At RMI, we recognize that, to avert the worst consequences of the climate crisis, we must cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
To achieve these goals, the world must reduce emissions on multiple fronts at once. Thus, even as we work to improve the efficiency of energy use and rapidly scale emissions-free energy solutions, we are also working to immediately cut climate pollution from across fossil fuels' complex current lifespan.
The diagram below illuminates the breadth of our work across this value chain, from cutting methane leakage at wells upstream to deploying low-carbon solutions downstream, in industry, transport, and appliances.
For a deeper look at our work on fossil fuels, jump to Fossil Fuels: Our Approach.
From the high Arctic to the high seas, crude oil and natural gas are extracted via wells drilled deep into the earth. These fossil fuels are dense with ancient carbon that, when burned, creates global warming gases. The extraction process itself is also highly energy- and material-intensive, from operating huge compressors to the need for massive volumes of steel to build pipelines, rigs, and related infrastructure.
The shift from fossil fuels to sustainable substitutes is underway but will take decades of investment, innovation, and commitment. For now, ending methane leaks can offer outsized climate gains. Because methane is a super-potent greenhouse gas — roughly 80x more powerful than CO2 — reducing such leaks is one of the fastest ways to achieve big cuts quickly.
RMI works with NGOs, regulators, and companies to share climate intelligence and track emissions. The Oil Climate Index plus Gas (OCI+), for example, uses satellite and airborne sensors to locate, quantify, and track point-source emissions to speed oil and gas industry efforts to curtail methane leaks. For more:
Oil and gas are shipped via pipeline, rail, truck, and ship to be refined and consumed downstream. Crude oil and its derivatives are exported as liquids. But to get to overseas markets, natural gas must be frozen and compressed into a liquid (LNG), which is stored and shipped in telltale spherical structures.
Transporting gas and oil via pipeline, truck, train, and ship is energy intensive, as is compressing gas into LNG. Leakage of methane is a persistent risk at every step.
In addition to our work to end methane leakage from fossil energy supply chains (see Extraction above), RMI is working to decarbonize transport supply chains and create market mechanisms that reward lower-carbon fossil fuels. Recent examples:
Heat, pressure, and chemistry are used to filter impurities out of natural gas. Similarly, crude oil is refined into a dozen or more products, from jet fuel and gasoline to petrochemicals and road tars.
It's energy intensive to transform raw hydrocarbon molecules into other useful distillates, basic materials, and precursor chemicals. What's more, refineries often vent climate-warming byproducts, such as methane.
At multiple points across today's refining and petrochemical value chains, RMI is working to identify, track, and reduce emissions, and to develop market-driven green alternatives. Examples include:
In the United States, electricity trails only transportation as a top source of climate pollution. Though renewables are growing fast, 60% of US electric power still comes from combusting fossil fuels.
Globally, tens of thousands of power plants burn carbon-intensive fuels such as coal, natural gas, and oil. Replacing these legacy fossil systems with carbon-free energy is one of the greatest challenges, and most impactful goals, of the energy transition. The shift requires not just new wind and solar, but also upgrades to the grid, and increasing the efficiency of how power is used.
Worldwide, carbon-free power is elemental to decarbonize much of the rest of the economy, from electric vehicles to clean buildings and green industry. As such, shifting the grid off unabated fossil fuels threads through much of our work. Recent Examples:
From steel mills to cement plants, heavy industrial facilities rely on vast amounts of energy to heat and transform raw materials into higher-value goods. Industry accounts for around a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Many critical industrial processes require high temperatures — 1,000°F and above — that today are almost entirely produced from the combustion of fossil fuels. Some industrial processes, such as making cement, also emit climate warming gases as a byproduct of chemical reactions. Cost-effective, low-carbon energy sources and feedstocks are in sight.
Industrial emissions are some of the toughest to tackle. RMI's work decarbonizing industry shares methods and solutions with our work on refining and petrochemicals (above). Examples:
Ultimately, fossil fuel use — and related emissions — is driven by regular people living, working, and moving around the world. Fuel to propel people and goods of every size — in 2- and 3-wheelers, cars, trucks, buses, ships, trains, and planes — accounts for around a fifth of global emissions.
For cars, electric vehicles (EVs) are on track to outsell their predecessors by 2030. Beyond cars, developing affordable, clean fuel substitutes — diesel for trucks, jet fuel for planes, and bunker fuel for ships — is a tougher challenge. Progress in other sectors unlocks gains in transportation, such as: decarbonizing the grid to electrify vehicles; scaling markets for sustainable aviation fuel; and advancing green hydrogen as a key input for cleaner fuels.
The explosive global growth in investment of battery and EV production highlights how transport has emerged as a hotspot of climate investment. RMI is working on the challenge widely, including by scaling green energy supplies and related infrastructure. Examples include:
Buildings of every type — from homes and offices to factories and warehouses — consume a surprisingly large share of energy. Today that often means oil and gas are widely used for heating, and many kitchen stoves are gas fired. It also includes electricity to cool, heat, and light. Altogether, buildings are the source of around a third of global warming emissions.
The critical first step is substituting renewable energy to replace coal, gas, and oil. The shift also requires developing zero-carbon building materials, as well as increasing access to and cutting the cost to install innovative technologies such as heat pumps, solar panels, and batteries. Catalyzing these shifts requires market innovations that incentivize the retrofit of existing buildings and encourage better new construction.
For Amory Lovins, the scale of energy and money wasted in buildings was a key, early inspiration to cofound RMI. Buildings remains a cornerstone of our work. Recent examples: