Biden takes aim at oil and gas industry with methane emissions plan to fight climate change
White House's methane emissions reduction plan includes new standards for oil and gas companies
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The Biden administration unveiled its Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan on Tuesday, as President Biden addressed a global audience at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
The plan reflects Biden's philosophy of shifting toward more climate-friendly energy in a way that he believes will produce new jobs and innovations.
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"This new set of actions rest on a deep technical and scientific understanding of methane emissions, their sources and mitigation opportunities. And they leverage growing momentum," a White House document that details the plan says. "In recent years, federal, state and local agencies as well as private sector leaders have initiated a number of commonsense regulatory and voluntary efforts to reduce methane emissions, while supporting innovation in next-generation technologies to detect and reduce methane emissions across the economy."
President Biden speaks at the COP26 Summit, in Glasgow, Scotland, Nov. 2, 2021. (Steve Reigate/Pool Photo via AP / AP Newsroom)
The primary area that the plan targets for reducing methane emissions is the oil and gas sector, which the administration says is "the largest industrial source of methane emissions in the United States."
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To do this, the Environmental Protection Agency will be proposing new guidelines and standards under the Clean Air Act. This would include updated standards for detecting and repairing leaks and moving from current pneumatic controllers to utilizing zero-emission technology.
Additionally, the Department of the Interior plans to address "wasteful venting and flaring of gas during drilling operations" and well leaks. The Department of Transportation would also be involved, tackling leaks in oil and gas pipelines, as well as liquified natural gas and underground natural gas storage facilities.
The administration is also looking to reduce emissions from landfills by cutting food waste by 50% by 2030, and to cut emissions from abandoned coal mines.
Trinidad Drilling rigs are seen off Highway 59 outside of Douglas, Wyoming, in March 2013.
The action plan also calls for working with farmers and ranchers to reduce methane emissions by using new equipment and practices related to manure management. The Department of Agriculture will also launch a public-private partnership to boost "on-farm" renewable energy.
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At a methane event Tuesday morning, Biden stressed not just the need to take these actions, but what he believes is a chance to turn the global economy in a direction that will create new jobs.
"This isn’t just something we have to do to protect the environment and our future, it’s an enormous opportunity … for all of us, all of our nations to create jobs and make meeting climate goals a core part of our global economic recovery as well," Biden said.