FERC's Push To The Forefront On GHG Reduction Efforts

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), once an agency known primarily by those deeply steeped in the energy world, is now emerging into the limelight by taking a leading position on the question of how climate change impacts will be considered in the process of infrastructure approvals under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Natural Gas Act (NGA). FERC's recent Interim Policy Statement, for example, details how it will consider the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of facilities that will transport natural gas in interstate commerce, or import or export natural gas internationally. The interim policy, which was approved by its three Democratic nominees and voted against by its two Republican nominees, has implications for new natural gas infrastructure, electricity generation facilities fueled by natural gas, and beyond.