Biden unveils sweeping new U.S. methane emission rules at COP26 climate summit
President Biden and his administration unveiled a series of policies Tuesday to limit methane gas leaks from oil and gas wells and pipelines. Biden is at the United Nations-sponsored COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, Scotland, where methane emissions are a major agenda item. Methane, a key component of natural gas, isn't the largest greenhouse gas — it is No. 2 to carbon dioxide — and it dissipates more quickly than carbon dioxide, but it is 80 times more powerful in the first 20 years after it is released into the atmosphere.
The U.S. and European Union are encouraging other countries to join them in signing the Global Methane Pledge to cut emissions 30 percent by 2030. Brazil joined the growing list of signatories on Monday, but some of the world's biggest methane emitters, notably China and Russian, have not signed on.
A new Environmental Protection Agency rule to be finalized next month will require oil and gas wells — including older, more leak-prone wells — to monitor for methane leaks, capture natural gas typically released alongside oil drilling, and require emissions-free control valves at oil and gas sites. The EPA says the new rule will cover about 75 percent of all U.S. methane emissions, and the Biden administration will tackled more with future regulations.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Separately, the Transportation Department's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is finalizing a rule that extends leak monitoring and other safety requirements to 400,000 miles of previously unregulated pipelines between gas wells and centralized sites. The Obama administration issued rules to curb methane and methane leaks from new oil and gas equipment and on federal lands, but the Trump administration rolled them back.
The American Petroleum Institute lobbying group has opposed previous efforts to regulate methane emissions, but it says it now supports one central "cost-effective rule" and has been working on the regulation with Biden officials since before the inauguration.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Hurricane Melissa slams Jamaica as Category 5 stormSpeed Read The year’s most powerful storm is also expected to be the strongest ever recorded in Jamaica
-
Protesters fight to topple one of Africa’s longstanding authoritarian nationsIn the Spotlight Cameroon’s president has been in office 1982
-
Political cartoons for October 28Cartoons Tuesday's political cartoons include a bailout for Argentina, a frog prince, and Epstein distractions
-
Climate change is getting under our skinUnder the radar Skin conditions are worsening because of warming temperatures
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
Climate change is making us eat more sugarUnder the radar Sweets make the heat feel more manageable
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Sloth fever shows no signs of slowing downThe explainer The vector-borne illness is expanding its range
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
