The Biden administration released a rule aimed at reducing methane emissions from American oil and gas sources on the same day the U.S. and European Union announced at the COP26 climate summit in Scotland that 90 countries have joined the Global Methane Pledge, which aims for a 30% methane emissions cut by 2030.

The proposed rule, announced Nov. 2 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, seeks to regulate both new and existing sources of methane emissions from the oil and natural gas sector. It aims to decrease methane emissions by 41 million tons between 2023 and 2035, equivalent to 920 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.

EPA的数据显示，到2030年，根据EPA的数据，该规则源的甲烷排放减少将低于2005年水平的74％。尽管它在大气中停留的时间比CO2短，但甲烷是一种更有效的温室气体，负责在20年内与二氧化碳相比，使大气中的热量捕获80倍。

Key features of the EPA proposal include monitoring for leaks at both new and existing well sites and compressor stations; an option for owners and operators to comply by using cost-reducing advanced technology to discover leaks; a zero-emissions standard for new and current pneumatic controllers; and standards to eliminate gas venting and address emissions from storage tanks, pneumatic pumps, compressors and other sources.

奥巴马政府首先授权了针对新设施或改良设施的甲烷排放控制，然后在特朗普政府中撤销，但国会民主党于今年早些时候使用立法机制恢复了否定特朗普行动的立法机制。

“By building on existing technologies and encouraging innovative new solutions, we are committed to a durable final rule that is anchored in science and the law, that protects communities living near oil and natural gas facilities, and that advances our nation’s climate goals under the Paris Agreement,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan in a statement.

Separately, the U.S. Transportation Dept. issued final rules on Nov. 2 that extend federal safety requirements, design and construction standards and leak incident reporting to an estimated 400,000 miles of previously unregulated “gathering” lines, mostly in rural areas, that carry gas from wells to central hubs. The Interior Dept. meanwhile is set to propose rules on gas flaring and venting for oil and natural gas wells on federal lands, which the agency says made up 7.6% of the U.S. oil supply and 9.1% of its gas production last year.

Global Responses

In itsGlobal Methane Assessmentreleased in May, the UN found the fossil fuel sector has the “greatest potential for targeted mitigation” in the next decade, and said that up to 80% reduction measures for oil and gas emissions and up to 98% of those for coal emissions “could be implemented at negative or low cost.”

该报告说：“较低的甲烷浓度将迅速降低变暖的速度，从而使甲烷缓解成为限制变暖的最佳方法之一。”

The global pledge asks signatories to work toward the 2030 methane emissions cut by addressing a variety of sources that include agriculture and waste-related emissions in addition to oil, gas and coal. It also asks countries to improve how emissions are measured.

美国石油研究所政策，经济学和监管事务高级副总裁弗兰克·麦基亚洛拉（Frank MacChiarola）在一份声明中说，该组织支持“从新来源和现有来源对甲烷进行直接监管，并且[致力于我们在减少我们所取得的进步方面建立进步甲烷排放。”他称，EPA提案为“席卷”，他说API“期待全面审查它”。

While oil and gas sector sources of methane have taken steps to cut methane emissions partially owed to new pressure from investors, some predict lawsuits against the rule,新利luckEnr报道earlier this year.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, termed the proposed rule “yet another attack on U.S. energy,” in a statement.

而调用规则建议一个“关键的一步”that would “achieve real benefits by slashing oil and gas methane emissions significantly,” Kelly Sheehan, Sierra Club senior director of energy campaigns, said in a statement that “a more ambitious target is achievable,” noting that “the proposal would allow a large number of wells to forgo regular inspections to detect and repair leaking equipment, and would not stop oil wells from flaring gas on a routine basis.”

EPA在11月2日在联邦公报上发布了该规则的60天评论期。