Rep. Huffman Introduces “Know Your Oil Act”

September 20, 2016

Washington, D.C.- New legislation introduced today by Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA) would give consumers, investors, and policymakers consistent and unbiased information about the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the increasingly complex global oil supply chain — from the petroleum source in the Gulf of Mexico or Alberta tar sands, to the refinery, to the gas pump. The “Know Your Oil” Act would, for the first time, direct the Department of Energy to measure and report on greenhouse gas emissions from different extraction and refining methods.

“As the saying goes, you can’t change what you don’t measure,” said Rep. Huffman. “In terms of climate impacts, not all oil is created equal, but current law makes it impossible to know how specific oil choices affect greenhouse gas emissions. That’s why the ‘Know Your Oil Act’ is so important. We need to force disclosure and close this knowledge gap so that consumers, industries, investors, and policymakers are fully informed when they make decisions affecting the climate.”

“Extracting and burning oil scars our land, pollutes our water, harms our health and warms our climate,” said Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, NRDC. “The Know Your Oil Act would provide much-needed transparency so that Americans can truly understand the dire consequences of our oil addiction.”

"Oil is changing: As conventional resources dwindle, tight oil, oil sands, heavy oils and others emerge,” Deborah Gordon, Director, Energy and Climate Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “The Know Your Oil Act that builds on the foundation of Carnegie's Oil-Climate Index allows stakeholders to assess and compare the greenhouse gas emissions from different oil supply chains."

“It’s hard to manage greenhouse gas pollution in the oil supply chain when we don’t know what we’re dealing with,” Congressman Alan Lowenthal said. “Americans deserve to see the full picture, including the amount of climate-damaging greenhouse gas pollution which has societal costs that can no longer be ignored. This commonsense legislation will provide the tools the American people need to understand the damage to the atmosphere due to pollution from oil operations and to identify cost-effective strategies for reducing that pollution and ultimately meet our climate goals. “ 

Specifically, this legislation would grant the Secretary of Energy the authority to collect and disseminate data on carbon, methane, and other greenhouse gas emissions from the entire oil supply chain, including extraction, transportation, and refining all the way to the retail point of sale.

Under current law, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), a respected and impartial agency under the Department of Energy that analyzes and disseminates energy information, can analyze only broad trends of greenhouse gas emissions.  This bill would expand data collection and reporting on these emissions to specific oil sources.

The legislation is cosponsored by Representatives Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Mike Quigley (D-IL), and Doris Matsui (D-CA).

Huffman’s bill is supported by Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

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