The Biden administration on Saturday released 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.
Environmental Protection Agency said the rule would significantly reduce methane and other harmful air pollutants generated by the oil and gas industry, promote the use of advanced methane detection technologies, and provide significant public health benefits in the form of ‘a reduction in hospital visits, lost school days and even deaths. Air pollution from 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 press conference. UN climate conference in the United Arab Emirates. In addition, the president of the climate summit announced on Saturday that 50 oil companies representing nearly half of world production have committed to achieving methane emissions close to zero and end routine flaring in their operations by 2030.
Vice President Kamala HarrisAmerica’s top official at the summit, said the United States and other countries must act boldly to address the fallout from climate change.
“The urgency of this moment is clear,” Harris said. “Time just keeps ticking. It hits. And we need to make up for lost time.
The U.S. methane emissions rule is part of a broader effort by the Biden administration that includes financial incentives to buy electric vehicles and upgrade infrastructure — spending that Harris says will total about $1 trillion over 10 years.
Oil and gas operations are the largest industrial source of methane, the main component of natural gas and far more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term. It is responsible for around a third of the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming. Sharp Reducing methane emissions is a global priority to slow the pace of climate change and is a major topic of the conference, known as COP28.
Presidents, prime ministers and royals from rich and poor countries have pledged to reduce the amount of heat-trapping gases their countries emit and asked their colleagues to do better.
“From day one, President Biden restored America’s crucial role as a global leader in the fight against climate change,” Regan said, referring to Biden’s actions. bring the United States back to the Paris climate agreement and order an immediate review of environmental regulations rolled back by the previous administration.
Methane rule finalizes Biden proposal made at a UN climate conference in Scotland in 2021 and expanded a year later, during a climate conference in Egypt. It targets emissions from existing oil and gas wells nationwide, rather than focusing only on new wells, as previous EPA regulations have done. It also regulates small wells that will be needed to detect and plug methane leaks. These wells are currently subject to an initial inspection, but are rarely checked again for leaks.
Studies have shown that small wells produce only 6% of the country’s oil and gas, but account for up to half of methane emissions from drilling sites.
The plan will also gradually require energy companies to eliminate routine flaring or burning of natural gas produced by new oil wells.
The new methane rule will help ensure the United States meets the goal set by more than 100 countries to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels, Regan said.
The EPA rule is just one of more than 100 steps the Biden administration is taking to reduce methane emissions, Zaidi added.
“From mobilizing billions in investment to plug orphaned wells, repair leaking pipes and rehabilitate abandoned mines, to establishing strict standards that will reduce pollution from the oil and gas sector, the Biden-Harris administration is bringing the full weight of the federal government to bear. to reduce harmful methane pollution,” he said.
The new rule will be coordinated with a tax on methane approved in the Climate law 2022. The tax, which is expected to take effect next year, will charge energy 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 fee, or tax, on greenhouse gas emissions.
The law allows exemptions for companies that comply with 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, as well as detect and repair 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 advice from health experts across the country and finalized a tough methane rule that, when fully implemented, will significantly reduce hazardous air pollutants and methane pollution that causes global warming from the oil and gas industry,” he said in a statement.
Methane has been shown to escape into the atmosphere at every stage of oil and gas production, Wimmer said, and people who live near oil and gas wells are particularly vulnerable to these risks. exposure.
David Doniger, a climate expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council, called methane a “super-polluter.” He said in an interview that the Biden plan “delivers a very big blow to climate pollution. I wish this would have happened ten years ago (during the Obama administration), but I’m really 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 available.” With other countries also focusing on methane as a major climate risk, this is a signal to operators around the world that the time to clean up has arrived,” he said.
The American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s main lobbying group, said it was reviewing the rule to see if it met the dual goals of reducing emissions while meeting growing energy demand.
“Smart federal regulation can help build on the progress the industry has made thus far,” said API Vice President Dustin Meyer.
The oil industry generally favors direct federal regulation of methane, preferring a national standard to a mix of state rules. Even so, energy companies have asked the EPA to exempt hundreds of thousands of the nation’s smallest wells from the new rule.
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Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.