ICYMI: At COP28, Biden-Harris Administration Announces Final Standards to Slash Methane Pollution, Create Jobs, and Bolster American Innovation

Today, at COP28 in Dubai, U.S. National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi and EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan announced EPA's final standards to sharply reduce methane emissions and other harmful air pollutants from oil and gas operations. This final rule advances President Biden and Vice President Harris's historic climate agenda, while promoting the use of cutting-edge methane detection technologies, creating thousands of jobs, and delivering significant economic and public health benefits.

This action builds on 100 additional actions that U.S. federal agencies have taken this year under the Biden-Harris Administration to dramatically reduce methane emissions through the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan, including plugging wells and leaks in the oil and gas sector, reclaiming abandoned coal mines, reducing food waste and agricultural emissions, and more.

Read more below:

USA Today: Biden administration unveils new rules targeting methane pollution by oil and gas industry
[Joey Garrison, 12/2/2023]

The Biden administration on Saturday unveiled new rules to slash methane pollution caused by oil and gas drilling, taking aim at a climate "super pollutant" that accounts for one-third of the world's warming greenhouse gases. The finalized Environmental Protection Agency standards include a requirement to eliminate the routine flaring of natural gas that is produced by new oil wells. The standards mandate regular monitoring for methane leaks at well cites and compressor stations.

NPR: EPA aims to slash the oil industry's climate-warming methane pollution
[Jeff Brady, 12/2/2023]

The oil industry has long leaked methane into the atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse gasses that are warming the planet. Now, new federal rules aim to dramatically reduce that pollution in the next 15 years. The Biden administration has issued strict new regulations to reduce methane from oil and gas industry operations. The announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency comes as world leaders are in Dubai for the annual United Nations climate meeting, where controlling methane is a big focus.

The Hill: Biden administration issues rule to cut methane emissions from oil and gas
[Rachel Frazin, 12/2/2023]

The Biden administration on Saturday announced new regulations that are expected to deliver significant cuts to the greenhouse gas methane in the oil and gas sector. The rule, finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), tees up emissions reductions for both new oil and wells and, for the first time, existing oil and gas wells. An EPA press release said the rule is expected to prevent 58 million tons of methane from entering the atmosphere between 2024 and 2038. These emissions savings are the climate equivalent of taking 28 million gas-powered cars off the road for a year.

Reuters: US lays out plan at COP 28 to slash climate 'super pollutant' methane from oil and gas
[Nichola Groom and Valerie Volcovici, 12/2/2023]

The Biden administration on Saturday unveiled final rules aimed at cracking down on U.S. oil and gas industry releases of methane, part of a global plan to rein in emissions that contribute to climate change. The rules, two years in the making, were announced by U.S. officials at the United Nations COP28 climate change conference in Dubai. The United States and other nations attending the summit are expected to detail how they will achieve a 150-country pledge made two years ago to slash methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.

NBC News: Biden administration looks to 'turbocharge' climate action with methane leak rules
[Lucas Thompson, 12/2/2023]

The Biden administration on Saturday announced finalized standards to limit the amount of methane that oil and gas companies can leak into the atmosphere, saying the move will "turbocharge" climate action in the U.S. The announcement, made at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, also known as COP28, will require emitters to eliminate routine flaring of natural gas in new wells over a two-year period, monitor for methane leaks, and establish new standards for high-emitting equipment like controllers, pumps and storage tanks that make up much of the infrastructure that transports oil across state lines.

Politico: Biden's EPA launches crackdown on planet-warming methane
[Ben Lefebvre, Alex Guillen, and Zack Colman, 12/2/2023]

The Environmental Protection Agency unveiled sweeping new regulations targeting methane emissions from the oil and gas sector on Saturday, a significant milestone for President Joe Biden's strategy for curbing the pollution driving up the Earth's temperatures. The rule's 3 a.m. rollout was timed to coincide with the ongoing U.N. climate talks in Dubai, where the U.S. has sought to play a leading role in global efforts to reduce emissions of the powerful planet-heating gas. But its biggest test will be in the legal arena at home, where conservatives on the Supreme Court have slapped down regulations the justices viewed as White House overreach.

The New York Times: Biden Administration Announces Rule to Cut Millions of Tons of Methane Emissions
[Jim Tankersley and Lisa Friedman, 12/2/2023]

Vice President Kamala Harris pledged at a United Nations climate summit on Saturday that the United States would spend billions more to help developing nations fight and adapt to climate change, telling world leaders that "we must do more" to limit global temperature rise. Her remarks followed an announcement by U.S. officials at the summit the same day that the federal government would, for the first time, require oil and gas producers to detect and fix leaks of methane. It was the most ambitious move to reduce fossil fuel emissions that President Biden's administration was expected to unveil at the summit, known as COP28.

The New York Times: Biden Administration Unleashes Powerful Regulatory Tool Aimed at Climate
[Coral Davenport, 12/2/2023]

The Biden administration's crackdown on methane leaks from oil wells is based in part on a new powerful policy tool that could strengthen its legal authority to cut greenhouse gas emissions across the entire economy — including from cars, power plants, factories and oil refineries. New limits on methane, announced Saturday by the Environmental Protection Agency during the COP28 climate talks in Dubai, take aim at just one source of climate warming pollution. Methane, which spews from oil and gas drilling sites, is 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide when it comes to heating the atmosphere in the short term.

CNN: US announces rule to slash powerful planet-warming methane by nearly 80% from oil and gas
[Ella Nilsen, 12/2/2023]

The Biden administration has finalized a rule to significantly cut the US oil and gas industry's emissions of methane, a powerful planet-warming gas that scientists and climate advocacy groups have pressed nations to rapidly reduce as global temperature soars. The announcement came amid a wave of commitments at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai on Saturday, including a pledge from at least 117 countries to triple renewable energy by 2030. Vice President Kamala Harris also announced the US was committing another $3 billion to global climate action.

Bloomberg: Biden Delivers COP28 Crackdown on Methane Leaks From Oil Wells
[Jennifer Dlouhy, 12/2/2023]

The Biden administration moved Saturday to crack down on methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, by finalizing newly strengthened mandates forcing companies to replace leaky equipment and regularly search for escaping gas. The final regulation announced by the US Environmental Protection Agency and Biden administration officials at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai comes amid intensifying global focus on methane, an especially potent greenhouse gas that's at least 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in warming the atmosphere during the first two decades after its release.

AP News: US targets oil and natural gas industry's role in global warming with new rule on methane emissions
[Matthew Daly, 12/2/2023]

The Biden administration on Saturday issued 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. The Environmental Protection Agency said the rule will sharply reduce methane and other harmful air pollutants generated by the oil and gas industry, promote use of cutting-edge methane detection technologies and deliver significant public health benefits in the form of reduced hospital visits, lost school days and even deaths. Air pollution from oil and gas operations can cause cancer, harm the nervous and respiratory systems and contribute to birth defects.

Washington Examiner: EPA finalizes methane emissions proposal, completing Biden administration's first major climate rule
[Nancy Vu, 12/2/2023]

The Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule Saturday establishing limits on methane pollution from the oil and gas industry, completing the first major climate rule from the Biden administration. It comes as the United States seeks to paint itself as an environmental champion during the world's largest climate conference. The rule, set to be announced at COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, would aim to prevent an estimated 58 million tons of methane emissions from escaping into the atmosphere between 2024 and 2038, or the equivalent of 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, according to EPA officials. Methane, a major component of natural gas, traps 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period and accounts for roughly a third of global warming since the Industrial Revolution.

The Wall Street Journal: COP28 Climate Summit Takes Aim At Emissions More Powerful Than Carbon
[Eric Niiler, 12/2/2023]

From Texas to Turkmenistan, global leaders at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai are taking a big swing at cutting methane, a potent greenhouse gas produced by oil and gas drilling, livestock and rotting vegetation. They are using financial incentives combined with strict new regulations to get countries and energy firms on board. On Saturday, the Biden administration announced a final methane rule for U.S. oil and gas producers, requiring them to plug methane leaks and stop burning excess gas with flares.