The American Petroleum Institute (API) is urging policymakers to use the proven results of America’s market-driven model for addressing climate challenges during the upcoming climate summit in Paris. “America’s private sector has already taken the lead on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, even as we increase economic activity and domestic energy production to keep energy reliable and affordable for consumers,” said API president and CEO Jack Gerard. “Our success is driven, not by government mandate or legislative fiat, but through innovation, investment, and entrepreneurial spirit.”

Gerard shares a new analysis by API, which demonstrates how the U.S. has become the world leader in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. He also cites Environmental Protection Agency data that shows methane emissions are plummeting, with the largest reductions coming from hydraulically fractured natural gas wells.

“The fact is that the nation’s 21st century energy renaissance, which has made domestically produced natural gas cheap and abundant, has helped us achieve substantial and sustained emissions reductions without command-and-control-style regulatory intervention,” he said. “By contrast, the administration continues to hew to last-century thinking: that increased energy production and achieving climate goals are mutually exclusive, and by pursuing costly government mandates to the detriment of the American consumer and our economy.”


Gerard added that “where other nations have made pledges, we have progress and results,” asserting that “America’s market-driven success should be the model for the Paris conference. As the president and his advisers work on a climate deal, they should keep consumers and our economy at the forefront.”