Article
Deborah Gordon, Stephen D. Ziman
{
"authors": [
"Deborah Gordon"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "SCP",
"programs": [
"Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics"
],
"projects": [
"Carnegie Oil Initiative"
],
"regions": [
"North America",
"United States"
],
"topics": [
"Climate Change"
]
}
Source: Getty
In The Media
Study: California Has Some Of The World’s Dirtiest Oil
California faces hidden climate risks from its oils.
Published on Mar 15, 2017
Source: Capital Public Radio
Carnegie senior fellow, Deborah Gordon, spoke with Capital Public Radio, a Sacramento based NPR-affliate about California’s hidden climate risks—its oils—some of which may be among the dirtiest in the world, much like the Canadian oils sands.
“And those are the same oil sands that California didn’t want to take because they were so dirty, but California produces some of its own really dirty oils,” Gordon explained.
The interview referenced two new case studies from Carnegie, Need to Know: The Case for Oil Transparency in California and Drilling Down on Oil: The Case of California’s Complex Midway Sunset Field, which explore the need for greater oil data transparency in order to better understand the risks these fields pose—transparency which would set a standard internationally and continue California’s legacy as a climate leader globally.
Gordon also noted that some of the world’s cleanest oils are produced in the state. “I was shocked right from the beginning at how wide-ranging these emissions were and how little we talk about oil [as] anything other than being an average standard barrel of oil,” said Gordon.
Still, the authors noted that uncertainty abounds without the release of chemical assays, a sort of finger-print for an oil’s composition, which help show how these fields, and their emissions, are changing.
Gordon added that “there are really big differences between oils, and that really conjures up the challenges involved in managing them well.”
The interview audio and original broadcast can be found on Capital Public Radio.
About the Author
Deborah Gordon
Former Director and Senior Fellow, Energy and Climate Program
Gordon was director of Carnegie’s Energy and Climate Program, where her research focuses on oil and climate change issues in North America and globally.
- Petroleum Companies Need a Credible Climate Plan
- Advancing Public Climate Engineering DisclosureArticle
Deborah Gordon, Smriti Kumble, David Livingston
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Shockwaves Across the GulfCommentary
The countries in the region are managing the fallout from Iranian strikes in a paradoxical way.
Angie Omar
- Taking the Pulse: Is France’s New Nuclear Doctrine Ambitious Enough?Commentary
French President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled his country’s new nuclear doctrine. Are the changes he has made enough to reassure France’s European partners in the current geopolitical context?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- The Iran War’s Dangerous Fallout for EuropeCommentary
The drone strike on the British air base in Akrotiri brings Europe’s proximity to the conflict in Iran into sharp relief. In the fog of war, old tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean risk being reignited, and regional stakeholders must avoid escalation.
Marc Pierini
- The U.S. Risks Much, but Gains Little, with IranCommentary
In an interview, Hassan Mneimneh discusses the ongoing conflict and the myriad miscalculations characterizing it.
Michael Young
- The Greatest Dangers May Lie AheadCommentary
In an interview, Nicole Grajewski discusses the military dimension of the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.
Michael Young
