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Climate Change

Tackling the Climate Challenge
The U.S. natural gas and oil industry is working to address the risks of climate change and build a lower-carbon future. Learn how we're striving to create a cleaner tomorrow while meeting the world’s growing need for affordable, reliable energy.

API Climate Action Framework »

API Climate Position

API and its members commit to delivering solutions that reduce the risks of climate change while meeting society’s growing energy needs. We support global action that drives greenhouse gas emissions reductions and economic development.

The natural gas and oil industry plays a vital role in advancing human and economic prosperity that is essential to extending the benefits of modern life. One way the industry accomplishes this is by developing and deploying technologies and products that continue to reduce GHG emissions.

API will lead by providing platforms for industry action to:

  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions through industry-led solutions, and
  • Actively work on policies that address the risks of climate change while meeting the global need for affordable, reliable and sustainable energy.

API Climate Policy Principles

API and its members advocate for government policies that ensure the availability and continued development of affordable, reliable and sustainable energy, including oil and natural gas supplies and products derived from them, to consumers. The following principles will guide API’s perspective on public policies that address the risks of climate change. Sound public policy approaches must be designed to:

  • Facilitate meaningful GHG emissions reductions and conservation from all sectors of the economy.
  • Balance economic, environmental and energy security needs.
  • Promote economy-wide innovation and development of cost-effective technologies to meaningfully reduce GHG emissions.
  • Optimize solutions by eliminating redundant or contradictory policies.
  • Support market-based policies to drive innovation.
  • Maintain the competitive positioning of U.S. businesses in global markets.
  • Rely upon predictable and economically efficient policy frameworks, such as the use of offsets, that foster competition and utilize economy-wide market forces, to deliver outcomes at the least cost to society.
  • Ensure that energy producers, manufacturers and suppliers are responsible for their direct emissions.
  • Recognize and appropriately account for early and/or voluntary actions.
  • Make the costs and associated climate benefits of any policy fully transparent to the American public.
  • Continue to advance understanding of global climate change in order to calibrate and adapt future policies appropriately and effectively.
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