The Environmental Protection Agency has recently completed the finalization of one of the remaining climate regulations from the Biden administration, which focuses on reducing methane leaks — an extremely potent greenhouse gas that significantly contributes to climate change.
This regulation, which was proposed nearly a year ago, is a requirement of the Inflation Reduction Act, potentially complicating efforts for a second Trump administration to reverse it.
Under the new regulation, oil and gas producers that emit high levels of methane will incur a fee for releasing methane into the atmosphere through venting or flaring, rather than capturing it. The federal government will impose this methane fee until the companies address and repair the leaks.
This charge came along with financial perks for oil and gas companies to repair leaking pipelines or infrastructure.
Methane is a colorless and odorless gas that packs over 80 times the heat-trapping ability of carbon dioxide. It’s the primary ingredient in the gas that heats our homes and fuels our stoves, and it’s a significant byproduct of oil and gas extraction.
Moreover, it’s contributing significantly to global warming. A group of international scientists has found that methane levels in the atmosphere are currently at their highest in at least 800,000 years. According to the EPA, it accounts for up to a third of the global warming we’ve seen so far.
The incoming Trump administration may find it challenging to reverse this rule, as it is part of Biden’s climate legislation that was approved by Congress in 2022. Repealing it would require another congressional action; while it’s not out of the question if Republicans control the House of Representatives, it could be a difficult process and may take longer than if the Trump administration were to act independently.
“EPA has been collaborating with industry, states, and communities to lower methane emissions, ensuring that natural gas reaches consumers as a usable fuel rather than a harmful greenhouse gas,” stated EPA administrator Michael Regan.
The EPA reports that this rule alone could stop 1.2 million metric tons of methane from entering the atmosphere, which is comparable to removing nearly 8 million gas-powered vehicles from the roads for a year.