National Fuel outlines plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
National Fuel Gas Distribution, a subsidiary of National Fuel Gas Co., has established targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions.
The company plans to reduce GHG emissions by 75 percent by 2030 and 90 percent by 2050 for its utility delivery system. These targets surpass those set under New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act).
“Over the past decade, natural gas has played a significant role in decarbonizing the U.S. economy, and National Fuel has been a key contributor to those emissions reductions,” David Bauer, president and CEO of National Fuel, said. “With our long-standing focus on safe and reliable service, we’ve made significant investments to modernize our facilities over the past several years. As we look forward, we expect the Company will continue to enhance its environmental initiatives, focusing on further reducing our emissions profile and aligning our climate-related disclosures with the TCFD framework so that National Fuel remains an important part of the energy solution for decades to come.”
National Fuel also issued a roadmap for achieving the emissions reduction goals set out by the Climate Act.
“We believe the best emissions reduction pathway is one that provides both environmental and economic sustainability, allowing the ability to meet the Climate Act’s targets while providing delivery system resiliency, integrity and reliability, and offering options for more affordable carbon reduction measures,” National Fuel Gas Distribution President Donna DeCarolis said. “By focusing policy on an ‘all-of-the-above’ carbon-reduction approach, we can achieve the Climate Act’s targets while preserving essential energy delivery reliability and resilience for consumers. This includes doubling-down on energy efficiency, embracing a broad range of energy-agnostic technologies and solutions, and being inclusive of low-carbon options like renewable natural gas, hydrogen, hybrid-heating systems, and carbon capture and storage.”
The four pillars of the plan are solar energy efficiency, reducing utility emissions through the modernization of the pipeline network and other infrastructure investments, decarbonizing the energy source, and leveraging the existing energy delivery system. Efforts to reduce GHG emissions have been ongoing through various initiatives, including the replacement of older vintage mains and services.
“Our focus on modernizing our delivery system has been and continues to be a key element to our emissions reductions,” DeCarolis said. “We are dedicated to these investments and to the emissions reduction benefits they provide. Our commitment to system improvement continues to afford substantial benefits to our customers and communities in the form of enhanced safety, resiliency, and reliability, ensuring that we can deliver essential, affordable energy to homes and businesses when it’s needed most, particularly during cold weather and major storms.”
National Fuel Gas Distribution provides natural gas service to nearly 2 million residents in Western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.
