Dynamo Energy Hub is excited to present an interview with Natalia Sharova, Climate & ESG Policy Advisor at American Petroleum Institute (API).  Natalia wrote in to Dynamo’s Content Manager, Annie Kuenning, discussing API’s mission of promoting safety across the industry globally as well as API’s commitment to reducing climate change risks while meeting society’s energy needs.

Annie: Hi Natalia, thanks for finding time in your busy schedule to write in! Can you tell us about American Petroleum Institute (API) and API’s role in the clean energy transition?

Natalia: API represents the US natural gas and oil industry and member companies that conduct business in nearly every country worldwide. Our nearly 600 members include large integrated companies as well as exploration and production, refining, marketing, pipeline, and marine businesses, and oilfield equipment manufacturers, service, and supply companies. API members participate in API Energy Excellence® that is accelerating environmental and safety progress by fostering new technologies and transparent reporting. You can learn more about API here.

We are active on all fronts relevant to the natural gas and oil industry, and climate is certainly one of our priorities.  The world is confronted with a fundamental challenge of the growing need for energy while simultaneously pursuing a lower-carbon future, and our industry is at the center of this challenge.

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 United Nations has projected that global population will increase from 7.7 billion in 2019 to nearly 10 billion in 2050, and energy demand will grow with it – and grow the fastest among many emerging economies that struggle today to alleviate energy poverty. The world needs solutions that advance human and economic development, enable emerging economies to progress while also developing their own domestic resources and satisfy global energy needs in ways that are compatible with reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving environmental progress.

Learn more about our positions on climate change and sustainability on API’s website.

Annie: What are the most recent updates from API?

Natalia: We are very active on GHG reporting – API member companies value clear, concise, and comparable GHG reporting. API members are committed to transparency and recognize the importance of climate-related information for performance measurement. We have recently published the API Guidance Document for GHG Reporting, which is the result of two years of painstaking work with the goal of driving consistency, comparability, and clarity of information.

The Guidance has been developed to provide common definitions for a core set of GHG indicators to guide individual company reporting and to enhance comparability across company-by-company climate-related reporting. Reporting under this Guidance by individual companies is voluntary, and is intended for individual company use. The Guidance includes indicators for reporting GHG emissions on an absolute and an intensity basis, sections on GHG Mitigation, and Additional Climate-related Targets and Reporting that provide companies a way to demonstrate GHG emissions reduction activities.

We encourage everyone who is interested in GHG reporting to take a look at the Guidance.

Additionally, we have recently updated the API Compendium of GHG Emissions Methodologies. The Compendium is the foundational reference used by companies and governments across the world as methodologies for reporting GHG emissions from natural gas and oil industry operations. This is our fourth edition, which includes expanded methodologies for liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS).

Annie: In what ways has API changed in the past five years and what does 2022 have in store for API?

Natalia: In March 2021, API released our Carbon Action Framework of industry and government actions to address the risks of climate change while meeting the world’s long-term energy needs. In the Climate Action Framework API and its members support climate actions in the following five areas:

1. Accelerate Technology and Innovation to reduce emissions while meeting growing energy needs.

• Fast-track the commercial deployment of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).
• Advance hydrogen technology, innovation and infrastructure.
• Advocate for the full appropriations of funds for research, development and deployment (RD&D) programs authorized in the bipartisan Energy Act of 2020.

2. Endorse a Carbon Price Policy to drive economy-wide, market-based solutions.

• Advocate for sensible legislation that prices carbon across all economic sectors while avoiding regulatory duplication.

3. Advance Cleaner Fuels to provide lower-carbon choices for consumers.

• Support development of markets for differentiated U.S. natural gas.
• Support policies to advance lower-carbon electricity.
• Reduce lifecycle emissions in the transportation sector.

4. Drive Climate Reporting to provide consistency and transparency (see previous question).

• Expand ESG reporting guidance for the natural gas and oil industry.
• Develop a concise, minimum template of core greenhouse gas emissions indicators providing relevant information and enhancing consistency and comparability in reporting.
• Build on API compendium of GHG emissions methodologies for the natural gas and oil industry.

5. Further Mitigate Emissions from Operations to accelerate environmental progress.

• Advance direct regulation of methane from new and existing sources.
• Develop a refinery carbon reduction program for API member companies.
• Deliver flaring reduction results as part of The Environmental Partnership’s flare management program.

You can read more about API’s Climate Action Framework here and here.

Annie: What’s a fun fact about API that people may not know?

API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization and has developed more than 800 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.

API standards represent the industry’s collective wisdom on everything from drill bits to environmental protection and embrace proven, sound engineering and operating practices and safe, interchangeable equipment and materials.

Many of API standards and recommended practices have been incorporated into state and federal regulations and they are also the most widely cited standards by the international regulatory community.

Annie: Why did API decide to join Dynamo? What aspect of your membership are you happiest with?

Natalia: ESG is one of the top priorities of API – check out this Fortune op-ed by API COO Amanda Eversole that discusses this – and we value Dynamo’s network of diverse stakeholders active in the ESG space.

API is also very focused on innovation, and the Dynamo’s cleantech-focused community helps us to stay in the know of the latest innovation trends.

Annie: Thank you so much for writing in Natalia, we are thrilled to have API as such an involved member with Dynamo Energy Hub and are excited to continue spreading awareness of all that API is doing in this space!