Natural gas industry does a U-ey on climate: No federal climate policy needed

Quite a difference from the days when the American Natural Gas Alliance pushedfor a toughened Waxman-Markey.

The Hill reports:

“I don’t see a need for separate climate policy to continue the move we have already seen,” said Marty Durbin, the new CEO of America’s Natural Gas Alliance, a trade group that represents large independent gas producers.

Booming U.S. gas production has lowered prices and helped the fuel gain market share in the utility sector at the expense of coal, which emits much more carbon dioxide than gas when burned. The trend helped to reduce U.S. carbon dioxide emissions last year to their lowest level in almost two decades.

“You have got innovative technology developments that have allowed us to have this [gas] resource available to us. The market has said this is the right fuel to use, and because of that, we have now seen reductions in carbon emissions and many other emissions that didn’t require any overriding policy at the federal level,” Durbin said.

But ANGA used to think differently:

• Although ANGA was unhappy with the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill, its beef was that the bill didn’t sufficiently penalize coal users.
• ANGA sucked up to Sens. Kerry and Boxer because they were more open to “promot[ing] natural gas as part of the climate solution.”
• Ahead of the 2009 IPCC conference in Copenhagen, ANGA observed, “If policymakers in our nation’s Capital are serious about addressing climate change, they should encourage the increased use of… natural gas.”
• ANGA was supportive but thought the Kerry-Graham-Lieberman bill inadequate;
• ANGA cheered President Obama for pledging to reduce the federal government’s carbon footprint by 28 percent by 2020;
• For Earth Day 2010, ANGA promoted “Clean Natural Gas for a Greener World Now.”
• After Sen. Lindsey Graham bailed out of the Kerry-Graham-Lieberman bill, ANGA continued to support the efforts of Sens. Kerry and Lieberman.

Oh well… nevermind.