Trump Drastically Relaxes Biden-Era Methane Rules To ‘Save $45 Billion’ – Why Is The Gas So Dangerous? | Today’s news

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration was “ending” a Biden-era rule aimed at reducing planet-warming methane emissions from oil and natural gas extraction.

Trump said during a campaign rally in Texas that the change would save companies and consumers billions of dollars and unlock 210 million barrels of oil. That’s equivalent to about 10 days of U.S. oil consumption, according to the Associated Press.

Trump, who campaigned for Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, argued that Biden’s plan “crushed small operators” with crippling regulations.

“I am officially ending Biden’s expensive and unnecessary methane regulations to save consumers and energy producers $45 billion in costs,” Trump said at an evening campaign rally in Lubbock, Texas.

To cheers from the crowd, Trump added that the move would “unlock a huge amount of Texas natural gas.” Texas is by far the nation’s leading fossil fuel producing state.

He proposed the move, which is still a draft, as a way to lower energy costs in an effort to address affordability concerns among voters ahead of next week’s midterm elections.

The loosening of the emissions rule comes as Trump and congressional Republicans methodically dismantle climate policies enacted under former President Joe Biden.

This included the reversal of a scientific finding that was central to US action on greenhouse gas emissions, lower fuel economy standards for vehicles and a move to lift emissions restrictions on coal and natural gas plants.

Why is methane called a greenhouse gas super pollutant? Why is it important to control its emissions?

According to scientists’ estimates, methane is responsible for about a third of the greenhouse gas emissions of the warming of the planet. It contributes to ground-level ozone and pollution that is harmful to human health.

Oil and gas operations are the largest industrial source of methane, which is a major component of natural gas and far more effective for the atmosphere than carbon dioxide in the short term.

More than 60% of methane emissions come from human activities, most of which come from three sectors: agriculture (about 40%), fossil fuels (about 35%), waste (about 20%).

According to the UN, the fossil fuel sector (oil, gas and coal) offers the greatest potential for rapid and affordable reductions in methane emissions.

Methane, the main component of natural gas, traps about 80 times more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide in the short term. It lasts about 12 years in the atmosphere, while carbon dioxide lasts for hundreds of years.

It is responsible for nearly one-third of the rise in global temperatures since the start of the Industrial Revolution, and experts told the New York Times that reducing methane leaks is one of the fastest ways to slow global warming.

Under the right conditions, methane can migrate into water wells along with groundwater. High concentrations of methane in water wells can accumulate in confined spaces and act as an asphyxiant or become flammable.

The United States is the world’s largest producer of methane from its oil and gas sector, followed by Russia, according to the International Energy Agency.

What is Trump’s goal?

According to AFP, the changes focus on rules to limit methane emissions from oil and gas operations. Emissions occur at every stage, from extraction of gas held underground to processing, transportation and distribution.

The new changes include a proposal to scrap the “Super Emitter Program,” a provision that allows EPA-approved observers to report large releases at rates over 100 kilograms (220 pounds) per hour, the report added.

Another will weaken regulation against so-called “marginal wells” that produce 15 barrels or less of oil equivalent per day. Another will relax rules around the routine flaring of “combined gas”.

The move aims to encourage more domestic drilling as Trump faces criticism over high fuel prices during the Iran war.

Reducing methane emissions has emerged as a global priority for slowing the rate of climate change in recent years.

The invisible gas escapes from the equipment and is released into the atmosphere or burned as a waste product by oil rigs.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin unveiled the changes last month, saying they would eliminate the agency’s “super emitter program,” which requires companies to investigate and fix large methane leaks from oil and natural gas facilities.

The agency would also set less restrictive standards for small oil and gas wells.

“Free entry into companies”

Environmental groups said the latest repeal would allow companies to continue polluting the atmosphere with gas that could be captured and power millions of homes.

Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp said it was giving companies a “free pass” at the expense of American consumers.

“EPA should be fighting this waste, not facilitating it,” he said.

Zeldin said the methane rule would cost $18 billion and hold back the U.S. energy industry.

Biden’s methane rule

Biden’s methane rule was announced by officials including former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2023 United Nations climate conference in the United Arab Emirates.

Federal officials under Biden have said they will prevent an estimated 58 million metric tons (52.6 million metric tons) of methane emissions by 2038 and reduce other pollutants that cause health problems.

By 2034, the rule was projected to generate $98 billion in benefits. The figure was derived from calculating the future “social costs” of greenhouse gas emissions to public health and the environment, an approach rejected by Trump’s EPA.

While previous regulation only targeted new oil and gas drilling in the U.S., Biden’s rule regulated existing drilling. Operators would also have to plug leaking methane from smaller wells, which produce just 6% of the country’s oil and natural gas while accounting for up to half of all methane emissions from oil and gas fields.

The final rule was published in 2024. The EPA imposed an 18-month delay last year to give companies time to meet the new inspection requirements and other provisions.

The rule was created to coordinate with the methane fee passed in the Climate Act of 2022. The fee program would levy a “waste emissions fee” of up to $1,500 per metric ton of methane on power producers who exceed a certain level of methane emissions.

This fee was the first time the US government directly imposed a fee or tax on greenhouse gas emissions. Congress repealed it weeks after Trump took office.

Officials also tried to curb methane from oil and gas under former President Barack Obama, but those efforts were scaled back during Trump’s first term.

How much methane can we really reduce?

According to UNEP, human-caused methane emissions could be reduced by up to 45 percent within ten years.

This would avert nearly 0.3°C of global warming by 2045, help limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C and put the planet on track to meet the Paris Agreement targets.

The resulting reduction in ground-level ozone would also prevent 260,000 premature deaths, 775,000 asthma-related hospital visits, 73 billion hours of lost work due to extreme heat, and 25 million tons of crop losses each year.