Biden rule aims to reduce methane emissions, targeting US oil and gas industry for global warming

WASHINGTON– The Biden administration on Saturday issued a final rule aimed at reducing methane emissions, targeting the U.S. oil and natural gas industry for its role in global warming, as President Joe Biden seeks to advance his climate legacy.

The Environmental Protection Agency said the new rule will dramatically reduce methane and other harmful air pollutants generated by the oil and gas industry, promote the use of cutting-edge methane detection technologies and provide significant public health benefits in the form of of reduced hospital visits and missed classes. days and even deaths. Air pollution caused by oil and gas operations can cause cancer, damage the nervous and respiratory systems, and contribute to birth defects.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan and White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi announced the final rule at the United Nations climate conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Oil and gas operations are the largest industrial source of methane, the main component of natural gas and much more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term. It is responsible for about a third of the greenhouse gas emissions that warm the planet. Sharp cuts in methane emissions are a global priority to slow the pace of climate change and are a major topic at the climate conference, known as COP28.

Presidents, prime ministers and royals from rich and poor nations have vowed to reduce the amount of heat-trapping gases in their countries and called on their colleagues to do better.

“On day one, President Biden restored America’s critical role as a global leader in addressing climate change,” Regan said, referring to Biden’s actions to return the United States to the Paris climate accord and order an immediate review of environmental regulations revoked by the previous agreement. administration.

The methane rule finalizes a proposal Biden made at a U.N. climate conference in Scotland in 2021 and expanded a year later at a climate conference in Egypt. The rule supports Biden’s initial commitments “to aggressive action, significantly reducing methane emissions and other air pollutants that endanger communities,” Regan said.

The rule focuses on emissions from existing oil and gas wells nationwide, rather than focusing solely on new wells, as previous EPA regulations had done. It also regulates the smaller wells that will be needed to find and plug methane leaks. Currently, small wells are subject to an initial inspection, but are rarely rechecked for leaks.

Studies have found that smaller wells produce only 6% of the country’s oil and gas, but account for up to half of the wells’ methane emissions.

The plan will also gradually include a requirement for energy companies to eliminate routine flaring of natural gas produced by new oil wells.

The new methane rule will help ensure that the United States meets the goal set by more than 100 nations of reducing methane emissions by 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels, Regan said.

The EPA rule is just one of more than 100 actions the Biden administration has taken to reduce methane emissions, Zaidi added.

“From mobilizing billions in investments to plug orphan wells, patch leaking pipelines and reclaim abandoned mines, to establishing tough standards that will reduce pollution from the oil and gas sector, the Biden-Harris Administration is bringing the full weight of government to drastically reduce harmful methane pollution,” he said.

The new methane rule will be coordinated with a methane fee passed in the 2022 climate law. The fee, which goes into effect next year, will charge power producers that exceed a certain level of methane emissions up to $1,500 per metric ton of methane. The plan marks the first time the U.S. government has directly imposed a tariff or tax on greenhouse gas emissions.

The law allows exemptions for companies that meet EPA standards or fall below a certain emissions threshold. It also includes $1.5 billion in grants and other spending to help local businesses and communities improve monitoring and data collection, and find and fix natural gas leaks.

Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the American Lung Association, called the new rule a victory for public health.

“EPA heeded urgent guidance from health experts across the country and finalized a strict methane rule that, when fully implemented, will significantly reduce hazardous air pollutants and climate-warming methane pollution from of the oil and gas industry,” he said in a statement. .

Methane has been shown to leak into the atmosphere during every stage of oil and gas production, Wimmer said, and “people who live near oil and gas wells are especially vulnerable to these exposure risks. This rule is vital to promoting environmental justice commitments.” ”

David Doniger, a climate expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council, called methane a “super pollutant.” He said in an interview that the Biden plan “deals a very solid blow to climate pollution. I wish this had happened 10 years ago (under the Obama administration), but I’m very happy it’s happening now.”

Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, said the new rule ensures that “the United States now has the most protective methane pollution limits on record. “That other countries are also focusing on methane as a key climate risk is a signal to operators around the world that the time has come to clean up,” he said.

The oil industry has generally welcomed direct federal regulation of methane emissions, preferring a single national standard to a hodgepodge of state rules. Still, energy companies have asked the EPA to exempt hundreds of thousands of the nation’s smallest wells from pending methane rules.