US unveils sweeping rule to slash methane emissions from fossil fuel industry

• The US will introduce a new rule to decrease methane emissions.
• The rule will be presented during the COP26 meeting.
• Methane emissions are expected to decrease by about 80% by 2038.

As global temperatures rise, scientists and climate advocacy groups have pushed nations to swiftly limit emissions of methane, a potent gas that warms the globe.

The Biden administration has issued a rule to drastically reduce methane emissions from the US fossil fuel industry.

The rule will be unveiled on Saturday at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai by White House National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan. The topic regarding methane emissions will be the point of focus during the meeting.

Methane has the ability to warm the planet more than 80 times more than carbon dioxide during its initial 20 years in the atmosphere. The primary cause of methane emissions worldwide is the oil and gas sector, as per the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Methane emissions are predicted to decrease by about 80% until 2038 as a result of the new US law, which the EPA will be putting into effect. According to EPA estimates, during that time, it will save an estimated 58 million tons of methane from escaping into the atmosphere, which is the same as removing more than 300 million gas-powered cars from the road for a year.

The regulation will take numerous steps to stop industrial methane leaks. In a significant new move, it will phase in a requirement that the natural gas produced as a byproduct of drilling oil wells be captured rather than burned and will stop routinely flaring that gas. Along with reducing leaks from equipment like pumps, storage tanks, and controllers, the rule will also mandate strict leak monitoring of oil and gas wells and compressors.

In order to locate very significant methane leaks, it will also depend on independent, third-party monitoring that makes use of satellites and other remote sensing technologies.

Regan claimed that by “significantly slashing methane emissions,” the US rule represented “strong action” from the Biden administration. With 21% of the world’s oil produced and sold last year, the US leads the globe in oil production.

“From mobilizing billions in investment to plug orphaned wells, patch leaky pipes, and reclaim abandoned mines to setting strong standards that will cut pollution from the oil and gas sector, the Biden-Harris Administration is putting the full weight of the federal government into slashing harmful methane pollution,” Zaidi added in a statement.

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