the Ecosystem Restoration Program for the Environmental Defense Fund, a national, nonprofit conservation organization. She focused on incentive-based approaches to conserve habitat for rare species on private lands. Taylor was a partner at the law firm Henry, Lowerre, Kelly & Taylor and served as Deputy General Counsel of the National Audubon Society. She was an associate at Bracewell & Patterson in Washington, DC, where she specialized in energy and environmental law.
Taylor graduated from the University of Texas School of Law. She also holds a B.A. from the University (Plan II, cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa).
Abstract:
The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that 25% of today’s global warming is driven by methane emissions. Methane, though it accounts for just 11% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, is more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide for the first 20 years after it enters the atmosphere. Reducing methane emissions has been identified by scientists and policymakers around the world as one of the most impactful, and cost effective, measures that can be taken today to slow global warming and achieve climate goals.
Emissions from the oil and gas sector constitute the second largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions in the United States, after agriculture. Methane is emitted during the production, processing, storage, and distribution process for oil and gas through equipment leaks, venting and flaring. The IEA estimates that methane emissions from fossil fuels will need to be slashed by 75% by 2035 to meet a net zero emissions target by 2050. Fortunately, the IEA estimates that approximately 40% of the total methane emissions from the oil and gas sector could be avoided at no net cost and with existing technologies.
The Permian Basin is the largest oil field on the planet and the largest emitter of methane. According to experts, over 1.4 million metric tonnes of methane are emitted from the Permian Basin annually, a quantity that dwarfs other producing regions in the U.S.
The Biden Administration enacted regulations that require energy operators to reduce their methane emissions. Emissions reductions are also being driven by regulatory requirements in Europe and Asia (for companies that export oil and LNG to those regions) and the shareholders and boards of multinational oil companies, who are demanding “greener” fuel products. In the United States, however, including the Permian Basin, there are hundreds of thousands of wells that have been in place for decades and their production has decreased. Many of those wells are owned by individuals or small companies that lack the financial and technical resources to address leaky equipment.
The Energy Institute at UT Austin, in collaboration with oil and gas operators, trade associations, financial institutions, and non-governmental organizations, was recently awarded a significant grant from the Department of Energy to institute a technical assistance program in the Permian, which will focus on less-capitalized operators to provide training and funding to identify and repair methane leaks. We are optimistic that the project will lead to significant reductions in emissions and help make the industry more efficient and competitive globally.