Reducing methane emissions is crucial to fighting climate change. The invisible gas traps over 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide—and we’re emitting more than we thought. The greatest potential for methane reduction lies with fossil fuels, and solutions are readily available. So what’s getting in the way?
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, trapping 86 times more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. In fact, nearly 20% of the planet’s warming can be attributed to methane. And, because it’s often paired with other toxic pollutants such as benzene, formaldehyde, and ethylbenzene, the release of methane into the air can cause debilitating health problems for the millions of people who live near oil and gas operations. Each year, fossil fuel companies leak or deliberately vent 13 million metric tons of methane into the atmosphere during oil and gas operations, which, according to a new study, is 60% more than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated. Oil, gas and coal production are the largest industrial sources of methane emissions.
Proven, low-cost solutions exist to cut this dangerous and wasteful pollution. In 2016, the Obama administration enacted the first nationwide requirements for the oil and gas industry to reduce methane emissions from its operations. These standards came after years of legal advocacy by Earthjustice.org. They were projected to reduce the equivalent of 11 million metric tons of carbon pollution by 2025 and save Americans a net of $170 million in costs related to methane pollution.
But the Trump administration did everything it could to allow fossil fuel companies to continue releasing harmful methane emissions into our air. The Trump EPA gutted methane pollution standards in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, further jeopardizing public health. The Trump administration also tried to gut the Bureau of Land Management’s Waste Prevention Rule, which protects the public from wasteful venting, flaring, and leaking of gas from drilling operations on federal and tribal lands.
On November 2, 2021, the EPA proposed new rules for methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. These represent a significant step toward reigning in harmful pollution, including methane and other hazardous air pollutants, from fossil fuel production. Reducing this pollution through EPA’s new and existing source rules will help combat the climate crisis and protect public health for those communities most impacted by oil and gas facilities. Earthjustice will continue to work with the EPA to ensure that the agency issues strong final rules for the oil and gas industry.
Congress also passed a Congressional Review Act resolution to undo Trump’s rollbacks and restore Obama-era methane protections.
Earthjustice represented tribal and conservation citizen groups in a lawsuit against the rollback — and won – find out about the organisation here.
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