Trump to loosen emissions rule
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President Donald Trump is expected to announce plans Tuesday to loosen a Biden-era rule that aimed to reduce planet-warming emissions of methane from oil and gas drilling.
Trump was to deliver the announcement as he campaigned in Texas, according to an administration official speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record ahead of the official announcement.
The move aims to encourage more domestic drilling as Trump faces criticism over high fuel prices amid the U.S. war in Iran. Methane is responsible for about a third of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, scientists estimate.
Cuts in methane emissions have emerged in recent years as a global priority to slow the rate of climate change. Oil and gas operations are the largest industrial source of methane, which is the main component in natural gas and far more potent to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide in the short term.
The invisible gas leaks from equipment and is released into the atmosphere by oil drillers or burned off as a waste byproduct during crude production.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin previewed the changes last month, saying they would eliminate the agency's "Super Emitter Program" that requires companies to investigate and repair major methane releases from oil and natural gas facilities. The agency would also set less restrictive standards for small oil and gas wells.
The loosening of the emissions rule comes as Trump and Republicans in Congress have been methodically dismantling climate policies. That's included the revocation of a scientific finding that was central to U.S. action on greenhouse gas emissions, lower fuel economy standards for vehicles and a move to repeal emission restrictions for coal and natural gas power plants.